Best Business Credit Cards with Rewards

Yes, you can redeem business credit card rewards for personal use. However, there are reasons you may not want to. After all, business credit cards are designed with business owners in mind, so the cards’ rewards and benefits are geared more toward business needs than consumer needs.

What You Should Know About Business Credit card Rewards

• Business credit card rewards are deductible expenses: Credit card rewards are generally not taxable, but the IRS will expect you to subtract them from your business expenses report. You'll have to consider the rewards as discounts on your business expenses, which will reduce the amount you're able to deduct on your taxes. Plus, if your business is a corporation or an LLC, earning rewards on personal expenses may threaten your liability protections, so your personal assets can be at risk.
• How to use your business rewards: Financial professionals don't recommend mixing your business and personal accounts, especially if you are not the only owner of your organization. So, instead of using rewards for personal purposes, you can use them to boost your business, such as funding some of your company’s operations.
• How to maximize your rewards: Make sure to analyze your business spending when earning rewards. Then, redeem those rewards wisely. To do so, take into consideration the redemption options, as some may offer more value than others. 

It’s also worth keeping in mind that business credit cards are not covered under the CARD Act. So, certain protections like being notified before an interest rate increase do not apply to business credit cardholders. However, many issuers have extended CARD Act protections to include business credit cards. But this is not a legal requirement.

Usually a business rewards card gears toward business related perks anyway. So, you might get more value from one of the best personal rewards credit cards instead.

You need a credit score of 700 or higher to get the best business credit cards. The top business credit cards usually require at least good credit for approval, but there are still options for small business owners with fair, limited or bad credit. In other words, you can get a business credit card with pretty much any credit score, though the most attractive offers are reserved for the most creditworthy applicants.

By the way, it’s your personal credit rating that really matters, even though you’re applying for a business credit card. The higher your score is, and the more income you have relative to your debt, the better your chances of approval will be.

Popular Business Credit Cards by Credit Score Requirement

• Excellent credit: CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® & Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi
• Good credit: Ink Business Cash® Credit Card & Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business 
• Fair credit: Capital One Spark Classic for Business & Office Depot Business Credit Card
• Bad credit: BBVA Compass Secured Visa® Business Credit Card

In general, good-to-excellent credit gets you access to the biggest sign-up bonuses, the highest ongoing rewards rates, and lots of options with no annual fee. People with lower scores are more likely to have to choose between low fees and other perks.

If you’re wondering why credit card companies rely on personal credit to evaluate business credit card applications, a lot has to do with personal credit histories usually being longer than the business version. Since they’re longer, they tend to be more predictive. Most credit card companies also consider a business owner’s personal finances to be intertwined with the business. That’s often true, since personal savings are the top source of start-up capital for new businesses.

Yes, you can apply for some business credit cards with an EIN only, but most credit cards will not allow it. Most business credit cards require a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in addition to an Employer Identification Number (EIN).

The EIN shows that you’re legitimately a business owner. The SSN, or ITIN, allows the credit card company to review your personal credit history when evaluating your application and hold you personally accountable for paying the bill if you’re approved. Almost all business credit cards require personal liability. But there are a few exceptions.

Business Credit Cards You Can Apply for With an EIN Only

• Office Depot Business Credit Card: You can apply with without an SSN if your company makes over $5 million per year and has been in business for at least three years. Or, if you are a government entity (including schools) or a nonprofit, you can apply without personal liability also. This card only works for OfficeMax and Office Depot purchases. This card requires fair business or personal credit.
• Sam's Club® Business Credit Card: You can apply without an SSN if your company makes $5+ million per year, is more than 2 years old and has more than 10 employees. You can only get this card if you’re a Sam’s Club member, and you need good business or personal credit to be approved. You can use the card anywhere that accepts Mastercard.
• SuperAmerica Fleet Credit Cards: You can apply for these cards without an SSN if you’ve been in business for at least three years. You can use it at all SuperAmerica gas stations and 45,000 partner stations nationwide. Both cards require good business or personal credit.
• Shell Small Business Credit Card: You can get this card without any personal liability if you’re applying on behalf of a government entity or non-profit, or if your business has been open for at least three years and does $1+ million in yearly sales. This card requires fair business or personal credit, and you can use it at any of the 12,000 Shell gas stations nationwide.

If you want to apply for a business card with only an EIN, the choices are slim. But your options become far greater when you consider the full range of cards that require personal liability.

If you’re worried that your personal credit isn’t good enough to qualify for a business credit card, remember that you can apply for a secured business card, or even consider applying for a secured personal card and use it for business expenses. So, consider personal options such as the Discover it® Secured Credit Card as well as the likes of the Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card. Both are available to people with bad credit.

