6 Best Business Credit Cards of May 2023

A great business credit card can not only make record-keeping easier and give your company steady purchasing power, it can also earn you plenty of rewards.

These types of credit cards can be valuable financial tools for established businesses, startups and even freelancers. They feature many benefits, like reward categories for advertising or shipping services and financial account management tools. Most lenders also provide free credit cards for employees, and you can create personalized credit limits for each to prevent unexpected expenses.

Read on for our list of the best business credit cards and how to pick the best one for you.

Our Top Picks for the Best Business Credit Cards

• Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - Best for small businesses
• Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards - Best for customizable rewards
• Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card - Best no-annual-fee business card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express - Best business card for everyday spending
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card - Best for cash back without an annual fee
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express - Best for business travel

Best Business Credit Cards Reviews

Why we chose it: This card's bonus categories are ideal for small businesses, and it comes with valuable benefits that more than make up for its already low annual fee.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers rewards on business-related expenses such as postal and freight services, social media advertising, satellite internet plans, airline tickets and more.

You can earn 3 points per $1 on up to $150,000 in combined purchases each anniversary year on the following categories:

• Shipping purchases

• Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines

• Internet, cable and phone services

As stated above, note that this rate only applies to the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases per year. After that, you'll earn 1 point per dollar in those categories.

With this card, you can transfer accumulated points to over 10 airline and hotel partners, including Jetblue, United and Marriott. You can also book trips through the Chase travel portal, which has dozens of offers from other companies as well. And when you redeem rewards through the Chase portal, each point is valued at 1.25 cents apiece instead of the usual one cent.

Points are also valued at 1.25 cents each through the Pay Yourself Back program, which lets you redeem points as statement credits toward qualifying transactions. As of May 2023, shipping, internet, cable and phone service purchases currently qualify for the boosted reward rate, but Chase changes the categories every few months.

If you're a small business owner and want to earn flexible rewards with some travel benefits, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is an excellent choice. However, if your operational costs exceed $150,000 early in the year, you're better off with the Chase Ink Business Premier℠. It has a steeper annual fee ($195), but it offers 2.5% back on every purchase of $5,000 or more, 2% on all other business purchases, 5% through the Chase travel portal and no reward caps.

Best for Customizable Bonus Categories: Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard®

Why we chose it: The Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® lets you choose your top-earning category from a list of six options, and you can change your pick as often as once a month.

Several no-annual-fee cards offer solid reward rates, but few allow cardholders to choose their top-earning category. With this card you can earn:

• 3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas stations, office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom and wireless, computer services or business consulting services

• 2% back on dining

• 1% all on other purchases

You can switch your 3% pick once a month, so if you plan ahead, you can maximize your earnings by tracking your business needs. For example, you could set travel as your preferred bonus category before a business trip and earn 3% back on the flight ticket, hotel, rental car, rideshare services (like Uber) and more.

However, keep in mind that the 3% and 2% cash back rates are limited to the first $50,000 spent in combined purchases yearly. Once you reach the cap, you’ll only earn 1% back.

The card's bonus categories are even more lucrative if you qualify for the Bank of America Preferred Rewards for Business program. Under this program, cardholders can get up to 75% more cash back on their purchases. So instead of the default 3%, you could earn 5.25% back in your preferred category. (Note that, in order to qualify for the program, you must have a Bank of America business checking account and a combined average daily balance of $20,000 or more in Bank of America and Merrill.)

The customization capabilities of Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards are enough to make it stand out. But in addition to that, the card features travel perks that aren't typical for no-annual-fee cards, including auto rental insurance.

All information about the Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® has been collected independently by Money.com.

Why we chose it: The Ink Business Cash® is a solid no-annual-fee business credit card that offers generous rewards and several redemption options, including cash back and travel.

With the Ink Business Cash®, cardholders can get cash back on office-related expenses, gas stations and restaurants. The card offers:

• 5% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined yearly purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services

• 2% back on the first $25,000 spent per year in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants

• 1% back on all other purchases

Note that, while the Ink Business Cash® is advertised as a cash-back credit card, it actually earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. These are typically worth around one cent each and can be redeemed as a statement credit, checking account deposit, gift cards, travel purchases and more through the Chase travel portal.

Keep in mind that the Ink Business Cash® is not the best choice for companies with high operational costs. Businesses that spend more than $25,000 each year in this card’s reward categories might get more value from a card with higher spending caps, like the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

Terms apply. Click here for applicable rates and fees.

Why we chose it: Bonus categories can sometimes be limiting, especially if they don’t align with your spending habits; however, the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express makes it easy to earn rewards daily, by giving 2 points per dollar on all purchases. (Terms apply.)

