Photo: Courtesy of American Express
For the second year in a row, customers rated American Express No. 1 in customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study. The company achieved a score of 862 points (on a 1,000-point scale), 11 points higher than the industry average.
American Express ranked first in five drivers of customer satisfaction that J.D. Power asked survey participants to consider: benefits and services; credit card management; credit card terms; key moments; and rewards.
“Backing small business is so important to the work we do at American Express, and a big part of that is providing Business Cards built to meet their specific needs,” says Courtney Kelso, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Commercial Card Products at American Express. “This means that in addition to providing Card Members with incredible benefits and value, we also provide access to financial tools and servicing to help them grow and succeed.”
The J.D. Power U.S. Small Business Credit Card Satisfaction Study, now in its fourth year, measures customer satisfaction with the largest small business credit card issuers in the U.S. The study includes responses from over 3,000 small business credit card customers whose businesses generate annual revenue between $10 thousand and $10 million.
Earlier this year, American Express ranked highest in overall satisfaction with online savings accounts in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Direct Banking Study and in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study among national issuers.
Kelso, in an interview below, describes how American Express is always working to exceed its small business customers’ expectations.
What steps has Amex taken to ensure we’re meeting the needs of small business owners when it comes our Business Cards?
We’ve been helping to serve the needs of small businesses for decades, so it’s in our DNA.
Our business cards are powerful tools built to meet the needs of both small and mid-size businesses. They offer benefits, depending on the card, which can include: helping business owners pay their suppliers more easily, booking business trips, earning valuable rewards, receiving statement credits on business purchases, and managing cash flow– all backed by Amex’s exceptional servicing.
Innovation is core to our approach, and we continue to focus on adding new benefits and features to meet our customers’ changing needs. For example, last year we enhanced the Business Platinum Card to help our Card Members make the most out of doing business with elevated rewards for business-related purchases across core categories like technology, shipping, wireless, recruiting, software and more. And we did this all while keeping the travel benefits Card Members know and love. We’ve seen an incredibly positive response to the Card from both new and existing Card Members.
We also have powerful partnerships with leading brands including Amazon, Delta, Marriott, Hilton, and Lowe’s to offer our Co-Brand Business Card Members with differentiated benefits. As an example, the Amazon Business Card is built for small businesses to optimize their B2B payments, purchase by purchase. They can choose to earn rewards or take more time to pay on U.S. purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com, and Whole Foods Market.
Amex supports small businesses in many ways. How do the Business Cards fit into that larger ecosystem?
We remain focused on providing thoughtful solutions to help small businesses grow and thrive. And we know that a big part of this is providing the resources they need to enable spend and to manage their finances. This is why we’ve designed our Business Cards with exceptional value and benefits and have built in digital payment services and tools that help small businesses seamlessly manage their accounts.
For example, some of our Business Cards offer small business owners the flexibility they need – whether taking advantage of our Cards that offer no preset spending limit1 where the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history, or using the Pay Over Time feature, which gives business owners the option to either carry a balance on eligible purchases with interest or to pay the balance in full.
Card Members can also apply for our Global Pay digital solution, which can be used to make domestic and international payments. We also introduced a Business Checking account which Card Members can apply for with no monthly fees, and it gives them the ability to earn Membership Rewards points, which can be used to redeem for deposits.
Why should small business owners use a Business Card from Amex?
Our Cards are truly built for business. With decades spent growing our network with small businesses, we understand the right benefits and services that can meet their payment needs. We offer business-focused benefits on our Cards with many offering rewards on categories where Card Members are already spending, so they can get more value from our products.
With American Express’ advanced data and technology, we’ve established strong risk functions and controls that allow us to offer both business-sized spend capacity and lending capabilities. Our Business Card servicing teams are also Business Card specialists so they can provide trusted expertise to address questions that are top of mind for small businesses.
Beyond our products and services, we also offer many complimentary resources for small business owners including insights and inspiration through Business Class, access to marketing supplies in the Shop Small Resource Hub, and Amex Offers for Merchants for services ranging from technology to shipping solutions, among others.
1Not all purchases will be approved. Card Members can use the Check Spending Power tool to see if a large purchase will be approved.