Compare the Features and Benefits of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and
Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit 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

Although the Southwest Priority Card charges the highest annual fee of any of the personal Southwest credit cards, we argue that it should be the go-to card for frequent Southwest flyers. That’s because the perks of this Southwest credit card easily justify the $229 annual fee.

Cardholders get access to (starting in 2026) boarding with group 5, preferred seats, when available, at booking and access to extra legroom seats, when available, for themselves and up to 8 travel companions on the same reservation 48 hours before the flight.

The card also offers the 1st checked bag free for the cardholder and up to 8 companions, 7,500 bonus points every cardmember anniversary (worth about $94), and 25% back on inflight purchases.

If you fly Southwest just a couple of times per year, these perks should easily save more than the $229 annual fee.

In addition to the sign-up bonus, cardholders earn 4x points on Southwest purchases. In addition, cardholders also earn 2x points on at gas stations and on dining. All other purchases earn 1x points.

All points earned count toward earning the Southwest Companion Pass. Plus, cardholders will earn 2,500 Tier Qualifying Points toward A-List and A-List Preferred Status for every $5,000 spent per year and there is no limit on the amount of TQPs you can earn. And you don’t need to worry about foreign transaction fees with the Southwest Priority Card.

The only downside to Southwest Airlines credit cards is that Rapid Rewards points are only valuable for flying Southwest. If you want to earn flexible points, consider a credit card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to the Southwest Rapid Rewards program, so you’ll still be able to top off your Rapid Rewards account when you need points for your next redemption, but you can also transfer them to any of Chase’s other airline or hotel transfer partners.

Lastly, this card is great for getting a good chunk of the way to a Southwest Companion Pass with the bonus offer. Read our guide on earning a Southwest Companion Pass for up to two years via new account bonuses.