AMEX Business Platinum: Shipping and Phone Bill Credits Are Shrinking; Up to 300,000 Welcome Bonus

Two AMEX Business Platinum benefits are being reduced, effective February 17, 2027:

• Shipping 2x MR points: Going forward, you’ll earn 2x MR only on purchases made directly with UPS, FedEx, USPS, Auctane, DHL, Worldwide Express, and Old Dominion Freight Line. Purchases with other shipping providers will no longer earn the bonus.

• $10 monthly Wireless credit: Going forward, the eligible providers will be limited to Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Frontier, Comcast, Charter, Spectrum Mobile, UScellular, Optimum, Ultra Mobile, and Mint Mobile. Popular providers US Mobile, TracFone, and Total Wireless are not on the list. It’s also unclear whether prepaid plans from the three major carriers will continue to qualify.
• If you’ve been relying on a smaller carrier’s phone service to use the full $120 annual credit, you’ll need to reconsider next year.

Applicants may currently see a welcome offer of up to 300,000 points when they visit the application page. AMEX may show different offer tiers depending on your credit history, income, and relationship with AMEX. Try using this link to see what offer you’re eligible for. If you can get 300,000 points, don’t hesitate—go for it!

• AMEX Business Platinum application link (up to 300,000 points)

This is a great offer, and we’ve added it to our US business credit card recommendations.

• US business credit card recommendations【Up to $2,000+ in rewards】

AMEX Business Platinum Rewards Business Credit Card

【Note】If this is your first business credit card application, please read our “Business Credit Card Introduction” first.

Highlights

• 【Exclusive to the business version】35% points rebate on redemptions: Book flights directly through AMEX Travel with points and get 35% of your points back—redeem 1,000 points and get 500 back. Since bookings cost 100 points per $1, after the rebate the effective rate is 65 points per $1, meaning all your points can be redeemed for about 1.54 cents per point. Note that the rebate applies only to eligible fares on the airline you selected for your airline fee credit (for example, if you selected UA, only UA flights earn the 35% points rebate), and bookings must be made through AMEX Travel.
• 【Exclusive to the business version】2x on large purchases: Earn 2x points on purchases in certain categories and on individual purchases of $5,000 or more, up to $2,000,000 in purchases—useful for large business expenses. The cap on the extra 50% in points is 1,000,000 Membership Rewards points. That’s right: you can earn 1.5x on the first $2,000,000 in large purchases.
• Large-spend bonus: Spend more than $250,000 in a calendar year to receive additional benefits: a $2,400 AP statement credit (it looks like this may be for AMEX payment terminals and similar products), plus a $1,200 AMEX Travel airfare credit. This is decent—equivalent to about 0.48% extra cash back, a small bonus.
• Hotel Credit: The card now includes a benefit for The Hotel Collection (THC). Book a THC property through AMEX Travel to receive a room upgrade, if available. Stay at least two consecutive nights and you’ll also receive a $100 credit toward eligible incidental charges at the hotel, such as dining and spa expenses. THC is similar to FHR, but its hotels are generally less upscale; some cost just over $100 per night. Compare prices and offers from other booking channels before reserving. If the prices are similar, try to use the THC benefits. The Hotel Collection benefit guide
• 5x MR on flights and hotels: Flights and hotels must be booked through AMEX Travel, American Express’s own travel booking site, to earn 5x. AMEX Travel prices are similar to those on other channels, but pay attention to the cancellation terms. AMEX frequently offers AMEX Offers tied to AMEX Travel, such as spend $500 and get $100 back, which can pair especially well with 5x points.
• Premium airport lounges: Complimentary access to Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, Airspace Lounges, and Priority Pass.
• Complimentary Leders Club elite membership

