This card works well for business owners whose spending budgets aren’t too high just yet.
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4.3
Bottom line
Small businesses and mid-size startups will find a nice marriage of affordability and business perks in this business card. While you’ll want to be sure you keep your budget in check to avoid hitting spending caps on your reward earnings, you’ll still get a lot out of this one if you play your card(s) right.
Rewards rate
1X–2XAnnual fee
No annual feeIntro offer
15,000 pointsRegular APR
16.99% - 24.99% VariableRecommended Credit Score
Good to Excellent (670 - 850)The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express has no annual fee and a high rewards rate on up to $50,000 in purchases per year, which makes it ideal for small business owners that have big startup expenses or that don’t have a specialized budget just yet.
As your business develops, the Blue Business Plus pairs especially well with other American Express cards as a flat-rate business rewards card, so it can remain a key partner in your rewards strategy well into the future.
Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the card within your first three months of card membership. Other no annual fee business credit cards we’ve seen have offered anywhere from $200 to $750 in welcome bonus value.
The Blue Business Plus by American Express falls within the flexible American Express Membership Rewards program, allowing you to earn points on all of your everyday purchases. This Blue Business Plus card can offer solid value to small-business owners, as it is one of the few cards with no annual fee that offers rewards at this rate. Plus, the opportunity to earn 2X points on up to $50,000 in purchases per year resets every year, so the chance to earn relatively lucrative rewards is not limited to new cardholders. With such benefits, this card could earn a permanent place in your wallet.
You’ll get 2X points on up to $50,000 in purchases each year and 1X points after that. If you’re often behind the wheel of a rental car, you’ll also earn unlimited 2X points on prepaid rental cars booked through the American Express Travel portal.
There are no spending categories to keep track of, making it easy to rack up rewards without having to spend strategically.
American Express has a variety of redemption options, including travel through its portal, merchandise and gift cards. You can also transfer your points to over a dozen hotel and airline partners or use your rewards to cover your card charges, like a statement credit.
Online shoppers can use Pay with Points at checkout with select merchants and prepaid rental cars booked through Amex Travel as well.
Depending on which redemption option you choose, each reward point could be worth between 0.5 cents and 2 cents.
The best way to maximize your points is to use them for travel, especially when you transfer to a partner airline or hotel. The Points Guy’s latest valuation estimates that finding the right American Express transfer partner can bump each point to up to 2 cents apiece, but redeeming for air travel through the Amex portal will only get you 1 cent per point. Reserving prepaid hotels, cars, cruises and planned vacations will only net 0.7 cents per point.
Paying with points and redeeming them for merchandise, gift cards (value varies by merchant, but up to a 1:1 value) or statement credits will get you the least bang for your buck since you’ll only get 0.5 cents to 0.7 cents per point in most cases.
In addition to rewards, this card has perks that can help you manage your business spending, including expanding your buying power and providing you with employee cards. Here’s a rundown of the main benefits you’ll get as a Blue Business Plus cardholder.
This card has a quick and easy online application process. In fact, you could get your American Express Blue Business Plus approval in as little as 30 seconds.
If you need to make a large purchase higher than your Amex Blue Business Plus credit limit, you can with expanded buying power. Based on your creditworthiness, American Express may allow you to go over your credit limit to cover business expenses like equipment and inventory, but it’s not unlimited. It adjusts with your card use, payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express, and more. Also, you must pay off the over-limit portion at the end of each billing statement as part of your minimum statement.
The Blue Business Plus allows you to get additional cards for your employees and set custom limits on their spending.
The account manager feature allows you to give a trusted assistant access to your accounts so they can monitor your finances for you.
This card also comes with purchase protection to protect your covered purchases from theft or accidental damage for up to 90 days from the date of purchase.
If you travel, you’ll be happy to find out this card comes with secondary car rental loss and damage insurance as well as a Global Assist Hotline. The hotline can help you if you find a solution for emergencies such as a lost passport or missing luggage.
Most notably, the Amex Blue Business Plus has no annual fee and a 0 percent intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months from account opening, enabling you to finance large business expenses for one year without paying interest. This intro APR offer is worthwhile — especially for a purchase-focused card — since several popular business cards don’t offer zero-interest periods.
After the intro period is over, your regular APR will be between 16.99 percent and 24.99 percent (variable), depending on your creditworthiness. If you spend over your limit, the Expanded Buying Power feature means you won’t face an overlimit fee, but there are a few other rates and fees to be aware of if you have difficulty paying off your balance.
