Confused About The American Express Consumer Vs. Business Platinum Card? Here Is A Comparison Chart With The Latest Benefits

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Update: The chart has been updated with the Business Platinum rebate devaluation. If you open or upgrade a card to Business Platinum by 5/31/17 you will get 1 full year of uncapped 50% point rebates.

Originally posted on 3/7:

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AMEX continues to add to the benefits offered on their premium Platinum cards with many new benefits going into effect on 3/30. The Priority Pass membership has been improved on both cards to offer 2 free guests which is nice, though it still doesn’t compare to the unlimited amount of guests offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card. Overall though the Platinum cards have a much more robust domestic lounge network due to access to Airspace, Centurion, and Delta lounges in addition to Priority Pass lounges.

If you are already a consumer Platinum cardholder and your annual fee is due before 9/1 then your fee for 2017 will be $450. If your fee is due on 9/1 or later you will be charged $550 for your next renewal.

The chart below summarizes all of the differences between the consumer and business versions of the Platinum card as of 3/30. It features the superior benefits in red font when there is a difference between the consumer and business card.

Note that the lounge benefits for additional cardholders as described below is only for additional Platinum cardholders, not for additional Gold or Green cardholders.

However several readers have reported that additional Gold and Green cardholders do qualify for Global Entry/PreCheck memberships!

Additionally if you pay for a ticket with a Consumer Platinum card and you also have a Business Platinum card, and you choose to have it rebated with points, you will still earn a bonus 4 points per dollar. More info on how that works in this post.

Consumer Platinum CardBusiness Platinum Card
Annual Fee$695$695
Additional Cardholder Fee-$195 for each additional Platinum cardholder.

-No fee for additional companion cardholders
-$350 for each additional Platinum cardholder.

-No fee for additional expense cardholders
Annual Airline Fee Credit$200$200
Points earned on airfare5 per dollar from airlines (including online travel agencies) and on AMEXTravel.com5 per dollar, but only if booked on AMEXTravel.com
Points earned on hotels5 per dollar, but only if booked on AMEXTravel.com5 per dollar, but only if booked on AMEXTravel.com
Points earned on eligible purchases of $5,000+1 per dollar1.5 per dollar
Points per dollar on bonus category purchases1 per dollar1.5 per dollar on electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, construction material and hardware suppliers, and shipping
Annual CLEAR credit$189 annual credit$189 annual credit
Walmart+ credit:$12.95/monthNone
Paramount+ subscription:YesNo
Prepaid hotel credit:$200/yearNone
Digital entertainment credit:$20/month on Peacock, WSJ, SiriusXM, and The New York TimesNone
Wireless credit:None$10/month
Adobe Credit:None$150/year
Indeed credit:None$90/quarter
Equinox credit:$25/monthNone
Uber BenefitsVIP Status

$15 in monthly credit plus $35 credit every December
None
Dell BenefitsNone$200 credit every Jan-Jun and every Jul-Dec
Rebate on points redeemed for paid airfareNone-35% rebate on a US airline of your choice in coach.

-35% rebate on all airlines in business or first.

-Maximum rebate of 1M points per calendar year.
Card designMetalMetal
Elite statusHilton and Marriott Gold for primary and secondary cardholdersHilton and Marriott Gold for primary and secondary cardholders
Centurion lounge accessPrimary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guestsPrimary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests
Priority Pass membershipPrimary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guestsPrimary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests
Airspace lounge accessPrimary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guestsPrimary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests
Escape lounge accessPrimary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guestsPrimary or secondary cardholder plus 2 guests
Delta SkyClub accessPrimary or secondary cardholders only. Must be flying Delta.Primary or secondary cardholders only. Must be flying Delta.
Global Entry/Pre-Check Fee Refund
Once every 4 years for Primary and for each secondary cardholderOnce every 4 years for Primary and for each secondary cardholder
Fine Hotels & Resorts benefits
Early check-in, room upgrade, daily breakfast, Wi-Fi, late checkout, and an additional special amenity.Early check-in, room upgrade, daily breakfast, Wi-Fi, late checkout, and an additional special amenity.
Lost/Stolen/Damaged Item Protection
Covers items up to $10,000 for losses within 90 days of purchase, up to $50,000/year.Covers items up to $10,000 for losses within 90 days of purchase, up to $50,000/year.
Return Protection
Covers items up to $300 within 90 days of purchase if the store won't take a return or charges a restocking fee, up to $1,000/year.Covers items up to $300 within 90 days of purchase if the store won't take a return or charges a restocking fee, up to $1,000/year.
Extended WarrantyDoubles the manufacturer's warranty up to 2 additional years. Covers up to $10,000/item and up to $50,000/year.Doubles the manufacturer's warranty up to 2 additional years. Covers up to $10,000/item and up to $50,000/year.
Travel Accident Insurance$500,000 per person$500,000 per person
Lost Luggage Insurance$3,000 per person$3,000 per person
Car Rental Perks-4 hour late return fee-free grace period at Hertz.

