The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card review: No annual fee and 2% cash back on purchases (up to a cap)
The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
CardRatings Editor's Analysis: Pros & Cons
- Earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%. A $50,000 annual spend cap on bonus rewards is quite good for a card with no annual fee.
- Your business needs are always changing, and therefore, your spending habits might often change too. This card offers Expanded Buying Power, which allows you to spend beyond your credit limit. Just remember, the amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the card, your payment history, and credit record.
- Take advantage of 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, then RegAPR.
- The $50,000 annual spend cap on bonus rewards is quite high, but if you see yourself spending beyond this each year, a card with no spending cap might be a better fit. Even if it has an annual fee, if you're using the card often enough, offsetting the fee likely won't be too hard.
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The CardName is kind of like the perfect dinner guest. It doesn't suck up the life of the party by being too flashy and ostentatious but also isn't a bore either. In other words, it has a straight-forward cash back plan and no annual fee, and you won't be embarrassed that you invited it into your wallet. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.
CardName BENEFITS
There are a number of appealing benefits with this card. In a nutshell…
- No annual fee
- Earn a $250 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first three months
- A straight-forward cash-back plan— you'll get 2% cash back on your first $50,000 in purchases each year, and then 1%, and the cash you earn is automatically credited back to your statement
- Intro 0% APR on purchases for 12 months, then RegAPR
- Car rental loss and damage insurance
- Expense management tools
- Free employee cards
- Expanded buying power— gives you the freedom to spend beyond your credit limit; just remember, the amount you can spend is not unlimited and adjusts with use of your card, your payment history and credit record
- Terms apply
Top Features
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- Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- Buy Now, Pay Later: Enjoy $0 intro plan fees when you use Plan It® to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Pay $0 intro plan fees on plans created during the first 12 months from the date of account opening. Plans created after that will have a monthly plan fee up to 1.33% of each eligible purchase amount moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the purchase, and other factors.
- Low Intro APR: 0% on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable APR of 19.24% - 29.99%. Variable APRs will not exceed 29.99%.
- 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).
- 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
- 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations.
- 3% Cash Back on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more).
- 1% Cash Back on other purchases.
- Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
- Get up to $120 in statement credits annually when you pay for an auto-renewing subscription to Equinox+ at equinoxplus.com with your Blue Cash Preferred® Card. That's $10 in statement credits each month. Enrollment required.
- Thinking about getting the Disney Bundle which can include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+? Your decision made easy with $7/month back in the form of a statement credit after you spend $9.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription (subject to auto renewal) with your Blue Cash Preferred® Card. Enrollment required.
- Terms Apply.
CardName FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE
This is worth discussing, because on foreign purchases, this card charges foreign_fee Though that's better than many card's 3% fee, there are cards that don't have any foreign transaction fees, which could be better for frequent international travelers.
Let's say that you jet off to Australia, and you spend $8,000 on your CardName. That 2.7% foreign transaction fee means you'll spend an extra $216 on the trip. So you'll really end up spending $8,216. Now, of course, the 2% cash back offer would actually mean you'd earn $160 off that $8,000 (assuming you haven't met the annual $50,000 yet), so you could look at it as though you're actually spending an extra $56 on the trip and not $216, but still, it's something to think about.
If you or your employees travel abroad often, you might want to consider a card with no foreign transaction fee, such as the CardName (compared below). The trade off is that the Chase card charges an annual fee, but it also offers a huge welcome bonus as well as a plethora of travel benefits to help offset that.
If you simply don't travel much, and your financial life isn't very complicated, you may not care about the foreign transaction fee and welcome the CardName's simplicity.
CardName POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES
Just as there are a number of appealing benefits with this card, there are some potential negatives. You've probably caught wind of all or most of them if you've read through this so far, but just to recap, what you may not love about the card includes…
- A $50,000 annual spending cap on bonus rewards. If your business spends a ton every year, and each month, it may disappoint you that the 2% cash back ends after reaching $50,000. So if you typically spend well over $4,100 a month, you may want a different card. That said, you still get 1% cash back after the $50,000, and that isn't limited.
- A foreign_fee foreign transaction fee. As we covered above, this fee likely isn't ideal for frequent international travelers; however, it probably won't be a big deal if you don't travel abroad often or don't shop with overseas vendors in foreign currency.
- Business name
- Business name as you want it to appear on the card
- Business address
- Type of business
- Tax ID number (or your social security number)
- Number of employees
- Annual revenue/sales
- Monthly expenses
- Number of years in business
- Ownership type (publicly traded, privately owned, etc.)
- Business structure (LLC, corporation, non-profit, etc.)