Credit cards typically offer points or cash back on purchases that fall into specific categories, such as travel or gas stations. With this American Express card, you can earn:

• 2x points per dollar spent on the first $50,000 in purchases each year (1 point thereafter)

• 1 point per dollar all other purchases

(Terms apply)

You can use your points through the Amex travel portal or transfer them to one of the issuer’s airline and hotel partners, which include Delta, Jetblue and Hilton. You can also use them to buy gift cards, make purchases at select online stores and/or redeem for statement credits.

This card features American Express’ Expanded Buying Power, which lets you spend above your credit limit (up to a certain amount). How much extra credit you're granted depends on your payment history, credit record and financial resources. Note that you must pay the amount spent over your credit limit in full each billing cycle, or you'll incur interest and over-limit fees.

If you're looking for a business credit card without an annual fee and with a simple reward system, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is a solid pick. However, note that this card is not ideal if you'd like to redeem your points for statement credits — points are valued at 0.6 cents per dollar this way.

If you prefer statement credit over travel rewards, consider the Blue Business Cash™ Card from American Express. It also earns 2 points per dollar on the first $50,000 spent annually, but your cash back is redeemed as a statement credit at the end of each billing cycle.

Click here for applicable rates and fees.

Why we chose it: The Ink Business Unlimited® offers unlimited 1.5% back on all purchases — one of the highest base reward rates among business credit cards.

Most cash-back cards without an annual fee earn 1% back on most transactions. When they offer higher bonuses, they're limited to specific shopping categories and sometimes have spending caps. The Ink Business Unlimited®, on the other hand, gives 1.5% back on all transactions, without yearly caps

You can redeem your points as statement credits — that is, you can use it to reduce the balance you owe the card — checking account deposits, gift cards or travel bookings through the Chase travel portal. You can also use your points for Amazon and Apple purchases.

This card is ideal for business owners who don't want to keep track of spending categories and yearly caps. However, it doesn’t offer any business-oriented bonus categories, so cardmembers spending big on operational expenses like shipping services, advertisement and more could miss out on earning high rewards.

(Terms apply. Click here for applicable rates and fees.)

Why we chose it: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is an excellent business and travel credit card featuring an impressive list of benefits that few other cards can match.

The card provides around $1,000 in yearly statement credits for purchases at Dell, Indeed, Adobe and U.S. wireless telephone providers. Additionally, it offers:

• 5x points on flights and hotels booked through the American Express Travel portal

• 1.5x points (up to $2 million per year) at U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, software and cloud system providers and shipping providers

• 1.5x points (up to $2 million per year) on purchases of $5,000 or more, regardless of the category

The card also features perks that make it an excellent travel credit card, including:

• Up to $200 in airline fee credits that can cover checked bags, in-flight refreshments and more

• $100 credit for Global Entry or $85 for TSA PreCheck with enrollment (every 4 or 4.5 years, respectively)

• $189 for CLEAR (once per year)

• Access to over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide

• Room upgrades at over 2,000 hotels and resorts and credits for dining and spa treatments at select hotels.

• 35% point refund when they redeem their points through the Amex travel portal for first- or business-class tickets with any airline.
• Terms Apply.

The rebate is also available when cardholders book any service class ticket (even economy) with their preferred airline. (Customers can pick a preferred airline once per year.)Note that the offer only applies to the first 1,000,000 bonus points used per calendar year. Also, to receive the rebate, you'll first need to have enough points saved to cover the total amount of the flight you'd like to book.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has one of the steepest annual fees ($695) in the market. However, it's well worth it if you travel enough to take advantage of its extensive list of benefits.

Click here for applicable rates and fees.

Other business credit cards we considered

American Express® Business Gold Card

Terms apply. Click here for applicable rates and fees.

The American Express® Business Gold Card earns 4x points on your top two spending categories each month, making it ideal for business owners who spend a lot on similar services. The categories that qualify for the 4x bonus rate include airfare (purchased directly from airlines) and U.S. purchases at gas stations, restaurants, shipping providers, select technology providers and media advertisers.

It also features several benefits, including a 25% point rebate when you redeem points for select flights (booked through the Amex travel portal) and insurance for car rentals*, delays and baggage*.

However, the card’s bonus offer is limited to the first $150,000 spent on combined purchases per year, after that; you only get 1x per dollar. Considering this card’s high annual fee ($295), you might be better off with another one if you don't spend much in the Amex card’s select bonus categories.

Wells Fargo Business Elite Signature Card

The Wells Fargo Business Elite Signature lets users choose if they’d prefer to earn cash back or reward points, and each option has a different reward rate.

