Amex Blue Business Cash Card Review: Up To 2% Cash Back

Link: Apply now for the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

While I personally like to earn travel rewards for my credit card spending (particularly transferable points currencies), I know many people prefer to earn cash back. After all, cash is king, and unlike with travel rewards, there’s not really a learning curve to redeeming cash rewards.

In this post I wanted to look at what I consider to be the best Amex business cash back credit card, and one of the all around best business credit cards.

Amex Blue Business Cash Card Basics For May 2023

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is a credit card that has no annual fee and that offers a solid cash back rewards structure. Not only that, but the card is offering a rare welcome bonus at the moment. For someone looking for a cash back Amex business card, this is as good as it gets. Let’s take a closer look at the details of this useful card.

Amex Blue Business Cash $250 Welcome Bonus

The Amex Blue Business Cash has a welcome bonus consisting of a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months. While this bonus might not sound that exciting, note that historically this card hasn’t offered any sort of a welcome bonus, so this is a significant improvement.

Amex Blue Business Cash 2% Cash Back

The Amex Blue Business Cash offers 2% cash back on the first $50,000 spent on eligible purchases every calendar year. After that, you receive 1% cash back. The cash back you earn is automatically credited to your statement with every billing cycle.

Amex Blue Business Cash No Annual Fee

The Amex Blue Business Cash has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), so this is a card that you can keep long term to maximize your rewards. You can also add authorized users to your account at no extra cost.

Amex Blue Business Cash 0% Intro APR

The Amex Blue Business Cash offers 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. After that, your APR will be a variable rate (currently in the range of 18.24% - 26.24%) (Rates & Fees).

I know that this is something that some businesses don’t care at all about, while others value this perk immensely. If you do take advantage of this, just make sure that you can pay back the full amount within 12 months, so you’re not subjected to the higher interest rates.

Amex Blue Business Cash Foreign Transaction Fees

I wouldn’t recommend using the Amex Blue Business Cash for purchases outside of the United States, as the card does carry foreign transaction fees of 2.7%. This applies on transactions that are converted to US dollars, and will eat up all of your rewards, and then some (Rates & Fees).

Spend Above Your Credit Limit

In general American Express business credit cards let you spend above your credit limit. While you do have a credit limit, you can often exceed that, which isn’t common with other issuers. You can access this feature through your online account, where you can be pre-approved for a higher purchase amount. This can prove valuable in situations where you have a big expense coming up.

Amex Offers Program

The Amex Offers program is available through most American Express cards that are issued in the United States. With this, you can register for targeted offers and save money on purchases with dozens of retailers.

Personally, the Amex Offers program saves me hundreds of dollars per year. This is especially valuable on a no annual fee card, since it means that you can basically make money by having a card.

Are You Eligible For The Amex Blue Business Cash?

Generally speaking, I find Amex business cards are fairly easy to be approved for, assuming you’re aware of the credit card application restrictions with each card issuer.

With American Express the key things to know are that you can 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 point, not including charge cards or hybrid cards. Note that you’re eligible for the welcome bonus on this card even if you’ve earned the bonus on other Amex cards.

Is The Amex Blue Business Cash Worth It?

If you have a small business and are looking for a no annual fee, straightforward business credit card that earns cash back, then the Amex Blue Business Cash is pretty tough to beat, at least for the first $50,000 spent.

That includes quite a few caveats, though — some may find that they’re better off earning points, some may find that it’s worth paying an annual fee for a more rewarding card, and some may find that they could use a personal card for their business spending, and then have the business reimburse them for those expenses.

If you are considering the Amex Blue Business Cash, below are some other things to keep in mind.

Quick Showdown: Blue Business Cash Vs. Blue Business Plus

If the “Blue Business” branding sounds familiar, it’s because Amex also has The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review), which is one of my favorite business credit cards.

That card offers an unbeatable 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (1x after that), making it one of the best cards for earning Amex points. That card is fantastic, in my opinion, since I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so that’s like a 3.4% return to me.

While the cards have very similar structures — the names are similar, the annual fees are the same, the perks are the same, etc. — the difference is that the Amex Blue Business Cash earns 2% cash back, while the Amex Blue Business Plus earns 2x Membership Rewards points. I value the latter a lot more.

Other Great Cash Back Credit Cards

Cash back cards earning the equivalent of 2% are much more common for personal cards than business cards. While you can put business purchases on personal cards, that involves having your business reimburse you, which complicates things.

If you are looking for a straightforward cash back card that’s as rewarding as possible, consider the no annual fee Citi® Double Cash Card (review). The card offers 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and an additional 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase. The cash back is in the form of ThankYou Points; this is the best card for earning Citi ThankYou points

Bottom Line

The Amex Blue Business Cash is a small business card that’s worth being aware of. Earning 2% cash back with a no annual fee card is potentially a great option. The card is even offering a welcome bonus right now, which makes picking up this card even more rewarding.

However, I’d note that the Amex Blue Business Plus offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent annually, which I’d consider to be a better option for those wanting to earn travel rewards. That’s a card that I’ve had for years and love.

What do you make of the Amex Blue Business Cash Card?

If you want to learn more about the Amex Blue Business Cash Card or apply, follow this link.

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