120,000 Amex Points And $1500 In Credits With Business Platinum

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Big news on a refresh of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. There’s a big new up front bonus and huge benefits. The card has a $695 annnual fee. (See rates and fees)

For those who are diligent about using this card’s rich suite of benefits, the higher fee going into effect next year pays back several times over. But you’ve got to think through whether the particular benefits are worthwhile, and whether you’ll remember to use them.

• Initial bonus: earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your card within the first 3 months of cardmembership.

• Earning for spend: 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on eligible purchases 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 everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.; plus 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases.

• Lounge access: American Express Centurion lounges, Delta lounges when flying Delta same day, and a Priority Pass Select card for lounge access as well.

• Statement credits: over $1,000 in annual statement credits on a curation of business purchases, including select purchases made with Dell Technologies, Indeed, Adobe, and U.S. wireless service providers, many of which require registration, including also:
  • $189 CLEAR® Credit: Use your Card and get up to $189 back per year on your CLEAR® membership. CLEAR® is available at more than 50 U.S. airports and stadiums.
  • $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for checked baggage fees, lounge day passes, and more at one selected airline.
  • Up to $100 credit on a Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® application fee (once every four years)
• Use points towards paid travel: and don’t just get a penny per point, you’ll receive 35% points back when paying with points to purchase all or part of an airline fare (up to 500,000 points back per calendar year).

• Transfer points to airlines and hotels: Points transfer to these programs:
  • Star Alliance: Aeroplan, ANA, Singapore, Avianca
  • oneworld: AsiaMiles, British Airways, Iberia, Qantas
  • SkyTeam: Aeromexico, Alitalia, Air France KLM, Delta
  • Non-alliance: Etihad, Emirates, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic
  • Hotels: Choice, Hilton, Marriott
• Cell Phone Protection for repair or replacement costs following damage or theft up to $800 per claim, up to two approved claims per 12 month period, when the cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month’s wireless bill was paid by an eligible card account. $50 deductible applies to each approved claim.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is packed full of value. The initial bonus offer is huge. This is a great deal for many.

The initial bonus in year one, before the fee increase, makes it a no-brainer. The Dell credit is especially easy to use. Combined with the CLEAR® credit, lounge access and other benefits the card should be worth keeping long-term even if you don’t maximize everything offered.

For rates and fees of the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click heres.