Let’s be honest… in the business world, portraying the right image means everything.

Think about it… what goes thru your client’s mind if you whip out a sub-prime card for bad credit to pay for a dinner?

The client is probably thinking “How can I trust him with my money, when he obviously can’t even manage his own!”

Obviously, you won’t have to worry about that problem when paying with the American Express Platinum Business card. No other card shouts success like this card.

*Note: If you’re looking for the personal (non-business) version then go here.

But is it just a status symbol?

The truth of the matter is that this card is far more than a status symbol. If you actually use the benefits, it’s an excellent investment which can easily save you thousands of dollars per year. But is it right for you? Review these 10 benefits (and drawbacks) and decide for yourself.

1. It’s a charge card, not a credit card

First of all, it’s important to realize that this an American Express charge card (not a credit card). That means you have to pay your bill in full each month. So this is the wrong choice if you need long-term financing.

If you’re looking for a business credit card that lets you carry a balance, then I would recommend the Chase Ink Cash.

2. Get free access at 600+ airport lounges

If you do a decent amount of traveling, then you will especially enjoy this benefit. Only the AmEx Business Platinum offers you access at all of the following:

• Free Priority Pass Select membership – With this you get access to all of their lounges, both domestic and int’l. Access for you is always free. If you wish to bring guests, they are $27 per person for each visit. You can’t buy the “Select” Membership directly thru Priority Pass, but look how much it would cost to buy their most similar plan:
  

Plus on top of that, you also get free access to the first-class lounges for the following airlines:

• Delta Sky Club
• American Airlines Admirals Club
• US Airways Club

Just a Delta Sky Club membership alone would cost you $450 per year! So as you can see, between the Priority Pass Select and the airline lounges, the value you’re getting from airport lounge access is literally worth up to $1,000+ per year.

3. Get $450+ in perks with each hotel stay

Without a doubt, one of the most popular benefits on the business Platinum card is the Fine Hotels & Resorts program. There are over 700 hotels worldwide that participate and when you stay with them, you will get the following:

• Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
• Noon early check-in, upon availability
• Daily continental breakfast for two
• 4:00 pm guaranteed late check-out
• Additional hotel-specific benefits, such as a $100 dining credit or free 3rd night (the benefit will vary by property)

So if you’re a business traveler who stays at more of the higher-end hotels like Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental, the Ritz, etc. this benefit alone is reason enough to apply. However if you’re more of the Motel 6 type of guy, the drawback is that this benefit won’t be of any use to you.

4. Up to $200 in airline fees refunded every year

Not too long ago American Express added a new benefit to their Business Platinum Card and that is the ability to get up to $200 in airline incidental fees refunded every year; checked baggage fees, in-flight meals, ticket change fees, in-flight entertainment charges, etc.

The only drawback is that you have to pick one airline for this. For example if you choose United, then you will only get these fees refunded when flying with United. But don’t worry, you have the option each year to change your preferred airline.

5. Membership Rewards

Only the American Express Business Platinum & Centurion cards participate in the Membership Rewards First (which is much more valuable than regular Membership Rewards on the Green and Gold). Here’s what you get:

• 1x point per dollar spent on purchases
• 2x points per dollar spent with AmEx Travel
• Up to 10x points per dollar at over 300 websites thru Membership Rewards
• There’s no limit to how many points you can earn and they never expire
• Don’t have enough points for the reward you want? You can get up to 60,000 points advanced to your account.
• Want travel rewards? Only Membership Rewards lets you convert your points to frequent flyer miles and hotel rewards, usually on a 1:1 basis, with 15+ airlines and hotel programs participating.
• You can also score up to 25,000 pts using this link.

6. Concierge service

I know there are a number of credit cards nowadays that come with concierge service (i.e. Visa Signature and World MasterCard) and what they offer is good considering that you can get it on a no annual fee card like the Sapphire from Chase.

However the 24/7 concierge we’re talking about here is of a whole other caliber. It’s the cream of the crop from American Express and they will really jump thru hoops for you.