Credits Summary

• $200 Hilton credit: A new quarterly Hilton credit provides $50 per quarter. Note: You must enroll first to activate this benefit. There are no purchase restrictions; any charge that posts as a Hilton hotel purchase qualifies, including room charges, hotel dining, and activities. It’s already December, so cardholders should use this credit soon (based on Aspire experience, prepaid hotel purchases may trigger it as long as the charge posts successfully). Enrollment link
• $150 Dell credit: Get a $150 credit up front, then spend $5,000 to receive an additional $1,500 in credits. Note that Dell gift cards sold on Dell’s website are not processed by Dell itself and usually won’t trigger the credit; some third-party gaming gift cards may qualify. Of course, if you make regular purchases from Dell, just use the credit. AMEX Offers for 10% back at dell.com often appear for business cards in the middle and at the end of the year, so you can stack one if you’re willing to wait. Enroll for the Dell credit
• $200 airline credit: Receive up to $200 per calendar year toward incidental airline fees, effectively reducing the $250 annual fee to $50. You can use the credit in your first year and again early in your second year, potentially getting it twice within one year of holding the card. Buying airline gift cards can make it easy to use the credit. See: AMEX airline credit guide
• $120 Wireless credit: Get $10 per month toward eligible wireless or phone service purchases, for a total of $120 per year. Phone bills should qualify; you can simply prepay $10 to your account each month. This is a straightforward benefit. See: AMEX Wireless Telephone Services credit guide
• $600 annual FHR credit: Get $300 every six months. Book through AMEX Travel or FHR and pay with this card. AMEX FHR booking and Platinum card hotel credit guide
• G$300 annual GPT Business credit: The credit is based on the calendar year and provides up to $300 annually. Note that GPT Business is different from regular GPT: it requires a group of at least two people, and costs $600 for two people. Be sure to register for this credit before using it. News article

Some less useful credits

• $250 Adobe credit: Spend $600 or more on eligible Creative Cloud for teams and Acrobat Pro DC purchases through Adobe prepaid plans to receive a $250 credit. This benefit doesn’t seem easy to turn into cash and is better suited to small businesses that can use the products.
• $360 Indeed credit: Spend on Indeed each quarter to get a $90 credit, for up to $360 per year. This also isn’t easy to turn into cash and is better suited to small businesses, such as those hiring employees.

AMEX Card Benefits

• 【Business Cards Only】 AMEX Open Savings: Earn an extra 2x MR or a 5% discount when you use an AMEX business credit card at participating merchants. Merchants include FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, Hertz^®, HP.com, and more. See: Open Savings overview
• AMEX Offer: Examples include spend $20 at Amazon and get $20 back, spend $15 at Walmart and get $5 back, and spend $75 on phone service and get $10 back. AMEX frequently offers cardmembers attractive deals that let them earn cash back while they spend. See: Recent AMEX Offers, A roundup of past AMEX Offers, and AMEX Offers explained.
• 【Business Cards Only】More and Better AMEX Offers: Business credit cards receive more exclusive offers, such as 20% off at Staples, Office Depot, Sam's Club, and other retailers (gift card purchases may qualify). These exclusive offers are generally not available on personal cards.
• Small Business Day: AMEX cardmembers can participate in the Small Business Day promotion each year and earn extra rewards at participating merchants. See: Small Business Day promotion overview
• Higher Credit Limits: AMEX is relatively generous with customers and often offers higher credit limits than other banks.
• Free ShopRunner Membership: Get free two-day shipping from many online retailers. Details: Official website
• Extended Warranty: Items purchased in full with an AMEX card automatically receive an additional year of manufacturer warranty coverage.
• Free Credit Score: Cardmembers can check their credit score from the EX credit bureau for free. See: Compare free credit scores

Drawbacks

• The annual fee is somewhat high, and the conditions for earning 5x are fairly restrictive.

Overview of the Points Program

• Points Value: The average value is 1.5c/p, so 100 MR = $1.5 (Points Value & Analysis)
• Direct Redemption: Redeem travel through amextravel.com at 1c/p (without a premium card); redeem eligible flights through amextravel.com at 1.54c/p (with Business Platinum); redeem for cash in an investment account at 1.1c/p (with Schwab Platinum).
• Points Transfers: Transfer 1:1 to ANA miles (good for round-trip US-China flights and round-the-world tickets); transfer 1:1 to British Airways miles (good for China-Japan routes and short-haul domestic US redemptions); transfer 1:1 to Air Canada miles (good for US-China business class awards and infant tickets); transfer 1:1 to Delta (good for business class, and can also redeem any Delta flight at 1c/p).
• Points Features: All MR points earned by one person are pooled into a single account and can be used directly. As long as you still have at least one MR-earning card open, all MR points will remain valid; be sure to use them up before closing all of your cards. Nearly all MR-earning cards allow you to transfer MR points to airline miles or hotel points. MR points can be transferred to airline or hotel accounts in an authorized user's name.
• My Take: The most common use of MR is transferring to airline miles, mainly ANA, Air Canada, Delta, and British Airways. Delta can help cover SkyTeam options; ANA and AC can selectively cover Star Alliance options; BA can be used for some oneworld awards. Among these, ANA is especially valuable for US-China economy, business, and first class awards. AC and Delta are also good for covering domestic US flights, while BA is best for nonstop domestic US flights. Hotel transfers are a weak spot for MR, and none are really worth transferring to. As for booking hotels or flights directly through AMEX Travel, you usually only get 1 cent per point in value, so I generally do not recommend it. Cash back and gift cards also max out at only 1 cent per point. Therefore, the final valuation is 1.7c, mainly considering the broad airline partner coverage, mostly instant transfer times (ANA takes 2-3 days; others are instant), and the value of these airline miles. The weaknesses are that MR is not very useful for hotel redemptions, and direct airfare bookings do not provide strong value either.
• Detailed Analysis: Membership Rewards Guide >>

