Amex Blue Business Plus Card Review: No Annual Fee, 2x Membership Rewards Points

In this post, I’d like to share an in-depth review of The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express, which is one of my favorite business credit cards, and also one of the easiest to justify. The card is almost too good to be true, given that it has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), offers up to 2x transferable points per dollar spent, and gives you access to some other useful perks as well. There aren’t many credit cards that I say just about everyone should have, though this is one of them. I’ve held the Amex Blue Business Plus since shortly after launch, and over the years, it’s a card that I’ve spent a lot of money in, using it as a default for my everyday, non-bonused spending. So, what makes the Amex Blue Business Plus so rewarding? Let’s go over all the details of the card, but first, let me summarize the basics. Link: Learn more about The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express Amex Blue Business Plus summary & key detailsAmex Blue Business Plus Card bonus, fees, rewards, and perksWelcome offer of 15K Membership Rewards pointsEarn 2x Amex Membership Rewards points on spendingExpanded buying power benefit for spendingThe Blue Business Plus is the best business “hub” card for Membership Rewards pointsNo annual fee & no authorized user feePurchase protection, extended warranty, rental car coverage0% intro APRSave money with the Amex Offers program2.7% foreign transaction feesGetting approved for the Amex Blue Business PlusIs the Amex Blue Business Plus worth it?Comparison: Blue Business Plus vs. Blue Business CashBest business credit card beyond $50K of spendingBest Amex Blue Business Plus Card complementBest comparable personal credit cardAmex Blue Business Plus Card FAQsBottom line Amex Blue Business Plus summary & key details Let me start by briefly summarizing the key details of the Amex Blue Business Plus: Annual fee: None (Rates & Fees) Welcome offer: 15,000 Membership Rewards points after $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first three months Earn rate: 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 of eligible purchases per calendar year, 1x points thereafter Foreign transaction fee: 2.7% (Rates & Fees) Intro APR: 0% on purchases for the first 12 months, then a variable rate currently in the range of 16.74% - 28.49% (Rates & Fees) Best for: Anyone with a business (or business spending channel) who wants to earn 2x transferable Membership Rewards points on everyday spending without paying an annual fee — and anyone with a Membership Rewards balance who wants a no-fee “hub” card to preserve points long term The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express Why we like this cardIf you’re into collecting points then the Blue Business Plus Card is an absolute must. Earning 2x Membership Rewards points (on up to 50k/year and then 1x), which I value at a ~3.4% return, is unrivaled. Best of all, you’re getting all of this with a no annual fee card that earns points that can be transferred to airline and hotel programs. Blue Business Plus Card Review → Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points Amex Blue Business Plus Card bonus, fees, rewards, and perks With the above out of the way, let’s look at the various aspects of the Amex Blue Business Plus Credit Card, from the welcome offer, to the fees, to the rewards structures, to the other perks. This is one of the more straightforward cards out there, which will appeal to many consumers, given the lack of a learning curve to understand how to maximize it. Welcome offer of 15K Membership Rewards points The Amex Blue Business Plus Credit Card currently has a welcome offer where you can earn 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership. Let me acknowledge that this isn’t a huge bonus, but this is also a card that simply hasn’t had a very high publicly available welcome offer, so if you want the card, that’s something you probably have to come to terms with. This is a card you get because of the long term value that it offers, and not for the welcome offer. At my valuation of 1.7 cents per Membership Rewards point, the 15,000-point welcome offer is worth around $255. That’s not life-changing on its own — but again, the welcome offer isn’t the reason to get this card. Note that in some cases people may see larger targeted offers by logging into their Amex accounts, but this is the best publicly available bonus you’ll find. Some readers may remember elevated targeted offers as high as 75,000 Membership Rewards points circulating in the past — these appear from time to time, but aren’t publicly available, and there’s no guaranteed way to apply for them directly. If you see a 75K (or higher) targeted offer in your Amex account, it’s worth jumping on, but plan around the public offer when timing your application. Redeem Amex points to Virgin Atlantic A330neo Upper Class Earn 2x Amex Membership Rewards points on spending The Amex Blue Business Plus Credit Card earns 2x Membership Rewards points on everyday business purchases, and that applies to the first $50,000 spent per calendar year. You earn 1x points per dollar thereafter. Membership Rewards points are one of the major transferable points currencies, and based on my valuation of 1.7 cents per point, to me that’s the equivalent of a 3.4% return on everyday business spending, which is phenomenal. To put that into concrete numbers: max out the $50,000 calendar year 2x points category and you earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points, worth $1,700 at my valuation. That’s $1,700 in transferable points earned on spending you’d have done anyway, with no annual fee against it. I should also mention that this card earns Membership Rewards points that can be transferred to Amex airline and hotel partners. There aren’t many no annual fee cards that are enrolled in the “full” Membership Rewards program, so that in and of itself is a reason to keep this