Is The Amex Blue Business Credit Card Worth It? My Take On Both Versions

The American Express Blue Business cards — The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees) and The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (Rates & Fees) — are two of the most lucrative no annual fee business cards on the market.

They share nearly every feature except one: the Blue Business Plus earns 2x Membership Rewards points, while the Blue Business Cash earns 2% cash back. Both have no annual fee, both cap that bonus rate at the first $50,000 in spending per calendar year (then you earn 1x points or 1% cash back), and both come with the standard set of Amex business card perks.

Because neither card has an annual fee, the “is it worth it” question is essentially trivial for both, as there’s not really much downside to getting either card. The more useful question is the one this post is actually built around: which one should you get?

Link: Learn more about The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express or The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

What both Amex Blue Business cards offer for June 2026

Before getting into what makes the two cards different, here’s the shared foundation that applies to both the Amex Blue Business Plus and the Amex Blue Business Cash:

• No annual fee on either card (Rates & Fees) (Rates & Fees), with no extra cost for adding authorized users
• 2x/2% earning on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1x/1% thereafter — same cap, same drop-off, same “in any category” simplicity (the cards just denominate that earning differently)
• A welcome offer worth claiming — the Blue Business Plus offers 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first three months; the Blue Business Cash offers a $250 statement credit after the same $3,000 in three months
• Intro APR on purchases for 12 months from account opening, on both cards — useful if you have a large business expense to pay down over time, with the standard caveat to clear it before the variable APR kicks in
• Expanded buying power — both cards let you spend above your credit limit on a pre-approved basis, a useful feature for businesses with occasional large expenses that’s specific to Amex business cards
• Access to Amex Offers — targeted savings and bonus points promotions across major retailers, hotel groups, and airlines that have saved me hundreds of dollars a year and are one of the more underrated reasons to hold any Amex card
• 2.7% foreign transaction fees on both — these aren’t cards to use abroad; route foreign spending to a no foreign transaction fee card instead

On eligibility, both cards follow the standard Amex business card rules: you can typically be approved for at most two Amex cards in a 90-day period, and you can have at most five Amex credit cards at any one time (not counting charge cards or hybrid cards). One genuinely useful quirk for points strategists: applying for an Amex business card doesn’t count toward Chase’s 5/24 limit, so picking up either of these cards won’t materially impact your future approval odds at Chase.

Amex Blue Business Plus: who it’s actually for

The Amex Blue Business Plus is the version that earns 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent per calendar year (then 1x points thereafter). I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, which makes the effective return on the bonus 3.4% — exceptional for a card with no annual fee.

The structural point that makes the Blue Business Plus more than just a high-earning everyday card: Membership Rewards points can be transferred to Amex airline and hotel partners. There aren’t any other no annual fee Amex cards that are open to new cardmembers that get you enrolled in the “full” Membership Rewards program. That makes it one of the most valuable “permanent wallet” cards in the Amex ecosystem, because:

• It anchors your Membership Rewards balance even if you eventually cancel premium cards like the Amex Platinum or Amex Gold — the points stay yours, and you can keep earning at 2x
• It accelerates your earning if you do hold a hub card — 2x in any category up to $50K is genuinely set-it-and-forget-it, and stacks alongside the bonus categories on the Amex Gold or Amex Platinum
• If your business spending doesn’t cleanly fit the rotating bonus categories on the Amex Business Gold (which is category-flexible but more complex) or the perks-driven Amex Business Platinum, the Blue Business Plus is the cleanest way to earn Membership Rewards points on the broadest possible base of business spending

The major caveat is the $50,000 cap. On spending above that threshold within a calendar year, you drop to 1x points — at which point a different card (more on alternatives below) becomes the better choice. For most small businesses, $50K is well above what they’d put on a single card, so the cap isn’t binding. For heavier spenders, it’s a real ceiling worth planning around.

Personally, I’ve had the Amex Blue Business Plus for around a decade at this point. However, at the moment it’s not a card that I’m spending a lot on. That’s because I’ve shifted most of my non-bonused spending to the Bilt Palladium Card (learn more), given that it also offers 2x points, but with no caps, and you also earn 4% Bilt Cash spending. Admittedly, though, I’m putting business spending on a personal card, and then reimbursing myself.

Amex Blue Business Cash: who it’s actually for

The Amex Blue Business Cash is the version that earns 2% cash back on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year (then 1% cash back thereafter), automatically credited to your statement each billing cycle. There’s no points conversion, no transfer partners, and no learning curve — this is just straight cash back.

