Business credit cards are one of the biggest contributors to the growth of small businesses. In the past, entrepreneurs sought out cards that offered low interest rates and fees, easy and quick access to credit, and the ability to separate business expenses from personal ones.
Today, almost every business credit card out there offers these perks, thanks to the advancement of financial technology. And with such stiff competition within the realm of business credit cards, banks have had to up the ante by offering other unique benefits on top of everything else.
The result? Business credit cards have some of the most incredible benefits of any financial product. In this guide, we’ll break down what the best business credit card perks are for each of the major credit card issuers.
The 7 Best Amex Business Card Perks
Amex offers some incredible cards, whether you’re talking about personal or business cards.
In addition to rich welcome bonuses, Amex cards offer incredible ongoing perks. In this next section, we’ll walk you through what we believe are the best perks for Amex business cards.
1. The Best Airport Lounge Access of Any Card
American Express Centurion Lounges have fully-stocked bars with top-shelf liquor. American Express Centurion Lounge Hong Kong. Image Credit: Greg Stone
Airport lounge access is increasingly becoming important, even for those who prefer traveling in economy.
And with so many lounge memberships out there, it can be difficult to filter through the noise. There are different airport lounges in every airport around the world, and having access to most of the best lounges with just 1 card is incredibly important.
Luckily, this is possible with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, one of the most valuable cards in the entire world.
With this card, you get access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection which consists of more than 1,400 airport lounges in 130 countries, including these networks:
Hot Tip: There are tons of cards that offer lounge access, but if you want only the best airport lounge access, look no further than the Amex Business Platinum card or the personal version, The Platinum Card® from American Express.
2. Earning 4x Points on Automatically Adjusted Spending Categories (Up to $150,000/Year)
Earning 4x points on your spending is an enviable feat. With the American Express® Business Gold Card, you have the opportunity to radically accelerate how many points you earn for your business.
Specifically, you will earn 4x points in 2 spending categories that are automatically adjusted based on where you spent the most. Let the card calculate where you spent the most and your points will appear shortly after. This structure applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases every calendar year from 2 of these categories:
- Airfare purchased from airlines
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
- U.S. purchases made from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants
- U.S. purchases for shipping
It’s pretty neat to have a business card that enables you to maximize your rewards in a way that allows you to focus on running your business. If you’re interested in learning more, there are tons of other benefits of the Amex Business Gold card you can check out!
3. Earning 2x Points on Everyday Business Purchases (Up to $50,000/Year)
There’s no cookie-cutter approach to optimizing your credit card rewards. Sometimes, your business expenses fall outside of common spending categories. That’s where the absolutely exceptional The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express comes in handy.
This magnificent credit card is one of our favorites because it allows you to participate in Amex Membership Rewards and earn 2x points on your everyday business purchases on the first $50,000 spent per year. You’ll earn 1x points thereafter.
There aren’t a lot of cards that offer 2x points on your everyday purchases, and this one is a no-brainer, considering it’s jam-packed with benefits for a $0 annual fee card!
4. 1 Free Night Award Every Year at Marriott Properties (Up to 35,000 Points)
How would you like a free hotel night every year? If you happen to stay in Marriott properties often as a business owner, you need to check out the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card. This credit card is the bread and butter for lots of traveling business owners.
This business credit card is at the top of our list of favorite credit cards for Marriott Bonvoy loyalists, for numerous reasons, including the 15 Elite Night Credits, Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status, and the ability to earn up to 6x points on your spending! Check out some other top-notch ways to earn lots of Marriott Bonvoy points!
But one of the best benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy Business card is the free night award certificate you get after every cardmember anniversary. This free night award is good for any 1-night stay of up to 35,000 points. This could get you a free night in a Category 5 property on standard dates, which could be worth $200 to $300. The benefit alone could pay for the card every year!
5. Free Checked Bag and Priority Boarding on Delta
American Express is the exclusive issuer of Delta Air Lines’ personal and business credit cards. The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card is a solid-value credit card that offers a ton of Delta-related perks.
In addition to earning 2 miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases, U.S. shipping, and U.S. advertising in select media, you can enjoy the awesome perks on Delta with a small price tag.
One of our favorite perks of the Delta Gold Business card is the Main Cabin 1 priority boarding and 1 free checked bag for you and up to 8 of your companions traveling on the same reservation.
In many ways, you’re getting elite status-like benefits without needing to live a tiring business jet-setter lifestyle.