card. So this is useful if you want to move points to any of Amex’s roughly 20 transfer partners, including programs like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Club, Delta SkyMiles, Singapore KrisFlyer, etc. In the past, I’ve often spent exactly $50,000 per year on the card, to earn those bonus points. I’ve redeemed the points for everything from Emirates A380 first class, to Virgin Atlantic’s A350 Upper Class. Those are tickets that would cost many thousands of dollars if paying cash, so I’ve consistently gotten great value with my Amex points. You can stretch your points even further by keeping an eye on transfer bonuses, as those come around with some frequency, and can get you an even better transfer ratio. Just make sure you avoid redeeming Amex points for things like statement credits or gift cards, since that will get you poor value, typically at most one cent per point, if not meaningfully less. Redeem Amex points for Emirates A380 first class Expanded buying power benefit for spending While this won’t be useful for every business, the Amex Blue Business Plus Card has an expanded buying power benefit, allowing cardmembers to spend beyond their credit limit to help pay for larger purchases. Just to be clear, this doesn’t give you unlimited spending power, but it allows you to request a higher spending amount, which is granted based on a variety of factors, including your payment history, relationship with Amex, card use, etc. This is super useful if you’re in a situation where you need to make a big purchase that exceeds your credit limit. Note that the additional spending must be paid in full by the due date, while the amount up to the credit limit can be financed over time. The Blue Business Plus is the best business “hub” card for Membership Rewards points One of the most underrated value propositions of the Amex Blue Business Plus Card is its role as a no annual fee anchor in the Amex Membership Rewards ecosystem. Here’s why this matters: Membership Rewards points are tied to the Amex card account that earned them; if you close the last Amex card you hold that earns full Membership Rewards points, you forfeit your entire Membership Rewards points balance Most no annual fee Amex cards don’t participate in the full Membership Rewards program — they typically earn more limited cash back version of points that can’t transfer to airline and hotel partners This means the Blue Business Plus lets you cancel premium Amex cards at any point — to avoid paying their annual fees, or to product change to a different card — without losing your accumulated Membership Rewards balance; the Blue Business Plus stays open at no annual fee cost, your points stay alive, and you can transfer them to partners whenever you’re ready For anyone who plans to hold premium Amex cards over the long term but wants insurance against forfeiting their Membership Rewards balance if they ever cancel, the Blue Business Plus is essentially a free safety net. The card costs nothing to hold and protects every Membership Rewards point you’ve ever earned. While I’ve never gotten down to having just a single card earning Membership Rewards points, I’ve certainly benefited from the ability to pool points in order to preserve my rewards balance. No annual fee & no authorized user fee The Amex Blue Business Plus Card has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), so this is a card that you can keep long term to maximize your rewards. You can also add up to 99 authorized users to your account at no extra cost (not that most businesses require that many authorized user cards!). Purchase protection, extended warranty, rental car coverage Given that there’s no real cost to hold onto this card, it’s noteworthy that the Amex Blue Business Plus Card actually has some decent purchase protection and perks. You’ll want to consult the full cardmember agreement, but the card offers an extended warranty, purchase protection, and car rental loss and damage insurance. These are perks that are really worth it in those rare situations where they’re needed, so it’s worth using a card like that for your spending. 0% intro APR The Amex Blue Business Plus Card offers 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable rate (currently in the range of 16.74% - 28.49%), so if you do take advantage of this, make sure you can pay back the full amount within that period (Rates & Fees). While this is a perk I typically stay away from, I know some small businesses appreciate this flexibility. Save money with the Amex Offers program The Amex Offers program is a way that you can save money and/or earn bonus points for purchases with a variety of retailers. This program saves me hundreds of dollars per year, and it’s also a reason to have as many Amex cards as possible. That’s especially true if you can get no annual fee cards, which really cost you nothing to hold onto. In the typical year I save hundreds of dollars with the Amex Offers program, thanks to promotions for bonus points and statement credits with a variety of retailers. I constantly see offers to save money with major hotel groups, airlines, and retailers. To me, this is one of the most underrated benefits of holding onto an Amex card. 2.7% foreign transaction fees I wouldn’t recommend using the Amex Blue Business Plus Card for purchases outside the United States, as the card does carry foreign transaction fees of 2.7% (Rates & Fees), which will eat up most of the value of your rewards. Fortunately there are lots of other great cards with no foreign transaction fees. Getting approved for the Amex Blue Business Plus For those with excellent credit, I find that Amex business cards are easy to get approved for. Anecdotally most people I’ve heard from have reported instant approvals on this card, so it really shouldn’t be very tough to be approved for, even if you haven’t gotten many business cards in the past. Just make sure you know that: You can be approved for at most two Amex cards in a 90 day period There’s a limit of how many American