UPDATE: THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED.
‘American Express has just upped their sign on bonus for the SimplyCash® Business Card from American Express to a limited time offer of a $250 statement credit after you spend $5,000 on qualifying purchases on the Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership. This is a new-ish card from American Express that came out last February and for awhile now has had no sign up offer. I am glad to see that a sign up offer is back and it will be valid for all applications received by April 27, 2016. This card also comes with no annual fee.
While this card is by no means for everyone, it is doing a nice job competing against the Chase Ink Business cards where you get 5% back at US office supply stores and wireless phones purchased directly from the U.S. wireless provider. This is up to the first $25,000 spent and then goes down to 1% cash back.
This card also offers 3% cash back on a category of your choice. You can select one out of the seven given categories to receive the 3% back, up to $25,000. These categories include:
- Airfare purchased from airlines
- Hotel rooms purchased from hotels
- Car rentals purchased from select car rental companies
- U.S gas stations
- U.S. restaurants
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
- U.S. purchases for shipping
I personally like the option of being able to get 3% cash back on airfare, hotel rooms, and gas stations. Remember though, you can only select 1 category and cannot change it again until the following year (December 1 – January 31). The airfare and hotel room options are great for those business travelers that are spending a hefty amount on these expenses.
Other perks of the card: With this card you also have access to the American Express OPEN Savings program. I wrote about this more here, but essentially you can get up to 10% back as a statement credit at participating merchants. This includes, for example, 10% back at Hertz and 5% back at Hyatt. There are stipulations to each program, so make sure to look at the prior post about the certain caveats. If you were to stay at Hyatt hotels often, for example, and selected the 3% cash back at hotel rooms, this would end up giving you 8% cash back.
Is this card valuable? While the sign up bonus is slightly less than some of the other cash back credit card sign ups (compared to the Barclaycard Arrival card), the fact that this has no annual fee is great. Getting 5% back at US Office Supply stores is very valuable. For example, you can get 5% cash back on your entire purchase at Staples, Office Depot, etc. Also, 5% back on your monthly cell bill can add up. I know my parents pay close to $400/month, so getting $240 back over the course of the year can add up.
While this is valuable for those that would prefer cash right away, I still prefer to use my Chase Ink Bold or Chase Ink Plus on these 5% back purchases. With the Chase Ink Bold and Plus card you are earning Chase Ultimate Reward points not tangible cash. I value my Chase Ultimate Reward points at at least 2 cents per point, so my 5x points at office supply stores can be thought of as 10% back – giving me twice the value then using this Amex SimplyCash card. But remember, points can always devalue, and having cash in the pocket now is preferable to many.
Using this card with American Express Sync offers. Remember, since this is an American Express credit card, you’ll be eligible to take advantage of more American Express Sync offers. This means you can earn statement credits at many merchants without paying an annual fee!! If you partake in these offers then you are already ahead!
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I was confused by your post – does this card also offer the 5% at office supply stores?
Yes this card is 5% cashback at office supply stores but the Chase Ink cards are my preferred card of choice.
I had applied for this card just about six months and don’t qualify for it again even though AMEX confirmed that the benefits are different which essentially makes it a new product. I find out because they won’t allow me to change the 3% category.
Does the Marriott 5% still apply? I thought AMEX removed Marriott? I’ll check again tonight to confirm.
@Kevin – I personally prefer my Chase Ink cards as well at office supply stores. Y
@Points with a Crew – Yup!
I just checked and still don’t see Marriott listed at https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/opensavings/opensavings.do?inav=open_opensavings
Under Lodging, I only see Hyatt listed.
I stay at the Marriott frequently and this would be a good way to earn those extra points if I use up all my gift cards from last year LOL).
@Kevin – You are absolutely correct, thanks for pointing that out. I was going off an old post which I clearly need to update. That benefit ended June 30, 2013.
To be clear: Isn’t cash back taxable income unlike non-cash rewards? So doesn’t this have to figure into comparative analysis to non-cash reward card choices?
@dp – I am not a tax professional, but I do not believe so.
I guess i got lucky. No annual fee. I got a targeted offer via mail to apply for this card. $300 statement credit for just 1k in 3 months.
Considered this product vs chase product but opted for this instead for the no annual fee (ink does after first year) and the lower spend. (The spend is not a deal breaker, but since i haven’t ruled out the AA executive card and its high spend, i don’t want to add to it)
Applied and approved. Pretty excited about the targeted offer and its bonus categories.