Yes, there are two Amazon business credit cards. The first is the Amazon Business American Express Card, which gives 3 points / $1 spent on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases. The other is the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card, which is reserved for Prime members and gives 1 - 5 points per $1 spent on Amazon and Whole Foods purchases. Both versions of the card also give 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations, at U.S. restaurants, and on wireless phone service purchased directly from U.S. providers. And there’s 1% back on everything else.

There’s also an ongoing promotion for the Amazon Business credit cards: New cardholders get a $100+ Amazon.com gift card after approval ($125 for Business Prime).

Amazon business credit cards are designed specifically for small business owners. They are true credit cards, not charge cards, which means it’s possible to carry a balance between months. Cardholders can also choose to forgo earning rewards in favor of a 0% interest payment plan for 60 days (non-Prime) or 90 days (Prime) on all Amazon purchases.

The best Barclays business credit card is the Wyndham Business Credit Card because it offers . Plus, with this card you can earn 8 points per $1 spent on Wyndham reservations and gas purchases, along with 5 points per $1 spent on marketing, advertising services and utilities (and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases). The Wyndham Business Credit Card annual fee is $95 and it requires at least good credit for approval.

In general, a Barclays business credit card is best for frequent business travelers. It is also worth noting that all Barclays business cards offered in the U.S. are co-branded with a specific airline or hotel.

Best Barclays Business Credit Cards in 2022

If you don’t want to be tied to a single airline or hotel, consider a general-purpose business rewards card from other major issuers.

The best Shell business credit card is the Shell Fleet Plus card because it has a $0 annual fee and works at 14,000 U.S. Shell and Jiffy Lube locations. Cardholders also get a rebate of up to 6 cents per gallon, depending on how much they spend each billing period.

If you want to use your card at the most places possible, the best Shell business card is the Shell Fleet Navigator card. Not only is it accepted at Shell and Jiffy Lube, but the fact that it’s a Mastercard means 95% of U.S. fueling stations will take it. You can also get rebates of up to 5 cents per gallon. Shell says this card may have “limited fees” but does not disclose them.

There’s also the plain old Shell Small Business card, with no annual fee, monthly fee or setup fee. You can only use it at Shell and Jiffy Lube. And the only rewards it provides are discounts at participating Jiffy Lube locations. But it does offer the ability to carry a balance between months, something that the other two cards do not.

Here are the Shell business credit cards:

• Shell Fleet Plus card: No annual fees, monthly fees or setup fees. Works at 14,000 U.S. Shell and Jiffy Lube locations. Rebate of up to 6 cents per gallon of gas purchased each billing cycle, depending on the amount spent. Discounts at participating Jiffy Lube locations. Must pay in full each billing cycle. Requires good credit (score of 700+).
• Shell Fleet Navigator card: Limited fees (not disclosed). Works at 95% of U.S. filling stations, wherever Mastercard is accepted, including 14,000 Shell and Jiffy Lube locations. Rebate of up to 5 cents per gallon of gas purchased each billing cycle, depending on the amount spent. Discounts at participating Jiffy Lube locations. Must pay in full each billing cycle. Requires fair credit (score of 640+).
• Shell Small Business card: No annual fees, monthly fees or setup fees. Works at 14,000 U.S. Shell and Jiffy Lube locations. Discounts at participating Jiffy Lube locations. Can carry a balance between billing cycles. Requires good credit (score of 700+).

All three Shell business credit cards provide a few other types of benefits, too. For example, you can control how much your employees are able to spend on the account, and employee cards don’t cost extra. You’ll also get detailed reports on your gas-related spending, including your mileage, fuel prices, non-fuel purchases at the stations and more.

The best Spark business card is Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business because it gives 2% cash back on all purchases and offers a $500 cash bonus for spending $4,500 in the first 3 months. Capital One Spark Cash also has a $0 annual fee the first year ($95 after). 

Best Spark Business Credit Cards

Although Capital One Spark Cash is the best Capital One Spark card overall, the other options are certainly worth considering in the right situation. For example, if you plan to use your card more for travel, the best Spark business card is Capital One Spark Miles for Business. It gives 2 miles / $1 spent and offers a bonus of 50,000 miles.

If you don’t want to pay an annual fee, the best Spark Business card is either Capital One Spark Cash Select - 0% Intro APR for 12 Months or Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business. The rewards aren’t as good, but these cards don’t cost anything to own and offer intro APR on purchases. 

Ultimately, each of the Capital One Spark business cards caters to different needs. But they have a few things in common, too. None of them charge foreign transaction fees, for example. And all of the Spark business cards let you get employee cards at no extra cost.