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If you've been approved for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and received your new card, congratulations! Your first task is understanding how to take advantage of the card's numerous benefits and devising a plan to claim its valuable welcome offer.
In this article, we'll walk through the first steps you should take after receiving your brand-new Business Platinum Card.
If you aren't a cardmember yet, here's the latest offer:
- Limited Time Travel Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after you spend $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel with your Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You can earn one or both of these offers. Offer ends 6/30/25.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 10/2024.
- Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
- Fly like a pro with a $200 Airline Fee Credit. Select one qualifying airline to receive up to $200 back per year on baggage fees and other incidentals.
- NEW! Make the Business Platinum Card® work even harder for you. Hilton For Business members get up to $200 back per calendar year when you make an eligible purchase at Hilton properties across the globe. Benefit enrollment required.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points for flights, prepaid hotels, and short-term rentals and prepaid flight + hotel packages booked at AmexTravel.com. 1X points on other eligible purchases.
- Earn 1.5X points (that's an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
- $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card®.
- $695 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 1.5X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
Learn How To Use the $200 Amex Airline Credit
Every calendar year, Amex will reimburse you for up to $200 spent on incidental purchases made with a pre-selected airline. And while the credit might seem more restrictive than other significant credits you'll find on other premium rewards cards, the Amex airline credit is still easy to use and get full value from.
Amex will automatically credit incidental purchases, including airline change fees, airport lounge day passes and annual memberships, rebooking, checked baggage, in-flight, entertainment, and seat assignment fees.
Note that the Amex airline fee credit runs off the calendar year, not the cardmember year. Thus, you can typically earn it twice within the first year of card membership — significantly reducing the out-of-pocket expense of holding the card in the first 12 months.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Get Up To Speed With Lounge Access Rules & Locations
The Business Platinum Card gives cardholders access to over 1,400 airport lounges at over 500 airports worldwide. Access to The Centurion® Lounge network, international American Express lounges, Delta Sky Clubs® and Escape Lounges is complimentary and doesn’t require registration. But to access Priority Pass Lounges, you'll need to enroll.
Lounge access privileges include:
- American Express Centurion Lounges in 14 U.S. airports and 11 international airports (and counting).
- Delta Sky Club® locations when flying Delta Air Lines.
- Escape Lounges
- Plaza Premium Lounges
- Lufthansa Lounges in select locations when traveling with Lufthansa Group carriers.
- Priority Pass Lounges — courtesy of your complimentary Priority Pass Select membership
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Some important lounge access terms and conditions
- Centurion Lounge/International American Express Lounge locations: Complimentary for the primary cardholder. You can purchase up to two guest passes for friends or family at $50 per guest ($30 per guest ages 2-17). If you spend $75,000 or more on qualifying purchases with your Business Platinum Card in a year, you can bring up to two complimentary guests into these lounges.
- Delta Sky Club: Access is complimentary and limited to the cardholder only when flying Delta that same day. When you pay with your Business Platinum Card, you can purchase up to two guest passes for $50 per guest. Grab and Go entries cost $25 per guest per visit.
- Priority Pass: Cardholders must enroll in the Priority Pass Select benefit online for complimentary membership. We suggest you make enrolling one of your first actions once you receive your new Business Platinum Card. Access is limited to the enrolled card member plus two guests. Additional guests cost $35 each, charged directly to your card. American Express Priority Pass membership does not include any benefits at participating Priority Pass restaurants, spas, or other non-lounge Priority Pass locations.
Amex has a dedicated lounge finder (with a search function) that allows you to search all lounge networks at once. Bookmarking this tool will help you see all the lounges you can access with your Business Platinum Card.
Enroll in Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
If you charge your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee to your Business Platinum Card, you'll receive a statement credit to cover the cost. Unless you are one of the roughly 50% of Americans who don’t hold a valid passport, we recommend enrolling in Global Entry over TSA PreCheck.
Global Entry includes a TSA PreCheck membership and provides access to expedited security when returning to the U.S. This is handy at the end of a long international flight and a big time saver if you travel abroad regularly. You can find more info on both programs in our guide to getting expedited security for free.
If you already have Global Entry, you can also use the credit for the renewal fee. Note that your Business Platinum Card only offers one credit every four years for Global Entry or every four-and-a-half years for TSA PreCheck.
Claim Your Hilton & Marriott Gold Elite Status
One of the biggest advantages the Business Platinum Card has over its rivals is the complimentary elite statuses provided with the card. Card Members can gain elite status in several programs just by carrying the card and paying the annual fee. But of all the programs you can get free status in, two stand out: Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy.
