The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired.
In the United States, American Express issues four business cards in the Membership Rewards family. The two most powerful cards for travellers are the Business Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Business Gold Card.
Currently, there are some excellent welcome offers available on both cards, which are certainly worth considering if you’re looking to boost your Membership Rewards points balance.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: 175,000 Membership Rewards Points
Right now, the Business Platinum Card® from American Express is once again offering a staggering 175,000 Membership Rewards points upon spending $20,000 in the first three months as a cardholder.†
To earn this full eye-popping welcome bonus, you’ll want to be sure you’re able to meet the minimum spending requirement, which averages out to $6,667 in each of the first three months.
Importantly, American Express enforces a strict once-in-a-lifetime rule on welcome bonuses. Therefore, the dominant strategy is to time your application when there’s a particularly lucrative offer on the table.
175,000 MR points on the Business Platinum Card® most certainly fits that bill, so if you’ve never held this card before and are prepared to dive into the high spending requirement, now’s a great time to do so.
If you need some inspiration, here are some examples of where 175,000 Membership Rewards points could take you:
- Transferring to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book ANA First Class to or from Japan for 72,500–85,000 Virgin Points per direction
- Transferring to Emirates Skywards to book Emirates First Class from Washington to Dubai for 163,500 miles per direction
- Transferring to ANA Mileage Club to book an ANA round-the-world award with eight stopovers and four open-jaws
- Transferring to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer to book elusive Singapore Airlines business class, First Class, and Suites Class awards
The Business Platinum Card® commands an annual fee of $695, which is the highest annual fee among the major American Express products in the United States. That certainly appears very intimidating at first glance, but the card also boasts a series of credits that can ostensibly lower the annual fee.
Each calendar year, you’ll get $200 in airline incidental fee credits† and $400 in Dell US credits ($200 from January through June and $200 from July through December).† If you can maximize these credits, your net annual fee can essentially be reduced to $95.
The American Express® Business Gold Card: 125,000 Membership Rewards Points
The Business Platinum’s junior counterpart, the American Express® Business Gold Card, is also offering a solid welcome bonus of 125,000 US MR points, upon spending $15,000 in the first three months.†
125,000 Membership Rewards points would be enough for round-trip flights between the US and Japan in ANA business class (via Virgin Atlantic Flying Club) or a one-way flight on Emirates First Class (via Emirates Skywards) from Miami to Bogota, in addition to many powerful premium redemptions via ANA Mileage Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Air Canada Aeroplan, and more.
The American Express® Business Gold Card has an annual fee of $375, without much in the way of credits to offset it.†
Instead, the card’s value proposition lies in its unique 4x earning rate in the categories of technology purchases, shipping, advertising, dining, gas, and airfare.† The 4x earning rate applies to the two categories with the highest spend on each billing statement, up to a combined total of $150,000 per calendar year.†
In particular, the American Express® Business Gold Card is a very popular card for businesses who spend lots of money on online advertising.
Conclusion
Two of American Express’s business cards currently have excellent welcome offers, giving you some solid opportunities to quickly rack up some Membership Rewards points.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is offering new applicants up to 175,000 MR points,† which is in the ballpark of some of the highest welcome bonuses we’ve ever seen on the card.
Meanwhile, the American Express® Business Gold Card is offering new applicants up to 125,000 MR points,† which is excellent relative to the card’s $375 annual fee.
If you’re eligible and interested in learning more, be sure to check out the offers soon!
†Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.