American Express Review Plum Card

If you run a small business, regardless of its size, whether it is dog walking on your own, running a small cafe employing 10 people or supervising a manufacturing plant employing close to 100 people is likely a concern.

With The American Express Plum Card, you can defer payment of part of your company's monthly invoices without interest. If your cash flows from month to month fluctuate, this may be the ideal credit card for your business needs.

Most small business credit cards do not require you to run a formal business to qualify, so anyone, from an entrepreneur to a secondary scammer, can apply, without needing to rely solely on your personal credit card. With the Plum card, this can mean extending the time it takes to pay bills while you focus on more urgent expenses.

Below, CNBC Select breaks down the rewards, benefits and costs associated with The American Express Plum Card to help you decide if this is the right card for your business needs.

• Awards
• Additional benefits
• Fees
• Conclusion

If your business depends on an irregular or infrequent cash flow, you can use the Plum card to plan your quarterly expenses. Although most business credit cards charge interest on unpaid balances after your grace period, you can extend that period to pay your business expenses with the American Express Plum card.

It works like this: cardholders can take up to 60 days to pay interest-free when they pay the minimum due on the due date for payment. While paying your balance in full each month is ideal, some businesses operate on a different schedule. The Plum Pay It Later carryover program gives these business owners welcome flexibility as long as they pay the amount of the carryover from the previous month and at least 10% of the new card fees during the current month.

The new fees remaining from the current month are then moved to be paid during the next billing cycle at 0% interest.

This is an exceptional advantage for companies that often have credit card balances due to unstable cash flow. You can keep a balance on your credit card without having to pay short-term interest, which is useful during periods of high initial costs, such as hiring new talent, increasing inventory or marketing in order to get new independent contracts.

And when business picks up, there are incentives to pay your balance sooner. With prepayment discount, cardholders earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on the portion of their balance they pay within 10 days of their statement closing date. . Cash back is applied as a credit on your next monthly bill.

It's a little unique from a refund card in the sense that you have to pay your balances before the end of the billing cycle, but automating your payments never has worth it.

Even if The Plum Card has no expense rewards, like the Capital One Spark Classic for business which offers unlimited 1% cash back on each purchase, prepaying can mean long-term savings for your business.

This card also offers a special offer for new cardholders that allows them to earn up to $ 600 by receiving a $ 200 credit after every $ 10,000 spent on card purchases, up to $ 30,000 in the first three months.

With The American Express Plum Card, business owners get additional benefits that can give them peace of mind. They range from management tools that help track spending by businesses and employees, to exclusive guarantees at low rates when booking hotels for business trips.

Here are some useful benefits and protections, which may apply to primary and additional cardholders:

• Expense management tools: Keep track and organize your spending with features like the American Express Business App, Vendor Pay by Bill.com and account alerts to monitor employee spending.

• No predefined spending limit: That doesn't mean unlimited spending (user payment history and credit history is also taken into account), but cardholders have more power over the amount they can charge on their menu.

• Global Assist helpline: Receive 24/7 emergency assistance for things like lost baggage, visa / passport assistance, access to bank transfers and medical and legal references.

• Car loss and collision damage insurance: Consider yourself covered if your rental vehicle is damaged or stolen while on a work trip.

• Lowest rate guarantee: For business travelers who book hotel stays on amextravel.com and then find the same booking for a lower price online, American Express refunds the difference.

• Return protection: Return eligible items to American Express up to 90 days from the date of purchase, if you purchased with your Amex card.

• By invitation only: Enjoy exclusive events from sport and fashion to gastronomy, art and performance.

• Amex offers: Receive exclusive discounts on purchases at select retailers with Amex offers. These offers usually give you a fixed amount of cash back, credited to your account within 90 days of meeting the requirements.

Conditions apply to all benefits.

The Plum card waives your annual fees the first year, but it can reach $ 250 from your second year. It’s higher than some other small business credit cards like Capital One Spark Cash Select for businesses, which has no annual fee and offers a 1.5% discount on each purchase. There is no charge for additional Prune employee cards issued to the account.

With no overseas transaction fees, you can make international purchases for your business without worrying about additional cost.

When it comes to choosing the right credit card for your business, there are many benefits to consider, whether it is finding increased savings for your business or manage daily expenses more easily.

Although the 1.5% discount for prepayment is an advantage The American Express Plum Card, this credit card really stands out because of the flexibility it offers business owners with extra days to cover their costs through the Pay It Later carry-over program.

If your business has a more predictable cash flow, consider other small business credit cards that offer better rewards at lower annual costs. the Capital One Spark Cash for businesses offers a simple and unlimited 2% cash back with no annual fee for the first year, $ 95 thereafter.

Information on Capital One Spark Cash for Business, Capital One Spark Cash Select for Business and Capital One Spark Classic for Business has been independently collected by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer before publication.