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The $799 annual fee on the Business Platinum Card from American Express drops to an apparent cost of $279 once you use the $520 in annual credits. For an incorporated business, that fee is also generally deductible, which lowers the real cost further.
The $799 annual fee on the Business Platinum Card® from American Express makes it one of the most expensive credit cards in Canada.
At first glance, that is hard to justify. But if you own an incorporated business, it is probably not what this card will actually cost you.
In fact, before we even get to airport lounge access, hotel status or American Express Membership Rewards points, let us simply look at the numbers.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express includes up to $520 in credits each year:
At first glance, these credits simply reduce the card’s annual fee. But for many incorporated businesses they are more useful than that, because they often apply to spending already in the budget for running the business. So you can use these credits to lower the card statement you have to pay.
Take a couple of examples: if your business already pays for a mobile phone plan, the $120 annual credit reduces an expense you would have incurred anyway. That expense is also generally deductible when incurred as part of business operations.
The same logic applies to the Dell credit. If you need to buy a monitor, a computer, a keyboard or any other eligible IT equipment for your business, the $200 annual credit directly reduces the cost of that purchase. Again, these expenses are generally tax deductible when used to operate the business. The $200 travel credit works on the same principle if you already make eligible bookings for your business travel.
In other words, these credits do not necessarily push you to spend more. They reduce the cost of spending many businesses already do.
Once these credits are used, the $799 annual fee already drops to an apparent cost of $279, before accounting for the card’s other benefits.
For many incorporated businesses, the annual fee on a credit card used exclusively for business activities is a deductible expense. The tax treatment depends on your situation, so we recommend confirming this with your accountant or tax specialist. The point is that the $799 on the label does not necessarily represent the real cost of the card.
So far we have not even touched the privileges the Business Platinum Card® from American Express is known for. Yet they carry significant value of their own.
Every purchase charged to the card earns 1.25 American Express Membership Rewards points per dollar. In our view, this is one of the best rewards currencies in Canada. Unlike many programs, Membership Rewards points can be transferred to various airline and hotel partners, including Aeroplan, Marriott Bonvoy, Flying Blue and British Airways Club.
You keep full flexibility and can choose whichever program offers the best value at the time of booking.
The card also includes access to Centurion, Priority Pass and Plaza Premium lounges, along with several other international networks. Note, however, that American Express is changing this policy as of January 1, 2027.
Centurion lounge access will remain unlimited. The Priority Pass and Plaza Premium networks, however, will be limited to six free visits per year each, except for cardholders who reach the annual spending threshold that restores unlimited access.
If you are considering this card mainly for the lounges, it is important to factor in these changes and weigh the benefits against your business profile.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express also includes Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. Hilton Gold is particularly useful, since it can provide free breakfast, room upgrades when available and several other benefits that make each stay more pleasant.
The $799 annual fee on the Business Platinum Card® from American Express is striking. But it should not be where you stop. If you own an incorporated business that travels regularly and already uses the travel, Dell and mobile phone credits, the real cost of the Business Platinum Card can be far lower than it looks.
Add extremely flexible Membership Rewards points, airport lounge access, hotel status and a strong insurance package, and it becomes easy to see why this card remains one of the best premium business credit cards in Canada.
To compare this card against the other options available to Canadian businesses, see our guide to the best business credit cards.
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