NEW: get a £100 gift card and ‘no fee for a year’ with the Amazon Business American Express card

If you had been thinking about getting the Amazon Business American Express card for your company / sole trader activities, Amazon has just upped the ante.

For a couple of months now, the Amazon Business American Express Card has been waiving its annual fee for the first year. This saves you £50.

For a limited period, in addition to the first year free, you will also receive a £100 Amazon Gift Card upon approval. This is, by far, the biggest incentive that Amazon has offered on this card to date.

You qualify for the £100 Amazon Gift Card irrespective of what other American Express cards you have.

On top of that, you can choose between earning:

• 1.5% back in Amazon Rewards on UK purchases at Amazon.co.uk, Amazon Business and Whole Foods Market, or

• deferred payment for 60 days on UK purchases at Amazon Business, Amazon.co.uk and Whole Foods Market

Other spending earns you 0.5% back in Amazon Rewards.

The card is worth considering if your business or SME makes regular Amazon purchases. It’s worth noting that there isn’t a minimum spend required to trigger the £100 Amazon Gift Card.

Whilst the card does not provide travel rewards, it does give you the opportunity to decide what works best for your business, either in Amazon Rewards or deferred payment.

As we have said many times on HfP, miles and points earned from credit card spending are NOT free. You are always giving up the chance to earn cashback or pseudo-cashback from competing cards. And unlike travel rewards, you don’t have to deal with flight or hotel availability restrictions, so you may be better off with Amazon Rewards.

What is the Amazon Business American Express Card?

Last September, Amazon Business and American Express launched two new products aimed at the small business market.

The Amazon Business American Express Card is the ‘entry level’ card of the two on offer.

Despite the card name, you do NOT need an Amazon Business account to apply.

That said, as Amazon Business is free, it may be helpful for your company since it adds business functionalities like VAT invoices and reporting.

What is the annual fee and interest rate?

The first year fee is waived for the Amazon Business American Express Card. This saves you £50.

The APR on purchases is 21.9% per annum variable. The representative APR, which blends in the annual fee payable from Year 2, is 32.6% APR variable.

What is the sign-up bonus and how can I use it?

New cardholders receive a £100 Amazon Gift Card once approved.

You receive the gift card irrespective of what other American Express cards you hold and there is no minimum spend required to trigger the gift card.

What benefits do you get?

You can choose between two benefits on your Amazon spending:

• 1.5% in Amazon Rewards on UK purchases at Amazon.co.uk, Amazon Business and Whole Foods Market, or

• 60 additional days to pay on each purchase at Amazon.co.uk, Amazon Business UK and Whole Foods Market UK

On all of your other spending, you will receive:

• 0.5% back in Amazon Rewards

For most people, taking Amazon Rewards will be the better choice on your Amazon spending. Taking the extra 60 days to pay is effectively costing you 1.5%, since you lose out on earning Amazon Rewards, although the cash flow benefits may be important to you.

You can choose, on a transaction by transaction basis, whether you want to earn the 1.5% or take the extra 60 days to pay.

Note that the 1.5% in Amazon Rewards credit is capped at £120,000 of Amazon purchases per calendar (not card) year. Beyond this, you will earn 1% in Amazon Rewards on your Amazon purchases.

How do I spend Amazon Rewards?

As you’d expect, you can use your Amazon Rewards to offset your purchases on the Amazon.co.uk website.

Interestingly, you can ALSO use them to pay off your American Express statement. This means that, even if your business does not spend much at Amazon, the Card may still work for you. You can treat it as a straight 0.5% rewards card, using the credit to pay off your bill.

Conclusion

There are currently two good reasons to give the Amazon Business American Express card a try:

• no annual fee for your first year and

• a £100 Amazon Gift Card upon approval of the card (no minimum spend required, no blocks based on holding other American Express cards)

It is especially valuable for businesses which are already spending a lot of money with Amazon due to the generous 1.5% rebate on your Amazon spend.

The Amazon Business American Express Card application page is here.