American Express® Blue Business Plus Review

Overview

The American Express® Blue Business Plus is a flexible travel rewards card from American Express, running on the Amex network. The American Express® Blue Business Plus keeps things simple, earning a flat 2x on every purchase with no categories to track or quarterly activations. There is no annual fee, which means every dollar of rewards is pure profit. New cardholders can earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® Points after $3,000 in 3 months.

It is built for simplicity. There are no categories to track, no quarterly activations, and no annual fee, which makes it one of the easier cards to set and forget while still earning a respectable flat rate.

Our 4.0 out of 5 rating

Each score weighs the rewards rate, value after the annual fee, welcome offer, points flexibility, and perks, with every point valued at a flat 1 cent. This is our editorial assessment to help you compare cards, not a guarantee of approval or of the value you will get.

Rewards: how it earns

The American Express® Blue Business Plus earns a flat 2x on every purchase. On a typical $29,160 of annual spending that comes to about $583 back a year, with nothing to track or activate.

Every point and mile above is valued at a flat 1 cent, the same honest standard we use for every card. Run your own spending through the calculator to see what this card would actually return for you.

Pros and cons

The welcome bonus

The current welcome offer is 15,000 Membership Rewards® Points, earned after you spend $3,000 in 3 months. Valued honestly at a flat 1 cent per point, that is worth about $150. The spending requirement works out to roughly $1,000 per month, so make sure it fits your normal budget rather than pushing you to overspend. Stacking the welcome offer on top of a typical year of rewards and accounting for no annual fee, the first year is worth roughly $733.

Is the annual fee worth it?

The American Express® Blue Business Plus has no annual fee, so there is no break-even math to worry about. Every dollar of rewards is profit, and you can keep it open for free, which also helps the average age of your credit over time.

Benefits and protections

Beyond the rewards, the perks and protections worth knowing about include:

• Expanded buying power, spend beyond your limit when your business needs it
• Transfer points to 20+ airline and hotel partners
• Employee cards at no additional cost
• No foreign transaction fees
• Purchase protection and extended warranty
• Car rental loss and damage insurance

Statement credits

This card does not come with recurring statement credits. Its value is in the rewards rate and welcome offer.

Ecosystem and transfer partners

The American Express® Blue Business Plus earns Membership Rewards, one of the more valuable currencies in rewards because of where the points can go. You can move points 1 to 1 to 9 airline and hotel partners: Delta SkyMiles, British Airways, Air France/KLM, Singapore Airlines, ANA, Avianca LifeMiles, Emirates Skywards, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hilton Honors. As a hub card, this is the one you route points through before transferring out. The sweet spots are usually premium-cabin flights and high-end hotel nights, where a single point can be worth well more than the 1 cent we value it at here.

Who should get it, and who should skip it

It is best for small-business owners and freelancers who want to separate business spending, earn on it, and hand out employee cards at no extra cost.

Skip it if you have heavy, predictable spending in one category, where a card with a higher bonus rate there would simply earn you more.

How it compares

If the American Express® Blue Business Plus is not quite the right fit, these related cards are worth weighing against it:

Frequently asked questions