The Best Credit Cards for Business Expenses
By: Kate Samano November 15, 2021If you’re a small business owner, you likely have various expenses you can put on a company credit card. If you choose the right business credit card, you can actually make the card work to either your benefit or your company’s benefit. Depending on the card you choose, you can earn travel rewards, cash back or other valuable perks.Â
Today there are hundreds of business credit cards to choose from on the market, so it can be hard to know where to start. Luckily, we’ve done the work for you and found the five top credit cards for business expenses. Whether you’re looking for a low APR, great perks or a low annual fee, there’s an excellent corporate credit card option on this list for everyone.Â
The Five Top Business Credit Cards
For Amazing Travel Benefits: The Business Platinum Card from American Express
If you’re a business owner who loves to travel or needs to travel for work, it’s probably best to focus on a card that offers travel perks. Our best credit card for business travel is the Business Platinum Card from American Express. It has an annual fee of $595, which is quite steep, but the perks make it easily worth it. There are three ways you can earn points with this card, including:
- 5x times the points for flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com
- 1.5x the points earned on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more (cardholders can only earn up to one million additional points per calendar year on these types of purchases)
- 1x points for every dollar spent on qualifying purchases
With all your business expenses, you’ll start racking up the Air Miles quickly, and you can redeem them for whatever travel you want.Â
Some of the additional benefits of the card are:
- Complimentary access to more than 1,300 airport lounges across 140 countries
- Enrollment in the Fine Hotels & Resorts Program, which offers perks, such as daily breakfast for two, late check out and more when booking with American Express Travel
- When using points to book airfare, eligible tickets give 35% of the points back (up to 500,000 points back per year)
- A $200 annual airline credit fee towards an airline of your choice — this credit can be used towards baggage fees, in-flight refreshments and more
- No foreign transaction fees
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck
- Trip delay insurance
- Automatic trip cancellation and interruptionÂ
Right now, this card has a welcome offer of 100,000 Air Miles bonus points for cardholders who spend at least $15,000 on their card within the first three months. What is 100,000 Air Miles currently worth? You could redeem your introductory points for $600 in statement credits, $1,000 towards a flight, $700 to spend on Amazon.com or up to $1,000 in gift cards from various retailers.Â
The APR on this card is a variable rate between 14.24 – 22.24%. Your rate is determined when you open the card and based on your creditworthiness. Cardholders typically have to have a credit score between 680-850 to receive this card.Â
Best No Annual Fee: American Express Blue Business Cash Rewards
If you’re looking for a great, overall best credit card for business expenses with no annual fee, the American Express Blue Business Cash Rewards is the answer. As a small business owner, you constantly have enough fees and expenses to deal with, so one place where you might want to catch a break is with your credit card. Typically, a no annual fee credit card comes with few perks, but that isn’t the case with the American Express Blue Business card.Â
First of all, your savings go beyond the no annual fee. This card comes with an introductory 0.0% APR on all purchases for the first 12 months. Afterward, your card will have a variable APR from 13.24-19.24% based on your creditworthiness.
This card also offers Expanded Purchasing Power, allowing you to go beyond your credit limit when your business needs it.Â
You earn Air Miles with the Blue Business card in two ways:
- 2x the points on the first $50,000 spent in a year
- 1x the points for all purchases past that for the remainder of the year
Some other benefits of the card are:
- No annual fee for adding additional cards for your employeesÂ
- Easily sync your card with your QuickBooks account to quickly categorize expenses
- Account alerts that can help you avoid late payments, highlight irregular spending and monitor employee cards
Right now, the American Express Blue Business card has an introductory offer of 15,000 bonus Air Miles if you spend $3,000 within the first three months.Â
You’ll likely have to have a credit score ranging from good (680) to excellent (850) to be approved for this card.Â
Best for Cash Back Rewards: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
If you’re all about a cash back incentive, you’re going to love the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card. This card offers 2% cash back for your business on every purchase with no limit or restrictions on the amount earned.
