Must be booked via Amex Travel to earn 5X; otherwise earn 1X
Must be booked via Amex Travel to earn 5X; otherwise earn 1X
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
💳 This card earns American Express Membership Rewards points. American Express often runs transfer bonuses where you can get even more points when you transfer to airline or hotel partners at designated times. Transfer bonuses are awesome. Get 20%, 30%, 40% or more bonus miles when you transfer points at the right times. But they are easy to miss!
You can see all past Transfer Bonuses from American Express Membership Rewards here.
Even better? Get notified when a new transfer bonus comes out and again before it ends (either or both, your choice). Sign up for free alerts right here. 🔔
The Amex Business Platinum is the one of the most expensive travel rewards cards on the market today. However, while its annual fee might be a bit on the higher side, the perks that come along with it are second to none, both from the business perspective as well as the travel angle.
For small business owners that hit the road (or skies) regularly, there really isn’t another card quite like this one.
On the travel perks side of things, the Amex Business Platinum has a laundry list of embedded extras from hotel and rental car elite statuses to complimentary access to airport lounges through the Global Lounge Collection. (See the key features and benefits above.)
However, this is a business card, after all, and where this card shines is in its statement credits. If you have business expenses that are with specific merchants, such as Indeed, Dell, and Adobe, the Business Platinum can tangibly help cut reduce costs. In addition, card holders get an extra half point per dollar (1.5X) on eligible purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, and purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year. While a 1.5X bonus isn’t huge, it’s helpful that this spans a wide variety of business categories (and is capped at $2 million).
The perk of $50 in quarterly statement credits (enrollment required) at Hilton properties – up to $200 a year – adds real additional value as well.
The Amex Business Platinum isn’t a card for everyone — that’s for sure. But for high-spending business owners who travel often (either for business or pleasure), this just might be the card for you.
Rates and fees for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
With over 3,800 branches, Bank of America is a retail banking giant. It offers its Unlimited Cash Rewards Credit Card to customers who are looking to earn strong rates of cash back on all purchases, but don’t want to pay an annual fee.
This card offers 1.5% cash back per dollar spent on all purchases, with no limits. This is very competitive for a card with no annual fee. This high rate of return comes at the expense of bonus categories, as this card doesn’t have any, like other cards do for things like travel and dining purchases.
Cash back rewards can be deposited into a Bank of America savings account, redeemed as a statement credit, or applied to an eligible Merrill account.
And unlike a Bank of America Travel Rewards card, you don’t get any statement credits towards baggage fees, or the purchase of vacation packages, just cash rewards.
However, Bank of America Preferred Rewards members can earn a 25%, 50% or 75% bonus on their rewards, depending on which tier they are in. And these are simple cash rewards, so you don’t have to redeem points to be rewarded.
Many cardholders will find this simple formula better than earning bonuses on some purchases, but a mere 1% on other purchases.
And your cash back rewards never expire so long as your account remains open and in good standing.
But what makes this card exceptional is the ability for Bank of America Preferred Rewards customers to earn as much as 2.625% cash back. That’s what you’ll get if you’re in one of the higher tiers of their program and earn a 75% bonus on your rewards earned. Others will earn a 25% or 50% bonus, which is still enough to take this card from competitive to remarkable.
Otherwise, this simple card is also one that’s light on benefits. There’s very little to no travel insurance or purchase protection policies, but you do get a free credit score, which most cards offer these days. One notable benefit is Bank of America’s Museums on Us program, which offers free access to hundreds of museums on the first full weekend of the month. This unique benefit can offer significant value to families, parents and other museum lovers.
There’s no annual fee for this card, but there is a 3% foreign transaction fee imposed on purchases processed outside of the United States. That leaves this card as a solid choice for those looking for a competitive, but basic cash back card rather than a travel rewards credit card.
However, if you also happen to be a Bank of America Premier Rewards member, then using this could be the most rewarding card that you could ever use.