5 Reasons Every Small Business Owner Should Have An American Express Business Card

Choose wisely and the right credit or charge card will work hard for you, unlocking numerous opportunities for both you and your business, so you can leap with confidence at anything that presents itself along your path to success. 

There are a total of five American Express Business Cards available for small business owners in Australia. While no two of these Credit Cards and Charge Cards are alike, all offer a multitude of savvy ways to help business owners sharpen their game when it comes to smart, sustained growth. 

That’s why tens of thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners use Amex as a central part of their growth strategy. Amex’s suite of Business Cards is designed specifically for growth, featuring products and solutions that you wouldn’t get with a personal card. 

Got a great idea you need to take from a seed to a sprout? The top-tier Business Card options Amex offers can play a central role in helping you kick those goals faster and keep your show on the road, with a rewards structure that makes sense for business owners, comprising additional benefits like uncapped points earning, and various travel and business perks. 

To help lay things out for you, we’ve put together a list of the five reasons every small business owner needs an American Express Business Card.

1. Funding Solutions

American Express funding solutions are twofold. Charge cards offer no pre-set spending limit¹, while credit cards have a fixed limit. Consider either of these cards to be the fundamental key to taking control of your financial flexibility and help give you the greater purchasing power you need to grow a company of any size. 

If you’ve opted for a product like the Platinum Business or Qantas Business Rewards Charge Cards, for example, then you can access no pre-set spending limit and your purchases are approved based on a variety of factors. Or if you’ve opted for a product like the Business Explorer Credit Card, it could help you manage your monthly cash flow and plan your growth strategy without eating into your budget. Further to that, holding an Amex Business Card will help you separate your business spending from your personal spending. Your cash flow also benefits from up to 51 or up to 55 days to pay for purchases² so you’ve got longer to make your payments and keep your cash position in tip-top condition. 

2. Points Earning Potential

Earn and transfer points to access a wide range of benefits, particularly when it comes to organising travel and helping keep costs down. This goes beyond those tempting sign-on bonuses and enables you to earn points at a competitive rate for everyday business purchases. 

American Express is known for offering some of the highest uncapped earn rates within the market. 

For example, the award-winning American Express Business Explorer Credit Card not only comes with excellent sign-up bonuses, but this Card can get you 2 Membership Rewards® points per $1 spent on eligible everyday purchases and 1 point per $1 spent on Government, insurance and utilities³ with an annual fee of $149 (first year free).

The top-tier American Express Platinum Business Card, Amex’s pinnacle offering, bumps that even higher with 2.25 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on eligible everyday purchases (and 1 point per $1 spent on Government, insurance and utilities)³ with an annual fee of $1,750.

You can use these points to help offset various business expenses, making it much more feasible to scale your business and seamlessly put things into place, from car rental and flights to accommodation⁴ and technology upgrades. You could even use your points to pay off transactions, pay rent and utilities³, or offset your Card’s annual fee⁵. 

With no limit (and no expiry date⁶) to your points-earning potential, you have more flexibility to make your American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card work for you, and earn Qantas Points for when you or your employees need them the most. Earn 2 Qantas Points per $1 spent on Qantas products and services, 1.25 Qantas points per $1 on everyday business spend, and 0.5 Qantas Points per $1 on utilities, insurance and government spend such as the Australian Tax Office⁷ with an annual fee of $450.

3. Travel Benefits

If you’re trying to grow a small business, then frequent travel is a given. For this, you need to think differently about how you and your employees move around the world, pushing you to act smarter when it comes to scaling your expeditions so that they make financial sense throughout the year. 

An American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card can help you make significant strides towards this, not only giving you uncapped earning potential but also giving you and your staff a range of perks when travelling for business. Such as two complimentary domestic Qantas Club lounge passes once every year⁸ and complimentary travel insurance (terms, conditions and exclusions apply (including age limits)⁹. After all, when it comes to business travel, it’s all about making the experience as fluid and successful as possible with maximum peace of mind. 

Similar travel benefits also extend to the American Express Business Explorer Credit Card, for example, which gives you Complimentary Travel Insurance⁹ as well as two passes to The Centurion Lounge per year¹⁰ when you pay for your return trip with your Card. Take it up a notch to the American Express Platinum Business Card, and you’ll have access to over 1,400 lounges worldwide¹⁰ + access to Virgin Australia domestic lounges¹⁰ whenever you fly Virgin. 

Booking flights, accommodation and car rental also become much easier once you begin accumulating points. Your Membership Rewards points can be transferred to a raft of travel partners, including Marriott Bonvoy®, Emirates Skywards, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and plenty more¹¹. 

4. Business Perks

An American Express Business Card can also help you grow your company in many smaller ways that add up, streamlining your business plan and taking care of the granular details that you may or may not have considered. 

Take, for example, the American Express Platinum Business Card or the American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card. Not only do you gain access to a variety of exclusive Platinum benefits with travel privileges around the world, but you’ve also got a partnership with Dell Technologies to help you power your productivity. 

Save the benefit to your eligible American Express Platinum Business Card¹² or American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card¹³ via Amex Offers by 31 December 2023 to receive your transaction amount back as a credit. Up to $125 back per redemption period, valid up to 2 times per year. That’s a total of up to $250 back per Card Account. 

One of the most popular Cards from American Express, the Platinum Business Card, also comes with a complimentary 12-month digital subscription to The Australian Premium¹⁴, giving you access to quality news coverage and business analysis across various publications including The Australian, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and Harvard Business Review. Not only is your cash flow taken care of, but you’ve also got a wide scope when it comes to keeping your finger on the pulse at all times. 

All Business Card Holders also get access to a platform called Business Class, which provides complimentary access to some of Australia’s top business minds with mentoring opportunities, seminars and workshops. 

5. Sign-on Bonus

Last but not least, Amex is well known for consistently offering fantastic joining bonuses in the game. When it comes time to secure an American Express Business Card, you may find yourself delighted by a lucrative sign-on bonus, which is just one of the many ways Amex rewards its cardholders for loyal business. 

This could range from a few thousand, to a few hundred thousand Membership Rewards and Qantas Points upon signing up. It’s important to remember that applicants need to be new to American Express, hit the minimum spend threshold in the specific timeframe of the card they’re applying for, and tick all the boxes when it comes to eligibility. 

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This article is sponsored by American Express. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.