An American Express card is one of the best tools you can have in your wallet.

With its strong connection to small businesses through events like Small Business Saturday, your company can benefit, too. With the right American Express card, you can get useful perks and benefits every time you make the purchases your business needs. It’s the most sensible way to spend.

Of course, you should always be careful with debt.

At heart, business is an optimization puzzle where you try to get more from your organization than the sum of its parts. A feature-packed credit card will add some incentives to your spending, but you’ve got to spend the right amounts on the right things at the right time.

If spending money leaves you feeling nervous, you’ll miss out on great opportunities. At the same time, a free hand with your corporate credit card can leave you in the same sticky situation you might end up in when you accrue personal debt. Maintaining the right balance is the key to growth.

Let’s take a look at some of the best business expenses to put on the AMEX:

1. Office Perks

What’s the best way to get people to spend time in the office, even when they don’t have to?

Hint: It’s not “mandatory overtime.”

Fun office perks won’t replace things like a competitive wage and good health insurance, but they can be the icing on the cake when you want to make your office a pleasant place to be. One surefire way to make that happen is to cater lunch – and we don’t mean pizza every day, either.

If your office becomes known for high quality food, you’ll be amazed to find that your employees might stop in before or after their regular hours or even on weekends. And once they’re on the premises, it is that much easier to get input or ask for a few minutes of effort when it matters most.

As an ongoing, moderate, or low expense, this is an ideal use for your AMEX

2. Client Meetings

You can usually yield some tax benefits for expenses related to client meetings – check with your tax pro to be sure. Meeting over lunch gives you the opportunity to get together on neutral ground and make a positive experience for your would-be client, whether or not they decide to go forward.

With reservation fees, food, drinks, and tip to consider, those bills add up … but they can also make an outsized impact on how your customer sees you. With cash back and customizable benefits to enjoy at your favorite restaurants, AMEX is tailor-made for exactly this kind of business expense.

There’s something to be said for becoming known as a regular, too.

The more you patronize a restaurant, the more they’ll look forward to seeing you and learning your habits. This is especially true with smaller, locally owned spots. It never hurts to make a connection, so don’t be afraid to make the meeting experience fun for both yourself and your contacts.

3. Business Travel

In 2023, business travel is poised for a rebound. Are you ready?

The Zoom era has proven that not all meetings need to be face-to-face. In fact, some meetings can be emails. But now is an outstanding opportunity to find the right balance. A relationship of trust is best built when people can gather in the same room.

To get the most value from business travel when it really counts, examine your AMEX options. There are plenty of specialized, business-focused cards that help you collect miles at your favorite airlines.

4. Marketing for Your Business

When you’re hiring a marketing agency, it may be time to pull out the trusty credit card.

The numbers don’t lie: For less than half of what it costs to hire a single creative director, you can have a whole marketing agency on your side. With a total monthly fee of around $3,000 on average, it fits readily on an American Express card. And, as an investment, it’s worth it.

Effective marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes about three months for even a fully professional, data-driven marketing strategy to start bearing fruit. Sometimes, using credit is the best way to cut out the burden of having to wait. We know it’s hard, but it pays off.

Good marketing is an investment. Blog writing, email marketing, social media, and more develop over time into a lasting competitive advantage – one that nobody can take away just by out-spending you.

Ready to find out more? Contact us today to get started.