Why The Amex Blue Business Plus Card Is Perfect For Freelancers

At first glance, a welcome offer of 15,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening may not seem like a lot, and falls short of the cash-back welcome bonus offered by competing no-fee business rewards cards.

But the kicker is that you can transfer your Membership Rewards Points to any one of Amex’s over 20 transfer partners, and in many cases, increase their value drastically. If you transfer your welcome bonus points to Virgin Atlantic or Hilton Honors, for example, they should be more than enough to cover a one-way flight or one-night stay, respectively.

And since most freelancers will probably need one or the other at least once a year, it’ll be nice to have this sudden expense covered.

Some business rewards cards only offer peak rewards on traditional “business expenses” like cable bills, office supplies or online marketing.

But how many freelancers are buying staples at Staples these days?

That’s why I like the Amex Blue Business Plus Card’s approach—you’ll get 2 Membership Rewards points for every dollar spent on eligible purchases all year round, period. Sure, there’s a $50,000 annual spending limit (after which you’ll only get 1 point per dollar), but most freelancers I know don’t spend $4,166 growing their business each month.

Even those who do can take advantage of the card’s trio of benefits that take the sting out of big business purchases. Let’s take a look at what those are.

Spiraling interest can be a fatal trap for a growing freelancer. To illustrate, if you start your business with $5,000 in credit card debt at 24.99% APR—and you can only make monthly payments of $200—it’ll take you three years and $2,134 in interest to pay off.

That’s why it’s a bigger blessing than it seems to have a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate of 17.99% - 25.99% applies with The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. It allows you to make some initial investments in your freelancing business (like a laptop, marketing, business coaching) without interest piling up in the background. And as long as you pay it all off within 12 months, it’s like a 0% interest business loan.

Let’s say you need to invest $13,000 in video equipment this month, but the credit limit on your Amex Blue Business Plus Card is just $10,000. To span the gap, you could apply for another business loan or line of credit—but that will involve time, money and a hard pull of your credit.

Alternatively, you could use Amex’s Expanded Buying Power* feature, which temporarily raises your credit limit when it detects a large purchase. Then, the excess amount ($3,000 in this case) is automatically added to your minimum payment next month. That means no loan application, no interest and you’ll even earn 2 points per dollar (26,000) on the purchase.

Not all freelancers will drop $13,000 on video equipment, but most of us will invest in some sort of pricey gadget to make our business run more smoothly—whether it’s a phone, laptop or a 3D printer.

And in each case, we’ll want some sort of protection for those purchases. Luckily, the Amex Blue Business Plus Card comes with both extended warranty protection¹ and purchase protection². The former extends the manufacturer’s warranty on eligible purchases by one extra year, while the latter can reimburse you up to $1,000 per covered purchase for items that are stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase.

One of the biggest challenges running your own business is properly separating personal expenses from business expenses. Do it right, and you could save literally thousands on taxes from write-offs. Goof it up, and you might run afoul of the IRS.

That’s why I’m a fan of how the Amex Blue Business Plus seamlessly connects to your QuickBooks account and automatically sorts your expenses based on your preset QuickBooks expense categories.

Finally, if you have questions about how your Blue Business Plus card works—or even about accounting for freelancers in general—you’ll be glad to hear that Amex business cards have access to the company’s special Relationship Care service.

Relationship Care is like an elevated form of customer service, staffed 24/7 by professionals “who are specially trained to understand the needs of small business owners and can provide you with business-savvy support.”

While I’m a fan of what the Amex Blue Business Plus card has to offer freelancers, keep in mind that you aren’t required to use a business card for work expenses. Business rewards cards are just regular rewards cards that feature work-centric rewards and features and typically require a registered business name to apply for.

You can still use a personal card for work—we just recommend using a separate one to make expense tracking much easier. For ideas, check out our running list of the best rewards cards.

To view rates and fees for The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express please visit this page. 
¹When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase to an Eligible Card, Extended Warranty§ can provide up to one extra year added to the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your Card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
²When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase with their Eligible Card, Purchase Protection can help protect their Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.