American Express Plum Card Special Offer: Earn Up to 3.5% Statement Credit [Expired]

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Update:   One or more card offers in this post are no longer available.  Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers. 

If you’re a big spender and have your own business, you could earn 3.5% back with this special offer from the American Express Plum card.

I don’t normally write about the American Express Plum card because it doesn’t have a sign-up bonus and has a high annual fee.  But this deal might appeal to some folks.

What’s the American Express Plum Card?

Link:   American Express Plum

Link:   How to Fill Out an American Express Business Card Application

The American Express Plum is a business card that normally pays you 1.5% back if you pay your bill early.

It’s a charge card, which means you are expected to pay your balance in full every month.  However with the Plum Card, unlike most other charge cards, you can take up to 60 days to pay with no interest.

But for a limited time, you’ll get 1.5% back plus an extra $200 back for every $10,000 you spend on the card in the 1st 3 months, up to a maximum of $30,000.  

You’ll get

• $200 if you spend $10,000
• $400 if you spend $20,000
• $600 if you spend $30,000

That’s an extra 2% back.

With this card, you’ll get:

• No sign-up bonus unless you spend a lot of money!
• 1.5% back if you pay your bill early (within 10 days of your statement closing date)
• $200 statement credit for every $10,000 you spend on the card in the 1st 3 months, up to $30,000 (so a maximum of $600 back)
• No foreign currency fees
• No pre-set spending limit
• Access to American Express OPEN discounts
• Annual fee of $250, currently waived for the 1st year
• Terms and limitations apply

Is This a Good Deal?

Link:   Business Credit Cards Hot Deals

This card is really only good for big spenders who already have a lot of business cards.  There are other cards (some with sign-up bonuses) that are a much better deal and earn more points or money back.

And you’ll only get the full 3.5% back if you spend a lot of money in the 1st 3 months.  After that, it’s a card with 1.5% discount.  And after the 1st year you’ll pay a hefty annual fee of $250.

To compare, the Chase Ink Bold and Chase Ink Plus cards have a sign-up bonus of 50,000 points (worth at least $500 or more if you redeem towards travel or transfer to airlines and hotels) with the annual fee of $95 waived for the 1st year.  You’ll earn 5X points at office supply stores, phone, internet, and cable TV.  And 2X points at gas stations and hotels.  That’s far better than 1.5% back!

And the SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express has no annual fee and 5% cash back at US office supply stores and US telecom wireless providers.  And 3% cash back on a category you choose (airfare purchased directly from airlines, hotel rooms purchased directly from hotels, car rentals purchased from select car rental companies, US gas stations, US restaurants, US purchases for advertising in select media, and US purchases for shipping).

There’s also the Capital One Spark card, which earns 2% cash back on everything with no limit.  It has a sign-up bonus of $250 after you spend $5,000 in the 1st 3 months, plus another $50 if you add an authorized user.  The annual fee of $59 is waived for the 1st year.  That’s a much better deal!

Even if your business can spend $30,000 in 3 months, there are many better cards to put that spending on!

Bottom Line

With this special offer, the American Express Plum card will earn you 3.5% back on up to $30,000 in spending for the 1st 3 months, as long as you pay your bill early.

I don’t think this is a great deal, UNLESS you spend a lot of money with a business card and run out of cards to use.