If you’re running a veterinary practice, clinic, or hospital, the last thing you probably want to do is get bogged down in managing your expenses.
At the same time, you want to do everything you can to maximize the value you get from spending you’d be doing anyway.
As a veterinarian and a business owner, you’re in charge of managing your profit and loss (P&L), including your revenue, payroll, office expenses, rent, and much more.
Consider putting all of your business expenses on a business credit card so that you can optimize your rewards and treat yourself (and your family) to vacations and luxury travel.
We’ll show you how to do just that in this guide.
What To Look for in a Business Credit Card for Veterinarians
Image Credit: Pxhere
Veterinary offices, clinics, and hospitals are specialized versions of healthcare practices — and much like a doctor’s or dental office, a veterinary center will undoubtedly have rent to pay for, as well as office supplies, specialized medical equipment, practice management software, payroll, and even advertising to grow their practice.
Because these expenses can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, we’ve focused all of our recommendations on the cards that offer the most rewards for common veterinary expenses.
Sure, there aren’t any credit cards that offer bonus points on medical equipment, per se, but there are a number of cards that offer bonus points on business purchases such as office supplies and even miscellaneous expenses like rent and payroll.
Now that we’ve identified what to look for in a business card for veterinarians, we’ll show you our best business credit card recommendations.
The 3 Best Overall Business Cards for Veterinarians
The best overall business cards for veterinarians will be the ones that offer the best rewards, most valuable points, and highest earning structures — let’s take a look at our top picks.
1. American Express® Business Gold Card
One of the most rewarding cards for big business spenders, the Amex Business Gold card is undoubtedly the best pick for most veterinarians’ spending patterns.
You’ll accelerate your points-earning by hitting the minimum spending threshold required to earn the card’s welcome bonus. And as long as you hold the card, you’ll earn 4x points on up to $150,000 in combined purchases per calendar year in the 2 categories (shown below) you spend the most in:
- Airfare purchased from airlines
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants
- U.S. purchases for advertising in select media
- U.S. purchases for shipping
- U.S. purchases made from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
If you max out these bonus categories every calendar year, you’d earn 600,000 Amex points, worth more than $13,000 according to our valuations. That’s equal to approximately a 9% return on spend!
American Express will automatically select the 2 categories in which you spend the most at the close of each statement, so you can focus on running your business and earn the maximum number of points possible in the process.
The Amex Business Gold card also offers purchase protection, extended warranty, various travel insurance benefits, secondary rental car insurance, no preset spending limit, no foreign transaction fees, and up to 99 total employee cards with no annual fee after the first employee card ($50 annual fee total; see rates and fees).
Why We Like Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points
Amex Membership Rewards points are the most valuable transferable points on the market, according to our valuations. You can use them for cash-back, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise purchases, Amex Travel bookings, and, our favorite, luxury travel bookings through transfer partners.
2. Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
The Ink Business Cash card is our runner-up card for veterinarians — you won’t find a more rewarding business credit card without an annual fee!
This card offers the ability to earn up to 5% cash-back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year according to the structure below:
- 5% cash-back at office supply stores
- 5% cash-back on internet, cable, and phone services
Also, you can earn 2% cash-back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year according to the structure below:
- 2% cash-back at gas stations
- 2% cash-back at restaurants
On all other purchases, as well as purchases in the above bonus categories after the bonus categories are maxed out, you’ll earn 1% cash-back.
Earning 5% cash-back is excellent, but what makes this credit card exceptional is that you can convert your cash-back to Chase Ultimate Rewards points at a 1% to 1x ratio as long as you have an Ultimate Rewards credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
The Ink Business Cash card also gets you primary car rental coverage, travel insurance, purchase protection, and of course, unlimited employee cards for no additional charge.
Why We Like Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
While the Ink Business Cash card ordinarily earns cash-back, the rewards you accumulate can be converted to Ultimate Rewards points that would instantly double your return on spend.
With an Ultimate Rewards credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can start thinking about redeeming your points for fantastic business and first class flights via transfer partners.
Since your 5%, 2%, and 1% cash-back could become 5x, 2x, and 1x Ultimate Rewards points, respectively, you could end up getting a ~10% return on spend, all with no annual fee!
3. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
If you’re in the market for the most rewarding card that’s also loaded with perks, the Amex Business Platinum card is the way to go.
The first thing you’ll enjoy is its welcome bonus, which is easily worth $2,000+ by itself. In addition to the welcome bonus, you’ll earn a whopping 5x Amex points on flights and prepaid hotels at Amex Travel. If you travel for conferences or other business trips, you could potentially get an ~11% return on spend.
You’ll also earn 1.5x points on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else (up to $2 million in purchases per calendar year).
But the real reason this card is so great is its travel benefits. The Amex Business Platinum card offers the best lounge access privileges of any card in the world. Specifically, you can access the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which consists of:
This collection of lounges includes over 1,400 lounges globally.
However, we’re just getting started with travel perks!
When you hold this card, you can activate your complimentary Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy Gold status. You’ll also get complimentary elite status and perks with Avis, Hertz, and National.
