Given how fluid points and miles programs can be, we often advise that you diversify the types of travel rewards you earn. However, it’s sometimes a good idea to double down with a specific rewards program — especially if it’s one where the points are transferable to a number of different airlines and hotels.
One such program is American Express Membership Rewards — and now’s a great time to establish a reserve of Membership Rewards points with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card.
Both cards are currently offering phenomenal introductory welcome offers that might have you considering whether to apply for one, the other or both.
In fact, pairing the Amex Business Platinum and Amex Gold cards might be the best Amex card duo possible, thanks to their highly complimentary earning structures and benefits packages.
Here are some of the reasons you might want to keep both in your wallet.
Two cards, two bonuses
Let’s get the awkward part out of the way. Both cards charge pretty high annual fees – $695 for the Amex Business Platinum (see rates and fees) and $250 for the Amex Gold (see rates and fees). That’s up to $945 in fees each year, which is pretty costly; the good news is that these fees can be offset by these cards’ introductory offers, some of the best we’ve ever seen.
The Amex Business Platinum has a welcome offer that lets you earn 150,000 bonus points by spending $20,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. Get the Amex Gold and spend $6,000 in the first six months of card membership, and you earn another 60,000 bonus points.
Without even taking their bonus spending categories into account, you’d be looking at an overall points haul of at least 210,000 Amex Membership Rewards points by hitting those requirements. TPG currently values Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents apiece, making 210,000 Membership Rewards points worth $4,200 – though potentially much more, depending on how you redeem them.
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Related: Card showdown: Amex Business Gold vs. Amex Business Platinum
Keep things professional
Speaking of card combinations, there are many great reasons why you might want to get both a personal and business card. Doing so can help you separate your work and personal expenses. Putting higher, work-related spending on a business card can keep that activity off your personal credit report — which can, in turn, help raise your personal credit score by lowering your debt-to-credit utilization ratio.
The Amex Business Platinum’s business-related statement credits and special earning rates (see below) are two more great reasons to put your work-related spending on that card instead of a personal one. Then you can designate the Amex Gold Card for more everyday things like groceries and dining expenses.
Earning overdrive
One of the biggest selling points to getting both the Amex Business Platinum and the Amex Gold Card is how you can mix and match their bonus-earning opportunities to maximize your everyday spending.
Use the Amex Gold Card to rack up 4 points per dollar on dining at restaurants and groceries at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 a year, then 1 point per dollar), plus 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
Use the Amex Business Platinum for 5 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com. Plus, you can also earn 1.5 points per dollar on eligible purchases in the following areas (up to $2 million per calendar year total; 1 point thereafter):
- U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers
- Electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
- Shipping providers
- On each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more everywhere else
Related: Use these cards to maximize large purchases
To get a bit more granular, if you tend to book airline tickets directly with airlines, you can continue doing so with the Amex Gold Card since it earns 3 points per dollar whether you use it to pay through the airline or Amex Travel.
However, if you can shift more of your travel bookings to Amex Travel, you can leverage the Amex Business Platinum’s 5 points per dollar earning rate not just on airfare but also on prepaid hotels.
You can book hotels through Amex’s Hotel Collection with either card. The Amex Gold Card earns 2 points per dollar on those bookings, while the Amex Business Platinum earns 5 points per dollar. However, with the Amex Business Platinum, you also have access to even higher-end properties and more valuable perks through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts.
Related: Everything you need to know about The Hotel Collection, an under-the-radar Amex Gold perk
Stretch your points further
Amex has a Pay with Points feature, where you can redeem Membership Rewards for reservations made directly through Amex Travel. You get 1 cent per point toward flights, and less than that for other types of bookings, such as hotel stays.
However, Amex Business Platinum cardmembers receive a 35% bonus using Pay with Points in two circumstances:
- For a first- or business-class ticket on any airline
- For a ticket in any cabin on the same airline they designate for their annual up to $200 airline fee credit
This benefit is capped at 1 million rebated points per calendar year.
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
While Pay with Points isn’t for everyone, there are a few great reasons to use it. First, you get a solid value of 1 cent per point redeemed this way (or more with the Amex Business Platinum). Second, you don’t have to worry about transfer partners or times or award availability with a particular airline. Finally, when you redeem via Pay with Points, it’s basically like paying cash for your ticket, so you still earn elite miles and credit for your travel.
Related: How to decide whether to use cash or miles for airline tickets
Statement credits galore
The final reason for carrying both the Amex Business Platinum and the Amex Gold Card is to stack their various statement credits.
The Amex Gold Card provides up to $10 per month in Uber credits toward either rides or Uber Eats orders in the U.S., plus a further up to $10 per month in dining credits as enumerated above for a potential total of up to $240 in statement credits each year. If you use the card to make a The Hotel Collection booking of two nights or more, you get a $100 on-site credit for qualifying activities. Enrollment required for select benefits.
Related: How to use Amex Gold’s $10 monthly Uber credit
For its part, the Amex Business Platinum comes with a plethora of statement credits. Among those to look out for are up to $400 per year in statement credits toward Dell purchases (up to $200 semi-annually), up to $360 per year with Indeed (up to $90 per quarter), up to $150 per year with Adobe (subject to auto-renewal) and up to $120 toward U.S. wireless phone bills (up to $10 per month). All three of these credits are set to end on Dec. 31, 2024. Enrollment is required.
For business travelers, the card also comes with up to $200 in annual airline incidental fee credits, up to $189 annually in statement credits for a Clear Plus membership, and up to $100 toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck periodically. Enrollment is required.
Maximize all these statement credits from both cards in the first year, and you’re looking at almost $2,000 in potential value. What’s more, none of these statement credits overlap from card to card, so you don’t sacrifice anything by carrying them both.
Other benefits
While the Amex Gold Card is short on some perks, the Amex Business Platinum includes a lot more benefits.
Related: The different flavors of Amex Platinum – which one is right for you?
Those include advantages like access to various airport lounges like Amex Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs* and Priority Pass lounges. You also get the ability to register for Gold elite status with both Marriott and Hilton. Cardholders also get elite status with various rental car agencies, plus the International Airline Program discounts for folks who fly premium cabins. Enrollment required for select benefits.
*Effective February 1, 2025: Eligible Platinum Card Members will receive 10 Visits per Eligible Platinum Card per year to the Delta Sky Club or to Grab and Go when traveling on a same-day Delta-operated flight.
Related: 8 things to do when you get the American Express Business Platinum Card
Earning aside, these benefits alone can make carrying the Amex Business Platinum worth it.
Bottom line
It’s usually a good idea to diversify the types of travel rewards points you earn. However, given how versatile they are, it can also make sense to double down with one program or another, including Amex Membership Rewards.
The right mix of Amex cards will depend on your needs and spending habits. But the Amex Business Platinum and Amex Gold Card make a winning combination thanks to their corresponding perks and bonus spending categories. You can get both to leverage not only lucrative introductory offers but also excellent everyday points accrual rates and other benefits to enhance your travel experience.
Apply here: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express with a 150,000-point bonus.
Apply here: American Express® Gold Card with a 60,000-point welcome bonus.
For rates and fees of the Amex Gold card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card, click here.
