AmEx (AXP) Upgrades Business Gold Card With Lucrative Benefits
American Express Company AXP has recently launched the renewed U.S. American Express Business Gold Card, which will bear an annual fee of $375 from Feb 1 of next year. The advancements to the card have been made in the form of expanding the essential business spending categories on which the Card Members can earn lucrative rewards. The opportunity to earn a varied set of statement credits and benefits of advanced digital tools is also infused within the upgraded card offering.
The ulterior motive behind the card refreshment announcement of American Express can be traced to its longstanding endeavor of ensuring smooth operations for small businesses.
U.S. Business Gold Card Members can now earn 4X Membership Rewards points on the initial $150,000 of combined purchases made in each calendar year across specific eligible categories. The category list has undergone an expansion this time and purchases made from U.S. electronic goods retailers as well as software and cloud system providers, payment of monthly wireless telephone service bills and transit purchases are now considered eligible under the list.
The Card Members can also get hold of a flexible business credit of $240, which they can earn from using the card to conduct eligible purchases across FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. The card can also be used for paying the monthly Walmart + membership fees and receiving a statement credit in return. Also, 3X Membership Rewards points can be earned on eligible purchases via AmexTravel.com.
Digital payment services and cash flow tools have also been integrated within the refreshed Business Gold Card. These may enable hassle-free account management and cater to the diversified payment needs of small and mid-size businesses. A lucrative cell phone protection facility has also been introduced, which can be availed by Card Members whose cell phone is listed on a wireless bill and the preceding month’s bill has been paid using an Eligible Card Account. The benefits relate to reimbursements made for repair or replacement expenses, which follow when the cell phone has been damaged or stolen.
Initiatives similar to the latest one reflect American Express’ sincere efforts to enhance its card offerings and cater to the evolving needs of the Card members, which may attract new clients or retain the existing ones. With the card-issuing business remaining an important source of revenues for AXP, initiatives to upgrade card offerings are expected to drive its top line in the days ahead. Management anticipates revenue growth to be in the range of 15-17% this year.
Shares of American Express have inched up 0.5% in the past year against the industry’s 2.6% decline. AXP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the Finance space are Byline Bancorp, Inc. BY, Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. AHH and Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. IVR. While Byline Bancorp sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Armada Hoffler Properties and Invesco Mortgage carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Byline Bancorp’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 10.02%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BY’s 2023 earnings suggests an improvement of 13.1%, while the consensus estimate for revenues suggests growth of 20.2% from the corresponding year-ago reported figures. The consensus mark for BY’s 2023 earnings has moved 2.3% north in the past 60 days.
The bottom line of Armada Hoffler Properties outpaced estimates in two of the last four quarters and matched the mark twice, the average surprise being 3.15%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AHH’s 2023 earnings suggests an improvement of 2.5%, while the consensus estimate for revenues suggests growth of 8.9% from the corresponding year-ago reported figures. The consensus mark for AHH’s 2023 earnings has moved 2.5% north in the past 60 days.
Invesco Mortgage earnings outpaced estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 54.24%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IVR’s 2023 earnings suggests an improvement of 1.1% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus mark for IVR’s 2023 earnings has moved 18.4% north in the past 60 days.
Shares of Byline Bancorp, Armada Hoffler Properties and Invesco Mortgage have declined 9.7%, 4.9% and 24.6%, respectively, in the past year.
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