Considering AmEx Platinum for Small Business, What to Use When Not Accepted?

buckerooni on 25/10/2022 - 09:13

Hi All,

We travel yearly to India and looking for a business card to accumulate points to offset this travel - most likely fly singapore air - so Krisflyer points are what we're looking at.

The Amex Platium looks like a beast of a card for this (our spend will be around 250K pa) but assume it won't be accepted everywhere and will need a business visa/mastercard backup.

What do people use as a backup business card, that potentially compliments the points, or do you just keep it simple and get a low rate card or just a simple debit as a catch-all ?

We have business accounts (incl. business debit) with commonwealth at the moment, so we could just keep using that to really keep it simple (Amex Plat + CBA business debit).

thanks for any insights.

Financial American Express

Comments

  • tio on 25/10/2022 - 09:42
    +1

    Last time I looked, Amplify Rewards Signature is a decent earner if Krisflyer is your focus.

  • dtc on 25/10/2022 - 09:42
    +2

    Most businesses use AMEX because of its back end benefits and level of control that can be placed on cards (for example, you can limit what a card can be used for) and how it fits into the business accounting systems

    So that is not an issue for you and you are just after points, then really any other card will be fine. I assume aim for a card that also allows you to accumulate Krisflyer points - https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/best-krisflyer-mi… https://www.pointhacks.com.au/krisflyer/best-singapore-airli…

    You may find the ANZ Rewards Black card to be an option rather than the AmEx platinum

    • buckerooni on 25/10/2022 - 10:40

      thanks for the reply and VERY useful info, we don't need that level of control but the yearly spend on amex gave roughly another extra 140-200K krisflyer points the first year(!) but that's assuming the full spend is on the Amex card, where in reality not all purchases will be made on it due to limited Amex acceptance.

      The amex annual charge and the additional ongoing overhead of managing 2 cards may not be worth the hassle of maximising points.

      Thanks for those links, had not read that pointshack article very well the first time - but yeah I was looking hard at the ANZ Black Business!

      Now it looks like the St George Amplify is just a bit better than the ANZ Black because :
      - reward conversion of 2:1 (St George) to Krisflyer instead of 3:1 (ANZ)
      - Krisflyer miles at 0.75 (St George) instead of 0.67 (ANZ) - adds up!
      - the offer/bonus points in Krisflyer miles is 75K (St George) instead of 45K (ANZ)

      I calculated at the end of the first year with the 250K spend and offer points, St George will give 262K Krisflyer compared to 212K of the ANZ with better ongoing point accumulation.

      I think I have that straight but would welcome any correction/additional info, I'm pretty new to this!

      • dtc on 25/10/2022 - 11:02
        +1

        also keep in mind that some places charge a higher fee for AmEx over visa or mastercard - that seems to be less common than it used to be, but 1% vs 0.6% or whatever also is an additional cost.

        I havent gone through the calculations but based on your comments, yes, the St George option might be preferable. Another 50k odd points is worth it (assuming there is no yearly cap).

        As said, Amex doesnt really try to compete on cost but on 'cost benefit' - saves businesses on their accounting fees and internal costs but charges a bit more than alternatives. If the benefits dont stack up for you, then other options seem preferable

        • buckerooni on 25/10/2022 - 11:09
          +1

          yes, the fee was also a concern, I've never had an Amex.

          you've been very helpful in changing my mind on the Amex and am now comfortable with the new approach, also, no cap on the Amplify!

  • jv on 25/10/2022 - 11:05
    +1

    What do people use as a backup business card

    Cash…

  • daft009 on 26/10/2022 - 07:16
    +1

    I do the same. I do about $50k/month.

    Feel feel to message me and I can fill you in

    Basically the charge card and the amplify are my staples

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