Express credit cards you can have at any point, and typically that’s five Amex has a “once in a lifetime” rule, so you can typically only earn the welcome offer on a card once; fortunately there’s typically a pop-up warning in the event you’re not eligible for the welcome offer on a card See this post for all major credit card application restrictions to be aware of. One of the other cool things to keep in mind is that applying for an Amex business card doesn’t count as a further card toward Chase’s 5/24 limit, so you can pick up this card without it impacting your ability to be approved for Chase cards in the future. Is the Amex Blue Business Plus worth it? If you’re into collecting points, then the Amex Blue Business Plus Card is a card you should absolutely consider. Earning 2x Membership Rewards points, which I value at a ~3.4% return, is awesome. Best of all, you’re getting all of this with a no annual fee card that earns points that can be transferred to airline and hotel programs, and you’re getting access to Amex Offers and more. Just keep in mind the $50,000 limit every calendar year for earning the 2x points. Specifically, the Amex Blue Business Plus is the right card for someone who: Has a business (or business spending channel) eligible for an Amex business card Prefers transferable Membership Rewards points over flat cash back rewards Wants to maximize point earning on the first $50,000 of business spending each year Also wants a long term no fee Membership Rewards “hub” card to preserve points even when canceling premium Amex cards The card is less compelling if you spend significantly more than $50,000 on business cards annually (the 1x earn rate after the cap becomes uncompetitive), prefer cash back to transferable points, or do significant spending outside the United States, where the 2.7% foreign transaction fee would erode most of your rewards. Let’s take a look at some of the other cards that are worth considering, either in place of the Amex Blue Business Plus, if you’re looking for a cash back card, or if you’re looking for a card to use beyond your first $50,000 of spending per calendar year. Comparison: Blue Business Plus vs. Blue Business Cash The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card (learn more) is the cash back version of the Amex Blue Business Plus Card. How does it compare? Most aspects of the cards are the same, with the major distinction being that the Amex Blue Business Cash earns 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year, and 1% thereafter, while the Amex Blue Business Plus earns 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent annually. While 2% cash back is a solid return for a no annual fee business card (Rates & Fees), personally I have a strong preference for earning 2x Membership Rewards points rather than 2% cash back. FeatureAmex Blue Business PlusAmex Blue Business CashAnnual fee$0$0Rewards2x Membership Rewards points2% cash back2X / 2% limitFirst $50,000 per yearFirst $50,000 per yearAfter $50K1x points1% cash backReward flexibilityTransfer points to airline & hotel partnersSimple statement creditBest forPeople who know how to get more than one cent of value per Amex pointPeople who want straightforward cash backForeign transaction fee2.7%2.7%Expanded buying powerYesYes Read more: Which version of the Blue Business is worth it? I prefer to earn travel rewards for my credit card spending Best business credit card beyond $50K of spending The Amex Blue Business Plus offers an incredible 2x points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year, so what are the best cards for everyday spending beyond that? There are lots of great business credit cards out there, though I’d say two are most competitive for everyday spending. The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (learn more) is an awesome option as well, as the card offers 1.5x points per dollar spent on business purchases, and has no annual fee. Those points can be transferred to Ultimate Rewards partners if you have the card in conjunction with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more), Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more), or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more). The Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) is another incredible card. The card offers 2x miles per dollar spent with no foreign transaction fees. While the card has a $395 annual fee, that’s easy to justify thanks to the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, and much more. Capital One miles can also be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel partners. Best Amex Blue Business Plus Card complement If you want to earn as many Membership Rewards points as possible, the American Express® Business Gold Card (learn more) is worth considering. The Amex Business Gold Card earns 4x Membership Rewards points on the two categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle, from six eligible categories. You will earn 4x points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1x thereafter). The bonus categories are as follows: Purchases at US media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio) U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery U.S. purchases at gas stations Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S. Potentially earn 4x points with the Amex Business Gold Another Amex business card worth mentioning is The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more). While the card has a steep annual fee, it offers incredibly strong perks, including credits that can help offset the annual, lounge access, and a lot more. So there’s something to be said for pairing the two cards, with one being all about the return on spending, and the other being about the perks. One other unique thing worth pointing out is that the Amex Business Platinum can unlock better redemption rates with the “Pay With Points” feature, as much as 35% off, so it can stretch your Amex points even further. Access Centurion Lounges with