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Business credit cards allow small business owners to separate their company’s expenses from their own while also earning rewards, benefits, or other special features that are specifically designed for business needs. Just as with personal credit cards, there are a variety of small business cards designed to meet different businesses’ specific needs. When selecting the top small business credit cards, we looked at many of the same features that are valued in a consumer card, such as value provided, earning structure, and annual fee. But we also focused on rewards and benefits that are more suited to the needs of small business owners rather than consumers. How We Chose the Best Small Business Cards
To find the best small business credit cards, we first divided the market into the following six categories: - No annual fee small business cards
- Cash back small business cards
- Small business cards for airline rewards
- Premium small business cards
- Small business cards for travel rewards
- 0% APR small business cards
Then we looked at more than a dozen major credit card issuers to find the top cards in each of these subcategories. Most major credit card issuers offer cards specifically designed for small business use. For each category, we looked at the most important factors. For example, top travel cards need to provide the most valuable travel rewards, while the best 0% APR cards should offer long promotional financing periods. While credit card terms may change from time to time, the following rankings reflect information that was accurate in May 2022. Best No Annual Fee Small Business Cards
Many small businesses, especially those that are new, don’t need travel benefits. They may have only modest spending requirements and not be able to justify paying an annual fee for a premium travel rewards card. Instead, cardholders may be looking for a small business card that doesn’t have an annual fee but still offers valuable rewards, a generous new account bonus, and potentially even a 0% APR financing offer. Those are the elements we considered in this category.If You Want a No Annual Fee Small Business Card: American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is a no annual fee small business card that also features a new account bonus, strong cash rewards, and 0% APR introductory financing. New account holders can earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 on new purchases within the first three months after opening the account. Plus, you earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases up to $50,000 per calendar year. After that, you still earn 1% cash back on all other purchases, and your cash back is automatically credited to your statement balance. Terms apply on the cash back benefits. The card’s 0% introductory APR offer is for any purchases made within the first 12 months after opening the account. Terms apply on the introductory APR offer. After that, your APR will be between 17.49% and 25.99%, depending on creditworthiness (updated as of Dec. 15, 2022).There’s no annual fee for this card.Best Small Business Cards for Cash Back
For small businesses that don’t involve much travel but still want a card that offers them rewards, a small business cash back reward card can be a great fit. To find the best small business card for cash back, we looked at cards that featured large new account bonuses while offering the most possible cash back, to accommodate businesses with large spending needs. If You Want a Cash Back Small Business Card: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
The Capital One Spark Cash Plus has a solid cash back earning structure and a generous new account bonus. The card earns 2% cash back on all purchases with no limits on earning, which is a plus for small businesses with large amounts of spending. Cardholders can also earn up to $1,000 in the first six months of account opening. You earn $500 after spending $5,000 in the first three months and another $500 after spending a total of $50,000 within the first six months after opening the account. There’s a $150 annual fee for this card, but just note that it’s a charge card, not a credit card, meaning that you’re expected to pay your balance in full every month. Business owners with greater spending needs can earn a $200 cash bonus every year that they use their card to spend $200,000 or more, which is enough to cover the card’s $150 annual fee and then some.Best Small Business Cards for Airline Rewards
Airline tickets can be one of the more expensive parts of business travel, especially when employees are traveling with little advanced notice or during peak times. Although the top small business cards for airline rewards usually have annual fees, the perks offered from the card can be worth the annual fee for businesses with frequent travel costs. To find the top small business cards for airline rewards, we considered cards that offer good airline-specific benefits, such as free checked bags, and extra miles for airline-specific spending. We also looked for generous new account bonuses and rewards for business spending.If You Want a Small Business Card for Airline Rewards: United℠ Business Card
The United℠ Business Card offers a generous new account bonus, lots of miles for business purchases, and strong travel benefits when flying United.New account holders can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months after opening the account. This card earns 2x miles per dollar spent on purchases from United, including tickets, inflight food, beverages, Wi-Fi, and other United charges.You also earn 2x miles on dining, food delivery services, at gas stations, at office supply stores, and on local transit and commuting. On all other purchases, you can earn one mile per dollar spent. When you purchase United-operated flight tickets with this card, you will receive one standard first checked bag for free. This is a $140 value roundtrip (terms apply). Cardholders also get priority boarding on United-operated flights. Plus, earn a $100 United® travel credit after seven United flight purchases of $100 or more each anniversary year.The card has a $0 introductory annual fee in the first year, then a $99 annual fee in subsequent years. This card is issued by Chase and has a regular APR of between 20.74% and 27.74% (updated as of Jan. 26, 2023).Best Premium Small Business Cards
