Best Business Credit Cards: Financing Your Business with the Best Tools

In business, you’re going to find yourself in need of credit. Fortunately, there’s plenty of it out there. The best cards for businesses today are ones that incentivize themselves for you. After all, when most of the cards are offering promos like $0 fees for employee users and introductory APRs as low as 0%, you can’t just expect a standard credit card to do the job. 

Of course, with the mass of cards available today, you’ll also find plenty of reviews claiming to offer insight on the best business credit cards of 2021. Some of the reviews are great. Others are biased and clearly written with an intent or plug in mind. Fortunately, we’ve taken the hard work out of it for you and rounded up the best cards for businesses, including cards for just about every need. 

How to choose the right business credit cards

There are several types of cards out there, and several stages or considerations that may determine exactly what your best options for credit will be. For example, the best credit card for a new business might not be the best option for one that’s been around and looking for a high-limit card. Speaking of which, you’re probably wondering what the most common types of business cards are. 

You can find them for just about everything, but the most common ones that businesses search for include:

• New business/startup cards
• High-limit cards
• Fair/poor credit cards
• Cards for those with great credit
• Cash back or travel rewards cards 

There are even cards available today for all-online businesses or stores for the things to sell online that operate physically only, but most cards will cater to a business regardless of its method of operation. Let’s look at each a little closer before we dig into the top cards for businesses in all stages.

Startup/New Business Cards

These cards are specifically created for businesses that are just getting started in their efforts. They often come with things like fewer approval criteria, more flexibility in terms, and the opportunity to grow with your business over time. Startup cards may require some kind of collateral or personal guarantee, but again these lenders are typically more understanding and flexible in their terms to help you get started. 

If you don’t have credit, don’t distress. Even new businesses have plenty of options, including a couple that we’ll cover in the list below. 

High-limit cards

These are going to be the credit cards that are for the established business that has the means to access a larger credit line. High-limit cards for business may have no limits whatsoever—that is, there is no pre-set spending limit on the card for those who are appropriately approved. Some cards have limits of $10,000, $25,000, or even more. It all depends on what business you’re in, which card you choose, and how worthy you are of a credit line of such stature. 

Fair/poor credit cards

It isn’t easy to have good credit in business. If you’re not capable of meeting the expectations of cards with impressive rewards or other perks, you might want to step back and take a minute to look for credit cards designed specifically for businesses that have fair or poor credit or have limited credit because they are new. 

Unlike startup cards, you might not find as many companies willing to work with you when your credit isn’t great, but there are still options, and more so even for business than for personal users. 

Good credit cards

If your business is in a good enough space where you actually have good credit, you can find several other perks that you should add to your list. Some of those are what we’ll talk about next, such as is the case with rewards cards. However, there are other perks of having good credit. You can get higher limits, as mentioned above, or you can find 0% APR or low introductory interest rates, as well as several other features. 

Essentially, the best business credit cards are reserved for the brands that have the best credit ratings, no matter what other factors are involved. 

Rewards cards

These are, by and large, our favorite type of business credit card. You're already going to be using the credit anyway, so why not reap the rewards? There are tons of types of rewards credit cards to choose from, but the most common for businesses are usually related to travel. These include airline miles cards, fuel perks cards, and so forth. A reward is a reward, but if it can benefit the business in some way, you’ll get a lot more out of your investment. 

In order to choose the best credit card, you’ve got to think about what suits your business needs at this point in time, not what might benefit you in the future. A card like Spark from Capital One, for example, is great for startups even though it might not be ideal for your someday enterprise-level company.

Compare the rewards and features, as well as the qualifications required for the card. While it might be great to think about getting that high-limit Diamond card, you need to start where you are.

In that vein and without further ado, here are the business credit cards that should be on your radar, each offering its own perks or incentives. 

The best credit cards for business

American Express Blue Business 

This card is ideal for those who want a low APR and don’t want to compromise on their cash-back rewards to get it. It doesn’t have any annual fees and it doesn’t come with any headaches or hassles. The intro APR is always great here and the 1-2% cash back rewards are a welcome sight for any business. Preferred by entrepreneurs, it requires good to excellent credit because it’s from American Express, but that also makes it a great reason to invest in this choice for your business credit needs.

