The Best Cash Back Business Credit Cards

A business credit card is an incredibly valuable tool for small companies. It allows you to keep your business spending separate from your personal charges and to extend purchasing power to your employees. Furthermore, the right small business credit card can offer you valuable rewards in the form of points, miles, or cash back.

The ability to earn points and miles has its benefits, but many business people still prefer to receive cash back rewards from their credit card. Cash back can be used for anything and is never subject to the whims of the airlines and hotels, which frequently change the terms and conditions of their loyalty programs to make points and miles less valuable. And with cash back cards becoming increasingly competitive, now is the time to look for a card that can offer you the most rewards for your business spending.

Which Kind Of Cash Back Card Should You Choose?

Cash back cards for small businesses can be divided into two different categories. First, there are the cards that offer a single rate of return on all purchases, typically between 1% and 2%. Then there are the small business cards that offer bonus cash back on specific qualifying purchases while earning just 1% on everything else. To make this more complicated, many cards restrict the total dollar amount of purchases each year that qualify for the bonus, and you’ll earn just 1% back on all subsequent purchases. These limits can be imposed based on the calendar year or the card member year.

Read on for a look at some of the best cash back business credit cards. First, we’ll look at the ones that offer strong rewards on everything you buy, followed by those that feature bonus rewards on some purchases.

Cards That Offer The Same Cash Back Rewards On All Purchases

Some small business owners are content to use the same cash back rewards credit card for all purchases and want to earn the highest rate of return they can without having to worry about bonuses. In the past, it was common for small business cards to offer a mere 1% cash back on all purchases, but that is no longer considered to be a competitive rate of return.

Today, the best small business cash back cards that offer the same rewards on all purchases will give you at least 1.5% cash back. Some of these cards will do so with no annual fee, but you should expect to pay more for cards that offer higher returns. It also makes sense to look at the benefits offered by these cards, as well as other possible fees, such as those for foreign transactions.

Capital One Spark Cash for Business

Capital One offers a full line of small business credit cards under its Spark brand, which includes cards that offer points towards travel or cash back. The Capital One Spark Cash small business card offers you 2% cash back on all purchases, with no limits. New cardholders can also earn $500 in cash back after using their card to spend $450 within three months of account opening, one of the best cash back sign-up bonuses offered anywhere. Other benefits include free employee cards as well as quarterly and annual spending reports. Your purchases are also covered by damage and theft protection policies for their first 90 days, and an extended warranty that can add one year to your manufacturer’s warranty.

As part of the Visa Signature program, the Capital One Spark Cash also offers a range of travel and shopping benefits and discounts. For example, you can receive a third night free and premium benefits at luxury hotels around the world as part of the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel collection. The $95 annual fee for this card is waived the first year, and as with all Capital One cards, there are never any foreign transaction fees.

Read our full Spark Cash review for more information on this card.

Capital One Spark Cash Select for Business

This card is very similar to the standard Capital One Spark card, but it offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases with no annual fee. Therefore, this card makes the most sense for those who have more modest spending requirements that don’t justify the annual fee of the standard Spark Cash card.

With this version, new cardholders can earn a $200 cash bonus when they spend $3,000 on their card within three months of account opening. It includes many of the same benefits as the standard Spark Cash card, such as purchase protection and extended warranty coverage. It’s even part of the Visa Signature program, which is rare for a card with no annual fee.

Head over to our full Spark Cash Select review for more information.

The Plum Card From American Express

This small business card offers you cash back in a unique way. First, the Plum Card from American Express is a charge card, not a credit card, so you are required to pay your entire statement balance in full, every month. But when you make your payment within 10 days of your statement closing, you’ll receive 1.5% cash back on all of your purchases. Alternatively, you can take up to 60 days to pay your balance, but without receiving any cash back. This card makes sense for small business owners who may prefer to earn rewards some months and help manage their cash flow and extend payment at other times.

The Plum Card also provides no preset spending limit, which grants you access to adjustable purchasing power. Note that this does not mean unlimited spending; instead, your purchasing power will fluctuate depending on your card use, payment history, credit record, financial resources, and other factors.

Other benefits include extended warranty coverage and a purchase protection program. The card also comes with an account manager feature that lets you delegate a trusted individual that can manage your business card.

The Plum Card’s hefty $250 annual fee is waived the first year, and there are no foreign transaction fees.

Take a look at our full Plum Card review for more information on this card.

Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card

This card features 1.5% cash back on all purchases and has no annual fee. New accounts can earn $500 in bonus cash back after spending $5,000 within three months. Cash back can be applied automatically as a credit to your account or deposited to your eligible checking or savings account each quarter.

