American Express Blue Business Plus Review

What Is American Express Blue Business Plus?

The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express provides a simple way for small businesses to earn points and gain access to American Express’s Membership Rewards Program without worrying about fees or rewards tiers.

Amex Blue Business Plus offers two points per $1 spent on your first $50,000 per year in purchases, an intro 0% APR for 12 months, and no annual fee — a potent combination that will appeal to a wide range of businesses. In addition, like most Amex credit cards, cardholders can spend above their credit limit with no penalty.

Keep reading to find out if Blue Business Plus deserves a place among the best business credit cards.

Amex Blue Business Plus: Quick Facts

Rewards & Perks

This Amex card has a solid rewards scheme that should fit a broad array of business types. It’s no mistake that we gave Blue Business Plus a perfect score in this category.

A 50,000-Point Early Spend Bonus

With Blue Business Plus, you’ll earn 50,000 bonus points — a $500 value — after you spend $8,000+ on the card in your first three account months. The spending threshold you’ll have to meet is relatively high, but it’s an impressive early spend bonus nonetheless.

2x Points On Up To $50K/Year In Spending

Two points per dollar spent on all business purchases? That’s a great rewards rate for a business credit card, but particularly so for a card that carries no annual fee. However, Blue Business Plus’s high rewards rate does come with a caveat: You’ll only receive 2x points on your first $50,000 spent each calendar year.

After you break the $50,000 spending threshold within one year, you’ll start earning 1 point per dollar. This means that users who plan to spend more than $50,000 annually may find greener pastures with a different card that doesn’t impose spending caps. You may also find better cards if you’re looking for rewards in specific categories — the Blue Business Plus will best suit those with a wide-ranging spending profile.

Redeeming Rewards

Many Amex cards shine when it comes to redeeming rewards, and Blue Business Plus is no different. Besides being redeemable for statement credits and gift cards, you can also spend your points at marketplaces like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Points can also be used when you check out with a merchant that supports Amex Express Checkout or PayPal.

Despite not being a travel card, you can still use your Blue Business Plus points for travel. To do so, you’ll need to book your trip through American Express’s travel portal. Or, if you’d prefer a different service, points can be used at checkout when booking through Expedia.

Additionally, you can transfer your points to 20+ hotel and airline loyalty programs.

Note that depending on how you redeem your points, you may wind up receiving more or less than the standard $0.01 per point.

Rates & Fees

Blue Business Plus earns a nearly perfect rating in this category due to having no annual fee and a year-long intro 0% APR. It’s a combination you often see in business credit cards with less impressive rewards schemes. It’s rarer to see it in a card like this.

No Annual Fee

The Amex Blue Business Plus’s lack of an annual fee means that your rewards will immediately start saving you money — you won’t have to worry about recouping a set fee first.

A 0% APR Introductory Period Of 12 Months

With this card, you’ll get 12 months of 0% APR on purchases. This is especially handy for those who plan to carry a balance for the first year they have the card in their wallet.

A Competitive Ongoing APR

After your first year, your rate for purchases will range from 18.49% - 26.49% (variable). The lower end of this range is lower than the average for a business credit card in 2024, while the upper end is a bit higher.

A 2.7% Foreign Transaction Fee

This card does sport a 2.7% foreign transaction fee. It’s not ideal for international travelers, but it is slightly lower than the 3% international fee commonly charged by other credit cards.

Of course, frequent travelers may prefer to check out travel-specific business credit cards instead.

Other Fees

Besides the foreign transaction fee, you’ll be dinged either $5 or 3% of the amount of each balance transfer (whichever is higher).

There’s also a late payment fee that runs up to $39 and a returned payment fee of $39.

Card Features

Amex offers a plethora of extra benefits with its cards, and Blue Business Plus is no exception. This card earns excellent marks in the Features category — let’s go through the reasons why.

Eligibility Requirements

You’ll need to be at least 18 years of age and a US resident to apply for Amex Blue Business Plus.

When it comes to your credit history, Amex does not specify a credit score requirement. However, the consensus among reviewers is that applicants should have good to excellent credit before applying. Credit scores of good or excellent often sit above 640.

Customer Service

Amex offers a range of customer service benefits with this card, including 24/7 customer support, a global assist hotline that provides access to medical, legal, financial, and other services, and dispute resolution in case you notice a fraudulent or incorrect charge on your statement.

For Blue Business Plus, it all adds up to a strong score in this category.

Amex Blue Business Plus Reviews

Amex’s Blue Business Plus is well-reviewed by both professional reviewers and cardholders. The card receives an average user score of 3.8/5 at WalletHub (based on 422 reviews) and an average score of 3.6/5 at Credit Karma (24 reviews). These scores aren’t eye-popping per se, but they compare favorably with the scores other business credit cards receive.

How Does Amex Blue Business Plus Compare To The Alternatives?

Amex Blue Business Plus is a top-notch business credit card, but let’s explore the circumstances that might lead you to prefer another option to finance your business purchases.

Final Verdict: Is American Express Blue Business Plus Right For You?

Blue Business Plus from American Express is an outstanding business credit card for business owners who want to take advantage of Amex’s Membership Rewards points system. With a strong universal rewards-earning rate and a number of lucrative redemption options (particularly for travel), this card deserves to be considered alongside the best options in the business credit card field.

If, on the other hand, you run a large business and you a) want more expense management features than a normal business card provides, b) want to avoid personal liability for your card debt, and/or c) your business fundamentals are strong, but your personal credit score isn’t good, check out the best corporate credit cards instead.

You might want to apply if…

• You want a simple rewards structure
• You want a generous introductory 0% APR period
• You plan on putting less than $50,000 worth of charges on your credit card

You might want to look for a different card if…

• You plan on putting more than $50,000 worth of charges on your credit card
• You simply want to earn cash back, not points
• You want a travel card or one that offers better rewards for select categories

Credit Card Review Methodology

We spend hours researching and evaluating each credit card that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.

When rating credit cards and credit card issuers, we use an 18-point rubric that looks at rewards and perks, rates and fees, features, eligibility requirements, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.

• Rewards & Perks: 40% of the total star rating
• Rates & Fees: 30% of the total star rating
• Features: 15% of the total star rating
• Eligibility Requirements: 5% of the total star rating
• Customer Service: 5% of the total star rating
• User Reviews: 5% of the total star rating

Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we examine specific attributes like APR, introductory offers, cash back and travel rewards, credit score requirements and disclosures, foreign transaction fees, and the availability of employee cards.

Read more about how we rate business credit cards.