The American Express Platinum Card® and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express have established themselves as two of the top cards to have if you prioritize luxury travel benefits.
With an overlapping rewards structure and similar benefits, it’s natural to wonder which of the two is the best for you. Or, if you already have one of the cards, you might be wondering if it’s worth getting the other as well.
Well, it could work out in your favor to make room for both cards in your wallet — even with the $895 annual fee attached to each one (see rates and fees for the consumer Platinum and the Business Platinum).
Each card features benefits that complement the other, and many frequent travelers will have no problem offsetting the steep annual fees, making both cards a great combination for maximizing your trips.
Here’s why it might make sense to have both in your wallet.
2 welcome bonuses
Both cards come with substantial welcome offers.
Right now, the Business Platinum Card is offering a great welcome bonus: Find out your offer and see if you’re eligible for as high as 300,000 bonus points after spending $20,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. (Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.)
New consumer Amex Platinum cardmembers can find out their offer and see if they’re eligible for as high as 175,000 bonus points after spending $12,000 in the first six months of card membership. (Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.)
If you apply for both cards and earn the highest available welcome bonuses, you’ll get at least 475,000 points. Based on TPG’s July 2026 valuations, that’s worth up to $9,500 — more than five times the combined cost of the annual fees.
Related: Is the Amex Business Platinum worth the annual fee?
Statement credits
Both cards have credits to help cardmembers get value year after year.
Overlapping statement credits
Typically, one of the easiest perks to take advantage of with the Platinum cards is the annual airline fee statement credit* you’ll receive. Each card offers up to $200 per calendar year that can be used to cover incidental purchases with one airline, such as seat upgrades, lounge passes and inflight drinks.
For example, if you have both cards, you could use one statement credit for Delta Air Lines purchases and the other for United Airlines.
Both cards also offer:
- Up to $600 annual hotel statement credit per calendar year (up to $300 semiannually) for prepaid American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings made through Amex Travel (The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two night stay).
- Annual Clear+ statement credits (up to $219 per calendar year for both the Business Platinum and consumer Platinum; subject to auto-renewal).*
- Up to $120 in statement credits for your Global Entry application or up to $85 in statement credits for your TSA PreCheck application every four years.
You could use one card to cover your own Clear+ and Global Entry memberships and the other to cover those of a loved one.
Unique statement credits
The remaining statement credits differ between the two cards. The personal card offers mainly travel- and lifestyle-related statement credits, while the business card focuses on getting value from business expenses.
For example, the Platinum Card offers an up to $300 (up to $75 quarterly) statement credit per calendar year at U.S. Lululemon stores (excluding outlets) and online* and an up to $400 (up to $100 quarterly) per calendar year Resy statement credit at eligible U.S. Resy restaurants (no reservation required).*
Meanwhile, the Business Platinum offers up to $200 per calendar year in statement credits for eligible Hilton purchases (up to $50 per quarter).* You can use this statement credit to cover room charges and incidental purchases like room service and minibar items (separate enrollment in Hilton for Business required).
*Enrollment is required for select benefits.
The Business Platinum additionally offers outsize value — especially if you’re a high spender.
For example, if you spend $250,000 on eligible purchases, you can unlock up to a $1,200 Amex Travel online flight statement credit and up to a $2,400 One AP statement credit. (These benefits are valid from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 of the calendar year following the year in which you meet the spending requirement; One AP access is subject to auto-renewal).
Even if you only use half of the statement credits, you can fully cover the combined annual fees of both cards.
Related: 9 things to do when you get the Amex Business Platinum
Maximizing earning rates and redemptions
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of having both the personal and business versions of the Platinum Card is the earning rate.
You should use your Platinum Card for personal expenses and most airfare. The personal card earns 5 points per dollar spent on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 spent on airfare per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter), whereas the business version offers it only for Amex Travel bookings.
Then, you should use your Business Platinum for business expenses and to earn:
- 2 points per dollar spent on purchases at U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers and shipping providers, as well as on eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent).
- 5 points per dollar spent on flights booked through Amex Travel (once you’ve hit your spending cap on the personal card)
The points you earn on both cards can be combined and transferred to one of Amex’s 19 airline and hotel partners, sometimes with a transfer bonus.
If you have the business card, you can also get 35% of your points back (up to 1 million points back per calendar year) when booking flights through Amex Travel (for eligible flights with your selected airline).
Related: How to maximize your earning with the Amex Business Platinum
Authorized users
Both versions of the Platinum cards allow you to add authorized users.
The Platinum Card allows you to add authorized users for $195 each (see rates and fees). The Business Platinum Card allows you to add up to 99 no-annual-fee employee cards (see rates and fees), as well as authorized users for a steep $400 per card (see rates and fees).
For example, you could add your family members as authorized users to the personal card and your employees to the business card. They would all enjoy:
(Enrollment is required for select benefits.)
Related: Should you get your own Platinum Card or be an authorized user on someone else’s account?
Amex Offers
All American Express cards, including the Platinum and Business Platinum cards, come with access to Amex Offers. These allow you to earn a statement credit or bonus points when shopping with participating merchants like Amazon, Nike and Sephora.
Oftentimes, both cards have the same or very similar offers. However, many of these offers have limits on the number of bonus points or savings you can earn, so by having both cards, you can double-dip on the rewards with your favorite merchants.
While Amex Offers can be great deals on their own, you can do even better when you stack them with online shopping portals to earn extra cash back or bonus points on your purchase. And you can also stack them on top of a statement credit that your card offers.
So, if you find an Amex Offer for Dell, you can click through a shopping portal and use your Business Platinum to stack your up to $1,150 annual statement credit**, Amex Offer and shopping portal rewards.
**Up to a $150 statement credit each calendar year for U.S. purchases and an additional $1,000 statement credit after spending $5,000 on U.S. purchases each calendar year; enrollment required.
Related: Your ultimate guide to saving money with Amex Offers
Separating expenses
Another reason to hold both cards is to separate expenses, which involves putting personal expenses on a personal card and business expenses on a business card. This is a good practice and can be especially helpful come tax season since it’ll help streamline your expenses.
Business expenses are often larger than personal expenses. So, if you have eligible expenses, it’s beneficial to put them on the Business Platinum, as you’ll earn 2 points per dollar spent on purchases over $5,000 (compared to putting them on the personal card; on the first $2 million of these purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent).
Related: Can you use a business credit card for personal expenses?
Bottom line
The personal and business Platinum cards can complement each other nicely, as both offer valuable cardmember perks. Despite the steep annual fees of both cards, the annual statement credits and earning potential can easily outweigh the combined annual fees.
This card combination is not right for everyone. However, for small-business owners with a large budget who want to take advantage of generous credits and luxurious travel opportunities, it could be a worthwhile addition to your wallet.
To learn more, read our full reviews of the Platinum Card and the Amex Business Platinum.
Apply here: American Express Platinum Card
Apply here: American Express Business Platinum
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, click here.
