The 8 Best Credit Cards for Small Business Owners
If you’re running a small business, then you likely could use a credit card to purchases supplies and other things for the business.
But how you do you know which credit card is the best one for you to use for this purpose?
Plenty of credit cards target business owners, but at the end of the day you need a credit card that works for you, instead of the opposite.
There are several business credit card options, and figuring out which is the best to get as a small business owner can be tricky.
That’s why we asked some experts for their take on it.
Let us look at the top choices for the best credit cards for small business owners and some of their features.
1. Amex Gold
The American Express Gold card offers a really strong return rate on advertising and gas, two big expenditures for businesses.
These categories earn 4x the points, which allow you to use those amassed points to either travel, or cover other business expenses.
recommended by: Alex Miller, Founder & CEO of UpgradedPoints.com, Rene Langer, Founder of Pick HVAC, and Willie Greer, Founder of The Product Analyst
2. Amex Blue Cash
AmericanExpress credit cards are the best for company use as they provide the biggest cashback as compared to other credit cards.
This cashback is very important since it can reduce the cost of something that you are buying for the company.
For instance, you can use this on your hotel stay for a business trip. You can find the cheapest deals in a hotel, use the card, then only pay a cheaper amount as it provides good cashback. Hence, you will save a lot for your company.
recommended by: Jeff Webster, Operations Manager of Clicks Marketing, Nelson Sherwin, Founder of PEO Companies, and Scott Nelson CEO of MoneyNerd
3. Chase Ink Business Preferred
If you plan to spend a lot (read $5K+ per month) on social media advertising), then the Chase Ink Preferred is the best bet.
The annual fee is quite small at roughly $100, but you receive 3X points for every dollar spent on ads.
In our situation, we expect to spend approximately $10,000 a month on Facebook ads. That’s $120K X 3 points =360,000 points on ads alone.
We assume those Chase points are worth about 2 cents each, so it ends up meaning we receive $7,000 worth of points with a card that only cost $100!
recommended by: Sean O’Dowd, CEO of Close Concierge, Andy Wang, Co-founder of Knives Sensei, Justin Carpenter, owner of Modern Maids, Isaac Bullen Asia Pacific Director of 3 White Hats, Jenna Lofton of Stock Hitter, Austin Henderson, Founder of All About Pools, Tomy Boboy, Founder of Everyday Finance, Jack Shepler, Founder of Ayokay, and Kristin Young, Founder of Snorkel & Hike
4. Chase Ink Business Unlimited
Chase Ink Business Unlimited, an annual fee-free business credit card that mirrors the Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card, a consumer credit card that also earns unlimited 1.5 percent cashback, is one of the finest credit cards for small businesses.
Cashback is earned through Ink Business Unlimited’s Ultimate Rewards points, which may be redeemed for cash, gift cards, travel purchases, and other products.
A significant sign-up incentive of $750 is available after you spend $7,500 in purchases within three months, as well as a 12-month 0% APR promotion on purchases.
The latter is uncommon among credit cards for small businesses.
recommended by: Kevin Jourdan, Co-founder of Dot Market, Connor Brown, Founder of After School Finance, Lillian Dodd, Founder of The Hobby Kraze, Adam Knihtila, CFO of Adam Kae & Associates, and Mark Wilcox, Founder of Camping Forge
5. AmEx Business Platinum Card
For a frequent traveler like myself, it has everything I need from a business credit card.
While the annual fee is high compared to some other options, the perks make up for it.
My favorite thing it offers is 5x points on hotels and flights.
It also gives you elite hotel status at certain chains, airport lounge access, trip insurance, and more.
The signup reward is incredible at 100,000 points.
While it may not be worth it if you don’t fly or travel much, I have found that it quickly pays for itself. It even covers the cost of getting TSA Precheck.
recommended by: Ravi Parikh, CEO of RoverPass, John Medina, Founder of John Medina Buys Houses, and Sarah Walker, Founder of Dog Food Desire
6. Capital One Spark Business card
We love our credit cards for our small business! We rack up points on them and we use those points to reward our staff or run influenced campaigns.
Our favorite credit card is the Capital One Spark Business card.
On this card we get 2 points for each dollar spent, which equals 2% back on everything we spend . This can add up quickly and we highly recommend this card!
recommended by: Matthew Meier, Founder of MaxTour, Ralph Severson, Owner of Flooring Masters, Joel Phillips, Founder of Home Guide Corner, and Kieren Windsor of Smart Home Insider
7. Business Platinum US Bank Credit Card
The Business Platinum US Bank Credit Card was a great tool to finance some of my company’s startup expenses.
It was an excellent option for my business because it has a 0% interest rate for the first 18 months.
These terms gave me plenty of time to get my business off the ground and pay off the card while building my company’s credit.
recommended by: Jake Irving, Owner of Willamette Life
8. Citi Corporate Card
Low cost & flexible designation of card liability.
Fees, Rewards & Perks
Annual price: S$160.5
0.40 miles (1 pt) per S$1 spend
Free travel accident insurance, up to S$1 million per cardholder
Free annual coverage of employee misuse (US$25k/cardholder, US$1.65
million/company)
Citi Corporate Card is fairly simple and, therefore, is quite easy to use.
Every S$1 spend earns 1 Citi ThankYou Point, which is equivalent to 0.40 miles.
Points can alternatively be redeemed for cash rebates or rewards vouchers.
Companies have the option to decide between Sole Corporate Liability, Joint & Several Liability, or Cardmember/Personal Liability.
Essentially, these designations reflect who assumes responsibility for making on-time card payments.
recommended by: Andy Ha, Head of Marketing for Clooms