the Amex Business Platinum Best comparable personal credit card There’s only one no annual fee personal card that’s at all comparable to the Blue Business Plus, and that’s the Citi Double Cash® Card (learn more). The card also has no annual fee, and offers 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and an additional 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase in the form of ThankYou points. If you have the card in conjunction with a card earning Citi ThankYou points, like the Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more), then rewards can be converted into ThankYou points at a rate of one cent per point. That makes this card incredibly versatile, as you can redeem rewards efficiently as cash back or toward travel. Alternatively, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more) and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (learn more) earn 2x miles per dollar spent, which can be transferred to airline and hotel partners. Those are fantastic cards as well, though they do have annual fees. Several cards offer 2x miles nowadays, which is awesome Is the Amex Blue Business Plus Card worth it? For many small business owners who collect American Express Membership Rewards points, the Blue Business Plus is a very useful card to have. The biggest selling point is simple: you earn 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases each calendar year, with no annual fee. After that threshold, purchases earn 1x points. What I particularly like about the card is that there are no complicated bonus categories to keep track of. It can serve as a catch-all card for business expenses that don’t earn a higher return elsewhere. What is the Amex Blue Business Plus welcome bonus? The current welcome offer is 15,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership. Welcome offers can change, so it’s worth checking the current offer before applying. How many points does the Amex Blue Business Plus earn? The Amex Blue Business Plus earns 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases per calendar year. Purchases after that threshold earn 1x points. That’s particularly useful because the 2x earning rate applies broadly rather than being restricted to specific spending categories. Eligible purchases made through amextravel.com also earn 2x points and don’t count toward the $50,000 annual cap. Does the Amex Blue Business Plus have an annual fee? No. The Amex Blue Business Plus has a $0 annual fee. That’s a big part of the appeal. You’re essentially getting a no annual fee business card that earns transferable Membership Rewards points, which makes it easy to keep the card long term even if your spending varies from year to year. What is the Amex Blue Business Plus 2x points spending limit? The card earns 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases per calendar year. Once you’ve reached $50,000 in eligible purchases, additional purchases earn 1x points for the remainder of the calendar year. At the full $50,000 threshold, that’s 100,000 Membership Rewards points from spending alone. Can you transfer Amex Blue Business Plus points to airline and hotel partners? Yes. The Membership Rewards points earned with the Blue Business Plus can be transferred to participating airline and hotel loyalty programs, subject to the applicable transfer ratios and program terms. This is where I think the card gets particularly interesting for frequent travelers. Rather than being locked into a fixed value travel redemption, you can move Membership Rewards points to a variety of loyalty programs when you find an attractive award. Can you combine Amex Blue Business Plus points with points from other Amex cards? Yes. Membership Rewards points from eligible American Express cards can generally be combined within the same Membership Rewards account. That means the Blue Business Plus can work particularly well as part of a larger Amex strategy. You could use one card for bonus categories and then use the Blue Business Plus for purchases that don’t otherwise earn a bonus, while pooling the points into the same Membership Rewards balance. Does the Amex Blue Business Plus have foreign transaction fees? Yes. The card has a 2.7% foreign transaction fee, so it generally isn’t a card I’d use for purchases outside the United States. That fee can quickly wipe out much of the value of the points you’re earning, so international spending is better directed toward a card without foreign transaction fees. Can you use the Amex Blue Business Plus for personal expenses? The Blue Business Plus is a business credit card, so it is intended for business expenses. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to own a large corporation to qualify for an Amex business card. Eligibility depends on American Express’ application requirements and your business activity. As always, I’d keep business and personal expenses properly separated for accounting and tax purposes. Can the Amex Blue Business Plus help you keep Membership Rewards points alive? Yes, and this is one of the less obvious reasons to hold the card. Because the Blue Business Plus earns Membership Rewards points and has no annual fee, it can serve as a useful long term Membership Rewards card if you also have other Amex cards. That can be particularly relevant if you’re considering canceling a premium Amex card that carries an annual fee. Bottom line The Amex Blue Business Plus Card is one of the most lucrative cards out there. It offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year, all with no annual fee. On top of that, the card gets you access to Amex Offers. This is also a fantastic “hub” card for holding onto Amex points, in situations where you want to cancel other premium Amex cards but want to hold onto your points. This is a card that anyone who is eligible should get, assuming you’re into collecting points. If you want to learn more about the Amex Blue Business Plus Card, follow this link. The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card (Rates & Fees).