7. Up to $200 in free roadside assistance

Don’t have an AAA membership? No worries, because with card you get free roadside assistance; up to $50 per call and you can use it up to 4x per year (so up to a $200 value).

8. Reimbursement for $100 Global Entry fee

If you’re not familiar with Global Entry, it’s a program administered thru the U.S. government which allows approved low-risk travelers expedited clearance when going thru US customs at most major airports.

If approved, you have the ability to skip the lines and use an automated kiosk to check yourself in when you’re returning to the US.

To apply for this, you have to cough up $100. However if you pay with your Platinum Business Card from Amex, you will receive a statement credit to offset the cost.

9. A large number of insurance benefits

You probably won’t be surprised to hear about the many insurance benefits which are included with your card membership on eligible purchases:

• Purchase Protection – Covers accidental damage, theft or loss on qualifying new purchases for 90 days. Up to $10,000 per incident with a max of $50,000 per year.
• Extended Warranty – Receive up to 1 additional year in coverage on qualifying purchases which come with a US manufacturer’s warranty. For example if it comes with 1 year of coverage, you get an extra 1 year (2 years total) thru American Express. Up to $10,000 per item, not to exceed $50,000 per year.
• Car Rental Loss & Damage Insurance – Please note that on AmEx Business cards you don’t get this benefit when renting outside the US.
• Baggage Insurance Plan – Offers extra coverage during qualifying Common Carrier travel which is purchased with your card.
• Travel Accident Insurance – During qualifying Common Carrier travel.

There are others too, check out the application to see them.

10. Companion airfare on international flights

If you travel internationally, then even if you just use this feature once, you could easily save a thousand dollars or more with it.

• Purchase an eligible business or first-class ticket on an international flight to get the companion ticket offer
• Available on international flights with 23 airline partners
• The companion airfare is free but you will have to pay any applicable taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges on this 2nd ticket.

Who should apply?

At $450 per year, it’s definitely not for everyone. But as you see, even if you only use a fraction of the benefits, the membership fee can easily pay for itself many times over. So if you see yourself using these benefits, the choice is obvious – go for it. This is especially true for avid travelers.

Best Offer: Apply now and earn up to 25,000 bonus points

For those who won’t be using the benefits, then it will probably make sense to consider a different business credit card. The same holds true if you anticipate the need to carry a balance. For good alternatives you can compare business card offers here.

Back in summer of 2011, American Express launched a prepaid card. I’ve noticed many hailing it as their first prepaid card, but actually there’s the AmEx Pass that’s been out for a while now, although that is mainly geared towards teens.

Is it a debit or credit card?

American Express prepaid credit cards? Or debit cards? Actually… neither!

Since this new card doesn’t allow you to buy anything on credit, it’s definitely not a credit card. Most stories I’ve seen so far has referred to them as being prepaid AmEx debit cards. That’s a closer description but if you want to be nit-picky about it, these aren’t exactly debit cards either by definition.

But that’s all semantics, let’s get into the good, bad, and ugly aspects of this new card.

The Good For

Almost no fees
Let’s be honest here… most of the prepaid card issuers are famous for nickel and diming customers with fees, fees, and more fees. I’m not claiming all are rotten but a lot of them definitely are.

With AmEx’s new prepaid reloadable card you won’t be shook down with a million different fees. In fact, getting the card itself is completely free and you can order it online. There are no activation fees, no fees for calling customer service, no monthly or yearly fees, no purchase fees, and no overdraft fees.

So how is American Express making money you ask? Well, since your purchases are processed the same as a credit card, the merchant has to pay those credit card processing fees. AmEx is hoping your purchase volume brings in enough processing fees to offset the costs they have to pay to advertise, issue, and manage these prepaid accounts.

Better customer service
I don’t have any personal experience/reviews to share, so I can’t conclusively judge this card’s customer service. But given that it’s American Express, I expect it will be a heck of a lot better than the service you get with most other prepaid debit cards. According to the AmEx website, service is available 24 hours a day via 1-866-207-7970.

