The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express Review

If you’re a small business owner who wants the prestige and benefits that come with carrying an American Express business credit card, check out The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express. This $0-annual-fee card lets you earn rewards at a high flat rate, which can help offset a number of everyday company-related expenses. It offers valuable, flexible points that you can transfer into more than 20 hotel and airline loyalty programs. You will also get an interest-free period on purchases for an entire year.

While this card offers a high flat earning rate, it does cap your earnings at $50,000 in purchases. This is something to keep in mind for your budget, but you can still earn points at a lower rate after you hit this spending cap. The card also comes with a foreign transaction fee, so it may not be the best choice for frequent international travelers.

• Earn membership rewards at a high rewards rate

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers a high rewards rate on all your purchases: Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.

  This makes it a great option for cardholders who prefer to earn simple rewards at a high rate, as well as those looking for a good flat-rate card to pair with other cards.

• Points transfer to 20+ travel and hotel programs

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers the same redemption options as a premium Membership Rewards card, like the American Express^® Gold Card, without the high price tag. Membership Rewards points — which are valued at up to 1 cent each, depending on how you use them — can be redeemed for travel, gift cards or merchandise. You can also use points to cover previous charges or to pay for purchases at a variety of merchants. Or, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to 22 airline and hotel partners, mostly at a rate of 1:1. Transfer partners include:

  • Delta SkyMiles® (1:1)
  • Emirates Skywards (1:1)
  • Marriott Bonvoy™ (1:1)
  • Hilton Honors (1:2)
  • JetBlue TrueBlue (2.5:1)

  Visit the full list of partners for details.

• You can pair it with other membership rewards cards

  With The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express being a Membership Rewards® credit card, it offers the flexibility to transfer all of the points that you earn at a 2x rate to your Business Green Rewards Card from American Express, American Express^® Business Gold Card or The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express, which can significantly boost your rewards earnings.

  The information related to Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.

• Lets you finance new purchases at 0%

  If you need to finance a large purchase, such as company equipment or business travel, The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers an intro APR of 0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening. Once the introductory period ends, a regular APR of 17.99% - 25.99% Variable applies to any unpaid portion of your balance. If you do plan to use this introductory APR to make a large purchase, keep in mind there is an annual spending cap on reward earnings.

  *To see rates & fees for The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please click here.

• No annual fee

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express comes with no annual fee and no charge for employee cards.

  With no annual fee, you will be able to put what you earn in rewards right back into your business rather than using it to offset any additional costs. Similar small business cards like the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card and Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card do come with an annual fee. Unlike these cards, The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express lets you earn valuable travel rewards at a high rate without an extra business expense.

• Gives you expanded buying power and free employee cards

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express comes with a number of helpful features that can be helpful in managing your business expenses including:

  • Expanded Buying Power: Allows you to spend beyond your credit limit when needed for your business.
  • Employee cards: There is no annual fee for additional cards, and you earn additional Membership Rewards® points on these cards.
  • Expense management tools: Amex provides you with tools like Vendor Pay by Bill.com, integration into QuickBooks and more to help you easily manage and track your business expenses.

• Protects your purchases for your small business

  The The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express also offers benefits like protections and warranties including:

  • Car rental insurance: American Express offers secondary coverage for qualifying car rentals purchased with the card, in case your rental is damaged or stolen.
  • Global Assist® Hotline: Get 24/7 medical, legal, financial and other select emergency and coordination services when you travel more than 100 miles away from home.
  • Extended warranty: Allows you to extend the terms of the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to one additional year.
  • Purchase protection: Covers purchases made with your card for up to 90 days from the purchase date if the item is stolen or damaged.

• Puts a cap on your bonus earnings

  Unfortunately, your 2x earnings rate only applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, after which rewards drop to a measly 1 point per dollar on every purchase. If your company charges more than $4,200 each month on business expenses, you may be better off with a card that offers bonus points without a spending cap.

  In comparison, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card allows you to earn Earn 2% Cash Back on every purchase; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. However, it comes with a $150 annual fee. Also, it doesn’t allow you to transfer your rewards into loyalty programs like The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express does. If you plan to transfer your Membership Rewards points, you may still come out ahead with the The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express, even if you surpass its earning cap.

• Foreign transaction fee and limited acceptance abroad

  When traveling abroad, it’s best to use a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express assesses foreign transaction fees of 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. This can make your trip cost more. American Express cards are also not accepted everywhere that you travel abroad, so if you frequently travel internationally, you may want to choose another card.

• Cash back redemptions have low value

  Like other Membership Rewards® credit cards, The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers low cash back redemption value at only around 0.6 cents per point. You’ll need to stick to redeeming points for travel to get a good value. If you are looking for a simple cash back rewards program, you will want to go with The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card.

Compare it to the The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

 
If you prefer simple cash back rewards, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card may be the better card for you. It’s virtually identical to The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express. For no annual fee, it offers the same introductory APR on purchases, and the same benefits, including Expanded Buying Power, car rental loss and damage insurance and extended warranty.

However, in lieu of Membership Rewards points, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card gives you cash back. Cardholders earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%. Also, American Express makes redeeming rewards as simple as possible with this card since your cash back is automatically credited to your account as a statement credit.

Like The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card limits your bonus earnings to $50,000 in purchases per year — that’s up to $1,000 in rewards each year before your card drops to the 1% cash back rate. This matches the rewards that you can earn with The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express (assuming you don’t take advantage of its point transfer options). For simple redemption, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is the way to go.

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express is a great fit if you are looking for a no-annual-fee small business card with a valuable rewards structure and a number of useful benefits. You’ll also get a good value for your points for travel by redeeming them through American Express Travel or transferring them to a loyalty partner.

If you are looking for a cash back card, frequently travel internationally or find that the rewards spending cap does not work for your business needs, you may want to consider a different rewards credit card.