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Earlier this week, news broke of two fantastic additions to Amex’s lineup of Platinum cards. At first, the new 5x points opportunity with the Platinum Card from American Express seemed to be most notable, but for some cardholders, Amex is offering an even more appealing perk, available only with the The Enhanced Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN: a 50% rebate on points redeemed for paid airfare.
With this new incentive, when you book through Amex Travel you’ll receive a 50% rebate on any points you redeem for economy or premium-cabin airfare with the same carrier you’ve selected for your annual $200 airline fee credit. This rebate also applies to business or first-class airfare purchased for travel on any airline, so if you prefer to redeem for seats up front, you’ll have many more options to choose from. You’re essentially redeeming Amex Membership Rewards points for 2 cents each toward the cost of airfare, and because these are revenue flights, you’re able to earn miles and take advantage of all of your elite perks.
Additionally, Amex is offering 1.5x points on all purchases of $5,000 or more made with the business version of the card, capped at 1 million additional points per year. Both of these improvements are no doubt in response to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, which offers tremendous benefits for the same $450 annual fee.
And, as of today, Amex has significantly increased the sign-up bonus on the Business Platinum Card, which comes along with a $450 annual fee. New cardholders will be eligible to earn 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first three months, plus an additional 50,000 points after spending a total of $15,000 in that same period. You’ll need to apply by January 25, 2017 in order to be eligible for this increased bonus.
Note this important restriction from Amex:
Qualifying purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, cash advances, purchases of traveler’s checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents.
So this $15,000 will need to be spent on everyday purchases. If you don’t own a business or travel extensively for work, this may be a bit difficult to achieve, so be sure to keep that requirement in mind when applying.
Of course, cardholders are still eligible for all of the other Platinum card perks, including an annual $200 airline fee credit, Centurion Lounge access, Priority Pass Select membership, Starwood (and now Marriott) and Hilton HHonors Gold status, a TSA PreCheck credit, 10 Gogo in-flight internet passes, Boingo hotspot access, access to the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts program (FHR) and more.
Ultimately, this new 50% perk combined with the 100,000-point bonus offer make this a fantastic time to sign up for the Business Platinum Card. If you earn the full bonus, you’ll be able to redeem your points for $2,000 in airfare, or you can take advantage of Amex’s extensive transfer partners.
Source: thepointsguy.com