Anyone serious about maximizing their points and miles should consider The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. The Blue Business Plus card is a hidden gem product that is the perfect second or third card for miles and points optimizers. Point Me receives compensation for content and many links on this blog. You don’t have to use these links, but I am grateful to you if you do. American Express, Chase, and other banks are advertising partners of this site. Any opinions expressed in this post are ours alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. We do not write about all credit cards that are available — instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same).

The Blue Business Plus from American Express has a $0 annual fee (see rates and fees) and earns 2X Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in purchases on the card and then 1 point per dollar after thereafter.

Get More Points For Every Dollar

Many premium rewards cards such as the Platinum Card from American Express, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Citi Prestige offer accelerated point earn on specific categories such as travel, dining, and hotels. These same cards only earn a measly 1x on other categories. The Blue Business Plus is the perfect remedy to earn twice the rate of points on every other purchase.

The American Express Blue is also a great card for those people who don’t want to think about which card to use every time they make a purchase and hate annual fees. Those of us who obsess about points and miles, but have partners and significant others who don’t want to invest the effort should take note.

How I Use The Blue As Part Of My Three Card Strategy

My personal point earning strategy is to use the Citi Prestige to earn 5x for spend on air travel and dining, the Chase Sapphire Reserve for hotels, taxis, and Lyfts, and the American Express’s Blue Business Plus for everything else. This approach optimizes my spend to earn the absolute maximum number of miles possible with a 3-card approach.

Maximizing my points earn this way has allowed me to use points and miles to travel to over 120 countries, usually in business class. I am careful, however, to leave the Blue Business Plus card at home when I travel abroad to avoid foreign exchange fees.

Membership Rewards, the point currency earned on the Amex Blue is one of the most valuable points currencies available. Membership Reward points are transferrable to 18 airline programs including Delta, Singapore, or LifeMiles for high-value award redemptions. Plus, cardholders can pool points earned on the Blue Business with points earned on any other American Express Membership Reward earning card in the card holders name. This approach means travel rewards can be achieved that much sooner!

Earn more Membership Rewards with the Blue Business Plus and redeem them for Singapore Airlines magnificent first class | Image by Singapore Airlines

Is The Blue Business For You?

As the name suggests, the Blue Business card is designed for small business owners or employees. However, many people don’t realize that they may qualify for a small business card even if they don’t think of themselves as small business owners. If you are earning income from performing a service, working as an independent contractor or freelancer, or selling any goods for profit, then you’re operating a business and can apply for this card.