With the cash-back option, cardholders get an unlimited 1.5% back on all purchases. The points option, on the other hand, earns only 1% back, but you receive an additional 5,000 bonus points each monthly billing cycle you spend $10,000 or more.

The card includes some valuable benefits, such as insurance for travel accidents, rental cars and lost luggage. It also offers a yearly $100 reimbursement for incidental travel fees (like seat upgrades) and doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees, making it a solid option for business trips.

However, while most credit cards let you redeem your cash back or use your points each month, Wells Fargo Business Elite Signature credits rewards quarterly. This means rewards are only available in March, June, September and December.

All information about the Wells Fargo Business Elite Signature has been collected independently by Money.com.

Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card

Why we chose it: The Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card is another solid pick if you want to earn unlimited cash back without worrying about spending caps or tracking bonus categories.

The Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card offers unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase. You can get your money back as a statement credit or a deposit to an eligible Wells Fargo checking or savings account.

The downside is that the cash back is credited quarterly (March, June, September and December). It also doesn’t feature any additional bonus categories like other credit cards with no annual fee.

If you'd rather access your rewards monthly, you can choose to earn points instead. These can be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise, travel bookings and more. However, if you sign up for the reward points program, you'll get one only point for every dollar — each valued at around one cent. Cardmembers who spend $1,000 or more on a billing cycle are also awarded 1,000 extra points.

All information about the Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card has been collected independently by Money.com.

Business Credit Cards Guide

Business credit cards do more than offer high rewards on business expenditures. They separate your personal and business finances and can help you build business credit, showing creditors and vendors how likely you are to make payments on time.

Read on for an overview of how these cards work and how to choose the best one for you.

What is a business credit card?

Business credit cards provide business owners with a separate line of credit from their personal ones, which can make keeping track of a company’s expenses or filing taxes more efficient.

These cards are designed with businesses in mind, and often feature higher credit limits than personal credit cards and free employee cards with customizable spending limits. They also include account management tools such as automated quarterly and year-end summaries and free access to accounting programs, like Quickbooks.

Business credit cards offer generous rewards for everyday business expenses, including office supplies, phone plans and social media advertising. And most cards also have additional bonus rates for popular everyday spending categories like dining, gas and travel.

Difference between business credit cards and personal credit cards

One of the main differences between business and personal credit cards is to which credit agencies issuers report their activity and how they impact your credit history.

The account activity on personal credit cards gets reported to the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. These agencies collect consumer financial information, such as payment history and monthly balances, so personal credit cards directly impact your credit report.

On the other hand, activity on business credit cards gets reported to business credit bureaus, such as Dun & Bradstreet. For this reason, business credit cards generally don’t affect your personal credit score. However, while business card issuers mainly report to business credit bureaus, they might report late or missed payments to consumer credit agencies, which impacts your financial history and odds of getting approved for new credit lines.

Another difference between personal and business credit cards is that the latter are not protected by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act). This act includes several consumer protection provisions, such as a requirement that credit card issuers alert customers of interest rate hikes at least 45 days in advance.

However, although the CARD Act only applies to consumer credit cards, some business card issuers do add similar protections to their cards by choice.

Types of business credit cards

Here’s a rundown of how the differences between the three main types of business credit cards:

Small business credit cards

Most business cards are available for all business sizes; however, some cards offer perks and benefits that could benefit businesses that don’t have the staff or level of operational expenses that big corporations have. These business cards can benefit small businesses and even individual freelancers.

Like consumer credit cards, small business credit cards have point programs that allow the primary cardholders to earn points for rewards such as hotel nights, flight tickets, cash back and gift cards.

Other business credit cards earn cash back rewards, which can typically be redeemed as statement credits or checking account deposits. However, nowadays, it’s common to find business cards that are advertised as cash back credit cards but also let cardholders redeem their rewards as gift cards, travel bookings or through online store checkouts, for example.

Most small business credit cards require a personal guarantee, which means that if the company ever goes bankrupt or is behind on payments, you’ll be personally liable for the remaining debt on the card.

Corporate credit card

Corporate credit cards are usually geared towards larger corporations with a well-established business history, significant revenue and hundreds or more employees.

A business must be registered as C-Corp, S-Corp or LLC to qualify, not as a sole proprietorship or partnership (although some card issuers welcome all business structures). Also, the company is responsible for paying the card, not the owner directly. This means that approval of the account is based mainly on the company's finances — unlike small business cards, which take into account an individual's credit report.

Besides these features, corporate cards are no different from small business ones. They both offer reward rates for spending categories and may feature business and travel perks such as statement credits for software purchases or discounted airfare.

