Amex is still stuck in the cycle of increasing annual fees, but also increasing credits significantly to justify the increase. But in the meantime, those that applied early get to pull the string from both sides by getting the lower annual fee plus all the new credits!

Starting today, Amex has increased the welcome bonus, plus enhanced and added many new credits to the Amex Platinum Business card. Amex will be increasing the annual fee to $695 on 01/13/22 (currently $595) but the good news is that they gave a heads up, which allows applicants to grab the card now and lock in the old annual fee, plus get all the new credits (existing Amex Platinum Business cardholders will also get the new credits).

Here are the details. 

New welcome offer

With the new welcome offer, you will earn 120,000 points after spending $15,000 within the first 3 months. Plus get intro 0% APR for 12 months on purchases.

There are some targeted offers for 150,000 points. You can check if you’re targeted here (if you are not targeted then please use our website link found here).

New rewards

You will now earn 1.5 points (up to 2M per calendar year) on purchases at the following categories: 

• Construction material and hardware suppliers
• Electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
• Shipping providers

Plus, 1.5 points on any purchase of $5,000 or more regardless of the category. 

The card will still earn 5 points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on Amex travel and 1 point everywhere else. 

New credits

Amex added $830 in new and enhanced statement credits. Here are the details. 

Enhanced!  $400 Dell credit: Get twice a year up to a $200 credit when purchasing something at Dell or Dell.com. You can purchase a free Bluetooth speaker, or other low-cost gadgets, or use the $200 towards a discount for your new computer. The first annual credit is valid from January 1st until the end of June. The second credit is valid from July 1st until the end of the year. This credit was increased from the previous $200 credit you used to get annually at Dell. 

New! $360 Indeed credit: You will get an annual $360 credit for purchases made on Indeed. The credit is split up to $90 per quarter. This is definitely a nice credit for someone using the Indeed software to hire employees. Plus, because this is a credit and not a discount, you can use this credit on top of any other discounts you already have. 

New! $150 Adobe credit: You will get an annual $150 credit for Adobe subscriptions. This can be a great value for someone subscribed to Adobe anyways. 

New! $120 wireless credit: Get up to $10 monthly credit for wireless purchases made using your Platinum Business card. I believe everyone spends a min of $10 a month on wireless so this credit can be very easily maximized. Plus, the Amex Platinum Business card also comes along with cell phone protection so this should be the perfect card to use to pay your wireless bill.   

Existing Amex Platinum Business card credits and benefits

The Amex Platinum Business card has a lot of existing credit and benefits that will be continued.

Here are the details: 

$179 CLEAR Credit: CLEAR will get you from check-in to boarding easily and smoothly at participating airports and stadiums. It’s actually one of the fastest ways to get through airport security. A CLEAR ambassador will escort you straight to the front of the line and straight to the TSA agent (VIP level!). CLEAR has a $179 yearly membership fee. With the Amex Platinum Business card, you will get refunded for the full membership fee.

$200 incidental fee credit: Get a $200 credit annually to refund incidental airline charges like baggage fees, seat upgrades, and more. Check out our full post for a list of what transactions will be refunded and how you can use the incidental fee credit even without flying. Check it out here

35% bonus points back: Get 35% of your points back when you book an eligible flight on Amex travel using your membership reward points (up to 500,000 points back per calendar year). Once you book the flight, Amex will later refund you 35% of the points used which will effectively give you a 1.54 cents value per point.

TSA Precheck and Global Entry: Receive up to $100 credit on your statement for either Global Entry or TSA Precheck. All authorized users that you add to your Platinum Business card will get their own $100 credit. No matter if they are added on the Platinum level which costs $175 for the first three then $175 per additional cardholder, or on the Gold level which is free for up to 99 authorized users!

Airport lounge access: You get complimentary access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. These lounges are made available through Amex partnership with several huge lounge networks.  Amex has a tool where you can easily find a lounge at your airport (it searches for lounges from all the networks). Check it out here.

Marriott Gold Status: Enjoy complimentary upgrades (when available), lounge access, late check-in and checkout with complimentary Marriott Gold status.

Hilton Gold Status: Enjoy complimentary room upgrades (when available), lounge access, late check-in and checkout with complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status.

National Emerald Club Executive Status: Book an economy car and have the privilege to choose any car from the Emerald Club Executive line (mostly SUVs) when renting with National! 

Benefits at Hertz:  Get complimentary Hertz Gold Plus status, plus, get free upgrades, an extra 4 hours to return your car, and one free additional driver. You can enroll here

No foreign transaction fees: Shop abroad with no foreign transaction fee.

Trip cancellation insurance: Coverage for canceled or interrupted travel due to an unforeseen medical emergency etc. Max $10,000 per person per trip, max $20,000 per year.

Auto rental collision insurance: Secondary worldwide coverage on rentals up to 30 days (excluding Australia, Italy, and New Zealand). Max $75,000. You can purchase an Amex premium plan that will offer primary coverage up to 42 days. Max $100,000.

Lost luggage reimbursement: Get up to $2,000 per person for lost or damaged luggage. Max $10,000 per trip for NY residents.

Trip delay reimbursement: If your flight is delayed for 6+ hours, you can claim up to $500 per trip to cover expenses like meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items. Max 2 claims per year.

Cell phone protection: Get reimbursed for up to $800 per claim (with a $50 deductible) if your cell phone is damaged or gets stolen. To activate coverage, you need to pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Platinum Business credit card. Max 2 claims per year.

Return protection: Not happy with a purchase? Get a refund on purchases that have passed the store return policy – up to 90 days from date of purchase. Max $300 per claim, max $1,000 per year.

Extended warranty protection: Get one additional year to your original manufacturer’s warranty time. (Will only cover if the original warranty is for 5 years or less). Max $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per year.

Purchase protection:  Get refunded if your purchase is damaged, lost, or stolen, up to 90 days from the date of purchase. Max $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per year. This is one of the only cards that offers protection for lost items.