Crystal Cox/Business Insider
Among premium rewards cards, the Platinum Card from American Express and the Business Platinum Card from American Express always rank highly thanks to their comprehensive portfolios of perks.
At first glance, they don't seem that different. Both cards:
- Earn American Express Membership Rewards points. These can be redeemed directly for travel and other purchases through Amex Travel, or transferred to over 20 airline and hotel partners, which makes them especially versatile.
- Earn 1x point per dollar on most purchases. However, both also earn 5x points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com (the personal version earns 5x on flights booked directly with airlines, too).
- Offer up to $200 in airline incidental fee rebates each calendar year that cardholders can put toward purchases like seat selections, checked bags and lounge passes with an airline of their choice.
- Allow cardmembers with either product who pay for a TSA PreCheck ($85) or Global Entry ($100) application to be refunded once every four years.
- Offer some of the most wide-ranging access privileges at airport lounges including entry to over 1,200 Priority Pass locations worldwide, Amex's own Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta).
- Allow cardholders to register for automatic Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold status and can score hundreds of dollars' worth of perks on Fine Hotels & Resorts bookings.
- Charge relatively high annual fees - $550 in the case of the personal version and a slightly higher $595 for the business one, which is not a major difference.
But with potentially much more lucrative earning potential than its personal counterpart and some work-specific discounts, the Business Platinum card is a better all-round choice for some business owners and freelancers.
Here are several potentially very valuable benefits the Business Platinum card offers to business owners and freelancers that the personal card does not.
1. You can spend enough to earn the business card's higher welcome offer on the
The Platinum card is currently offering 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first three months. The Business Platinum is offering a welcome bonus of up to 75,000 points - 50,000 points after spending $10,000 on purchases in the first three months, and an additional 25,000 points after spending another $10,000 in the first three months.
While $20,000 is a significant amount of spending to put on a new card in a short period of time, many small businesses rack up charges in these amounts on a regular basis. If you can meet the minimum-spending threshold, why not reap nearly double the bonus points?
Based on valuations by The Points Guy, Membership Rewards points are worth around 2 cents apiece, so the 15,000 extra points you get by applying for the Business Platinum card are worth around $300.
2. You spend a lot on travel and big-ticket purchases
The Business Platinum offers 5x points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, just like the personal version.
However, purchases of $5,000 or more earn 1.5x points per dollar, too, which is not the case with the personal card. Again, this assumes cardmembers are regularly using their cards for major transaction. But if you are a small business owner or professional who regularly charges big expenses to your card, this benefit can net you tends of thousands of extra bonus points per year.
3. You want to redeem your points for premium travel
Pay With Points is a useful feature by which cardmembers can redeem their points directly for travel booked through Amex Travel. Points redeemed for flights are worth around one cent apiece while those cashed in for hotels, cruises, and other types of travel are worth around 0.7 cents apiece.
Unlike personal cardholders, folks with the Business Platinum get a refund of 35% of their points back when redeeming them through Pay With Points for all or part of a ticket with a select airline (the same one as designated for the $200 incidental fee refund) or for business or first-class flights on any airline. That ups the value of each point to 1.54 cents - a 54% increase.
4. In-flight Wi-Fi is a must for you
One of the Business Platinum's lesser-known benefits is that it comes with 10 Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi passes each calendar year. So if you applied now, you would get 10 for 2019, then get another 10 for 2020.
Each pass is valid for up to a single flight segment. Gogo charges $19 for all-day in-flight passes, so this benefit is roughly equivalent to about $190 per year, depending on how you use them. If you travel frequently, or even just regularly, for work and rely on in-flight Wi-Fi to stay connected, this can be a real money-saver.
5. Dell discounts would save you on office purchases
The Platinum card offers up to $200 in Uber credits and up to $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits each year.
Instead, the Business Platinum offers up to $200 back on Dell purchases in the US - $100 on purchases made between January and June, and another $100 for those made between July and December. Even if you do not use Dell computers, you can apply these statement credits to other things the manufacturer sells such as modems, routers, and printers.
For business owners who will maximize the unique perks of the Business Platinum card, including its travel and large-purchase bonuses, the 35% Pay With Points rebate, and its other work-related benefits and discounts at Dell and Gogo, the card can be a much better option than its personal counterpart.
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.
Business Insider may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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