6. A Domestic Main Cabin Round-trip Companion Certificate
When you see a buy-one-get-one (BOGO) free deal in life, your first reaction is to jump on it because of how good of a deal it can be. Plane tickets can be the same way, too!
One of the benefits of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is the companion certificate you’ll get upon card renewal every year.
Just like the Delta Gold Business card, the Delta Platinum Business card will get you (and up to 8 companions traveling on the same reservation) priority boarding and 1 free checked bag.
But the difference with this elevated card is that you’ll also get a Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate for domestic travel when you renew your card every year. All you’ll have to pay are taxes and fees, which are very small for domestic flights!
Basically, if you book a $400 round-trip economy ticket to Hawaii, of which $10.10 was taxes and fees, your companion can be booked on the same flight with you for $10.10! That means you’ll have spent $410.10 for 2 round-trip economy tickets to Hawaii. What a deal!
This premium credit card is best for business owners and frequent Delta flyers (or at least if you want to rack up Delta miles quickly). We just touched the surface of the benefits on this card, so check out our complete benefits guide of the Delta Platinum Business card!
7. Delta Status Boost
Delta’s ultra-premium credit card offers a laundry list of awesome Delta perks. If you thought the Delta Platinum Business card was fantastic, you’ll want to pay close attention to the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card.
You’ll enjoy complimentary Delta Sky Club and Centurion Lounge access when you book your Delta flights with your Delta Reserve Business card. That’s not all, because you can earn 3 miles per dollar spent on Delta and even get a companion certificate valid for domestic first class, Delta Comfort+, or Main Cabin round-trip flights every year upon renewal!
But the single most valuable perk that the Delta Reserve Business card offers is Status Boost, which is the ability to earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year. You can do this up to 4 times per year (60,000 MQMs total after spending $120,000).
When you consider that Diamond status requires 125,000 MQMs and Platinum requires 75,000 MQMs (among a few other requirements), you can begin to see how much Status Boost can help you in achieving your desired Delta Medallion status.
The 6 Best Chase Business Credit Card Perks
Chase doesn’t have as many business credit cards as American Express does, but the handful of cards that it does offer are very difficult to beat.
In this guide, we’ll be walking you through the best perks Chase can offer its holders of business credit cards.
1. Incredible Cell Phone Protection Insurance
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is known to many as the king of business credit cards.
In addition to routinely offering huge welcome bonuses and tons of valuable benefits, like the ability to earn 3x points on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories every account anniversary year, the Ink Business Preferred card offers an industry-leading cell phone protection policy!
You can receive up to $2,700 in cell phone protection claims every 12 months, and it’s split up to $1,000 per claim with up to 3 claims every 12 months. This insurance protects against accidental damage and theft of your phone, comes with a low $100 deductible, and covers phones that are purchased brand-new (used/refurbished phones do not qualify).
2. Earning 5%/5x Points on Select Business Categories
One characteristic of Chase’s Ink Business cards is the fact that they complement each other so well. With the small business owner in mind, the Ink Business cards have unique spending categories and benefits that’ll help you earn some lucrative points.
The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is one of the most underrated cards out there. The card offers some exceptional perks, including travel insurance and purchase protection, but the best benefit is the ability to earn 5% cash-back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services each account anniversary year.
This 5% cash-back can be converted to 5x points if you have a card that earns Ultimate Rewards, which comes out to a 10% return on spend according to our points and miles valuations.
In fact, this $0 annual fee card is the best card to maximize rewards on its bonus categories — it simply blows its nearest competitors out of the water.
3. Earning Unlimited 1.5% on Everyday Business Purchases
If you’re running a business and need to transact on miscellaneous categories that don’t fall into ordinary business card spending categories, you’ll have an incredibly easy time racking up points with the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card.
This card offers the ability to earn an uncapped 1.5% cash-back on all your purchases that can be converted to 1.5x points with a Chase Ultimate Rewards card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
Other cards such as The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express might offer 2x points, but the bonus rewards are capped at $50,000 per year. With the Ink Business Unlimited card, you’ll have no cap on how many points you can earn!
It’s easy to see how the Ink Business Unlimited card fits into the Ink portfolio of cards, perfectly filling in the spending category gaps of the Ink Business Preferred card and Ink Business Cash card.
4. Southwest Upgraded Boarding and Inflight Wi-Fi Credits
Image Credit: Southwest
Are you a frequent Southwest flyer? If you are, then you probably know that Chase is the exclusive issuer of Southwest co-branded credit cards.
