Chase Total Checking®

American Express Business Checking Bonus: 30,000 Membership Rewards® Points

American Express is offering 30,000 bonus points when you open a new business checking account and make qualifying transactions. This Amex checking account for businesses also earns a 1.30% APY and has no monthly fees.

Grab this business bank bonus today. See the promo details below!

For more current bank offers, see our bank bonuses page. The most popular offers are from Chase BankSoFi, U.S. Bank, and Axos Bank.

Ninja Update: The limited-time offer of 60,000 bonus points has ended. The deal is now back at the standard 30,000 welcome bonus.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission at no cost to you if you decide to make a purchase through my links. Visit this page for more information. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired.

What is American Express Business Checking?

American Express, a leading card issuer for small businesses, launched a new low-cost business checking account in 2021.

The American Express Business Checking account features a 1.30% APY for balances up to $500,000, the ability to connect with existing American Express credit cards, and a limited-time welcome bonus promo.

Amex Business Checking 30,000 Points Promo

Get 30,000 Membership Rewards points when you open an American Express Business Checking account and complete offer requirements.

Bonus Step-by-Step Directions:

  1. Open an American Express Business Checking account using this link.
  2. Deposit $5,000 within 20 days of opening an account.
  3. Maintain an average account balance of $5,000 or more for 60 days.
  4. Make 10 or more qualifying transactions within 60 days of opening an account.
  5. Receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points within 8-12 weeks of completing all offer requirements.

Qualifying transactions include mobile deposits, electronic or online transactions, ACH, wire, and bill payments. Transfers between business checking accounts held by the same business don’t qualify. Debit card transactions from the associated card and deposits of points into your checking account are not qualifying transactions.

American Express Business Checking 30,000 points bonus
(Image from American Express)

Offer Details

Availability: Nationwide
Expiration: N/A
Household Limit: None
Direct Deposit Required: No
Soft/Hard Pull: Soft
Early Account Termination Fee: None

Account Fees (and how to avoid them)

Fortunately, this business checking account has no monthly service fees to worry about.

Bonus Terms & Conditions

  • The first checking account opened by the business is the only checking account eligible for the 30,000 Membership Rewards points bonus.
  • You are not eligible to earn a welcome offer for any accounts opened for a business that currently has or has had an American Express Business Checking account. 
  • After you have completed all the requirements, the 30,000 Membership Rewards points will be deposited into your American Express account within 8-12 weeks.
  • The Welcome Offer may be taxable income to you and may be reported on IRS Form 1099. You are responsible for any federal or state taxes resulting from the offer. Please consult your tax advisor if you have questions about the tax treatment of the Welcome Offer.

Offer FAQ

Can I open a business checking account without a business?

A lot of people think they can’t open a business bank account because they don’t have an Employer Identification Number (EIN). That’s simply not true.

Many small businesses are run by individuals. Do you sell on eBay, blog online, or have a side hustle? Then you have a business.

So when you open a business bank account like this American Express business checking account, just use your Social Security number during the application process along with your DBA (doing business as) name.

How much does it cost to open this business checking account?

There is no cost to open an American Express Business Checking account, and there are no monthly minimum balance requirements or maintenance fees.

You can find a full list of other applicable rates and fees here.

What are the benefits of the American Express Business Checking account?

American Express Business Checking offers benefits for businesses such as:

  • 1.3% APY on balances up to $500k
  • No monthly account maintenance fees
  • No minimum balance requirement
  • Personalized customer service with real, live people
  • Use your business debit card for purchases, ATM cash withdrawals and balance inquiries

The Bottom Line

It’s extremely rare to find a business checking account that has a juicy welcome bonus, no monthly service fees, and offers a high interest rate.

The welcome bonus originally launched with a $300 bonus which has now been changed to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. IMHO, this is a better deal as 30,000 Membership Rewards points are worth at least $450.

If I didn’t already open this under the $300 deal, I’d definitely sign up for this one. It’s been one of my primary checking accounts for my business because of its interest rate. I also like the free incoming wire transfer (my previous bank charges for both incoming and outgoing wires).

For those who have a lot of cash sitting in their business accounts, note that American Express allows opening additional accounts – up to 10 accounts per business. Each one earns 1.30% APY on balances up to $500,000 so you can max out at $5 million.

There are several other good bonuses for business checking accounts including a $300 one from Chase, a $750 offer from U.S. Bank, and a $200 bonus from Axos Bank.

I’ve added this Amex business checking offer to the list of the best bank bonuses.

6 thoughts on “American Express Business Checking Bonus: 30,000 Membership Rewards® Points”

    • Qualifying transactions include mobile deposits, electronic or online transactions, ACH, wire, and bill payments.

      Reply
    • No, debit card transactions from the associated card and deposits of points into your checking account are not qualifying transactions.

      Personally, I transferred funds from one of my other bank accounts to this one 10x to satisfied that portion of the bonus requirement.

      Reply
  1. Seeing many offers of $300 bonus but only got 20K points as my offer. Thank you for clarifying that the $300 offer is no longer available. However, unsure your reasoning/thinking in that $300 is equal to 20K points. Membership rewards are valued at $80 for 10,000 so, $160 total, far short of $300. Please explain your reasoning.
    thx

    Reply
    • Daniel – I redeem my Membership Rewards points for at least 1.5¢ per point (20,000 x 1.5¢ = $300) and oftentimes a lot more than that.

      You get a poor value when you redeem the points for cashback (unless you have the Amex Platinum Schwab card which gives you 1.25¢ for cash conversions) or for gift cards.

      The best value is to transfer them to airline and hotel partners. For example, I can convert 70,000 Amex points to 70,000 British Airways miles and then use BA miles to redeem for a one-way business class flight on Qatar Airways from Boston to Doha. Those flights usually run over $5,000.

      Reply

Leave a Comment