Best American Express Business credit cards of December 2023

One of the largest credit card issuers in the world, American Express constantly ranks as one the best credit companies in the world when accounting for perks, accessibility and its No. 1 spot in J.D. Power’s 2023 credit card satisfaction study. American Express offers lucrative rewards, expense tracking and premium travel perks such as airport lounge access for established businesses.

For new entrepreneurs and startup owners, Amex offers cards with unique financing options and money-saving features. Whether a general rewards Amex card, luxury travel card or co-branded card, you can find a card that meets your business needs. 

Top American Express business cards benefits

• Pay Over Time: While we don’t recommend carrying a balance, sometimes it's necessary. With Pay Over Time, you have time to pay off eligible purchases over a set period with interest, instead of paying the entire balance. On the surface, the feature may not have much appeal but when you’re in a tight spot with an unexpected expense, it can be a useful tool.
• Travel credits: Depending on the card, you can get a plethora of travel credits that can be beneficial to most travelers. Some include a CLEAR Plus membership credit, hotel credits, airport lounge access and an airline bonus when you pay with points. If you travel a few times a year then you can take advantage of what’s available on your card.
• Global Assistant Hotline: The Global Assistance Hotline helps cardmembers when travel hiccups occur. From replacing a lost passport to finding missing luggage, the service is only a call away from coordinating and assisting you when you’re far from home.
• Year-End Summary: You can easily keep track of your annual spending with this Amex feature. Amex puts together an interactive overview of all your spending from the previous year, broken down by category and available as soon as Jan. 1. This can be a tremendous help when it comes to budgeting and planning for the next year of your business.

American Express has some of the best business cards on the market. However, that doesn’t mean that these cards are the best fit for everyone. The right Amex business card for you can depend on the type of business you have as well as your spending habits. 

Still unsure if a travel credit card is right for you? Check out our Credit Card Spender Type Tool where you can get personalized credit card recommendations based on your credit score, spending habits and daily needs.

Instead of stretching your budget for better rewards or welcome bonuses, the best business card will reward you for what you already spend on your business, making your expenses easier to manage. Here are some questions to consider:

What categories does your business spend the most on?

If your expenses are concentrated in one or two categories like travel or dining, dedicate your search toward the best Amex business credit card that offers rewards for those categories. Another consideration is whether you’d like to earn a flat rate on general purchases or boosted rates on special purchase categories.

Can your business afford an annual fee?

Generally, business credit cards that charge an annual fee will offer better rewards and perks. You can often offset the annual fee by maximizing your card’s perks and benefits. If your business will get little use from the benefits provided, it’s harder to justify paying the high annual fee.

Will you carry a balance on your business card?

Be sure to compare the APRs on all the credit cards you’re considering if you plan to carry a balance from one month to the next and factor in those interest charges. Finding a card with the lowest APR possible will help mitigate costly expenses on your balance sheet.

What additional card perks do you want?

It’s essential to look further than cash back percentages and travel rewards to see what else a card offers. Airport lounge access, free additional employee cards, financing options and other features can help your business thrive.

American Express offers access to its renowned Membership Rewards® program on its consumer and business credit cards. Still, it also allows businesses to turn every purchase into an investment in the company with Corporate Membership Rewards. This program lets business owners redeem points for business trips, gift cards, office supplies and  more. Some cards in the Corporate Membership Rewards program have an annual fee, but members can redeem points for a credit on their company’s card statement and earn points that don’t expire.

On top of that, members can earn up to 1.25 Corporate Membership Rewards points for every dollar charged to their Amex corporate card for business expenses, such as travel accommodations and utility bills. Plus, they can earn 2 Corporate Membership Rewards points for each dollar spent on foreign currency transactions, computer hardware, software and cloud services and online advertising. Interested business owners and employees can enroll by logging into American Express @Work or contacting their Amex representative.

How much are Amex points worth?

American Express has one of the highest credit card point values on the market. Bankrate currently values American Express Membership Rewards at 1 cent per point when booking through the issuer and around 2.0 cents per point when transferred to a high-value airline or hotel partner. This means that 50,000 Membership Rewards points could net you an estimated $1,000 in travel value.

For other redemption options outside of travel, the points are only worth 0.5 to 0.7 cents, a downside for business owners who don’t travel often. However, it still can be useful for the occasional flight.

After completing these steps, you’ll fill out some basic personal information, including your billing address and total annual income, which includes any income you can use to pay your bills and any profits you’ve taken from your business thus far. You can also opt to include your non-taxable annual income, which is optional but may be helpful if you receive any income exempt from federal income tax, like Social Security and disability benefits.

This year hasn’t been the kindest for small businesses with spikes in bankruptcy, often due to a lack of funding. On the flip side, there’s been an increase of minority-owned businesses during the last few years that will be looking for additional funding in the near future.

There are many options available for business owners, but a short-term solution could be a business credit card for situations, such as last-minute purchases or if you’re having difficulty finding funding through other means. There also may be credits for products that could be helpful to your business, taking pressure off the budget. With some cards, American Express offers its Amex Pay Over Time feature and credits for Adobe and Dell products.

When evaluating the best business cards, we consider a mix of factors, including how cards score in our proprietary card rating system and whether cards offer features that fit the priorities of a diverse group of small-business owners, from earning rewards in popular business spending categories to getting payment flexibility or high-value perks. Whenever possible, we also feature cards that are available at various credit levels and price points. 

We analyzed over 50 of the most popular business credit cards and scored each based on its rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more to determine whether it belonged in this month’s roundup.

Here are some of the key factors that we considered:

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