In this post, I’d like to share an in-depth review of The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card, which is one of Amex’s most approachable business credit cards. The card has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), and offers a solid cash back rewards structure, so it’s great for those who have a small business where they don’t spend that much.
However, the Amex Blue Business Cash also isn’t for everyone, so I’d like to talk about that in this post. Specifically, if you’re looking to earn travel rewards, there’s a better option, and you may want to instead consider The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (learn more).
Link: Learn more about The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card
Amex Blue Business Cash summary & key details
To start, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the Amex Blue Business Cash:
- Annual fee: None (Rates & Fees)
- Welcome offer: $250 statement credit after $3,000 in purchases within the first three months
- Earn rate: 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on the first $50,000 each calendar year, 1% cash back thereafter
- Foreign transaction fee: 2.7% (Rates & Fees)
- Intro APR: 0% on purchases for the first 12 months, then a variable rate currently in the range of 16.99% - 28.74% (Rates & Fees)
- Best for: Business owners who prefer straightforward cash back over transferable points, and who want a no annual fee card with simple statement credit redemption
Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Amex Blue Business Cash.
Amex Blue Business Cash pros | Amex Blue Business Cash cons |
|---|---|
No annual fee (Rates & Fees) | Foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees) |
Competitive cash back rewards structure | 2% cash back capped at $50K in spending, after that you earn 1% cash back |
Straightforward rewards that are automatic statement credit | No ability to convert rewards into airline miles or hotel points |
Expanded buying power |
Amex Blue Business Cash Card bonus, fees, rewards, and perks
Now let’s take a look at various aspects of the Amex Blue Business Cash Credit Card, including the welcome offer, fees, rewards structure, benefits, and more. This card is straightforward, so there’s not a huge learning curve to maximizing it.
Amex Blue Business Cash $250 welcome offer
The Amex Blue Business Cash has a welcome offer where you can earn a $250 statement credit after you make $3,000 on purchases within the first three months.
That’s a really straightforward welcome offer, as that gets you $250 off your statement, and there’s no points conversion math required. It’s a modest welcome offer compared to the offers on premium Amex business cards, but it’s a real-dollar return on $3,000 of spending you’d likely have done anyway, with no annual fee against it.
Amex Blue Business Cash 2% cash back
The Amex Blue Business Cash offers 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year, and 1% cash back thereafter. The cash back you earn is automatically credited to your statement with every billing cycle.
To put that into concrete numbers: max out the $50,000 calendar year 2% cash back category, and you earn $1,000 in cash back. That’s $1,000 in statement credits earned on spending you’d have done anyway, with no annual fee against it, and no need to think about points valuations or transfer partners.
Expanded buying power benefit for spending
While this won’t be useful for every business, the Amex Blue Business Cash has an expanded buying power benefit, allowing cardmembers to spend beyond their credit limit to help pay for larger purchases.
Just to be clear, this doesn’t give you unlimited spending power, but it allows you to request a higher spending amount, which is granted based on a variety of factors, including your payment history, relationship with Amex, card use, etc.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you spend over your credit limit, that could lead to very high credit utilization, which could hurt your credit. The good news is that you can counteract that by simply paying your bill off before the statement closes.
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, with the maximum number of accounts you can add being 99.
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 16.99% - 28.74%) (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 U.S. dollars, and will eat up all of your rewards, and then some (Rates & Fees). Fortunately there are lots of other great cards with no foreign transaction fees.
Access to 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.
Purchase protection, extended warranty, rental car coverage
Given that there’s no real cost to hold onto this card, it’s noteworthy that the Amex Blue Business Cash actually has some decent purchase protection and perks. You’ll want to consult the full cardmember agreement, but the card offers an extended warranty, purchase protection, secondary car rental loss and damage insurance, and even access to the Global Assist Hotline feature when traveling more than 100 miles from home.
These are perks that are really worth it in those rare situations where they’re needed, so it’s worth using a card like that for your spending.
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 credit 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 offer on this card even if you’ve earned the bonus on other Amex cards.
Amex also has a “once in a lifetime” rule, so you can typically only earn the welcome offer on a card once. Fortunately there’s typically a pop-up warning in the event you’re not eligible for the welcome offer on a card. Eligibility for the welcome offer on this card is considered independently from all other Amex cards.
One of the other cool things to keep in mind is that applying for an Amex business card doesn’t count as a further card toward Chase’s 5/24 limit, so you can pick up this card without it impacting your ability to be approved for Chase cards in the future.
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.
Specifically, the Amex Blue Business Cash is the right card for someone who:
- Has a business (or business spending channel) eligible for an Amex business card
- Prefers the simplicity of cash back over the learning curve of transferable points and airline transfer partners
- Wants statement credits to apply automatically each billing cycle, rather than managing a points balance
- Has business spending up to roughly $50,000 per year (the 1% cash back earn rate above the cap becomes uncompetitive)
The card is less compelling if you’re comfortable using transferable Membership Rewards points (the Blue Business Plus offers a materially better effective return), spend significantly more than $50,000 on business cards annually, or do significant spending outside the United States, where the 2.7% foreign transaction fee would erode your rewards.
