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Home>Resources>Blog>Top 10 credit cards for business travel in the US
Business travel credit cards have different perks and privileges. We’ve selected the best ones for business travelers, and for the companies managing this enormous expense.
From airline miles to cash back, we’ve handpicked the business cards with the best advantages.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
Why we love it
Add employee cards for free so you can earn rewards on their purchases and consolidate spend to one credit card account.
Sign up bonus
Earn 50,000 miles after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months. Earn 150,000 miles when you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months. (Move quickly: this offer just so happens to end on 1/28/2019.)
Ongoing bonus
2X miles on every $1 spent.
Annual fee
$0 for the first year and $95 per year after that.
Why it’s great for business travel
There are no blackout dates, restrictions or minimums when you redeem your airline miles.
You can redeem your cash back any time you want, with no minimums or expirations on the amount.
Sign up bonus
Earn a $500 bonus after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months. Earn $1,500 when you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months. (Move quickly: this offer just so happens to end on 1/28/2019.)
Ongoing bonus
2% cash back on everything—yay!
Annual fee
$0 for the first year and $95 per year after that.
Why it’s great for business travel
Business travel is expensive. The costs add up! So why not let the cash back add up to? Here’s an example calculation, if your company spends $80,000 on the card per month, you’re looking at almost $20,000 in cash back every year.
Connect this card to your Google Ads, Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Ads and start racking up the points.
Sign up bonus
Get 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months (80,000 bonus points is the equivalent of $1,000 in travel rewards.)
Ongoing bonus
3X points on travel, internet, phone and social media advertising. 1X points on everything else.
Annual fee
$95 per year
Why it’s great for business travel
With 3X points on business travel, you’ll get a higher return on your travel spend than if you were to use any of the cash back cards listed here. ($80,000 per month in qualifying 3X categories equals about $36,000 in travel rewards per year.)
No foreign transaction fees! Plus, considerable perks for United regulars.
Sign up bonus
Get 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Ongoing bonus
2X miles for restaurants, hotels and United purchases. 1 mile per $1 for all other purchases.
Annual fee
$0 for the first year, then $95 per year after.
Why it’s great for business travel
On United flights booked with this card, the traveler and one companion each get one checked bag. You also get 25% cash back on all United inflight purchases. If you travel United often, these cost savings will really add up. Plus, priority boarding doesn’t hurt.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
Why we love it
With no cost for additional card holders, no foreign transaction fees, and annual bonus points, this is a pretty great deal.
Sign up bonus
60,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months.
Ongoing bonus
2X points on Southwest and Rapid Rewards partners. 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. 6,000 bonus points per year on cardmember anniversary
Annual fee
$99 per year
Why it’s great for business travel
Southwest is a fan-favorite airline for business travelers in the US. So if you’re going to have a team-wide preferred airline (to get more points), Southwest is a really safe bet.
Perfect for heavyweights. Every time you pay for travel with points, you’ll get 35% of those points back, just like magic.
Sign up bonus
Earn 50,000 points after you spend $10,000 in the first 3 months. Also, get an extra 25,000 points if you spend an additional $10,000 within the first 3 months.
Ongoing bonus
1.5X points per $1 spent, 5X points on AMEX Travel
Annual fee
$450 per year
Why it’s great for business travel
This card was built for business travel. Where to begin? You get $200 per year to help cover obnoxious airline fees (like checked bags), access to over 1,200 luxury airport lounges around the world, no foreign transaction fees (of course), and hotel upgrades at Hilton and Starwood Gold.
SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card from American Express
Why we love it
Great for startups who’re just...starting up. 0.0% APR and a high percentage of cash back at office supply stores so you can get what you need.
Sign up bonus
There’s no sign up bonus, but you get 0.0% APR for 9 months.
Ongoing bonus
5% cash back at US office supply stores and cell phones. 3% cash back on one purchase of your choice. 1% cash back on everything else.
Annual fee
None
Why it’s great for business travel
You can spend above your credit limit! Yes, really. While it’s not unlimited, you can go above your credit limit based on your payment history. For large teams using one credit card account, this can be a life saver.
Bank of America Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard
Why we love it
Redeem points on more than just flights. Points can be used for flights, hotels, rental cars or baggage fees, with the option to choose cash back or gift cards.
Sign up bonus
25,000 bonus points after you make $1,000 in purchases after the first 60 days. (25,000 points is the equivalent of $250 in travel rewards.)
Ongoing bonus
1.5X points for every $1 spent on all purchases. 3X points on Bank of America Travel Center.
Annual fee
None
Why it’s great for business travel
If your company qualifies for the Business Advantage Relationship Rewards Program, a special add on to the card, then you could earn up to 2.62X points on all purchases (instead of 1.5X), anywhere, anytime. That higher point magnifier will really rack up the travel rewards.
With more points for SaaS subscriptions and ride sharing, this is the tech startup’s corporate card.
Sign up bonus
Get an estimated $25,000 in value from Brex’s partner offers—$5,000 in AWS credit over a year, $150 for Google Ads, 15% off of WeWork space for 6 months, $436 in credits per month for 12 months from Zendesk and a whole lot more.
Ongoing bonus
7X points on ridesharing, 4X points on Brex Travel, 3X points on restaurants, 2X points on SaaS and 1X on everything else.
Annual fee
$0
Why it’s great for business travel
Ride sharing is a highly underserved component of business travel. Offsite and even in your home city, your might do quite a bit of ride sharing. This card lets you rack up points for the things that you (as a startup) spend money on the most.
US Bank Business Cash Rewards World Elite MasterCard
Why we love it
The cash back is stellar. Plus, as one of the somewhat smaller banks in the States, US Bank is known for its high-touch, real-human customer service.
Sign up bonus
Get $200 cash back after you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days.
Ongoing bonus
3% cash back on cellphone, gas and office supply purchases. 1% cash back on everything else. 25% cash back on your previous year’s total Cash Rewards.
Annual fee
None
Why it’s great for business travel
While you won’t rack up quite as much cash back as the Capital One Spark Cash for Business credit card (which offers 2% on everything) if you fly often, you’ll get even more cash back using this card if driving is your main way of business travel, since you get 3% on gas. This could be a winner in a lot of service-based industries.
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