Is a Corporate Credit Card Right for Your Business? [7 Alternatives]

As your business grows, you’ll be introduced to a totally new set of challenges. In addition to expanding headcount and accounting for more supplies or raw materials, your purchasing needs will undoubtedly expand.

And that’s where many people look to get a corporate card. However, corporate cards generally only make sense for a tiny fraction of companies; in fact, these really only make sense for large enterprises with hundreds of employees.

In this guide, we’ll explore the best cards for large businesses to get — but first, we’ll show you why you should consider alternatives to traditional corporate cards.

Is a Corporate Credit Card Right for Your Business?

Unless you have hundreds of employees that each requires a credit card to make purchases, it probably isn’t practical to get a corporate card.

The benefits and rewards you get from corporate cards are muted compared to business cards; most corporate cards offer benefits related to administrative tasks, such as expensing and accounting capabilities.

However, corporate cards rarely ever offer any outsized rewards, which renders them limited in value. Instead, consider getting a business card that offers excellent rewards and add employee cards.

That way, you can meet your purchasing needs while racking up lots of points.

The 7 Best Business Card Alternatives to a Corporate Credit Card

Card Summary

Card	Welcome Bonus and Annual Fee	Benefits for Large Businesses
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 120,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $695 (rates & fees)	No preset spending limit** Complimentary employee cards (Business Green Rewards Card from American Express), up to 99 total employee cards (rates & fees) 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels purchased through AmexTravel.com 1.5x points on eligible purchases in key business categories and on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else (up to $2 million purchases every calendar year) Access to over 1,400 worldwide lounges, including Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass (upon enrollment), Plaza Premium Lounges, and more Great travel insurance
American Express® Business Gold Card	Earn 70,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $375 (rates & fees)	No preset spending limit** Up to 99 total employee cards with no additional annual fees after the first employee card with a $50 annual fee (rates & fees) 4x points on the top 2 categories where your business spend the most every billing cycle, up to the first $150,000 in combined purchases every calendar year
Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card	Earn $1,200 cash back once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $150	No preset spending limit** No-additional-fee employee cards 5% cash-back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 2% cash-back on all other purchases Get your $150 annual fee refunded every year you spend at least $150,000
Capital One Spark Travel Elite	Earn up to 250,000 bonus miles in your first 6 months of card membership Annual fee of $395	No preset spending limit** No-additional-fee employee cards 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel 2x miles on other purchases $300 annual Capital One Travel credit 10,000 bonus miles after every account anniversary year Complimentary access to Priority Pass Lounges, Capital One Lounges, and Plaza Premium Lounges Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit Travel insurance
The Plum Card® from American Express	No welcome offer available. Annual fee of $250 (rates & fees)	No preset spending limit** Up to 99 employee cards for no additional fee (rates & fees) Get an unlimited 1.5% Early Pay Discount on eligible charges within 10 days of your statement closing date and see the discount applied to your next statement when you pay at the least the Minimum Payment Due by the Please Pay By date The flexibility to carry your balance for up to 60 days with no interest No foreign transaction fees (rates & fees)
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	NEW OFFER: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Annual fee of $95	Employee cards for no additional fee 3x points in select business categories for the first $150,000 in combined purchases every cardmember year Terrific travel insurance Cell phone insurance Purchase protection and extended warranty
Business Green Rewards Card from American Express*	Earn 15,000 points after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months Annual fee of $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95	No preset spending limit** Up to 99 employee cards for no additional fee 2x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com 1x points on other purchases

*All information about the Amex Business Green card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.

*No Preset Spending Limit means your spending limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 170,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum. The current public offer is 120,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

The Amex Business Platinum card is one of the most heralded business cards — a must-have if you have a large business.

To start, this card has no preset spending limit and allows you to add up to 99 total employee cards (we recommend employee Amex Business Green cards to avoid additional annual fees; rates & fees).

