The Business Platinum Card from American Express comes with a generous rewards earn rate, extensive coverage, and an array of other perks that make up for its exceptional $799 annual fee.

Welcome bonus and earn rate

One of the best features of this card? It’s an easy way to collect the incredibly valuable and flexible American Express Membership Rewards points.

When you first get this card, you’ll earn 120,000 points after spending $15,000 in the first 3 months and making a purchase between months 15 to 17.

After that, you’ll earn a generous 1.25 Membership Rewards points for every $1 in purchases. This is a top notch earn rate for one of the best rewards programs out there.

What you can do with your points

The American Express Membership Rewards program is both incredibly valuable and very flexible, with an array of alternate redemption options available.

The average value per point depends on what you’re redeeming them for, of course, and range from 0.68 to 2 cents per point (CPP). You’ll get the most value for your points if you transfer them to airline partners for travel, but that’s only one possibility.

Here’s a summary of the various redemption options and their average value per point:

• Transfer to airline partners (2 CPP)
• Flights using fixed points program (1.75 CPP)
• Transfer to hotel partners (1.16 CPP)
• Flexible Points Travel Program (1 CPP)
• Redeem through Ticketmaster (1 CPP)
• Donations to charity (1 CPP)
• Gift cards (0.82 CPP)
• Statement credits (1 CPP)
• Shopping on Amazon.ca (0.7 CPP)
• Merchandise (0.68 CPP)

As you can see, this card gives you lots of choices when deciding how best to use your reward points.

Business features

Since this is a business card, it has tons of features for business owners, including:

• up to 55 interest free days,
• expense reports that simplify tax preparation and expense management, and
• a spending limit that will automatically adjust over time.

Insurance coverage

One of the more valuable features of this card is its extensive array of insurance coverage. This includes:

Remarkably comprehensive coverage that comes in handy when you’re at home or on the road.

Travel features

If you travel a lot, this card is definitely one to consider, as it includes:

• access to over 1,400 airport lounges in over 130 countries,
• annual $200 travel credit,
• a lineup of hotel benefits, including Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status,
• rental car benefits, discounts and upgrades at Hertz, Avis, and Carey, and
• 24/7 Platinum Card Travel Service.

Combined with the various travel-related coverages this card includes, this is hard to beat as a card for business travellers.

Other Amex perks

Amex cards usually have extra perks worth talking about, and this card is no exception.

With your Business Platinum Card from American Express, you’re also part of the Front of the Line program, giving you exclusive access to tickets before they’re made generally available.

And there’s also personalized concierge service included, to help with things like making restaurant reservations, booking meeting facilities, or sending gifts to clients.

Drawbacks

The only real drawbacks are the $799 annual fee and that supplemental cards also have a fee of $250 annually for Business Platinum Cards, or $0 annually for Business Gold Cards.

But if you spend enough, the generous earn rate for one of the top credit card rewards programs – combined with a huge collection of features – can make up for these annual fees.

Bottom line

The American Express Membership Rewards program is hard to beat. Its value and flexibility make it one of our favourites, and this card gives you a solid welcome bonus and a generous earn rate for every dollar spent. Along with the extensive features, coverages, and perks, this is a business card you’ll definitely want to consider.