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The Points Guy
- If you own a business and want more rewards you can redeem for free and discounted travel, the Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express is a great choice.
- With no annual fee and 2x points everywhere you spend, you'll get a good value from this card, particularly if you pay it off in full and avoid fee-bearing activity.
If you want a card that pays you back in valuable American Express Membership Rewards points with no annual fee, the Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express is a great choice. The card pays 2x per dollar on all purchases up to $50,000 per year and 1x point from there on. Even more, this card has benefits often reserved for just the elite tiers of travel rewards credit cards with high annual fees.
While the rewards and benefits don't stand up to the $450-per-year Business Platinum® Card from American Express, the rewards and benefits are quite compelling for a card with no annual fee. Follow along to learn more about how this card works, what it costs, and if it makes sense for your business.
Rewards
The primary rewards from the Blue Business Plus are Membership Rewards points. Cardholders earn 2x points per dollar on every purchase up to $50,000 per year and 1x point for every dollar thereafter. If you hit the $50,000 per year mark, that's 100,000 Membership Rewards points per year.
Membership Rewards points are worth about 2 cents each, so 100,000 points per year is worth about $2,000 toward free travel depending on how you book. Membership Rewards points are redeemable for travel directly through the American Express travel portal, or you can transfer to some partners at a 1:1 ratio for even better redemption value in some cases.
Points can also be redeemed for a statement credit (works like cash back) and some purchases, but the best value typically comes from using your points for travel rewards.
Benefits
The Blue Business Plus card comes with a suite of benefits most common for cards with a $100+ annual fee. Those include valuable travel and purchase protections that can come in handy in a wide range of scenarios.
For standard purchases, this card includes an automatic extended warranty where applicable and purchase protection for up to 120 days. I just used purchase protection to get reimbursed for an item I bought a few months ago that broke just after the return date. As long as you use the card, most new purchases are covered.
When traveling, this card offers rental car insurance, baggage insurance, and travel accident insurance. It also has a free roadside assistance feature that works like AAA, but you are responsible for the costs of third-party services rendered.
The card also offers a range of discounts through AmEx Offers and useful features to manage employee cards and balances. Any small business should have its needs met with this card.
Read more: The 8 best small business credit cards to open in 2018
Costs and fees
This card charges no annual fee, but there are some costs depending on how you use the card. Those come in the form of interest (after a 0% introductory period), balance transfer and foreign transactions fees, and late or returned payment fees.
New cardholders get 15 months at 0% APR for purchases and balance transfers. After that, a variable rate APR of 13.24% to 21.24% applies based on your credit history and market interest rates. Just pay off your card in full every month before the due date to avoid interest costs. Late and returned payments trigger a higher 29.99% variable penalty APR.
If you currently carry a balance on another credit card, you may be able to take advantage of the 0% introductory period to pay off your debt for good. If you get a lower APR at American Express than your other cards charge, a balance transfer may make sense.
Balance transfers cost 3% of the transaction value ($5 minimum) and foreign transactions charge a 2.7% fee. Late and returned payments cost up to $38 per occurrence.
Can the Blue Business Plus save you green?
While the Blue Business Plus doesn't offer a welcome bonus - unlike other American Express business cards like AmEx Business Platinum - the Blue Business Plus offers a very competitive 2x points per dollar easily worth as much as 4% cash back when you use your points well. The card has few downsides, particularly as it has no annual fee. If you want AmEx benefits and reward points with no annual fee, this is one of the best ways to do it.
If you own a business and want more rewards you can redeem for free and discounted travel, the Blue Business Plus is a great choice. With no annual fee and 2x points everywhere you spend, you'll get a good value from this card, particularly if you pay it off in full and avoid fee-bearing activity.
Some similar cards for business travel rewards include the AmEx Business Platinum, Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, and Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card. However, the AmEx Business Platinum and Chase Ink Business Preferred both charge annual fees of $450 and $95, respectively. Depending on how you spend, this could still end up as a better deal.
If you're looking for something with low costs, no hassles, and great travel rewards, Blue Business Plus is an excellent card for your small business needs.
Click here to learn more about the AmEx Blue Business Plus Card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.
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