[ANALYSIS] American Express Business Platinum Card

I haven’t been too impressed with pretty much all of the Business credit cards in Canada. Generally, the Canadian Business credit cards have higher annual fees in comparison to its Regular version.

However, there is a card that may hold some value, the American Express Business Platinum Card. Below are the highlights of the credit card:

• $399 annual fee
• Earn 40,000 sign up bonus points when you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months
• Earn 10,000 points for every referral
• Earn 1.25 point for every $1 spent on all purchases
• Lounge access (Canadian Platinum Lounge Benefit, Priority Pass Worldwide Airport Lounge Access and Airport Club Program)
• Complimentary companion ticket or upgrades when travelling alone

To compare, below are the highlights of the American Express Platinum Card:

• $699 annual fee
• Earn 60,000 sign up bonus points when referred (50,000 without referral) when you spend $1,000 in the first three months
• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards points for each approved referral
• Earn 1.25 points for every $1 spent on all purchases
• Receive a $200 Annual Travel Credit
• Lounges access (Canadian Platinum Lounge Benefit and Airport Club Program)
• Complimentary and discounted companion tickets and upgrades

Right off the bat, what hits me the most is the difference in annual fees. The Business version is much more affordable. The $200 Annual Travel Credit with the Regular version does soften the blow, which makes a difference of $100 ($699 – $399 – $200) if you can make use of the Annual Travel Credit.

The sign up bonus is more significant between 60,000 (if referred) and 40,000. Between 40,000 and 50,000 (if no one to refer) points, there is less of a deal break when deciding which one to sign up for.

Beyond the first year, if you continually pay the annual fee, the perks are pretty much the same, so the Business version would just make more sense, because of the difference in annual fee.

If you can make use of the perks, you can get a lot of value out of each card.

If you have a strong credit score and high enough expenses, you can actually just sign up for both to get the sign up bonus, refer a few friends and just retain the Business version beyond the first year.