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You’d be surprised at what qualifies you for a small business credit card. Small businesses aren’t always multi-million dollar corporations — whether you’re an Instacart shopper, Uber driver, eBay reseller, paid child care provider, or have another side hustle, you’re eligible to apply for a small business credit card.

These are some of the very best small business credit cards available right now, as chosen by Insider’s experts.

Compare the best small business credit cards

The best small business credit card reviews

Chase Ink Business Preferred

If you’re looking to earn valuable, flexible rewards points on your small business spending, the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program is among the best options. If you already have one of Chase’s popular personal rewards cards — like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve® — the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is an ideal business card companion.

Like those cards, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and while you can keep them on that card and separate from the rest of your stash, you can also combine them with the rest of your points. These points can be traded for cash back, transferred to frequent flyer and hotel loyalty partners, or used to purchase travel with a 25% bonus (or a 50% bonus if you move your points over to your Chase Sapphire Reserve®). 

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth an average of 1.8 cents apiece according to Insider’s valuations, primarily because you can transfer them to airline and hotel partners for high-value award flights and stays.

What the experts love: A great welcome bonus offer, 3x points on up to $150,000 spent per year in select popular business categories.

What the experts don’t love: You have to spend $15,000 in the first three months to earn the 100,000-point welcome bonus offer, so this offer won’t be ideal for smaller businesses with less spending.

Read more about the Ink Business Preferred: 

• Ink Business Preferred credit card review
• Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Ink Business Preferred: Which travel credit card is best for you?
• 5 ways to use 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Ink Business Preferred credit card

Amex Business Platinum

The small business version of American Express’ famed Platinum Card used to be our pick for the top business card, but the annual fee has since increased and it’s become a bit more of a niche product. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
is potentially useful for mid-sized businesses that spend a lot on flights and travel, but less valuable for sole proprietors and very small operations.

The Business Platinum card added new benefits, including new 1.5x earning categories on eligible purchases at US construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, software and cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year as well as annual statement credits** for wireless, Indeed, Adobe purchases, and Dell. 

Like Chase points, Amex points have a high value according to Insider’s valuations — 1.8 cents apiece, on average, again based on the ability to transfer points to airline and hotel partners for award travel.

What the experts love: You’ll get lots of perks, including statement credits, plus 5x Amex Membership Rewards points on airfare and prepaid hotels when you book through Amex Travel. The card also comes with 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases with your card within the first 3 months of card membership.

What the experts don’t love: Very high annual fee of $695, plus a high minimum spending requirement to earn the welcome bonus offer. Says Benét Wilson, credit cards editor at The Points Guy, “If you don’t travel a lot, this may not be your best choice since you don’t earn higher points on spending categories most popular for businesses.”

Read more about the Business Platinum card:

• Amex Business Platinum card review
• 10 Amex Business Platinum card benefits you’ll want to activate right away, so you can enjoy hotel elite status, statement credits, and more
• Amex Platinum vs Amex Business Platinum: Both offer excellent welcome bonuses and perks — here’s how to decide which card is best for you
• Amex Business Platinum versus Amex Business Gold: How to decide which small-business card is best for you

Amex Blue Business Plus

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express doesn’t usually have a welcome offer, but right now it’s offering a bonus of 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the card within your first 3 months of card membership. It’s a rare points-earning business card that doesn’t charge an annual fee; you’ll earn 2 points per dollar on the first $50,000 you spend each calendar year, with no bonus categories to keep track of. 

According to Insider’s points and miles valuations, Amex points are worth 1.8 cents apiece on average, so you’re getting a 3.6% return on all your business spending up to $50,000 each year.

What the experts love: 2x points on up to $50,000 spent per year (then 1x), with no annual fee. “Plus, pay no interest on new purchases for the first year. That’s very helpful for small business owners,” says Sara Rathner, credit card expert at NerdWallet.

What the experts don’t love: “If you’re looking for a lucrative welcome offer to give you an instant points boost, this isn’t the card to give you that,” says Benét Wilson. (The Blue Business Plus card doesn’t usually offer a welcome bonus but is currently offering 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the card within your first 3 months of card membership).