The case for the Blue Business Cash over the Blue Business Plus comes down to three primary situations:

• You explicitly don’t want to manage a points balance. Some small business owners just want simple, predictable rewards they can apply against the statement. That’s a perfectly valid preference, and the Cash delivers on it without any of the complexity that comes with redeeming points through transfer partners.
• You’re not actually good at redeeming Amex points. Transferable points currencies can unlock all kinds of amazing redemption values, especially for premium cabin travel. The thing is, there’s a huge learning curve to getting good at redeeming points. I’d imagine a majority of Amex cardmembers redeem their points sub-optimally, and many even use them for gift cards or statement credits, earning well under a cent per point. If you’re one of those people, you should get the Blue Business Cash rather than the Blue Business Plus.
• Your business needs cash-flow predictability. A statement credit hitting every billing cycle is more useful for cash management than a points balance that has to be redeemed later.

2% cash back on the first $50,000 is a solid floor for any no annual fee business card (Rates & Fees), and for someone in any of the three situations above, the Blue Business Cash is the right pick. Personally, I have a strong preference for earning 2x Membership Rewards points rather than 2% cash back — but that preference assumes you’re set up to actually get more than one cent of value per point, which not everyone is.

Amex Blue Business Plus vs. Cash: which one I’d actually pick

Here’s the head-to-head on the Amex Blue Business Plus vs. the Amex Blue Business Cash, with the framing I’d use to decide:

• Get the Blue Business Plus if you value Membership Rewards points, and are good at redeeming them. It’s definitely possible to get way over one cent of value per point if you know what you’re doing, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you may get significantly less value than that.
• Get the Blue Business Cash if you don’t want to deal with points redemptions, or you’d value the cash flow predictability of a statement credit over the value of points. 2% cash back is a defensible floor, and there’s no friction to using it.
• Consider both if you’re a heavier business spender and want to double up your bonus earning headroom — Amex allows you to hold both cards, so you’d effectively get the 2x/2% rate on the first $100,000 per calendar year combined, rather than just $50,000 on one. This is niche but real for the right business.

My position is that for the typical OMAAT reader — someone optimizing for travel rewards and likely already in the Amex points ecosystem — the Blue Business Plus is the obvious pick, and the Blue Business Cash is a backup option for the specific cases above. The Plus is one of the few cards I’d say almost anyone who is eligible should consider holding.

Where both cards fall short

To be fair to both the Amex Blue Business Plus and Amex Blue Business Cash, here are some of the caveats that apply to each:

• The $50,000 calendar year cap. Above that threshold, you’re earning 1x or 1% on additional spending, which isn’t competitive — the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (learn more) at 1.5x points flat, the Capital One Venture X Business (learn more) at 2x miles flat, or the American Express® Business Gold Card (learn more) for category aligned spend, all become more attractive once you hit the cap on either Blue Business card
• Amex acceptance is narrower than Visa or Mastercard, particularly internationally and at smaller U.S. merchants. Combined with the 2.7% foreign transaction fees, these are emphatically not your travel card — keep them for domestic, non-bonused business spending only.
• Neither is a “premium” card. “Plus” in the name might suggest something elevated, but these are entry-level cards — they don’t compete with the Amex Business Gold for bonus-category earning, or the Amex Business Platinum for perks. Treat them as foundational, not flagship.

Bottom line

The Amex Blue Business cards are two of the easiest “worth it” calls in the business card market — both have no annual fee, both earn 2x points or 2% cash back on the first $50,000 in calendar year purchases, and both come with the Amex business card perks that make them genuinely useful long term holds. The choice between them really is just about whether you’d rather earn Membership Rewards points or cash back.

• Amex Blue Business Plus: the right pick if you’re in (or plan to be in) the Membership Rewards ecosystem. Earning 2x points on $50K per year of spending, with transfer partner access, makes it one of the most valuable no annual fee cards in the Amex lineup, and one of the few cards I’d recommend almost anyone eligible should hold.
• Amex Blue Business Cash: the right pick if you specifically prefer cash back, don’t have a hub card, or want statement credit simplicity over points optionality. 2% cash back on $50K per year of spending with no complexity is hard to argue against for the cashback-first business owner.

Personally, I hold the Blue Business Plus and have for years, since I value Amex points at well over a cent each. However, in fairness, it’s not a card I’m actually putting much spending on nowadays, just due to the other cards I have (which do have annual fees).

If you have an Amex Blue Business card, which version do you have, and how has it performed for your spending?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (Rates & Fees).