How to Choose a Business Credit Card

Step 1: Map your spending

Pull three months of bank and card statements and sort business costs into buckets: advertising, shipping, software, office supplies, internet and phone, gas, meals, travel, and everything else. Multiply by four for a yearly estimate. This number decides more than anything else which card wins.

Step 2: Run the rewards math, including caps

Bonus rates usually stop at a cap. Compare what you'd actually earn:

Subtract the annual fee from what you'd earn. A $375 card has to beat a no-fee 2% card by more than $375 a year — or replace costs through credits you'd use anyway. Check whether you'd rather have points or cash; see cash back vs. points.

Step 3: Decide what features you need

• A 0% intro APR for a big early purchase: Chase Ink Business Unlimited and Ink Business Cash (12 months), Amex Blue Business Plus and Blue Business Cash (12 months), U.S. Bank Triple Cash (12 billing cycles, purchases and balance transfers).
• No foreign transaction fee if you buy from overseas suppliers: Ink Business Preferred, Amex Business Gold, Capital One Spark Cash cards and Venture X Business.
• Free employee cards with limits: Chase Ink Business Unlimited and Preferred, the Amex Blue Business cards and Capital One Spark Cash cards. See employee expense cards.
• Business credit reporting: U.S. Bank Triple Cash reports to Dun & Bradstreet.

Step 4: Check credit and liability

Most business cards here need good to excellent personal credit (roughly 690+), and some Capital One cards ask for 720+. Every bank small-business card requires a personal guarantee. If you're a registered entity with cash in the bank and want to avoid that, look at no-personal-guarantee cards.

Also check how the card reports to your personal credit. Chase, Amex, Bank of America and U.S. Bank report only serious delinquencies, so heavy spending won't raise your personal utilization. Capital One reports full activity on most Spark cards. More in business card vs. personal card.

Step 5: Don't plan to carry a balance

Business cards generally lack CARD Act protections, so issuers can raise rates on existing balances with less notice. Charge-style cards like the Amex Business Gold and Spark Cash Plus are designed to be paid in full. If you need to finance a purchase, use a true 0% intro APR and pay it off before it ends.

Step 6: Don't choose on the bonus alone

Welcome offers change often and can come with large spending requirements. For example, the Capital One Venture X Business currently offers 150,000 bonus miles after $30,000 in spending in the first 3 months (offer changes often), and carries a $395 fee. That's attractive for a business already spending $10,000 a month, but a stretch for most new businesses. Pick a card for its ongoing earning first, then treat any bonus as extra.

Quick matches

• Spread-out spending, want simple: Chase Ink Business Unlimited or Amex Blue Business Cash.
• Heavy ads and shipping: Chase Ink Business Preferred.
• Shifting top categories and use of credits: Amex Business Gold.
• New business: startup business cards.

Card terms change, so confirm current details on the issuer's site before applying. Or skip ahead to the best business credit cards.

Frequently Asked Questions