New Amex Business Offers: 100,000 Points on Platinum, 40,000 on Gold

American Express has just boosted the welcome offers on both of its UK small business cards. Until 12 January 2027, The American Express Business Platinum Card comes with 100,000 Membership Rewards points plus a £150 Selfridges gift card, and the Business Gold Card comes with 40,000 points plus a £100 Selfridges gift card - and no annual fee in year one.

On paper, that's a big number. But both of these cards sit in my own wallet, I've watched these offers come and go for a while now, and this round comes with a couple of twists that are worth understanding before you hit apply.

WHAT // Both UK Amex business cards have boosted sign-up offers running until 12 January 2027. Business Platinum gives you 100,000 Membership Rewards points and a £150 Selfridges gift card when you spend £12,000 in your first three months. Business Gold gives you 40,000 points and a £100 Selfridges gift card for £6,000 of spend in three months, with the £195 fee waived for the first year. The standard offers are 50,000 and 20,000 points, so these are roughly double.

WHY IT MATTERS // Membership Rewards points convert 1:1 into Avios and Virgin Points, so this is 100,000 (or 40,000) Avios from a single sign-up. Both cards earn 1 point per £1, so you'd need to put £100,000 through Business Platinum to earn 100,000 points the slow way. Welcome bonuses are still the fastest way to build a balance in the UK - which is exactly why the eligibility rules (more on those below) matter so much.

👉 Apply for Amex Business Platinum (100,000 points + £150 Selfridges)

👉 Apply for Amex Business Gold (40,000 points + £100 Selfridges, no fee in year one)

These are small business cards, so the basics matter first:

Then there's the bonus rule, which American Express tightened in August 2026:

In practice that creates a one-way street. A Business Gold cardholder can still pick up the 100,000 points on Platinum, but a Business Platinum cardholder can't go back for the Gold bonus. It also means I'm out of the running for both, because I hold Business Platinum and Business Gold - so there's no FOMO clouding my judgement here. If you're unsure where you stand, our Amex welcome bonus eligibility tool is a good starting point, but the terms on Amex's application page are the final word.

Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to Avios and Virgin Points (and to Flying Blue, among others). Using British Airways' current off-peak reward prices from London, including the Reward Flight Saver taxes, here's what the bonuses can turn into:

Peak dates cost more and pricing can change, so check your own route with our How many Avios for a flight tool, then hunt for actual seats with Award Travel Finder. The floor is 0.5p per point if you cash out for gift cards (£500 for 100,000 points), and a sensible yardstick for Avios is around 1p each - so roughly £1,000 of travel, before you count the Selfridges card. More on that in our guide to what an Avios is worth.

Smaller headline, tighter rules. Earlier this year, Amex ran 120,000 points on Business Platinum and 60,000 on Business Gold until 5 May 2026 - with exactly the same £12,000 and £6,000 spend targets. So this time you get 20,000 fewer points on each card, with a Selfridges gift card in their place.

Is that a fair swap? 20,000 Membership Rewards points are worth £100 at worst as gift cards, and around £200 if you'd turn them into Avios. On Platinum, a £150 gift card sits in the middle - a small step down if you redeem for flights, a small step up if you'd have cashed out anyway. On Gold, £100 for 20,000 points only matches the gift card floor, so for most people reading this, it's a slightly weaker deal than the spring.

The bigger change is the rule. When Amex ran its bumper offers last autumn, we told you that if you were approved, you'd get the bonus regardless of your other Amex cards. That freedom has gone. My read - and it is only my read - is that Amex has worked out that a lot of business card sign-ups were existing cardholders cycling through bonuses, and it now wants genuinely new customers. Gift cards are a neat way to keep the headline shiny without handing over as many points.

So should you hold out for 120,000 to come back? I wouldn't bet on it. Nobody outside Amex knows the next offer, and this is now the third boosted business offer I've covered in about 13 months. But with a 24-month cooldown, taking a bonus today locks you out of whatever comes next - so if you weren't planning to use the card anyway, don't let 100,000 points rush you into it. On Platinum especially, it's the £650 fee against the ongoing benefits that should decide it: the £200 travel credit, Priority Pass for up to four people and the hotel status. Hilton Gold, with its free breakfast, is how I hold Hilton status myself.

Business Gold at 40,000 points plus £100, with no fee for a year, is an easy recommendation for any eligible limited company director - just set a reminder before the £195 fee kicks in. Business Platinum at 100,000 points plus £150 is still one of the biggest card bonuses available in the UK right now, and well worth it if the spend is natural and you'll use the benefits. If you've had either card recently, the 24-month rule means you're out - sorry (I'm in the same boat).

Both offers close on 12 January 2027. I'll update this piece if Amex changes anything before then, and I share the best offers as they land over on Instagram.

👉 See the Amex Business Platinum and Gold offers

That's all from me for now. Any questions, just hit reply - I read every email.

Safe travels,
Jack