What Are the Best AMEX Small Business Card Offers?

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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. 

Right now, there several increased offers for AMEX small business cards.

That’s great news because AMEX small business cards have relatively easy approvals, even if you don’t have a huge company.  You can get award flights, hotel stays, or cash back, depending on what type of rewards you prefer. 

And even better, they don’t appear on your personal credit report.  So they won’t count against your Chase 5/24 status!

I’ll show you my favorite AMEX small business cards!

Best American Express Business Card Offers 2016

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

I like AMEX small business cards because AMEX is usually generous with approvals for folks who are getting started with a small business.

If you earn money for your skills or on the side, like tutoring, coaching, or renting out your spare room, you might already qualify for a small business card.  As long as you’re aiming to earn a profit, you have a chance.  You do NOT need to have a corporation or large enterprise to qualify!

And if you like to earn welcome bonuses for Big Travel, applying for AMEX small business cards won’t hurt your chances of getting more Chase cards!

Here are my top recommendations!

1.   The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN

Link:   The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN

Link:   My Review of the AMEX Small Business Platinum 100,000 Point Offer

With the increased welcome bonus on The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN, you can earn up to 100,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points.

You’ll earn 50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.  And an extra 50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after you spend an additional $10,000 on qualifying purchases within the same timeframe.

To get this deal, you must apply by January 25, 2017.

You’ll also get:

• Earn 1.5X AMEX Membership Rewards points on single purchases of $5,000+
• Get 50% of your points back for ALL First Class or Business Class flights booked through theAMEX travel portal using Pay With Points
• Get 50% of your points back for all flights, including coach tickets, booked with your selected airline through the AMEX travel portal using Pay With Points
• $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidentals with your selected airline (luggage fees, in-flight food & drink, etc.)
• Access to airport lounges (Delta, Priority Pass, Airspace, and American Express Centurion Lounges)
• Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Free Hilton HHonors Gold elite status (free breakfast and upgrades when available)
• $450 annual fee is NOT waived
• Terms & limitations apply

You can get LOTS of Big Travel with Small Money with the welcome bonus alone, including:

• $2,000 towards Business and First Class airfare on ANY airline when you use the Pay With Points feature
• $2,000 towards coach tickets on your selected airline when using Pay With Points
• 4 round-trip coach domestic award tickets on Delta
• A round-trip award ticket from the US to Europe
• A round-trip coach award seat from the US to India

2.   The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

Link:   The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

Link:   My Review of the AMEX Business Gold Rewards Card

You can now earn 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards points with the The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account. 

You’ll also earn:

• 3 AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 you spend in 1 of 5 categories of your choice
• 2 AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 you spend on the 4 remaining categories
• 1 AMEX Membership Rewards point per $1 you spend on other purchases
• Terms & limitations apply

The $175 annual fee is waived for the first year.  And there are NO foreign transaction fees, so it’s a good card to use when you travel abroad.

The bonus categories you can choose from include:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• US purchases for advertising in select media
• US purchases at gas stations
• US purchases for shipping
• US computer hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers

You’ll earn 3X and 2X points on the first $100,000 in purchases in each of the 5 categories per year. After that, you’ll earn 1 point per $1.

The normal welcome bonus is 25,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points.  So getting twice the points is a good deal!

50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points is enough for:

• $500 when you pay for travel using the American Express Membership Rewards “Pay With Points” option
• 2 round-trip coach domestic award tickets on Delta
• 1 round-trip Business Class ticket within the continental US and Canada when you transfer your AMEX points to Air Canada
• A one-way award ticket from the US to Europe

3.   Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express

Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express

Link:   My Review of the AMEX Starwood Small Business Card

With the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express, you’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.