There’s a ton to love about these cards, but the neatest benefit of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is the 4 Upgraded Boardings per year, when available, as well as the inflight Wi-Fi credits!
The Upgraded Boardings are for positions A1 to A15 and will be reimbursed when purchased at the departure gate or ticket counter on the day of travel only, when available.
Also, a unique perk of the Southwest Performance Business card is the inflight Wi-Fi credits, of which you can get 365 $8 credits per year, valid on Wi-Fi-enabled Southwest aircraft.
5. Cardmember Anniversary Bonuses
One of the hallmarks of the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card is the fact that you will earn 6,000 bonus points after every cardmember anniversary.
Considering these Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth around $85, that’s almost the cost of the annual fee!
6. Priority Boarding and 2 United Club 1-Time Passes
United Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the world. And as you might already know, Chase is the exclusive issuer of United co-branded cards. And even though the United Club℠ Business Card offers unique perks such as the 5,000-mile better-together anniversary bonus when you have both the United Club Business card and a personal United credit card, the best perks for this card are when you’re flying on United.
You’ll enjoy priority boarding before general boarding and 2 United Club 1-time passes after account opening and on each anniversary. The United Club passes are worth more than $100 per year by themselves, so you can appreciate how valuable this card can be.
You’ll also enjoy a free first checked bag for yourself and a travel companion on the same reservation, as long as you use your card to purchase your United ticket.
The 2 Best Capital One Card Perks
Capital One’s biggest boon has traditionally been an easy-to-understand rewards structure and a focus on $0 annual fee cards.
However, ever since Capital One made a splash with its transferable Capital One Miles program, it’s been easier than ever to get incredible value on award flights and hotel stays.
In this section, we’ll walk you through what we believe to be the best perks Capital One offers its cardmembers.
1. Earn 2x Points on Everyday Business Purchases
The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is Capital One’s flagship business credit card product.
If you’re looking for a straightforward earning structure with no seat restrictions, minimum redemptions, caps on earning, or blackout dates, you’ll want to give this card a good look.
The CapOne Spark Miles card offers the unique ability to earn 2x miles on all purchases with no caps. Since most of its transfer partners offer a 1:1 ratio, it’s like earning 2x transferable miles for every dollar of spending.
Remember, you’ll also get 5x miles on hotel and car rental bookings through Capital One Travel.
2. Earn 5x Points on Hotels and Rental Cars
The Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business is a lower-tier version of the CapOne Spark Miles card. This card comes with no annual fee and the ability to earn a slightly lower 1.5x miles on all purchases with no caps.
However, the most important benefit of this card is the ability to earn 5x miles on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One Travel, which is the exact same earning rate as the higher annual fee CapOne Spark Miles card! Since we value Capital One miles at 1.8 cents each, that’s equal to a 9% return on spend, approximately. This is one of the few ways you can get a 9% return on spend with a $0 annual fee card.
The 2 Best Bank of America Business Card Perks
Bank of America offers a few different business credit cards. Mostly focused on cash-back, these cards can offer some awesome bonus categories, especially when paired with Bank of America Preferred Rewards for Business, which is the bank’s elite status program.
1. Earn up to 5.25%/5.25x Points on Select Purchases
One of the most powerful aspects of Preferred Rewards for Business is that you can earn more rewards with higher daily business checking account balances.
You can earn up to 75% in bonus rewards on top of your regular business credit card rewards on select credit cards.
The Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards credit card and the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards Card both offer the ability to earn up to 5.25%/5.25x points on select purchases.
The Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash card earns up to 3% cash-back on 1 of the following 6 categories you choose:
- Gas stations (default)
- Office supply stores
- Travel
- TV/telecom and wireless
- Computer services
- Business consulting services
It also earns 2% cash-back on dining and 1% cash-back on everything else. You’ll earn 3% and 2% cash-back on the first $50,000 in combined category/dining transactions every calendar year, but rewards can shoot all the way up to 5.25% cash-back if you have the highest Preferred Rewards for Business tier.
The Bank of America Business Advantage Travel card earns 3x points on travel purchases booked through the Bank of America Travel Center. Also, you’ll earn an unlimited 1.5x points on all purchases everywhere with no caps. This can become 5.25x points with the highest Preferred Rewards for Business tier, which is also worth 5.25% in return on spend.
2. Earn Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare on Your Cardmember Anniversary
Image Credit: Alaska Airlines
Bank of America’s best airline rewards business credit card is the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Credit Card.