The business cash version of the card is notorious for having the best perks in the entire family, but they will all suffice. The intro offers and APR are what the card is known for, but there are other rewards available, too. 

Ink by Chase

The Ink family of cards has something for all kinds of business needs. Primarily, Ink is known as being one of the best for high-limit credit needs but some versions of the card have an annual fee and most of them require you to have good credit. Ink cards often come with cash back rewards, points, and other benefits, too. 

The Ink Cash card, primarily, is the one to watch for. After all, everyone is guaranteed at least $3,000, but if they think that you’re worthy, they could approve you for as much as $25,000 on the spot for a starting limit. 

Capital One Spark Business 

Capital One is making quite a name for itself with credit cards and other financial services, even going so far as to create local banking centers for their customers. Their latest foray into the business world is the line of Spark Business cards, which are designed to be easy-to-manage for new business owners and come with unlimited cash back and even a potential annual bonus. 

The Spark Cash Plus is the most popular choice for business owners, and even though there’s an annual fee, the rewards earned in return are generally well-worth the investment. Spark has a few different card options for the modern business and there’s even a potential annual bonus with some cards. 

Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card

One more card that we want to cover is for those businesses who might be limited on options. Whether you’ve got bad credit or just don’t have any at all, this card can be obtained by just about everyone. You can even earn cash back rewards and interest rates are a lot lower than you’d expect for a secured card, too. 

This card can come with a credit line as high as $25,000, depending on how much you deposit. You'll also be able to get up to 10 cards for your employees without paying any additional fees. It's all easy to manage from the online app, too, giving every business the chance to get credit when they need it most. 

Bonus pick: the best business store card

As a company that handles a lot of administrative tasks, the team at Smith.ai understands all too well the value of having the right credit cards on hand. One of those that we favor, and one that makes tons of lists itself, is the Staples Business Credit Card. 

While the typical store card is more hassle or interest than its worth, the Staples card does so much more than people expect. Those with good credit can get an intro APR of 0% for up to 18 months and interest rates run from 14.99% to 23.99%, with no annual fee and 5% back in rewards for all purchases. 

So, not only are you getting a good card with good perks, but you’re basically getting a guarantee that you will have the supplies and technology that are most important to your business, and especially as a small business, that can be invaluable. 

The best brands for business credit

So, now that we’ve looked at the best cards specifically, let’s talk a little about brands. There are some creditors and banks that seem to be more popular on business credit card review lists than others, including our own:

• American Express
• Chase
• Capital One

Although tons of major banks and brands offer business credit cards and lines of credit, they’re not all created equally. Time and time again, these three are showing the best of the best in business cards, no matter what category they fall into. 

American Express

American Express is a brand that’s been serving businesses for decades, providing a level of customer service to businesses of all sizes with a variety of credit card products. The American Express name is synonymous with a higher caliber of service and that’s exactly what you will get with any card that you choose from this brand. You'll find great incentives and rewards, premium intro APR offers, and so much more. Plus, most of their best business cards don’t require an annual fee. 

Chase

Chase is one of the oldest banks in the country. They have been a big part of business for several decades, helping found several of the biggest names and businesses in this very country. Today, they offer impressive rewards and incentives to their business customers, along with some of the highest initial credit limits of any business card available. 

You'll find cash cards, mileage reward cards, points cards, and so much more. Plus, there are even cards for groups of employees, and their customer service for business clients is among the best available. 

Capital One

Capital One is a unique institution. It's a hybrid financial institution that started as a credit card company. Today, they offer online banking for checking, savings, and other financial services, along with a selection of branches available. The company offers more extensive approvals but lower credit limits than many other cards. They also have lower fees and rates than other cards and programs out there today. 

Although they’re preferred by consumers, they are often overlooked by businesses. The Spark card, however, is changing the way that businesses do things and showing people that it doesn’t have to be “the way it’s always been”. 

Set your business up for success with credit and more

And speaking of the way it’s always been, let’s talk about redefining how you handle your customers—whether it’s live chat, after-hours phone answering, payment collection, lead intake and scheduling, you don’t have to do it all. Heck, break out that new business card and charge the expense. Then, the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can give you double the rewards by helping you earn them from your card and delivering them in the form of their dedicated support and admin services. 

You can learn more when you schedule a consultation to discuss the live chat agents at Smith.ai and how they can help you change “the way it’s always been”. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.