But in terms of rewards, you’ll earn 5x points per dollar spent on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com, plus 1.5x points on eligible purchases in key business categories and on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else (up to $2 million in these purchases every calendar year):

• U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers
• U.S. electronic goods retailers
• U.S. shipping providers
• U.S. software and cloud system providers

Looking at the travel benefits (enrollment required), this list will blow you away:

• Access to the Amex Global Lounge Collection, which includes Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta the same day), Priority Pass lounges (upon enrollment), and many more
• Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection
• Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status (upon enrollment)
• Car rental benefits at Avis, Hertz, and National Car Rental
• Up to $200 airline fee credit every calendar year
• Up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit
• Up to $189 CLEAR Plus credit
• 35% airline bonus when booking eligible airfare using Pay With Points

And to help you run your business, the Amex Business Platinum card also offers:

• Up to $400 in Dell credits
• Up to $360 in Indeed credits
• Up to $150 in Adobe credits
• Up to $120 in wireless credits

Wrapping up, this card also has no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees).

Why We Like Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points

By our valuations, Amex Membership Rewards points are worth 2.2 cents each, which makes them the most valuable transferrable rewards currency available.

With a maximum earning of 5x points, the Amex Business Platinum card can earn you a return on spending of around 11%. But the best way to get the most value from those points is to use those points to book luxury award flights through the Amex transfer partners, especially if your large business routinely pays for its employees to fly in business or first class anyway.

But if you don’t plan on using points for award travel, you can also redeem your points in these ways:

These other redemption methods won’t yield nearly as much value as booking award travel through transfer partners, which can net you upwards of 10 cents per point in value, especially if you book flights like Emirates first class or Lufthansa first class.

American Express^® Business Gold Card

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 110,000 points with the Amex Business Gold card! The current public offer is 70,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

The Amex Business Gold card is our runner-up card option for large businesses. It shares a lot of similar characteristics with the Amex Business Platinum card that large business owners like.

To start, there’s the same no preset spending limit perk available — and you can add up to a total of 99 employee cards for no additional annual fees after the first employee card of $50 annually.

This card earns 4x Membership Rewards points on the top 2 categories in which your business spends the most every month (up to $150,000 in combined purchases every calendar year):

• NEW! Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
• NEW! U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
• NEW! Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)

Your 4x earnings are adjusted from month to month automatically based on which categories you spend the most on, so you won’t need to spend any time choosing bonus categories.

Additionally, the Amex Business Gold card has QuickBooks integrations, and no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees).

Bottom Line: The Amex Business Gold card offers great rewards at a lower cost, but it doesn’t have the luxury travel benefits that the Amex Business Platinum card does. 

Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus card is a fan favorite among business owners. If you don’t have time to manage your rewards and search for award travel, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card could be an amazing product for you.

The card has no preset spending limit and you can add up to 99 employee cards for no additional annual fee, with up to 1,200 virtual cards for no additional annual fee.

This fantastic card earns up to 5% cash-back:

• 5% cash-back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• 2% cash-back on other purchases with no caps or category restrictions

Another feature of this card is the ability to get your $150 annual fee refunded every year you spend at least $150,000!

One hidden secret about the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card is that you can convert your cash-back rewards to Capital One miles if you also have a Capital One miles credit card such as the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. In that situation, you’d be able to convert your cash-back to Capital One miles at a ratio of 1% to 1x.

There are a bunch of other benefits available from the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card, including zero fraud liability, integrations with Quicken, QuickBooks, and Excel, as well as employee card spending limits, roadside assistance, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, and fraud alerts.

Why We Like Earning Capital One Miles

Capital One Miles is a transferrable rewards program just like Amex Membership Rewards, which means you can get some amazing value with your miles. We value Capital One miles at 1.8 cents each.

Obviously, the best way to use your Capital One miles is to book luxury business and first class flights through transfer partners, but you can also redeem your points for statement credits, gift cards, Amazon.com transactions, online shopping, Capital One Travel bookings, and more.

Just remember that your redemption value will be 1 cent per point or less with these alternate redemption methods compared to up to 10 cents per point with luxury award travel.

Capital One Spark Travel Elite

The Capital One Spark Travel Elite card is one of Capital One’s other charge cards. As we mentioned with the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card, the Capital One Spark Travel Elite card has no preset spending limit, as well as the ability to add up to 99 employee cards and 1,200 virtual cards, all with no additional annual fees.

