William Hudson 
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June 25, 2020 
Back in June, American Express announced that they were working with Amazon to issue a business card. A launch date still hasn’t been announced, but images of the card’s design recently surfaced, suggesting that it will be available soon.
While I would certainly qualify for a small business card—
But I also don’t use Amazon for business purchases, which seems to be who they’re targeting.
You never know, though. I already get a lot out of my Chase Amazon card, but the new Amex card might offer even more benefits I could use. Whatever the case, let’s take a look at what we know about this new card. Details are still thin, but here’s the latest
New Features of Amazon Amex Business Card
First, we know that the Amazon Amex will be a credit card, not a charge card. That’s a little surprising given that small business owners typically like the flexible spending limits on charge cards. And many of Amex’s business cards are charge cards. That probably won’t be a deal breaker for anyone, though.
The only new feature of the Amazon Amex Business card that’s actually been confirmed is the enhanced data solutions from Amazon Business. But the truth is that the feature is already available and not limited to the new card. Anyone with an American Express Corporate or Corporate Purchasing card gets the enhanced data.
What is it, exactly? Well, the partnership of Amex and Amazon Business allows for seamless integration, giving businesses line-item details of Amazon transactions so you’ll have better monitoring and control of Amazon Business purchases.
That might help a small business owner with their budget, but it doesn’t mean much to me, a fairly typical Amazon user.
What About Amazon Amex Rewards?
Unfortunately, no one knows yet.
The current personal card from Chase, the Amazon Rewards Visa card, offers 3% cash back for Amazon and Whole Foods purchases, 2% back at restaurants, gas stations and drugstores, and 1% back for all other purchases.
Prime members get a generous 5% back for Amazon and Whole Foods purchases. That’s going to be hard to beat.
Internet rumors about the new card’s rewards structure vary drastically (no surprise). Some folks think the new Amex card will offer even more back for Amazon purchases, where others are convinced it’ll come with minimal or no rewards at all, instead focusing on the added benefits for business owners.
It’s impossible to know what the new card will offer, but I doubt Amex will try to compete with the Chase Amazon Visa. The whole American Express brand is built on offering a better user experience and services, not big rewards. And there’s no doubt that the card will come with the complete lineup of American Express Business Open benefits and features.
We don’t even know for sure if the Amazon Amex card will offer rewards. And if it does, will it be cash back, Membership Rewards points or something else? It seems logical that it would be cash back that’s integrated with your Amazon account, like the Chase Amazon card, but who knows.
And the Sign-Up Bonus?
Again, we don’t know. The Chase personal card doesn’t offer much for a bonus—anywhere from $40 to $70. So I’d be surprised if the Amex business card came with a big bonus.
Also, Amex doesn’t really do big sign-up bonuses, even with their premium travel cards. If you’re looking for credit cards with big sign-up bonuses, check out
Other Reasons You Might Want the New Amazon Amex Business Card
I haven’t mentioned anything about application and sign-up bonus rules and restrictions, yet. Both Chase and Amex have fairly strict rules.
Per their notorious 5/24 rule, Chase will deny your application for a new card if you’ve opened 5 or more new card accounts in the last 24 months. However, this rule is not universal. It does apply to most of Chase’s best cards, but the Chase Amazon Rewards Visa is one of the exceptions.
So if you’re
On the other hand, if you’re trying to stay under the 5/24 limit so you can get one of those coveted Chase cards, you won’t want to get the Chase Amazon card. It will count toward your total and prevent you from getting most Chase cards.
Here lies the reason to wait for the Amazon Amex. Most business cards, including those issued by American Express, do not count toward your 5/24 total. You could get the new Amazon Amex and it won’t affect your chances of getting a Chase card in the future.
Watch Out for the Amex Application Restrictions
Don’t forget about American Express’s restrictions. In addition to only allowing you to get one sign-up bonus per card per lifetime, which doesn’t really apply here, they are rumored to limit the total number of Amex cards you can hold.
Yes, I said rumored. There used to be an official limit of four or five cards, but that’s no longer true. However, you can still be denied if Amex thinks you have too many of their cards. I’ve read accounts of people being denied with just four cards, and others having seven or eight.
I’m not sure there are that many Amex cards anyone’s going to want to hold onto for long, but its worth keeping in mind. I’m also not sure if their business cards count toward the total. If you’re worried about being denied, try calling American Express before applying.
Should You Get the New Amazon Amex Business Card?
Frankly, we don’t know enough yet to say for sure. But the personal Chase Amazon Rewards Visa is a great card for Amazon shoppers, particularly those with a Prime membership. You really can’t do better than 5% cash back on all of your Amazon purchases.
Given Amex’s track record of offering small sign-up bonuses and minimal rewards, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for a fantastic Amazon business card to materialize from the partnership. But if you aren’t in a hurry to get an Amazon card, it couldn’t hurt to wait to see what it’ll offer. It should be available soon!