The Amex Business Platinum card has been at the bonus offer of 100K points for a while now and it appears that this is the last day to apply. That is a nice bonus, but is it for you?
100K Amex Business Plat Card Offer – Should You Apply?
Link: 100K Amex Business Plat Card Offer
The Highlights
The Amex Business Platinum card is very similar to the personal Platinum card with a few key exceptions, such as the new 50% rebate on points used for airline travel, the 10 free GoGo passes, and the Boingo subscription.
Of course, the key reason you may want to apply today has to do with the 100K bonus. That is a lot of Membership Reward points that can be used for a variety of travel! For example, I just used 115,000 Aeroplan miles (transferred from Amex Membership Rewards at 1:1) for a roundtrip business class ticket for my wife between Europe and the US. These points transfer to a variety of partners across alliances and can help get you all over the world.
Or, you could use them in their newest capacity with redeeming them for coach (on your pre-selected airline) or business class to receive a 50% rebate of the points used – effectively giving you 2 cents per point in value this way!
- 50% Airline Bonus (see this post)
- $200 Airline Fee Credit (per calendar year)
- Airport Lounge Access Program
- The Centurion lounge network
- The International American Express Lounges
- Delta Sky Club
- Priority Pass Select lounges
- Airspace Lounge
- Concierge Service
- 10 Free Gogo Passes
- Boingo Internet
- No foreign transaction fees
- SPG Gold status (which gives Marriott Gold)
- Hilton Gold status
- Annual fee: $450
The Spending Requirements
But, the tough part is the earning of those valuable 100K points. The bonus is structured into two tiers and here they are:
- Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards ® points after you spend $5,000
- Earn an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 all on qualifying purchases on the Business Platinum Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership
Meeting the Spending
Yes, that is $15,000 in spending in the first 3 months to earn the full 100K points! Since it is a business card, that is reasonable to require but it is a lot for many small businesses/individuals to handle. I My wife opted to go with her targeted offer of 75,000 points after spending $5,000 but I she tried to change it to this offer later because we were going to easily clear $10,000 in spending and could probably hit the $15,000 (but they said “no” the switch).
Of course, it is nice that you will get 50,000 points even if you aren’t able to hit the whole $15,000 points. But, if that is what you are going for, I would just wait as there are better offers in the future (if history has showed us anything).
Amex has gotten quite strict with the use of gift cards for meeting the minimum spending so you would likely want to avoid that strategy. For our part, we have a special niche of high cost, limited availability items that we buy and sell so it only took a few of those items to hit the spend. If you can find something like that, it could go a long way to help you hit your goal!
Also remember that you earn 1.5 points per dollar for transactions that are a minimum of $5,000. If you have large transactions coming up, that is a great way to earn a 50% bonus on your spending!
Why NOT To Apply Right Now
But, let’s try to balance this out a bit! There are some things to be aware of before you apply for this offer.
- It’s not the last time – this card sees offers of 100K from time to time and even up to 150K targeted at times
- $450 – that is the annual fee that is not waived (though it is easy to recoup with the $200 in airline incidentals you can be reimbursed each year)
- Cannot get this bonus if you have ever had the card before
- The high spending requirement
- Getting it with no purpose – if this card is going to drain all of your spending from other card bonuses you are trying to hit or for other purposes, keep that in mind
Takeaway
At the end of the day, this is a nice offer that gives a lot of redemption potential. With my wife’s ticket, the retail value of her ticket was over $3,000 for the 115,000 points used! Even if you used them with the Pay with Points program, using 100K points would let you get 50K points back for more redemptions! Not bad at all!
And that is just the points! The perks of this card give so much more in value as well that it was a no-brainer for my wife when she got targeted. But, make sure you consider carefully the pros and cons of applying right now.
If you apply using the link above, we will receive 25,000 Membership Reward points if you are approved. Thank you for supporting the site!
