The American Express Business Platinum Card is currently the most lucrative business credit card in Canada. With a welcome bonus of up to 100,000 points—which we value between $2,000 – $3,000—its value is unmatched by any other business 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.
A 100,000 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 | 100,000 points | 100,000 points |
| 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 100,000 points when you charge $6,000 in purchases to your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership and also make a purchase after your 14-month card anniversary.
On the other hand, the Platinum Card costs $699 and comes with a welcome bonus of up to 100,000 points plus a $200 annual travel credit.
How To Transform 100,000 Points Into 130,000 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, 100,000 points all of a sudden become 130,000 points. As we’ll see next, that little trick is worth hundreds of dollars to you.
How Much Are 130,000 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 130,000 points are worth between $2,600 and $3,900!
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 130,000 points would be worth over $4,900!
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 130,000 of the points you get with the Business Platinum Card at this rate, they’d be worth over $6,300 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 Flat
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.
Pro Tip: If you’re planning some international travel, we recommend opening a free account with N26 to save money on foreign ATM withdrawals and currency conversion while you’re abroad.
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 100,000 points—which we value between $2,000 – $3,000—its value is unmatched by any other business 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.
