In order to identify the best business credit cards on the market, WalletHub’s editors regularly compare hundreds of credit card offers based on their initial rewards bonuses, regular rewards earning rates, fees, interest rates and approval requirements. We consider each card through the prism of the average small business owner’s spending habits.
Given that many different types of business credit cards exist, to serve the needs of a diverse community of business owners, WalletHub’s editors select the top cards in a handful of important sub-categories.
In choosing the top business rewards credit cards, WalletHub’s editors consider the net rewards after fees that cardholders would earn over the first two years of use, spending $170,958 per year. This helps to level the playing field between cards with big initial bonuses and those with better ongoing rewards.
Similarly, in identifying the best low interest business credit cards, we consider the length of a cards’ 0% introductory APR period and use expected rewards earnings as a tiebreaker. In all cases, we select the top offers with the lowest two-year cost.
WalletHub’s Key Rating Components
Two-Year Cost: 38% – We evaluate the net cost or potential savings for a typical business cardholder over a two-year period, factoring in annual fees, interest charges, rewards earnings, and common business spending patterns. Negative values indicate overall savings.
Rewards: 29% – We evaluate how well each card generates rewards for business expenses to assess its total earning potential and the value its rewards offer when redeemed.
Editor’s Rating: 12% – WalletHub editors assign scores based on a comprehensive review of each card’s terms, features, and overall competitiveness within the business credit card market.
Fees: 11% – We review all costs associated with owning and using the card, including annual fees and foreign transaction fees.
User Reviews: 7% – We incorporate cardholder feedback to reflect satisfaction with card features and overall usability.
Other Features: 3% – We consider additional benefits such as expense management tools, employee card options, statement credits, and other perks that may add value for businesses.
A few of our card recommendations focus on unique needs, and their scoring weights may vary slightly as a result. Examples include cards with long intro APR offers and cards intended for people with fair or lower credit scores.
How Two-Year Cost Is Calculated
Two-year cost is used to approximate the monetary value of cards for better comparison and is calculated by combining annual and monthly membership fees over two years, adding any one-time fees or other fees (like balance transfer fees), adding any interest costs, and subtracting rewards. Negative amounts indicate savings. When fees or other terms are presented as a range, we use the midpoint for scoring purposes.
Rewards bonuses and credits have been taken into account for two-year cost calculations. However, bonuses applicable to only a very small portion of cardholders are not considered. For example, credits and bonuses awarded for spending or redeeming rewards through a company portal with non-co-branded cards have not been taken into account. Similarly, bonuses and credits related to spending with specific merchants using a non-co-branded card have not been taken into account (for example, if Card A offers credits with DoorDash, this feature would not be factored into calculations because it is hard to assess how many cardholders would use the benefit or exactly how much value they'd get from it).
Cardholder Spending Profiles
Given that different users have different goals and are likely to use their credit cards differently, we identified spending profiles that are representative of different users’ financial priorities and behaviors. For each cardholder type, we have assumed a specific amount of monthly spending by purchase type (e.g., groceries, gas, etc.), as well as an average balance, balance transfer amount, amount spent on large purchases and average monthly payment. Spending assumptions are based on PEX data.
Sources
WalletHub actively maintains a database of 1,500+ credit card offers, from which we select the best business credit cards for different applicants as well as derive market-wide takeaways and trends. The underlying data is compiled from credit card company websites or provided directly by the credit card issuers. We also leverage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop cardholder profiles, used to estimate cards’ potential savings.
