SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express – Review
The SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express is a popular business credit card with no annual fee and a solid cash back rewards program. Those rewards favor the sorts of business purchases that most entrepreneurs need to make on a regular basis: office supplies, communications, advertising, shipping, and travel. SimplyCash Plus also comes with broad baseline cash back earnings, making it a strong candidate for everyday, general spending.
The SimplyCash Plus Business Card competes with a number of business-oriented rewards cards, including The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express and Chase Ink Cash Business.
SimplyCash Plus earns 5% cash back on the first $50,000 spent on eligible purchases made at all U.S. office supply stores (such as Staples) and with wireless telephone services (such as Verizon and AT&T). Above the limit, purchases in these categories earn an unlimited 1% cash back.
Note that office supply or communications purchases not made directly with specialized office supply or telecom merchants (for instance, printer paper or prepaid cell phones purchased at Walmart) don’t qualify for the 5% category. However, you still earn 5% cash back on non-office supply and non-communications items purchased at office supply or communications stores (for instance, candy at Staples or a phone case at the AT&T Store).
SimplyCash Plus also earns 3% cash back on the first $50,000 spent in the spending category of your choice: airfare (purchased direct from airlines), hotel stays (purchased direct from hotels), car rentals, gas station purchases, advertising, shipping, restaurant meals, or computer hardware and software at select providers.
Above the $50,000 caps in the 5% and 3% categories, purchases earn an unlimited 1%. All other eligible purchases also earn an unlimited 1% cash back as well.
Accrued cash back is automatically applied to your account as a statement credit at the end of each billing period.
0% APR on purchases for 15 months from account opening.
Following the conclusion of the introductory APR period, variable regular APR applies: 14.24% to 21.24%, depending on your creditworthiness and other factors – see rates and fees.
There is no annual membership fee. Foreign transactions cost 2.7% of the total transaction amount, regardless of denomination. Late and returned payments both cost $38.
The OPEN Savings program allows SimplyCash Plus cardholders to earn additional 5% discounts with certain partner merchants, including FedEx, Hertz, and 1800Flowers.com. The discount is credited to your billing statement for the month in which the purchase occurred. You can see a full list of participating merchants at opensavings.com.
SimplyCash Plus comes with a slew of value-added benefits that aren’t available to non-business cardholders. These include:
This card’s shopping benefits include purchase protection against theft and damage for 90 days after each covered item’s purchase, and 12-month extended warranties on items whose original warranties last five years or less.
The SimplyCash Plus card’s travel benefits include:
With this card’s Expanded Buying Power feature, you can spend beyond your credit limit to make bigger purchases for your business while earning cash back on those purchases. However, your additional spending power isn’t unlimited – it adjusts with your card use patterns, payment history, credit record, financial resources known to Amex, and other factors.
This card requires good to excellent credit. Any notable credit blemishes are likely to be disqualifying.
If you haven’t considered applying for the SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express or another business credit card because you don’t think you qualify as a business owner, it’s time to take another look. Even if you’re a sole proprietor without formal incorporation, you may still be eligible for this credit card if you certify that you intend to use it only for business expenditures. In many cases, filing a Schedule C with your income taxes, signifying that you’re self-employed, is enough to demonstrate that you’re a business owner – whether you oversee a one-person operation or a multi-employee company.
It’s important to remember that while the SimplyCash Plus Business Card’s terms resemble those of many consumer credit cards, business cards are exempt from some of the key provisions of the CARD Act, such as the requirement that cardholders regularly be notified of changes in terms and conditions.
The SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express is a straightforward business cash back card that’s ideal for smaller entrepreneurs whose moderate spending needs hew toward office supplies, communications, and other general business categories. It’s not as useful for business owners with higher spending requirements, nor for those in search of more varied rewards programs.
The potentially generous cash rewards, automatic cash back deposits, solid introductory APR promotion, and lack of an annual fee are nice. The existence of spending caps, general spending limits, and foreign transaction fees (which can hamper the airline and hotel benefits, should cardholders choose them) are drawbacks. Overall, this is a nice business cash back card for small business owners.
Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Categories: American Express Business, Credit and Debt, Credit Cards, Reviews, Small Business
Brian Martucci writes about frugal living, entrepreneurship, and innovative ideas. When he’s not interviewing small business owners or investigating time- and money-saving strategies for Money Crashers readers, he’s probably out exploring a new trail or sampling a novel cuisine. Find him on Twitter @Brian_Martucci.
Comments Disclosure: The below responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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