Several excellent benefits for free
If you have an AmEx charge or credit card, chances are you already know about these great benefits:

• Purchase Protection: Covered items which are stolen or accidentally damaged during the first 90 days will be reimbursed.
• Fraud Protection: The AmEx website says they will refund charges if your card is lost or stolen (much safer than cash, right?).
• Global Assist: In a nutshell this is a help line you can call when you are traveling more than 100 miles from home. They won’t actually pay for the help you need, but they will provide free guidance/advice in how to get that help. For example, if you need help finding an emergency dentist overseas or you lost your passport, they should be able to direct you to the right people.
• Arranging Roadside Assistance: This benefit isn’t that exciting since AmEx is not actually paying for the roadside assistance, but they will arrange the service for you without charge. You can use this up to 5x per year.

Qualifications (almost everyone will qualify)
So what AmEx Prepaid card requirements? Well since there’s no credit check, it doesn’t matter how bad your credit history is! The application says:

• You must be 18 years of age or older
• Cards cannot be shipped outside the US
• Cannot be shipped to Arkansas or Vermont

Pretty painless requirements, right? You will have to supply your Social Security/tax ID number but rest assured, this has nothing to do with your credit history. ALL prepaid cards are required by law to obtain this info from customers due to the Patriot Act.

Helps you build history with AmEx
Now this is awesome. By having and using the card, you can establish a history/reputation with American Express which may lead to you getting invited to apply for a charge card. Here’s how their website describes the “Make Your Move” program:

The Bad

ATM fees
You get one free withdrawal per month with an AmEx Prepaid Card (which is better than almost every other prepaid card on the market) but beyond that, you will be charged $2.00 per withdrawal. Then you also need to take into account the additional fees the ATM operator may charge you on top of that, because the two bucks just goes to American Express.

The Ugly

Reloading with cash
If you don’t want to pay any fees to reload, then you have to transfer funds either from (a) bank account or (b) another American Express card.

The problem with this is that many people who use reloadable prepaid cards don’t have a checking account nor a credit card, let alone an American Express. I’m not claiming that’s the case with everyone who this card would appeal to but certainly a good chunk of people fall under this umbrella.

If you don’t have a bank account or an AmEx card, you will need to reload with cash using a GreenDot MoneyPak (which is used for many other prepaid cards, too). You can pick up a GreenDot MoneyPak at drugstores, convenience stores and load money onto it for a fee, which is often $4.95.

Typically the most you can load onto it is $500 so that means right off the bat, that $4.95 equals almost 1% of your money. If you load $250 on it, the $4.95 equals almost 2%. As you see the less you load, the more your fee is percentage-wise.

Verdict?

If you can reload your American Express Prepaid Card using a bank account or other AmEx card, then this is definitely a good deal compared to almost every other prepaid cards on the market. There are no application fees, no monthly fees, and no annual fees!

However if you need to use the GreenDot MoneyPak those fees definitely suck, but at the same time, they are comparable to what you would be paying on other prepaid cards. So overall, this prepaid card from AmEx isn’t perfect but it appears to be the best one out there.

Use this link to get a AmEx Prepaid Card for free

By the way if the reason you are interested in a prepaid card is because you have bad credit and can’t get approved for a regular credit card, then you might want to consider applying for a secured credit card. The downside is those require deposits of $200 and up. However approval is almost guaranteed and yes, the fees are high, but at least the account will help build your credit if used responsibly.

Q: Can I downgrade my AmEx credit card and keep my number the same? Will another credit inquiry be done? If I downgrade near the beginning of my membership year will I get reimbursed for the annual fee I already paid?

A: There are several questions there so let’s go over them one at a time.

Will your number stay the same?

For the charge cards, I would say the odds are 50/50, depending on which card you currently have and which you want to go to. If you have a Platinum and want to downgrade to the Gold Card then you may be able to keep your number (I have heard from those who were able to, but also those who weren’t).