-National Executive
-4 hour late return fee-free grace period at Hertz.

-National Executive
Trip delay insurance$500 of coverage for 6+ hour delays.$500 of coverage for 6+ hour delays.
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance$10,000 of coverage per trip and $20,000 per rolling 12 month period.$10,000 of coverage per trip and $20,000 per rolling 12 month period.
Cell Phone Protection$800 coverage$800 coverage
Counts against your Chase 5/24 countYesNo
Foreign transaction feeNoneNone

Which Platinum card do you have and which benefits do you find most valuable?

Leave a Reply

85 Comments On "Confused About The American Express Consumer Vs. Business Platinum Card? Here Is A Comparison Chart With The Latest Benefits"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

Motty

Wow. Great write up. Thanks for the side by side comparison chart.

Mendel

Great chart!!

Hertz gold is free, isn’t it?

JymBo

@Motty: ditto to the side by side write up!

Daniel

My problem with these cards is that the airline fee credit is so limited that it’s not really worth anywhere close to $200. If the Amazon gift card was still working then it’s like cash but even buying a United gift card isn’t great. I bought two of those for my and wife’s PRG but I have no idea when I’m ever going to use them. Sure they’re nice to have, but it’s not worth anywhere close to $200 for me.

Emjee

impressive Dan!

Welder

Very nice, thanks.

max

If I use my Business Platinum points to book flights on amextravel website (to get 50% back), I think it shows on the statement as a regular purchase, so will it be earning Amex points now 5 points per $1?

Brilliant chart

Can you make a chart like this for all credit cards pls??

Sam

I believe that the Business card 5x on hotels and airfare at Amextravel.com doesn’t start until next month, right?

Sam

@Brilliant chart:
@Dan:
Dan you did this and it helps a lot although it isn’t all credit cards it includes the best cards

http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/97094
(chart is at the bottom)

SPGer

Dan: Do the new changes to the Amex platinum card make the SPG Amex unnecessary?

Eli

It seems like you’ve enumerated all the card’s benefits except travel insurance.
Iirc, both of these cards offer travel insurance even if you didn’t pay for the trip with the card.

A

Thanks Dan. So much info coming out of AMEX with changes these days hard to keep track of what’s what.

zow

Dan, I have both Plats. I also have AAA…should I cancel my AAA? I have never used Amex’s Premium Roadside Assistance. Is it comparable to AAA?

Miz

I think Business Platinum will become metal. Also it will be great if you notate which benefits authorized users (with a Platinum card as AU) will receive.

Miz

My bad! I see you already mentioned which benefits secondary card holders will receive.
I assume only those with secondary Platinum card will receive those benefits, and not those with secondary Gold or Green cards? Is that right?

Miles

Gr8 report

Shimon

Hi Dan, do you know what is the benefits on additional consumer Gold cards?