CardName APPROVAL ODDS
Do you qualify for the CardName? Since you don't necessarily need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to qualify for a business credit card, your chances could be higher than you might think.
Most credit card companies define "business" quite broadly when it comes to considering applicants for small business credit cards. So the list of people who can apply for a small business credit card is fairly lengthy and includes freelancers/self-employed individuals, entrepreneurs, small business owners/officers, owners/officers of established businesses, and owners/officers of startups.
To qualify for a business credit card, you must be your company's "authorized officer." Basically, this means that you must have the legal right to enter into borrowing arrangements with financial institutions on behalf of a business. If you are the owner of a sole proprietorship business or the sole owner of a small business, you are already an "authorized officer."
It can be more complicated determining who ranks for businesses that have multiple owners. In general, though, most owners are also "authorized officers." Credit card issuers consider each application on its own merits, so don't assume you don't qualify just because your business might not fit that standard business model. Do keep in mind though that your personal credit history will likely be what is used to determine your eligibility and/or credit limit on a business card before you've built up a credit history for your business.
If your business doesn't have a tax ID number (EIN), you can enter your personal social security number instead. In general, try to have the following information handy when you apply:
Learn more about how to apply for a small business credit card.
CardName CARDHOLDER SCORES
CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results:
Current Scores | Past Scores | |
---|---|---|
Overall Score | 79.1 | 83.9 |
Features Satisfaction | 7.6 | 8.5 |
Customer Service | 8.2 | 8.3 |
Website/App Usability | 8.4 | 7.7 |
Likelihood of Continuing to Use | 8.2 | 8.7 |
Recommend to a Friend/Colleague | 7.8 | 8.5 |
*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.
HOW THE CardName COMPARES TO OTHER CREDIT CARDS
CardName vs. CardName
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The CardName is fairly different from the CardName, but they can both be great fits for different types of credit card users.
To start, the CardName has an annual fee, whereas the CardName does not. That said, Chase's annual fee is pretty small as annual fees go– AnnualFees. There's also a nice welcome bonus of 100,000 points once you spend $8,000 on the card in the first three months of opening the account. This bonus can be worth as much as $1,250 in travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, which is plenty to offset the annual fee for years to come.
The CardName also has a more robust rewards program than the CardName. The Chase card offers three points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent on travel and other select business categories each account anniversary year, and one point for every $1 spent on everything else. Points can then be exchanged for cash transfers, gift cards or, for 25% more value, can be redeemed towards airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
That can really save a cardholder money, but it's a lot to remember, which is why some people might prefer 2% cash back on all purchases up to $50,000 and then 1% cash back from there on out like with the American Express card. Pretty simple.
There is no foreign transaction fee with the CardName; the American Express Blue Business Cash Card charges foreign_fee
CardName vs. CardName
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This Chase card offers a hefty welcome bonus to new cardholders even though the spending threshold is high. New CardName holders can earn a $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months, and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of opening an account.
As far as ongoing rewards go, the CardName earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year; 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year; and 1% cash back on all other card purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.
That may work out better for many Chase Ink Business Cash® cardholders, especially those who spend heavily on office supplies and communications costs, whereas some might just appreciate the simplicity of the CardName's cash back program: 2% cash back on purchases up to $50,000 annually, and then unlimited 1%.
One notable similarity between these two cards is that neither charges and annual fee, so they could both be great options for anyone looking for a no-annual-fee card to use, or to use as a secondary option to other cards.
Also worth noting are foreign transaction fees. The CardName (unlike the CardName, which has no fee) has a foreign_fee fee. The CardName charges foreign_fee.
CardName vs. CardName
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Another option from the Chase Ink Business family, the CardName is perhaps the most similar to the CardName in that it's a no-annual-fee card that earns flat-rate cash back. With the Ink Unlimited cardholders earn unlimited 1.5% on all purchases made with the card - with no cap. Sure, that's a little less than what you can earn with the Amex card, but unlike the Amex card, there's no limit on the amount of bonus rewards you can earn.
New cardholders can earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening. Plus, there's an introductory offer of 12 months no interest on purchases before regular RegAPR APR applies.
The Ink Unlimited card also isn't great for international travel as it charges a foreign transaction fee: foreign_fee.
IS CardName A GOOD CARD?
Absolutely, but it depends what your interests are. If you travel a lot for business, and you want rewards for that, this probably is not your card, especially because of the foreign transaction fee.
If you want a straight-forward reward program that allows you to earn cash back, without worrying about rotating categories or tiers, or an annual fee, this is a great option to consider.
Survey Methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents' scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. “Current Scores” reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2022 survey.
See Rates and Fees for the CardName
The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card Compared to Other Cash back Cards
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