You’ll also get:

• Up to 5 Starwood points per $1 you spend at Starwood hotels (includes Aloft, Design Hotels, Element, Four Points, Le Meridien, Sheraton, St Regis, The Luxury Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Westin and W brand hotels)
• 1 Starwood point per $1 you spend on everything else
• Unlimited use of Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots (excluding in-flight)
• Access to Sheraton Club lounges (free breakfast and hors d’oeuvres) for cardholder and 1 guest staying in the same room (3rd-party bookings are excluded).
• 2 stay credits or 5 night credits toward Starwood Elite Status
• $95 annual fee, waived for the first year
• No foreign transaction fees
• Terms & limitations apply

You have the flexibility to use your points for terrific award options, including:

• Cheaper hotel stays using Cash + Points
• The 5th night free perk at Starwood Category 3 to 7 hotels
• 5 nights and 2 airline tickets to Disney World
• Transfers to airline partners for award flights

And you can now transfer Starwood points to Marriott at a 1:3 ratio.  So 25,000 Starwood points is worth 75,000 Marriott points!  You can get:

• 2 nights at a Starwood Category 5 hotel in the low season
• 3 nights at a Marriott Category 5 hotel

4.   AMEX Delta Small Business Cards

Link:   Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express

Link:   Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card

With the best-ever offer on the AMEX Platinum Delta Business card and an increased welcome bonus on the AMEX Gold Delta Business card, if you’ve been considering either of these cards, now is a great time to apply.  Especially if you like to fly on Delta!

Both of these offers are available through November 9, 2016.

With the AMEX Gold Delta small business card, you’ll earn 50,000 Delta miles after spending $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.  And get a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase within the same timeframe.  You’ll also get:

• 1 free checked bag for yourself and up to 8 traveling companions on the same reservation
• 2 miles per $1 you spend on Delta
• 1 mile per $1 you spend on everything else
• 20% discount on certain Delta in-flight purchases
• Priority boarding
• Discount on Delta SkyClub lounge passes
• No foreign transaction fees
• Terms and Limitations apply

The $95 annual fee is waived the first year.

And with the AMEX Platinum Delta small business card, you’ll earn 70,000 Delta miles and 10,000 Medallion qualification miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.  The usual bonus is 35,000 Delta miles, so you get double the miles with this offer!

And if you make a Delta purchase in the first 3 months of account opening, you’ll earn a $100 statement credit.  You’ll also get:

• 1 free checked bag
• 2 miles per $1 you spend on Delta
• 1 mile per $1 you spend on everything else
• 20% discount on certain Delta in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit
• Priority boarding
• Domestic round-trip companion certificate each year on your card anniversary
• 10,000 Medallion qualifying miles and 10,000 bonus miles when you spend more than $25,000 in a calendar year.  And an additional 10,000 Medallion qualifying miles and 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $50,000 in the same timeframe.
• No foreign transaction fees
• Terms and Limitations apply

The $195 annual fee is NOT waived for the first year.

With Pay With Miles, the 50,000 mile bonus on the AMEX Gold Delta business card is worth $500 (50,000 miles X 1 cent per mile) off Delta flights, and the 70,000 mile welcome bonus from the AMEX Platinum Delta business card is worth $700 (70,000 miles X 1 cent per mile).

A round-trip coach award flight within the US or Canada costs 25,000 Delta miles.  So you can get 2 award tickets with the AMEX Gold Delta business card.  And 3 award tickets after you meet the minimum spending on the AMEX Platinum Delta business card!

Coach award flights to Hawaii cost 45,000 Delta miles round-trip.  So with either card, you’ll have enough to visit your favorite Hawaiian island!

Here are more ways to use Delta miles that will help you decide which card is best for you:

Bottom Line

There are several worthwhile offers with AMEX small business cards right now, including:

• 100,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points with the The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN after meeting tiered spending requirements.  Offer is good through January 25, 2017.
• Up to $500 cash back with the SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express after meeting tiered spending requirements.  Offer is good through January 25, 2017.
• 50,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points with the The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN after meeting minimum spending requirements.
• 25,000 Starwood points with the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express after meeting minimum spending requirements.
• 50,000 Delta miles and a $50 statement credit on a Delta purchase with the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card or 70,000 Delta miles and a $100 statement credit toward a Delta purchase with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card after meeting minimum spending requirements.  Offers are available through November 9, 2016.

When you open any of these cards, they won’t appear on your personal credit report.  So they won’t count against your Chase 5/24 status!  And AMEX is generous about approvals for these cards.  You do NOT need millions in revenue.  Here are ways you may already qualify.

When you’re ready, here’s how to fill out an AMEX small business card application.