50% Rebate is Huge

For those with families who travel somewhat frequently (Pesach, summer, grandparents, etc), having a card (Business Platinum) that effectively gives you 2 points per cent is major.It turns a $400 flight into a 20,000 point charge, far better than the industry leading Sapphire Reserves 1.5 point per dollar. Multiply that for a few passengers and it’s a game changer (obviously keeping in mind that you need to stick with 1 airline, though ymmv in terms of calling to switch your airline of choice.)
For the high rollers who fly first or business, once again, 2 points per dollar for any airline is major.

chaim litvin

@zow I need roadside lastweek. I have both Plat and aaa. Called Amex they put me on hold to look for someone near me to help. 40 minutes later they found someone. In the mean time I called aaa and they had someone out there in 30 min. That said there are different levels in aaa. If you need gas for example some levels will be carged…

Deal Guy

Very nice comparison chart!
Being they you can add free gold cards on a consumer plat (that i wasn’t aware of before), what benefits do i gain by actually adding gold cards to my account, or what benefitshe does my additional gold member get for having a good card?

Deal Guy

With regard to Priority Pass on the consumer card, if i recall correctly (at least as of recently) if was only free for the actual cardmember, not even for the spouse. Is that changing on 3/30 to make it similar to the sapphire reserve?

mmgfarb

@max: No
@Deal Guy: You’ll get Amex offers on each of the AU’s you add, that’s about it.

paul

does anyone know if this offer heryz platinum if the biz amex plat comes with hertz plat? thanks

Moe

Dan, are you sure the Business Platinum wont offer 5x on travel spend on airlines website as they are doing with the personal? On the recent email received yesterday it seemed to indicate on the terms in fine print that it is based on the way merchants are labeled as. Which would seem to indicate that it is not limited to amextravel.com.

Deborah

How do the AmEx Consumer Platinum and the AmEx SPGcard compare with respect to collision and other coverage when one rents a car in Israel.

Nate

Do the green and gold AU cards have any other purpose than an extra piece of plastic to swipe with an alternate number?
Do they have any benefits? Do they count toward sign-up bonus spending? Which double/triple point categories do they get?

Moish

Lounges are good for when you have no choice but to Daven in the airport. Learning with a chavrusa, where you will be engaging in a loud heated disscusion about what the Rashba is really saying, maybe not so much.

Moish

@Nate: Believe they would each get global entry credit, certainly for the biz plat (per amex rep), but I think same for personal plat. Will count for min spend.

yed

I have the same question as @Moe.

Anonymous

How worried should we be on this news that amex is looking into stopping the “gamers” ?

Dandaman

very upset about not being able to bring in immediate family!!

zow

Dan, thank you for answering the comments so diligently. You are a real mentch.

Amex Gold

Off Topic. I was on the phone with Membership Rewards before and they told me i could add an additional user and if the user spends 500 within 3 months i will receive 5000 MR points. they are overnighting it. Anyone else got this offer?

mark bander

thanks–how can i use the 20000 pt bonus for spending $1000 amex on flying blue when i don’t know when my son will be going to israel?

Moish

@Dan
what the about the amex corporate platinum card?
what differences does that one have.

Anonymous

The plus 2 passengers into the lounges on the consumer card are per year or on eah lounge visit ?

Moish

@Moish: Hello fellow Moish,
You can google it.
Btw, only $395 af, woohoo!

Moish

@Anonymous: You can do it everyday of the year, provided that you’re flying.

Jay

I’m surprised you consider card material to be a factor at all.

Chase

Chase offer rental in Israel
But no car rental in Israel was accepting it
If you had a rental honor chase car insurance
Which company was it? At airport?
And then they ask for “liability ” or “theft ”
Extra $15 a day
What’s going on?

SPGer

I have SPG and see your response above re: starpoints. Is starpoints benefit worth keeping AMEX SPG over getting AMEX Consumer Platinum? Any insight into this is much appreciated.

MH

Is Schwab Platinum also Going up to $550? Is it the same benefits as Regular Consumer Platinum?

& the main question – Is it a different product for once per Lifetime bonus limits?

Thanks

Anonymous

I have a biz plat and my employees have the green card. Last month, I was able to get a global entry refund on every user that has a green card and applied for global entry. So it’s confirmed! The consumer card does not offer this same perk. The green card is fee free so it’s a no brainer.

sara

Can you add multiple plats to one uber account?

mh

Got the Schwab card 3 days ago – SOUND A LIKE A DIFFERENT PRODUCT SO ELIGIBLE FOR BONUS – even though I had Regular AMEX Platinum bonus

offer was spend $3,000 and get 40,000 points

of course today sign up bonu is 60,000 points after $5,000 spend 🙁

Would rater 20,000 points for an extra $100 fee – especially since I
would have downgraded anyway after a month.

