Three of my work friends were lucky enough to get instant approval for the Amex Business Platinum with a SUB of 250K MR points after spending 20K USD in 3 months. There are a few available links for 250K MR points (link) which typically only work for new Amex applicants with very few credit checks. The link must be copied first and then opened in either Chrome Incognito or Firefox/Opera Private browsers. It may take several attempts to see the 250K SUB (200k comes first – see image below) and I encourage using a VPN to connect to another state & switching between different browsers on your PC and smartphone.
Change your IP address with a VPN to get the best offer
After changing my location to Washington DC from Florida using a VPN, I opened the same link in Chrome Incognito and found the 250K offer on the first attempt (see image below).
Obviously, this link will never work for churners like me and I did not even bother applying for it. Two out of my three friends never had a business platinum card (opened Amex Gold and Venture X recently), but the Amex pop-up message appeared for them and they applied under their spouse’s name with success.
Best month to apply for the Amex Platinum
While it is ideal to get the Amex Platinum card in the month of December to triple dip on annual credits (review), this particular 250K SUB is too good to pass up and I have recommended my friends to apply asap.
Amex Business Platinum Annual Fee & Credits
The first thing that scares many beginners about the Amex Platinum is the $695 annual fee, but there are several ways to recoup the money via annual credits.
There are several important differences in benefits between both the Personal and Business Platinum cards, which are summarized in the table below.
Amex Platinum Personal Vs Business Credits & Benefits
| Type of Credit/Benefit | Consumer Platinum Card | Business Platinum Card | Notes |
| 5x points on flights purchased directly from airlines | Yes | No | I recommend NOT using the Business Platinum to book flights directly from airlines and only use the Personal Platinum card to earn 5X points for these purchases. |
| 5x points on flights & hotels purchased from Amex portal | Yes | Yes | |
| 2x points on purchases of $5,000+ (Up to $2M per year) | No | Yes | |
| 2x points on certain purchases (Up to $2M per year) | No | Yes | Electronic goods retailers, software & cloud system providers, construction material and hardware suppliers, and shipping providers. |
| $400 annual Resy credit ($100 per quarter) | Yes | No | No need to book through Resy. Just use your personal Platinum card to pay the bill. |
| Platinum nights by Resy | Yes | Yes | Get special access to reservations on select nights at participating in-demand US Resy restaurants in select cities. |
| Dell $150 annual calendar credit | None | $150 annual credit; $1,000 off $5,000 single purchase credit | Try to get 2 Dell credits before you cancel the card. |
| Hilton Hotels $200 annual calendar credit | None | $50 every 3 months x 4 | Hilton gift card purchases may or may not work to activate the statement credit. |
| Airline Incidental Fee Annual Credit | $200 | $200 | Easy to claim these credits via United Travel Bank |
| Wireless Credit | None | $10/month | |
| Hotel Collection or the Fine Hotels + Resorts | $600/year ($300 every 6 months). | $600/year ($300 every 6 months). | One night for FHR and two nights minimum stay for Hotel Collection. |
| $200 annual Oura Ring credit | Yes | No | Subscription costs $69.99 USD annually. |
| $300 annual Lululemon credit ($75 per quarter) | Yes | No | |
| $300 annual Equinox+ Fitness App credit | Yes | No | |
| Uber VIP | $15 in monthly credit plus $35 credit every December | None | Use it for Uber Rides or Eats. |
| $120 annual Uber One credit | Yes. Valid on both monthly and annual Uber One membership purchases. | None | $0 Delivery Fee, up to 10% off eligible Uber Eats orders, 6% back in Uber credits on eligible rides, and exclusive member perks like promotions and priority access to top-rated drivers. |
| Walmart+ | $12.95/month | None | |
| Digital Entertainment | $25/month on Paramount+, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV, plus Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. | None | |
| CLEAR | $209 annual credit | $209 annual credit | |
| Adobe Creative Cloud or Acrobat Pro (through 12/31/24) | None | $250/year | Adobe Creative Cloud typical cost:(US$1,079.88/yr) & Acrobat Pro (US$239.88/yr) |
| Indeed ($360 annually) | None | $90/quarter | Indeed pricing is typically $150 per month |
| Equinox | $25/month | None | Equinox pricing is typically $200-450 per month |
| Emergency medical transportation & evacuation | Yes | Yes | This coverage has NO stated limit. |
| Repatriation of Mortal Remains | Yes | Yes | This coverage has NO stated limit. |
| Cell Phone Protection | Yes | Yes | Up to $800 per claim with a limit of two (2) approved claims per 12-month period, subject to a $50 deductible per claim. |
| Trip Delay, cancellation, interruption & baggage insurance | Yes | Yes | One-way bookings are NOT covered. |
| Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck | Yes | Yes | |
| Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status | Yes | Yes | Useful to get free 4th night for point bookings. |
| Hilton Honors Gold status | Yes | Yes | Useful for free breakfast & 4th night free for point bookings. |
| Leaders Club Sterling Status | Yes | Yes | 5% Leaders Club points bonus on qualifying stays, and 5 pre-arrival upgrades annually |
| Complimentary premium status for car rental programs (Hertz, Avis & National) | Yes | Yes | Complimentary upgrades and speedy rental car pick up. |
| Sixt Platinum Status via Leaders Club Sterling | Yes | Yes | Up to 15% to 20% discounts, free upgrades upon availability, access to exclusive counters and parking. |
$120 Wireless Credit
(activate under the benefits section)
This comes in the form of a $10 monthly statement credit toward purchases made directly from any U.S. wireless telephone provider (except Google Fi).
$200 Annual Airline Fee Credit
- Choose the airline under the benefits section.
- You can get $400 during the first year (once before Dec 31st & the next credit after January 1st) after opening the credit card.
- The Amex Business Platinum offers a $200 annual airline fee credit, which can be used toward airline incidentals and fees (inflight Wi-Fi, pet transportation fees, seat selection fees, regular & oversized luggage fees, ticket change fees and phone reservation fees).
- These airline incidental credits are difficult to get and I recommend using the United Travel Bank option (see below).
United Travel Bank
United Travel Bank (link) allows you to load the account with any credit card to use on future United flights (funds won’t expire for 5 years from the date of the deposit).
- Select United as your preferred airline and use your Amex Platinum card to load Travel Bank funds.
- Make sure to purchase $50-100 at a time to see if it triggers the credit.
Conclusion
Amex Platinum annual credits are not straightforward (on purpose), but it is easy to get the annual fee’s worth from careful planning and patience. Even if you don’t make use of the annual credits, the 250K SUB is worth the $695 fee, and you can cancel the card after 12 months.