Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express Review

Full Review of Blue Business® Plus Card from American Express

Pros Explained

• Decent Rewards On Up to $50,000 in Annual Purchases: This card has appeal for business owners seeking a card offering relatively lucrative rewards—of Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar spent—on all purchases. When used for travel booked through Amex, Investopedia estimates the average value of those points at 1 cent each when redeemed for travel through Amextravel.com. Points redemption values can be higher in certain instances as determined by various Membership Rewards airline and hotel transfer partners. Competing cards may not offer as much value, or limit their highest rewards to certain categories, or both.
• Spend Over Your Credit Limit: This card offers some wiggle room to make purchases above your credit limit when you need to do so. No penalty or enrollment is required, and you still earn Membership Rewards points on spending over your limit. The amount you can spend above your credit limit depends on your payment history, credit record, financial resources, and more. But as with any other card charges, you need to pay off in full the purchases over your limit by the end of the billing cycle or you will pay interest on them.
• 0% Introductory Offer for Purchases: A 12-month 0% APR introductory period starts immediately for purchases. Such an offer covering new purchases isn’t that common with business cards that lack an annual fee, and provides a useful cash-flow break and interest-saving move for a business. After the 0% APR period expires, there’s another plus: the ongoing purchase APR that kicks in—of 17.99% - 25.99%, based on creditworthiness—is lower than for many other business cards. 

Cons Explained

• Spending Cap on 2 Points Per Dollar Rewards: The best, 2 points-per-dollar rewards rate on this card is reasonably generous, but it only applies to the first $50,000 in business purchases. That limit may not hinder solo entrepreneurs or businesses with only one or two other employees, but larger enterprises may want to look at other cards. 
• Lacks Travel Benefits: Save for a couple features—secondary car rental insurance and a global assist hotline*—this card is light on travel-related benefits. While that's not entirely unusual for a no-annual-fee business card, it's still worthy of note for business owners who travel frequently.  

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

The Blue Business® Plus card is best suited to small businesses that spend in a broad range of categories, and in varying amounts from month to month. The former priority aligns well with this card’s single rewards rate, albeit to an annual limit, and the latter one to its flexible credit limit, which increases to accommodate higher spending, albeit only for a single billing cycle without triggering interest charges. 

The card has special appeal for businesses who plan a lot of spending soon, for which a break on paying would be particularly useful, or that is carrying a debt on another high-interest card. Not only does the Blue Business Plus have a 12-month 0% APR introductory period but its ongoing APR is comparatively low once the offer expires. In addition to that, it also offers 15,000 Membership Rewards points when $3,000 is spent within the first three months of activation.      

This is a card for those willing to take rewards in the form of Amex Membership Rewards points, rather than as simpler cash-back. And to redeem those points for travel bought through American Express and its loyalty program partners, since those are the most lucrative redemption options for this card. 

Rewards Earning Details

With this card, you earn 2 points per dollar spent on all eligible business purchases up to $50,000 each calendar year. All other purchases after the $50,000 spending cap is met earn 1 point per dollar.

You also get a new member bonus of 15,000 Membership Rewards when you spend $3,000 in the first three months.

 We currently value each Membership Rewards point at 1.19 cents. 

Rewards Redemption Details

American Express offers several ways to redeem the Membership Rewards points you earn with this card. According to both Amex and our own calculations, points are worth 1 cent each to book travel through American Express. You can also purchase gift cards, with points worth up to a cent apiece, depending on the vendor whose card you select. 

Most other options yield less value, as a rule. You can use points, typically at value of 0.7 cents apiece, at the checkouts of Amazon, BestBuy, and others or you can use them, at 0.6 cents each, to erase charges from your account statement. 

Transferring Points

Membership Rewards points can be transferred to the loyalty programs of any of Amex's airline and hotel partners. The list includes popular programs like Delta SkyMiles, Virgin Atlantic Flyingclub, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, and more.

