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There aren’t many credit cards that I consider to be “must-have” cards for any serious miles and points fan, but the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is definitely one of them. This card comes with no annual fee and is one of the more rewarding cards you’ll find for spending in non-bonused categories.
The Blue Business Plus® Credit Card from American Express
In brief
Points-earning credit cards don’t come much more basic than this, but this is still a card that can really enhance a credit card portfolio – it costs nothing to hold and it offers a better return on spending in a wide range of categories than most other points/cash back cards.
In detail
Here’s what you need to know about the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card From American Express:
Annual fee:
- $0 (zero) – (rates & fees)
Cost of employee cards:
- $0 (zero) – (rates & fees)
Current welcome bonus:
- Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards Points after a new cardholder spends $3,000 in the first 3 months of card membership (terms apply).
Earnings:
- 2 Membership Rewards Points/dollar on all eligible spending up to a limit of $50,000/year* (terms apply).
*Any spending above $50,000 will earn 1 point/dollar
Other key benefits (terms apply)
- Transfer points to a variety of airline and hotel loyalty programs (more details here)
- Set spending limits on employee cards
- Access to Amex Offers
Why this is a great card
You may be looking at the information above and wondering why I’m such a big fan of this card, but the answer to that is simple – it offers a better than average rate of return in numerous spending categories where most other points-earning cards offer a poor rate of return. This is one of the very best credit cards you can have for everyday spending.
To show you what I mean I’m going to use my own valuations of Amex Membership Rewards Points, Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, and Citi ThankYou Points. These are all based on what value I know I can get out of each of them without much effort at all:
- Amex Membership Rewards Points = 1.5 cents/point
- Chase Ultimate Rewards Points = 1.5 cents/point
- Citi ThankYou Points = 1.5 cents/point
Note: Those values are probably at the lower end of a lot of people’s valuations but I prefer to be prudent rather than overly optimistic.
With an earning rate of 2 points/dollar on all eligible spending up to $50,000 (1 point/dollar thereafter) and at a valuation of 1.5 cents/point, the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers an effective rebate of 3 cents/dollar or 3%.
If a person is spending on airfare, on general travel, on dining, or at grocery stores, there are better cards than the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card that they can use for spending in those categories (although most of these “better” cards also charge an annual fee), but those aren’t the only categories that people spend in.
When it comes to spending at…
- Drugstores
- Department stores
- Clothes stores
- Hardware stores
- Electrical supply stores
- Home improvement stores
- Car valeting centers
- Wine merchants
- Movie theatres
- Sports events
- Music events
… and a whole host of other places, most Amex/Chase/Citi points-earning credit cards will only offer 1 point/dollar or a 1.5% effective rebate. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card offers double that.
On top of this, it’s important to remember that the Membership Rewards Points that the Amex Blue Business Plus Credit Card earns can be transferred over (in a 1:1 ratio) to a variety of loyalty programs including the following:
- Aeroplan
- Flying Blue
- British Airways Executive Club
- Delta SkyMiles
- Singapore KrisFlyer
- Hilton Honors
- Marriott Bonvoy
By transferring points to these programs, it’s likely that with a little bit of effort, the overall effective return from the Blue Business® Plus credit card will be greater than 3% – That’s pretty amazing for a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee (rates & fees).
In addition to all of the above, this card currently comes with a welcome offer of 15,000 points after $3,000 of spending in the first 3 months of card membership (terms apply) and using my valuation of MR points (1.5 cents – based on the value that I know I can get out of them with little effort), that’s a bonus that’s effectively worth $225. That’s fantastic when you consider the fact that the Blue Business® Plus credit card doesn’t charge an annual fee (rates & fees).
Bottom Line
The cards that usually get the most publicity are the ones that offer great returns on spending in high-profile categories like travel and dining but, in the real world, most people do a lot of their spending in categories where the majority of cards don’t offer a bonus. That’s where the super-simple (with no annual fee) Blue Business Plus Credit Card comes into play.
The key to a solid miles and points strategy is to have all your bases covered so that you’re never in a position where you’re forced to use a card that only earns you 1 point/dollar (or an effective rebate of no more than 1.5%). To help achieve that aim, the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is an invaluable tool that you should almost certainly have in your wallet. I hold this card and I love it because every time I use it I know that, without it, I probably would have been leaving points on the table.
Click for more details and to find out how to apply
For rates and fees of the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please visit this page
My wife and I each got targeted offers of 75,000 with $15K spending in 12 months. Total of 210,000 points which you would value at $3150. Not bad for $0 in fees. So if you already have Amex business cards I’d wait to see if you get the targeted offer.
Just fyi – I have Amex business plus credit card. Shows multiple options to transfer points delta, BA, Hilton etc…just tried to transfer 120,000 to delta and have been told it’s no longer an option. The only use is to spend the points on the amex portal!!
Any one else run into this issue ? Any work around ?