The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
- Best for: Business owners, sole proprietors included, who’ll transfer points to airlines or hotels
- What Sets It Apart: 2 transferable points per dollar with no annual fee, on up to $50,000 a year
- Welcome Offer: Up to 50,000 points after $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months; American Express shows your offer before you accept the card
- Rewards: 2X until $50,000 of purchases a calendar year, then 1X; points worth 1 cent on American Express Travel flights, 0.6 cent as a statement credit; 19 airline and hotel transfer partners
- Features: No-fee employee cards that earn points for you; Expanded Buying Power, which can let you charge past your credit limit; purchase protection up to $1,000 per item; extended warranty; secondary car rental coverage
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro APR: 0% on purchases for 12 months
- APR: 16.99% to 28.74% variable
- Cost: 2.7% foreign transaction fee
- Pros: One flat rate; points transfer to 19 airline and hotel programs; free employee cards that earn points
- Cons: 1X after $50,000 a year; 1.2% back as a statement credit; 2.7% foreign transaction fee; a fee on transfers to U.S. airlines
Get The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express only if you’ll transfer its points to airlines or hotels. It earns 2 points per dollar on your first $50,000 a year with no annual fee, but other uses value a point at a cent or less. That’s 2% at most, what the Blue Business Cash pays in cash.
American Express says freelancers, gig workers, and other self-employed people can apply for a business card, using their Social Security number if they have no employer identification number (EIN).
Key Features
- $0 annual fee, including employee cards
- 2 points per dollar in Membership Rewards, American Express’s points program, on up to $50,000 of eligible purchases each calendar year, then 1 point
- Points worth 1 cent each on flights booked with American Express Travel, up to 1 cent in gift cards, and 0.6 cent as a statement credit
- Welcome offer of up to 50,000 points after $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months
- 0% intro annual percentage rate (APR) on purchases for 12 months, then a variable 16.99% to 28.74%
Pros
- One rate on all eligible purchases, with no categories to track
- Employee cards earn points for your account
- Points transfer to airline partners and hotel programs, 19 in all, mostly one for one
Cons
- Only 1 point per dollar past $50,000 a year, while the $375-a-year Business Gold Card pays 4 points in your top two eligible categories each month, up to $150,000 a year
- 0.6 cent a point as a statement credit, so 2 points per dollar are worth 1.2% in cash
- 2.7% foreign transaction fee
- A fee on each transfer to a U.S. airline, 60 cents per 1,000 points, up to $99
- Personal liability for the card’s charges, shared with your business
It suits owners who charge under $50,000 a year and will move the points to airline or hotel programs. Owners who’d rather redeem for cash or flights booked through American Express Travel should get the Blue Business Cash, which pays 2% in cash on the same first $50,000.
Learn more about The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express or see how it compares to the best small-business credit cards.
Editorial & Advertiser Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser. Opinions expressed here are ours alone, not those of any advertiser. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. That compensation may influence which products we cover and where and how they appear on a page – including the order in which they appear – but it does not influence our evaluations, ratings, or opinions. We do not include every company or offer available in the marketplace.
Related:
