As the saying goes, you need to spend money to make money. With that in mind, you may as well get a solid return on your business expenses in the form of airline miles, cash-back, hotel points, or transferable miles and points.
Depending on the type of business expenses you have, you may be able to rake in tons of travel points each month! You can use these miles, points, or cash-back to reinvest in your business — if your next company trip is booked using miles and points, you can use the cash you saved for other important aspects of your business.
In this article, we’ll show you different ways to earn miles and points on your business purchases. We’ll start with helping you pick the best business credit card (or 2), and then move into maximizing purchases with shopping portals and other money-saving promotions.
Let’s get started!
Earn Valuable Rewards With a Small Business Credit Card
Choosing the right card for your business can make a big difference. Image Credit: Shutterstock.Start by assessing your business credit card situation. There are 3 different types of cards you can use for business purchases:
- Cards earning transferable points
- Cards specific to a certain airline or hotel
- Cards that earn generic cash-back
Each of these has its merits, so we’ve outlined and defined them below and recommended top cards in each category. Use this information to guide your application decision when picking a credit card for your business.
Note that these credit cards generally require a credit score of good to excellent to be approved, even if they’re used for your business.
Hot Tip: Make sure to use your business credit cards wisely — they often have higher interest rates and can affect your personal credit report if you miss payments or otherwise misuse your credit.
Transferable Points Cards
Transferable points cards are generally issued by banks. The award points accrued by these cards can be transferred to various airline and hotel partners, or even be redeemed for credit toward paid flights or merchandise.
However, the best values are usually found when transferring points to airline partners to book international business class seats.
Right now, there are 2 major issuers of business transferable point credit cards: Chase and American Express.
Chase’s currency is called Chase Ultimate Rewards, and the points can be earned with a number of business credit cards:
| Credit Card | Key Benefits & Info |
|---|
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Learn More (at Chase's secure site) | - Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn
- 25% more value when redeeming points through Ultimate Rewards® travel
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $95
$2,000
Must Reads: For more info on the Ink Business Preferred, see our guides on its benefits, 7 things to do as a new cardholder, and our full review. This is our favorite Chase business credit card. |
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Learn More (at Chase's secure site) | - Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- 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
- Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
- With Fraud Protection your card transactions will be monitored for possible signs of fraudulent activity using real-time fraud monitoring
- With Zero Liability you won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information
- Redeem rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $0
Must Reads: For more info on the Ink Cash Card, see our guide on its benefits and our full review. This is one of several business credit cards from Chase. |
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Learn More (at Chase's secure site) | - Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business
- Redeem rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Earn rewards faster with employee cards at no additional cost. Set individual spending limits for greater control
- With Fraud Protection your card transactions will be monitored for possible signs of fraudulent activity using real-time fraud monitoring
- With Zero Liability you won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information
- 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $0
Must Reads: For more info on the Ink Business Unlimited, see our guide on its benefits and our full review. This is one of several Chase business cards. |
These cards have different benefits and earn bonus points on specific categories like travel, office supply stores, telecommunications, and more.
Chase Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to many airline and hotel partners, including some powerful transfer partners like United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Hyatt, and Virgin Atlantic.
American Express offers a handful of small business credit cards. They have varying benefits like lounge access, bonus points on specific purchase categories, and even rebates on Global Entry and other travel expenses.
Like Chase, American Express has its own award currency, called Membership Rewards. These points can also be transferred to a number of different airline partners, like Avianca LifeMiles, Air France/KLM FlyingBlue, and British Airways.
| Credit Card | Benefits & Info |
|---|
New Welcome Offer
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Learn More (at Amex's secure site) | - Welcome Offer: Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Plus, 0% Intro APR for 12 months from the date of the account opening on purchases eligible for Pay Over Time. After that, your APR will be 14.99% to 22.99% based on your credit worthiness and other factors as determined at the time of account opening.
- Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases.
- Earn 1.5X points on eligible purchases at US construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.
- Unlock over $1,000 in value per year for statement credits on select purchases with your Card, including up to $400 with Dell Technologies, up to $360 with Indeed, up to $150 with Adobe and up to $120 on wireless telephone purchases. Enrollment required.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year toward baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline.
