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 everyday business purchases, 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 purchases, 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)
Welcome Offer
Currently, you can earn 15,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after you spend at least $3,000 in the first three months. 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 welcome offer and the double points on everyday business purchases, 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 (see rates and fees). After that, your APR will be a variable rate, between 18.49% – 26.49%. The no annual fee is really great, especially if you want a 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 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 everyday business 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 you’ll earn 2 points per dollar on your everyday business purchases. 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!
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Your statement that “…part of responsible credit card ownership is always paying the statement balance so you avoid paying interest…” doesn’t make sense in response to this card. With the 0% interest for 12 months, carrying a balance makes perfect sense with this card. And since it’s a business card, that balance is not reported on your personal credit either – making it an even better reason as long as you can pay it off in full at the end of 12 months. I’ll charge all my non-bonused spend to this card, set up automatic minimum payments, keep my money in the market and then pay this off in the 12th month.
The balance transfer of 0% carries a 3% fee, so only use that if you really need it. I have similar or better balance transfer offers on almost every other major credit card I have, so this one is not really a good deal IMHO.
IMO carrying a balance on a credit card is playing with fire and not something I recommend to 99% of people.