Double Bonus on AMEX Blue Small Business Card, but Is It Worth Having?

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There’s a better offer on The Blue for Business® Credit Card from American Express.  For a limited time, you can earn up to 20,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points, which is double the usual sign-up bonus!

I’ll explain the details of the offer.  And help you decide if you should sign-up!

About the AMEX Blue Small Business Card

Link:   The Blue for Business® Credit Card from American Express

There’s a new limited-time sign-up bonus on The Blue for Business® Credit Card from American Express.

You can earn a total of 20,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points.  Here’s how it works:

• You’ll earn 10,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after making your 1st purchase on the card within your 1st 3 months of account opening
• Then, you’ll earn an additional 10,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the 1st 6 months of opening your account

You’ll also get:

• 30% annual points bonus each anniversary year of having your card
• 1X AMEX Membership Rewards point per $1 spent on purchases
• 2X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on eligible purchases made when you book on the American Express Travel website
• NO annual fee
• Terms and Limitations Apply

You can use your points:

• To book hotel stays and flights
• For gift cards
• For statement credits
• To pay for merchandise at Amazon
• For taxi rides
• And many other options!

Keep in mind you can NOT transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points earned with this card to airline and hotel partners.  But you can use them for statement credits, gift cards, and merchandise.

However, you can transfer these points if you have another card that does transfer to travel partners, like the AMEX EveryDay or Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express.

Because this card has a ~3% foreign transaction fee, it’s not a good card to travel with internationally.

Note:   American Express charges an excise fee of 0.06 cents per point, up to a maximum of $99, when you transfer Membership Rewards points to US airlines.

Should You Get This Card?

Link:   3 Ways You May Qualify for a Small Business Card

Link:   How to Fill Out an AMEX Small Business Card Application

With the AMEX Blue small business card, you’ll get all the perks and benefits that come with AMEX cards, like:

• Extended warranty up to 1 year on certain items
• Purchase protection against theft and breakage for 90 days

AMEX has a reputation for simple and quick claims processing.  

It’s easy to dispute unfair charges on your card, too.

These customer-friendly benefits can help you when you really need it!

Keep in mind you don’t need lots of revenue or employees to qualify for a small business card.  As long as you’re looking to a make a profit, you can apply.  And, if you don’t have an EIN (Employer Identification Number), you can apply with your Social Security Number instead if you’re a sole proprietor.

Here’s how to fill out an AMEX small business card application.

You’ll earn 1X AMEX Membership Rewards point per $1 spent on purchases, and receive a 30% point bonus each cardmember anniversary year.

So, if you spend $1,000, you’ll earn 1,300 AMEX Membership Rewards points (1X AMEX Membership Rewards point per $1 spent + 300 bonus points).  But, if you want an AMEX small business card, there are a couple of other options that may suit you better – and earn more points.

1.   AMEX SimplyCash

Link:   SimplyCash® Business Card from American Express

With the AMEX SimplyCash card, you can earn $250 in cash back when you spend $5,000 on purchases within the 1st 6 months of opening your account.

Other benefits include:

• 5% cash back at US office supply stores and US wireless service
• 3% cash back in 1 category of your choice out of 7 categories (including airfare, US restaurants, and US gas stations)
• NO Annual Fee
• Terms & Limitations Apply

What’s great about AMEX SimplyCash is you can earn 5% cash back at US office supply stores.  And office supply stores carry gift cards to lots of other retailers like:

• Amazon
• AMC Theaters
• Southwest
• Disney
• Whole Foods

Plus, there’s NO annual fee and the sign-up bonus is higher than the AMEX Blue small business card (for cash redemptions).  And, the bonus categories earn more cash back.

For example, if you spend $1,000 at an office supply store, you’d earn $50 in cash back.  Compare that with the AMEX Blue small business card, where you’d earn 1,300 AMEX Membership Rewards points, which you can redeem for $13 in statement credit.

2.   The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

Link:   The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN earns AMEX Membership Rewards points, which you can use for airfare, hotels, and gift cards.

You’ll earn 3X AMEX Membership Rewards points on 1 of these 5 bonus categories of your choice:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• Advertising in select media such as Google ads
• US gas stations
• Shipping
• Hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers

You’ll 2X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 spent in the other 4 categories, and 1X AMEX Membership Rewards point on other purchases.  There’s a $175 annual fee on the card, waived for the 1st year.

And, if you purchase airfare, or spend a lot in the other bonus categories, you’ll earn more points per $1 spent.

This card is a better choice if you want to redeem your points for travel, because AMEX Membership Rewards points transfer to lots of airline and hotel partners, like Air Canada, Delta, Hilton, and many others!

The AMEX Blue small business card is a good card to add to your wallet if you want an additional small business card that earns AMEX Membership Rewards points with NO extra annual fees.

AMEX SimplyCash only earns cash back, so which 1 you choose depends on where you buy most of your business supplies, and how you like to redeem your points.

Excellent Business Cards for Different Types of Businesses

There are lots of terrific options for small business cards.

Here are a few posts that can help you decide, if you have a particular business or interest:

• Best Small Business Credit Cards for Dentists, Real Estate Agents, & More
• Best Small Business Credit Cards for Freelancers: Graphic Designers, Web Designers, Writers, Fiverr, & More
• Best Small Business Credit Cards for eBay & Amazon Sellers
• Best Business Credit Cards for Travel

Perks of AMEX Small Business Cards

With AMEX small business cards, you’ll also receive special discounts from the AMEX OPEN small business program such as discounts on shipping with FedEx, HP computers, or flowers for your office from 1-800-Flowers!

There are often terrific AMEX Offers, and you can sign-up for them with AMEX small business cards.  Recently, there have been discounts for Best Buy, HP online, and Boxed.com for buying supplies in bulk.  And you can get the same offer on multiple cards!

And you get complimentary membership in ShopRunner by having an AMEX card.  You’ll get free shipping from dozens of online merchants, so this is a great perk for online shopping!

Keep in mind you can earn the sign-up bonus on AMEX small business cards as long as it’s been 12 months since you last had the card.  And, it’s usually not possible to get more than 1 AMEX card in a day.

Bottom Line

For a limited time, you can earn a total of 20,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points when you open The Blue for Business® Credit Card from American Express.

You’ll earn 10,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after your 1st purchase, and an additional 10,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the 1st 6 months of opening your account.

The AMEX Membership Rewards points earned from this card will NOT transfer to hotel and airline partners unless you have another AMEX Membership Rewards-earning card that can transfer, like The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN.

AMEX has other small business cards that may be a better choice because of higher sign-up bonuses and stronger bonus categories, like AMEX SimplyCash or The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN.

Find out 3 ways you might qualify for a small business card.

As always, choose the 1 that’s best for you!