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The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express offers a simple earning experience, some helpful benefits, and useful redemption options. You could use it in tandem with other cards, or if you’re just looking for an uncomplicated business card.
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The information related to The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, Capital One Spark Cash for Business, Capital One Spark Cash Select for Business, and American Express® Business Gold Card have been collected by Credit Card Insider and have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of these products.
We give The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express 5 out of 5 Stars. It has no annual fee, and a very simple rewards structure.
The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express provides a simple way for business owners to earn American Express Membership Rewards points. There are no bonus reward categories to keep track of. And with no annual fee, you can potentially take advantage of this offer completely for free.
You’ll have some flexibility in paying your bill, which could be helpful for managing your business’ cash flow. There are some other benefits and features that could prove useful for running your company too.
We’ll walk through the very simple rewards structure of this card and how it compares with other business credit cards. By the end, you should be able to understand this card and how you could use it to help fund your business.
You can effectively earn a cash back equivalent from 1%–2.5% on purchases, or more. The amount you get will depend on how much you spend on the card per year, and how you redeem points.
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The rewards program is simple but pretty valuable, considering there’s no annual fee and you can earn on everyday business purchases.
You’ll be earning Membership Rewards points with this card, which can be redeemed in a few different ways.
Your basic options are:
Cashing in points for statement credits will only get you 0.6 cents per point, so we don’t recommend that. The other methods can provide up to 1 cent per point, with the exception of point transfers.
A point transfer may provide the equivalent of up to 2.5% cash back or more, but this will depend on the details of how and when you use the transferred points. We recommend always going for point transfers whenever possible because you can get the best value for your points.
The normal redemption methods are the simplest. The most you can get out of them is the equivalent of 2% cash back. This isn’t bad, though it’s potentially not as good as a point transfer. But this might be the best option for anyone who can’t make use of a point transfer or just wants a simple option.
When redeeming for travel expenses you’ll have several options, but the most valuable is for airline flights. The main way is to redeem through American Express Travel, though there are a couple other travel services you can use as well. You’ll be able to redeem 10,000 points in the following ways.
Redemption Method | Travel Service | Redemption Value | Point Value (in cents) | Cash Back Equivalent |
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Find Flights | Amex Travel | $100 | 1.0 | 1.0%–2.0% |
Reserve Prepaid Hotels | Amex Travel | $70 | 0.7 | 0.7%–1.4% |
Plan Vacations | Amex Travel | $70 | 0.7 | 0.7%–1.4% |
Take Cruises | Amex Travel | $70 | 0.7 | 0.7%–1.4% |
Airbnb Bookings | Airbnb | $70 | 0.7 | 0.7%–1.4% |
Flights and Hotels on Expedia | Expedia | $70 | 0.7 | 0.7%–1.4% |
Your Membership Rewards points can be transferred to many different frequent traveler programs, foreign and domestic. Quite a few big airlines and hotel chains are included, along with the Plenti program. We’ll go over the basics of point transfers, and then provide two real-world examples: one showing a good deal, and one showing a poor deal.
Most transfers are at a 1:1 rate, though some are different. And there are also limited-time offers and special deals occasionally. There’s a fee of $0.0006 per point when transferring to US airlines, with no charge for any other transfers. And different programs will allow you to transfer points in different increments, like 500 points at a time or 1,000 points at a time.
Here are some examples, along with their transfer rates and a point conversion example. Take note that offers may change.
Loyalty Program | Type | Transfer Rate | You Give | You Get |
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AeroMexico Club Premier | Airline | 1:1.6 | 1,000 | 1,600 |
Flying Blue® Award Miles | Airline | 1:1 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Delta Air Lines | Airline | 1:1 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Etihad Guest Miles | Airline | 1:1 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
JetBlue TrueBlue® | Airline | 1:.8 | 1,000 | 800 |
Choice Privileges® | Hotel | 1:1 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Hilton Honors™ | Hotel | 1:2 | 1,000 | 2,000 |
Plenti | Retail | 1:1 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
Let’s go through an example to illustrate the potential value of Membership Rewards points after you convert them to a frequent traveler program. Keep in mind that there are many factors that influence the price of flights and hotel rooms, including time of year, demand, availability, and special events. Airlines and hotel chains offer special deals and packages pretty frequently, as well. All of this will affect the value you get from your points.
