As a small business owner, you’re always looking to both save and earn more money wherever possible. 1% growth on your bottom line is more money in your pocket and therefore good for your business. If, for instance, you could sell your product for 1% more or manufacture it for 1% less, you’d probably be very happy.
One way that your business can earn more, is by getting a better return on all expenses. The way to do that is through the best business [earnist_link ref=”travel-rewards-category-table” id=”6245″]travel credit cards[/earnist_link] and their introductory bonuses. They will make you wonder why you were ever happy with that 1% cash back credit card.
- [earnist_link ref=”ink-business-preferred-credit-card” id=”6240″]Ink Business Preferred Credit Card[/earnist_link]
- [earnist_link ref=”southwest-airlines-rapid-rewards-premier-business-credit-card” id=”6244″]Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Credit Card[/earnist_link]
- [earnist_link ref=”ink-business-unlimited-credit-card” id=”6243″]Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card[/earnist_link]
- The Business Platinum Card from American Express – [earnist_link ref=”the-business-platinum-card-from-american-express-open” id=”6252″]LEARN MORE[/earnist_link]
- [earnist_link ref=”ink-business-cash-credit-card” id=”6242″]Ink Business Cash Credit Card[/earnist_link]
More information on each card can be found below:
Are You Missing Out on Free Travel Rewards?
If you’re using cash, a debit card, or even the wrong credit card for business expenses, you are missing out on either cash back or free travel. While cash-back can be great, most [earnist_link ref=”cash-back-category-table” id=”6246″]cash-back credit cards[/earnist_link] will only earn you 1-2% back on all purchases.
If you were to get the right combination of business travel credit cards, you could instead be regularly earning 5-10% value or more back in travel points. Even better, if you’re willing to apply for [earnist_link ref=”small-business-category-table” id=”6387″]business travel credit cards[/earnist_link] continually earning introductory bonuses, you can often earn at least a 10-20% travel value return on your spending.
34% Value Back Using a Business Travel Credit Card
Is it really possible to get as much as 34% back on your business expenses? It sure is. I’ll give you an example with one of the current business travel credit cards offering a great opportunity. If, for instance, you currently sign up for the Chase Ink Preferred credit card and used it for your next $5000 of spend, you’d earn at least 85,000 points (introductory bonus plus at least 1x points on your spend).
How much is 85,000 points worth? On average, Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth about 2.0 cents (according to our Travel Freedom values) each when used for travel. That means that your business spending of $5000 just earned you a potential travel value of $1,700. A whopping 34% value back on your spending!!! No joke! That’s a lot more value than your average 1-2% cash back of $50-100… Think of the possible vacations you could be taking with all those points.
Travel More, While Spending Less
If you already travel a lot, you’re now going to be saving a lot of money using points, instead of your hard earned money. If you don’t travel much yet, by now using business travel credit cards, you”ll have enough travel points to do it without spending much money at all. Over the past few years, I have been able to travel as often as I can get time off, thanks to the abundance of points I’ve earned. With all the hard work you’re doing on your business, I’m sure you could use a nice vacation! Can you feel the warm sand between your toes yet?
Best Business Travel Credit Cards Available Today
While the [earnist_link ref=”ink-business-preferred-credit-card” id=”6240″]Chase Ink Preferred[/earnist_link] introductory offer is currently the best in the market at 80,000 points, there are plenty of other great business travel credit cards that can earn around $1000 of real-world travel value. There are also some extremely valuable benefits that come along with these business travel credit cards. Some of them will save you money. Others will help you earn even more points through category spending bonuses. I’ve compiled a list of the five best business travel credit cards that you should look into, according to their introductory bonuses and features.
