The American Express Business Platinum Canada Review (Feb 2023)

80,000 Points Welcome Bonus

I’ve already written about the relevant benefits of the American Express Platinum Card here, so I won’t repeat those in this post. The summary, though, is that even if you use the points in the worst possible way, you’ll receive some impressive rewards by getting the Platinum card.

And yes, that’s after accounting for the $499 annual fee.

If you use the points smartly, of course, you can do much, much better than that. For example, here are some of the trips you can take: 

Route	Points Needed	Taxes & Fees
Roundtrip: Toronto to Hong Kong	70,000	$100
Roundtrip: Vancouver to Hong Kong	60,000	$90
Round-the-world: Toronto to Hong Kong to Dubai to London to Toronto	74,500	$761
Round-the-world: Vancouver to Hong Kong to Dubai to London to Vancouver	74,700	$742

The Platinum Card is a truly exceptional offer that I can’t recommend highly enough. It’s been my ticket to flying in style all over the globe, not to mention staying in some of the world’s nicest hotels for a fraction of the regular price.

But that said, American Express’ Business Platinum card is the new offer in town, and it’s one that every Canadian traveler needs to know about, too.

Though the Platinum and Business Platinum cards are extremely similar in their benefits and features, there are a few crucial differences. Here’s how the two cards compare:

Comparing The Amex Platinum And Amex Business Platinum Canadian Cards

	American Express Business Platinum Card	American Express Platinum Card
Welcome Bonus	80,000 points	80,000 points
Required Spend	$6,000 in 3 months	$6,000 in 3 months
Annual Fee	$499	$699
Annual Travel Credit	No	$200
Worldwide Airport Lounge Access With Priority Pass Select ($399 USD Value)	✓	✓
Worldwide Centurion Lounge Access	✓	✓
Complimentary flight upgrades and companion tickets	✓	✓
Hotel Upgrades & Extras	✓	✓
Comprehensive travel, medical and purchase insurance	✓	✓
24/7 Platinum Travel Concierge	✓	✓
Points Earned Per Dollar Spent	1.25	1
Employee Card Misuse Protection	✓
Application Link	APPLY HERE	APPLY HERE

As you can see, the two cards are pretty similar. For 99% of people, the top three rows are what matter most.

The Business Platinum Card costs $499 and comes with a welcome bonus of up to 80,000 points. On the other hand, the Platinum Card costs $699 and comes with a welcome bonus of up to 80,000 points plus a $200 annual travel credit.

How To Transform 80,000 Points Into 104,000 Points

This one is dead simple: about once per year, American Express offers a transfer bonus when you transfer your points to a program like British Airways Avios or Aeroplan. The most recent transfer bonus period saw every point transferred to British Airways Avios earning a 30% bonus. Just by transferring your points at the right time, 80,000 points all of a sudden become 104,000 points. As we’ll see next, that little trick is worth hundreds of dollars to you.

How Much Are 104,000 Points Really Worth?

As I outlined in my post on the Platinum Card, I value these American Express Membership Rewards points at between 2-3 cents per point. That means that your 104,000 points are worth between $2,080 and $3,120!

Why isn’t there an exact value for the points?

Because every flight you use them on holds a different value. Here’s an example.

I recently booked a direct Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to London, and a direct British Airways flight from London to Istanbul a few days later. I have plenty of points laying around thanks to my Business Platinum Card, so I booked both of them using British Airways’ Avios program.

I also took screenshots on the same days I booked the flights to compare the prices between what I paid and the cash price. Here’s how it all shakes out.

Flight 1: Hong Kong To London — Economy Class

On March 27th, I flew from Hong Kong to London on Cathay Pacific in economy class. I paid 30,000 Avios points plus $52.50 CAD for my ticket. If I had bought my exact same seat with cash, it would’ve cost me $3,911 CAD, but since the cheapest direct flight on that day is $1,194 CAD, we’ll compare with that instead.

$1,194 – $52.20 = $1,141.80 saved by using points

÷ 30,000 points paid

= 3.8 cents per point

This is a really good redemption. At this rate, your 104,000 points would be worth over $3,900!

Flight 2: London To Istanbul — Business Class

Four days later, on March 31, I flew from London to Istanbul in business class. I paid 20,000 Avios points plus $40 CAD for my ticket, though as you can see below, the exact same ticket was priced at $1,001 CAD when I bought it. Let's do the value per point calculation again.

$1,001 – $40 = $971 saved by using points

÷ 20,000 points paid

= 4.9 cents per point

This is an even better value than the Hong Kong to London flight. If you could redeem all 104,000 of the points you get with the Business Platinum Card at this rate, they'd be worth over $5,000 to you. That's more than a 10x return on your initial $499 investment.

How To Book Some Amazing Flights With Your Points

We've already put together some mega-posts on how to book some seriously amazing flights all over the world, so I won't repeat those here. Here's a good place to get started:

How To Fly From New York to Rio de Janeiro For $8

It's not tough to spend the travel credit, since you can use it on flights/hotels/rental cars and more, and you don't need to do the traveling itself in order to spend it. If you're going on vacation in May, you can buy your flight or hotel in January and you're all set from there.

In Summary

The American Express Business Platinum Card is currently the most lucrative business credit card in Canada. With a welcome bonus of up to 80,000 points—which we value between $1,600 – $2,400—its value is unmatched by any other business credit card in Canada.

With worldwide airport lounge access, complimentary flight upgrades, companion tickets, and award-winning travel insurance, this card will take your travels to new heights. If you’re a Canadian business owner who appreciates VIP benefits and getting excellent bang for your buck, the American Express Business Platinum Card is for you.