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What we think: With a simple reward structure, The Blue Business Plus bypasses the need to navigate complicated spending categories. Additionally, its lack of an annual fee means there’s no expense to “make up for.” Larger businesses may be able to find more value elsewhere, but this card is solid for small businesses.
Amex Blue Business Plus offers several business benefits, such as employee cards, QuickBooks® integration and the ability to designate an account manager.
Cardholders have access to rental car insurance, purchase protection and extended warranty coverage*.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
SUMMARY
As a business owner, you have better things to do than comb through receipts and try to keep track of your expenses.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express makes it easy as pie to monitor your spending and earn rewards. It also offers several benefits just for business owners, making it one of the best business credit cards on the market.
Earn 2% cash back on up to $50,000 in combined purchases each year, then 1%. Cash back earned is automatically credited to your statement. $0 annual fee.
Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in select categories each year, and earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. $95 annual fee.
Earn unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases. Works like a charge card, so your balance must be paid in full each month. $150 annual fee.
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The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card: Rewards
The Blue Business Plus from American Express comes with a generous bonus, points on everyday purchases and multiple redemption methods, making it one of the best rewards credit cards specifically for business owners.
Welcome bonus
If you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within your first three months of membership, you’ll earn 15,000 Membership Rewards points. The value of the Blue Business Plus welcome offer depends on the redemption method you choose.
Earning rewards
American Express makes it easy to earn rewards on your everyday spending. You’ll earn 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on your first $50,000 in eligible business expenses each calendar year. Once you reach $50,000 in charges, you’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent on any additional purchases.
Here’s how it works. Assume you charge $75,000 in eligible business expenses to your Amex BBP card. You’ll earn 1,000 points on the first $50,000 and 250 points on the remaining $25,000, giving you a total of 1,250 Membership Rewards Points.
Redeeming rewards
American Express gives you several ways to redeem your rewards:
Transfer to Amex travel partners: Amex allows you to transfer your points to one of its partner airlines or hotel brands. Each point is worth at least 1 cent, but airlines and hotels use dynamic pricing, so you may get even more value at the time of booking.
Statement credits: If you want to use your points to reduce your balance, you can request a statement. Points are worth 0.6 cents each when you use this redemption method.
Pay with Points at checkout: Pay with Points allows you to check out with your Membership Rewards Points on Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and other merchant websites. You usually get 0.7 cents per point with this redemption method.
Pay with Points for travel: American Express allows you to use your rewards on the Amex Travel portal. Points are worth 0.7 cents each for vacation packages, rental cars, cruises and prepaid hotel bookings. Their value increases to 1 cent each for flights.
Charity donations: If you’re feeling benevolent, donate your points to charity. When you use this redemption method, the value of your points depends on which charity you choose.
Gift cards: You can use your points to buy gift cards for restaurants, airlines, hotels and more. Point values range from 0.5 cents to 1 cent each, depending on which gift card you buy.
Amex Blue Business Plus Card: Benefits
Business benefits
American Express Business app. American Express offers a mobile app to give you more control over your spending. Use the app to make your minimum payment, check your balance, review spending reports and perform other account-management tasks.
Designate an account manager. If you don’t have time to manage your account, you can add a trusted employee as an account manager. This makes it easier to keep track of your spending without having to dedicate so much time to logging in and downloading reports.
Employee cards. American Express allows you to give your employees their own cards, making it easier to cover certain expenses. For example, if you have an employee who frequently takes clients out to dinner, you can give them a card to use for business meals. You earn Membership Rewards Points on whatever your employees spend.
Expanded Buying Power. Expanded Buying Power allows you to spend more than your credit limit. American Express adds the additional amount to your minimum amount due. For example, if you spend $7,000 against a limit of $6,000, you must pay the $1,000 difference by the end of your billing cycle.
Vendor pay through Bill.com. If you link your card to Bill.com, you can use it to pay vendors. This makes it easier to track your spending, as you won’t have to write checks or use multiple cards to pay your company’s bills.
Connect to QuickBooks. If you link your Amex account to QuickBooks, you can take advantage of the auto-categorize feature, which automatically assigns charges to your QuickBooks categories.
Other benefits
Extended warranty coverage. American Express offers extended warranty coverage on eligible purchases. This benefit extends the original manufacturer warranty by one year. Note that extended warranty coverage only applies to items that have an original warranty of five years or less.
Purchase protection. If you use your card to make an eligible purchase, you’ll qualify for purchase protection, which reimburses you for covered items if they’re accidentally damaged or stolen.
Amex offers. From time to time, Amex extends special offers to cardholders. For example, you may receive an offer to get 20% back on a purchase from a particular brand or $5 back if you spend $10 on a specific item.
