A $5,800 Round-Trip Business Class Ticket: How I’d Use the 100,000 AMEX Business Platinum Bonus

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The 100,000 AMEX Membership Rewards point bonus on The Business Platinum® Card from American Express has returned for a limited time (offer ends August 8, 2018)!  You can earn the full bonus after meeting tiered minimum spending requirements.

I earned a 100,000-point bonus with this card a couple of years ago during a different limited-time offer.  So I’m not eligible to earn it again.  But if I was, I’d use the points to book a round-trip Business Class flight to Paris worth ~$5,800!  Not bad for just one card bonus!

AMEX Membership Rewards points are extremely flexible!  You can transfer points to nearly 20 airline or hotel partners.  This is great because it gives you more the one way to find an award flight!

Limited-Time AMEX Business Platinum 100,000-Point Offer

Link:   The AMEX Business Platinum Card

Link:   Our Review of the AMEX Business Platinum Card

Until August 8, 2018, the AMEX Business Platinum card has an increased intro bonus, but it does requires a lot of spending.

You’ll earn:

• 50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
• 50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after you spend an additional $15,000 on qualifying purchases within the same time frame

Once you meet the minimum spending, you’ll have at least 125,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points (100,000 point bonus + at least 25,000 points from the minimum spending).

Round-Trip Business Class Award Flight to Paris Worth ~$5,800!

There are several AMEX airline transfer partners you could use to book award flights to Paris and other destinations in Europe.  And transferring points to one airline could open up options for airlines thanks to different alliances and partnerships.

From experience, I’ve had success transferring points to Flying Blue, which is the frequent flyer program for Air France and KLM.

I found a round-trip Business Class award flight to Paris for 125,000 Flying Blue miles and ~$174 in taxes & fees.  So the points you earn with the AMEX Business Platinum (welcome bonus + points from minimum spending) give you enough to book this flight!

Paying ~$174 in taxes & fees out of pocket is not a bad deal at all considering this same ticket would cost nearly ~$5,800 if you paid cash!

And this itinerary includes a non-stop return flight from Paris on the Airbus A380.  My wife and I flew on this plane for the first time when we visited Paris in 2015.  It was extremely comfortable and I’m always fascinated with how effortlessly these double-decker planes sail through the sky.

If Europe is on your bucket list, be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Big Travel With American Express Membership Rewards Points!

Should You Apply for the AMEX Business Platinum?

The limited-time 100,000-point intro bonus on the AMEX Business Platinum  is extremely enticing for folks who like to get Big Travel with Small Money!  I applied for the card in 2016 when there was a similar offer.

Besides the lucrative welcome bonus, this card has many fantastic ongoing perks that make this card worth keeping, including:

• 1.5X AMEX Membership Rewards points on single purchases of $5,000+ (up to 1 million additional points per calendar year)
• 5X AMEX Membership Rewards points when you book airfare and hotels through the AMEX travel portal
• 35% of your points back for ALL First Class or Business Class flights booked through the AMEX travel portal using Pay With Points
• 35% of your points back for all flights, including coach tickets, booked with your selected airline through the AMEX travel portal using Pay With Points (up to 500,000 points per calendar year)
• Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidentals with your selected airline (luggage fees, in-flight food & drink, etc.)
• Ability to book hotel stays through AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts
• AMEX Platinum Concierge
• AMEX Premium Roadside Assistance
• Access to airport lounges (Delta, Priority Pass, Airspace, and American Express Centurion Lounges)
• Bonus points or statement credits when taking advantage of an AMEX Offer
• Elite car rental status with Avis, Executive status with National Car Rental, and Gold Plus Rewards with Hertz
• Free Hilton HHonors Gold elite status (free breakfast and upgrades when available)
• Free Starwood Gold elite status, which you can use to instantly match to Marriott Gold elite status
• 10 free Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi passes each calendar year
• Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Terms & limitations apply

I like the AMEX Business Platinum better than the personal version (The Platinum Card® from American Express).  The welcome bonus is larger and the annual fee is $100 cheaper.

The one drawback of this offer is the large tiered minimum spending requirement.  You’ll have to spend $25,000 in 3 months to unlock the total bonus.  That said, if you have large upcoming purchases, this is a great offer!

Keep in mind, AMEX restricts you to earning the bonus on a credit card to once per lifetime per card.  So it’s best to consider applying for increased limited-time offers, like the current deal!

Bottom Line

When you apply for the AMEX Business Platinum by August 8, 2018, you can earn 100,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after meeting the tiered minimum spending requirements.

I applied for a similar limited-time offer back in 2016.  If I could earn the bonus again, I’d use the intro bonus and points from minimum spending to book a round-trip Business Class award flight to Paris!

Thanks to the many airline partners that are part of the AMEX Membership Rewards program, there are many ways to do this.  I found a sample award flight in August 2018.  Booking the same flight in cash would cost nearly $5,800!  Getting that much value with just one card bonus is an amazing deal!

If you’re planning to take advantage of the AMEX Business Platinum offer, let me know below how you’d use the bonus!