As a business owner, I’m always looking out for tools to help my business perform better – whether that’s by boosting cash flow, doing things more efficiently, or getting more value from everyday purchases.
If a product or service can save me time or money (or, ideally, both) then I’m always happy to give it a go.
One of my favourite tools in running The High Life is my American Express card. I use it to pay nearly all business expenses, which helps me manage cash flow, keep track of spend, and easily pay suppliers anywhere in the world. As the owner of a loyalty program website, I also naturally love the fact that I earn reward points on purchases.
American Express is ahead of the pack when it comes to developing cards for business owners. I’ve talked with many other business owners who are happy American Express card members, though I’m also aware that some businesses don’t yet know about the value American Express can bring.
To help educate and inform business owners, I’ve partnered with American Express to produce a series of articles on this topic. This is the first article in the series and it summarises the main features and benefits of Amex’s business cards. In future articles I’ll dive deeper into the cards themselves, the productivity benefits for card members, and tips for earning and using reward points.
Let’s get started!
The American Express business card range
There are five American Express business cards to choose from, with a variety of features to suit all types of businesses.
Some of the cards are charge cards, which means they have no pre-set spending limit. Instead, you have a dynamic limit that responds to your spending and payment patterns, giving you the power to increase your spending capacity over time. Credit cards, on the other hand, have a fixed credit limit.
I’ll look at the cards in more detail in the next article, but in summary the range includes:
- three cards linked to Amex’s Membership Rewards program. My top pick of these (and from the range as a whole) is the ultra-rewarding American Express Platinum Business Card, which is a charge card. My second favourite is the American Express Explorer Business Credit Card
- one Qantas partner card designed for Qantas loyalists: the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card
- one card linked to Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program: the American Express Velocity Business Card
If, like me, you really value reward points, the Membership Rewards program has some distinct advantages. For example, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to 8-10 airline frequent flyer programs, depending on the card, which gives you more flexibility when booking flights. You can also use Membership Rewards points to pay for purchases on your card, which is not available with the Qantas cards.
On the other hand, if you’re a Qantas frequent flyer, you may want to pick one of the partner cards that come with Qantas-specific privileges.
Key features of American Express business cards
All cards in the range offer the following benefits and features:
- Up to 55 days cash flow: you have up to 55 days to pay for purchases without incurring interest (depending on when you make a purchase, when your statement is issued and whether or not you are carrying forward a balance on your account from your previous statement period)
- Up to 99 additional cards for employees, at no extra cost for some cards, which helps you keep track of expenses across the business and earn reward points
- Earn and use points: earn Membership Rewards points or Qantas Points, and redeem them for many different types of rewards
- Integration with bookkeeping software like MYOB to simplify accounting.
Most, but not all, cards also offer:
- No pre-set spending limit: as discussed earlier, this is a feature of the charge cards, which have a dynamic spending limit
- Flexible Payment Option (FPO) is a feature of charge cards which allows you to free-up cash flow with an instant line of credit. Instead of paying your balance in full each statement period, you can choose to pay off a portion of it over time up to your FPO limit. Interest charges apply
- Travel benefits: while these aren’t applicable so long as the current travel restrictions are in place, when domestic and international travel do resume you may enjoy benefits like airport lounge access, complimentary travel insurance, and assistance with flight and hotel bookings with some cards.
Summing Up
If you’re a business owner looking for help to grow your business, consider the benefits and convenience an American Express card can bring.
In my opinion, American Express business cards lead the market with their range of features to help businesses prosper, including payment solutions, cash flow benefits and reward programs.
To help you consider the different card options, check out my next article in this series where I dive deeper into the card range.
This article has been prepared in partnership with American Express.
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