Costs & Pricing

Metric	Blue Business Cash® Card	Local/Regional Credit Union Business Cards
Annual fee	$0 (no annual fee, ever)	CATEGORY: Often $0; some charge $15–$25 waived with spend — confirm Schumer, not marketing. EXAMPLE A BECU Low Rate and Cash Back: None (rates PDF 1 Sep 2026). EXAMPLE B NFCU GO BIZ: None.
Employee card fee	$0 (up to 99 Employee Cards)	CATEGORY: Usually $0; some premium tiers charge per extra card after N cards. EXAMPLE A BECU: not disclosed as a dollar fee; employee cards offered with spend-limit controls. EXAMPLE B NFCU: offered; dollar fee not disclosed publicly.
Purchase APR	16.74%–28.49% variable (Prime + 9.99% to +21.74%; cap 29.99%)	CATEGORY: Variable, Prime + margin, often ~11%–29%. EXAMPLE A BECU Low Rate: 14.49%–26.49% variable (WSJ Prime + 7.74%–22.24%), rates PDF 1 Sep 2026. EXAMPLE A Cash Back: 16.99%–28.99% variable (same Prime + margin method). EXAMPLE B NFCU: 16.65%–18.00% variable as of 1 Jul 2026 product footnote; will not exceed 18.00% (agreement); adjusted quarterly off Prime. FAQ also printed 16.90%–18.00% as of 1 Dec 2025 — use 1 Jul 2026 footnote unless a newer PDF is issued. Illustrative: CU1 (AK) 10.25% (Prime + 3.50%) as of 3 Apr 2026; SDCCU 11.74% (Prime + 4.99%, floor 9.99%) effective 30 May 2026.
Intro APR (purchases)	0% for 12 months from account opening, then variable purchase APR	CATEGORY: Common on some local CUs (6 months typical); not universal. EXAMPLE A BECU: not offered. EXAMPLE B NFCU GO BIZ: not offered.
Foreign transaction fee	2.7% of each transaction after conversion to USD	CATEGORY: Split — many advertise $0; others 1–3%. Official rates table wins. EXAMPLE A BECU: None (rates PDF). EXAMPLE B NFCU: None. Illustrative SDCCU: 3%.
Late payment fee	Up to $39 (cannot exceed Minimum Payment Due)	CATEGORY: Often $20–$35. EXAMPLE A BECU: $25. EXAMPLE B NFCU: $20 if min payment missed (can assess each month past due). Illustrative CU1: $30; SDCCU: $25.

Rewards & Value

Metric	Blue Business Cash® Card	Local/Regional Credit Union Business Cards
Base earn rate	2% cash back on first $50,000 eligible purchases per calendar year; 1% thereafter	CATEGORY: Most CU business cards are flat 1%–1.5% cash back or 1 point per $1 (≈1¢). Category bonuses uncommon. EXAMPLE A BECU Low Rate: no rewards (APR positioning). EXAMPLE A Cash Back: 1.5% on qualified purchases, no category caps. EXAMPLE B NFCU GO BIZ: 1X = 1 point per $1 eligible purchases; unlimited; no category bonuses; cash redemption 1¢/point (= 1%).
Welcome bonus	$250 statement credit after $3,000 eligible purchases in first 3 months (standard public offer)	CATEGORY: Modest ($100–$300 or 2,500–25,000 points) or none. EXAMPLE A BECU Cash Back (time-limited): $300 statement credit after $3,000 qualifying purchases in first 3 months; offer now through 30 September 2026. Not available to current cardholders of this card; prior holders who received this bonus in last 12 months; current Business Credit Card holders who switch to Cash Back; anyone who opened a different Business Cash Back account in previous 12 months. EXAMPLE A Low Rate: no published welcome bonus. EXAMPLE B NFCU GO BIZ: none on current public page as of 3 Sep 2026. Do not import Cash Preferred / consumer GO REWARDS bonuses.
Redemption value	Automatic statement credit — 1¢ per 1% of eligible spend (2% = 2¢ per $1 under cap)	CATEGORY: Statement credit (auto monthly/quarterly) or points catalog; transfer partners generally not offered. EXAMPLE A Cash Back: accrued cash automatically credited to statement each month; no portal / transfer partners. EXAMPLE B NFCU: every 1 point worth $0.01 when redeemed for cash; catalog illustrations exist — treat cash at 1¢ as contractual floor. Visa SavingsEdge on Visa GO BIZ is a merchant-discount program, not card earn rate.
Transfer partners	None — cash back only, not a points bank	Generally not offered on CU business cards. Do not import consumer Flagship / GO REWARDS transfer or lounge perks onto GO BIZ.