This card is set up differently from most credit cards and offers no APR and no credit limit. Cardholders don’t have to pay an APR if they pay their balance in full every month, but if you miss a payment or don’t pay in full, you’ll be charged a 2.99% monthly fee. There’s no preset credit card limit, as the card adapts to your needs based on your spending behavior, payment history and credit profile. So, if your business is growing year-over-year, the card’s limit naturally grows with it, without any action needed from you.Â
Some of the other benefits of this card are:
- Earn an annual $200 cash back bonus when you spend $200,000 or more in a year
- Earn up to $1,000 in the first six months — you receive $500 for spending $5,000 in the first three months, and the other $500 is rewarded if you spend $50,000 total in your first six months
- Download purchase records in multiple formats, including Excel, Quickbooks and Quicken
Does this all sound too good to be true? Well, the card does come with a $150 annual fee and typically requires excellent credit for application approval (a score of 800 or higher). This card might not be for every business owner, but it may be something you’ll want to strive for later.Â
Best for Startups: Brex 30 Card
We reviewed all the top credit cards for startup businesses, and the Brex 30 Card was the best one available. For a new business owner, this card is perfect because it requires no personal credit check. And, unlike most business credit cards, the Brex card doesn’t require a personal guarantee on the card from the business owner. For most new startups, this alone is a worthwhile feature.
This card is designed for fast-growing companies and typically offers high credit limits to business owners.
Some of the other perks with this card are:
- Send ACH and wire transfers for free — even internationally
- Earn 7x the points on ridesharing transactions
- Earn 4x the points for flights and hotels booked through Brex Travel
- Earn 3x the points for dining
- Earn 2x the points on recurring software like Salesforce, Zendesk, Twilio and more
- Earn 1x the points on everything else with no limitations
- Get discounts on subscriptions and purchases for Slack, AWS, Microsoft, Zoom, Dropbox, Snapchat ads, Google ads and Quickbooks.
Brex is a charge card, so it comes without APR. Instead, you must pay your card in full every month. Automatic payments are taken out of a linked account.
While this card doesn’t look at your credit score (and therefore doesn’t have credit score requirements), you do have to show proof of a business account with a balance of at least $50,000 to apply.
Best for Purchasing Office Supplies: Ink Business Cash Preferred Card
If you know a lot of your monthly credit card charges are going to office supplies, consider the Ink Business Cash Preferred Card. This card earns you 5% cash back on select business categories, such as office supplies, internet, cable and phone services. That alone can add up to huge savings for your business throughout the year.
The Ink Business Cash Preferred Card has no annual fee and offers a 0.0% introductory APR for the first 12 months. After the initial period is over, cardholders maintain a variable APR between 13.24-19.24%, depending on their creditworthiness. Individuals typically need a good to excellent credit score to receive this card.Â
Some of the other benefits of this card include:
- Employee cards at no additional cost
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
- 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent on gas and restaurants
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
The Ink Business Cash Preferred card currently has a promotion giving $750 cash back after cardholders spend $7,500 in their first three months.
Bad Credit? Don’t Worry, You Have Options
At this point, you may have noticed that most of these business credit cards require a credit score of 680 or higher. If your credit score is below 680, you still have options. Most notably, you might want to opt for a charge card or a prepaid business credit card until you improve your credit score.Â
If your credit score is anywhere below excellent, it’s worth the time and effort for you to improve it. A healthy credit score can save your business money. When applying for loans or credit cards, lenders will often review your personal credit score during the application process. The better your credit score, the higher your chance of approval. If you do get approved, you’ll get better loan terms and lower interest rates. When it comes to your business, even a 1% decrease in a loan’s interest rate can save you thousands of dollars.Â
If you don’t know where to start with credit repair, consider hiring professional credit repair services for your personal credit. Alternatively, you can hire credit repair and monitoring services for your business credit score.Â
Capital Beyond a Business Credit Card With Lendzi
If you know you have significant business expenses coming up, a credit card might not be enough for you. Consider whether a small business loan might be a better alternative to funding your immediate or upcoming costs.Â
Lendzi is a fair funding solution that helps business owners connect with the right lender. With over 10 years of lending experience, Lendzi has helped business owners across America receive over $500 million in loans. Interested in a quick and reliable lending solution? Fill out the Lendzi application today to get started.Â
About the Author
Kate Samano
Kate Samano is a copywriter and Head of Content at Lendzi. She believes in helping small businesses grow by providing access to viable financial advice.