For some time now, we’ve been sharing reader referral links for an increased 150K welcome offer on the American Express Business Platinum card. This wasn’t widely advertised in the blogosphere because it was only available via referrals (instead of via affiliate links, which is what most blogs get paid for). We’ve had it on our Best Offers page for over a year as it’s been the best non-targeted offer out there for the card.
That’s now changed, as the current public (and affiliate) offer for the Business Platinum has increased to 150,000 points, equaling what has long been the better referral offer. As a result, we’ll see it shouted far and wide from the rooftops.
But take note…this new 150K offer also has a significant increase to the required minimum spend, going from an already hefty $15K within the first three months to $20K in the same time period. That’s going to be a big ask for a lot of folks.
The Offer & Key Card Details
Click the name of the card below to go to our dedicated card page for more information and a link to apply.
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
250K points ⓘ Friend-Referral 250K points after $20K spend in the first 3 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$695 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Targeted online offer of 250K points after $15K spend in the first 3 months See this post for details. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: This card is absolutely loaded with high end perks. Depending upon your situation, those perks may be worth the annual fee or much more. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 5X flights and prepaid hotels at AmexTravel.com ✦ 1.5X points per dollar on eligible purchases of $5000 or more (on up to $2 million of those purchases per year) ✦ 1.5x on US construction/hardware stores, US electronic goods, and US shipping ✦ 1X elsewhere ✦ Terms apply. Card Info: Amex Pay Over Time Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Select one qualifying airline and receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for qualifying charges ✦ Up to $400 a year in statement credits for Dell purchases ($200, twice-yearly) ✦ Up to $200 in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter) ✦ Up to $120 in wireless services credits per year ($10 per month) ✦ Up to $120 Global Entry/TSA Precheck fee reimbursement.✦ Priority Pass membership (Lounges only) with 2 guests and other airport lounge benefits (Centurion and Delta) ✦ Rental car elite status ✦ Marriott Gold status ✦ Hilton Gold status. ✦ $199 CLEAR fee reimbursement annually ✦ 35% Airline Bonus: Get 35% points back after you Pay With Points for flights with your selected airline (or premium cabin with any airline). Enrollment required for select benefits See also: Amex Platinum Guide |
Quick Thoughts
We never like to see increased minimum spend for the same amount of points, and this is a sizeable increase of 33%. The public offer has gone up from 120K points to 150K, so it looks like you’re getting more points for the extra $5K outlay. However, since the 150K offer has been easily accessible for months via referrals, it’s not really an increase in points, just in spend.
Even with that increased spend, we still tabulate the first year value of the welcome offer at ~$1700, so it clocks in at #2 on our list of best business card offers (and the #1 slot is the Capital One Venture X Business, which requires $30K to trigger). It’s a good offer on a valuable card, it’s just a shame that it requires another $5K to get there.
It looks like all Business Platinum referral links are now showing the 150K offer, so if you can do a household referral, that will add another 15-25K to the total haul, making it preferable to applying via a public link.
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For newbies, fine. But, active hobbyists already have or have had this card. What matters to active hobbyists is NLL offers. And, being targeted for a NLL offer still happens for some but has become less and less likely for most. And, there are reports that Ink SUBs are drying up. Something seems to be afoot.
Lifetime language?