Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card
No-annual-fee Membership Rewards earner: 2X on the first $50,000 of eligible purchases per calendar year (then 1X), plus a 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases
Costs & Pricing
Annual fee (primary): $0 (CMA: Annual Fee None)
Employee card fee: $0 (CMA: Annual Fee for Additional Cards: None)
Purchase APR: Variable Prime + 9.99% to Prime + 21.74% (marketing 16.74%–28.49% as of late Aug 2026 at Prime 6.75%). Placement by creditworthiness and other factors at opening. Cap 29.99%. CMA formula wins over landing-page vintage ranges.
Intro APR (purchases): 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from account opening, then the variable purchase APR
Intro APR (balance transfers): Not offered on public pages. CMA: BTs only if we permit; you cannot transfer balances from any other Account issued by us and/or our affiliates. 2026 CMA omits a BT fee line (2025 CMA listed $5 or 3%).
Foreign transaction fee: 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to U.S. dollars (via AE Exposure Management Ltd.)
Cash advance APR: Not in the Rates and Fees Table. CMA: Cards may be used for purchases. Treat as Not offered unless a later statement lists them.
Late payment fee: Up to $39; $39 if Minimum Payment Due is not received by due date, not to exceed the Minimum Payment Due
Penalty APR: Prime + 25.99% variable (capped at 29.99%). Triggers: returned payment; 2 late payments in 12 billing periods; or Minimum Payment Due not paid by the Closing Date of the billing period in which it is due. May apply to Amount Above the Credit Limit. At least 12 billing periods; exit after 12 consecutive timely periods with no returned payments.
Other fees: No overlimit fee. Returned check (cashing a check at an approved location) $38 + unpaid amount. Account re-opening $25. Collection costs including reasonable attorneys’ fees. Rush/paper-statement/minimum-interest charges not in the Rates and Fees Table.
Rewards & Value
Bonus Categories & Promotions
- ★ No published bonus MCCs. Marketing examples (office supplies or client dinners) are illustrations of eligible spend, not 4X/5X categories.
- ★ AmexTravel.com exception: eligible purchases on AmexTravel.com also earn 2X and do not count toward the first $50,000 — the only published uncapped 2X path.
Partner Credits & Perks
- ✓ None published. No airline-fee, hotel, Dell/Indeed, wireless, Uber, streaming, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck, or lounge credits on this product’s official benefits list.
- ✓ Amex Offers (targeted merchant statement credits / extra points) may appear; they are not a contractual annual credit.
Transfer partners: Membership Rewards program (not card-unique; lists move). Commonly 16 airline + 3–4 hotel partners as of mid/late 2026. Secondary catalog compilations: most airlines 1:1; Aeromexico 1:1.6; Cathay 5:4; Emirates 5:4; JetBlue 250:200 or 1:0.8; Hilton 1:2; Marriott 1:1; Choice 1:1; Leading Hotels of the World reported 4:1 after July 2026. Etihad Guest transfers ended 30 June 2026. Re-check the logged-in MR transfer page. Typical minimum 1,000 points (JetBlue lower). Transfers generally no fee. Points do not expire while the Rewards Account remains open and in good standing.
Credit, Limits & Spending
Credit limit: Assigned Credit Limit shown on statements. Expanded Buying Power can authorize charges above that limit; excess posts as Amount Above the Credit Limit and is due in full with the Minimum Payment Due. The amount you can spend with Expanded Buying Power is not unlimited. No overlimit fee. Issuer may increase or reduce the Credit Limit even if you pay on time and the Account is not in default.
Personal guarantee: Yes. CMA: Joint and Several Liability — both the Basic Card Member and the Company are each individually responsible for the Account. We may seek payment from either or both.
Credit check: Business credit may be impacted on submit; personal credit not impacted to receive a decision; personal credit may be impacted if the applicant accepts the card. Soft-then-hard pattern. Whose file: the applying Basic Card Member.
Recommended credit: Not published by Amex. Review sites typically say good–excellent / ~670+ as guidance only.
Employee cards: $0. Benefits dashboard copy: add up to 99 Employee Blue Business Plus Cards. Owner earns MR on employee eligible spend; alerts and summary reports. Owner/Company remain liable. Spend controls via alerts/Account Manager — not a Ramp-style native policy engine.