This card offers a great welcome bonus of Alaska airlines miles that can be redeemed for sensational flights.
But on top of this bonus, you’ll get access to Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare. Every year on your account anniversary, you’ll get a companion fare from $121 ($99 plus taxes and fees from $22) valid on all Alaska Airlines round-trip coach fares.
The companion fare is eligible for flights with another guest on a paid published coach airfare on the same itinerary booked at the same time online at alaskaair.com.
The 4 Best Barclays Business Credit Card Perks
Barclays offers some spectacular co-branded credit cards, including unique choices among cruise credit cards and the Barclays View™ Mastercard® (which replaced the Uber Credit Card).
In this section, we’ll show you the top business credit card perks you can get with Barclays!
1. 5% American Airlines AAdvantage Miles Every Anniversary
With the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®, you can earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles on business spend seamlessly. One of the most valuable benefits is the 5% bonus of AAdvantage miles on every anniversary based on your card spending.
This is yet another valuable perk that increases the value proposition of the AAdvantage Aviator Business card. That’s in addition to the ability to earn 2x miles on purchases at American Airlines, eligible office supply merchants, telecommunications expenses, and car rental companies.
You’ll also get a first checked bag for free for yourself and up to 4 companions traveling on the same reservation, plus preferred boarding and the ability to get closer to elite status with credit card spending by earning 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent.
Lastly, there’s also a $99 companion airfare certificate earned after spending $30,000 on the card within 1 cardmember anniversary year.
Hot Tip: Unfortunately, this card is no longer open to new applicants, but Barclays is still servicing existing cardholders.
2. The Ability To Earn JetBlue Mosaic Status
One of the best Barclays business credit cards is The JetBlue Business Card.
Co-branded JetBlue credit cards are one of the only ways you can earn JetBlue’s coveted TrueBlue Mosaic status without flying a ton.
If you make $50,000 in purchases in a calendar year, you can enjoy Mosaic status for the rest of that year plus another year after that!
3. Automatic Top-tier Wyndham Rewards Diamond Status
The most underrated hotel credit card is the Wyndham Rewards® Earner℠ Business Card, especially if you value having Wyndham Rewards elite status.
The biggest benefit of Wyndham Rewards’ top-tier Diamond status is the ability to get suite upgrades. When you hold the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business card, you will get Diamond status just by having the card! You’ll also be able to earn 8x points on hotels by Wyndham and gas, 5x points on marketing, advertising, and utilities, and 1x points on all other purchases.
4. Earn up to 40,000 Bonus Miles Based on Annual Spending Amounts
Our very last Barclays business credit card offers a tiered annual anniversary cardmember bonus of HawaiianMiles. This can end up being quite a significant amount if you are a big business spender on this credit card.
On the Hawaiian Airlines® Business Mastercard®, you will earn 20,000 bonus HawaiianMiles on your cardmember anniversary if you spent $50,000 to $99,999 in net purchases during your cardmember year. You will earn 40,000 bonus HawaiianMiles on your cardmember anniversary if you spend $100,000 or more in net purchases during your cardmember year.
In addition, you will enjoy the ability to share miles among family and friends without a fee, get a one-time 50% off companion discount for a round-trip coach flight between Hawaii and North America on Hawaiian Airlines, and enjoy this earning structure:
- 3x points on eligible Hawaiian Airlines purchases
- 2x miles on gas, dining, and office supply store purchases
- 1x miles on all other purchases
The 2 Best Citi Business Credit Card Perks
Citi has some of the best personal credit cards, but it surprisingly doesn’t have very many business credit cards — keep that in mind as we go through our favorite Citi business credit card perks.
1. Free Checked Bag and Priority Boarding on American Airlines
Image Credit: American Airlines
The most popular business credit card for travel enthusiasts is the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®.
One of the best credit cards for American Airlines flyers, this product offers 2x AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases and at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants, and gas stations. You’ll earn 1x miles everywhere else.
But one of the most valuable perks is the first checked bag free benefit. Specifically, you will get your first checked bag for free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for yourself and up to 4 companions on the same reservation.
You’ll also enjoy preferred boarding on American Airlines flights!
2. Earn up to 4% Cash-back
The Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi is the other major business credit card from this bank, and its claim to fame is an awesome cash-back rewards structure.