Read more about the Blue Business Plus card:

• Blue Business Plus card review
• Use these 3 Amex cards to earn maximum rewards points for every purchase you make
• The Amex Blue Business Plus and Business Cash cards don’t usually offer a welcome bonus, but new offers have sweetened the deal

Amex Blue Business Cash card

If you prefer straightforward cash-back earning without having to worry about keeping track of bonus categories, the no-annual-fee American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card should be on your shortlist.

With this card, you earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases, on the first $50,000 spent per calendar year, then 1% back (cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars). There’s also a good welcome bonus offer of $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your card in your first 3 months.

For small businesses with big expenses on the horizon, there’s a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from account opening (then a 17.49% – 25.49% Variable APR) that can help you save some money on interest, as well. 

What the experts love: Earning 2% cash back on all purchases on up to $50,000 spent per year (then 1%) with no annual fee is hard to beat, an introductory 0% APR can give you some breathing room.

What the experts don’t love: The card doesn’t always offer a welcome bonus.

Read more about the Amex Blue Business Cash:

• American Express Blue Business Cash card review

Capital One Spark Cash Plus

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus
earns unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 2% cash back on all other purchases. That’s it. No points values or conversions, no redemption minimums. Rewards won’t expire for the life of the account, and you can redeem any amount of cash back. The card has an annual fee of $150, and it currently offers $500 after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months, and $500 after spending $50,000 in the first 6 months of account opening.

At first glance, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express might seem like a better option, since it earns 2x points and doesn’t have an annual fee. However, keep in mind that while 2x points may be more valuable than 2% cash if you redeem strategically for travel by transferring to partners, you can’t redeem Membership Rewards points outright for cash. You can redeem them for a statement credit, but they’ll only be worth 0.6 cents each. That means that effectively, the Amex card only offers 1.2% “cash” back, compared to the no-strings-attached 2% from the Capital One Spark Cash Plus.

What the experts love: You earn the same 2% back everywhere, no preset spending limit since it’s a charge card.

What the experts don’t love: Other business credit cards offer a great return on spending in some purchase categories.

Read more about the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card:

• Capital One Spark Cash Plus card review
• Capital One has introduced 3 new Spark cards for small-business owners, and they’re worth a look if you like earning cash back

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business
is a great option if you don’t want a complicated rewards credit card strategy but you want choices in how you redeem your miles from the one card you do use. You can transfer them to over a dozen Capital One partners or you can use miles to cover your business’ travel expenses from your credit card statement.

Capital One miles are worth an average of 1.7 cents each, according to Insider’s valuations, because you can often get outsized value when you transfer miles to partners. If you want to keep it simple, there’s also the option to use your miles to book travel through the Capital One portal, or redeem them at a rate of 1 cent each to “erase” eligible travel purchases from your card statement.

Beyond that, you can redeem Capital One miles for cash back or gift cards. So if you don’t want to be locked into just one way to use your rewards, this card could make sense.

What the experts love: “The flat 2 miles per dollar spent that you earn on this card transfer to more than a dozen airline and hotel partners, plus you earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked with the card through Capital One Travel,” says Wilson.

What the experts don’t love: No 0% APR period, not as many perks as some other cards with a similar annual fee.

Read more about the Spark Miles for Business card:

• Capital One Spark Miles for Business review
• Capital One Spark Miles versus Capital One Spark Cash card comparison
• Capital One miles are now more valuable with partners like British Airways and Air Canada, thanks to an improved 1:1 transfer ratio

Chase Ink Business Unlimited

The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a simple one at first glance, earning unlimited 1.5% cash back. However, just like the consumer Chase Freedom Flex℠
and Chase Freedom Unlimited® cards, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has a trick up its sleeve. Although the card is marketed as “cash back,” it actually earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points that you can redeem for cash (1 point = 1 cent).

That means that you can combine the points earned from the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card with the ones you earn from cards like the Ink Preferred, or the personal Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and either earn a bonus when you redeem them for travel through Chase, or transfer them to travel partners. Combined with an Ink Preferred, you’ll get a guaranteed 1.5–3 points per dollar spent.

