Get 100,000 points with American Express Business Platinum

As we announced earlier this week American Express has launched the biggest sign-up bonuses ever seen on a UK payment card.

These are, genuinely, on a scale unlike anything we have seen before. If you or someone you know qualifies, you should seriously think about applying. It simply won’t get any better.

In our previous article we took a closer look at American Express Business Gold. It comes with a bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points and is free for the first year, although you must spend £5,000 within three months to trigger it. You can apply here and our Amex Business Gold review is here.

The key facts about American Express Business Platinum

In today’s article, I want to look more closely at American Express Business Platinum. Here are the key things you need to know:

• American Express Business Platinum has a £595 annual fee, refunded pro-rata if you cancel

• You receive a sign-up bonus of 100,000 Membership Rewards points

• You need to spend £10,000 in three months to qualify for the bonus

• This offer ends on 9th April 2021

Key link: American Express Business Platinum charge card application page

Why Amex Business Platinum?

The American Express Business Platinum charge card is issued directly by American Express.

The Amex business cards are aimed mainly at small businesses and sole traders. The criteria for applying are fairly lenient – whilst this is a Platinum card, the terms are identical to the Business Gold card:

• The business has a UK bank account
• The business has no County Court Judgements against it
• You are over 18
• You have a permanent UK home address

There are no turnover or profitability requirements for the company itself.  There is no longer any requirement to have been in business for one year – you can now apply as soon as you have a bank account.

Note that the American Express Business Platinum card is a charge card, not a credit card. You MUST clear your balance in full at the end of each month.

What is the Amex Business Platinum sign-up bonus?

Until 9th April, you will receive 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards points when you spend £10,000 within three months. This is an exceptionally generous incentive.

To put it in context, I have never – in the 20 years I have been interested in miles and points – seen a bonus as high as 100,000 points. In fact, I have never seen a bonus higher than 50,000 points before. This offer smashes anything the UK has ever seen out of the park.

The standard bonus on this card is just 30,000 Membership Rewards points.

What can I do with 100,000 Membership Rewards points?

Membership Rewards points can be converted into a range of goodies.  The most valuable options are converting into frequent flyer miles (including Avios points and Virgin Flying Club) at a ratio of 1:1.  This means that the sign-up bonus is worth 100,000 Avios or 100,000 Virgin Points.

Amex points also convert into Hilton Honors (at 1:2), Marriott Bonvoy (at 2:3) and Radisson Rewards at a generous 1:3.

There are also a lot of non-travel redemptions including retailer gift cards, but the best value will come from travel redemptions.

Do you qualify for the 100,000 points?

American Express states on the Business Platinum website that “you will not receive the sign-up bonus if you have held a Membership Rewards enrolled card [ie Platinum, Gold or Green American Express card] in the six months before you apply.”  This includes personal and business cards.

Note that the rule here only looks back six months. This is more generous than personal American Express cards, where they look back 24 months.

For clarity, you will definitely receive the sign-up bonus if you already have, or recently had, a British Airways Amex, Marriott Bonvoy Amex, Nectar Amex, Harrods Amex, Platinum Cashback Amex or the Lloyds Avios Rewards American Express card.

Any other benefits?

As usual, American Express adds a lot of bells and whistles to the Platinum Business card:

You will receive a free Priority Pass card.  Priority Pass is a network of 1200 airport lounges across the world, including eight in London Heathrow.  This includes the Aspire lounge in BA’s Heathrow Terminal 5.  Your Priority Pass allows an unlimited number of free visits to their lounges.  You can also bring in a guest for free.

You can also give a Priority Pass card to a second person.  If this is your partner or spouse, you would both be able to get into the lounge for free and each bring in a free guest.  Additional guests, such as your children, would be charged at £20 each.

You will receive access to the Plaza Premium Lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5.  This is not a Priority Pass lounge but American Express Platinum cardholders can get access, with a guest, by showing their Platinum card at the front desk.

You will receive comprehensive travel insurance.  This is a very valuable benefit because of the high level of coverage available – you can take a look at the policy document here (PDF).  Unlike the personal Platinum Amex card, which has weaker coverage, the insurance available on the Business product remains gold plated, in my opinion.  There is NO EXCESS to pay at any time and you are covered up to the age of 80.

You will receive Gold status in the Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty scheme.  This will give added benefits at Marriott, Renaissance, Sheraton, Westin, W, aloft, St Regis, The Ritz-Carlton, The Luxury Collection etc properties – almost 30 brands in total.