Ink Business Preferred [earnist_link ref="ink-business-preferred-credit-card" id="6240"] |
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| INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 100,000 points after spending $15000 in the first 3 months. |
| REWARDS You'll earn 3X points on travel and select business expenses (including online social media ads). *Limited to first $150k per year. |
| BENEFITS Points are worth 25% more when used in the Chase travel portal. No foreign transaction fees. Employee cards at no additional cost. |
| FEES $95 No foreign transaction fees. |
| TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS The signup bonus alone for this card is amazing. Pair that with some great rewards earning for your business and this card is great. If you have a business, we find the Ink Preferred to be the best offer available. |
| [earnist_link ref="ink-business-preferred-credit-card" id="6240"]LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>[/earnist_link] |
Our thoughts about this business travel credit card:
The Introductory Offer is one of the best we’ve seen for any credit card. It’s a surprise how much value they give for a credit card with only a $95 annual fee. We have this card and love the benefits. We used the introductory offer bonus to purchase two round-trip flights to Hawaii, and still have 30,000 points left over. That’s pretty impressive in itself. On top of that, the spending category bonuses are worthwhile for most online businesses.
Ink Business Unlimited [earnist_link ref="ink-business-unlimited-credit-card" id="6243"] |
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| INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn $750 (in the form of 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $6000 in the first 3 months. |
| REWARDS You'll earn 1.5X on all purchases. No limit. |
| BENEFITS Points can be transferred to primary Chase card accounts for better redemption. Employee cards at no additional cost. |
| ANNUAL FEE No annual fee |
| TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS The signup bonus on this no-fee card is amazing. Pair that with 1.5X rewards on every purchase for your business and this card is great. This card pairs well with the Chase Sapphire cards and the Ink Preferred. |
| [earnist_link ref="ink-business-unlimited-credit-card" id="6243"]LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>[/earnist_link] |
Our thoughts about this business travel credit card:
Receiving this large of an introductory offer bonus on a no annual fee credit card used to be unheard of. Now Chase has two of them. I see this card as an excellent supplemental credit card to go along with the other Ink credit cards. Because it earns 1.5 points per dollar on ALL purchases, it’s great for those purchases that don’t fall into a category bonus of the other cards.
Ink Business Cash [earnist_link ref="ink-business-cash-credit-card" id="6242"] |
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| INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn $750 (in the form of 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $6000 in the first 3 months. |
| REWARDS You'll earn 5X points on internet, cable, phone, and office supply stores. *Limited to first $25k per year. Earn 2X at gas stations and restaurants. *Limited to first $25k per year. |
| BENEFITS Points can be transferred to primary Chase card accounts for better redemption. Employee cards at no additional cost. |
| ANNUAL FEE No annual fee |
| TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS The signup bonus on this no-fee card is amazing. Pair that with some great 5X reward categories for your business and this card is great. This card pairs well with the Chase Sapphire cards and the Ink Preferred. |
| [earnist_link ref="ink-business-cash-credit-card" id="6242"]LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>[/earnist_link] |
Our thoughts about this business travel credit card:
I love this travel business credit card! Why? Because it earns 5 points per dollar on multiple categories that I actually spend in regularly. Phone bill, internet bill, and all office supplies earn 5X points! On top of that, office supply stores sell gift cards that can be used for many of our other expenses. Did I mention it currently has a huge introductory offer bonus and no annual fee? I loved this card even without the bonus!
Southwest Rapid Rewards Business Premier [earnist_link ref="southwest-airlines-rapid-rewards-premier-business-credit-card" id="6244"] |
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| INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 60,000 points after spending $3000 in the first 3 months. |
| REWARDS You'll earn 3X points on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rentals. |
| BENEFITS Earn 6000 points on your cardmember anniversary. All points from credit card count toward Companion Pass. |
| FEES $99 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees. Employee cards at no additional cost. |
| TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS Southwest points are great because when they have a sale, their award chart goes on sale as well. By getting a personal and business Southwest card you can be well on your way to Companion Pass status. |
| [earnist_link ref="southwest-airlines-rapid-rewards-premier-business-credit-card" id="6244"]LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>[/earnist_link] |
Our thoughts about this business travel credit card:
Southwest’s reward booking process is by far the easiest to maneuver of all airlines. Their points coincide with the dollar price of flights so you can get a great deal when they have sales. I’ve flown round-trip for fewer than 7,000 points before. The introductory offer bonus can go a long way. Also, the introductory offer currently counts towards earning the Southwest Companion Pass, which is the absolute best deal in the traveling with points world.
