The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express Review: Valuable Business Benefits at a Low Cost

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers the prestige and benefits that come with carrying an American Express business credit card with no annual fee, making it a worthwhile card for business owners.

You’ll earn points at a high flat rate, which can help offset a number of everyday company-related expenses. These rewards are valuable and flexible, and can be transferred to 20 hotel and airline loyalty programs. You’ll also get an interest-free period on purchases for an entire year.

While this card offers a generous rewards rate, it does cap your earnings at $50,000 in purchases (then, you’ll get 1 point per dollar on purchases). The card also comes with a foreign transaction fee, so it likely won’t be the best choice for frequent international travelers.

• Annual fee: No annual fee
• Welcome offer: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
• Rewards: 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.
• Intro purchase APR: 0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening
• Regular purchase APR: 17.49% - 27.49% Variable
• Foreign transaction fee: 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars.
• Recommended credit: Good / Excellent

• Earns Membership Rewards® Points on eligible purchases

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers a solid rewards rate on all purchases. You’ll 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.

  Unlike some business credit cards that require you to keep track of bonus categories, this card offers straightforward rewards. That makes it a great flat-rate option to pair with other Membership Rewards cards.

• No annual fee

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express has no annual fee, which means you can put what you earn in rewards right back into your business rather than using it to offset any additional costs.

  It’s common to find similar small business credit cards that do charge annual fees. For example, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card has a $95 annual fee, but comes with a larger welcome offer, higher rewards rate and additional business travel benefits.

• Good intro APR on purchases

  If you need to finance a large purchase, such as company equipment or business travel, The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express can give you a year to do so, interest-free. The card offers an intro APR of 0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening. Then, a regular 17.49% - 27.49% Variable APR applies.

  This is one of the longest interest-free periods available for a business credit card.

• Decent welcome offer

  With The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express, you can earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Because Membership Rewards points are worth around 1 cent each, this welcome offer is valued at around $300*.

  This is a decent welcome offer, especially for a card with no annual fee. But there are business cards that offer even higher bonuses. For example, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card lets you earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. But there’s a higher spending threshold to earn the welcome offer, and the card comes with a $95 annual fee.

  *Based on LendingTree’s value methodology

• Ability to transfer points to 20 travel and hotel programs

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers the same redemption options as premium Membership Rewards cards, like the American Express^® Gold Card — but without the high price tag. One of those redemption options is the ability to transfer points to 20 airline and hotel partners, mostly at a rate of 1:1. Transfer partners include popular airlines and hotels such as:

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

   See the full list of American Express transfer partners.

• Pairs well with other Membership Rewards cards

  Since The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express is a Membership Rewards credit card, it offers the flexibility to transfer your points to the 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.

  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, to pay for purchases at a variety of merchants or transfer points to airline and hotel partners.

   Learn more about the American Express Membership Rewards Program.

• Protects your purchases for your small business

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers valuable travel and shopping protections, including:

  • Car rental insurance²: American Express offers secondary coverage for qualifying car rentals purchased with the card, in case your rental is damaged or stolen.
  • Global Assist® Hotline⁴: Get 24/7 medical, legal, financial and other select emergency and coordination services when you travel more than 100 miles away from home.
  • Extended warranty³: Allows you to extend the terms of the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to one additional year.
  • Purchase protection¹: Covers purchases made with your card for up to 90 days from the purchase date if the item is stolen or damaged.

• Expanded buying power and free employee cards

  The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express comes with a number of 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.

• Cap on your bonus earnings

  Unfortunately, the 2X earning rate only applies to the first $50,000 in purchases each calendar year. After that, rewards drop to 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.

  By comparison, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus lets you earn 2% Cash Back on every purchase; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site. But it comes with a $150 annual fee and doesn’t allow you to transfer your rewards to loyalty programs.

• Foreign transaction fee

  If you use your card while traveling outside of the U.S., know that The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express charges foreign transaction fees of 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. So if you frequently travel internationally for your business, you’ll be better off with a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, like the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card or Capital One Spark Cash Plus.

• 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.

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express vs. The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

If you prefer simple cash back rewards, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card may be a better card for you. It’s virtually identical to The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express: For a card with no annual fee, it offers the same intro APR on purchases and the same benefits, including Expanded Buying Power, car rental loss and damage insurance² and extended warranty³ (see rates & fees). But instead of earning Membership Rewards® points, you’ll earn cash back that’s 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 elevated earning rate to $50,000 in purchases per year. Still, you can get $1,000 in cash back if you max out the spending cap.

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express vs. Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is our top overall pick for the best business credit card. While it has an annual fee of $95, it offers a higher earning potential compared to The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express. The card comes with a generous sign-up bonus worth around $1,800*, depending on how you redeem it. You’ll also get a higher rewards rate on the first $150,000 spent each year on eligible purchases.

With the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card, you’ll earn Chase Ultimate Rewards®, which are extremely valuable and flexible. The card also offers better travel and purchase protections compared to The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express, including primary rental car insurance, cellphone protection and trip cancellation/interruption insurance.

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express vs. Capital One Spark Cash Plus

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus offers a much more straightforward rewards program compared to The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express. You’ll earn 2% Cash Back on every purchase; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site. Unlike The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express, there’s no cap on the amount you can earn at the accelerated rewards rate.

However, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus comes with a $150 annual fee. It also operates as a charge card, meaning there’s no preset spending limit, but you’ll need to pay off your balance in full each month.

The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express is a great fit if you’re looking for a small business card with no annual fee, 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.

However, if you’re looking for a cash back card, frequently travel internationally or find that the rewards spending cap doesn’t work for your business needs, you may want to consider a different business credit card, like the The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card or Capital One Spark Cash Plus.