American Express Business Cards

[Sly]

What business cards are you guys running with American Express? Do you feel the perks are worth the annual fees?

I'm looking at the Platinum.

[Juicy D. Links]

I have the Rainbow Amex it is extremely limited and..... dehhh gheyyy

[Relentless]

Be aware if you ever do face bankruptcy American Express is far and away the most relentless collector of consumer debt. Most banks and cards will take pennies on the dollar and allow for a faster resolution, AMEX typically digs in and doesn't let go. That doesn't sound important because you don't plan to ever go bankrupt. Having watched people go bankrupt, I can tell you nobody plans to go bankrupt. If you intend to carry any kind of balance on a card or credit line, do it with someone else (even if costs you an extra point).

If you do pay the full balance monthly, Amex Platinum has some nice travel perks, but I've done better over the years with capital one for points rewards.

[Spudstr]

Be aware if you ever do face bankruptcy American Express is far and away the most relentless collector of consumer debt. Most banks and cards will take pennies on the dollar and allow for a faster resolution, AMEX typically digs in and doesn't let go. That doesn't sound important because you don't plan to ever go bankrupt. Having watched people go bankrupt, I can tell you nobody plans to go bankrupt. If you intend to carry any kind of balance on a card or credit line, do it with someone else (even if costs you an extra point).

If you do pay the full balance monthly, Amex Platinum has some nice travel perks, but I've done better over the years with capital one for points rewards.

Amex is losing its value for platinum and centurion card holders. I'm getting tired of their perks going away every 6 months it seems.

[Ross]

I use platinum amex, I like it but can't say I have utilized the perks fully. It gets you into airport lounges in a number of North American airports and I really like the free insurance I get for car rentals, saves me about $200 average on every rental I make when I go home to Scotland. I visit Scotland 2-3 times a year so the savings are great just on that.

[superman1]

I have a Amex Centurion it comes with Priority pass that a frequent flyer anyway will get with a few airline programs.
The only reason I still have it is they arrange a table in every good club worldwide and let you move directly in, arrange tickets for sold out events and 50% of the cost they reward me with points to stay a member.
Most of the service is useless, they "travel support" is a nice thing, but you will never get a competative price.

99% of this Amex card is overpraise american marketing only :-)

[JA$ON]

Business - Platinum, no preset limit (but its a charge card, not a credit card so full balance is due every month) BY FAR the best concierge service of any card. Ive gotten flights last minute that even the airline showed as sold out since AMEX keeps seats reserved on a lot of major cities / hubs. I had wallet stolen in SF once (ID, cards, cash...gone)....they sent a car to get me, booked me a ticket home and had a car to pick me up when I landed. And called the local police to help. You can use a police report AS ID to board a plane in cases when your ID was stolen. They coordinated it ALL!

Personal - (could be used as business though) Starwood Platinum - Best AMEX Ive ever had from a card / miles standpoint. You earn Starwood points which are amazing for use with Starwood itself, but they can also be transferred to most any airlines miles program.

[JFK]

Business - Platinum, no preset limit (but its a charge card, not a credit card so full balance is due every month) BY FAR the best concierge service of any card. Ive gotten flights last minute that even the airline showed as sold out since AMEX keeps seats reserved on a lot of major cities / hubs. I had wallet stolen in SF once (ID, cards, cash...gone)....they sent a car to get me, booked me a ticket home and had a car to pick me up when I landed. And called the local police to help. You can use a police report AS ID to board a plane in cases when your ID was stolen. They coordinated it ALL!

Personal - (could be used as business though) Starwood Platinum - Best AMEX Ive ever had from a card / miles standpoint. You earn Starwood points which are amazing for use with Starwood itself, but they can also be transferred to most any airlines miles program.

I had Platinum a few years ago, loved it and the points I got every month Some months, it was a bitch coming up with the 5 figure payments

[FreeHugeMovies]

Gold is 100 a year

[xXXtesy10]

[BaldBastard]

I ran a Centurion for years but with declining benefits and increasing fees I dropped back to Platinum, Centurion lost its wow factor last century, annual fee here in Aus is 5k a year. Does not add up unless your flying weekly.. 5k buys a lotta airfare.

[fuzebox]

Amex is losing its value for platinum and centurion card holders. I'm getting tired of their perks going away every 6 months it seems.

Agreed. I keep mine mainly because it's the easiest way to facilitate a large purchase with the least amount of hassle, and the various protections and insurances. I technically have three of them though (Platinum and 2x Delta reserve) and plan to cancel the Delta cards, and get the Starwood instead.

[VikingMan]

Several years ago after a trip to the UK and Switzerland someone stole my Amex account info and went to Pamplona Spain and stayed in a nice hotel and ordered a fuckload of room service. I called up Amex and let them know it as fraud and they instantly credited me back while they investigated. Much nicer than having to fill out a form and request a chargeback.

And yes the car rental insurance can save you a lot of money so you are not temped to buy the insurance offered from the rental company. If you get in an accident you don't have to deal with anything like if you used your own insurance.