- $179 CLEAR® Credit: Use your Card and get up to $179 back per year on your CLEAR® membership.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more lounge location options than any other credit card on the market as of 9/2021.
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $695
- Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card, click here.
$2,640
Must Reads: For more info on the Amex Business Platinum, see our insights on its benefits, top card FAQ’s and the best airport lounges you can access. Go here for our full review. This is one of several business credit cards from Amex. |
American Express® Business Gold Card
Learn More (at Amex's secure site) | - Welcome Offer: Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
- MORE REWARDS: Get 4x Membership Rewards® points on the 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month. 1x is earned for other purchases.**
- **4x points apply to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year.*
- AIRLINE BONUS: Get 25% points back after you use points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel, up to 250,000 points back per calendar year.*
- PAY OVER TIME OPTION: Decide whether you want to pay eligible purchases in full each month—or pay over time with interest.*
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $295
- *Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Amex Business Gold card, click here.
$1,540
Must Reads: For more info on the Amex Business Gold Card see our guide on its benefits, top FAQ’s and our full review. |
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Learn More (at Amex's secure site) | - Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter.
- You’ve got the power to use your Card beyond its credit limit* with Expanded Buying Power.
- *The amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express, and other factors.
- 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 13.99% – 21.99%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors at account opening.
- Good to Excellent (670-840)
- Annual Fee: $0
- Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Blue Business Plus card, click here.
$330
Must Reads: For more info on the Amex Blue Business Plus, see our guide on its benefits and our full review. This is one of several Amex business credit cards. |
Why Do We Like Transferable Points Cards?
At Upgraded Points, we’ve always been partial to transferable points cards, and we recommend using a transferable points credit card for your business purchases.
Our reasoning behind this is simple: with transferable points cards, you’re not tied to one specific airline or hotel loyalty program. Instead, you have the freedom to transfer to a number of different airlines, giving you maximum flexibility and protecting you from devaluations.
Hot Tip: In addition, cards from American Express and Chase often have some of the best welcome bonuses. Check our card review pages for the current offers!
Airline-Specific Rewards
Alternatively, you can choose a co-branded small business card from an airline or hotel loyalty program of your choice. Nearly all major U.S. airlines and hotel chains have a small business co-branded card, so shop around and see which is best for your travel and spending habits.
These cards often have specific benefits for the airline or hotel chain that issues the card. For example, you may get free status, checked bags, upgraded boarding, or other benefits just by holding the small business credit card.
Unlike transferable points cards, your points usually cannot be transferred out of the loyalty program you’re earning with. This means you’ll be subject to devaluations and have limited flexibility in how you redeem your points.
Cash-Back Rewards
Finally, you can also use a cash-back rewards small business credit card to get no-frills cash-back on your purchases. These rewards are usually awarded in the form of a statement credit or a bank transfer, and the amount of cash-back you’ll earn depends on the card you have.
We’ve found that cash-back cards are best for business owners who don’t travel often and prefer to earn simple cash-back on their purchases instead of points.
Hot Tip: With a cash-back card, you might not get as great of a value for your rewards compared to a transferable points card, because you won’t have the opportunity to maximize points for high-cost award tickets.
Use Shopping Portals to Maximize Your Points Return on Purchases
Use shopping portals to earn extra points on your business purchases. Image Credit: shopping.mileageplus.com.Shopping portals are an easy way to earn extra points on business purchases. Just sign up for a portal, find your merchant of choice, and click through the link on the portal’s site before you make a purchase to earn extra points or cash-back.
The number of points you’ll earn on purchases depends on the vendor, the amount of money you spend, and shopping portal you use. Further, the earning rate per dollar fluctuates frequently by merchant, so use a website like CashBackMonitor to keep track of earning rates across all merchants and portals.
Most major airlines have shopping portals where you can earn extra airline miles on your purchases. Additionally, there are a number of cash-back portals that will give you a percentage of your purchases back in the form of a check or bank transfer.
Note that these points are earned in addition to your credit card points. Stack a shopping portal with your favorite small business credit card, and you’ll earn some serious points on your purchases — especially on big-ticket items like computers and cell phones.
Use Amex Offers to Earn Cash-Back on Some Purchases
Use Amex Offers to earn extra cash-back on business purchases. Image Credit: americanexpress.com.American Express has special offers called Amex Offers for its personal and small business cardholders. These special offers give you cash-back or extra Membership Rewards points when you spend a set amount of money at a specific vendor.