To claim your Hilton Honors™ Gold status, enroll via the link on the Business Platinum Card benefits page. To claim your Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, call the number on the back of your Business Platinum Card and speak to one of the representatives.
Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Switch Your Cell Phone Bill Payment Method
Another great benefit of the Business Platinum Card is its cell phone insurance coverage. The main requirement for taking advantage of the protections is charging your monthly cell phone bill to your card.
Assuming you're currently using a card that doesn't already offer cell phone protection benefits, we recommend immediately switching your payment method to your new Business Platinum Card. Cell phone protection covers theft and damage, up to $800 per claim, with a $50 deductible. This coverage is limited to mobile phone plans paid for with the card in the previous billing period and to two claims in a 12-month period.
Eligibility and benefit levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Policies are underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
In addition to cell phone protection, you'll also receive up to $10 in monthly wireless credits. Pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card and receive $10 as a statement credit — savings of up to $120 per year!
Related: How to Get Free Cell Phone Insurance with Credit Cards
Enroll To Receive Your Annual Adobe, Dell, and Indeed Credits
The Business Platinum Card offers hundreds of dollars worth of credits most suited for running a business. Three, in particular, require enrollment before earning the credits on eligible purchases:
- $150 Adobe statement credit: Get up to $150 in statement credits for eligible annual prepaid business plan purchases of Adobe Creative Cloud for teams or Adobe Acrobat Pro for teams — through June 30, 2025.
- $400 Dell statement credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually on U.S. purchases with Dell Technologies — through June 30, 2025.
- $360 Indeed statement credit: Get up to $360 in statement credits — up to $90 per quarter — for purchases with Indeed.
Combined, these three benefits offer $910 worth of credits. If you can maximize them, you're covering the cost of your Business Platinum Card.
Sign Up for CLEAR®
If you aren't already a member of CLEAR, you can get an annual membership at no cost with your Business Platinum Card. You'll receive up to $199 yearly in statement credits when you pay for a CLEAR membership with the Business Platinum Card.
And if you have children under 18, they can accompany you for free when you head through CLEAR's expedited security lanes.
Learn About Membership Rewards Travel & Transfer Partners
One of the most rewarding features of the Membership Rewards program is your ability to transfer points to an extensive list of travel and transfer partners. Several Amex transfer partners offer significant value — especially for flights in business-class cabins.
If you're already enrolled in one or more frequent flyer or hotel loyalty programs among the Membership Rewards transfer partners, spend a couple of minutes linking to your Membership Rewards accounts to your favorite programs. That way you'll be able to quickly transfer points in the future.
Start Checking Amex Travel® for Deals
Another benefit of the Business Platinum Card is a 35% rebate when using Pay with Points to book flights. This perk applies when you use Membership Rewards points through the Amex Travel portal for premium cabin travel or economy flights with your selected airline (the same carrier you chose for the incidental credit).
This is one of the best perks of the Business Platinum Card. Receiving 35% of your points back as a rebate is one of the best rewards card benefits on the market today. Not to mention, you'll earn miles on the flight!
Pay with Points requires a minimum redemption of 5,000 points, and this benefit applies to the first 1 million points redeemed per year. You'll need to pay the full price and wait for your points to return as a rebate. Rather than booking flights through Amex Travel for 1¢-per-point, you'll effectively get 1.54¢ per point with this perk.
Final Thoughts
The Business Platinum Card is among the best premium travel rewards cards you can apply for. It has a long list of perks and benefits. Despite the hefty $695 annual fee (Rates & Fees), the card still can be more than worth it if you're able to use most of its offerings. So, once your new shiny card arrives at your doorstep, get to work on enrolling and maximizing your benefits.
- Limited Time Travel Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after you spend $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel with your Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You can earn one or both of these offers. Offer ends 6/30/25.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 10/2024.
- Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
- Fly like a pro with a $200 Airline Fee Credit. Select one qualifying airline to receive up to $200 back per year on baggage fees and other incidentals.
- NEW! Make the Business Platinum Card® work even harder for you. Hilton For Business members get up to $200 back per calendar year when you make an eligible purchase at Hilton properties across the globe. Benefit enrollment required.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points for flights, prepaid hotels, and short-term rentals and prepaid flight + hotel packages booked at AmexTravel.com. 1X points on other eligible purchases.
- Earn 1.5X points (that's an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
- $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card®.
- $695 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 1.5X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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