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The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN is now offering a sign up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards after spending $5,000 on the card in the first three months of card membership.

Plus The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN has the best perks of any rewards card like:

  • Up to $200 per calendar year in statement credits to offset airline fees.
  • Free Delta SkyClub lounge access and a free Priority Pass Select membership, which I use frequently when traveling economy class to get free lounge access.
  • A $100 statement credit to offset the cost of a Global Entry application. Global Entry has saved me at least four hours of my life, not waiting in immigration lines upon returning to the United States, and will save me even more in the next two years, so this is an incredible benefit.
  • Free Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Status. I’m earning more points on my SPG stays while getting free internet and late checkout, the two benefits of status that I most enjoy.

Furthermore the 40,000 bonus Membership Rewards now puts the card among the highest sign up bonuses for business cards. Membership Rewards are one of my favorite types of flexible points because the program has 21 airline and hotel partners.

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And the card is automatically enrolled in the OPEN Savings Benefit, which offers you discounts or bonus Membership Rewards for using your American Express business card at various, generally business-related, merchants.

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The bottom line on this card is that it’s so good that I got it with only a 25k point sign up bonus, and now that sign up bonus has jumped to 40k points. (Here’s my experience with the Business Platinum Card.)

Why did I get The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN? How can you make the most out of the Business Platinum Card? What types of people will get the most value from the card? Who shouldn’t get the Business Platinum Card?

Benefits of the Business Platinum Card

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN has the best benefits of any card on the market, but you have to know how to make the most out of them to offset the $450 annual fee.

Up to $500 in Free Statement Credits in the First Year

In the first 12 months, you have The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN, you can get up to $500 in statement credits.

$200 ($400) Airline Fee Credits

Business Platinum cards come with a $200 airline fee credit each calendar year. If you open the card in March 2014, you can get the $200 credit in 2014 and another $200 credit in early 2015 during your first year of cardmembership.

The airline fee credit is designed to be for fees likes change fees, cancellation fees, and bag fees. The fee credit is not supposed to apply to ticket purchases, miles purchases, or gift card purchases, though the key is how the purchase is coded with American Express.

In order to get the $200 airline fee credit, you have to choose a single airline on which you will receive credits for fees incurred. I recommend asking to designate your airline when you call American Express to activate your card.

$100 Global Entry Fee Credit

Cardholders of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN are entitled to a $100 statement credit when they pay the $100 Global Entry enrollment fee with their Platinum cards.

Having Global Entry allows you to skip the immigrations and customs queues when arriving in the United States. Instead of spending time in line and talking to an agent, you tap a few buttons at a kiosk and get to the curb in a few minutes. Global Entry membership is valid for 5 years. And having Global Entry also lets you skip immigration queues in Australia and New Zealand.

I love Global Entry. The last thing I want to do after hours and hours of travel is to wait in line to speak to a skeptical Border Patrol agent. With Global Entry, I’ve gotten from plane door to car door and on my way home in under 10 minutes.

For more information on the Global Entry online application and interview process, see here.

Free Lounge Access

You can get free lounge access at Delta Sky Clubs by showing The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN and boarding pass–no set up required!

You can get even better lounge coverage–especially internationally–by signing up for a free Priority Pass Select membership to complement the automatic free lounge access.

Priority Pass Select

Priority Pass is the world’s largest independent airport lounge access program. Holders of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN get free Priority Pass Select membership, which entitles them to free access to hundreds of lounges worldwide (everything listed except United Clubs.)

Signing up for Priority Pass Select is easy. I did it on the same call as setting up my airline fee credits. After designating American Airlines as my fee-credit airline, I asked the agent if she could enroll me in the Priority Pass Select program. It literally took her 10 seconds to enroll me. I received my shiny black and gold Priority Pass card in the mail only a few days after I called.

I downloaded the Priority Pass app on my phone, so I can search for participating lounges by airport while I travel. I recently used Priority Pass affiliated lounges in Singapore and London on trips when I would not otherwise have had lounge access.

I enjoyed free food, free internet, and a comfortable and quiet place to work. In Singapore, the lounge even had a shower, all for free with my Priority Pass Select Membership.

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Check Out the Rainforest Lounge at Singapore Changi Airport for Free Food, Internet, and Showers with Priority Pass Select

I value each lounge visit on average about $20–the retail price is much higher–and I’ll probably use my lounge access about 10 times this year.

There’s more information about this benefit here.

Hotel Status

Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Status

Holders of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN are entitled to free Gold status in the Starwood Preferred Guest program. Gold status entitles me to late checkout, free internet, and other benefits on any stays at a Sheraton, W, Westin, Four Points, and other hotel brands.

After enrolling in Priority Pass, I asked the agent about getting SPG Gold. I gave my SPG number, and the SPG Gold status showed up online quickly.

I recently got the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, so I have a trove of Starpoints. I used 3,500 Starpoints for a Cash & Points Stay at a Le Meridien near Angkor Wat last month. Having Gold status for the stay got me a welcome fruit basket, free internet, late checkout, and about 300 extra SPG points. Not bad at all for something that you get for free as a cardholder of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN.

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Pool at Le Meridien, Angkor Wat

There are even more benefits of holding a Business Platinum Card–many more than would fit here, and most of little use for me. For a complete list including a private jet benefit, limo benefit, and more, see here.

Using Membership Rewards

Membership Rewards transfer to 17 airlines, and I find real value in 10 of the transfer partners. Forty thousand Membership Rewards is enough for some fantastic awards or to top off several accounts that are just short of a high-value award.

I’m very excited for the sign up bonus’s jump to 40,000 Membership Rewards after spending $5,000 in the first three months because for all of 2014, the publicly available sign up bonus has been 25,000 Membership Rewards.

Who Will Get the Most and Least Value Out of the Business Platinum Card

You will get more value out of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN:

  • the more you value lounge visits
  • the more you use the lounge access
  • if you can recoup the full $200 per calendar year in airline fee credits
  • if you don’t already have Global Entry but you do travel internationally
  • if you can use the SPG Gold Status
  • if you can get maximum value from the Membership Rewards

If that list doesn’t describe you, then you are not a good fit for the Business Platinum Card.

The Business Platinum Card is also not ideally designed for big spenders. Big Spenders need a card that offers a more valuable currency like Starpoints (Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express) or big category bonuses in the areas where you spend money.

Full Offer

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN

 

  • Welcome Offer: Get 40,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.†
  • 20% Travel Bonus when using Membership Rewards® Pay with Points
  • A Premium Card with access to over 40 benefits to help power your business
  • Complimentary access to 600+ participating airport lounges through Priority PassTM Sele
  • Business Platinum Concierge is like your own assistant, ready to help you with just about anything personal or professional, 24 hours a day
  • Purchasing power that can adjust as your business evolves
  • Terms & Restrictions Apply*

Application Link: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN

 

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