It’s essentially the ultra-premium business version of the Capital One Venture X card. Also, the Capital One Spark Travel Elite card has no personal guarantee, which could be a huge benefit.

In any case, the Capital One Spark Travel Elite card isn’t available for public applications; rather, you must reach out to your business relationship manager at Capital One to apply for one of these cards.

You can earn up to 10x miles on your purchases:

• 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles on other purchases

Also, you’ll get some fantastic travel benefits including:

• Up to $300 annual Capital One Travel credit
• 10,000 bonus miles after each account anniversary year
• Complimentary access to Capital One Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and Priority Pass Lounges
• Up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit
• Awesome travel insurance, including primary rental car coverage and trip cancellation and interruption insurance

Plus, you can enjoy purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, and zero liability fraud protection when using the Capital One Spark Travel Elite card.

The Plum Card^® from American Express

Another sleeper card option for large business owners is the Amex Plum card. Despite its unassuming name and its status living in the shadows of Amex’s flagship Membership Rewards cards, this is a potentially awesome choice for you.

To start off, the Amex Plum card is a business charge card, which means there’s no preset spending limit. Also, you can add up to 99 employee cards with no additional annual fees.

The Amex Plum card has a unique perk: get an unlimited 1.5% Early Pay Discount on eligible charges within 10 days of your statement closing date and see the discount applied to your next statement when you pay at the least the Minimum Payment Due by the Please Pay By date.

Alternatively, you also have extra days to pay, with the flexibility to take up to 60 days to pay without interest (just make the minimum payment by your payment due date).

Other benefits include QuickBooks integrations and no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees).

Bottom Line: We recommend the Amex Plum card to large businesses that are constrained with cash flow. Thanks to the ability to take up to 60 days to pay without interest, you can manage your finances a bit more effectively with longer grace periods. 

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred card is an absolute behemoth credit card if you’re looking for excellent rewards from a business credit card.

The card earns 3x points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these select business categories:

• Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
• Internet, cable, and phone services
• Shipping purchases
• Travel

By earning 3x points on up to $150,000 in these categories, you’ll earn 450,000 Ultimate Rewards points every year, which is worth around $9,000 by our valuations!

Additionally, you can earn 5x points on Lyft purchases through March 31, 2025.

The Ink Business Preferred card also offers a 25% redemption bonus on Chase travel portal bookings and Pay Yourself Back.

Keep in mind that this card does have a traditional credit limit, but we’ve seen business owners get approved for enormous credit limits upwards of $100,000.

Lastly, there’s cell phone protection, purchase protection, awesome travel insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and no-additional-fee employee cards.

Why We Like Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are among the most valuable points, worth 2 cents each. Earning 3x points is equivalent to a 6% return on spending.

Despite getting a fantastic ROI as is, you can get even more value by transferring points to airline and hotel partners for luxury award travel like Singapore Airlines First Class Suites.

You can also redeem points for statement credits, Chase travel portal bookings, Pay Yourself Back, gift cards, statement credits, Amazon.com purchases, Apple purchases, and online shopping.

Business Green Rewards Card from American Express

The last card we’ll be discussing is the Amex Business Green card.

This charge card has no preset spending limit, plus, you can add up to 99 total employee cards for no additional annual fee.

Combining these 2 benefits together makes the Amex Business Green card a worthwhile contender for large business owners.

Right now, you’ll earn:

• 2x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com
• 1x points on other purchases

Other perks include access to the Global Assist hotline. Of course, you can auto-categorize your expenses in QuickBooks using this card, too.

Final Thoughts

For most businesses, getting a corporate card just doesn’t make sense. The rewards you get from true corporate cards are lackluster, and the main benefits hinge on expense and account management.

You’d only want to get a corporate card if you have more than 100 employees.

The better solution for you would probably be to get a business card with either no preset spending limit or a very high credit limit.

Even if you’re spending millions of dollars per month, you could potentially get that spending done with a charge card from Amex or Capital One, which would be huge.

Overall, the best cards for large businesses generally belong to Amex, Capital One, and Chase.

The information regarding the Capital One Spark Travel Elite, American Express^® Corporate Green Card, American Express^® Corporate Gold Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.