Major Changes Coming to American Express Business Platinum & Gold in April 2026
- Helena
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
Well, this isn’t good.
American Express has announced a series of changes to its Business Platinum and Business Gold cards coming April 2026.
From April 2026, Membership Rewards spend bonuses will disappear, sole traders will no longer be able to apply, and a new Flexible Payment Option will allow balances to be carried with interest. Business Platinum holders will see some small benefits added to their cards, but these are not enough in our opinion
We’ll admit, as Points Well Made is growing, we have started to investigate business cards for our own needs, and American Express’ cards are an obvious landing pad for us. But when we add up all these changes together, this represents a clear shift, and not one that obviously improves value for most users.
Wait, Amex do business cards?
American Express offers three points earning business cards. The Business Gold and Platinum both earn Membership Rewards points that transfer to British Airways Avios and Virgin Points at 1:1. We advocate that you all turn your normal spending into points, so why not turn your business spending into flights? The other card is the British Airways Accelerating Business, but we’ll cover that down below.
The Business Gold (free first year, £195 after) is the entry point. You'll earn 1 point per £1 spent, making it an easy option for everyday business expenses without much fuss.
The Business Platinum (£650 annually) is the premium version with airport lounge access, travel insurance, and various credits. It earns the same base rate but adds perks that matter if you travel frequently for work.
But, here’s what’s changing.
Sole traders lose access to Amex Business Platinum and Gold cards
Going forward, applications will be limited to:
Directors of Limited Companies
Members of Limited Liability Partnerships
Sole traders are no longer eligible.
American Express Business cards were one of the few premium options in the UK that freelancers, consultants and small independent operators could access. That segment is now effectively excluded going forward.
It also removes a natural progression path for many small businesses, who often begin as sole traders before incorporating.
If you already hold Business Platinum or Business Gold as a sole trader, you can however keep your card. Be warned, if you cancel it, you will not be able to reapply.
Membership Rewards spend bonuses are ending April 2026
From 1st April 2026, American Express will remove the spend-based bonuses on both Business Platinum and Business Gold.
What cardholders will lose
Currently:
Business Platinum: 10,000 bonus points for spending £10,000 in a calendar month
Business Gold: 10,000 bonus points for spending £20,000 in a calendar quarter
What American Express is offering instead
In an email to Business Platinum cardholders, American Express outlined new benefits launching 1st April 2026:
Up to £400 extra Amex Travel credit – spend £120,000 in a card membership year for £400 credit, or £60,000 for £200 credit (this is in addition to the existing £200 annual credit)
Up to £240 annual Enterprise rental credit – spend £60 at Enterprise in any month, receive £20 back (enrolment required)
15% Superscript credit – one-time 15% statement credit on your first Superscript transaction per calendar year (enrolment required)
At the time of writing, there is nothing new for Business Gold customers.
The base earning rate of 1 point per £1 remains unchanged, but that was never where the real value sat for many businesses.
The ability to trigger repeated 10,000 point bonuses made these cards particularly attractive for businesses with predictable high expenses, VAT payments, inventory purchases, or large supplier invoices.
Without those bonuses, the effective earn rate drops, and the cards become noticeably less competitive for high spenders. Instead they're saying that if you spend £120,000, we’ll give you 0.3% back in travel credit that you can only spend on our website, woooooo...
American Express describes this as "ensuring we continue to provide an excellent suite of benefits." Whether replacing flexible points with merchant credits qualifies as "excellent" will depend entirely on your business spending patterns.
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New "Flexible Payment Option": What it means
American Express is introducing a "Flexible Payment Option" for new applicants, allowing part of the balance to be carried. There is an interest free period, but after that its to be repaid with interest.
Depending how you look at it, this could give you flexibility, or it could be a way for Amex to profit off hard times.
Purchase rate: 29.4% variable
Interest-free period: Up to 54 days
Welcome bonuses remain unchanged
One positive point is that welcome bonuses and eligibility rules remain the same.
There are still:
No restrictions based on holding other Amex cards
No cross-product exclusion rules
If you qualify and meet the spend requirement, you will receive the bonus under the standard terms.
BA Amex Accelerating Business: The only option left for sole traders
With Business Platinum and Business Gold closed to new sole trader applications, only one American Express business product remains available to that group, the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card.
We haven't covered this card yet on Points Well Made, but briefly put, it earns Avios and On Business points. On Business points effectively work similarly to Avios in that you can use them to pay for flights.
Through the British Airways website there is currently a 40,000 Avios welcome bonus, which could make it an attractive option for businesses that are loyal to British Airways and their clan of Avios based airlines.
Should you keep your Amex Business card after April?
I'll admit, that was a lot, so I just want to summarise what American Express is changing, they're:
Removing a valuable earning mechanism
Narrowing eligibility
Introducing interest-bearing balances
Promising a replacement incentive that remains undefined
None of these moves are catastrophic on their own. But none of them clearly improve the cards either.
For Limited Companies with moderate spending, the Business Gold card may still justify its £195 fee, but they may find the Business Platinum's £650 fee harder to defend without the spend bonuses.
For high spenders and sole traders, two groups that historically found the most value here, the proposition has become noticeably weaker.
That may not be the intention, but it is difficult to avoid that conclusion.
Helena
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