I closed my Business Platinum card, but I'd still recommend it to small business owners for these 9 reasons

Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

• The Business Platinum® Card from American Express charges a high annual fee, but it can be worth it after you factor in travel rewards, credits, and other benefits.
• I closed my Business Platinum when the annual fee increased and opened the Chase Sapphire Reserve instead, because its benefits were a better fit for me. But if you own a small business and you travel a lot, the Business Platinum is a great option.
• Until December 4, the card is offering a welcome bonus of up to 100,000 points for new accounts. You'll earn 50,000 points after spending $10,000 and an extra 50,000 points after spending an additional $15,000 in the first three months.
• The Business Platinum card includes access to exclusive airport lounges and elite status at big hotel chains, plus annual credits to cover things like airline incidental fees and US purchases at Dell.
• Read more personal finance coverage.

I'm a past holder of the American Express Business Platinum card. I canceled it about a year ago when the annual fee increased to $595 per year and I signed up for a personal Chase Sapphire Reserve. However, the Business Platinum card is still a great deal and one I consider going back to from time to time.

If you own a small business, here are nine reasons to consider adding the American Express Business Platinum to your financial toolbox.

Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It's important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back.

Limited-time offer: Welcome bonus of up to 100,000 Membership Reward points

As of this writing, the card includes a huge welcome bonus of up to 100,000 points if you meet minimum spending requirements. New card users get 50,000 points after spending $10,000 in the first three months and another 50,000 when you reach $15,000 in combined purchases in the first three months. While you have to spend an average of $5,000 per month to earn the full 100,000 Membership Rewards points, they are easily worth enough for four round-trip flights in the US or a couple of international round-trips.

This welcome bonus is only available until December 4, so don't wait too long if you're able to meet the spending requirements and could use the windfall of Amex points.

Airport lounge access

If you travel regularly, you have probably noticed those frosted doors and elevators that give an elite few access to luxury airport lounges. With the American Express Business Platinum card, you become part of that travel elite. This card includes entry to a collection of airport lounges such as American Express Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass Select lounges, and Delta Sky Clubs when you're flying on Delta. That's over 1,200 lounges worldwide.

Up to $200 in airline fee credits each year

Get up to $200 of your annual fee back in credits with the airline of your choice when you use your Amex Business Platinum to pay for incidentals like baggage fees, priority seating or boarding, and other airline incidentals. Pick one airline from the list Amex offers and get an automatic statement credit for up to $200 in purchases on that airline every year.

5x points on flights and prepaid hotels at Amex Travel, or get a bonus on redemptions

If you use an American Express Business Platinum card for flights and prepaid hotels at AmexTravel.com, you'll get 5 points per dollar spent. Amex Travel gives you access to most major airline and hotel brands. If you were going to pay for a flight or hotel anyway, you might as well use this method to book for the best rewards - though make sure you check to see if a better price is available elsewhere first.

Plus, if you redeem points for all or part of a flight, you can get 35% of your points back up to 500,000 additional points per year. Some restrictions apply.

Earn 1.5x points for purchases of $5,000 or more

Business purchases can be expensive. If you use this card for a purchase of $5,000 or more, you'll get 50% bonus points on top of the standard 1 point per dollar. That means you get 1.5 points per dollar on these big-ticket purchases - up to 1 million additional points per year. If you buy inventory, equipment, or host large conferences, you probably have this kind of purchase from time to time. With the Business Platinum card, you'll get more points for those big buys.

Valuable points with flexible redemption options

According to The Points Guy, Amex points are worth about 2 cents each. While you can find redemption values of less than half a cent, you can also get more than 5 cents per point in value when you transfer Membership Rewards to travel partners. I just transferred Amex points to my account at Avianca LifeMiles to book my parents two $1,200 flights for just 8,000 Amex points and about $20 each. That's a value of about 6.7 cents per point!

Credits for TSA PreCheck, WeWork, and Dell

Credits from this card don't stop at up to $200 per year for airline incidental fees. This is the"but wait, there's more" moment. The Business Platinum card includes a credit of up to $100 every four years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck - worth $25 per year.

The card also includes two semi-annual credits for up to $100 each for US purchases at Dell - worth $200 per year. And, cardholders who enroll by December 31 can sign up for a free year of Platinum Global Access at WeWork. That's worth $2,700 in the first year.

Hotel elite status

Marriott and Hilton own two of the largest hotel portfolios in the world. With this card, you get complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Hilton Honors Gold status.

Those get you things like free breakfast, faster internet, executive lounges, late/early checkout times, room upgrades, and more. I've personally become a big fan of my Gold status at Marriott's Sheraton brand recently, but it comes in handy for nearly every hotel stay I book.

Amex perks and benefits

A few months ago, I took my wife to see The Rolling Stones at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for our anniversary. I was able to scoop up great tickets at face value thanks to an Amex presale. This credit card opens the door to luxury services and benefits including advanced sales and included purchase and travel protections. If you use the card out of the US, there's no foreign transaction fee.

It's a great card, but beware the annual fee

I closed my Business Platinum card because I already get Priority Pass lounge access from another card and didn't find the nearly $600 per year this card charges worthwhile. But if you earn the huge welcome bonus and take advantage of the many perks, benefits, and credits included with this card, it's easy to come out ahead.

If you own a small business, do the math to see if it works out in your favor. If you regularly travel and make big purchases for your business, this card is probably perfect for your needs.

Click here to learn more about the Business Platinum card.

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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.