Compare the Features and Benefits of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and
Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Card

💳 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 status (Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, Leaders Club Sterling) and rental car elite statuses to complimentary access to airport lounges through the Global Lounge Collection, including the popular Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass, and limited access to Delta SkyClubs when flying Delta. (See the key features and benefits above for details.)

There is also a $600 Hotel Credit where you can get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually for up to a total of $600 each calendar year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through Amex Travel™ using the Business Platinum Card (two-night minimum stay with The Hotel Collection) at more than 3,100 handpicked hotels. Fine Hotels + Resorts® include not just potential upgrades, on-property credit, and complimentary breakfast, but is also the only major issuer hotel program that offers a guaranteed 4pm late check out. That can come in very handy when you have a flight later in the day!

However, this is a business card, after all, and where this card shines is in its business statement credits.

If you have business expenses that are with specific merchants, such as Dell, Adobe, and Indeed, the Business Platinum can tangibly help cut reduce costs.

In addition, card holders get an extra point per dollar (2X) 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. 2X can be huge, spanning a wide variety of business categories (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.

When you want to redeem points, you can take advantage of the ability to transfer to any of the American Express Membership Rewards airline or hotel partner programs. If you want to keep it simple, the Business Platinum card has a very unique feature to get 35% points back after using Pay with Points for flights booked through Amex Travel with one of nine selected qualifying airlines, up to 1,000,000 points back per calendar year.

(Note: You choose your airline once per year for your $200 airline fee credit and then you can additionally get the 35% rebate on flights booked through Amex Travel using points on that one chosen airline in any class of service.)

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.

We recommend that you also consider pairing this card with the American Express® Business Gold Card, which has a wide array of bonus categories that complement what you receive on the Business Platinum.

Rates and fees for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

It’s easy to look at this card and wonder how it differs from the American Express Blue Business Cash™ card, with no annual fee, and wonder why you’d pay a $295 annual fee on this card.

The primary two reasons are:

1) This card is a No Preset Spending Limit card. If you put heavy spend on a business card, you would max out the credit limit on the Blue Business Cash™ very quickly.

2) Importantly, that card only earns 2% on the first $50,000 spent annually on eligible purchases and just 1% thereafter. Terms apply.

This card will earn you the full 2% on unlimited spend. You’ll earn back the $295 annual fee (in Rewards Dollars) after the first $14,750 in eligible spend. If you are spending $500,000 on the card annually, that is a rounding error on the way to 2% cash back on everything else.

Previously, you had few options for such high spend, with the Business Platinum Card® as the obvious choice.

However, the Business Platinum  earns just 1% in Membership Rewards points on all spend outside select categories. Specifically, it earns 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar on up to $2 million in eligible purchases in the U.S., per calendar year, in the following select business categories combined:

• Electronic goods retailers
• Software & cloud system providers
• Construction materials and hardware supplies.
• Shipping providers.
• Purchases of $5,000 or more

The Business Platinum card also earns 5X per dollar on airfare and prepaid hotel purchases with American Express Travel. Terms apply.

So the cash back from an unlimited 2% on this Graphite Business Cash Unlimited may be far more worthwhile to you, especially if you don’t play the “points game.”

And don’t forget you’ll also get an unlimited 5% Cash Back on American Express Travel® on flights and prepaid hotel bookings through Amex Travel®. That can really add up for business travel collectively booked on the Amex Travel platform.

Card Members can get metal Employee Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Cards for $95 per year for the first 5 Cards, and $95 for each thereafter, with the ability to earn Reward Dollars on purchases and receive alerts to help Card Members know who’s spending and where.

This card competes squarely against the Capital One Spark Cash Plus and the Venture X Business which earns 2X Capital One Miles.

Rates & Fees for the Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Card

Rates and Fees for the The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

Rates and fees for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express