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The Business Platinum Card from American Express is offering 100,000 total bonus points through January 25, 2017 (which is just a couple weeks from now):
- 50,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months
- 50,000 more bonus points after spending another $10,000 in the first three months
Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Travel Credit Cards.
Check out Scott’s full review here.
A Short History Lesson
In October of 2016, American Express added a killer benefit to the card:
“Business Platinum Card Members can now earn 50% points back when using Membership Rewards® Pay with Points through American Express Travel to book a flight with their selected airline. They will also receive this benefit when booking a first or business class ticket with any airline.”
You have to have enough points to cover a booking at 1 cent per point and book through American Express Travel inside your Amex account, but you will quickly be rebated half the points back. So essentially you will get 2 cents per point toward flights in economy on one airline and 2 cents per point toward any First or Business Class flight.
You can read more about the 50% rebate benefit on the Business Platinum here.
Paying with Points is Actually Like Paying With Cash
Usually when you redeem miles you do not earn miles, or status, or any of the perks those that pay with cash get. What’s great about redeeming Membership Rewards through American Express Travel is that your Membership Rewards are just converted into a fixed value of 1 cent each and it’s actually as if you are paying for that flight. Any flight you book with Membership Rewards through American Express Travel is considered a cash flight by the airline selling the ticket because they get cash from AMEX. That means in some circumstances you earn miles for the flight–the redeemable kind as well as elite qualifying kind.
Today I want to illustrate how many Membership Rewards you’d pay for some cheap Business Class fares we’ve seen recently, as well as how many redeemable miles and elite miles you’d earn for paying for those Business Class fares with your points.
Before I go any further, don’t get ahead of yourself. I agree with Scott that Membership Rewards earned on the American Express Business Platinum Card are worth 2 cents each toward flights. I don’t think the fact that you earn miles when paying with points makes your Membership Rewards more valuable than 2 cents each. The idea is to show you in, practice, how you would benefit from redeeming your Membership Rewards from the Business Platinum via the Amex travel portal.
Cheap Business Class Fares
Lucky from One Mile at a Time is pretty good at finding/writing about cheap Business Class Fares. Below are three cheap Business fares he’s covered recently, what you’d pay for it if redeeming Membership Rewards earned by your Business Platinum through American Express Travel, and how many redeemable as well as elite miles you’d earn for popular loyalty programs.
$2,050 Roundtrip Qatar Business Class LA or NYC <> Singapore
You’d need 205,000 Membership Rewards to book it, but post-rebate you’d be paying 102,500 Membership Rewards total. For comparison, it would cost 140,000 American Airlines miles to book Qatar Business roundtrip to Singapore.
Qatar is in oneworld Alliance, so let’s assume you want to credit this “paid” flight to AAdvantage. Flight distances is 21,122 miles.
- How Many Redeemable Miles You’d Earn:
- With no status: 21,122 American Airlines miles
- Gold: 29,570 American Airlines miles
- Platinum: 33,795 American Airlines miles
- Platinum Pro: 38,019 American Airlines miles
- Executive Platinum: 46,468 American Airlines miles
- How Many Elite Qualifying Miles You’d Earn: 31,683
- How Many Elite Qualifying Dollars You’d Earn: 4,224
$2,250 Roundtrip British Airways First Class NYC <> London
You’d need 225,000 Membership Rewards to book it, but post-rebate you’d be paying 112,500 Membership Rewards total. For comparison, it would cost 160,000 Alaska miles to book British Airways First Class roundtrip to London, not to mention a s&!# ton out of pocket for the fuel surcharges Alaska (and pretty much everyone) collects when redeeming on British Airways.
British Airways is in oneworld Alliance, but they’re also partners with the non-allied Alaska Airlines. Let’s assume you credit this “paid” flight to Alaska Mileage Plan. Flight distances is 6,903 miles.
- How Many Redeemable Miles You’d Earn:
- With no status: 31,063 Alaska miles
- MVP: 34,514 Alaska miles
- MVP Gold: 38,506 Alaska miles
- MVP Gold 75k: 39,691 Alaska miles
- How Many Elite Qualifying Miles You’d Earn: 31,063
$1,154 Roundtrip Emirates Business Cairo <> Seattle
You’d need 115,400 Membership Rewards to book it, but post-rebate you’d be paying 57,700 Membership Rewards total. For comparison, an Alaska award flying Emirates Business Class between Africa and the United States roundtrip would cost 240,000 Alaska miles.
I’ve been swooning over Alaska miles as of late, so let’s assume you credit this “paid” flight to Alaska Mileage Plan (which has incredible mileage bonuses on redeemable as well as elite miles). Flight distances is 13,696 miles.
- How Many Redeemable Miles You’d Earn:
- With no status: 30,816 Alaska miles
- MVP: 37,664 Alaska miles
- MVP Gold: 44,512 Alaska miles
- MVP Gold 75k: 47,936 Alaska miles
- How Many Elite Qualifying Miles You’d Earn: 31,063
Bottom Line
One of the American Express Business Platinum’s most unique benefits is the 50% rebate you receive after redeeming your Membership Rewards through American Express Travel to book a flight with your selected airline in economy, or any airline if it’s a Business or First Class ticket. This benefit can represent a significant savings if you manage to redeem your points on cheap fares. On top of that, you’ll even earn redeemable miles for future trips as well as elite miles towards status since the redemption is seen as a revenue ticket from the the airline’s perspective.
The Business Platinum card also has an enhanced sign up bonus at the moment:
- 50,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months
- 50,000 more bonus points after spending another $10,000 in the first three months
Credit card links have been removed from posts and added to the menu bar at the top of every page of MileValue under the heading Top Travel Credit Cards.
That elevated bonus is going away this January 25.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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