Amex Business Platinum Card Changes

There are a few negative Amex Business Platinum card changes coming down the pike. These are not unexpected, since they rolled out the Hilton quarterly credits last year. We all assumed that the Dell credits would either go away and be replaced by something else, or would be downgraded. It appears they decided to go with the latter of those two choices. Here are the Business Platinum changes that will go into effect on July 1st, 2025.

Changes To The Card Benefits

Here are what the Amex Business Platinum card changes will look like starting July 1st, 2025:

• Adobe: 
  • Enrolled Business Platinum Card Members can get a $250 statement credit after they spend $600 or more on U.S. purchases made directly with Adobe from July 1-Dec 31, 2025 (and for each calendar year after). 
  • The new Adobe benefit will provide Business Platinum Card Members with a statement credit for spend on all U.S. purchases made directly with Adobe, expanded from spend on select products.
    • This means Card Members can use the new Adobe benefit to get a statement credit on popular products such as Adobe Acrobat Pro and Adobe Express. Three annual licenses of Adobe Acrobat Pro = >$600. 
• Dell: 
  • Enrolled Business Platinum Card Members can get up to $150 in statement credits on U.S. purchases made directly with Dell and an additional $1,000 statement credit after they spend $5,000 or more on those purchases from July 1-Dec 31, 2025 (and for each calendar year after), totaling up to $1,150 in Dell statement credits.
    • The benefit now allows businesses to get a statement credit just for spending with Dell, for example on a new tech accessory each year like a mouse or keyboard but also get a statement credit for larger tech upgrades, like the latest PCs for their team.

How This Compares To The Current Card Benefits

Here are what the current Adobe and Dell benefits look like on the Business Platinum Card from American Express. They will stay in place until June 30th, 2025 – so be sure to maximize them before then.

• Current Adobe Benefit: 
  • Valid through June 30, 2025, enrolled Business Platinum Card Members can earn up to $150 in statement credits on select Adobe purchases on the Business Platinum Card.
• Current Dell Benefit: 
  • Valid through June 30, 2025, enrolled Business Platinum Card Members can earn up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually – $400 annually – on U.S. purchases with Dell on the Business Platinum Card. 

Why I Think These Are Negative Changes

To be fair to these Amex Business Platinum card changes we need to look at them as a whole. That would include the $50 per quarter Hilton credits, for a total of $200 per year.

Dell Credit Changes

Since the increase in the annual fee of this card to almost $700, and the addition of these coupons, the value has always hinged on the $400 in Dell credits each year. The cell phone credits and airline incidental credits get most people half the way there fairly easily. To bridge the rest of the gap you needed to maximize the Dell credits twice a year.

While people complained about the Dell credits, mainly because Dell is a hot mess, they were fairly easy to use. You didn't have to go anywhere to use them, and they were twice a year. The Hilton credits are the opposite of that. People thought they had an easy option with Hilton gift cards, but those have been as messy as a Dell customer service call center. These changes mean the main crux of the card's value switched to Hilton, became more difficult to use AND you get less value overall. The top end of this redemption is $350 ($200 Hilton and $150 Dell) instead of the $400 the Dell credits offered before.

Well, that is true for 99% of small businesses at least. If you spend a lot at Dell, and can hit that $5000 mark, then you are loving these changes. I am not sure if it is humanly possible to get through enough Dell orders to hit that number though. (No, I do not kid)

Adobe Credit Changes

I was excited to see that Adobe was dropping their limited options requirement from the credit. Adobe has some photo editing programs etc. that my wife and kids would like to use. That was until I saw that there was a $600 spending requirement to hit the credit. This is somehow less useful while being more accessible, since you have to come out of pocket for $350 just to use it.

The 7 Winners Today

The only people that came out ahead on this are the few businesses that still spend a lot of money with Dell.

Amex Business Platinum Card Changes: ToP Thoughts

These Amex Business Platinum card changes are forcing my hand on keeping one of these cards open. I had planned on likely keeping one open whenever the no lifetime language offers ran out, but probably not any more. I was always able to use the Dell credits to buy presents for the kids etc. and never struggled figuring out a use for them like some other people did. The Hilton credits are way more of a headache to me. Especially since we have Surpass cards etc. that have them as well. The last thing I want to do is check out of a hotel with 8 credit cards to maximize their value.

With the old set up I could still justify carrying one of these cards because of the 35% Amex Business Platinum flight rebate. Being able to get around 1.5 cents per point on flights does come in handy at least a few times a year. Throw in the fact that I can cash out Membership Rewards points at 1 cent a piece with my Amex Business Checking account, and those were enough perks to chase the coupon book dragon. Not anymore though, the frustration level has passed the breaking point for me personally.

If I had a business that spends $5,000+ with Dell I would be jumping for joy right now though. The 7 people in the world that can deal with below average computers are the real winners today.