Credit & Eligibility

Metric	Blue Business Cash® Card	Local/Regional Credit Union Business Cards
Personal guarantee	Required — joint and several liability of Basic Card Member and Company (CMA)	CATEGORY: Typical Yes. EXAMPLE B NFCU: Yes, we require personal guarantees for all business lending products; guarantor must be an NFCU member. EXAMPLE A BECU: not disclosed on product/eligibility pages — Unclear, read signed agreement; CU lending almost always includes owner liability.
Credit check	No personal-score impact to learn if approved; may impact personal credit if applicant accepts the card	CATEGORY: Hard pull on owners/guarantors is standard. EXAMPLE B NFCU: Experian on owners and/or guarantors; business credit potentially including the credit profiles of the business. EXAMPLE A BECU: subject to membership and credit approval; hard vs soft not disclosed for the card (do not import consumer membership soft-pull language).
Employee cards	Up to 99 Employee Cards, $0 AF; spend limits and merchant-type alerts	CATEGORY: Common with per-card limits; not Ramp-class software. EXAMPLE A BECU: yes; individual spending limits; number allowed not disclosed. EXAMPLE B NFCU: yes; count/fee/controls beyond multiple cardholders not fully disclosed; one GO BIZ per business membership, up to 2 total if multiple business memberships.
Product type	Revolving business credit card with stated credit limit and Expanded Buying Power	CATEGORY: Revolving business credit cards. Not charge cards. Not NPSL commercial charge products. Not spend-management platforms. EXAMPLE A: BECU Business Low Rate Credit Card and BECU Business Cash Back Credit Card (two named variants). EXAMPLE B: GO BIZ® Rewards Credit Card (one product, Visa or Mastercard plastic).

Pros & Cons

Blue Business Cash® Card

Pros

• $0 annual fee on primary and up to 99 Employee Cards
• 2% automatic cash back on first $50,000 calendar-year eligible spend
• 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases
• Expanded Buying Power — no overlimit fee; rewards earn above limit if approved
• Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty included

Cons

• 2% earn ends at $50k; incremental spend drops to 1%
• 2.7% foreign transaction fee
• Joint-and-several personal liability of Basic Card Member
• Modest standard welcome bonus ($250 / $3k / 3 months) vs many competitors
• Over-limit balances due in full; missed Closing Date can trigger Penalty APR on entire balance

Local/Regional Credit Union Business Cards

Pros

• Annual fee is frequently $0 (BECU, NFCU, CU1, many others)
• APR can undercut big-bank business cards when the CU posts Prime + a small margin (CU1 10.25% as of 3 Apr 2026; BECU Low Rate from 14.49% as of 1 Sep 2026; NFCU capped at 18%)
• FTF often $0 (BECU, NFCU; not universal — SDCCU 3%)
• Employee cards with per-user limits without per-card annual fees (BECU, NFCU)
• Visa/Mastercard Business insurance package on BECU’s posted guide; relationship model — membership + deposits can be the real product

Cons

• Field of membership is a hard gate (BECU geo/association; NFCU military/DoD + all owners must be members)
• Rewards are simple and low vs national business cards (1–1.5%; no transfer partners)
• Limits are modest (NFCU $5k–$25k official; others often unpublished and relationship-sized)
• Personal guarantee is the CU default (NFCU explicit); public Schumer data is uneven — BECU marketing vs PDF conflicts on overlimit and penalty APR
• Expense-ops tooling (virtual cards, QBO-native codes, approvals) is absent

Verdict

Blue Business Cash® Card

The Blue Business Cash Card is Amex's no-fee workhorse for modest spenders — 2% automatic cash back up to $50k, then 1%, paired with a 12-month 0% intro APR and Expanded Buying Power. It beats uncapped 1.5% cards on the first $50k but loses incremental dollars to Spark Cash Plus or Ink Unlimited above that cap. Best for domestic sole props and small firms who won't chase category bonuses or transfer partners.

Local/Regional Credit Union Business Cards

This is a CATEGORY PATTERN, not one SKU. EXAMPLE A BECU splits Low Rate (revolve) vs Cash Back (1.5% + $300 through 30 Sep 2026 if paid in full). EXAMPLE B NFCU GO BIZ is a members-only 1% points card capped at $25k with an 18% APR ceiling and explicit PG. Do not average CU terms into a national figure; collect each CU’s Schumer, FOM, PG sentence, and rewards PDF. Poor fit without FOM access or if you need Ink/Amex earn, NPSL limits, or Ramp-class ops.