Summary
See how The Business Platinum Card® from American Express stacks up against similar premium business credit cards.
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For example – along with offering up to 75,000 bonus points – the recently updated Business Platinum Card from American Express offers 5 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, 2 points per dollar on travel purchased through the American Express website and 1 point per dollar on everything else.
Comparing business rewards cards
While the Business Platinum card from American Express is ideal if you spend a large amount on business travel annually, you may prefer a card that offers a bonus rate on business expenses, such as the CitiBusiness®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®, which offers 2 miles per dollar on telecommunications. Or, you may want a card with a lower annual fee, like the UnitedSM Explorer Business Card, which has a $95 annual fee.
See how the Business Platinum card from American Express compares to similar business credit cards in the table below.
Premium business credit cards
Introductory bonus | Rewards rate | Annual fee | Average yearly rewards value ($4,000 monthly spend) | |
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express |
|
| $595 | $2,777 |
Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express |
|
| $95, $0 first year | $1,315 |
CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® |
|
| $99, $0 first year | $1,626 |
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | 100,000 points if you spend $15,000 in first 3 months |
| $95 | $918 |
UnitedSM Explorer Business Card |
|
| $95 | $1,505 |
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card | 60,000 points if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months |
| $99 | $605 |
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card |
|
| $550 | $1,957 |
Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business credit card | 75,000 points if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months |
| $99 | $1,330 |
Which card is best?
Before deciding which card is right for you, there are several things to consider: Does the card offer a generous introductory bonus? Is the annual fee affordable? Are the bonus rewards compatible with your spending habits? Here are a few things to consider if:
You want to earn the highest yearly rewards value
If you want to squeeze the most rewards value from a business card, the American Express Business Platinum card is your best bet. By our estimates, the average business owner who charges $4,000 per month can get more than $2,200 in rewards value from the card annually.
You travel frequently for work
If you are a business owner who travels frequently, the American Express Business Platinum card is a great option. Along with offering a generous rewards rate of 5 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com, the card offers 2 points per dollar on travel purchased through the American Express website and 1 point per dollar on everything else.
The card also offers several travel-related perks, including a $100 hotel credit, a $200 airline fee credit, a global entry/TSA Precheck credit and complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and Starwood Gold Elite status.
You want to test out the card with no obligation
While the Amex Business Platinum card comes with several valuable benefits, it also has the highest annual fee among these cards – $595. If you aren’t ready to commit to that amount upfront, you’ll want to choose a card that waives the annual fee during the first year, like the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard (then $99 annually). This will allow you to test out the card for free for one year.
An added bonus: Along with not charging an annual fee the first year, the Starwood Preferred Guest card also requires a low threshold to earn the introductory bonus. Cardholders only need to spend $3,000 in the first three months to receive the 75,000-point bonus.
You want to earn a bonus on business operational costs
If you want to earn bonus rewards on everyday business expenses, such as phone, internet, dining and gas, there are several cards to choose from. For example, the Ink Business Preferred card offers 3 points per dollar on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone services and advertising purchases (on $150,000 in combined purchases yearly), while the Starwood and Marriott cards offer 4 points per dollar on U.S. gas stations, U.S. restaurants, internet, cable, phone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and U.S. shipping purchases.
How about an American Express® Business Gold Card instead?
If you want the perks that come with owning an American Express card but aren’t ready to shell out a $595 annual fee for the Business Platinum card, the Amex Business Gold card is an option. The card, which charges $295 annually, gives cardholders 4 points per dollar on the top two categories where their businesses spend the most each month, on the first $150,000 each calendar year.
The bonus rate is offered in the following spend categories:
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines
- U.S. purchases at restaurants
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV and radio)
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software and cloud solutions
- U.S. purchases for shipping
See related: The Business Platium Card from American Express adds benefits, ups annual fee, Earn 75K bonus points with The Business Platinum Card from American Express
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