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Based on our rating rubric, the American Express Business Platinum® card scored 3.9 out of 5. The card issuer scored best in the security and features and benefits categories. American Express® has implemented many measures to protect its members' sensitive data. Plus, the card offers several perks that enhance travel, protect purchases, and reward account use.
The card scored lowest in the rates and fees and customer service categories. While you won't pay a foreign transaction fee when using the card abroad, you must pay a high annual fee to maintain your account. Plus, while the company offers 24/7 customer support, many negative online reviews exist.
In the sections below, we explain why we gave the card the scores in each category.
As an American Express® Business Platinum cardholder, you'll have to pay the following rates and fees:
Pay Over Time Annual Percentage Rate (APR): 18.49%-27.49%
Penalty APR: 29.99%
Foreign Transaction Fee: None
Late Payment Fee: The greater of $39 or 2.99% of any past due Pay In Full amount
Returned Payment Fee: $39
American Express® may impose a penalty APR if you miss a payment. The penalty APR may remain in effect for 12 or more billing cycles and can only be removed with consistent on-time payments throughout the penalty period.
If you spend $20,000 or more on eligible purchases within three months of opening your Platinum account, you'll earn 250,000 Membership Rewards® points as a sign-up bonus. You can also earn rewards based on the following schedule:
5x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express® Travel
1.5x points on eligible purchases in key business categories or on purchases over $5,000
1x points on all other eligible purchases
You can redeem your Membership Rewards® points in several ways. Points may be worth up to $0.01 each when you redeem them for gift cards, travel bookings, or purchases. For instance, 10,000 points could translate into a $100 Olive Garden® gift card.
Points swapped for statement credits are worth 40% less. If you redeem 10,000 points, you'll only get a $60 statement credit.
You can earn the following statement credits by using your card for select purchases:
Dell Technologies: Up to $200 semiannually on Dell purchases (valid through 6/30/2025)
Indeed: Up to $360 ($90 quarterly) on purchases made through the hiring platform
Adobe Creative Solutions: Up to $150 on auto-renewing annual business subscriptions (valid through 6/30/2025)
Wireless: Up to $120 per year for purchases made through a wireless telephone service provider
Airline: Up to $200 per calendar year for airline incidentals like baggage fees
CLEAR® Plus: Up to $199 per calendar year on your auto-renewing CLEAR® Plus membership
Hilton: Up to $200 on eligible purchases made on Hilton properties
Global Entry: Up to $120 every four years for the program fee
TSA PreCheck®: Up to $85 every 4.5 years for the program fee
The following perks can help make your travel experience better:
Trip Delay Insurance: Get up to $500 for meals, lodging, toiletries, and other essentials if your trip gets delayed for a covered reason for more than six hours.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance: Get up to $10,000 for a covered trip if it gets canceled or interrupted for a covered reason.
Baggage Insurance: Get up to $2,000 for checked baggage or $3,000 for checked and carry-on luggage (in excess of the common carrier coverage) if your bags get lost, damaged, or stolen.
The Global Lounge Collection®: Access more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide.
Hotel Status: Get Hilton Honors™ Gold Status and Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite Status.
Fine Hotels and Resorts® Program: Enjoy benefits like included WiFi and daily breakfast for two.
Car Rental Status: Get complimentary premium status at Avis, Hertz, and National and access vehicle reservation upgrades and discounts.
Global Dining Access by Resy: Access exclusive dining experiences.
Business Platinum Travel Service: Get custom travel itineraries and recommendations to get the most out of each trip.
Premium Global Assist® Hotline: Get 24/7 emergency help when you're more than 100 miles from home.
As a member, you have access to other benefits, including:
Cellphone Protection: Get reimbursed up to $800 to replace or repair your phone if it gets stolen or damaged.
Extended Warranty: Get up to an additional year of protection (on original warranties of five years or less).
Purchase Protection: Get up to $10,000 per covered purchase (up to $50,000 per account per calendar year) if the item is accidentally damaged or stolen within 90 days of purchase.
Bill.com Access: Get a free Basic plan to pay vendors when you enroll your card.
American Express® offers two ways to pay your credit card bill – in full or over time. When you pay off the entire balance each month, you avoid interest charges. But, if you need to spread payments out over multiple months, you can opt to Pay Over Time, with the balance subject to the Pay Over Time APR.
Your Platinum card doesn't have a preset spending limit. Instead, the amount you can spend adjusts based on your credit profile, payment history, and account usage. However, your account will have a Pay Over Time limit because the card issuer wants to cap the balance you can carry from month to month.
American Express® takes several steps to keep your personal and financial data safe. For instance, the card issuer:
Monitors your account for potentially fraudulent transactions.
Alerts you when unusual activity is detected.
Makes it easy to report fraud.
Uses SafeKey to verify your identity when you shop online (you may have to scan your face or finger, enter a code, or tap an app notification).
Plus, your account details never get stored on your device when you add your Platinum card to your digital wallet.
