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American Express has one of the top award programs in Amex Membership Rewards. The reason is two-fold. One, cards like the AmEx Blue Business Plus allow you to easily earn Amex points. Two, Amex has airline partners that allow you to receive outsized value when you redeem your points to book award flights and hotel stays.
This AmEx Blue Business Plus review covers the credit card details, perks, how to earn and redeem AmEx points, competing cards, and common AmEx Blue Business Plus questions.
Amex Blue Business Plus Details
The AmEx Blue Business Plus earns 15,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 in purchases within your first three months of card membership. Not bad for a card with $0 annual fee.
What makes this card even more rewarding is the fact there’s no annual fee. The ability to earn 2x points on all transactions and not have to pay a fee is something we can all get appreciate.
AmEx Blue Business Plus Perks
One of the more rewarding perks on some AmEx cards is called AmEx Offers. The AmEx Blue Business Plus comes with AmEx offers. Simply log in to your account and add the offers available to you on your card. Depending on the offer, you can earn additional AmEx points or receive a statement credit with your purchase.
A new feature of this card is called Expanded Buying Power. You can spend above your credit limit and this amount is adjusted by your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express, and other factors. So, you can think of this feature similar to charge cards like the Amex Business Platinum Card and Amex Business Gold Card.
How to Earn Points with the Blue Business Plus
AmEx Blue Business Plus cardmembers earn 2x points on all transactions. For context, this is one of the highest earn rates on non-bonus category spending. You are capped at $50,000 in spending in a calendar year. So, the most AmEx points you can earn every year are 100,000.
Generally speaking, airfare, gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and travel are bonus categories on travel credit cards. With that said, any merchants not in these categories are considered non-bonus category spending. Therefore, it likely makes sense to put your non-bonus category spending on this card.
How to Redeem Points with the Blue Business Plus
There are 19 airlines and 3 hotel programs that partner with AmEx. This means that points earned from cards like the AmEx Blue Business Plus can be transferred directly to these partners to book award flights and/or hotel stays.
Transferring your points to Amex’s airline partners is likely to yield the highest value. With that said, here are some of my favorite ways to redeem AmEx points: 1) 110,000-120,000 Virgin Atlantic miles to fly ANA first class US to Japan, 2) 87,000 Avianca LifeMiles to fly Lufthansa first class US to Europe, 3) 85,000 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles to fly Cathay Pacific business class US to Asia.
Which Cards Compete with the Blue Business Plus?
The Citi Double Cash is the closest competitor to the Blue Business Plus. Yes, the Citi Double Cash is a personal card and the Blue Business Plus is a business card. However, both cards earn 2x points per transaction respectively.
Other interesting business cards to consider are the AmEx Business Gold and Chase Ink Business Unlimited. You earn 4x points on the 2 categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle with the AmEx Business Gold. Chase Ink Business Unlimited cardmembers earn 1.5% cashback on every transaction. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, or Chase Ink Business Preferred, you can convert cashback earned from the Chase Ink Business Unlimited into Chase points.
Common Blue Business Plus Questions
Is AmEx Blue Business Plus a charge card?
Per OMAAT, the Blue Business Plus is not considered a charge card.
What is a Blue for Business Credit Card?
You earn 2x points and pay no annual fee with the Blue Business Plus credit card.
What credit score is needed for American Express Blue?
Per TPG, a credit score of at least 670 is needed for the AmEx Blue Business Plus.
Conclusion on the Blue Business Plus
Amex Blue Business Plus is one of my favorite business cards. Earning 2x points on all non-bonus category business spending has continually increased my balance of AmEx points. In return, this helps me to book award flights with AmEx’s 19 airline partners.
What do you think about Blue Business Plus? How do you like to redeem AmEx points? Please let me know in the comments below or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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