Amex Business Platinum vs. Amex Personal Platinum: Is one better than the other?

American Express offers two standard versions of its premier credit card: The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. While the two cards offer many of the same benefits, the business version has many perks geared toward small business owners.

Both cards come with an identical $695 annual fee. Having one card over the other won’t save you any money if you only factor in the cardmember cost.

You can earn these welcome offers with the Amex Business Platinum and Amex Platinum:

• Amex Business Platinum Card: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $20,000 in the first six months.

• Amex Platinum Card: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $8,000 in the first six months.

The Amex Business Platinum has a much higher offer, but the spending requirement is also higher than the personal Platinum. The better bonus depends on which one you can comfortably earn based on your regular spending.

While similar, the rewards rates on both cards have a few key differences.

Amex Business Platinum:

• 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com

• 1.5x points on eligible purchases in the following categories, up to $2 million spent per calendar year:

  • U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers

  • Electronic goods retailers

  • Software and cloud system providers

  • Shipping providers

  • Purchases of $5,000 or more
    Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus

• 1x points on all other eligible purchases

Amex Platinum:

• 5x points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000 per year)

• 5x points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel

• 1x points on all other eligible purchases

The card with the better bonus categories depends on your spending habits. The Amex Business Platinum is designed for business owners who often make large purchases of $5,000 or more and shop in common business categories.

The Amex Platinum personal card is a better fit for travelers because you don’t have to book flights through American Express Travel to receive the 5x multiplier — you can also book directly with airlines.

Both travel rewards cards generally have the same travel perks, including access to the Amex Global Lounge Collection and elite status with the Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors loyalty programs. However, there are big differences in many of the credits offered.

For example, the Amex Business Platinum has credits that are more business-oriented, while the Amex Platinum provides a wide range of credits that could benefit various types of people (enrollment is required for select benefits).

The value of the credits and benefits on each card depends on your preferences and personal finance goals. Seeing if many of the benefits of a card align well with your lifestyle is a quick and easy way to know which card may be the better fit for you.

This version of the Amex Platinum is much more suited to earning rewards on common business expenses and taking advantage of different types of business benefits.

Still, this may not be the right fit if you don’t spend or travel enough to maximize the card’s benefits. You may also think twice if you can’t meet the criteria to earn the card’s welcome bonus without overspending.

You want a premium travel card that’s packed with perks and benefits.

To make this card worth it, you’re likely a frequent traveler willing to do some extra legwork to optimize the card’s benefits. Just make sure you budget for the card’s annual fee each year.

If you travel infrequently or the idea of keeping track of all the card’s benefits and requirements makes your head spin, it might not be the right fit.

With so many overlapping benefits, applying for both versions of the Platinum card generally doesn’t make sense. Instead, consider other American Express credit cards that offer Membership Rewards points, which could allow you to maximize your rewards on more of your spending while enjoying other valuable benefits.

Read more: Our picks for the best Amex credit cards

Why we like it: The Capital One Venture X won’t give you the same caliber of travel perks, but its benefits are still impressive for a lower $395 annual fee.

They include a $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, up to $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, and access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide.

Read our full Capital One Venture X review

Why we like it: If you’re a business owner, the Capital One Venture X Business can offer even more value than the personal version.

This card has many of the same benefits as the Capital One Venture X — including airport lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit for Capital One Travel bookings, and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles — but you also get additional business perks. These include free employee cards and no preset spending limit so you can have more flexibility with your business expenses.

Why we like it: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card makes sense if you want to earn travel rewards and utilize travel benefits, but with a much lower $95 annual fee.

This card doesn’t have luxury travel perks like airport lounge access, but you can earn up to $50 in annual statement credits for hotels booked through Chase Travel℠ and your points are worth 25% more when redeemed through Chase Travel. You can also transfer your points to over 12 travel partners, including Flying Blue Air France/KLM, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, and World of Hyatt.

Read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred review

This article was edited by Alicia Hahn

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