The card also offers a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months, followed by a 16.99% – 22.99% Variable, so it’s a good choice if you have expenses coming up that you want to spread out over time.

What the experts love: “The current welcome bonus offer is especially impressive for a no-annual-fee card,” says Silbert.

What the experts don’t love: This card isn’t as valuable on its own — you need another Chase card to truly maximize the rewards.

Read more about the Ink Business Unlimited card:

• Ink Business Unlimited card review
• The Chase Ink business cards all come with hefty welcome bonuses, and the best one depends mostly on how you spend and travel

Amex Business Gold

If you don’t want to pay the higher annual fee of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Business Gold Card
is a good alternative. And depending on your spending habits, the Business Gold could actually be a more rewarding choice, thanks to the ability to earn 4x points on popular business spending categories on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year in the two select categories where your business spent the most each month; then 1x. 

Eligible 4x categories are:

• Airfare purchased directly from airlines
• US gas stations
• US restaurants (including takeout and delivery)
• US shipping providers
• US computer hardware, software, and cloud systems from select technology providers
• US purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)

This card currently comes with a big welcome offer of 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of card membership (worth $1,260 based on Insider’s valuations). Cardholders also receive a decent selection of travel and shopping perks, including a 25% points rebate on first- and business-class flights (or economy flights on your selected airline) booked through Amex Travel.

What the experts love: High level of customization when it comes to where you earn the most rewards 

What the experts don’t love: Wilson notes that it’s the only premium Amex card that doesn’t offer a statement credit to offset the annual fee.

Read more about the Amex Business Gold card:

• Amex Business Gold card review
• Amex Gold versus Amex Business Gold: Which card is best for you?

Chase Ink Business Cash

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is another solid Chase entry, and just like with the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, you can pool the “cash” you earn with points from a points-earning card, effectively converting your cash into (potentially) more valuable points.

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is an especially good option if you can maximize its bonus categories, including office supply stores, internet, cable, and restaurants, among others. Cardholders earn 5% cash back (5x points) at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services, and 2% cash back (2x points) at gas stations and restaurants. You’ll earn 5% and 2% in these categories on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year (then 1%), and 1% cash back (1 point per dollar) on all other purchases with no caps.

New cardholders can also take advantage of a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months (then a 16.99% – 22.99% Variable APR), making this card a good choice for big purchases you want to pay off over several months.

What the experts love: No annual fee, you can earn up to 5% cash back 

What the experts don’t love: Not the best option if you don’t spend a lot within the 5% cash-back categories

Read more about the Ink Business Cash card:

• Ink Business Cash card review
• The Chase Ink Business Unlimited and Ink Business Cash are both great cards with no annual fee — the better option for you depends on your spending

US Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards

If you’re looking for a rewards-earning small-business card with a generous 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers, the U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards Card is an excellent choice. Cardholders receive a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 billing cycles, followed by a 18.24% – 27.24% Variable APR, which is very uncommon on business cards.

The card’s welcome offer and earnings aren’t anything to sniff at, either. New cardholders can earn $500 cash back after spending $4,500 on purchases on the account holder’s card in the first 150 days of opening your account (authorized user purchases won’t count, however).

You’ll also earn 5% cash back on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked through the US Bank Rewards Center, 3% cash back on eligible purchases at gas stations and EV charging stations, office supply stores, cell phone service providers, and restaurants, and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

Another unique feature of the card is an annual $100 statement credit for recurring software subscription expenses like FreshBooks or QuickBooks. If you already subscribe to these services, the statement credit is a nice bonus — and it’s particularly unusual for a no-annual-fee card.

What the experts love: Long intro APR on purchases and balance transfers, good bonus and earning rates, software subscription statement credit

What the experts don’t love: Foreign transaction fees

Read more about the US Bank Triple Cash Rewards card:

• US Bank Triple Cash Rewards card review

US Bank Business Platinum Card

While it doesn’t earn rewards or come with a welcome bonus, the U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card might be just what your business needs if you don’t want to get hit with big interest charges on large purchases you can’t pay off all at once.

New cardholders qualify for a 0% Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 18 billing cycles (balance transfers must be made within 60 days of account opening), followed by a 16.24% – 25.24% (Variable) APR.

