Yesterday, American Express rolled out substantial upgrades to the Platinum and Business Platinum credit cards, to go along with a hefty annual fee increase to $895. At the same time, the welcome offers for both the Morgan Stanley and Schwab Platinum cards were raised to 125,000 Membership Rewards points.
Now, the Business Platinum is joining the party with a tasty 200,000-point offer for new applicants…although the $20K spend requirement will probably keep many folks from taking a bite.
It’s worth noting that some people have had good luck triggering a targeted 250,000-300,000-point offer by using various internet searches, browser configurations, and/or referral links. It’s worth taking a shot at one of those better versions before applying for this one. You can learn how to go about looking for these targeted offers in this post, or try this one if using referral links.
The Offer and Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
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![](http://cdn.nextinsure.com/imaging/opt/19ca7b53-f41c-4639-ba3b-c44c7c44ba6f.png?w=300" alt="The Business Platinum Card® from American Express" />) ⓘ $1838 1st Yr Value Estimate$200 airline incidental fee credit for select airline only valued at $140, $200 Hilton credit ($50 per quarter) valued at $150, $120 wireless credit ($10 per month) valued at $90, $150 Dell credit valued at $37.5, $600 Fine Hotels & Resorts credit valued at $300 Click to learn about first year value estimates 200K points ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Elevated Welcome Offer: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards(R) points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Business Platinum Card(R) within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$895 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 250K after $20K spend expired 2/10/25 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: Earn 5X flights & prepaid hotels booked at AmexTravel.com. ✦ 2X points per dollar (on up to $2 million of those purchases per year) for each eligible purchase of $5000 or more, US construction/hardware stores, US software & cloud system providers, US electronic goods, and US shipping ✦ 1X elsewhere ✦ Terms apply. Card Info: Amex Pay Over Time Card issued by American Express. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Spend $250k+ on eligible purchases in a calendar year, get up to $1,200 in statement credits to use in the next calendar year on flights booked on AmexTravel.com, and up to $2,400 in statement credits for use in the next calendar year on monthly fees for American Express One AP®. Noteworthy perks: Select one qualifying airline and receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for qualifying charges ✦ Up to $600 prepaid hotel credit semi-annually ($300 Jan - June and July - Dec) valid on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings ✦ Up to $1,150 a year in statement credits for Dell purchases ($150 + $1,000 when spending $5,000 in a calendar year) ✦ Up to $200 in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter) ✦ Up to $120 in wireless services credits per year ($10 per month) ✦ Global Entry statement credit every 4 years ($120) or TSA PreCheck statement credit every 4.5 years ✦ Global Lounge Access benefits: Priority Pass membership (Lounges only) with 2 guests, Centurion Lounge access. Also, Delta Sky Club® access (when flying an eligible Delta flight): 10 visits per year February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year (after 10 visits have been used, additional visits can be purchased for $50 each or earn unlimited visits after spending $75K/calendar year on the card). Access limited to eligible card members ✦ Rental car elite status ✦ Marriott Gold status ✦ Hilton Gold status. ✦ Leading Hotels of the World Sterling status ✦ $209 CLEAR® fee reimbursement annually ✦ 35% Airline Bonus: Get 35% points back after you Pay With Points for flights with your selected airline. ✦ $250 statement credit when spending $600+ on U.S. purchases with Adobe per calendar year ✦ Enrollment required for select benefits See also: Amex Platinum Guide |
Quick Thoughts
We have seen new targeted welcome offers for the Business Platinum card go as high as 300,000 points after $20,000 in purchases, so the more jaded among us may turn up our noses at a “mere” 200K offer. That said, not everyone has luck finding those 250k or 300k versions, and this is still very good, given that it’s publicly-available to everyone.
Keep in mind that you’ll be on the hook for the increased $895 annual fee even in year one. Howver, if you’re able to make use of some of the card’s annual credits, the value should well outweigh the cost of admission for at least the first year, without even considering the 200,000 points you’ll be swimming in.
American Express Application Tips
- Safe to Apply: Amex is usually the safest bank for trying your luck at earning a new welcome offer. Most of the time, they won’t issue a hard pull when denying your application or when approving you if you already have at least one Amex card. Plus, they’ll warn you during the application process if you’re not eligible for the bonus.
- Once in a Lifetime Rule: If you've ever had a card before, you are most likely prohibited from earning a welcome offer for that same card if you apply now. Fortunately you'll be warned during the application process if this is the case. Amex is known to "forget" that you've had a card after about 5-7 years. Note that there are frequently offers with no lifetime language (NLL) that aren't bound by this restriction.
- "Family" Rules: In addition to the "once in a lifetime" rule, Amex now applies additional "family" rules to several groups of consumer cards. These rules don't apply to business cards.
- Platinum/Gold/Green: You may not be able to get a welcome offer on the Green, Gold, Platinum, Charles Schwab Platinum or Morgan Stanley Platinum if you've previously had any of the Platinum cards previously.
- Cash back cards: You may not be able to get a welcome offer on the Blue Cash Everyday card if you've previously had the Cash Magnet, Blue Cash Preferred or Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred cards. You're not eligible for a welcome offer on the Blue Cash Preferred card if you've previously had the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred card.
- Delta cards: You can get a welcome offer on any of the Delta cards provided you've never had a more expensive Delta card than the one you are applying for. So, for example, you're eligible for a welcome offer on the Delta Reserve if you've had the Delta Gold, but you may not be eligible for a welcome offer on the Delta Gold if you've previously had the Reserve.
- 1 per 5 days: You can get at most one credit cards within every 5 days. This rule does not apply to Pay Over Time (charge) cards.
- 2 per 90 days: You can get at most two credit cards within 90 days. This rule usually does not apply to Pay Over Time (charge) cards.
- 1 of same product per 90 days: Amex will only approve you for the same card once every 90 days; this primarily comes into play when applying for "no-lifetime-language" (NLL) links.
- It seems that Amex considers the Marriott Bevy and Brilliant cards as the same product, which means that you would have to wait 90 days after applying for the Bevy before being able to be approved for the Brilliant.
- Marriott cards: Approval for any Marriott card is governed by a labyrinthine set of unintuitive rules. You can see the full eligibility chart here.
- Card Limits: Amex normally only allows customers to have five credit cards and ten Pay Over Time (charge) cards at one time. Both personal and business cards count towards the respective five and ten card limits. There are some instances where certain customers have been allowed to go above those limits.
- Application Status: Call (877) 239-3491 to check your application status or use this link.
- Reconsideration: If denied, you can call (800) 567-1083 and ask for your application to be reconsidered.
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