Virtual cards: Official product page does not specify lock-to-merchant virtual cards. Amex app commonly issues a digital card number after approval so spend can start before plastic arrives. Number of virtual cards / merchant locks: Not disclosed for this SKU.
Product type: Revolving business credit card with a stated Credit Limit plus Expanded Buying Power (excess due in full with the minimum payment). Not a charge card and not a fintech spend-management card.
Network: American Express
Benefits, Protections & Tools
Travel
- ✓ No lounge access. No TSA PreCheck / Global Entry / NEXUS credit. No airline fee credits, hotel status, or companion certificates.
- ✓ Trip delay / cancel / interrupt and baggage insurance: not listed on the official product benefits block. Aggregator pages that include this card among trip-cancellation cards lose to the official list.
- ✓ Auto rental collision / loss-damage: included, secondary; entire rental on the Eligible Card and CDW declined. Not available for rentals in Australia, Italy, New Zealand. Not all vehicle types covered. No liability coverage. Full caps not fully disclosed on the marketing page.
- ✓ Global Assist® Hotline when traveling >100 miles from home — 24/7 referrals (medical, legal, emergency cash wires, missing luggage coordination). Card Member pays provider costs.
Purchase Protections
- ✓ Purchase protection: stolen or accidentally damaged Covered Purchases for up to 90 days; up to $1,000 per Covered Purchase, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year
- ✓ Extended warranty: extends original manufacturer warranties of 5 years or less by up to one additional year on Covered Purchases in the U.S. or territories
- ✓ Return protection, cell-phone protection, and event ticket protection: not listed / not offered on this SKU
- ✓ Standard Amex dispute resolution for fraudulent/incorrect charges
Business Tools
- ✓ QuickBooks connection (enrollment required); employees can match receipts that flow to QBO
- ✓ Year-End Summary (PDF/Excel); online statements; Vendor Pay by BILL (enrollment; fees may apply)
- ✓ Account Manager delegate access; Amex Offers (add before purchase; not guaranteed)
- ✓ American Express App — track spend/rewards, payments, alerts, lounge finder (finder ≠ lounge access on this card)
Eligibility & Application
Who can apply: U.S. small-business path. CMA contemplates a Company plus a Basic Card Member. Sole prop, LLC, corp, partnership typically accepted; nonprofit / holding company not specifically disclosed. Sole-prop SSN-only path is commonly available; confirm on the live application.
Business requirements: Time-in-business / revenue minimums not disclosed. No published entity-type exclusion list. Prohibited industries not disclosed on the product page.
Issuer rules: Amex ~2 new cards / 90 days, informal ~5 Amex card-count ceiling, one welcome bonus per product per lifetime + pop-up jail — commonly reported, not official product terms. Chase 5/24 is irrelevant to this issuer. Product-change welcome bonuses generally not paid. Public upgrade/downgrade matrix from/to Blue Business Cash or Gold/Platinum not disclosed for bonus retention.
Application impact: Business file may take an inquiry on submit; personal file impacted on accept, not on the know-if-you’re-approved step. Decision in as little as 30 seconds on some apply pages.
Best for: No annual fee Membership Rewards 0% intro APR Free employee cards Under $50k spend Second card
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓ $0 annual fee and $0 employee-card fees
- ✓ 2X Membership Rewards on the first $50,000 eligible purchases each calendar year with no category tracking
- ✓ AmexTravel.com 2X that does not consume the $50k cap
- ✓ 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months
- ✓ Points sit in Membership Rewards and can transfer to airline/hotel partners; purchase protection and extended warranty listed on the official benefits block
Cons
- ✗ 2X layer caps at $50,000 per calendar year, then 1X
- ✗ 2.7% foreign transaction fee
- ✗ Public welcome bonus is modest versus premium Amex business cards (15k / $3k / 3 mo on compare pages)
- ✗ Joint-and-several personal liability
- ✗ No lounge, GE/TSA, trip-cancellation, or cell-phone benefits on the official list; post-intro APR band is high (16.74%–28.49% variable)
Strong Buy (no-fee MR 2X)
This is the Membership Rewards twin of Blue Business Cash — same chassis, same $50k cap, same 0% intro, not cash back and not Business Gold. Confirm the live apply-flow welcome (15k standard vs targeted 25k–75k). Poor daily driver for uncapped high spend, foreign spend, or anyone who will revolve after the intro period.