The 6 Best Business Credit Cards For Office Supply Purchases [Office Depot, Staples, and more]
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No matter the size, every business needs to keep the essentials stocked in order to get the job done. If office supplies make up a significant portion of your business spend each month, utilizing the right business rewards card can earn your business hundreds of thousands of extra points or thousands of dollars in cash-back each year.
Fortunately, maximizing your returns on office supply purchases is easy. There are several great options that fit a large variety of needs. Here’s a break down of which small business credit cards may be right for you and how they can benefit the office supply needs of your business.
Table of contents
Table of Contents
- Best Overall Credit Cards for Office Supply Purchases
- Chase Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card
- Hot Tip: You can use your Ink Business Cash to purchase gift cards at office supply stores for airlines, restaurants, gas stations, and more, effectively earning you 5% back. Keep in mind that this category is capped at $25,000 in purchases per account year.
- American Express® Blue Business Cash Card
- Huntington Voice Business Credit Card℠
- Additional Credit Card Options for Office Supply Purchases
- Final Thoughts
Best Overall Credit Cards for Office Supply Purchases
Chase Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card
| CREDIT CARD | BENEFITS & INFO |
|---|---|
Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card |
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How to Earn on Office Supply Purchases
The Ink Business Cash is a stellar option for small business owners and the top choice card to maximize office supply store purchases. The card features a very lucrative 5x Ultimate Reward points on up to $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores, and on cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services each account anniversary year.
Cardholders will also earn 2x Ultimate Reward points for each $1 of the first $25,000 spent each account anniversary year on combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants. The Ink Business Cash offers cardholders great benefits and savings for no annual fee.
Heres how the Ink Business Cash rewards office supply purchases:
- Best For: Office supply stores that specialize in selling a variety of office supplies. (Note: Merchants that sell a wide variety of general goods that may include office supplies, for example, department stores, or electronics stores, are not included in this category.)
- Examples of Bonus Earning Merchants: OfficeMax, Office Depot, Staples
- Rewards: 5x Ultimate Reward points per $1 spent on office supply stores. Also earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 spent on cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services. 5x points applies to the first $25,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year.
Why We Like Earning Ultimate Rewards Points
Ultimate Rewards points are some of the most valuable reward currencies on the market. Business owners that are able to meet the $25,000 annual cap can earn up to 125,000 Ultimate Reward points every year.
When paired with a premium Chase travel card like the Ink Business Preferred℠, the points are more than enough for a round-trip business class flight to Europe, or worth over $1,500 in travel when redeemed through the Chase Travel Portal.
If you want to maximize your points, make the most of them by using one of Chase’s airline or hotel transfer partners. Transferring Ultimate Reward points can help you book business class flights and 5-star hotel stays for just a fraction of the retail value.
Hot Tip: You can use your Ink Business Cash to purchase gift cards at office supply stores for airlines, restaurants, gas stations, and more, effectively earning you 5% back. Keep in mind that this category is capped at $25,000 in purchases per account year.
American Express® Blue Business Cash Card
Please note that the information for the American Express Blue Business Cash Card, formerly the SimplyCash Plus Business card, expired on July 18, 2019.
| AMEX CARD | CARD INFO & BENEFITS |
|---|---|
American Express® Blue Business Cash Card |
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How to Earn on Office Supply Purchases
If you find yourself making frequent trips to office supply stores to keep your business stocked with the essentials, you can earn 5% cash-back on all of those purchases when using your Amex Blue Business Cash Card. Bonus earnings are limited to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, amounting to a potential $2,500 in cash-back.
For Amex Blue Business Cash cardholders, the savings don’t stop there. You can also earn 3% cash-back on a category of your choosing from 8 different options:
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines
- Hotel rooms purchased directly from hotels
- Car rentals purchased from select car rental companies
- U.S. gas stations
- U.S. restaurants
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
- U.S. purchases for shipping
- U.S. computer hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers
There is a separate $50,000 annual limit for your selected 3% category, amounting to a potential additional $1,500 in cash-back.
