Graphite Business Cash Unlimited

Amex's Graphite Business Cash Unlimited is built for a business that wants one flat rate and no category tracking: 2% cash back on eligible purchases with no cap, plus 5% on flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel. The problem is the math on the $295 annual fee, since 2% is only half a point better than the free 1.5% flat-rate cards, meaning you need roughly $59,000 of annual spending on the card before the extra cash back covers the fee at all. The $1,500 welcome bonus is real money but demands $50,000 of spending in six months, and the statement credits of up to $2,400 toward American Express One AP monthly fees only unlock after $250,000 of eligible purchases in a calendar year. That pattern repeats throughout: every headline number here assumes a very high spending volume. There is no foreign transaction fee, and for a business already pushing six figures through a card each year it is a clean, low-maintenance option, but smaller businesses will do better with a no-fee flat-rate card.