You’ll also get access to Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts program, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit, up to $400 in statement credits for U.S. purchases with Dell (enrollment required), $150 in Adobe credits, $360 in Indeed credits, $120 in wireless credits, a $189 CLEAR credit, a $200 airline incidental fee credit every year, a 35% rebate on select flights via Pay With Points, and numerous travel protections like a baggage insurance plan, trip interruption and cancellation insurance, travel accident insurance, and secondary rental car coverage.
Plus, you’ll get purchase protection, return protection, and extended warranty coverage.
Bottom Line: The 3 best business cards for veterinarians are the Amex Business Gold card, the Ink Business Cash card, and the Amex Business Platinum card. Each of them has a different value proposition, but you’re bound to find an option that works for you, whether you’re looking to earn a lot of points, low-cost rewards, or the best luxury travel benefits.
4 Alternative Business Credit Cards for Veterinarians
Image Credit: Isaac Alvara via Reshot
While we’re huge fans of the business credit cards detailed above, we understand that different veterinarians may have different needs. Next, we’ll show you some of the best alternatives to the cards above, should you want to see more options.
1. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
The Ink Business Unlimited card has a straightforward earning structure and access to the Ultimate Rewards program. Just like the Ink Business Cash card, this card offers cash-back rewards that can transform into transferable rewards when paired with the right card(s).
First off, you’ll enjoy a huge welcome bonus, worth $1,500+ when converted to Ultimate Rewards points.
Offering a different earning structure, the Ink Business Unlimited card earns 1.5% cash-back on all your business purchases with no caps. That means you can get up to a 3% return on spend for your everyday business purchases!
In addition, you can access a 0% introductory APR benefit (regular APR, as indicated in the table above, applies after the introductory period), zero liability protection, additional cards for no extra fee, primary rental car insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty protection.
If you happen to have an Ultimate Rewards card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, your 1.5% cash-back can be converted to 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points.
2. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
The Amex Blue Business Plus card is one of our favorite credit cards in Amex’s entire offering. Cardholders will earn 2x Amex points on everyday business purchases up to $50,000 in total purchases per calendar year and then 1x after that. Earning 2x Amex points per $1 spent is equivalent to 4.4% return on spend, according to our valuations.
To aid your business’ finances, take advantage of the 0% introductory APR offer, as shown in the table above, that can help you save a bundle on interest fees.
We also love this card because it is one of the few no-annual-fee credit cards that gets you full access to transferable rewards. The Amex Blue Business Plus card also offers secondary rental car coverage, employee cards at no additional cost, purchase protection, extended warranty, access to Amex Offers, and expanded buying power (see rates and fees).
We recommend this card for veterinarians running a very lean organization because of the $50,000 cap on bonus earnings. If you have more than $50,000 in business purchases per year, your earnings won’t be maximized after the first $50,000.
3. Capital One Spark Miles for Business
The first (and only) Capital One credit card in this guide is one worth considering: the CapOne Spark Miles card.
With this card, you’ll earn a sizable welcome bonus and unlimited 2x Capital One miles on every business purchase. You can also earn 5x Capital One miles on hotel and rental car bookings made through Capital One Travel.
Earning 5x and 2x Capital One miles is equal to a 6.8% and 2.7% return on spend, respectively, according to our valuations.
Other awesome perks include a $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee reimbursement, no foreign transaction fees, free employee cards, roadside assistance, fraud alerts, extended warranty, and zero fraud liability.
Why We Like Earning Capital One Miles
We love Capital One miles because they’re one of the major transferable rewards currencies. We value Capital One miles at a respectable 1.8 cents apiece.
You can redeem your miles via airline and hotel partners for some incredible travel bookings. And though you’ll get the best value from transfer partners, you have the option to redeem your Capital One miles for travel booked through Capital One Travel, statement credits, gift cards, and more.
4. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
The generous welcome bonus on the Ink Business Preferred card should be reason enough to at least consider signing up for this card.
Beyond that, you’ll earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 spent on select business categories (up to $150,000 in combined purchases per anniversary year):
- Ads purchased with search engines or social media sites
- Internet, cable, and phone services
- Shipping expenses
- Travel
Furthermore, this credit card earns Ultimate Rewards points directly. This means you don’t need another credit card to access Chase’s transfer partnerships.
Also, the Ink Business Preferred card’s cell phone insurance is second-to-none. You can get up to an additional $2,700 in value across a maximum of 3 claims every 12-month period with a maximum of $1,000 per claim and a deductible of $100 per claim ($900 net reimbursement per claim).
Finally, you’ll get stellar travel perks, including purchase protection, extended warranty, primary rental car coverage, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, free employee cards, and much more.
Final Thoughts
Running your veterinary business means combining technical expertise with business acumen. While managing your business spend may seem laborious, you can get a significant return on your spending with any of these credit card options. Now, you’re equipped with the credit card knowledge necessary to take your practice to the next level!
The information regarding the Capital One Spark Miles for Business was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
