Is the updated Business Platinum Card from American Express the best business card available?

If you’re a business owner who wants to be rewarded for company purchases and business travel with bonus points and lavish travel perks, a premium business rewards card is the way to go. There are currently several business credit cards on the market that offer generous introductory bonuses and luxurious benefits.

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 United^SM 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	75,000 points if you spend $15,000 on purchases within your first 3 months Terms apply	5 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com 2 points per dollar on travel purchased through the American Express website 1.5 points per dollar on purchases greater than $5,000 1 point per dollar on other purchases Terms apply	$595	$2,777
Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express	75,000 points if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months Terms apply	6 points per dollar at participating SPG and Marriott hotels 4 points per dollar at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, wireless phone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and U.S. shipping purchases 2 points per dollar on other purchases Terms apply	$95, $0 first year	$1,315
CitiBusiness®/ AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®	65,000 AAdvantage® miles if you spend $4,000 in first 4 months	2 miles per dollar at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and gas station 2 miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases 1 mile per dollar on other purchases	$99, $0 first year	$1,626
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	100,000 points if you spend $15,000 in first 3 months	3 points per dollar on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone services and advertising purchases (on first $150,000 in combined purchases yearly) 1 point per dollar on other purchases	$95	$918
UnitedSM Explorer Business Card	Earn 100,000 miles after qualifying purchases	2 miles per dollar at restaurants, gas stations and office supply stores 2 miles per dollar on United purchases 1 mile per dollar on other purchases	$95	$1,505
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card	60,000 points if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months	2 points per dollar on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases 1 point per dollar on other purchases	$99	$605
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card	Earn 45,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months	3 miles per dollar on eligible purchases made directly with Delta 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases Terms apply	$550	$1,957
Marriott Rewards® Premier Plus Business credit card	75,000 points if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months	6 points per dollar at participating Marriott and SPG hotels 4 points per dollar on gas station, restaurant, shipping, internet, cable and phone service purchases 2 points per dollar on other purchases	$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