Earning a welcome bonus offer can be your one-way ticket (or potentially even more!) to an endless number of destinations worldwide. Currently, American Express is offering an extraordinary welcome offer on its premium business credit card: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
Let’s dive into all of the details and how you can potentially earn 170,000 bonus points from a welcome offer!
Targeted offers are discussed in the article below. Please note that these offers are not available to all applicants. Any information related to targeted offers has been collected independently and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Amex Business Platinum Card Welcome Bonus Offer
New applicants for the Amex Business Platinum card can find all sorts of welcome offers out there, but it ultimately boils down to when and how you apply. Currently, we’re seeing variations of 120,000 points, 150,000 points, or even upwards of 170,000 points that are widely available.
The current public offer is:ELEVATED OFFER: Earn 150,000 points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.
However, our writers have seen that American Express will offer an elevated offer directly to targeted applicants. As with all targeted offers, these offers aren’t available to all applicants, but here’s an example of the targeted offer we’ve found through our research directly through American Express.
At Upgraded Points, we estimate the worth of Amex Membership Rewards points at around 2.2 cents each for travel. Taking these valuations into consideration, a 120,000-point bonus is worth ~$2,640, a 150,000-point bonus is worth ~$3,300, and a 170,000-point bonus is worth ~$3,740.
As you can see, knowing when to apply can be the difference in scoring roughly $1,000 in additional value. Here are the ways you can find this incredible 170,000-point welcome offer.
Option 1: Check On Amex Directly (Try This First)
First and foremost, you should look toward applying directly on American Express’ website to find the best possible offers on the Amex Business Platinum card. By checking directly with American Express first, you may be targeted for a generous welcome offer inviting you to apply.
Option 2. Targeted Email Offers
Don’t ignore those targeted emails or mailers. These offers contain some of the best-hidden gems, offering a special targeted invitation for you to apply. If you want to receive targeted offers, opt-in to receiveNew Card and Credit Offersin your Amex account’sGeneral Marketing Email Preferences.
Benefits of the Amex Business Platinum Card
There are very few business cards that can rival the Amex Business Platinum card. Despite its $695 annual fee (), here’s a preview of the long list of benefits that business owners will find tons of value in:
- Generous earnings, with 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com; 1.5x points on eligible purchases at U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, electronic good retailers, software and cloud system providers, and shipping providers, and on purchases of $5,000 or more (on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year); and 1x points on all other eligible purchases
- More than $1,000 in annual statement credits, including select purchases made with Dell Technologies, Indeed, Adobe, U.S. wireless service providers, airline fee incidentals, and a CLEAR Plus membership (enrollment required for some benefits)
- Access to more than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide, including Amex Centurion Lounges (U.S. and international), Delta Sky Clubs (when flying same-day Delta), Priority Pass (enrollment required), and more
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
- Complimentary elite status with Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold (enrollment requirement)
- 35% airline bonuswhen you use Pay With Points for flights booked through AmexTravel.com (up to 1 million points per year)
No matter how often you travel or can make use of these business-centered statement credits, you can certainly find outsized value from these perks offered on this business card.
Maximizing Your Membership Rewards Points
If you find and meet the spend requirements for the 170,000-point welcome bonus, what can you do with all of those Amex Membership Rewards points? Here’s a glimpse at what’s on the table.
1. Book 5 Business Class Tickets to Spain
Spain is always a good idea, and you can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to Iberia Plus Avios.
For as low as 34,000 points one-way, you can fly in a lie-flat seat from Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), and Washington, D.C. (IAD) all the way to Madrid (MAD). This is one of the best bargains in award travel — you can’t get much better than 5 one-way business class tickets for exactly 170,000 points total!
2. Spend 17 Nights in Stockholm
If you want to save big on hotel costs, take a look at Choice Privileges. With more than 7,000 hotels worldwide, you can scorehotels for as few as 10,000 points per night in expensive cities like Stockholm!
3. Book (Almost) 2 Business Class Tickets to Tokyo
Want to get to the other side of the world in style? Consider transferring your points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, where you can book a round-trip, business class ticket on 5-star Japanese carrier ANA for just 90,000 points from West Coast cities. If you’re flying all the way from the East Coast, it’ll cost just 95,000 points.
Hot Tip: Earning Amex points will be the easy part — next up, check out the best ways to redeem your Membership Rewards points (and read through our guides for redeeming 60,000 and 100,000 points) and how to upgrade your flight using Membership Rewards points.
Final Thoughts
Hardly any business card can rival the sheer number of benefits on the Amex Business Platinum card. Now when you consider the potential to earn 170,000 bonus points, there’s no question about it. Be sure to check through Amex directly to see if you’re targeted for this huge welcome offer!
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.