24/7 Global Assist Hotline. The Global Assist Hotline gives you access to a trained agent who can help if a travel emergency occurs more than 100 miles from your home. Agents make legal referrals, arrange emergency transportation and provide other types of assistance.
Car rental loss and damage insurance. Amex car rental loss and damage insurance protects you when you use your Blue Business Plus card to cover the full cost of a vehicle rental. If you experience a covered loss, such as the theft of your rental, the insurance provider will pay to repair or replace the vehicle. This benefit does have some restrictions, so check the terms outlined in your cardholder agreement.
Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
Fees, rates & limit
Fees
American Express charges the following fees to use your Blue Business Plus card:
Annual fee: $0
Balance transfer fee: $5 or 3% of the amount transferred, whichever is greater
Cash advance fee: N/A (No cash advances available)
Foreign transaction fee: 2.7% of the transaction amount in U.S. dollars
Here’s what you need to know about the interest rates on the Blue Business Plus:
Regular APR: 18.49% to 26.49% variable
Purchase intro APR: 0% for the first 12 months following account opening
Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
Cash advance APR: N/A
Card limit
The limit on your Blue Business Plus card depends on your income and credit history. For example, someone with an excellent credit score and a substantial amount of income is likely to qualify for a much higher credit limit than someone with a good score.
How The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card compares
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express vs. The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card and the Blue Business Plus card are very similar. Both cards allow you to earn rewards on ordinary business purchases, but the Blue Business Cash card gives you cash back instead of Membership Rewards Points.
Blue Business Plus is slightly better because it gives you multiple redemption options. You can use your points to book travel, buy gift cards, pay for online purchases, donate to charity or request cash back. In contrast, the only way to redeem your Blue Business Cash rewards is to use them as statement credits.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express vs. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card gives you 3X points on the first $150,000 (per account anniversary year) in combined spending across four categories.
These categories are:
Search engine and social media advertising expenses
Travel
Telecommunications services
Shipping purchases
You earn 1X points on all other purchases. Therefore, the Ink Business Preferred card makes it easier to earn rewards. Note that the card does have an annual fee of $95 to account for the extra benefits.
Is The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express right for me?
The Amex Blue Business Plus card is a great fit for any business owner who wants to earn rewards without having to keep track of multiple spending categories.
You may also benefit from the Blue Business Plus card if you’re looking to streamline your expense management process. Blue Business Plus gives you access to employee cards, spending alerts, expense summaries and more, making it easier to manage your business.
You may want to look for a different card if you want to earn rewards at a higher rate in certain spending categories.
Explore these additional Amex business cards to see if you find one that better matches your needs:
American Express hasn’t revealed the minimum credit score required to qualify for the American Express Business Plus card. However, the card is reserved for business owners with good or excellent scores. Most credit-scoring models consider scores of 670 or higher as good, so we recommend waiting until you have at least this score before applying.
American Express also considers your income and the amount of debt you have when reviewing your application.
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For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, please visit this page.
FAQ: Amex Blue Business Plus
Is The Blue Business Plus Card a good credit card?
Yes. The Amex Blue Business Plus is a good credit card, especially if you’re looking to earn rewards without having to worry about a complicated points system.
What is the difference between The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card and Blue Business Cash™ Card?
The two cards are similar, but the Blue Business Plus card gives you more flexibility. With Blue Business Cash, you can only use your rewards for statement credits. In contrast, Blue Business Plus gives you multiple redemption options.
Is it hard to get The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express?
It’s somewhat difficult to get the Amex Blue Business Plus card, as you need to have a credit score in the good to excellent range.
Do you need to own a business to get The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card?
The Blue Business Plus is for business use only. However, you may qualify for a card even if you’re a sole proprietor who doesn’t have any employees.
Does The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express have a limit?
Yes. Your Amex Blue Business Plus card limit depends on your annual income, credit score and debt load.
Is the Amex Blue Business® Plus Credit Card metal?
No, the Amex Blue Business Plus is not a metal credit card. Like many other credit cards, Blue Business Plus is made of plastic.
American Express is more than just a credit card issuer
The first step in growing and maintaining consistent savings is to understand your personal finances through checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and more.
Leigh Morgan is a seasoned personal finance contributor with over 15 years of experience writing on a diverse range of professional legal and financial topics. She specializes in subjects like navigating the complexities of insurance, savings, zero-based budgeting and emergency fund development.
In the last five years, she’s authored over 300 articles for credit unions, digital banks, and financial professionals. Morgan is also the author of “77 Tips for Preventing Elder Financial Abuse,” a book focused on helping caregivers protect the elderly from financial scams.
In addition to her writing skills, she brings real-world financial acumen thanks to her previous experience managing rental properties as part of a $34 million real estate portfolio.
* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
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