Targeted 25K offer on Blue Business Plus

I received a targeted email offer this weekend that caught my eye and may be of interest to some readers. The email includes an offer for the Blue Business Cash card that is not interesting, but the Blue Business Plus offer may be worth it as this targeted offer includes 25,000 Membership Rewards points after you make $5,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months of card membership. While not the highest-point offer we’ve seen on the Blue Business Plus, the lower spending requirement here might make this offer appealing to some.

The Offer

• A targeted email offer has gone out for the Blue Business cards that includes two separate welcome offers:
  • Earn 25,000 Membership Rewards points after $5K in eligible purchases in the first 3 months with the Blue Business Plus card
  • Earn a $250 statement credit after $5K in eligible purchases in the first 3 months with the Blue Business Cash card (though I don’t recommend considering this offer in most instances; see below)
• No link as the link in the email includes both an RSVP code and zip code

Key Card Details

Quick Thoughts

The subject line of the email I received with these offers was “Special message for Nicholas: You’re invited to apply for another Card with the rewards you deserve. Apply now.” I did not see this offer within my Amex login.

The Blue Business Plus is a desirable card to have and hold long-term since it keeps Membership Rewards points alive and transferable to partners, freeing you up to open and close other cards without losing your Membership Rewards points balance.

It is through that lens that this offer may be appealing. While you can get much better return on $5,000 spend with some welcome offers, this card is an easy long-term keeper that most Membership Rewards points collectors should have on hand.

This card has frequently offered no bonus at all except through a referral, though at the moment the public offer is for 15K points after $3K spend in the first 3 months. This targeted offer adds 10K points for an additional $2K spend, which is certainly reasonable when you consider that this card already earns 2x everywhere on up to $50K in purchases per year.

Speaking of referrals, you certainly may do better by having a household member refer you if you value their Membership Rewards as highly as your own. For instance, my wife can earn 30K Membership Rewards points per referral (up to 55K points per year) on her Amex Gold card. She could send me her referral link and I could click through it to find the Blue Business Plus card. If I applied through her referral link and I were approved, I would get a lower welcome offer on the Blue Business Plus (the current referral offer is only good for 15K points after $3K in purchases in the first 3 months), but together with my wife’s 30K points for the successful referral we would earn more total net points. However, for those who have had the card before, that probably won’t be an option since the referral offer will have lifetime language (whereas this email offer does not).

We have also seen better targeted offers for the Blue Business Plus. My wife opened this card last year under an offer to earn 50K welcome bonus points after $15K in purchases in the first year. An offer like that makes more sense if you intend to make the Blue Business Plus your regular “everywhere else” card.

In my case, we aren’t likely to make the Blue Business Plus a regular “everywhere else” card any time soon, so a lower-spend offer is actually a bit more appealing to me right now. I don’t see any lifetime language in the offer terms, which is additionally appealing. The link is targeted (it includes both an RSVP code and cardholder zip code).

The Blue Business Cash offer included in the same email is not particularly interesting apart from the absence of lifetime language. That’s because you can get the same $250 statement credit with less spend with the public offer on our Best Offers page. Further, my wife and I keep receiving targeted mailers (including one that came just today) to get that card with a $250 statement credit after $5,000 in qualifying purchases in the first six months and an additional $250 statement credit after $10K in qualifying purchases in the first year. I don’t see any lifetime language in that physical mailer, either. I am additionally under enthused about that offer because there are a number of other business cards on the market offering $500 cash bonuses for less spend. Any way you slice it, the point is that you can do better.

While this era of huge welcome bonus offers makes either offer here seem like a bit of snoozer, it is as good as it gets as a standalone offer on the Blue Business Plus unless you can meet the $15K spend and get targeted for that offer.

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