American Express Business Card

The iconic, tried and true, green American Express card is recognised everywhere as one of the world’s original charge cards, and it has now been adapted to suit the needs of business owners in the shape of the American Express Business Card. When you use this card you make a statement implying a well-established business history, but it is a card focussed on the future, not the past, with plenty of useful business-related features backed by world class service and security. Optional rewards points are the icing on the cake.

A flexible charge card, not a fixed limit credit card

Although it resembles a credit card in many respects, this is in fact a charge card. Unlike a credit card, it’s not a revolving line of credit. You will be expected to clear your outstanding purchase balance on the due date for payment each month, instead of being encouraged to make only a minimum payment if you have temporary liquidity problems. Consequently, there are no interest rates quoted for overdue purchase balances. But you will want to make sure you pay on time and in full, to avoid being liable for penalty payments called ‘liquidated damages’, which can be very substantial.

But you still get interest-free days

You can take advantage of up to 51 interest-free days each month, because the due date for payment falls 21 days after the statement closing date. That’s significantly more generous than the many credit cards which offer only 44 interest-free days, but not as open-handed as the cards extending up to 55 days interest free.

No fixed credit limit

Another charge card feature which may come as a surprise is the lack of a rigid credit limit. That doesn’t mean that your spending power is unlimited. American Express will keep an eye on your balance and assess your ability to repay based on your credit record, payment history and access to funds.

Packed with features to help the small business owner

The word ‘business’ appears in this card’s name for a good reason: it’s a package designed to benefit anyone who is self-employed or running a small business. (To be eligible for the card you’ll need to have an ABN, be registered for GST and have an annual business revenue of $75,000 or more.)

The specific attributes which make it particularly suitable for business use include the following:

• Monthly account statements itemising business expenses with separate GST details to assist speedy BAS and income tax return preparation
• Statements and transaction details can be downloaded to Excel, Quicken and QuickBooks for extra flexibility in keeping track of expenses, and also to MYOB with the added option of automatic data feed of transactions.
• Cost-free instant alerts, by SMS or email, for balance updates, advice when payment is due or payment confirmation
• An online fraud protection guarantee, as long as you advise Amex of any fraudulent transactions you discover
• Global emergency card replacement system
• Card is eligible for use with Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay, turning your smartphone or other mobile devices into a digital wallet
• Business trip completion insurance cover (see below)
• Amex global contact centre is available 24/7 and has won customer service excellence awards, including winning the Customer Service Institute of Australia’s award for service excellence in a large contact centre, every year since 2014
• Have up to 99 supplementary cards on your account for employees (but there is a fee of $79 per card)

Complimentary insurance cover

There’s no international travel insurance with this card, or even domestic travel cover for flight delays and lost luggage, but you will get some useful policies when you pay your full trip fare using the card:

• Transport accident cover: You will receive a cash compensation if you (or your immediate family travelling with you) suffer loss of life or limb while travelling in a plane or public transport, both in Australia and overseas.
• Account balance waiver cover: If you make a successful transport accident claim, Amex will also cancel your liability to pay off the existing balance of your card account, up to a maximum of $10,000.
• Business trip completion cover: Reimburses additional cost of an alternative employee to complete your business trip if during your trip you suffer serious injury, severe illness, or you die, or a close relative dies.

Optional Membership Rewards Ascent points

Not everyone is interested in collecting rewards points, but with many cards, there is no choice because they are built into the cost structure in the form of a higher annual fee. But this American Express card is unusual in that it does give you a choice. If you want to earn points you can opt-in for an additional cost (i.e. on top of the annual fee) of $80 per year.

The earning rate is 1.5 points per dollar spent, except for transactions with government bodies, which earn 1.0 points per dollar.

Points are not capped and never expire, so they will still be there no matter how much or how little you use your card.

Redeeming Membership Rewards points

Amex does not have its own merchandise catalogue, where points can be exchanged for consumer goods. However, this does not limit the ways in which points can be redeemed, and it’s possible that not having a catalogue keeps costs down and improves the redemption benefits. This is what you can do with your points:

• Shop online at davidjones.com.au, for just about anything you can buy instore.
• Get the best sporting, concert or theatre tickets through Ticketmaster.
• Transfer your points to nine airline frequent flyer programs (Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Malaysia Airlines).
• Transfer your points to Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy frequent guest programs.
• Make a booking with travel agencies Helloworld, Webjet and American Express Travel Online.
• Purchase gift cards to use at leading Australian retailers, cinemas and petrol stations.
• Buy foreign currency from American Express.
• Pay off your card account balance with points.

Most of these redemption methods come with a ‘Points + Pay’ option if you need to redeem before you have accumulated enough points – use points for part of the payment and cash for the rest.

You get what you pay for

With an annual fee of $109, plus $79 for each supplementary card, this isn’t exactly the cheapest card around. And you’ll need to add a further $80 a year if you want to participate in the rewards program. (But it’s well worth opting in, since you only need to spend $10,667 per year to recover the program fee in retail gift cards, and every point after that is free.)

So you’re paying $109 per year for up to 51 days of credit per month, some useful insurance cover, the option to make it a rewards card if you wish (for a total annual fee of $189 per year), and a package tailored for business and tax purposes.

You’ll need to be comfortable with the fact that some retailers either don’t accept American Express or add a surcharge.

Show me some other cards like this

American Express issues a range of business cards, with a corresponding variety of fees and benefits, but all of them have the exceptional feature of providing you with detailed information about your expenditure and the associated GST.

If rewards points are your goal, you might want to consider the high earning rate of the American Express Business Accelerator Credit Card.
Qantas or Velocity Frequent Flyers might find either the American Express Qantas Business Card or Velocity Business Card more suited to their needs.

Other issuers also have a suite of business cards. You can find a wide range on our business credit card page, found in our Features section at the top of this page.

Why should I want the American Express Business Card?

You’ll want this card if you have trouble keeping track of your business expenses for tax purposes, or are frustrated with the poor level of customer service delivered by your existing card.

Since you plan to always pay your account balance in full, the fact that it’s a charge card will not trouble you because you’ll still be able to take advantage of up to 51 interest-free days each month.

If you want to say goodbye to the shoe box full of dog-eared receipts and hello to rewards points, while making good use of the insurance cover and the high level of security and customer service, you may have found the perfect match.