What there is NOT a lot of, is cash back business cards. In the past few days, I researched cash back business credit cards and came up with what I believe are the three best such cards available to American customers.
Reminder: One need NOT have a business tax ID (aka EIN) to get approved for a business card. Generally speaking, a history of at least a few years' worth of revenue and expenses of a few thousand dollars annually at minimum, along with a solid (740+ certainly should do the trick) credit score should result in approval of a business credit card application to most of the major U.S. credit card issuers - Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, and others.
Reminder: personal credit cards can be used for 'business spend' just as easily as business cards can. There are not a lot of practical differences between personal and business credit cards. One of the big ones is that business credit cards often lack some of the consumer protections that are required by law to be provided on personal credit cards. Authorized user cards can be ordered for personal cards, just as with business cards. And hundreds of thousands of dollars of spend can be put on personal cards, just as with business cards -- assuming proper credit line and management of it.
The Best Three Cash Back Business Credit Cards
Of these three options, the Amex one I can refer; the other two I cannot. All three cards will allow pretty solid accumulation of cash back via spending. And all three have at least a $500 signup bonus after hitting the minimum spend in first three months.- Capital One Spark Cash
- Amex Blue Business Cash
- Chase Ink Cash
Capital One Spark Cash
Pros
- 2% cash back on everything, no limit - to my knowledge, the only business card on the market like this
- $500 signup bonus after $5k spend.
- Additional $1,500 signup bonus after $50k total spend in first year.
- $95 annual fee after first year.
- No category bonuses, just straight 2% on everything.
More Information
Amex Blue Business Cash
Pros
- No annual fee
- 2% cash back on first $50k purchases per year
- $500 cash back signup bonus ($250 after $5k spend fairst 3 months, another $250 after another $10k spend in first year)
Cons
- Only 1% cash back on purchases beyond $50k in a year
Referral
My referral link (click 'all business cards to find the Blue Business Cash. I recently got the Blue Business Plus. http://refer.amex.us/JASONWuBSY?XLINK=MYCP.
More Information
- https://www.doctorofcredit.com/american-express-blue-business-cash-card-500-sign-up-bonus-available-via-incognito/
- https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/AmxBBC/#Goto
Chase Ink Cash
Pros
- No annual fee
- $500 signup bonus (usually only $300) after $3k spend
- Great bonus categories: 5X office supplies ⚬ 5X cellular/landline/cable (on up to $25,000 in total purchases in 5x categories annually)
- 2X gas and restaurants (up to $25k annually)
- Besides being able to use as cash back, technically the card earns Ultimate Reward points which can be super handy (e.g. if you have a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve personal card, and could combine the points and use toward paid travel thru Chase travel portal
Cons
- Only 1% cash back on non-category bonused stuff
More Information
- https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/CIC/#Goto
- https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-ink-cash-500-public-online-offer/
Analysis
- Which is best for you? That depends on your own personal circumstances. How much will you spend, and how much in various categories. You will have to decide which is best for your usage.
- Will you spend enough to offset the $95 annual fee on the Spark Cash?
- The category bonuses on the Chase Ink Cash are potentially very lucrative, if you'll have spend in those categories. Otherwise, it probably isn't the best choice.
- If you are going to spend well beyond $50k a year, Spark could be the best bet - although you won't recover the $95 annual fee until you hit $60k spend, vs. the Amex no annual fee card.
- Blue Business Cash may be the safe bet for starters - unless the category bonuses on Chase Ink Cash can be leveraged.