You’ll earn up to 4% cash-back according to the following structure:
- Earn 4% cash-back on eligible gas worldwide, including gas at Costco for the first $7,000 per year (1% thereafter)
- Earn 3% cash-back on restaurant and eligible travel purchases worldwide
- Earn 2% cash-back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
- Earn 1% cash-back on all other purchases
There are a number of other business credit card benefits, including damage and theft purchase protection.
The Best Brex Card Perks
Brex is one of the newest entrants to the business credit card landscape. Here’s what to look out for with your Brex card.
Up to $150,000 in Statement Credits
Brex offers an array of travel benefits, including the ability to transfer your points to airline partners. However, the single most valuable benefit of Brex is the statement credits offered by its partners of up to $150,000 in value.
These benefits are designed with startups in mind. Here are a few of the top statement credits:
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) — $5,000 credit and up to $100,000 in AWS Activate, depending on your eligibility
- Dropbox — 50% off Dropbox Business (Standard or Advanced)
- Experian — 50% discount on the first year of business credit monitoring
- Google Ads — Up to $150 in Google Ads credit
- Gusto — 50% off of the first year of service across any plan
- Intercom — Up to $100 off per month for 3 months
- Microsoft Ads — 5% off Microsoft Ads
- QuickBooks — 40% off your first 12 months
- Salesforce — Save 60% on Salesforce Essentials
- Slack — 25% off eligible 1 year paid plans
- Snapchat Ads — $1,500 of Snapchat Ads credits
- Zoom — 20% discount on an annual subscription
The 4 Best U.S. Bank Business Credit Card Perks
Our very last section will focus on U.S. Bank business credit cards. As you can probably imagine, there aren’t a whole lot of U.S. Bank business credit cards, but some of them offer very niche value propositions.
Let’s get into it!
1. The Ability To Help Reach Korean Air SKYPASS Elite Status With Credit Card Spending
The SKYPASS Visa® Business Card is a co-branded business credit card in partnership with Korean Air.
If you happen to hold the SKYPASS Business card, your credit card spending will count towards Korean Air SKYPASS elite status, which is incredibly useful if you’re flying on Korean Air a lot.
Other benefits include 2,000 bonus miles at renewal, 2 KAL Lounge coupons each year, a $50 off coupon for a Korean Air ticket purchase each year, and the ability to earn 2x miles on Korean Air ticket purchases, gas stations, and hotels (1x miles everywhere else).
2. 0% Introductory APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers
The U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card offers 1 key benefit: 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers. Usually, these time periods are much longer than normal. Introductory APR periods usually hover around 12 billing cycles while this card frequently offers 18 to 20 billing cycles!
Keep in mind that balance transfers must usually be done within 30 days of account opening, so don’t procrastinate!
That’s interest-free credit for almost 2 years!
3. Earning 2% Cash-back on Your Top 2 Automatically Adjusted Spending Categories
The U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card offers the ability to earn 2% cash-back on your top 2 spending categories, which are automatically calculated. These categories are:
- Advertising firms
- Airlines
- Apparel and accessory stores
- Auto rental and transport providers
- Automotive dealers
- Cable, satellite, TV, and radio providers
- Commercial equipment, parts, and supply
- Computer stores
- Construction material suppliers
- Department, book, and novelty stores
- Discount stores and wholesale clubs
- And much more!
4. Earning 3% Cash-back on Select Business Categories
The U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Card offers 3% cash-back on eligible purchases at gas stations and EV charging stations, office supply stores, cell phone service providers and restaurants.
You’ll also find that there is usually an attractive 0% APR introductory rate on purchases and balance transfers.
There’s no annual fee, and you can earn unlimited rewards!
Final Thoughts
Business credit cards offer incredible benefits. In the past, it was good enough to offer high credit limits and low interest rates. Today, almost all business credit cards have this as a feature, so issuers have stepped up rewards and benefits.
We’ve walked you through, bank-by-bank, the very best business credit card perks that offer the most value to you. Some cards focus on travel perks, such as lounge access, while others focus on attractive lending terms such as longer 0% introductory APR periods.
Whatever you’re looking for, a business card is bound to have it. Hopefully, you’ve found this comprehensive guide of the best business credit card benefits useful!
The information regarding the United Club℠ Business Card, Capital One Spark Miles for Business, Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business, Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards credit card, Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards Card, Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Credit Card, Barclays View™ Mastercard®, Uber Credit Card, AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®, The JetBlue Business Card, Wyndham Rewards® Earner℠ Business Card, Hawaiian Airlines® Business Mastercard®, CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®, SKYPASS Visa® Business Card, U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card, U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card, and U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please click here.