What the experts love: Ultra-long intro 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers

What the experts don’t love: No rewards, foreign transaction fees

Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards credit card

Being able to pick your own bonus categories can go a long way toward helping your small business maximize its spending. The no-annual-fee Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
is a good pick if you want this kind of flexibility, especially if your spending habits tend to change from month to month.

Each month, cardholders can choose to earn 3% cash back in one category from this list:

• Gas stations
• Office supply stores
• Travel
• TV, telecom, and wireless
• Computer services 
• Business consulting services

Otherwise, the card earns 2% cash back on dining purchases and 1% back on all other eligible purchases. Keep in mind the 3% and 2% cash back categories are capped at a combined $50,000 per year in purchases; after that, you’ll earn 1% cash back.

However, if you’re a Bank of America Preferred Rewards for Business customer, you can earn up to 75% more cash back, depending on your rewards tier. At the highest level, you could be earning a whopping 5.25% back in your chosen category.

There’s a good welcome offer of a $300 statement credit after making $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening. Cardholders also receive a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 9 billing cycles, followed by a 14.49% – 24.49% Variable APR.

What the experts love: Ability to customize a 3% cash back category each month, good welcome bonus offer

What the experts don’t love: $50,000 annual cap on 3% and 2% categories, foreign transaction fees

Read more about the Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards card:

• Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards card review
• The best Bank of America credit cards in 2023

Capital One Spark Classic for Business

Whether you have a new business or just don’t have a ton of credit history, the Capital One®️ Spark®️ Classic for Business
could be a good stepping stone. It’s possible to get approved for the card with just fair credit, whereas most other small-business cards that earn rewards require a good or even excellent credit score.

The card offers 1% cash back on all purchases, which isn’t spectacular, but as a starter business card, it’s not bad. There are no annual fees or foreign transaction fees, and employee cards are free to add (you’ll earn rewards for their purchases, too).

You’ll also receive a handful of good benefits, including secondary car rental insurance, purchase protection against damage or theft, extended warranty on eligible items, and travel and emergency assistance services.

What the experts love: You only need fair credit to be considered for approval, decent benefits for a starter card, no foreign transaction fees or annual fee

What the experts don’t love: Card only earns 1% cash back across the board, no welcome bonus offer

Airline business credit cards

Welcome offer: Varies

If you fly often for work, and you’re loyal to one particular airline, then it could be worth getting an airline’s co-branded credit card. In addition to earning frequent flyer miles on every purchase, you’ll get a variety of perks like free checked bags and priority boarding. 

Each airline credit card has slightly different terms and benefits, but these are some of the best options to consider for your business.

Delta

• Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card (read our Gold Delta SkyMiles Business card review)
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card (read our Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business card review)
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card (read our Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card review)

United Airlines

• United℠ Business Card (read our United Business card review)
• United Club℠ Business Card
   

American Airlines

• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® (read our Citi American Airlines Business card review)
• AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®
  (read our Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business card review)

Southwest Airlines

• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card (read our Southwest Premier Business card review)
• Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card (read our Southwest Performance Business card review)

Alaska Airlines

• Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card
  (read our Alaska Business card review)

Hotel business credit cards

Welcome offer: Varies

If you frequently travel for business, a hotel business credit card could also make sense. You’ll earn hotel points on all your spending, and some cards offer complimentary elite status and annual free reward nights.

The benefits and bonuses vary, but here are some top options to consider:

Hilton

• The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card (read our Hilton Business card review)

Marriott 

• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (read our Marriott Bonvoy Business card review)

Hyatt

• World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (read our Hyatt Business card review)

IHG

• IHG® Rewards Premier Business Credit Card (read our IHG Premier Business card review)

Wyndham

• Wyndham Rewards® Earner Business Card
  (read our Wyndham Earner Business card review)

How our experts chose the best small business credit cards

Personal Finance Insider evaluated dozens of business credit cards that are currently open to new applicants, including several no-annual-fee business cards. We narrowed the list down based on the following criteria:

• Sign-up bonus — Does the card offer a valuable welcome bonus offer to new cardholders who meet a minimum spending requirement?
• Ongoing rewards — Beyond the welcome bonus offer, does the card offer a competitive rate of points or cash back on purchases?
• Other features — Does the card come with any additional benefits, such as travel protection, free employee cards, or car rental coverage?
• Annual fee — If the card has an annual fee, does it offer enough benefits to justify it?