My Take

Compared with the personal Platinum, this card doesn't have the personal version's $200 Uber credit, but its annual fee is $100 lower, and the other benefits are very similar. The biggest difference, of course, is the 35% rebate when redeeming points with the business card! Here's why that's such a valuable benefit:

As we know, the best way to get the most value from Membership Rewards is to transfer points to airline programs such as ANA and AC and redeem them for business- or first-class award tickets. This can yield around 2.5 cents per point; economy-class awards are worth only around 1.3 cents per point. The downside of award tickets is that suitable seats can be hard to find. Each flight has a limited number of award seats, popular routes can fill up quickly, and award tickets aren't a good deal on some routes, such as domestic flights within the United States.

Unlike award tickets, booking through AMEX Travel is similar to buying a ticket directly from an airline's website: the price is close to the current cash fare. With the 35% points rebate, the value of MR redemptions can therefore reach around 1.54 cents per point. That means economy-class bookings can also be worth around 1.54 cents per point, including domestic U.S. flights. The 35% rebate effectively makes up for the low value in these two redemption categories, raising the average value of your points. In short: transfer points for an award ticket when you can find one with high value; if not, use points to book a ticket directly. MR has a “floor value” of around 1.54 cents per point!

Even better, MR points earned across all AMEX cards can be pooled. MR earned on your other AMEX cards can also be worth around 1.54 cents per point when redeemed through the business credit card's 50% redemption rebate! In cash-back terms, the 5x on airline purchases with the personal Platinum is equivalent to around 7.7% cash back; the 4.5x at supermarkets with the Everyday Preferred credit card is equivalent to around 7% cash back; and the 2x on all purchases with the Blue Plus credit card is equivalent to around 3% cash back! The value of all welcome bonuses effectively increases, too.

So, if you qualify for the Business Platinum, it's generally better to choose the business version.

Existing Cardmembers

The results and details of how people have used the credits have emerged over the past few days, so here's a roundup. There is also specific information about when the new annual fee will be charged:

• Annual fee: According to VFTW, existing cardmembers with any version of the Business Platinum will continue to pay the previous $695 annual fee if it is charged before December 2, 2025; fees charged after that date will be $895. The fee for new applications is $895. Existing Business Platinum cardmembers will not see the higher annual fee until their next renewal date or after December 2, 2025.
• When the New Benefits Take Effect: Both new and existing cardmembers can use the benefits. However, you must enroll first to activate them, so be sure to enroll before making a purchase.
• Which Existing Benefits Remain: The $200 Hilton credit remains, as does the $200 airline incidental credit. The CLEAR credit increases to $209, matching its standard price.

Here are some specific tips for using the credits:

• FHR $300: The $300 is issued in two half-year installments and must be used by the end of the year. If you want to “stock up on FHR Credit,” see the article on Knowledge Planet (not suitable for public posting).
• Hilton $200 credit: The terms explicitly state that gift card purchases are not eligible for reimbursement (and Hilton gift cards have been unavailable on the official website for a long time). If you can buy a gift card at the hotel front desk, you may be able to charge it to your room and pay for it along with your room bill, or pay for it directly at the front desk.

Application:

【Note】If this is your first business credit card application, please read the “Business Credit Cards: An Introduction” carefully first.

This card is relatively easy to get approved for; having around a year of credit history is usually enough to improve your chances. This is a charge card.

• AMEX official application status check link
• For the same AMEX credit card, the public welcome bonus is generally available only once (once-per-lifetime restriction)
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-528-4800, 877-399-3083, 866-314-0237) to speed up credit card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• AMEX limits you to 4 credit cards and 10 charge cards total.
• You can apply for a total of two AMEX credit cards every 90 days, excluding charge cards.
• After you submit your application, a pop-up may appear telling you that you are not eligible for the welcome bonus. In that case, it is usually best not to continue with the application (detailed analysis)
• More about applying for AMEX credit cards

Application Link