Transfers may come with a fee of $0.0006 per point, with a maximum fee of $99. That's an unusual levy among card issuers. However, American Express may offer you the option to redeem points to cover that cost. And despite this expense, transferring points can be a worthwhile option that earns you greater value.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

To make the most of the Blue Business® Plus card, use it for all of your business-related expenses, which earn 2 points per dollar spent.

Reaching the annual $50,000 spending cap for 2-points-per-dollar rewards will earn you 100,000 Membership Rewards points, which we value at $1,000 when used to buy travel from Amex. If your budget permits you to reach that cap, you can continue to use the card for other expenses, but you'll only earn 1 point per dollar spent on those purchases.

You'll want to take advantage of the bonus offer of 15,000 points earned when you spend $3,000 in the first three months of membership. Also, if you can, take advantage of the 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. Doing so could help you finance a major purchase during the first year of card membership.

Finally, give out additional cards to your employees in order to boost your rewards balance even further. There's no charge for these additional cards, which is not always the case with business cards.

Average Case

Because this card allows you to earn 2 points per dollar rewards on every purchase you make, let's assume you charge a wide variety of expenses totaling $24,000 per year. Perhaps those costs include a mix of office supplies, advertising, insurance premiums, equipment, vehicle costs, and professional membership association fees. In total, you'd earn 48,000 Membership Rewards points during a calendar year worth $480, if used to book travel through Amex. 

Aspirational Case

You can amplify your rewards earnings by taking advantage of free supplemental employee cards. But with more people using the card, you may need to be especially mindful of exceeding the $50,000 annual limit for the 2-points-per-dollar earning rate.

For example, let's assume you have three employees. Combined, you and they spend a total of $4,000 per month on the expenses noted above plus additional expenses like meals and professional development. Total: $48,000. 

Let's say you also each travel twice per quarter, spending $350 for each round-trip domestic flight ticket and $1,200 total per quarter on hotel stays. The travel expenses would add $7,600 to your annual spending, bringing it to a total of $55,600.

At 2 points per dollar spent, you’d earn 100,000 points on the first $50,000 of that spending, worth $1000 when used to buy travel from Amex. Beyond that total, your earnings drop to 1 point per dollar on the remaining amount. In this case, then, the $5,600 in excess of $50,000 would earn 5,600 additional points for a grand total of 105,600 points, worth $1,056. 

Blue Business® Plus Card's Outstanding Benefits

• Make business purchases over your credit limit

Standard Benefits

• Rental car collision insurance (secondary to your own policy)
• Global assist hotline*
• Free additional employee cards
• Designate an account manager to manager the account
• Relationship care service for small business support

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

Cardholder Experience

American Express ranked first among eight issuers scored in J.D. Power's 2021 U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study.

The Amex customer service department can be reached 24/7 by phone at 800-528-4800. Customers also have the option to log into their account and live chat with a representative. Amex is also active on social media. Questions and comments can be sent to @AskAmex on Twitter. 

Security Features

American Express offers a host of security features that are standard in the industry. Those include a monitoring system that detects fraudulent activity and alerts you in the case that unusual activity is detected. 

Amex also provides security services like pre-purchase verification and personal security keys to safeguard your information and protect your account. For both card members and non-card members, American Express provides MyCredit Guide, a service that offers a free credit score and report.

Our Verdict

The Blue Business® Plus credit card from American Express is well suited to small businesses who want a card with a simple rewards structure, the ability to spend more when needed, and a one-year option for 0% APR on news purchases. But it’s not a great fit for larger businesses with expenditures above $50,000, or at least not as a sole business card.

Indeed, pairing the Blue Business® Plus card with another American Express business card could help you make the most of rewards, provided your spending is high. For example, the American Express Business Gold charges an annual fee of $250 a year but earns 4 points per dollar—double the rate of the Blue Business Plus—spent on the two categories where you spend the most each month. You could use it for spending on categories like restaurants and advertising and potentially use the Blue Business Plus card for everything else.

To see the rates and fees for the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card please see the following link: Rates and fees