If you want to jump from a charge card to a no annual fee credit card (like the Gold to Blue Cash Everyday) then there’s a good chance your number will have to be changed, based on what forum members have reported.

Will there be another credit inquiry?

Assuming it’s a downgrade within the same class of cards (i.e. Green, Gold, Platinum) then it’s unlikely a hard pull credit inquiry will be made. However if you consider going from a Green Card to the AmEx Blue, there’s chance a credit inquiry may be required. Because remember a Green is a charge card (balance due in full) and a Blue is a credit card (where you can pay over time). The latter is a higher credit risk, so its understandable why American Express would want to verify your credit.

What if I downgrade after paying the annual fee?

If you downgrade after you’ve already paid the fee for the current year, usually you should be able to get it refunded at a prorated rate. For example, if you’re downgrading 3 months into your current year, then 9 months (75%) would be refunded. I can’t guarantee every situation will work this way but the prorated refund does appear to be a very common option.

Before you downgrade consider these 3 things

#1. Possible retention bonus for keeping your card
American Express is notorious for never waiving the annual fee so that is not an option. However you may be able to score a bonus for keeping your card – Membership Reward Points or a statement credit. To find out if you qualify, ask to be switched to the retention department and see what they can offer you. If you’re not a big spender, don’t be surprised if they don’t offer you anything.

#2. Understanding the Membership Rewards Points
If you have a card with Membership Rewards (i.e. Green/Gold/Platinum) then you will want to spend those first if you plan on downgrading to a card that doesn’t participate in MR. Why? Because if you have MR points on your account and you downgrade from Gold to Blue, the MR points will disappear from your account. In short, you need an open account that uses MR points in order to access them.

#3. Consider cancelling and then applying for a new AmEx
If your account number will be changing and no retention bonus is offered (or it’s not very good) then you may want to consider cancelling the card and then applying for the one you want, so you can get the signup bonus with it. From my experience the signup bonuses are more generous when you apply for the card versus downgrading/switching to it. For Example, the sponsored bonus currently available for the gold card is quite enticing, look at how many points you get, plus you won’t pay an annual fee for its first year.

Did you know Visa was originally created by Bank of America? So why do they now have an American Express card and is it any good?

In the past, Visa and MasterCard stipulated that their member banks were not allowed to issue other types of cards. For example, Citi was partnered with MasterCard so that was all they could issue. BofA used Visa and that’s why in the past, all of their debit and credit cards were Visa.

That all changed last decade. Due to antitrust lawsuits, the rules now say the biggest banks are required to offer cards from all of the big 3 payment networks (Visa, MasterCard, AmEx). This is why the Bank of America American Express credit card was launched a couple a years ago. As of 2011 they have 3 (one of which is the Virgin Atlantic card). For this review though I will only be talking about the other 2 which are far more popular… the Accelerated Rewards credit cards.

Before you apply make sure you understand the rewards

Aside from that Virgin Atlantic, there are two different versions. There’s the Bank of America Accelerated Cash Rewards American Express card, which as the name implies gives you cash back. Then there’s a similar version, the Accelerated Rewards, which gives points instead. Here’s a review of both reward programs:

Accelerated Cash Rewards AmEx – This is essentially a credit card which gives you 1.25% cash back on all purchases. You can redeem in increments of $50 for a statement credit, direct deposit into your BofA account, or a simple check. Being that there’s no annual fee and you have the ability to cash out at reasonable levels, this is the best BofA card if it’s namely cash rewards you are after.

Accelerated Rewards AmEx – This gives you 1.25 points per dollar spent. While that may sound similar to the card above, it’s actually very different. Why? Because this American Express card uses the BofA World Points. Unfortunately with this program, if you want to get a good value per point, you usually have to redeem a large chunk at once. For example if you want to redeem for a statement credit or partner gift card at a full 1 penny per point value, then you will typically have to redeem at least 25,000 points. Redeeming less usually gives you a lower point value.

