American Express Business Accelerator Guide [No longer available]

Note: This card is no longer available to new Card Members, we have kept this guide up as reference for existing Card Members.

The American Express Business Accelerator is a useful card for those looking to pick up a dedicated business credit card AND maximise their points earn.

Digging into the details

The card is aimed at sole traders or small to medium size businesses, and of course you’d want to be sure you can put the majority of your transactions through an American Express to be able to take advantage of the points on offer.

If you can, then you’ll be able to earn 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent, uncapped.

As such, the Business Accelerator is a good points-earner. When earning 2 Membership Rewards points per $1, you’ll be picking up points at a faster rate than most of American Express’ other cards on day to day spend – and that benefit is renewed each year you hold the card.

Card Details

American Express Membership Rewards is a great program for maximising the value of your points, and with the points earned from the Business Accelerator you’ll get access to transfer your points across to…

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Etihad Guest
• Emirates Skywards
• Marriott Bonvoy

To name just a few! It’s a very versatile program.

There’s an annual fee of $160, which is comparable to other similar cards in the market.

While there is typically no points bonus offered on the card for signing up, you could consider the high earn rate of 2 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on the card including on utilities and insurances as a sort of bonus – and one which accrues slowly over time as you spend, with no minimum spend requirements on an ongoing basis.

As with other American Express Membership Rewards cards, points are reduced to 1 point per $ for all government transactions like paying your tax with the ATO.

However, services like RewardPay allow you to pay your ATO bill with a surcharge, but earning full points on your American Express card. The 2 points per dollar earned with Business Accelerator makes it a great candidate for using with RewardPay.

Business Accelerator Card Member Requirements

The Business Accelerator is a business-specific card, although of course you could choose to use it for personal transactions.

You’ll need to have an ABN (sole trader is fine) or ACN to apply, and meet the following requirements:

• Your ABN needs to be registered for GST, and active for 2 years
• Your business needs to turn over at least $75,000 per year under the ABN you apply with
• Your personal income needs to be $24,000 per year or higher
• You’ll need to supply details of your registered business address and details of business directors, if any

American Express will then verify the supplied business information, which they can do from your supplied documentation or getting in touch with your accountant.

They will give you a call if they need any supporting info after checking out your business records from publicly available sources, like the Australian Business Register.

This all usually takes around 7-10 working days from application to approval, although can be quicker if you get all the supporting info in quickly – or take longer if you have a particularly complex business set up.

Other benefits of the American Express Business Accelerator

The Business Accelerator is really all about the high earn rate on spend.

Outside of the points, you can have have additional Card Members linked to your account at no additional cost, meaning you can potentially give these to business partners or employees while you clock up the points.

Like many other American Express cards there’s up to 55 days interest free on your purchases, with the previous calendar month statement becoming due at the end of the following month.

You’ll also get detailed itemised, business-centric statement reports outlining GST paid on business expenses where possible, which could help at BAS or tax return time. Not all transactions will have GST outlined on your statement though so you may need to chase up a few receipts or invoices.

Finally, it’s also worth noting that the ‘Local Champion’ promotion, which earns you an additional point per $ at your most frequently shopped retailers, is not available with the Business Accelerator.

Unparalleled mobile wallet integration

American Express cards support Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, meaning you can use this card on your smartphone for easier payments.

Read the Point Hacks guide to using Apple Pay or for using Google Pay and Samsung Pay, including instructions on how to add your American Express card to those services.

With this feature set up, it means you could still use your NFC-enabled phone to make purchases with your American Express account, even if your physical card is lost or stolen and pending replacement.

Eligibility criteria for bonus points for existing American Express Card Members

American Express are quite specific about whether existing Card Members will be eligible for bonus points if they apply for a card, are approved, and meet the minimum spend criteria.

Card Members who currently hold or who have previously held any Card product issued by American Express Australia Limited in the preceding 18 month period are ineligible for this offer.

American Express don’t allow existing Card Members, even for different types of American Express cards (e.g. Charge, Credit or Business) to be eligible for bonus points offers for cards in a different family.

Summing up – American Express Business Accelerator

This is a card for those looking to silo their small business expenses into a separate account, whilst still earning rewards points in a very useful rewards program currency, Membership Rewards.

If many of your suppliers take American Express, this is a viable card for small business owners to maximise their flexible rewards points program earn, and pick up extra Membership Rewards points each year as the bonus resets every cardholder year.