While the following is an actual real-world example, the point transfer values you find for your flights and rooms may differ from what we show here.
Imagine, for example, that you want to take a one-way JetBlue flight from Denver, Colorado, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
For a pair of connecting flights on Tuesday, January 23rd, you would pay $286. And according to JetBlue, those same flights would take 19,600 TrueBlue points, plus $5.60 in taxes and fees. That means your points are worth almost 1.5 cents each in this case.
So, if you wanted to use Membership Rewards points for that flight, how much would you need to spend? And how much cash back would you be earning?
Since the current conversion rate for TrueBlue points is 1:.8, you’ll need to transfer 24,500 Membership Points to get 19,600 TrueBlue points. In addition, that transfer will have a fee of $14.70, because each point costs $0.0006 to transfer.
So, you would need to spend $12,250 to earn those 24,500 points. You’ll then be able to convert them to 19,600 TrueBlue points, and use them for the flights.
In total, you will need to spend $12,270.30 when you add in the extra fees from the transfer and from JetBlue. That will earn you a flight worth $286.
So for this particular set of flights, you’ll end up getting the equivalent of 2.33% cash back. That’s a bit better than the maximum of 2% back you’ll get through the normal redemption methods.
Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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0% for 12 months from date of account opening, then 13.24% - 19.24% Variable | None | None |
Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee |
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No annual fee | 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. |
Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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None | None |
Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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29.24% Variable | Up to $39 | $39 |
One aspect that makes this business credit card offer so appealing is that it doesn’t have an annual fee, but still earns decent rewards. For comparison, the Capital One Spark Cash for Business (Review) offers unlimited 2% cash back, but has a $95 annual fee after the first year. Capital One also offers the no-annual-fee Capital One Spark Cash Select for Business (Review), but that only earns unlimited 1.5% cash back.
So, if you spend over $50,000 per year you may be able to earn more with one of those cards. But it’s clear that the Blue Business Plus rewards program is competitive for not having an annual fee.
We hear from a number of business owners who could benefit from The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. They’re spending a lot of money through their businesses, perhaps on a debit card or by check, and realize they could be earning points with a credit card. They don’t want to think much about spending categories, and may not even have a good idea of how much they’ll spend over the course of the year.
This can make it hard to weigh an annual fee against reward earning potential. The Blue Business Plus from American Express seems like a good fit for this type of business owner.
It’s a good starter business card since it has no annual fee and doesn’t require thinking ahead about spending categories. If you’re not earning some form of rewards on business expenses now, there’s no good reason not to get this card. Start putting business expenses on it, and pay it in full each month. That will let you earn rewards at no cost at all and without accruing interest.
This rewards program is nice because it’s so simple, if you want it to be. You can just redeem for one of the many gift card options. And if you’re a traveler, you can use those points to book flights through Amex Travel or transfer them to a loyalty program.
However, you may be able to earn more if you go with a different card with specific bonus categories, that rewards you more depending on where you spend. Some cards will let you earn more when you pay for office supplies, internet and phone services, shipping, or other business expenses, for example. Check out our comparison of the Blue Business Plus to the mid-range Business Gold Card from American Express in the alternatives below.
Even if you have other business credit cards, you may find a good way to fit this card into your rewards-maximization strategy. Since it has no annual fee, there’s no cost for simply having the card.
You’ll need to be an authorized officer of your company, responsible for managing finances, to apply for the Blue Business Plus Credit Card. You can apply now by following the link below.
It’s recommended that you have good credit before applying for this Amex card.
To qualify for good credit, you would need to have credit scores within the ranges of 670–739 for FICO and 700–749 for VantageScore.
However, credit card issuers will look at other factors too when considering your creditworthiness. Credit card companies take a look at income, and your source of income, when making the decision, so even if your scores are lower than what’s recommended, you might still be approved.
That also means even if your scores are higher, you could still be denied.
While there are some shopping and travel protections attached, there’s also the potentially useful expanded buying power. It allows you to spend beyond your credit limit without repercussion, though your buying power isn’t unlimited, and you’ll have to pay back any amount spent above your limit as part of your next minimum payment.
There’s also an introductory APR offer for purchases, 0% for 12 months from date of account opening, before jumping to the regular 13.24% - 19.24% Variable.
No, there’s no annual fee attached, but there is a foreign transaction fee to keep an eye on if you plan on traveling.