Ironically, the application for this version seems to be more popular, yet its rewards aren’t as good. So why do people apply for it over the other? Well because of its color, many refer to it as the Bank of America American Express black card (and they like that). However it’s important to note that despite that it’s design features black, this card is no more and no less prestigious than the BofA Accelerated Cash Rewards card which is discussed above. Bottom line? Don’t apply for this thinking it’s a status symbol, because it definitely isn’t – this is a no annual fee card. If you want to impress people, try for the $450 AmEx Platinum Card instead.

A review of the included benefits

All credit cards which operate over the American Express network come with several useful benefits. This includes the BofA AmEx cards which have the following benefits:

• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance – You can read more about credit card rental coverage here.
• Arranging Roadside Assistance – Please do not confuse this benefit as being actual roadside assistance (which some premium cards like the AmEx Gold offer). Rather, the American Express Bank of America cards offer free arrangement of roadside assistance, but you will still have to pay for the cost of the actual roadside assistance yourself.
• Extended Warranty – More details about the Extended Warranty through AmEx can be found here.
• Travel Accident Insurance – Go here for a general overview of how credit card travel insurance usually works. As to the coverage details on these two particular cards, unfortunately BofA does not provide them on the website and after chatting with a rep for 20 minutes, he was not able to find them either. Unfortunately to find out the answer, I was told to apply for the credit card and wait for the benefits guide to arrive, which obviously is not the answer I wanted to hear.
• Retail Protection – On eligible purchases, this benefit offers protection against theft or accidental damage during the first 90 days following the date of purchase, subject to rules/restrictions.
• MyConcierge – This is a phone concierge service which is run by BofA, not AmEx.

Verdict?

As mentioned, I definitely feel the Bank of America Accelerated Cash Rewards AmEx is the best card between the two, due to the fact that you can redeem as little as $50 at a time and still get maximum point value. The 1.25% cash back across the board is 25% above most credit cards and that’s a great deal.

The only drawbacks I can think of with the Accelerated Cash Rewards card are:

(a) You don’t get higher cash back for other categories. Depending on your spending, you may be better off with a card that gives 1% on everything else and 2% to 5% on selected categories.
(b) The signup bonus is only $50

My suggestion? Before you apply, first compare it to these top 10 cash back credit cards.

If you’re an American Express cardmember, you probably already know about the Bonus Points Mall, which lets you earn extra rewards for your online shopping. Instead of having to login and check the offers constantly, wouldn’t it be nice to have them automatically displayed in search results on your browser? Well, that is exactly what the American Express inSite tool does.

How does it work?

It’s a browser plugin and any AmEx cardmember can download it for free. You can download inSite for all major browsers: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari. During Summer 2011 American Express offered a $10.00 promotional credit just for downloading and using inSite. To see if this offer or another is currently available, check the aforementioned link.

After you have installed the software/plugin, when you do a search on Google, Bing or Yahoo, you will see an AmEx icon next to sites which currently have offers available:

Also, if you visit a participating retailer website directly, the AmEx Insite plugin will show a box in the top-right corner to notify you there are offer(s) for that website:

You can still get these same deals without Insite, by logging into your American Express account and going to the AmEx Bonus Points Mall section. However the advantage with using Insite is that you won’t have to login to AmEx to get a deal. Instead, the deals are automatically fed to you while you are browsing the net, anytime you come across a participating site.

Are there any drawbacks?

The only drawback I can think of is for those who have computers which are living on the edge, so to speak (crashing and freezing all the time). When that’s the case, you may want to avoid adding new software and plugins that could slow down your system. However unlike normal software, please understand that inSite only runs while your browser is running, so it won’t have any effect when you’re not on the net. Conclusion? Even if your computer is old and slow, it shouldn’t pose a problem.

Do you have any experiences or reviews (either good or bad) about American Express Insite? If so, please share them in a comment below! You also may want to check out the American Express forum if you have questions about your card or are looking for a new one.