American Express Business Credit Cards
American Express credit cards have been around since the early 1950's and today they are as well respected and recognized as Visa and MasterCard. Even so, the card is not as accepted in as many places as these two cards. With a huge network that expands across many countries, American Express' popularity and acceptance has even gone beyond the United States.
Just like with any other financial institution, you must submit an application that must be processed before the card is issued, although reports indicate that the approval rate is rather low. Because of the high standards of the credit card provider, getting the card is more than worth the effort that is required to secure it.
When applying for the American Express small business credit cards, you will need to submit the name and address of your business, in addition to some background information about the business. A business credit report will be needed in order to verify the business credit. If your business has no established credit, then the company will need to verify the credit details of the owner. When this happens, you as the owner will be held personally liable for repaying any debt charged to the card. Other information you will need to have on hand includes the business phone number, Tax ID number, number of employees and the names of people who will be issued cards on the business account.
When it comes to incentives for your business credit cards, American Express offers a lot of options. The rewards varies from travel to gas, food, general goods, discounts on office supplies, cash back bonus points and many others. A lot of business owners gravitate towards cash back reward points for obvious reasons.
There is a drawback to American Express cards that consumers must consider. Although the number of merchants that accept AMEX has expanded and continues to expand every day, there are still a number of merchants both offline and online who do not accept American Express. This is because they charge a larger merchant transaction fee than Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Since the company is both a credit card provider and offers merchant solutions, they keep all the transaction fees themselves, unlike MasterCard and Visa who have to split the fees with the credit card issuers. Retailers do not like paying the huge fees that they are required to pay to AMEX for processing AMEX transactions, and this is why some of them do not accept the cards at all.
Still, American Express credit cards are beneficial to their members since the rewards can be in many cases a lot better than those offered by other credit card providers. The tradeoff for these great benefits is the inability to use the card at all locations, but when presented with such challenges cardholders can resort to using their Visa or MasterCard.
Before you apply for your American Express Small Business credit card, make sure that you read all the terms and conditions of the program and try to develop some credit for your business beforehand. This will increase your chances of getting approved for the American Express card.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
Business Green Rewards Card from American Express OPEN
- Intro APR: N/A*
- Intro Period: N/A*
- Regular APR: N/A*
- Annual Fee: $0.00 1st year, then $95.00*
- Receive 5,000 bonus points on your first purchase
- No pre-set spending limit* or finance charges
- Earn one Membership Rewards® point for virtually every dollar you spend
- Redeem points for top-tier rewards including travel, merchandise, office equipment, and gift cards for you or your employees
- No introductory annual fee for the first year - a savings of $95
Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN
- Intro APR: N/A*
- Intro Period: N/A*
- Regular APR: 15.24-19.24% (Variable)*
- Annual Fee: $0.00 1st year, then $95.00*
- Earn 30,000 bonus miles toward Award Travel - when you spend $500 on the Card in the first three months from account opening
- Check your first bag free - for up to 8 people on your reservation - on every Delta flight
- Receive double miles on Delta purchases and 1 mile for all other eligible dollars spent
- Priority Boarding and 20% In-Flight Savings
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95
- No annual fee for Additional Cards
- Save 3% to 10% automatically on business expenses from FedEx, Hertz®, OfficeMax®, and more with OPEN Savings®
SimplyCash® Business Card from American Express OPEN
- Intro APR: 0.00%*
- Intro Period: 6-12 months on purchases*
- Regular APR: 12.24-19.24% (Variable)*
- Annual Fee: $0.00*
- Get 5% cash back on wireless services and office supply purchases*
- Get 3% cash back on automobile gasoline*
- Get 1% cash back on other purchases*
- No limit to the amount of cash back you can earn
- Cash back on purchases is automatically credited to your statement each month
- Save 3%-10% automatically on business expenses from FedEx, Hertz®, OfficeMax®, and more with OPEN Savings®*
- No annual membership fee
Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN
- Intro APR: N/A*
- Intro Period: N/A*
- Regular APR: 15.24-19.24% (Variable)*
- Annual Fee: $0.00 1st year, then $65.00*
- Earn up to 25,000 Starpoints®: Receive 10K after your first purchase, and another 15K when you spend $5,000 in 6 months-enough for up to 6 free nights at a Category 1 or 2 hotel
- Redeem Starpoints at over 1,000 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries, and for flights on more than 350 airlines through SPG Flights. No blackout dates.
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $65
The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN
- Intro APR: N/A*
- Intro Period: N/A*
- Regular APR: N/A*
- Annual Fee: $0.00 1st year, then $175.00*
- For a limited time: Earn 5X points on shipping and advertising for the first 3 months of Card membership.
- Earn points even faster to get more rewards for your business
- 3X points on airfare, 2X points on advertising, gas, and shipping, 1X points on everything else*
- One million rewards from over 500 brands
- 24/7 support for everything from identity theft to travel emergencies
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $175
- Get unlimited Additional Gold Cards for an additional annual fee of $50 - and this fee is waived for the first year
- Terms & Restrictions Apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN
- Intro APR: N/A*
- Intro Period: N/A*
- Regular APR: N/A*
- Annual Fee: $450.00*
- For a limited time: Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards® points by spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
- Enroll and select an airline to receive up to $200 annually in statement credits for incidental fees such as checked bags, in-flight refreshments, and change fees.*
- 20% Travel Bonus when redeeming with Membership Rewards® Pay with Points
- Take advantage of 40 premium benefits and rewards, including 24/7 concierge service and dedicated business consultants
- Complimentary airport club access to 600+ partner lounges, a $950/yr value
- By Invitation Only: Receive exclusive access to events, ideal for entertaining clients or treating staff, worldwide that aren't available to the general public
- No pre-set spending limit*
The Plum Card® from American Express OPEN
- Intro APR: N/A*
- Intro Period: N/A*
- Regular APR: N/A*
- Annual Fee: $0.00 1st year, then $185.00*