CSR 3 calls said no dice on offer match

Deme321

Can I link my amex platinum card to both my Uber account and my son’s (which I pay for anyway) or do I have to choose one or the other for the VIP status and the $15 in credits?

BW

Dan,

Got the Bus Plat a few weeks ago and chose UA as Primary Carrier, Whats the bestway to get the $200.00 Airline Credit now that UA no longer offers to purchase Gift Certificates

https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/products/travelproducts/Pages/GiftCertificates.aspx

B

Regarding the Annual Airline Fee Credit:

Do platinum additional card holders ($300 fee) get the airline fee credit. Or is it 1 per account?

jffn

@sara:
I see reported on ddf that $30 credit was received for 2 Plats

Nate

Can the same Platinum card be used on 2 different Uber accounts for $15 each?

Anonymous

Metal card can be ordered by ordering a replacement card, no need to call or chat.

Anonymous

@Nate:
I just tried it. When I added the card to the 2nd account it told me that the benefit is already on another account.

Shulem

HI Dan.

I paid already $55 for 2 additional Gold Cards. will i be reimbursed?

Your Two Cents

Greatly appreciate the side-by-side of these cards! Potentially worth noting that the MRs earned through each have different values given the Biz Plat’s 50% Pay with Points rebate, so the potential 75k MRs from the Biz Plat are not necessarily the same value as the 60k MRs from the personal Plat. That said, the $20k spend hurdle is pretty enormous and puts the Biz Plat out of range for most people.

Moishe

@dan

Can you add the corporate platinum to this article?

sam

@dan do you think they’ll do the 100k bonus again?

Amex user

Hey dan,

If you upgrade or open a new business platinum but it’s connected to the same MR account as the platinim i ha e now will i still get the 1 year unlimited 50% on the new card?

Boomie

Excellent chart. Thank you.

The letter I received from Amex on the change from 50% to 35% says it’s effective “one year from the date” the business platinum card was issued. In my case that’s early 2018 not 5/31/17.

Shimon

What benefits has an “additional Gold cardholders”?

Eliezer

Hi Dan, I’m trying to cancel a flight on United without redepositing the miles (in order to rebook for after 61 days..) but it shows that a fee of upto $100 may apply to rebook for non elites, i recall you wrote that the option of canceling without redepositing has no fees, Am i wrong?

Moish

@Amex user: I’m not Dan, but cani take a stab at it? This is tied to the date the account is opened or upgraded. The MR account is just for the purpose of pooling your MR’s together. The fact that you have other platinums should not matter. So I believe

Welder

Can I downgrade and then re-upgrade my current Business​ Platinum to get the full year of rebates?

daniella

@dan: I do have both the amex bp and consumer im a bit confused, to use the 50% rebate the bp offers I can still book the flight with the personnel plat?? I always at the end clicked on the bp, your saying I should click on the pp and the mere fact of just having the bp I will be refunded the 50% as long as its on the airline of my choice?? TIA

Moish

@daniella: Yes. You’re gettin the hang of it

Danny

@dan: What’s a better card to have? Either Amex Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve? Can you get a comparison on those two cards?

Thanks for all your help!

Anonymous

Only cardholder has access to delta lounge?
No family members?

Sam Finkelstein

Which denomination of Delta gift cards would trigger the credit?

jon daba

Dan –

How about AMEX Cards for DUMMIES. I fly 7-8 times per year.

Which card do I want. Thx!

Moish

@Danny: Both, if you can take advantage of the credits

Moish

@Anonymous: Yes, but they can pay.

Moish
Moish

@jon daba: as many as you can get

Dovid

@Welder: @Welder:

Anyone have any idea about this? Or does opening a gold card and then upgrading work to get this year extension?

Anonymous

Was wondering if anyone can help I just applied for a business platinum and have a corporate platinum and a personal gold card I already linked all the cards including the business platinum to one MR account can I book already and get the 50% back before I get the physical card? Thanks

Josh

Is this chart still valid or Amex has made some changes?

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