You will receive Gold status in the Radisson Rewards hotel loyalty scheme.  This will give added benefits at Radisson Blu / RED, Park Plaza and Park Inn hotels.

You will receive Gold status in the Hilton Honors hotel loyalty scheme.  This is the best mid-tier hotel status to have, because you get free breakfast with it.  You will get benefits at Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Hampton, Curio etc.

You will receive Gold status in the MeliaRewards hotel loyalty scheme.  You will get benefits at Melia and INNSIDE hotels, with benefits including three 20% discount vouchers each year and ‘2 for 1’ breakfast.

You receive £150 or equivalent cashback when you book a onefinestay home rental.  This benefits was also introduced to the personal Platinum card last month.  You can use this benefit an unlimited number of times.  There are no ‘cheap’ properties with onefinestay, however, and combined with a minimum stay requirement it is virtually impossible to spend less than £600.

You receive a free digital subscription to The Times and The Sunday Times.  This is worth over £300, and if you currently pay for this it is a huge incentive to take out the card.

You receive £150 credit per year to spend with Dell. No minimum spend applies but the credit is split into two parts. You can earn £75 cashback between January and June and £75 cashback between July and December.

You can access the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts Programme.  This offers genuine added value benefits at a large number of luxury hotels across the world.  These include a GUARANTEED 4pm check-out, free breakfast, an upgrade if available at check-in and typically a $100 credit towards on-property spending.

There are also benefits with Avis Preferred and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards but these are, in all honesty, no better than deals that are generally available.

What is the Amex Business Platinum annual fee?

The annual fee for American Express Business Platinum is £595, billed with your first statement and then annually thereafter.

The fee is refundable, pro-rata, if you decide to cancel at any point.  Once you have banked your 100,000 Membership Rewards points bonus, you may want to reconsider if you are getting full value from all of the benefits.

You will receive one consolidated statement showing the spend on your card and all of the supplementary cards. All of the Membership Rewards points earned on the supplementary cards will flow into your personal account.

Depending on when in your monthly cycle you make a payment, you will effectively receive up to 54 days free credit on your spending.

American Express statements provide more underlying transaction detail for flights and certain other transactions than Visa or Mastercard statements, making it easier to reconcile transactions.

What do I earn per £1 spent on the card?

You receive 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on the card.

What is a Membership Rewards point worth?

Anything from ‘quite a bit’ to ‘a lot’ is the answer.   This article outlines my view on the most valuable American Express Membership Rewards transfer options.

In the very worse case, you can transfer your 100,000 Membership Rewards points into 100,000 Avios and onwards into 160,000 Nectar points. 160,000 Nectar points will get you £800 to spend at Sainsbury’s, Argos or eBay.

£800 is the worse case scenario for your 100,000 bonus points, remember. You should be able to get more value than that if you use your points for a premium cabin air miles redemption.

Some of the hotel programmes also offer good value. Radisson Rewards (the Radisson, Park Plaza and Park Inn scheme) transfers at 1:3 from Membership Rewards, for example. Their top hotels generally only cost 70,000 points per night so just over 23,000 Membership Rewards points. This is easily over 1p per point of value.  That would make your sign-up bonus worth £1,000.

You can take a look at the full list of American Express Membership Rewards redemption options here.

Any downsides?

As with all Amex business cards, the only major issue with Amex Business Platinum is the lack of acceptance by some suppliers.

Realistically, you will need to have a Visa or Mastercard as well to ensure that you can always get a card accepted.  I recommend the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa credit card.  Capital On Tap offers 10,000 Avios for signing up and a very generous earning rate of 1 Avios per £1.

The Head for Points verdict:

If you are a sole trader or own a small business (even a service company) then the American Express Business Platinum card has always been worth a look. We have the card here at Head for Points, with Rhys as my supplementary cardholder, and it works well.

The 100,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up is an astonishing extra incentive. 100,000 Avios, for example, would get you an off-peak return Club World flight from London to New York. Convert 90,000 points to 90,000 Emirates Skywards miles and you can fly in Emirates A380 Business Class to Dubai and back. Taxes and charges apply, of course.

You also benefit from the comprehensive travel insurance, Priority Pass and hotel status cards, The Times digital subscription, the £150 of annual Dell credit etc which add a lot of value.

How to apply

The official Amex Business Platinum website, which contains full details and the application form, is here.

You must apply by 9th April to receive the 100,000 Membership Rewards points sign-up bonus.

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history.  By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker.  Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.