Check out all the terms and fees for yourself, or find other great business cards with no annual fees here.
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (Review) is a popular business card, also with no annual fee.
You’ll earn cash back at a higher rate than you can with the Blue Business Plus, in specific 5% and 2% cash back categories. But those bonus rates only apply to the first $25,000 you spend in those categories.
Your redemption options will also be more limited with the Ink Cash card. You’ll get cash back, and that’s basically all it is. You can redeem it in a few different ways, but 5% back is no greater than 5% back, no matter how you redeem it (unless you have certain other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards). However, you can redeem your cash back as a statement credit for the full value, which you can’t do with the Blue Business Plus. This will make it easier to get the best value for your rewards.
These cards provide rewards for very different purchases. That means a good strategy could be to actually get them both and use them in combination. Use the Ink Cash whenever you’ll earn 5% or 2% cash back. And use the Blue Business Plus for every other purchase. This will help you earn more rewards and it splits up your spending between the cards, which can be good for your credit.
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The Capital One Spark Cash for Business (Review) is a pretty similar offer to the Blue Business Plus card.
These cards earn at the same rate, but you won’t be limited to the first $50,000 you spend like you would be with the Blue Business Plus. But, you’ll have fewer options for redeeming your rewards: It will just be cash back. You won’t be able to transfer it to any frequent traveler programs. If that was never an important point for you, this could be a better offer.
The Spark Cash does come with an annual fee: $0 intro for first year; $95 after that. You’ll need to balance that against the potential cash back rewards you can earn.
The Spark Cash comes with some extra benefits and perks, and many of them are pretty similar to what you’ll get with the Amex card. But the Blue Business Plus includes the Amex Offers service, which the Spark card can’t match. It also includes access to the Amex set of business benefits, which seems more comprehensive than the business benefits you’ll get from Capital One.
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The information related to Capital One Spark Cash for Business has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
The American Express® Business Gold Card (Review) is more expensive than the other cards above. Coming with an annual fee of $295, it offers 4X Membership Rewards points in the two categories that your business spends the most in every month.
This card is quite flexible, providing points for the types of purchases you make the most, even if that shifts from month to month. Where most cards have fixed bonus categories, the Business Gold adjusts to fit your business spending as it changes throughout the year.
You’ll earn Membership Rewards points with the Business Gold, so all the redemption options described above for the Blue Business Plus will apply here as well. If you find a good point transfer deal your points could be worth upwards of 2 cents each, which would give you a cash back equivalent of 8% when spending in the 4X bonus categories.
The main differences between these cards are the annual fees and rewards. If you have business expenses that cover a wide variety of categories it may be useful to have both cards. You can use the Business Gold for spending in the categories mentioned above to earn 4X points, and the Blue Business Plus card to earn 2X points for all your other purchases.
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The information related to American Express® Business Gold Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
The United℠ Business Card caters to a specific audience, because it’s a business-oriented travel rewards card meant to be used with United Airlines.
You’ll earn miles at a decent rate (2X) when buying tickets from United, as well as for other business expenses. You’ll need to redeem your miles for United-related purchases to get the best value for them.
The value of your miles will depend on how you redeem them, but you can usually expect to get around 1.5 cents per mile when redeeming for flights. That means you’ll be earning the equivalent of around 3% cash back when making purchases in the 2X bonus reward categories.
There are some other valuable benefits with this card too, like priority boarding for the cardholder and companions on the same reservation. You and your companion’s first checked bag will be free. And you’ll receive two United Club one-time passes per year. You can use these passes to enter United Club airport lounges, where you’ll find a number of comfortable services available (some complimentary, some for a fee).
There’s a high-end version of this card as well, the United Club℠ Business Card. For an annual fee of $450 you get a different reward structure, a United Club membership, and a variety of luxury benefits.
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How do you like your Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express? What are the most valuable features to you? Leave a comment below for other visitors, we’d love to hear from you!
Searching for more business cards? Take a look at some of our top picks. Best Business Credit CardsFor rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.
Brendan has been writing about personal finance for over eight years, and is now taking on the challenge of bringing high quality credit education to the masses. He makes sure that Credit Card Insider is covering the most important credit topics transparently and precisely, and that we have up-to-date reviews of credit cards so you can find cards that are right for you.
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