American Express® provides detailed information online about each card the company offers, including fees, rewards, and benefits. However, the card issuer doesn't publicly disclose qualification criteria for the cards. A company representative also couldn't provide that information when we called.
It's easy to apply for the Platinum card online. The application is one page and asks for contact details and income information.
You can also apply for an account by calling 1-888-781-6736. We called this line and got connected with a representative within one minute. They answered our questions and were ready to help process our application on the call.
Your personal credit score won't be impacted unless you're approved for and accept the Platinum card. However, your business credit score may be affected when you apply.
The American Express® mobile app enables you to manage your account from anywhere. Available for both Android and iOS devices, the app helps you:
Check your balance and available credit.
Make a payment.
Track your rewards.
Find special offers.
Freeze your card or request a replacement.
The app has solid ratings, earning 3.9 out of 5 stars from Android device users and 4.9 out of 5 stars from Apple device users. Some reviewers like the app for being user-friendly, while others mentioned that a recent update made it less so.
If you need assistance with your Platinum account, you can contact American Express® 24/7 through these channels:
Phone – 1-800-492-3344
Online account
Mobile app
You must be logged into your online account or mobile app to reach a representative. Since we're not an American Express® member, we couldn't test these contact methods.
However, we spoke with two current cardholders to get their take on the company's customer service. Jon McCardle, president of Summit Retirement Advisors, said he's consistently had a good experience getting help when needed. Representatives "are always knowledgeable and not just reading the FAQs from their computer screen. Whenever I have expressed an issue or problem, they have handled it as if they were my own concierge and advocate," McCardle explained.
Lawrence Sprung, certified financial planner (CFP®) and founder of Mitlin Financial said that he experienced consistently good service in the past. However, the quality of care has become spotty. "Sometimes [representatives] can be very helpful, and it feels like they are a direct representative of American Express®, while other [times] it feels like you are being sent to a call center where they must stay to a script. With the latter, you do not feel like an important cardholder."
McCardle, a Platinum user since 2008, is pleased with the rewards he earns. He said, "I have used my points on more than one occasion for Amazon purchases while traveling."
Sprung likes that his account is feature-rich and said, "We learn about new benefits of the card all the time, and there are many." Over the past ten years, he's taken advantage of several card perks, including extended warranty protection and concierge services.
After speaking with McCardle and Sprung, we scoured Reddit to see what other users think about the card. Many are enthusiastic about the generous sign-up bonus. Others expressed disappointment about having a low monthly spending limit.
American Express® has a poor online reputation. During our research, we found the following low points:
1.4 out of 5 stars across 4,600 reviews on review platform Trustpilot, with 79% of reviewers giving the company one star
No accreditation, an F rating, and 1.1 out of 5 stars from the Better Business Bureau (BBB)
A court order to pay $108.7 million in civil penalties for allegedly engaging in deceptive marketing practices (as of January 16, 2025)
Please note: As of this writing, we have contacted the company's public relations department regarding these issues and are awaiting their comments.
Platinum | Gold | |
Annual fee | $695 | $375 |
Base rewards |
|
|
| Intro APR | None | 0% on eligible Pay Over Time purchases for the first six months |
APR | 18.49%-27.49% | 18.49%-27.49% variable |
Sign-on bonus | 250,000 Membership Rewards® points when you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases within three months of account opening | 175,000 Membership Rewards® points when you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within three months of account opening |
The Platinum card may be a better fit for your company if you plan to go on many business trips. However, the Gold card might be the right choice if you want to earn a high rewards rate in multiple spending categories.
We do extensive research before writing our reviews. Here are some of the factors we consider when evaluating each card:
Rates and Fees: What fees does the card issuer charge? Do the rewards and benefits offset the cost of card ownership?
Features and Benefits: How much can you earn in rewards? Does being a cardholder come with a lot of perks?
Security: Does the company take data security seriously? Is it easy to detect and report potential fraudulent activity?
User Experience: How easy is it to get and use the card? Can you manage your account via a mobile app?
Customer Service: Can you get help with your account whenever needed? Does the company have a good reputation?
We give the card a one to five rating in each category, with one being the worst and five being the best. The Editor's Score is the average of the five category ratings.
"This card is great for business owners who travel and can take advantage of the many benefits the card provides. It comes with a decent annual fee, so you want to be using the benefits, or it will not make sense for you and your business. We received far more in benefits than we paid in annual fees," said Sprung.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express may be worth it if you use it to book frequent business travel or take advantage of most card perks. Otherwise, it may be difficult to justify paying the high annual fee.
You can get the Business Platinum Card® from American Express by completing an online application or calling 1-888-781-6736 to apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has no preset spending limit. Assuming you pay your bill in full each month, your spending power adjusts based on your creditworthiness, account usage, and payment track record. However, the card issuer will impose a Pay Over Time spending limit if you need to spread a purchase over multiple months.
