When you’re on the hunt for a business credit card, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by your wide array of options. How will you ever begin to sort through them?
Well, the hard truth about it is that you’ll have to look closely into your business’s spending habits and ask yourself a few questions about what you really want from your business credit card. But the first question you absolutely need to answer is this: Do I want a business credit card or a business charge card?
Say you’ve done some research on how a business charge card actually works, and you’ve decided that a charge card is the right move for your business.
If a business charge card is the way to go, then here 3 of the American Express business charge cards that you should consider using for your business.
American Express Business Charge Cards: The Business Gold Rewards Card
The Basics
If you’re looking for a business charge card with a solid bonus points rewards system, then the Business Gold Rewards Card is one of the best American Express business charge cards to consider.
How many Membership Rewards points are we talking? Well, check out the Business Gold Rewards points system:
- Earn 3 points per $1 spent on one of the following categories:
- Airfare purchased directly through airlines
- Purchases at gas stations in the U.S.
- Purchases for select advertising in the U.S.
- Purchases for shipping in the U.S.
- Purchases for computer hardware and software in the U.S.
- Earn 2 points per $1 spent on each of the remaining four categories that you didn’t choose from above, up to $100,000 in purchases.
- Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases, up to $100,000 in purchases.
Once you’ve racked up all those Membership Rewards points with the Business Gold Rewards Card, you can redeem your points to use on business travel, regular expenses, or entertainment.
Why You Should Use the Business Gold Rewards Card
The Business Gold Rewards Card is one of the best American Express business charge cards if you’re looking for flexibility in how you earn your bonus points.
Any of those 5 spending categories could easily fit the spending habits of a small business. You’ll have the choice to maximize the category you spend the most on, but don’t worry—you’ll still earn a significant amount of bonus points on the categories you didn’t choose from.
And when you pair your regular earnings with what you’ll get as a welcome bonus—50,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of cardmembership—you’ll really be racking up the points with this business charge card.
Why You Might Use Another Business Charge Card
Out of all the American Express business charge cards available, here’s why you might hesitate with the Business Gold Rewards Card: the $175 annual fee.
Yes, after the first year of card membership, you’ll have to pay an annual fee of $175 dollars with the Business Gold Rewards Card. But business owners concerned about paying an annual fee should know this: If you even come close to maximizing your Membership Rewards points by spending on the Business Gold Rewards Card, you’ll easily make up for what you pay in an annual fee. Plus, you won’t have to worry about paying the fee in the first year of card membership.
American Express Business Charge Cards: The Plum Card
The Basics
If you know that you’ll be able to pay off your balance a little early every month, then The Plum Card might be the one of the best American Express business charge cards out there.
Here’s why:
If you pay ahead of schedule—10 days to be exact—you’ll earn 1.5% cash back on all your purchases.
There’s no need to worry about selecting your spending category and maximizing how you spend on The Plum Card—you’ll earn cash back for every purchase. And when you put numbers to The Plum Card’s 1.5% cash back savings, you’ll really see it’s value for your business.
Say you spend about $5,000 each month for your business. If you can pay 10 days ahead of schedule, you’ll earn $75 of what you spent back. And when you think of that in the long term, that’s $900 in savings for your business in one year.
Why You Should Use The Plum Card
The ability to earn 1.5% cash back when you pay early is a reason in itself to use The Plum Card. But here’s another reason why you might want to sign up:
If you can’t pay your balance in full each month—either ahead of schedule or on schedule—that’s okay. With The Plum Card, you take up to 60 days to pay off your balance without incurring interest or paying late fees and penalties (as long as you pay your minimum due).
The flexibility to earn cash back if you pay early but not be punished if you can’t get your repayment together in time is absolutely where The Plum Card shines.
Why You Might Use Another Business Charge Card
As far as American Express business charge cards go, you won’t get the most savings out of The Plum Card. It’s really only a good fit for small business owners who can be confident that they’ll have the cash on hand to pay off their balance 10 days early—every month.
And if you think that you’ll need extra time to pay and plan on taking advantage of the 60 day grace period often, you might be better served using a business credit card instead. That way, you can carry a balance each month and still earn cash back or bonus points on your spending.
American Express Business Charge Cards: The Business Platinum Card from American Express
The Basics
The Business Platinum Card is one of the best American Express business charge cards if you’re a frequent traveler.
If you’re a cardmember, you’ll have access to a lot of travel perks—like access to the Global Lounge Collection, complimentary in-flight wi-fi, airline credits for incidentals, credits for TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, and more.
You’ll also earn Membership Rewards points that can be redeemed for travel expenses when you use the Business Platinum Card. Here’s how the bonus points system works:
- As a new offer, you’ll earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more, up to 1 million additional points per year. You’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent on any purchase less than $5,000.
- Earn a 50% Airline Bonus: When you use those points to pay for all or part of a flight with a qualifying airline, you’ll get 50% of your points back to your account. You’ll also get 50% of your points back when you buy Business or First class flights through American Express Travel.
Why You Should Use The Business Platinum Card
Out of all the American Express business charge cards, the Business Platinum Card is a no-brainer for any small business owner who’s frequently traveling for business. The bonus points system is geared towards big spenders on airfare, and it’ll be hard to find a card with better travel perks.
And if you needed one more reason to sign up for the Business Platinum Card, you’ve got it:
With a new limited time offer, you can now earn up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points when you sign up. You’ll earn 50,000 points after you spend $5,000 and an extra 50,000 points when you spend another $10,000 in qualifying purchases within the first 3 months of owning the card.
If you do earn that 100,000 Membership Rewards points bonus, that’s $2,000 for your business when you pair it with the built-in Airline Bonus.
Why You Might Use Another Business Charge Card
Just like other American Express business charge cards, the Business Platinum Card comes with an annual fee. And the Business Platinum Card’s annual fee is large enough to scare some business owners away—it’s $450.
But again, if you plan on maximizing your rewards and perks benefits on the Business Platinum Card, you’ll easily make up that $450 annual fee.
Are Any of the American Express Business Charge Cards Right For You?
There are a lot of great reasons to take out a business charge card for your company, and there are a lot of great reasons to choose one from American Express, too.
Are you sold on any of these 3 American Express business charge cards?
If you are, then go ahead and apply!
The post A Quick Roundup of American Express Business Charge Cards appeared first on Fundera Ledger.
from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/2016/10/25/american-express-business-charge-cards
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