Negative Changes to AMEX Business Platinum 50% Points Back Perk!

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Bad news for folks with the Business Platinum Card from American Express, or those considering the card.

Via The Points Guy, you will no longer get 50% of your points back on certain airfare you purchase through the AMEX travel portal.  You’ll only get 35% back!

I’ll share more about this news.  And explain what it means for you.

AMEX Reduces Points Rebate for AMEX Business Platinum Card

Link:   The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

Link:   My Review of the AMEX Business Platinum Card

Last year, American Express announced that if you had the AMEX Business Platinum card, your AMEX Membership Rewards points would be effectively worth up to 2 cents per point.  Because when you redeemed them for certain tickets using Pay With Points through the AMEX travel portal, you would get 50% of your points back.

But as of June 1, 2017, you’ll only get 35% of your points back.  And you’ll only be able to redeem 500,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points per year and get the rebate.

That effectively makes your AMEX Membership Rewards points worth only ~1.54 cents per point.  

For example, say you find a ticket on the AMEX travel portal that costs $600.  That would cost 30,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after 50% points back (60,000 points – 30,000 points).  For a value of 2 cents per point ($600 / 30,000).

When you only get 35% points back (60,000 X 35% = 21,000 points), that same ticket will cost 39,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points (60,000 points – 21,000 points).  For a value of ~1.54 cents per point ($600 / 39,000 points).

Plus, it will take 6 to 10 weeks for the rebate to post to your account, instead of the usual ~24 hours.

This is all around bad news, but things are always changing in the world of miles and points.  So I never suggest hoarding your rewards. 😉

That said, if you signed up for your card between October 6, 2016, and May 31, 2017, you’ll still receive the 50% rebate (with no maximum!) for one year from the date your card was issued.

Otherwise, you’ll need to purchase your flight before June 1, 2017, to get the 50% rebate.

Should You Still Consider the Card?

The AMEX Business Platinum card is still a great option, because you can get LOTS of Big Travel with the sign-up bonus alone.

With the current sign-up bonus, you can earn up to 75,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after meeting tiered minimum spending requirements.

You’ll also get perks like:

• Earn 1.5X AMEX Membership Rewards points on single purchases of $5,000+
• $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidentals with your selected airline (luggage fees, in-flight food & drink, etc.)
• Access to airport lounges (Delta, Priority Pass, Airspace, and American Express Centurion Lounges)
• Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Free Hilton HHonors Gold elite status (free breakfast and upgrades when available)
• $450 annual fee is NOT waived
• Terms & limitations apply

And you’ll be able to take advantage of the 50% points back perk until June 1, 2017.

With the new 35% points back rebate amount, the 75,000 point sign-up bonus will be worth ~$1,155 (~1.54 cents per point X 75,000 points) for ALL First Class or Business Class flights booked through the AMEX travel portal using Pay With Points.  And for all flights, including coach tickets, booked with your selected airline through the AMEX travel portal using Pay With Points.

That’s still a better rate than what folks get when they book paid travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.  But it’s not as exciting a perk as it used to be!

Bottom Line

Starting June 1, 2017, if you have the AMEX Business Platinum card, you will only get 35% of your points back when you redeem them for certain tickets using Pay With Points through the AMEX travel portal.

The old rate was 50% back.  And this perk hadn’t been around for very long.

That said, the AMEX Business Platinum card is still a good option, because it comes with a great sign-up bonus and perks!

What do you think about these changes?  Let me know in the comments!