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| Super-charge your points |
| by Brian Kelly |
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American Express Membership Rewards points have been a mainstay of my earning strategy for years, but in order to get the most value out of the program, it’s essential to have the right cards for both earning and redeeming points. It always amazes me that so many people focus their spend on a single card, when having several in your arsenal can super-charge your earning and increase your credit score (just make sure to pay your bills in full every month!).
Here are the American Express cards that everyone should pay attention to.
Discounted flight redemptions
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: While the personal version — The Platinum Card® from American Express — is great, and I’ve had it for years, the Business Platinum card is unique in one main feature: If you have a lot of Amex points and you like to redeem those for flights, you get a 35% rebate when you pay for flights with points. This is huge, especially since there has been inflation in flight redemption costs through many loyalty programs.
For instance, if you are redeeming points for travel through the Amex Travel portal and the ticket is $1,000, it would cost you 1 cent per point, or 100,000 points. However, if you used your Business Platinum card, you’d get 35% of those points back into your account (generally within 4-6 weeks of booking). That brings the effective cost of your flight down to just 65,000 points, or a value of 1.54 cents per point.
This rebate applies to all first- or business-class flights, but it also applies to economy tickets on the airline you designate for your annual airline incidental credit.
The current sign-up bonus is huge: 120,000 points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your card within the first three months of card membership. The bonus alone is worth $2,400, according to TPG’s latest valuations.
The Business Platinum card earns the same 5 points per dollar on airfare as the personal Platinum card (on up to $500,000 per calendar year). You also earn a 50% bonus on categories like U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, software and cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else.
You might be surprised who qualifies for a business card — it’s not based on the size of your business or annual revenue; even small businesses, freelancers and those with side hustles could be eligible.
One area where the personal Platinum card stands out is that it allows you to add up to three authorized cardholders for $175 (see rates and fees). With the Business Platinum card, you pay $350 for each additional card (see rates & fees).
Bonus tip: If you are ever eligible for the Centurion card, make sure you opt for the Business Centurion card. It has all the perks of the personal Centurion, but it gets a 50% rebate when you pay with points, which means you get 2 cents per point on all flight redemptions. This is the No. 1 reason why I renew my Business Centurion card. If you have the personal card, I recommend asking if you could switch to the business version for this valuable perk.
The information for the Business Centurion Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Low annual fee
The second card I recommend — for people who don’t want a big annual fee — is the American Express® Green Card. It’s one of the most overlooked cards, in my opinion, and right now comes with a 60,000-point welcome offer after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first six months of card membership (up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit). The Amex Green also offers annual statement credits — up to $189 for Clear Plus membership and up to $100 for LoungeBuddy — that can more than offset the $150 annual fee (see rates and fees).
The Amex Green card earns 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on dining, travel and transit. Based on TPG’s valuation of Amex Membership Rewards points at 2 cents each, you’ll get an approximate 6% return on spending in these categories.
Dining credits
For anyone who’s serious about earning points, this is a great card. The American Express® Gold Card earns 4 points per dollar on groceries at U.S. supermarkets (on up to 25,000 per year) and dining at restaurants — including takeout. The up to $120 in annual dining statement credits and up to $120 in Uber Cash (enrollment required) can easily help offset the annual fee of $250 on this card (see rates and fees).
I can’t tell you how often I see friends paying with their Platinum card instead of a Gold card when we are out to dinner. Having the Amex Business Platinum card and the personal Gold card can super-charge your points and miles earnings and redemptions. You can earn 4 points per dollar on the Gold card, and each of those points is worth 1.54 cents when you use the tactic I mentioned above and redeem and pay for flights using your Business Platinum card to get a 35% rebate. That’s around 6% back on your dining and U.S. supermarket purchases.
The current Amex Gold welcome bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new card within the first six months is worth $1,200 based on TPG’s latest valuations.
No matter which Amex card you have, always be sure to check the monthly Amex Offers and transfer bonuses.
Have a great weekend,
BK
For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Green, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum, click here.
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