As an alternative to the cash back program, you can receive your rewards in the form of points that can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, or airline tickets, with a 10% bonus when you redeem your points online.

This card also features cash management tools and spending reports that are available online. There’s no annual fee, and you can add up to 99 additional employee cards at no extra cost. There are also no foreign transaction fees.

Interested in learning more? Check out our complete Wells Fargo Business Platinum review.

Cards That Offer Bonus Cash Back Rewards On Some Purchases

When you have a business rewards card that offers you the same amount of cash back for all purchases, the most you can possibly get is 2%. But when your small business card offers you bonus rewards for buying certain items, it’s possible to earn as much as 5% cash back on some of the purchases you make the most. As a trade-off, you’ll only earn 1% cash back on all purchases that don’t qualify for a bonus.

Other factors you should consider when choosing one of these reward cards are which purchases will qualify for the bonus and any annual maximums on eligible rewards. For example, some credit cards will offer bonuses that are limited to qualifying purchases in the United States only, while others don’t have any restrictions on transactions made in other countries. Furthermore, many of the most generous bonuses come with annual limits, after which you’ll only receive 1% cash back. These limits can be relatively large, such as $250,000 in annual purchases, or they can be limited to as little as $25,000 in qualifying purchases each year.

Chase Ink Business Preferred

This premium small business card from Chase offers Ultimate Rewards points, and you have the option of redeeming them for cash back or other options. New accounts can earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 within three months of account opening. You’ll also earn three points per dollar on your first $150,000 spent in each account anniversary year in combined purchases on travel, purchases, internet service, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines. You can earn one point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Points can be redeemed for one cent each as cash back or statement credits. Other options include transferring your points to miles with nine different frequent flyer programs or using points with four different hotel programs. Notably, your points are worth 25% more when you make travel reservations through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel center. Finally, points can be redeemed for approximately one cent each toward merchandise or gift cards.

Also included in this card’s benefits are trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance, and a cell phone protection plan. You’ll receive accidental theft and damage insurance, as well as an extended warranty policy that can add up to a year of coverage to your manufacturer’s warranty. This card has a $95 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.

Interested in learning more? Head over to our full Ink Business Preferred review.

Chase Ink Business Cash

This entry-level small business card offers you 5% cash back on your first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year. You’ll earn 2% cash back on your first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Benefits include purchase protection and extended warranty coverage. When traveling, you also have access to travel and emergency assistance services, as well as a roadside dispatch hotline. There’s no annual fee for this card, but a 3% foreign transaction fee is imposed on charges processed outside of the United States.

Take a look at our complete Ink Business Cash review for more information on this card.

Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card By Citi

Costco stores are known for their low prices on bulk goods, and this model also appeals to small business owners. The Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card from Citi is one of the strongest cash back small business cards that offers bonuses on many purchases. With this card, you can earn 4% cash back on your first $7,000 spent each year on gas purchases, including those from Costco, and 1% after that. You also earn 3% cash back on all restaurant and travel purchases worldwide, 2% cash back from all Costco purchases and 1% cash back everywhere else.

This card includes damage and theft protection that covers your eligible purchases for 120 days (90 days for New York residents) as well as an extended warranty policy that can add a year to your manufacturer’s warranty. You also receive worldwide auto rental insurance, travel accident insurance and access to a travel and emergency assistance hotline. There’s no annual fee for this card with your paid Costco membership and no foreign transaction fees.

Head over to our Costco Anywhere Visa review for more information on this card.

Bank of America Business Advantage Cash Rewards Card

This small business credit card can offer you up to 3% cash back on some of your business purchases. You’ll earn 3% cash back at gas stations and at office supply stores up to $250,000 spent each year, and 1% cash back after that. You also earn 2% cash back on purchases at restaurants and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

New accounts can earn $200 in cash back after spending $500 within 60 days of account opening. New accounts will also receive nine months of 0% APR financing on new purchases before the standard interest rate begins to apply.

Points are available for cash back after earning $25, and you can choose to redeem your rewards as a statement credit or have cash deposited into a Bank of America small business checking or savings account. There’s no annual fee for this card, but it does have a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Read our complete Business Advantage Cash Rewards review for more information.

Final Thoughts

For a concept as simple as cash back, there are actually quite a lot of different small business credit card offers available. It’s important to do your research and select the one that will offer you the most benefits.

While some small business owners will need to choose between cards with bonus offers and those without, others may be able to maximize cash back by carrying at least one of each. Closely examine the features and benefits of each of the cards above, and you’ll have all the information you need to find the card that best meets the needs of your business.