Amex SimplyCash Business Credit Card Review of Benefits and Drawbacks
For business owners with excellent credit, the SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card is a great choice. You’ll get a low-cost way to pay your business expenses plus a host of other benefits. There are also drawbacks attached to the Amex SimplyCash, and we’ll outline those as well. This way, you’ll know whether or not this card is a good choice for you.
SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card Benefits
1. Introductory APR
Do you have a big purchase in mind? If so, you can take advantage of the Amex SimplyCash card’s introductory APR. You get up to 0% APR for the first 15 months you have the card. This allows you to split your large purchase up and pay it off before your card’s interest rate kicked in. This could potentially save you hundreds.
2. No Annual Fee with the Amex SimplyCash Business Credit Card
This is a rewards card, so you’d think the Amex SimplyCash card would have an annual fee to balance out your rewards. However, it doesn’t have an annual fee. You can use your card as little or as much as you’d like without trying to justify it. The SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card from American Express is excellent for people who are more casual credit card users.
3. Expandable Buying Power
This perk is something unique to this card. Expandable buying power allows you to exceed your credit card’s limit without a penalty. You can make even larger purchases for your business with it. Additionally, you earn cash back for these larger purchases to maximize your rewards.
4. Amex SimplyCash Rewards
You’ll earn 5% cash back wireless telephone services and office supply stores. You’ll also earn 3% cash back on a bonus category of your choosing. These rewards appear as a statement credit on your next billing cycle. They do cap at $50,000 before dropping to 1% cash back. Also, they have to be in the United States, and your 3% choice comes from a list of eight options. You also earn 1% back on all other purchases.
5. Employee Cards
It’s free to open employee cards with the Amex SimplyCash. You can also quickly and easily set individual spending limits for each card. These spending limits are adjustable. This flexibility makes it easy to monitor your business’s cash flow and your employee’s spending.
6. Travel Protections
This card protects you when you travel abroad as well. It’ll give you car rental insurance, roadside assistance, baggage insurance, and accident insurance. The Global Assist hotline helps you when you travel more than 100 miles from home. You get access to legal help, financial help, passport replacement, lost luggage help, and more.
7. Expense Management Tools
When you have several employee cards, keeping track of them all is a must. You’ll be the account holder and get several tools to help. Spend Manager lets you add notes to each transaction, and account alerts help to prevent late payments. Connect it to Quickbooks, get a yearly summary, and keep track with tablet and mobile apps. You’ll get everything you need to manage your card.
8. Purchase Protection
When you buy something with the Amex SimplyCash, you get added protection. Purchase protection helps you if an item gets broken or stolen. Buy the items with your card and get protection for up to 90 days. This applies only to items that you purchase with your card.
9. Extended Warranty
Buying larger or more expensive items with short warranties? If so, the Amex SimplyCash will help. Also, if your item has a warranty of fewer than five years, the card will extend it. All you have to do is purchase the item with the card to get an additional year. This is great for big-ticket items.
SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card Drawbacks
1. Credit Required
You have to have excellent credit above 690 to get this card. It cuts out a lot of people who have less than stellar credit. Ideally, your credit score would be well into the 700s before you apply for this card. This way, there is a reduced chance of the lender denying it.
2. Foreign Transaction Fee
Even though this card offers travel perks, you’ll pay for it. They’ll add a foreign transaction fee if you use the card through non-United States banks. This includes ATMs and shopping abroad. You’ll pay 2.7% each time you use your card abroad. These charges will add on to your bill in your next billing statement.
3. Stuck in Bonus Categories
Once you pick your bonus category, you’re locked in for a year. This means if your circumstances change and you don’t use it, you lose out. At the end of the calendar year, you can switch it out to another category from the eight. They include dining, gas stations, and more.
4. Variable Interest
The interest rates aren’t too bad for this card considering it’s a reward card. However, you’ll pay between 14.49% to 21.49%. This is a variable interest rate too. Your rate will depend on your credit score when you first apply for the card. If you don’t carry a balance, it’s not a huge deal.
5. Rewards Cap
Your 5% and 3% reward rates have a maximum cap with the Amex SimplyCash. You can only spend $50,000 in each category and get higher reward rates. So once you spend this amount, your reward rates plummet. They fall to 1% in all three categories. They don’t reset either like other cards.
Bottom Line with the Amex SimplyCash Card
So, is the Amex SimplyCash card from American Express a good idea? The answer is yes, and no. It’s great for businesses who need a little flexibility. However, you want to consider how fast you’ll hit the maximum rewards cap. For smaller businesses, it could take a while. If you hit the caps right away, you may want to reconsider. Overall, it’s a solid rewards card that is worth considering.
Credit Fast has reviewed the best business credit card offers on the market. Some of the credit card offers are from our advertising partners. Credit Fast has objectively reviewed the features and benefits of each business credit card application. We have ranked the offers below in the order of our editor’s recommendations.
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