Diversifying the types of travel rewards you earn is one of the things we advise people to do. You wouldn't want to spend years saving up rewards points only to see that dream flight or night slip out of reach when a program suddenly devalues
It is possible to double down with a rewards program that will give you points for different airlines and hotels. When one or more of the cards that earn those points is posting a high welcome bonus, it makes sense.
American Express Membership rewards is one of the programs. Amex's airline and hotel loyalty partners can redeem these points in many other ways. The cards that are part of the program are some of the best in the business.
Among them, The Business Platinum Card from American Express and the American Express Gold Card are currently offering phenomenal, introductory welcome offers that may have you considering applying for one, the other, or both.
The Amex Business Platinum and Amex Gold cards might be the best Amex card duo because of their attractive earning and benefits packages.
By carrying both and using them for different purposes, you can rake in even more points and enjoy all the benefits of the Amex Gold and Amex Business Platinum.
You may want to keep both in your wallet.
The Platinum, Gold and Blue Business Plus® Credit Card from American Express is a powerful card.
Let's remove the awkwardness from the way. The Amex Business Platinum has an annual fee of $685 and the Amex Gold has an annual fee of $250. The cards' introductory offers are some of the best we've ever seen and can be offset by the fees.
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If you spend $15,000 in the first three months of your card membership, you can earn up to 150,000 bonus points. You can get the Amex Gold if you spend $4,000 in the first six months.
If you don't take their bonus spending categories into account, you'd be looking at an overall points haul of at least 210,000. Depending on how you redeem them, the Amex points could be worth up to $4,000.
Everything you need to know about membership rewards.
If you have some work and personal expenses coming up that you can leverage to meet a new card's minimum spending requirement, this could be an excellent one- two option.
If you've closed another Amex product in the past, you might want to apply for these two cards. If you closed the American Express Business Gold Card or The Platinum Card from American Express, you may not be able to get the welcome offer again. If you don't have the Amex Gold Card or the Amex Business Platinum, these two cards could be a good option for you.
There is a card battle between Amex Business Gold and Amex Business Platinum.
There are many reasons to get a personal and business card together. It's possible to separate your work and personal expenses. Your personal credit score can be raised by lowering your debt-to-credit utilization ratio if you put more money on your business card.
There are more reasons to use the Amex Business Platinum than just the statement credits and special earning rates. The Amex Gold Card can be used for more everyday expenses.
One of the main selling points of the Amex Business Platinum and the Amex Gold Card is how you can use their bonus earning opportunities to maximize your spending.
You can get 4 points per dollar on dining at restaurants and groceries in the U.S., and 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines.
You can use the Amex Business Platinum for 5 points per dollar on flights and hotels, plus 1.5 points per dollar on eligible purchases at U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, software and cloud system providers, and shipping providers.
These cards can be used to maximize purchases.
If you use the Amex Gold Card to pay for airline tickets, it will earn you 3 points for every dollar you spend, so you can keep using it.
If you shift more of your travel booking to Amex Travel, you can take advantage of the Amex Business Platinum's 5 points per dollar earning rate.
You can book hotels with both cards. The Amex Business Platinum earns 5 points per dollar and the Amex Gold Card earns 2 points per dollar. The Amex Business Platinum gives you access to even higher-end properties and more valuable perks.
The Hotel Collection is an under-the- radar Amex Gold perk.
Membership rewards can be redeemed for reservations made directly through Amex Travel. You only get 1 cent per point for flights and less for hotel stays.
Pay with Points can be used to get a 35% rebate for Amex Business Platinum card members.
The benefit is capped at 1 million points per year, so you have to redeem over 2 million points to get the full benefit. You can increase your points from 1 cent to 1.54 cents if you use points from your account.
There are a few reasons to use pay with points. You get a good value of 1 cent per point redeemed this way. You don't have to worry about transfer partners or times. You still earn elite miles and credit for your travel when you redeem via Pay with Points.
Should cash or miles be used for airline tickets?
The final reason for carrying both the Amex Business Platinum and the Amex Gold Card is to stack their statements.
For a potential total of $240 in statement credits each year, the Amex Gold Card gives up to $10 per month in dining credits and up to $10 per month in ride credits. If you use the card to make a The Hotel Collection booking of two nights or more, you'll get a $100 credit on top of the card's value. It is necessary to enroll for certain benefits.
Amex Gold has a new $10 a month credit.
The Amex Business Platinum has a lot of statement credits. Up to $400 per year in statement credits toward Dell purchases, up to $360 per year with Indeed, and up to $150 per year with Adobe are some of the things to look out for. Up to $200 in annual airline fee credits, up to $189 annually for a Clear membership, and up to $100 toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck are all included in the card. It is necessary to enroll for certain benefits.
You can maximize all the statement credits from both cards in the first year. None of these statement credits overlap from card to card, so you don't have to carry them both.
The Amex Business Platinum has more benefits than the Amex Gold Card.
Which one is right for you?
Access to various airport lounges, as well as the ability to register for Gold elite status with both Marriott and Hilton, are included in those. The International Airline Program discounts for people who fly premium cabins are available to cardholders. It is necessary to enroll for certain benefits.
When you get the American Express Business Platinum Card, there are many things to do.
Carrying the Amex Business Platinum can be worth it.
Diversification of travel rewards points is a good idea. It's possible to double down with one program or another, including Amex Membership rewards.
The mix of Amex cards depends on your spending habits. The Amex Business Platinum and Amex Gold Card have the same perks portfolios and spending categories. Excellent everyday points accrual rates and other benefits can be obtained by both of you.
The Business Platinum Card from American Express comes with a 150,000 point bonus. The American Express Gold Card has a 60,000 point welcome bonus.
Click here to find the Amex Gold card's rates and fees. Click here to find the Amex Business Platinum card's rates and fees.
Ryan Wilcox reports additional information.
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