Best Business Credit Card for Travel Rewards
- Points By J
- Sep 17
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 13
For a long time, I assumed that to get a business credit card, you had to have some kind of formal business entity like an LLC. Turns out: that is not true.
Any kind of small business counts, including sole proprietorships like your dog walking business, selling items on Facebook Marketplace, driving for Uber, contract work, etc. More info on what it takes to qualify for a business card here.
That is great news for points fans because business credit cards tend to have:
Strong sign-up / welcome bonus offers
Great point earning bonus categories
Here's my ultimate guide for the best business credit cards on the market, including:
Travel reward miles earning without bonus categories to track (2 miles per $1 spent) - PLUS lounge access (has a special sign-up bonus right now!)
Travel reward miles earning without bonus categories to track (2 miles per $1 spent)
Chase loyalists who want a business card that allows points transfers to travel partners
$0 annual fee, and 1.5 miles per $1 spent
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card - Learn more here
Best for Chase loyalists who want a business card for non-bonus category spend earning
This card is often marketed as a "cash back" card, but you actually earn Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to other Chase credit card accounts, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®. That way, every point you earn can be redeemed with Chase's airline & hotel transer partners for maximum value. Since I'm always looking for new ways to earn points that I can transfer to Hyatt for luxury hotel redemptions, this has become my "go-to" card for business expenses that don't fit into a particular bonus category.
Sign-up bonus: Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Note: This is actually awarded as 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points!
Bonus categories: 1.5% cash back for every $1 spent (awarded as Ultimate Rewards points)
Earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides through September 2027 (3.5% in addition to the 1.5% you already earn on everything dollar spent)
Other benefits: Employee cards available at no additional cost
Annual fee: $0
Travel reward miles earning without bonus categories to track (2 miles per $1 spent) - PLUS lounge access
Capital One Venture X Business - Learn more here
Best for Capital One loyalists who want the best business credit card for travel rewards and non-bonus category spend earning AND lounge access
The big perks of this card? The very generous sign-up bonus, airport lounge access, and annual $300 travel credit...plus 2 miles for every $1 spent (no restrictions).
Special sign-up bonus: Earn up to 400K bonus miles:
200k miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months
And, an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
Bonus categories: 2x miles for every $1 spent
Earn 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel
Other benefits:
Enjoy complimentary airport lounge access for yourself plus two guests each visit any Partner Lounge Network location
Receive an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel
Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck
Employee cards available at no additional cost
Annual fee: $395
Travel reward miles earning without bonus categories to track (2 miles per $1 spent)
Capital One Spark Miles for Business - Learn more here
Best for Capital One loyalists who want the best business credit card for travel rewards and non-bonus category spend earning
2 miles for every dollar spent - on every single purchase. The card has no limits or category restrictions and the miles won't expire for the life of the account. Plus, if you love Capital One's 15+ travel loyalty programs, this card is a no-brainer.
Sign-up bonus: Spend $4,500 on purchases in the first 3 months to earn 50,000 miles
Bonus categories: 2x miles for every $1 spent
Earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site
Other benefits:
Enjoy 2 complimentary airport lounge visits each year with options including Capital One Lounges or 100+ locations via their Partner Lounge Network
Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck
Employee cards available at no additional cost
Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 after
Luxury airport lounge access
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express- Learn more here
Best business card for gaining luxury lounge access, and earning points from airfare spend
A great option for luxury perks like lounge access. Annual fee can easily be offset by the available credits, if you can take advantage of them.
Welcome Offer: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Bonus categories:
5x points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com
2x points on eligible purchases at US (on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year):
Construction material & hardware suppliers
Electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
Shipping providers
Each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more
Other benefits:
Access to Amex's global lounge network (limited to eligible Card Members)
Annual statement credits of up to $250 with Adobe, up to $150 at Dell Technologies, up to $360 with Indeed, up to $200 in airline fees, up to $200 with Hilton, and up to $120 on wireless phone purchases.*
And, more :)
Annual fee: $895 (see rates and fees)
Great points earning from a couple of business categories
American Express® Business Gold Card - Learn more hereÂ
Best for those with high-spend on a couple of business categories
Fantastic card to consider if you have a lot of expenses in a particular category. Business owners love to use this card for ad spending, especially!
Sign-up bonus: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the card within the first 3 months of membership
Bonus categories: 4x points on every dollar spent on your top 2 spending categories (which could be gas and restaurants, or online ad spending).* This benefit is on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year, then 1x points thereafter.
Other benefits:
Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required.*
Annual fee: $375 (see rates and fees)
Chase loyalists who want a business card that allows points transfers to travel partners
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card - Learn more here (referral link)
Best for Chase loyalists who want a business card that enables them to transfer points to Chase's travel partners like United, Southwest, Hyatt, and Marriott
This card is often marketed as a "cash back" card, but you actually earn Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to other Chase credit card accounts, like the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve. Since I'm always looking for new ways to earn points that I can transfer to Hyatt for luxury hotel redemptions, this has become my "go-to" card for business expenses that don't fit into a particular bonus category.
Sign-up bonus: Earn 90,000 points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Bonus categories: 1.5x points for every $1 spent
Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary year:
Shipping purchases
Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
Internet, cable and phone services
Travel
Earn unlimited 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides through September 2027
Other benefits: Employee cards available at no additional cost
Annual fee: $95
All information about the Ink Business Preferred has been collected independently by Points By J. Ink Business Preferred is no longer available through Points By J.
Moral of the story: don't count yourself out from these amazing business cards. It's much more straightforward to qualify for them than you might have thought.
*Each Benefit requires enrollment via their website, terms apply to American Express Benefits and offers. visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired.