Many of the top points programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Venture Miles, and even individual airlines and hotel programs offer business cards that earn the same points (and sometimes even more of them) as their standard consumer cards – allowing you to keep adding to your points total, so long as you can get approved for a business card.
That’s the part that trips most travelers up, leading them to rule out these offers altogether. That could be a mistake: It’s much easier to qualify for a business credit card than you might assume – and far less intimidating than you may think.
Still, credit cards are serious business. You should never apply for a credit card if you’re already in debt, and never charge more to a credit card than you can afford to pay off immediately. That’s especially true when looking at business credit cards, as the spending required to earn a big bonus is often higher than what you will find on the consumer card side of things.
Here’s our list of the best business credit cards for travelers looking to add to their stash of points and miles this year.
Related reading: Are You Eligible for a Small Business Credit Card? Everything You Need to Know
The Chase Ink Cash Back Business Cards
The Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card are two no annual fee cash back business cards that pack a huge punch.
Small business owners who already have a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points like the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or even the Chase Sapphire Reserve® should give these two Ink Business cards a long, hard look. With one of those cards in your wallet, the cash back from these two Ink cards can be turned into Ultimate Rewards points, making the rewards much more valuable – especially if your ultimate goal is travel.
Not sure which one to pick? Chase doesn’t restrict you from having both, so that’s an option. And while they offer some of the same benefits, there are other key differences to be aware of between the Ink Cash vs. the Ink Unlimited cards.
Read More: Chase Ink Cash vs Ink Unlimited: Which Offers the Best Return for Your Business?
Full Benefits of the Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card
- $750 cash back (or 75,000 points) after spending $6,000 in the first three months of card membership.
- The card has no annual fee
- 5x points (5% cash back) on internet, cable, and phone service; office supply purchases on your first $25,000 of spending each year.
- 2x points (2% cash back) on restaurants and gas stations on your first $25,000 of spending each year.
- 1x points (1% cash back) on all other eligible spending
- Primary rental car collision and damage waiver coverage
- Lost luggage insurance of up to $3,000 per person per trip
- Add employee cards at no additional cost
Click Here to learn more about the Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card.
Full Benefits of the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card
- $750 cash back (or 75,000 points) after spending $6,000 in the first three months of card membership.
- The card has no annual fee
- 1.5x points (1.5% cash back) on all purchases
- Primary rental car collision and damage waiver coverage
- Lost luggage insurance of up to $3,000 per person per trip
- Add employee cards at no additional cost
Click Here to learn more about the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Business Card
If the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve are Chase’s top travel rewards cards – then the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is easily its top business travel rewards card.
The Ink Business Preferred card mixes a great welcome bonus, solid ongoing spend return, and strong travel benefits. You’ll also earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $15,000 in the first three months of card membership.
It’s the largest offer we’ve ever seen on the card. If you’re a small business owner, it’s a great time to pick it up to earn a huge pile of points.
Full Benefits of the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $15,000 in the first three months of card membership
- Earn 3x Points Per dollar spent on your first $150,000 spent each year in combined purchases for travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, and phone service, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines.
- Earn 1x Point: Earn an unlimited 1 Point Per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Each point is worth 25% More: When booking through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal each point will be worth 1.25 cents. That means the 100,000 point welcome bonus offer is worth at least $1,250.
- 1:1 Points Transfer: Transfer points to Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners like United, Southwest, Hyatt, and many more. One point equals one airline mile or hotel point.
- $600 of Cell Phone Insurance: Use your Ink Business Preferred Card to pay your cell phone bill and it will cover up to $600 for repairs or replacement after a $100 deductible. Damaged and stolen phones are covered – lost phones are not.
- Get additional employee cards at no additional cost
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $95 Annual Fee
Click Here to learn more about the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
You may already know and love The Platinum Card® from American Express. Meet its cousin – for small business owners.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has many of the same great benefits. And while it requires a lot of spending in the first three months of card membership, it can reward you with 120,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 in the first three months.
So if you have a small business and can manage this kind of spending, it’s a fantastic way to earn a ton of points with one of our favorite small business cards.
Full Benefits of the Business Platinum Card® From American Express
- Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 within the first three months of card membership (but check in an incognito browser to see if you can find a bigger,150,000-point bonus!)
- Earn 5x Membership Rewards points on flights and hotels booked through amextravel.com on up to $500
- Earn 1.5x Membership Rewards points on all eligible purchases of $5,000 or more on up to $2 million spent each year.
- Earn 1.5x Membership Rewards points at electronic goods retailers, software and cloud service providers, U.S. construction materials, hardware supplies, and shipping providers on up to $2 million spent each year.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Receive up to $200 per calendar year for airline incidental fees at one airline. Read up on the best ways to take advantage of this credit.
- Lounge Access: Receive access to Amex Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), Escape Lounges, Plaza Premium lounges, and membership in the Priority Pass Select program.
- Up to a $100 Application Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: If you apply for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and pay with the Amex Business Platinum Card, the application cost will be reimbursed ($100 for Global Entry and $85 for TSA PreCheck).
- 35% Points Rebate: Receive a 35% rebate on flight redemptions on your selected airline, up to 1,000,000 bonus points per calendar year. This is my favorite benefit the card offers. Read more about this lucrative perk.
- $400 in Annual Statement Credits at Dell: Receive up to $400 in statement credits annually by getting $200 twice a year for U.S. purchases with Dell.
- Up to $360 in Annual Statement Credits at Indeed: Get $360 annual statement credit on all Indeed hiring and recruiting products. Cardholders will get up to $90 each quarter. Enrollment is required.
- Up to $150 in Annual Statement Credits on Adobe Products: Get $150 each year to spend on select Adobe purchases, including Adobe Creative Cloud, and Acrobat Pro DC with e-sign. The benefit is valid only on purchases of annual prepaid subscriptions.
- $120 in Annual Wireless Phone Service Credits: Business Platinum Cardholders will get up to $120 in statement credits each year for purchases made directly with any U.S. wireless telephone provider. The credits will be issued $10 per month ($120 per year). Any unused amount will be forfeited.
- $189 in Annual Statement Credits for CLEAR: Get up to a $189 annual credit for CLEAR, the privately run security program. Just pay for your membership with your Business Platinum Card and the credit should kick in automatically.
- Hotel Status: The Platinum card offers complimentary Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors Gold status just for being a card member.
- Annual Fee: The business version of the card boasts an annual fee of $695 (see rates & fees).
Click Here to learn more about the Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
American Express® Business Gold Card
Not interested in the $695 annual fee on the Business Platinum Card from American Express? The American Express® Business Gold Card is another great option that allows you to earn a ton of Membership Rewards points.
To start, you’ll earn 70,000 points after spending $10,000 in the first three months of card membership, though we’ve seen some bigger bonuses via personal referral links or looking in an incognito browser.
But what makes the Gold card a great option is that you’ll earn 4x points per dollar spent on the two categories where your business spent the most each month (up to $150,000 spent in combined purchases in a calendar year). Those categories include:
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
- U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
- U.S. purchases for shipping
If gas is one of your top business expenses, you won’t find a better return than 4x per dollar spent at the pump.
The card has a $295 annual fee (see rates & fees).
Click Here to learn more about the American Express® Business Gold Card.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
The Blue Business Plus® Credit Card from American Express is one of our favorite no-annual fee credit cards, period (see rates & fees). It earns 2x Membership Rewards points on all purchases up to $50,000 a year.
It’s a great card for businesses that have a lot of spending in categories that wouldn’t otherwise earn a multiplier from other cards.
- Welcome Offer: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Earn 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in purchases each year. Earn 1x points thereafter.
- No Annual Fee (see rates & fees)
Click Here to learn more about the Blue Business Plus Card from American Express.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
If you already have a card like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business is worth a look to keep adding your points balance.
The card starts with a welcome offer bonus of 50,000 miles after spending $4,500 in the first three months of card membership. You’l also earn an unlimited 2x miles on every dollar you spend with no limits or category restrictions.
You’ll also receive up to a $100 fee credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
The card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, and then $95 each year after that.
And while the miles you earn are branded Spark Miles, they work the exact same as Venture miles and can easily be combined if you hold both.
Related reading: 7 Sweet Spots to Use Capital One Miles
Click Here to learn more about the Capital One Spark Miles for Business
Bottom Line
Whether you are looking for your first business card or want to keep adding to your stash of points and miles, these are the best business credit cards for travel that should be in your wallet. And remember: You don’t need $1 million or more in revenue or multiple employees to be eligible for a business credit card.