Here’s how the Amex Blue Business Cash Card earns cash-back on office supply stores:
- Best For: Office supply stores often specialize in selling a variety of office supplies. (Note: Merchants that sell a wide variety of general goods that may include office supplies, for example, department stores, or electronics stores, are not included in this category.)
- Examples of Bonus Earning Merchants: OfficeMax, Office Depot, Staples
- Rewards: 5% cash-back on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year
Why We Like Earning Cash-Back
Business owners know that money saved can be just as good as money earned. By optimizing your spend with the right Amex credit card, you can watch the savings pile up on the purchases you make most often. When you’re running a business, your bottom line matters and every little bit you can save adds up.
If you don’t have any desire to fuss with point earning or transferable rewards, naturally cash-back is the best option for you. Cash-back earned on your Amex Blue Business Cash is applied automatically to your monthly statements, allowing you to offset expenses as you make them.
Huntington Voice Business Credit Card℠
How to Earn on Office Supply Purchases
The Huntington Voice Business Credit Card℠ is another solid option for business owners prioritizing cash-back rewards. The card earns 4% cash-back in one of 10 categories including office supplies on up to $7,000 in purchases per quarter. The other 9 categories include:
- Gas stations
- Travel & entertainment
- Restaurants
- Discount & warehouse stores
- Grocery stores
- Electronics, computer & camera stores
- Department, apparel & sporting goods stores
- Home improvement stores
- Auto parts & service stores
The ability to earn 4% cash-back on up to $7,000 in purchases per quarter, could represent a savings of $1,120 per year. Certainly large savings for a business card that charges no annual fee!
Hot Tip: If the office supply needs of your business exceed the earnings cap on a certain card, holding 2 cards could be optimal for you. Example: use the Ink Business Cash on $25,000 in office supply purchase, the use the Amex Blue Business Cash Card for an additional $50,000 to earn 5% cash-back, netting you 125,000 Ultimate Reward points and $2,500 in cash-back every year!
Additional Credit Card Options for Office Supply Purchases
The Blue Business℠ Plus Card from American Express
| CREDIT CARD | BENEFITS |
|---|---|
The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express |
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Business owners that hold the Blue Business Plus Card earn 2x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on the card on all business purchases, including all office supply purchases.
The 2x Membership Rewards earnings are capped at $50,000 in purchases, but maximize that limit will earn you 100,000 Membership Rewards points. Afterward, all purchases will earn 1x point per dollar spent.
U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards World Elite™ Mastercard®
The no-annual-fee U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard presents a solid proposition to cardholders to earn an uncapped 3% cash-back on cellular, gas, and office supply store purchases. Better yet, cardholders receive a 25% annual bonus based on your prior year’s reward earnings, though this bonus is limited to $250.
Bank of America® Business Advantage Cash Rewards Card
The no-annual-fee Bank of America® Business Advantage Cash Rewards Card offers 3% cash-back on office supply stores and gas station purchases, and a further 2% cash-back at restaurants. The savings are capped at $250,000 in purchases per year, but cardholders who can meet this cap can save a massive $7,500 each year.
Final Thoughts
If you find that office supply purchase are mounting for your business, using the right business credit card for these purchases can really save you in the long run. If you’re having difficulty deciding which card is best for you, consider both the amount of your office supply expenses and the amount you spend on other relevant bonus categories.
If you’re partial to earning flexible rewards, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option than the Ink Business Cash, especially when paired with a premium card like to Ink Business Preferred. However, if it’s simple cash-back you’re after, earning 5% cash-back with a card like the Amex Blue Business Cash Card is a fantastic option.
No matter which card you choose, do yourself and your business a favor by using a great small business credit card and watch the rewards pile up!
Don’t spend a lot at office supply stores? Check out these guides on best business credit cards for shipping purchases, advertising, or cell phones to maximize your business spend.