If you are considering the Amex Blue Business Cash, below are some other things to keep in mind.
How does the Amex Blue Business Plus compare?
If the “Blue Business” branding sounds familiar, it’s because Amex also has the Blue Business Plus Card (learn more), which is one of my favorite business credit cards.
That card offers a hard-to-beat 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (1x points 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.
Here’s how the two cards stack up on the same $50,000 of spending:
- Blue Business Cash: $1,000 in cash back, applied automatically as statement credits — an effective 2% return
- Blue Business Plus: 100,000 Membership Rewards points, worth $1,700 at my valuation of 1.7 cents per point — an effective 3.4% return if you can use the points for travel transfers
The Blue Business Plus produces a materially better return — but only if you’ll actually use the points by transferring them to airline and hotel partners. If you’re not comfortable with transferable points and would just want to redeem your rewards as cash, the Blue Business Plus’ theoretical advantage disappears, and becomes a disadvantage.
Membership Rewards points can be redeemed at fixed rates that approximate cash back, but at much worse effective rates than 1.7 cents per point. For someone who wants cash and only cash, the Blue Business Cash earns more.
The decision really comes down to one question: are you willing to learn about Amex transfer partners and use Membership Rewards points for travel redemptions? If yes, the Blue Business Plus is the better card. If no — if you’d rather not deal with points strategy at all and just want statement credits to show up automatically — the Blue Business Cash is the right pick.
Feature | Amex Blue Business Plus | Amex Blue Business Cash |
|---|---|---|
Annual fee | $0 | $0 |
Rewards | 2x Membership Rewards points | 2% cash back |
2X / 2% limit | First $50,000 per year | First $50,000 per year |
After $50K | 1x points | 1% cash back |
Reward flexibility | Transfer points to airline & hotel partners | Simple statement credit |
Best for | People who know how to get more than one cent of value per Amex point | People who want straightforward cash back |
Foreign transaction fee | 2.7% | 2.7% |
Expanded buying power | Yes | Yes |
Read more: Which version of the Blue Business is worth it?
How does the Graphite Business Cash Unlimited compare?
If you’re looking for an Amex cash back business card, I’d be remiss not to mention the Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Card (learn more), which is Amex’s business card for small businesses that spend a lot more. To cover the basics:
- The Graphite Business Card has a $295 annual fee (Rates & Fees), and authorized users cost $95 each, though you can also get a no annual fee Employee Business Expense Card
- The Graphite Business Card has a welcome offer of $1,500 cash back after spending $50,000 within the first six months
- The Graphite Business Card offers unlimited 2% cash back on all eligible purchases, plus 5% cash back on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel Online, all with no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees)
- The Graphite Business Card is a hybrid product, meaning it has no preset spending limit
- The Graphite Business Card offers up to $2,400 in American Express One AP statement credits, after spending $250,000 on eligible purchases on the card in a calendar year; statement credits will be applied to the monthly bill charged to the card for Amex’s accounts payable solution, One AP
As you can see, this card can make more sense if you spend a lot, and/or make a lot of foreign purchases. That being said, the card’s annual fee is steep, though the huge welcome offer on the card does help offset that. In the long run, though, I think the math works best if you can take advantage of the card’s credits.
Which other business credit cards should you consider?
As you’d expect, there’s a lot of competition in the business credit card space, so there are lots of options to choose from. If you want another compelling no annual fee business card, I think there are two cards that are most direct competitors (while both are cash back cards, their rewards can also be converted into airline or hotel miles, if you complement them with the right other cards):
- The no annual fee Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (review) offers a flat 1.5% cash back with no caps, and those rewards can even potentially be converted into airline miles; the card also has a massive welcome bonus, and offers valuable perks, including rental car coverage
- The no annual fee Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (review) offers 5% cash back on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on office supply stores, internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines, and 2% cash back on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on restaurants and gas stations; the card also has a massive welcome bonus, and offers valuable perks, including rental car coverage
Meanwhile if you’re wanting to earn travel rewards and are happy paying an annual fee, it’s at least worth considering the American Express® Business Gold Card (learn more). The Amex Business Gold Card earns 4x Membership Rewards points on the two categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle, from six eligible categories.
You will earn 4x points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1x thereafter). The bonus categories are as follows:
- Purchases at US media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
- U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
- Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
What personal credit cards offer similar rewards?
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 (learn more). 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, but can be redeemed for statement credits.
Amex Blue Business Cash Card FAQs
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. If you have a small business with mostly domestic spending, you want to earn cash back, and you don’t spend meaningfully above the $50,000 limit, then this is a great option.
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.
If you want to learn more about the Amex Blue Business Cash Card, follow this link.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The American Express Blue Business Cash® Card (Rates & Fees), and Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Card (Rates & Fees).
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