Amex Business Platinum Card  |
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| INTRODUCTORY OFFER You’ll earn up to 120,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 in the first 3 months. |
| REWARDS You’ll earn 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel. You’ll earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com. Earn 50% more points on purchases over $5000. (up to 1 million bonus points.) |
| BENEFITS $200 airline credit. Global Lounge Collection access. TSA PreCheck or Global Entry Get 35% back when booking a flight with Membership Rewards on a select airline. Two $100 statement credits from Dell annually. 1 year of Platinum Global access to WeWork. (enrollment through 2019) |
| FEES $595 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees Terms Apply |
| TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS If you have many high ticket purchases yearly, this card will earn you a good percentage back. The WeWork membership could be very valuable, if you need a place to work for a year. |
| [earnist_link ref="amex-business-platinum-card-apply" id="6252"]LEARN HOW TO APPLY >>[/earnist_link] |
Our thoughts about this business travel credit card:
While this card isn’t for all businesses due to the high minimum spend to earn the welcome bonus, it has it’s valuable perks. If you’re able to earn the welcome bonus, it’s very valuable with the Membership Rewards transfer partners. The flying benefits of this card are what it’s all about in our opinion. Lounge access, travel credits, free Global Entry or TSA PreCheck for 5 years, and hotel status all comes with this credit card. If it’s right for your business, it can make traveling a joy.
[earnist_link ref=”the-business-platinum-card-from-american-express-open” id=”6252″]LEARN MORE >[/earnist_link]
How We Chose the Best Business Travel Cards
- Introductory Offer Value: Obviously, a large portion of the value in these credit card offers comes from the introductory bonus. We like to use our Travel Freedom reward points values to calculate a more accurate dollar amount for each offer when used for travel.
- Rewards Potential: We researched which cards have true value in their category spend bonuses. This means they have earning bonuses in categories that are often used by businesses.
- Travel Benefits: We factored in annual travel credits, like the $200 airline credit and lounge access offered by the Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN.
- Annual Fees: While an annual fee can make sense, we only find it worth paying them if the benefits of the card far outweigh the yearly cost.
Are You Eligible For a Business Travel Credit Card?
If you have a business or even just do some freelancing jobs as a side hustle, a small business credit card can help you separate your expenses, give you more buying power, and let you earn points from your business purchases. As you’ve seen, [earnist_link ref=”small-business-category-table” id=”6387″]business credit cards[/earnist_link] offer bonus rewards on categories such as office supplies, airfare, advertising, dining and gas. If you’re eligible through your business or side hustle, you could benefit greatly by having one or more business credit cards.
When you apply you will be asked for an EIN if your business has one. Use this number on your application, which you should have received when you applied for your business. If you are working as a sole proprietor, you won’t have an EIN and can simply use your social security number in this field when applying. I have personally applied for and been approved for multiple business credit cards using both types of identification numbers.
Earn More Points Through Category Spend Bonuses
On top of the great introductory offers, category bonuses on spend make some of these business travel credit cards even better. Most of them have bonus spending categories that could make a lot of sense for your business. A couple of the category bonuses that I frequently take advantage of, are: 3X rewards for advertising on social media platforms from the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card, and 5X rewards on office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services from the Chase Ink Cash credit card. Oh, and by the way, office supply stores happen to have a plentiful gift card selection… Wink, wink. This means that there is the potential of earning 5x points on almost all expenses that your business has.
Take More Vacations: It’s Now Possible
The conclusion of this story is that if you’re interested in traveling, and you’re currently making the mistake of using cash, debit card, or even cash back cards for your business expenses, YOU’RE PROBABLY DOING IT WRONG!!! Find the right business travel credit card for your small business. Then start earning something more valuable than 1-2% cash back. You can be getting much more value back from your business expenses.
If you’re not sure about the five cards we mentioned above, you can compare a larger selection of business travel credit cards here: [earnist_link ref=”travel-rewards-category-table” id=”6245″]Travel Credit Cards[/earnist_link]. Take some time to review and compare what’s best for your business. Imagine the vacations you and your family could be taking together…