Amex Offers vary by cardholder, so you may not get the same offers as someone else. You can view your available Amex Offers by logging into your American Express account, loading your small business card, and scrolling down past your recent transactions.
Note that you have to manually add each Amex Offer to your account. When scrolling through your Amex Offers, just click the “Add To Card” button to the right of the offer.
The bonus Membership Rewards points or cash-back will be automatically credited to your account after you make a qualifying purchase. These offers rotate regularly, so keep an eye out for offers you can use!
Hot Tip: If you are a Chase credit cardholder, check out Chase Offers for additional discounts on your purchases.
Enroll in VisaSavingsEdge
VisaSavingsEdge lets business owners earn extra cash-back on purchases. Image Credit: visasavingsedge.com.VisaSavingsEdge is a Visa-run cash-back program for small business owners. Just sign up for a VisaSavingsEdge account and link your small business Visa cards to earn extra cash-back on select purchases.
You can view a complete list of participating vendors on the VisaSavingsEdge website, but some of the most useful include Bing Ads, Mail Chimp, and HostGator. Like shopping portals, the amount of cash-back you’ll earn depends on the merchant and how much you spend.
Use Dosh for Bonus Cash-Back at Participating Stores
Use Dosh to earn extra cash-back on your business purchases. Image Credit: Dosh.Dosh is a cash-back app for in-store purchases. Just download the app, link your favorite credit cards, and you’ll be on your way to earning cash-back at participating merchants.
You can view a complete list of participating vendors in the Dosh app. We’ve found that most of the included stores are restaurants, but Staples and other office supply stores can also be found in the app.
As you’d expect, the amount of cash-back you’ll earn depends on the merchant and may fluctuate. Cash-back is earned in addition to your credit card rewards, and you can cash out your Dosh earnings via PayPal once you have $25 in your Dosh account.
Enroll in Dining Rewards to Earn Points on Business Meals
Use dining rewards programs to earn extra points on your business dining expenses. Image Credit: aa.rewardsnetwork.com.Most major airlines and some hotel chains have dining rewards programs, which are like shopping portals for eating out: spend money at a participating restaurant, and you’ll earn extra points (in addition to the points you already earn with your credit card).
Most dining rewards programs have 3 tiers of membership, and members with higher status will earn more points on their dining purchases:
- Basic members: Sign up but don’t opt in for email updates
- Online members: Sign up and opt-in for email updates
- VIP members: Sign up, opt-in for email updates, and use the dining rewards portal more than a certain number of times
Using a dining portal is simple: just sign up for an account, link your credit cards, and dine at a participating restaurant.
Hot Tip: With dining rewards, you’ll earn points based on your membership tier and how much you spend at the restaurant — so you can rack up some serious points on business dinners and catering purchases!
Use MileagePlus X to earn extra points on business purchases. Image Credit: MileagePlus X.MileagePlus X is United’s mobile app you can use to earn extra miles on your day-to-day business (and personal) purchases.
Just download the app and find a participating vendor you want to make a purchase from. Then, you can use a credit card linked to your United account to purchase a gift card to the merchant. The number of points you’ll earn per dollar spent varies based on the merchant and may fluctuate from time to time.
Hot Tip: Cardmembers who have a co-branded United Airlines card will earn a 25% bonus on all MileagePlus X purchases — even if you use a different card to actually make the purchase!
In our research, we’ve found that category bonuses will apply to MileagePlus X purchases made with a Chase credit card. So for example, if you use your Ink Business Preferred Credit Card to buy a travel gift card, you’ll still earn 3 points per dollar spent (since this card earns 3x points on travel).
Keep in mind that this may vary from card to card, so try a test purchase before making a large purchase if you’re counting on bonus points.
Final Thoughts
In this article, you learned several ways to maximize points and cash-back on your business purchases. With these methods, you’ll be on your way to earning valuable points and cash-back on money you need to spend for your business anyway.
We recommend starting by picking a solid credit card for your business, and then moving on to the other methods on this list. Before you know it, you’ll have extra points you can use to subsidize business travel — or take a much-needed vacation!
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