American Express adds new perks to small-business cards

The news: Amex added welcome bonuses for two of its small-business credit cards that previously did not offer signup perks.

• Blue Business Plus cardholders can earn 15,000 membership rewards points when they spend $3,000 in eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership.
• Blue Business Cash cardholders are eligible for $250 in statement credits when they spend $3,000 in purchases in the first three months of obtaining the card.

Both cards also offer 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 12 months after opening an account. This is on top of existing rewards offered by both cards, like QuickBooks integration, rental car insurance, and the ability to spend above the credit limit depending on factors like credit record and payment history.

Why this can succeed: Updating and adding new rewards helped Amex induce credit card spending in Q2 as credit card appetite rose—the same method could prove successful this quarter as the issuer works to maintain volume growth.

Amex’s welcome bonuses could push small businesses toward credit cards, which overall were the second-most-popular financing product tool sought by small businesses last October, according to a report by the Federal Reserve. And Amex is moving deeper into small business solutions—the issuer recently introduced small-business checking accounts, for example.