Charge cards

Business charge cards don’t have pre-set spending limits like regular credit cards do. Instead, they must be paid in full each month and do not give the option of making minimum payments. Because you’re paying your debt in full every month, these cards don’t charge interest either. If the bill is not paid on time at the end of a billing cycle, you’ll incur late fees and other penalties, depending on your card’s agreement.

Not having an established credit limit doesn’t mean charge cards can be used indiscriminately. Each transaction you make is approved individually based on your income and payment history.

How do business credit cards work?

While they differ in some ways, business credit cards work pretty much in the same way as personal cards do. With the exception of charge cards, both business and personal cards give users access to a revolving line of credit, meaning you can make purchases or take out cash advances up to a certain amount, known as the credit limit.

You'll receive an account statement at the end of each billing cycle disclosing the total amount owed and a minimum amount due. Paying the full balance is recommended to avoid paying interest charges and late fees and to keep your account in good standing. Making the minimum payment also allows you to avoid late fees, but it's not recommended as you'll start raking up interest charges on your remaining balance.

Business credit scores

Business credit scores are calculated based on your business’s credit report, which can include details such as the number of employees, debt owed and payment history. Similar to your credit score, a business credit score tells issuers how likely or not a company is to pay back debt.

Most business credit scores are ranked on a scale of 0 to 100. For example, the PAYDEX scoring system by Dun & Bradstreet classifies companies with ratings of 80 or more as prompt payers, while those with scores below 50 are at a high risk of making payments 30 or more days past due.

If you’d like to check out your company’s credit score, you’ll have to either pay a one-time fee or subscribe to the bureaus’ credit monitoring services. Here’s where you can request the report and score of each business credit bureau:

• Dun & Bradstreet
• Equifax
• Experian

Do note that to get a business credit score from Dun & Bradstreet, you first need a D-U-N-S (Data Universal Numbering System) number. You can request one for free here.

EIN number

An Employer Identification Number, or EIN, is a unique nine-digit number issued to your business by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). An EIN is necessary to file taxes, open a business bank account and apply for business licenses and credit cards.

Independent contractors and freelancers are generally not required to have an EIN; only business owners with employees do. However, there are exceptional cases, so check out this guide from the IRS to check if you need an EIN. You can apply online using the IRS’s EIN Assistant if you need one.

How to get a business credit card

You should evaluate your credit history yourself before applying for a business credit card so you can get an idea of what lenders will see. This step is particularly important if your business doesn't have a long credit history.

Creditors will also ask for detailed information about your company’s revenue and expenses. Providing as much documentation as possible will help you get the best terms possible.

To get the card that meets your needs, review your business spending and compare several cards based on their fees and interest rates, bonus rewards, redemption options, ongoing benefits and welcome offers. For example, if you travel often, you may want a card that offers lost baggage and car rental insurance.

Requirements for a business credit card

Most applications can be completed online in a couple of minutes. Here are some details you’ll likely need to provide during the process:

• Legal name
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Home address
• Email address
• Phone number
• Annual income
• Business name and contact information
• Number of employees
• Business type and category
• Legal business structure
• Employer identification number (EIN)
• Estimated revenue
• Monthly expenses

Pros and Cons of having a business credit card

Latest News in Business Credit Cards

• Credit card debt and delinquencies have been on the rise, causing banks to get stricter with their approvals. Read more about it in our article Why Getting Approved for a Credit Card is Becoming Harder (and What You Can Do About It).

• Total credit card debt has increased rapidly, prompting many to wonder how they should go about handling their credit card bills. We explain how in What Will It Take To Pay Off My Credit Card?

• Inflation and increased interest rates resulted in a significant increase of new credit cards applications. Read more about it in American Are Getting Tons of New Credit Cards to Cope with Inflation.

How We Chose the Best Business Credit Cards

We evaluated dozens of business credit cards based on their rewards rates, ongoing benefits, fees and redemption options.

• Reward programs. We evaluated the rewards programs of each card and considered how their spending categories could help businesses maximize earnings.

• Ongoing benefits. We preferred cards that feature several ongoing benefits, like extended warranty, purchase protection, rental car insurance, travel coverage and more.

• Introductory offers. If some cards had similar bonus rates and benefits, we compared their welcome bonuses and intro APR offers.

• Fees. We considered each card’s annual, foreign transaction, cash advance and balance transfer fees.

Summary of Money’s Best Business Credit Cards of 2023

• Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card - Best no-annual fee card
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card - Best for unlimited cash back
• Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - Best for small businesses
• Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards - Best for customizable bonus categories
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express - Best for everyday spending
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express - Best for business travel

* Insurance disclosures for American Express Cards on this page:

Trip Delay Insurance: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Global Assist Hotline: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card Members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

Extended Warranty, Purchase Protection, Baggage Insurance Plan: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

Car Rental Loss & Damage Insurance: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.