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American Express has added a new cash-back member to its family of small-business credit cards: the American Express Blue Business Cash card. The card is aimed at small businesses and echos many of the attributes of its older sibling, The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express.
Key attributes of the American Express Blue Business Cash:
- An annual fee of $0.
- Earn 2% cash back on purchases up to $50,000 in annual spending, and 1% after that.
- An introductory 12-month 0% APR offer on purchases and balance transfers. After that, a variable APR will apply.
- The ability to go over your credit limit without penalty fees.
- A foreign transaction fee of 2.7%.
- Terms apply.
This new card is similar in many ways to The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express, right down to the rewards rate, with one major difference: The American Express Blue Business Cash earns cash back. The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express earns Membership Rewards points.
» MORE: Pick a business credit card in 5 simple steps
Which one should I get?
Cash back is the most flexible kind of reward, since you can use it on anything you like. With the American Express Blue Business Cash, your earnings will be automatically credited to your statement. So if you buy $10,000 worth of merchandise, you’ll eventually receive a credit on your billing statement for $200.
Of course, the Membership Rewards points that The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express earns can also be quite valuable, especially if redeeming for travel, in which case you might find redemption values of more than 1 cent per point. Keep in mind, though, that other redemption options fall well below that threshold. The Membership Rewards calculator for The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express shows multiple examples in which one point is worth 0.7 cents. For example, redeeming 10,000 points at retailers including Amazon, BestBuy, Expedia, Seamless and Walmart will yield $70 worth of value. Membership Rewards points are worth even less at Ticketmaster, where 10,000 points are worth $50 toward the price of a ticket.
Neither the American Express Blue Business Cash card nor The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express features a welcome offer, and both offer the same intro APR period on purchases and balance transfers.
If your business spends far more than the $50,000 annual spending cap found on both cards? In that case, you might do better with an entirely different product or issuer. The Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business, for instance, pays an unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, without any spending caps. It does have an annual fee of $0 for the first year, then $95, but if you spend $4,750 a year, you’ll earn it back. There’s no foreign transaction fee either, making it a better pick for companies with international purchases or travel needs. It also boasts a rich sign-up bonus: Earn a one-time $500 cash bonus once you spend $4,500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
» MORE: Read our review of the Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business.
One in, one out
With the arrival of the American Express Blue Business Cash, another card will be removed from the AmEx lineup. The SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express will no longer be accepting applications, although existing cardholders will retain their accounts without any changes to the card structure.
The SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express was a NerdWallet pick for best small-business card for its customizable rewards and high rewards potential. That card also earned cash-back in the form of statement credits.