Premium small business cards typically offer many benefits for frequent business travelers but come with high annual fees. For this reason, premium cards may be best for small businesses with large expenses or a lot of business travel because these businesses can best take advantage of all that the card has to offer. When selecting the best premium small business cards, we considered it important to balance the value a small business gets from the card with the card’s annual fee. We also looked at the value that the card provides through things like airline or hotel loyalty statuses, travel protections, and the rewards earned. Just like personal premium credit cards, small business premium cards are best for those small businesses that can avoid interest charges by paying statement balances in full and on time. Therefore, the card’s APR and promotional financing were not important factors in our considerations.If You Want a Premium Small Business Card: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a premium small business card that has a lot to offer, but for a high annual fee. New cardholders can earn an impressive 120,000 Membership Rewards bonus points after spending $15,000 within the first three months of account opening. Terms apply.Membership Rewards points can be transferred to American Express hotel or airline partners, such as Delta SkyMiles, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, and British Airways Executive Club. This allows flexibility in earning and redeeming points, which may be preferred for small businesses that don’t want to be tied to one loyalty program.Membership Rewards points can also be redeemed for travel expenses through the Membership Rewards Pay with Points program. Use Pay with Points for all or part of an eligible fare and you get 35% points back after you use points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel, up to 1,000,000 points back per calendar year. Terms apply on rewards points.The card earns 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com and 1x points on all other eligible purchases. Earn 1.5x points on each eligible purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.Although the card has a high annual fee of $695, some of this is offset through statement credits for various purchases. For example, you can receive a yearly $189 CLEAR® credit as well as a $100 credit towards an application for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (worth $85) every four years. Global Entry even includes TSA Pre✔ at no additional charge, making this an easy decision between the two.This card also comes with a $400 annual Dell Technologies statement credit, split into half between January and June and half between July and December (enrollment required). Additionally, the card comes with a yearly $200 airline fee credit. Select one qualifying airline and receive up to $200 in statement credits for incidental fees such as checked bags or in-flight refreshments. Other credits include an annual $360 credit toward Indeed, a $150 Adobe credit toward subscription purchases, and $120 in annual statement credits toward wireless services. The card also comes with hotel loyalty status. Get complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status and Hilton Honors Gold Status as a cardholder. Gold status members can get things like space-available room upgrades and bonus points on stays. If you purchase a round-trip airline ticket entirely with your card, you may also be eligible for covered trip cancellation insurance, and trip delay insurance for delays more than six hours.Finally, there are additional perks to this card, including airline business lounge access, Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits, and discounts on premium private jet programs. This card has a $695 annual fee. It has no foreign transaction fees. The card also includes a Pay Over Time regular APR of between 17.99% to 25.99% based on your creditworthiness (updated as of Nov. 3, 2022).Best Small Business Cards for Travel Rewards
For small business owners who travel frequently as part of their business, a small business card specifically for travel rewards can provide a lot of value. Instead of concentrating on airline or hotel specific rewards, we focused on small business cards that offer transferable travel rewards to allow for flexibility for the business’s travel needs. When selecting the best business travel rewards credit cards, we also thought it was important to consider the value of the travel rewards and the new account bonus potential, as well as the flexibility the card offers in travel rewards earning and redeeming.If You Want a Small Business Card for Travel Rewards: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card from Chase is a travel rewards card that has a generous new account bonus offer and strong bonus rewards for purchases from business-related spending categories. The card offers new applicants an impressive 100,000 point bonus after they spend $15,000 within three months of account opening. Points can be redeemed for travel bookings through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards for 25% more, making the 100,000 points worth at least $1,250 in travel rewards. Points can also be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to airline or hotel partners, such as United MileagePlus, British Airways, Marriott, Hyatt, and others. The card also earns 3x points on up to $150,000 spent each year in combined purchases of shipping, travel, internet, online advertising, cable, and phone services. Plus, the card comes with up to $600 per claim in cell phone protection.There’s a $95 annual fee for this card, and no foreign transaction fees. The regular APR on this card is between 20.24% and 25.24% (updated as of Jan. 17, 2023).Best 0% APR Cards for Small Business Owners
Small business owners who want to take a break from interest charges or pay down existing balances may be interested in a card with 0% APR introductory financing. There are a few small business cards with 0% APR offers, and we looked for the one with the longest promotional financing period. If You Want a 0% APR Small Business Card: U.S. Bank Business Platinum
The U.S. Bank Business Platinum card is a relatively simple small business credit card that offers 0% introductory APR without many other features. This card offers 0% APR introductory financing on both new purchases and balance transfers for 20 billing cycles. After the introductory financing period ends, the variable APR rate will be between 14.24% and 23.24%. You must transfer balances within 30 days from account opening to take advantage of the balance transfer offer. A balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater, will apply. This card doesn’t offer a new account bonus or rewards for spending, but it also has no annual fee.The Takeaway
Being a small business owner can be a tough job, but the right credit card can make it easier. By selecting one of these top small business cards, you can receive the rewards and benefits that best fit the needs of your company.Whether you’re looking for credit cards for your business or yourself, it helps to know your options. At Lantern by SoFi, you can compare different credit card offers to find the one that’s best for you.
Photo credit: iStock/Rowan Jordan
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About the Author
Jason Steele
Jason Steele has been writing about credit cards and award travel since 2008. One of the nation's leading experts in this field, he has contributed to dozens of personal finance and travel outlets and has been widely quoted in the mainstream media. 
