Amex’s no-fee business cards have some good deals for consumers

I was at Lowe’s yesterday and noticed a brochure for the Lowe’s Business Rewards Card from American Express. I’ve spent a lot of time reading up on credit cards the last several years, but this one had somehow escaped my attention, so it’s a good time for a review of the Amex no-fee business cards.

(Disclaimer: I have no business relationship whatsoever with Amex and receive no compensation for any of this. I’m just a credit card nerd.)

They don’t have flashy sign-up bonuses and therefore don’t get much attention, but these cards offer some superb spending rewards–and you get access to Amex’s OPEN savings network without having to pay the annual fees that come with the better-known Platinum, Gold, Green, Delta, and Starwood cards.

Here’s a summary of what the cards offer; details follow.

Lowe’s Business Rewards: 3% back on restaurants, office supplies, and cell phone providers. No stated limits on the rewards. Rewards take the form of points which can be exchanged for  various gift cards. It looks like the points are usually worth around a cent, though it’s hard to tell because Amex’s rewards site for this card was down as of press time.

SimplyCash: True to its name, this card offers pure cash back, including a juicy 5% back at office supply stores. Note that the office, cell, and gas rewards are capped at the first $12,000 of spending in each category.

Costco TrueEarnings: 4% back on gas for the first $7,000 each year, and no limit on the restaurants and travel.

Blue for Business: Earns Membership Rewards points. There’s a consumer version of this that earns MR points as well, but with this one you get MR points for travel, plus a 30% annual bonus on points earned, which makes this card superior to its consumer version. This card also comes with a 10,000 point bonus. Note that the 2% for travel only applies to travel booked through americanexpresstravel.com.

Note that all of these cards get OPEN savings discounts. OPEN is Amex’s discount program featuring various merchants of interest to business cardholders. For example, you automatically get 10% off purchases of $250 or more at officemax.com with an Amex business card. Combine that with the 5% bonus offered by the SimplyCash card and you’re looking at considerable savings on office supplies. Here’s a list of the OPEN savings deals.