American Express Membership Rewards points are not only one of the most valuable credit-card currencies, they’re also quite easy to earn. The points are especially useful if you’re a Delta Air Lines flyer.

Membership Rewards is a transfer partner of the Delta SkyMiles program as well as several airline loyalty programs whose miles can be used to book Delta-operated flights for fewer miles than what the SkyMiles program would charge.

Regardless of where you’re traveling, hotel bookings always make for a large expense on any trip.

If you’re looking for a solid, do it all travel card, then The Platinum Card® from American Express should be on your radar. This one card brings you great airport lounge access, hotel status, and more.

Let’s keep it short, because there’s a lot to get into with this great card and we’re going to take a deep dive into everything you need to know about the Amex Platinum.

The Basics of The Platinum Card from American Express

Before we dive deep into the perks of the Amex Platinum, we need to go over all the basics.

I’ve been a huge fan of card combinations that can really sweep you off your feet at the ability to rapidly earn tons of points without chasing a bonus. Combos like the Citi Premier® Card and the Citi® Double Cash Card, or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

For the past few years, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® has been my absolute go to combo. However, with some recent updates I think another bank may be wooing me in.

No, it isn’t American Express, Bank of America, or Barclays.

American Express announced some changes to The Business Platinum Card® from American Express that are favorable to most everyone, but businesses that can fully utilize the benefits will get the biggest bang for their buck.

Let’s take a look at the updates and how they impact the value of the Business Platinum Card.

Updated Earnings Rate

The first big change on the Business Platinum Card is the updated earnings rates.

As awesome as using points and miles are to book flights, sometimes you have to pay cash for your flights. Whether you found a great deal on airfare, or there just isn’t award availability and you’re absolutely itching to take a trip, sometimes paying for flights just works better. When you’re looking to buy a flight, you should be using the best credit card to buy a flight.

Even when you are booking an award flight, there are inevitable taxes and fees that you just can’t avoid.

But that’s easier said than done.

With a wallet full of credit cards, it's best practice to commonly assess your credit card portfolio to ensure that the benefits you receive from the cards outweigh the annual fees that you pay. If not, it's time to close that card or cards in most cases.

If you have The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees) or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), you’ve probably poked around the benefits page and came across the Fine Hotels + Resorts program. 

The FHR program provides elite-like benefits at select properties for hotels booked through the program. In order to get all the benefits, you do need to book through the FHR program and not directly with the property.

If you’ve been following the news in our hobby, you’ve probably already heard of the “enhancements” recently added to The Platinum Card® from American Express: 

Annual fee is now $695 (Rates & Fees) for new accounts opened on or after July 1, 2021 

For existing cardmembers, the new annual fee will take effect on the annual renewal date on or after Jan.

I’ll never get tired of saying that The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is one of our favorite cards. This $0 annual fee card (Rates & Fees) that earns 2X on all purchases up to $50,000 a year (1x thereafter) should be in each business owner’s wallet. 

Quite a few people who are eligible for small-business cards don’t realize that they have a legitimate business and can, in fact, quality for one.