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Looking for an easy, inexpensive spending solution for your business? Credit cards offer a variety of valuable rewards and perks, plus benefits to help your business run more smoothly — like expense tracking tools, year-end summaries, and account alerts so you're never left in the dark. And with no annual fee, you'll never have to worry about making sure your card is worth the cost.
By Brendan Harkness
Aside from having no annual fee, of course, here are some of the qualities we looked for to give you the very best of the best.
By Brendan Harkness
Small business credit cards without annual fees can be quite valuable, giving you an easy way to manage your spending and take advantage of rewards and benefits. There could be no cost to you at all, as long as you avoid interest and other fees.
Cards without annual fees are less likely to stress you out, or make you feel like you need to use them. If you don’t happen to use a no annual fee card for a while, it won’t burn a hole in your pocket. (It may actually help out your credit.)
But really, the annual fee shouldn’t usually be a huge factor — if you’ll get enough out of the card, a fee could easily be worth it. And, since cards with annual fees tend to have better features, you may benefit much more from a card with a fee compared to one without.
Consider your options — including other great business cards — to see which would provide the most value for your business, after any associated costs.
The Ink Business Cash is an easy favorite, with an excellent 5% cash back rate on some common business expenses. If you frequent office supply shops and pay for internet/phone services, this card should be on your radar.
It’s made all the more appealing by the ability to transfer your rewards to other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. From there you could redeem for a better value, potentially getting a 10% return on your spending, or more!
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Take note that the spending limits are per account anniversary year, rather than annual.
Sometimes you just want a simple, hassle-free way to make business purchases and earn some rewards. No fancy redemptions, no time spent transferring points and looking for the best travel deals.
The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card might be just what you’re looking for. With 2% back on every purchase (up to $50K spent per year) and automatic cash back redemptions, you’ll hardly need to give it a second thought.
There are other 2% business cards, like the Capital One Spark Cash for Business, but they typically have annual fees (check out our favorite cash back business cards for a few other options).
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And that’s that. A pretty simple way to earn a decent rate on any purchase.
Just take note of the annual limit; if you’ll spend more than that you may want another credit card to help out, perhaps one with some bonus categories to cover your common expenses.
The information related to American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
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Stocking up on office supplies this month? Gearing up to travel the next?
Get a credit card with flexible bonus categories to meet your needs as they change throughout the year, like the Bank of America® Business Advantage Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card. You’ll be able to choose the eligible purchases to earn 3% back on each month, out of six popular business-related categories. And eligible Preferred Rewards for Business Platinum members can even get a 75% boost on all rewards.
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The 3% category will be set to gas stations by default.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is handy if you have a variety of spending, or tend to make purchases outside of typical credit card bonus categories. And the redemption options could be perfect for the avid traveler.
The Blue Business Plus is our top pick thanks to Amex’s expansive selection of airline and hotel partners, which includes names like Delta, JetBlue, Hilton, and Marriott Bonvoy. And there’s a pretty lengthy 0% introductory APR (for a business card), giving small business owners some time to pay off upfront expenses.
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2X points per dollar is good when it comes to non-category purchases, but it’s not too exciting. Thankfully you can kick things up a notch by transferring your points to airline and hotel partners, where they could be worth 2 cents each or more.
That’d give you a cash back equivalent of at least 4% on everything you buy at the 2X rate — and that’s quite the lucrative deal when it comes to credit cards.
The information related to The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
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Credit scores not quite where you’d like them to be? Don’t worry, you may still be able to qualify for some decent cards even if your credit history isn’t the best.
Consider the Capital One Spark Classic for Business, designed for business owners with fair credit. It’s not too fancy, as you’d expect, but cardholders can earn some cash back rewards, distribute employee cards, and take advantage of some shopping and travel benefits.
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The information related to Capital One Spark Classic for Business has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
securely on the issuer's website
Most business credit cards require a personal guarantee — meaning they use your personal credit, just like any other credit card, and you’ll be liable for the debt (you “personally guarantee” it).
But a few cards don’t require a personal guarantee, and instead rely on your business’ credit profile. These cards usually provide big services for big businesses, like multimillion-dollar credit limits and payment reconciliation systems.
A hot contender is the Brex Daily Card, with a solid rewards program (you can choose one of three) and a massive selection of cost-saving perks. Those include statement credits and discounts to a variety of products like Amazon Web Services, Google Ads, ZenDesk, Twilio, SendGrid, and more.
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The Brex Daily card must be paired with a Brex Cash account; see the Brex 30 Card for a similar option that doesn’t require such an account. Consumers, sole proprietors, and unregistered businesses are ineligible for Brex cards.
You don’t need to pay an annual fee to get a great business card. Our favorites include:
No annual fee business cards are easy to explain — they have no annual fee or membership fee for the privilege of using them. But they typically do have credit card fees of other kinds, like late payment fees and interest charges.
Yes — there are plenty of valuable business cards with annual fees. You can check out the best business cards here, some of which have annual fees.
But why would you pay an annual fee for a card, if there are other good options available? There are plenty of good reasons.
You might be paying for high-end travel perks, like the airport lounge access and exclusive services you’d get from The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Review). Perhaps you want great rewards and point transfer opportunities from the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Review). Or maybe your credit isn’t the best, so you have to go with a secured business card like the Wells Fargo® Business Secured Credit Card.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
Credit Card Insider receives compensation from advertisers whose products may be mentioned on this page. Advertiser relationships do not affect card evaluations. Advertising partners do not edit or endorse our editorial content. Content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when it's published. Learn more in our Editorial Guidelines.
The information related to American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, Capital One Spark Classic for Business, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, Capital One Spark Cash Select for Business, Discover it® Business Card, Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business, and American Express® Corporate Platinum Card have been collected by Credit Card Insider and have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of these products.