Amex platinum business card

[JCKST1]

Hi,


Thinking of changing my business account from Barclays to another provider, AMEX platinum card caught my eye due to the points system. I regularly travel (personally) and have quite a bit of money going through the account so should be able to rack quite a few points up.

Anyone on here have one or would recommend an alternative?

The £450 fee doesn't really bother me if I can save in other areas with the card.


Thanks

[creampuff]

AMEX customer service is excellent. It's in another world compared to everyone else. If for any reason you cancel the card, you get a pro-rata refund of the fee. I'd be inclined to see if there is a first year fee free AmEx unless GBP450 is just pocket change to you

[JCKST1]

I was planning on haggling the £450 to see if I could get the first year free

I do need to know a bit more regarding fees for sending money and the whole charge card thing. How have you found it for business use?

If there is a few good reviews on here il give them a bell Monday to discuss my options.

Thanks

[creampuff]

I've never sent money with my card and I've used it overseas only rarely so can't comment on that. Mine is also only the cheaper gold card.

The charge card bit is simple. You just pay the bill in full each month!

I seem to remover by default they send statements to the registered biz address, which is often your accountant.

[nyt]

It can be difficult to get Amex accepted (their fees are high).

Not usually an issue in business hotels and better (more expensive) restaurants but other shops and places can be tough.
There is a certain schadenfreude in seeing someone's Amex Black rejected

Make sure that you have a backup card.

[anonymous-user]

I have an amex platinum charge card. It is a personal card but I use it for business expenses too.

The main benefit is the insurance package. I have only had cause to use it once and then only for a minor thing, but it did everything it needed to and gave the impression that it could handle anything thrown at it.

The points are nothing to get excited about really

The priority pass card for airport lounges is handy

[JCKST1]

Thanks for the replies.

Majority of my transfers/purchases etc are done online. The only time i generally use it for expenses it fuel or at larger shops.

Is the lounge access for the card holder only or do you get a +1 with that?

Points are not a major thing to me but if I can get some upgrades on flights or save on hotels etc then its a bonus really as its more then I get now!


Thanks

[Gunk]

We used Amex for a couple of years but ditched it as not everyone accepts it which meant then paying on my own Barclaycard and having to claim it back. Had Barclaycard charge cards for a while now and can't see why we would change, they have just switched from Visa to MasterCard but I can't see that presenting any issues.

[Si1295]

JCKST1 said:

Thanks for the replies.

Majority of my transfers/purchases etc are done online. The only time i generally use it for expenses it fuel or at larger shops.

Is the lounge access for the card holder only or do you get a +1 with that?

Points are not a major thing to me but if I can get some upgrades on flights or save on hotels etc then its a bonus really as its more then I get now!


Thanks

You get a +1 on the Priority Pass, it's a good card if you travel regularly but like others have said, not a lot of places accept Amex in the UK. They only offer some of the insurance benefits on services purchased with the card

[JCKST1]

Ah ok booking it on the company card is not ideal. I am still looking in to it though.

I have noticed a Barclays premier business account which I believe is the version of the AMEX platinum. I rang them today for some advice etc and they were use less and basically told me all the info is on the website and you can only apply through there which is off putting so I did not look much further.

Is there any other alternatives to compare?

[GCH]

I only use amex cards - I have one visa as a back up, and that gets used maybe twice a month if that. Acceptance really isn't a huge issue any more, and Amex have worked hard to make merchants aware that in some instances their fees can be lower than some alternatives.

If you travel a lot, platinum is the obvious choice - it has served me well for over ten years and is my default card. Free supplementary cards are useful, so you can have multiple people with them all pooling into the same account but all split on the statement to make it easier.
Customer service is second to none, especially on the plat, and really is the main reason to switch to amex.
Personally with the stuff I save every year, plus the freebies etc, the card is paid for but all depends on you really, but even something like the gold card will give you plenty of benefits, but without the higher fee of the platinum.

Put enough through it and you may even score a centurion invite too.

Si1295 said:

They only offer some of the insurance benefits on services purchased with the card

They want you to use the card, but if the place does not accept amex and you have paid using another card, you are still covered.
Paying for the trip on the amex is NOT a requirement for the travel medical insurance either - you are covered regardless, as are your family, and all your supplementary card holders and their families.
I have first hand experience of this.

[HRH2009]

nyt said:

It can be difficult to get Amex accepted (their fees are high).

Not usually an issue in business hotels and better (more expensive) restaurants but other shops and places can be tough.
There is a certain schadenfreude in seeing someone's Amex Black rejected

Make sure that you have a backup card.

As something of an aside to the op's question- Amex hold on to the money spent by the cardholder. It takes 10days plus to get to the merchant's bank account! This is almost three times as long as Visa.

Amex must have hundreds of millions, on a national basis, for their own use.

[JCKST1]

Amex does seem to come out on top so far. They do have the highest fees but it seems to be worth it?

I will give them a bell at somepoint today if I have time and run through things with them, from what I have heard everyone says the customer service is excellent and this does make a difference as when ever I ring barclays I always come off the phone thinking what a waste of time that was!

Thanks for the input everyone

[Zoon]

Amex aren't accepted everywhere.

[JCKST1]

I didnt have the time to call today unfortunately but have made time for tomorrow. I will also look through some of the T&C's on their website.

Insurance and lounge access is a bonus, I have 3 flights booked for the next couple of months so I think it would get its use. I did read on the site that access is only for the card holder and anyone else is to pay £15? Is this correct?

Although it is £450 up front I am sure over all I will end up saving compared to Barclays.

[JCKST1]

Also I forgot to ask, when it says you must spend XXX amount to claim your 40,000 points for opening the account does that include transfers?

I send quite a bit of money abroad and use a company called TORFX for the best rates, they basically book it in for me and then I transfer the money to them and it gets sent on in euros. Would this be classed as spending it or would I have to physically use the card, e.g pay for expenses on card rather than bank transfer?

[anonymous-user]

The supplementary platinum card on the same account also gets a priority pass these days

[GCH]

JCKST1 said:

Insurance and lounge access is a bonus, I have 3 flights booked for the next couple of months so I think it would get its use. I did read on the site that access is only for the card holder and anyone else is to pay £15? Is this correct?

It used to be free for the priority pass member and £15 for each guest. Nowadays the first guest is free.

Note that the UK plat gives you full unrestricted priority pass (and also the same for your platinum supp card holder) - the US one gives priority pass select, which is slightly different and a lower tier of membership. Google often confuses the search if looking for info.

The best info around can be found via Rob (raffles) on headforpoints.com

[JCKST1]

Just a quick update.

Spoke with AMEX just now, good to see a wait time of less than 1 minute even at peak times.

I think overall it will be cheaper than my relatively basic barclays card. The only problem I can see is when it comes to bank transfers. With my company being based online we do often pay for stock and so on via transfer. The only way of doing this with AMEX would be through PayPal or similar they said?

[GCH]

JCKST1 said:

Just a quick update.

Spoke with AMEX just now, good to see a wait time of less than 1 minute even at peak times.

I think overall it will be cheaper than my relatively basic barclays card. The only problem I can see is when it comes to bank transfers. With my company being based online we do often pay for stock and so on via transfer. The only way of doing this with AMEX would be through PayPal or similar they said?

Amex works fine with paypal.
As a work around, you could always paypal it to your company paypal account or someone elses at your company, then immediately transfer that paypal balance to the business bank account and then transfer to your supplier.

Amusingly (and annoyingly), amex's own FX transfer service - which done by JP Morgan - doesn't accept amex! haha

If you don't like it, the annual fee is refunded pro-rata, so little to lose by giving it a go.