American Express announced Thursday that Business Checking account clients will now earn Membership Rewards points for using their debit card. Cardholders will earn 1x point per$2 spent, with no monthly fee.

Membership Rewards points vary in value, and can be deposited directly into Business Checking accounts. According to Amex, Business Checking members can deposit 10,000 points into their account and it will equate to$80. Business Checking members who are also Business Platinum cardholders, however, can deposit 10,000 points for a$100 value, and they can deposit up to 1,000,000 points in a calendar year. Following that limit, they will receive the standard conversion of 10,000 points for$80.

Other features of the Business Checking account include an annual percentage yield (APY) of 1.1% on balances up to$500,000. Account holders can manage their account and any American Express cards they have in the mobile app.

Business Checking members can also earn a welcome bonus of 20,000 points for the "completion of qualifying actions," the company said. Qualifying actions include:

• Depositing$5,000 or more from a non-Amex source to your account within 20 days of account opening.
• Maintaining an average account balance of$5,000 or more for 60 days, from the date of the$5,000 deposit.
• Completing 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days of opening the account. Qualifying transactions include mobile deposits, electronic/online transactions such as bill payments, redeeming points for deposits, and Business Debit card transactions, among others.

If 10,000 points are worth$80, that means the welcome bonus of 20,000 points would equate to$160 in value. For Business Platinum cardholders, the bonus would be worth$200.

Credit Cards

• The best unsecured credit cards: Bad credit? No worries
• How to keep your credit card details from being stolen online
• The 5 best gas credit cards of the year
• How to increase your credit limit fast
• The best crypto credit cards available now

Amex released an all-digital consumer checking account earlier this year with a similar rewards structure. Rewards earned with the cardholder's debit card are pooled with those earned by any American Express card consumers may have. It's likely that the Business Checking account works the same way for any American Express business cardholder.

For consumers who have an American Express business card, you can choose to either use your debit points as direct deposit or use it with your card's redemption options, like travel or redeeming for gift cards.

To open a Business Checking account with Amex, business owners will need:

• Employee Identification Number (EIN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
• Articles of Organization or a Certificate of Formation
• Driver's License, State I.D., or Passport for each owner
• Social Security Number (SSN) and ID verification for any Beneficial Owner with ownership of 25% or more
• "Doing Business As" (DBA) certificate only if your business operates under more than one name
• US business address
• Information about your industry, size, and the purpose of your account

There is no cost to open an account, nor are there any minimum balance requirements or maintenance fees.

Finance

Inflation is about to change grocery shopping for goodThe 5 best high-yield savings accounts: Not your standard savingsHow AI is making Gen Z the most financially sophisticated generationThe 5 best credit cards you can (and should) keep foreverWant a job in finance? Here are your options

• Inflation is about to change grocery shopping for good
• The 5 best high-yield savings accounts: Not your standard savings
• How AI is making Gen Z the most financially sophisticated generation
• The 5 best credit cards you can (and should) keep forever
• Want a job in finance? Here are your options