It’s not often that a new credit card comes along without some sort of rumor mill or leaked details. Well, it’s safe to say that the Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express snuck up on just about everyone. I first saw it from View from the Wing and One Mile at a Time, but there are already countless articles on this new product and I’m sure there will be more , but as someone who is looking to dip their toes for the first time in the business card world, I wanted to do some research and really find out if this new business card is worth having.
Earning Structure
This card’s earning potential seems pretty great up front: 2 points per dollar on everything, up to $50,000 a year. That means if you max out the spending cap, you’ll earn 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards points every year. After that, you’ll continue to earn 1 point per dollar on everything, which is nothing spectacular.
Right off the bat, spending $50,000 a year is a little unrealistic for me at this point, so there is no way I could maximize this benefit, at least not yet. Still, if you’re able to do so, it’s a great way to earn a ton of points on category-agnostic purchases.
One last note, these are REAL Membership Rewards points — not the weird fake ones you used to earn with the old Blue for Business card. That means they can be transferred to a number of partners, like a recent transfer I made to Aeroplan for my upcoming honeymoon!
(READ MORE: When life gets in the way — rebooking our entire honeymoon)
Sign-Up Bonus
For a limited time, you can earn 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after you spend at least $3,000 in 90 days. This is a pretty small offer compared to some of the other American Express bonuses, but my feeling is that they don’t want to incentivize this card any more than the 2 points per dollar on every purchase already does.
Other Benefits
In addition to the sign-up bonus and the double points on everything, the Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express also comes with two really great perks: no annual fee and a 0% introductory APR for 12 months. The no annual fee is really great, especially if you want a “free” place to park Membership Rewards points you earn from other, high annual fee cards. I already have the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card, so I already have that “free” place, but not having to pay an annual fee is always nice!
As for the 0% introductory APR, that’s a nice thing to have, but part of responsible credit card ownership is always paying the statement balance so you avoid paying interest. What is nice is that 0% APR also applies to balance transfers. so if you do have some credit card debt that you’d like to consolidate, this could be a good card to do that on. With wedding expenses coming up in droves (it’s only 3 weeks away!) this could be a good opportunity for me to make sure we’re not paying interest on our larger wedding costs.
What’s the catch?
In my opinion, the only real drawback is that this card comes with foreign transaction fees — 2.7% on all purchases outside the United States. This problem is easily solved by having another card with no foreign transaction fees, so this problem is mitigated for me.
So is this card worth having?
For me, I’m on the fence. The 2 points per dollar on everything purchases, up to $50,000, is really nice, but I know I’ll never max this benefit out. That being said, it could be a really good card for all those times I find myself using the “wrong” card, as everything is a bonus category. The bonus is nothing to write home about, but no annual fee and a place to park some wedding expenses without accruing interest are tempting. All that said, I think this card can be worth it, and it’s definitely on my radar as a potential next card.
If you want to apply for the Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express, you can see it at this list of top travel cards. If you apply for this card through this link, I do receive a commission and as always, I appreciate the support!
Readers, what do you think about this card? Worth it for you, or not? Let us know!