A returned payment or two or more late payments in one year will subject you to a 29.99 percent penalty APR. This penalty APR lasts for at least 12 billing cycles and could cause you to rack up high-interest debt. The Blue Business Plus Credit Card also has a $39 late and returned payment fee and a 2.7 percent fee on foreign transactions.
The Blue Business Plus credit card is ideal for small business owners who are looking for a card with a simple rewards structure, no annual fee and an intro APR period. The downside is that this would not be a good fit for larger companies spending more than $50,000 a year (at least not as their primary business card). If your spending is high, pairing this card with another one or utilizing another business card completely may allow you to maximize more reward earnings.
Annual fee
No annual feeIntro offer
15,000 pointsRewards rate
1X–2XRecommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)on Capital One's secure site
Annual fee
$150Intro offer
Up to $1,000 cash bonusRewards rate
2%–5%Recommended credit
Excellent(740 - 850)Annual fee
No annual feeIntro offer
$250Rewards rate
1%–2%Recommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)The Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers unlimited 2 percent cash back without a rewards cap like the Blue Business Plus, so big spenders may earn more with the Spark Cash Plus card. The catch is that it has a $150 annual fee, but it’s relatively easy to recoup through rewards spending or the $200 annual bonus if you spend at least $200,000 each year. That translates to about $625 spent per month in order to make up the cost of the $150 fee with rewards alone. Fortunately, the Spark Cash Plus is a true charge card without a set spending limit, giving you the chance to earn piles of cash back if your business has a lot of big expenses to often cover.
Businesses that don’t have expansive budgets and won’t blow through the $50,000 annual spending cap may be better off with the Blue Business Plus card. Since the Spark Cash Plus is a charge card, it may be more difficult to build up credit with the requirement to pay off balances in full each billing cycle. As a result, the Blue Business Plus is the better option for building your business credit over time, while the Spark Cash Plus is ideal for more established business ventures.
If you like the perks of the Blue Business Plus card, you should consider the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card. You’ll earn 2 percent cash back on the first $50,000 in purchases per year, and 1 percent after that. Just like the Blue Business Plus, it has a nearly identical rewards system, no annual fee, Expanded Buying Power, an intro interest-free period of 12 months on purchases and the same reasonable 16.99 percent to 24.99 percent variable APR afterward. The Blue Business Plus Card could give more value to small businesses wanting to earn points that can be redeemed for travel, though those looking for cash back may be more satisfied with the American Express Blue Business Cash Card. It’s also important to note that while travel purchases are the most lucrative redemption option for these cards, you will have to pay a foreign transaction fee for any purchases made abroad with both cards.
Hands down, the best pairing for the Blue Business Plus consists of the other two cards in the Amex Trifecta: The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card. This trio is the definitive combination for earning maximum Membership Rewards points across your spending. While the Amex Platinum rewards your travel purchases, the Amex Gold rakes in boosted rewards on everyday expenses like dining and groceries at U.S. supermarkets.
If your rewards strategy isn’t that ambitious, like other flat-rate cards, the Blue Business Plus partners especially well with some of the best rewards credit cards that offer higher rates on your biggest bonus categories. Another American Express business card like the American Express® Business Gold Card could be a fantastic tool since it earns 4X points on up to $150,000 across two of your business’ biggest eligible categories each billing cycle.
If you’re a big spender, getting a Blue Business Plus Credit Card may not be the best card for you. You’ll only earn 2X points on the first $50,000 you spend each year (except for rental cars booked through Amex Travel), and your rewards rate will drop down to 1X points after that. Although you can switch to another card when you hit the rewards cap, you may not want the hassle of dealing with multiple credit cards.
But if you’re a small-business owner who wants to rack up rewards without worrying about categories, this is a great card to add to your arsenal. It has an interest-free period, no annual fee and expanded buying power that will give you the capital you need to grow your business. You can also squeeze out fantastic long-term value since the Blue Business Plus has the potential to pair nicely with other premium Amex cards once you’ve upgraded your business’ suite of cards.
For rates and fees of the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express Blue Business Cash card, please click here.
Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
Bankrate expert Garrett Yarbrough strives to make navigating credit cards and credit building smooth sailing for his readers. After regularly featuring his credit card, credit monitoring and identity theft analysis on NextAdvisor.com, he joined the CreditCards.com and Bankrate.com teams as a staff writer to develop product reviews and comprehensive credit card guides focused on cash back, credit scores and card offers.
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
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