American Express
The incumbent business-card issuer — established Membership Rewards and premium perks across a broad charge and credit lineup.
Overview
American Express is the incumbent business-card issuer, founded in 1850 and headquartered in New York with over 70,000 employees. Its business lineup spans charge and credit products, from no-annual-fee cards like Blue Business Cash and Blue Business Plus that start at $0 to fee'd cards running $375 for Business Gold up to $895 for Business Platinum. Cards run on Amex's own network.
Rewards are built on Membership Rewards tiered points: 4X on the top two spend categories each cycle (up to the first $150k/year), 3X on travel booked via AmexTravel.com, and 1X elsewhere. On the operations side, Amex covers receipt capture and matching, a native Connect to QuickBooks integration that syncs transactions and matched receipts daily, and bill pay / AP through Vendor Pay by BILL.
Best for
- Businesses that want a points-driven rewards card with a tiered Membership Rewards structure (4X on top categories, 3X on travel).
- Teams that want to start with no annual fee, since Blue Business Cash and Blue Business Plus begin at $0.
- Companies needing expense operations baked in: receipt capture and matching, daily QuickBooks sync, and bill pay / AP via Vendor Pay by BILL.
- Frequent international spenders, since most of Amex's business cards (incl. Business Gold and Business Platinum) waive foreign transaction fees.
Less ideal for
- Founders who want to avoid personal liability: Amex business cards require a personal guarantee, leaving the applicant jointly and severally liable for all charges.
- Businesses wanting credit limits underwritten on company financials rather than the owner's personal credit, since limits are based on personal credit and require a personal credit check.
- International spenders choosing one of the three exceptions to fee-free FX — the two Blue Business cards or the Business Green Rewards Card.
- Teams that need to carry a revolving balance by default, since the Business Gold is a charge card meant to be paid in full each month absent the optional Pay Over Time feature.
Pricing
Card & limits
Rewards & cash back
Spend management
Security & compliance
Platform & integrations
Compare American Express
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Brex AI-powered spend platform — corporate charge cards, bill pay, expense management, and banking, with no personal guarantee.
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