For anyone running a business with dozens of employees, keeping your personal and business finances separate is vital. Things can get murky quickly when you’re cutting personal and business checks from the same account — a business credit card will not only help separate expenses, but also help you establish business credit, so that you have flexibility later on with loans and leases. Plus, you can get additional authorized cards for employees as needed.

Before you decide on the right card for your venture, you should have an idea of how your want to redeem your rewards:

• Do you want to earn miles and points for free luxury vacations?
• Do you want to decrease the cost of your business travel?
• Do you want to earn cash back to reinvest in your business?

It’s also important to consider your spending habits and choose a card that earns the most rewards for your usual business expenses.

Our expert panel for this guide

We consulted top credit card experts from NerdWallet and The Points Guy, a certified financial planner, and our own credit cards editor to inform our picks for the best business credit cards. We also interviewed them about how to find the best small business credit card for you — you’ll find the whole text of our interviews at the bottom of this page.

How our list compares to other publications

Opening a new credit card isn’t a decision you should make lightly — it involves plenty of research and cross-checking top experts’ lists. To help streamline your decision-making process, we’ve compared our list of the best business credit cards to other top publications’ recommendations.

The experts’ advice on choosing the best business credit card for you

We interviewed three credit card experts and one financial planner about what to look for if you’re considering opening a business credit card. You can find the full text of our interviews below (some answers may be lightly edited for clarity).

What features make a business credit card good?

Sara Rathner, credit card expert at NerdWallet: 

The rewards need to be in line with your business’ typical spending. An ultra-high bonus isn’t worth overspending for. And what good is extra cash back if it’s for types of purchases you’ll never make? 

Luis Rosa, certified financial planner:

The ability to easily provide corporate cards to employees with their own spending limits, plus strong welcome bonuses and cash-back or rewards programs. 

Sarah Silbert, senior reviews editor at Personal Finance Insider: 

A good business credit card will reward your company for the purchases it makes most frequently. It will also offer benefits to make your life easier, such as free employee credit cards and travel perks.

Benét Wilson, senior editor at The Points Guy:

If you spend a lot on specific categories (like travel, office supplies, dining, and internet/wireless), then you want a card that offers top points per dollar spent on them. You want free employee cards and tools that help you balance the books. Plus you need broad options to redeem your points (travel, statement credits, gift cards).

How should someone approach finding the best business credit card for their specific situation?

Sara Rathner, NerdWallet: 

Before applying, know how much you spend, and on what. From there, you can find the cards that reward you the most for what your business already does.

Luis Rosa, CFP:

Benefits will vary from solopreneurs to bigger businesses so make the decision based on spending patterns or anticipated future purchases. 

Sarah Silbert, Personal Finance Insider:

If there are any specific benefits you want from a business credit card, start there. For example, not every business card comes with airport lounge access. If you don’t have any particular perks in mind, consider whether you want to earn cash back or travel rewards — that decision alone will narrow down your options. From there, take a look at the credit card options and evaluate their benefits. If you’re looking at a card with an annual fee, make sure it’s worth it for you. You won’t want to pay hundreds of dollars per year for a card if you never put its luxury travel perks to use.

Benét Wilson, The Points Guy: 

Look for a business credit card that can help you maximize your purchases, separate your expenses and save money on interest each year. Do you prefer earning cash-back rewards, airline miles, hotel points, or transferable currencies? Are you willing to pay an annual fee? What categories does your business spend the most in each year? Do you or your employees travel frequently and if so, would there be a benefit in having hotel elite status or a checked bag allowance when flying?

Is there anything else you’d tell someone looking to open a business credit card?

Sara Rathner, NerdWallet: 

Remember that you’re personally liable to cover any unpaid credit card bills if your business fails. Spend carefully.

Luis Rosa, CFP:

Keep in mind that if you assign employees cards you and the business are still ultimately responsible for the charges on those cards.

Small business credit cards frequently asked questions (FAQ)