The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card Review: Easy Rewards for Small Business Budgets

Are you running a small business and spending less than $50,000 on company expenses each year? If so, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card could be a great match.

With no annual fee, cash back on every purchase* and a solid welcome offer, this card provides a straightforward way to keep cash flowing back into your business. And to top it off, your rewards are automatically redeemed as statement credits, which means no extra steps and no stress.

But if your business expenses exceed $50,000, or if you’re trying to rack up frequent flyer miles, you may want to explore cards with no spending cap and elevated travel perks. Either way — whether you prioritize simplicity or need something more robust — this card is a great starting point for savvy business owners.

• Annual fee: No annual fee (see rates & fees)
• Welcome offer: Earn a $250 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months.
• Rewards rate: Earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%*
• Intro APR on purchases: 0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening (see rates & fees)
• Regular purchase APR: 17.49% - 27.49% Variable (see rates & fees)
• Foreign transaction fees: 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. (see rates & fees)
• Other benefits: Expanded Buying Power, Global Assist® Hotline¹, Connect to QuickBooks®, extended warranty², purchase protection³, dispute resolution
• Credit needed: Good / Excellent

• Simple cash back rewards

  If you don’t want to juggle complicated rewards, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is ideal. You’ll earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%* — so there’s no need to keep track of bonus spend categories. This makes the card a great fit if your business expenses are spread across a variety of categories, like dining, gas and office supplies.

  If you max out the annual spending cap, you can rack up $1,000 in cash back each year from those purchases alone. Another benefit is that the cash back you earn is automatically credited to your account as a statement credit.

  That said, if travel is a big spending category for your business, The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express may be a better choice, since it lets you transfer points to a number of travel partners — mostly at a rate of 1:1.

  Read more: What Are Credit Card Points? What Are They Worth?

• Solid welcome offer

  With The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, you can earn a $250 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months. This is a good welcome offer that can help add even more to your bottom line, since the card has no annual fee.

  But while this amount is pretty on par with other $0-annual-fee cash back cards, it is possible to get an even higher welcome offer from a similar business card. For example, the Capital One Spark Cash Select lets you earn $500 Cash Back once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.

• Flexible credit limit

  American Express’s Expanded Buying Power feature helps business owners deal with unexpected costs and pay for larger purchases. You can exceed The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card credit limit — with no overlimit fees — and earn cash back on those purchases*.

  The portion above your credit limit is due in full at the end of your billing cycle as part of your minimum payment. There aren’t many cards that allow you to do that without fees, so it’s great for business owners who have a lot of variable expenses.

  Learn how to do a cash flow analysis.

• No annual fee

  The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card has no annual fee, which allows you to earn cash back rewards from your business purchases without a big financial commitment*.

  By contrast, there are business credit cards available that charge annual fees upwards of $695. But keep in mind that those cards often come with higher earning rates and much more robust card perks and protections.

• Sole proprietors can apply

  Another key feature of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is that it’s available to businesses of all sizes — including sole proprietorships. A sole proprietorship is the simplest type of business structure, with a single individual owning and operating the business. This could include freelancers, independent contractors, online sellers, hair stylists, food delivery workers and more.

  Read more about how to get a business credit card.

  Tip: With a sole proprietor, the owner is personally responsible for all debts, obligations and liabilities for the business — which could make it even easier to mix up business and personal spending on the same credit card. But be aware that, while using a business credit card for personal expenses isn’t illegal, it’s generally not recommended and may violate Amex’s terms and conditions.

   

• Intro APR on purchases

  The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card offers an intro APR of 0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening, followed by a 17.49% - 27.49% Variable APR.

  It’s best to pay your card off in full every month, but the introductory offer will let you finance big business purchases over a long period of time without any interest charges. Plus, the card’s welcome offer can help provide some cash to pay it off*.

  Many business cards don’t offer an introductory APR at all — which gives The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card an edge.

  Read more about how to manage your business finances.

• Cap on rewards earnings

  The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card caps the highest cash back rate to the first $50,000 you spend each calendar year (all other purchases only earn 1%)*.

  Therefore, if your company charges more than around $4,200 each month on business expenses, you’ll be better off with a card that offers bonus cash back without a spending cap. Some other options are:

  • Capital One Spark Cash Select: Earn 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site
  • Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card: Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business
  • Capital One Spark Cash Plus: Earn 2% Cash Back on every purchase; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site

• No bonus earning categories

  If the majority of your monthly business budget goes towards specific spending categories, like gas, travel, dining or office supplies, you may be better off with a card that offers a higher rewards rate in those areas.

  For example, the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card (see rates & fees) lets you earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year. Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other card purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.

  See our picks for the best business gas credit cards.

• Foreign transaction fees

  The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card charges foreign transaction fees of 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. It’s hard to find no-annual-fee cards that also don’t charge a foreign transaction fee, so it may be worth considering a different card if you travel abroad a lot for business.

  See our picks for the best business credit cards for travel.

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card vs. The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express

If your business requires regular trips, The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express is a better choice, since it’s essentially a travel rewards version of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card.

Instead of earning cash back, you’ll earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.

To maximize the value of those rewards, you can then transfer your points (often at a 1:1 rate) to a number of airlines and hotels, including British Airways Club, Delta SkyMiles®, Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy™.

Read more about American Express transfer partners.

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card vs. Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card

If you want to earn cash back on every purchase — but don’t want to be restricted by spending caps — the Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card is a better option.

Similar to The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, this card has a $0 annual fee and offers a solid intro APR on purchases. However, the card stands out by not limiting the amount of cash back you can earn at the elevated rate, and it offers an extremely high sign-up bonus. You’ll earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business. Plus, earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

That said, if you plan to spend less than $50,000 on company expenses each year (which equals out to be just over $4,000 per month), you can earn a higher rate of cash back with The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card.

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card vs. Signify Business Cash℠ Card

If you plan to spend more than $50,000 annually and travel occasionally for business, you can potentially get more value with the Signify Business Cash℠ Card. That’s because the card offers accelerated rewards on every purchase without a spending cap, a high welcome offer and a few travel perks.

You’ll earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. Plus, you’ll also earn a $500 cash rewards bonus when you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months.

The Signify Business Cash℠ Card offers travel perks that are especially rare for a $0-annual-fee cash rewards business card, including complimentary Priority Pass™ membership, travel accident insurance and MasterRental Insurance coverage. You can also redeem your rewards for flights, hotel stays, rental cars and more.

If you’re looking for a no-fuss business credit card, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is tough to beat. With no annual fee and cash back on every purchase*, it’s ideal for small businesses focused on straightforward savings.

But if your annual business expenses exceed $50,000, you may get more value from a card that doesn’t put a cap on the amount of rewards you can earn at the elevated rate, like the Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card or the Signify Business Cash℠ Card.

We use an objective rating and ranking system that compares features across a large set of credit cards (over 200 of them, from over 50 issuers). We use calculations to estimate the value of each card for the average cardholder, based on LendingTree and U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics.

We rank cards based on the following criteria:

• Average value over two years (50% of rating): We calculate the cash back earned for the average cardholder using Bureau of Labor statistics data and an annual spend of $20,000, minus the annual fee. This value includes sign-up bonus and annual bonuses. We look at the average rewards earned over two years to balance out a card’s ongoing value with its first-year value.
• Flexibility of rewards (30% of rating): We consider how easy the rewards are to use, looking at factors like expiration dates and minimum thresholds to redeem.
• Other features (20% of rating): We also compare a card’s benefits, such as purchase and travel protections, against benefits from other cards.