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American Express Business Edge Card

Everything you need to know about the American Express Business Edge Card, a small business credit card with 3x points on select categories.

Updated on: 2022-07-13

Best offer is available via a referral link

$99 Annual fee

Signup bonus:

55,000 MR points upon spending $5,000 in the first three months
10x MR points on business essentials for the first six months, up to 10,000 MR points
1,000 MR points for each of the first 12 months in which you spend $3,000
Total of up to 77,000 MR points

Annual fee:

$99

Earning rate:

3 MR points per dollar spent on office supplies, electronics, rides & gas, and eats & drinks (including food delivery services, excluding groceries)
1 MR point per dollar spent on all other purchases

Referral bonus:

5,000 MR points per referral, up to a maximum of 75,000 MR points per calendar year

Insurance:

Average

The American Express Business Edge Card offers an impressive earning rate for its $99 annual fee, earning 3x the points on all office supplies, office supplies, electronics, rides, gas, and eats & drinks.

Bonuses & Fees

Introduced in October 2019, the American Express Business Edge Card offers 55,000 Membership Rewards points upon spending $5,000 in the first three months, when you sign up via a referral link. The annual fee is $99.

You'll also get 10x points on "business essentials" for the first six months, up to a further 10,000 MR points. "Business essentials" encompasses the card's usual 3x categories: office supplies & electronics, rides & gas, and eats & drinks.

There's also an additional monthly signup bonus of 1,000 MR points for each month you spend $3,000. This adds another layer of intrigue to the card, although you shouldn't go out of your way way to meet it, rather put the spend towards meeting a more compelling offer on another card. If you normally spend $3,000 or more per month as part of your business activities, then it’s a nice little bonus to have.

Finally, the card also allows you to earn 5,000 MR points for every referral you make to a friend or family member, up to a maximum of 75,000 MR points a year.

Earning Rewards

The Business Edge Card’s specialty lies in its increased earning rate on select categories. You’ll earn:

  • 3 MR points per dollar spent on eligible business essentials including office supplies and electronics, rides & gas, and eats & drinks

  • 1 MR point per dollar spent on all other categories

To clarify, the “eats & drinks” category does not include purchases made at grocery stores, only restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and food delivery services. Moreover, the 3x spending category is capped at $25,000 in purchases per card membership year; after you’ve spent $25,000 in purchases on these categories, the earning rate will drop to 1x until the calculation resets next year.

With the 3x earnings on “rides & gas” and “eats & drinks”, the card seems ideally suited to the modern entrepreneur who’s constantly meeting clients on the go, while the office supplies and electronics category also caters to more established enterprises as well.

It would make a lot of sense to pay with your Business Edge Card when you’re buying office equipment or electronics, since no other cards in the Canadian market offer accelerated earnings on these categories.

Similarly, paying for rideshares and gas fill-ups using your Business Edge can also be a good idea, since the 3x earning rate represents a strong return.

On the dining category, however, the Cobalt Card for its higher 5x earnings on food purchases.

Redeeming Rewards

The Membership Rewards program offers outstanding redemption opportunities as well. This is primarily because it’s a flexible, transferable rewards currency.

You can transfer your MR points at a 1:1 ratio to Aeroplan and British Airways Avios, as well as a host of other global frequent flyer programs (including Cathay Pacific Asia Miles) at a 1:0.75 ratio. Moreover, you also have the option of converting points to Marriott Bonvoy at a 1:1.2 ratio for booking hotel stays.

Furthermore, you can redeem MR points directly for flights through the Amex Fixed Points Travel reward chart, although these are limited to round-trip flights departing from Canada. Essentially, you can use a fixed amount of points towards the base ticket price of a regular cash ticket, up to a certain maximum. The number of points required and the maximum ticket price depends on the geographical region you are visiting (you can only book roundtrip flights that originate in Canada). Lastly, you have the option of redeeming MR points directly against travel purchases at a rate of 1 cent per point (cpp), although this is typically not recommended, as the value pales in comparison to what you could get by booking flights through Aeroplan, Avios, or even the Fixed Points Travel chart.

Insurance Coverage

The Business Edge Card is somewhat lacking when it comes to the insurance package. It doesn't come with provisions for Emergency Medical Insurance, Flight or Baggage Delay, or Trip Interruption & Cancellation, which are key protections that are found on many cards out there that have a stronger focus on travel.

The Business Edge Card does offer Car Rental Theft & Damage Insurance, as well as 90-day Purchase Protection in the case of loss or damage, as well as Buyer’s Assurance, which automatically extends the manufacturer’s warranty by up to one year. Both of these protections can be very useful, since you’re likely to buy many of your electronics using the Business Edge given the 3x points you earn.

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