Business Credit Cards

[cellophane]

So I'm doing the thing and have incorporated and set up a business bank account for some consulting work and I'm in need of a business credit card and have no clue where to start. I've skimmed through things like NerdWallet and the offerings my bank (PNC) has, but there are a ton of options and it is a lot. I design build buildings and abuse the software, but the business end of things is not my forte (or what I want to spend my time doing.)

Some basics:
Credit score is very good / excellent (775+)
I don't travel much (1-2 times / year) so as much as I like the features of the AmEx Business Platinum Card, it isn't worth the cost (I <3 the lounges.)
Cash Back is generally worth more to me than rewards that I will never bother to cash-in (other than things like the auto-lounge access per above.)
I think general cash back is better than categories, since those tend to change. Unless I can lock in categories (i.e. internet, power, rent), then it might be ok.
Less than 10k / month in expected expenditures- almost all of which are current expenses that are being moved around due to the incorporation (read: taxes)

Questions:
Is it logical to just stick with my current bank to keep things simple, or hunt down a specific card / reward package?
Any pitfalls to look out for with this?
Anyone I should avoid? I will (most likely) be sticking with a major source- so hopefully I won't hit a fly by night outfit.

If anyone has advice, good experiences, bad experiences, etc- I'm open to listening / advice.

Thanks! 🍻

[scottieb]

Following as I'm in a similar position.

[BrendanB]

have two reward accounts:
Spark Business Visa
Bonvoy Amex

Both pretty decent

[HammerD]

my two cents based on limited experience and a quick skim:

I would double check to see what benefits you get with the bank you opened your business accounts with. They may or may not be useful for you. For example, I received an additional cash bonus along with basic cash back/rewards program and was also able to avoid fees on my checking account by taking out and using their credit card. I am at chase... but, my revenue/expenses for this llc are far less than yours so you may already be in the clear on the fees and stuff which opens up additional options.

but you could start there and then decide or even take out a second card for other bennies if your bank doesnt offer what you want beyond the basics. beware of annual fees unless you really leverage all the bennies, as well as cash back caps since that appears to be what you are mostly after. a decent, mindless, no fee card is the ink business unlimited. 1.5% cashback on ALL purchases with no cap. 900 welcome bonus as well as 0 apr for 12mo. otherwise, depending on your expense categories that make up the ~10k/mo, maybe the amex business gold which lets you lock in 4xpoints on 2 categories with a welcome bonus valued up to $1540. (295 annual fee).

[cellophane]

Thanks =)

I would double check to see what benefits you get with the bank you opened your business accounts with. They may or may not be useful for you. For example, I received an additional cash bonus along with basic cash back/rewards program and was also able to avoid fees on my checking account by taking out and using their credit card. I am at chase... but, my revenue/expenses for this llc are far less than yours so you may already be in the clear on the fees and stuff which opens up additional options.

I'm pretty sure I can get my checking account fees waived with a card. Good call there, I'll double check. And the only reason there are really expenses at all is because I'm working from home, so things like internet & power become business expenses. Otherwise it would only be small random things like pens and the occasional travel. And stuff like health insurance =/

[BOOSH]

Using a credit card for all your bills is good way to really rack up airline miles, they almost always come out to be more than the 1% you get back from the "rewards cards" - paying all your bills will credit cards (internet, power, whatever) also gives you 3-4 weeks cushion on actual payment. I have a southwest visa card and basically travel for free (I only travel 2-5 times a year) because of this. I'll be happy to send you a link so I can pick up 10,000 points for the referral - ha.

[ford]

Good call on a card for all your business purchases. Your accountant will be pleased.

My wife discovered credit card/travel points gaming a year ago so now I've got like... a weird number of credit cards. I have cards from Chase, Capital One, two credit unions and the Apple Card.

Some random thoughts since I technically have a business card my wife had me sign up for related to travel points games... If I were to pick a non-points card for business I would strongly consider the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card because:

No annual fee - I personally don't think annual memberships pay for themselves as often as people think

1.5% cash back - It's decent in my opinion. Sure, you can find 2% at a couple places but they are generally not places I want to bank. They have another card where you can earn 5% on certain categories if you want to play that game... but a business card should be for any purchase related to a business so if you start playing the "oh! I get X for using Y card for Z purchase so I'll use Y card even if it's not the business card" game, it can mess things up for your accounting.

I like Chase because:

The phone support for Chase has been fairly good and while I haven't had huge issues, they've been quick to respond.

Their web portal also has the best spending/reporting tools I've seen compared to the other cards I use. Natively they can break down purchases by month into different categories. No importing to a tool like Mint or Copilot is required out of the box to understand what money is going to broadly.

So what don't I like?

I don't love that they don't have a 'virtual card' for purchases online I can utilize like I do with my Capital One card. Not a deal breaker... I only use the virtual card number if I'm purchasing something from a site that looks to have iffy security which could all just be paranoia to me.

I also had some trouble getting my card. Instead of instant approval like my wife usually gets they put me in the maybe pile and said they'd get back to me. That may be because I generally keep my credit frozen or filled out something wrong on my initial application, but once I got the card it's been smooth sailing.

If you decide to go with it... (honestly, any card you use exclusively for business transactions will work) try signing up using my referral link. This will allow me to test if there is any relationship between my wife's libido and travel points =P

[cellophane]

Good call on a card for all your business purchases. Your accountant will be pleased.

My wife discovered credit card/travel points gaming

Accountant is the one that recommended it. She rocks!
The travel points industry... Is insane. The loyalty programs & cards the airlines run are worth way more than the airlines themselves. Wendover made a video a while back that talks about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggUduBmvQ_4

I don't love that they don't have a 'virtual card' for purchases online I can utilize like I do with my Capital One card. Not a deal breaker... I only use the virtual card number if I'm purchasing something from a site that looks to have iffy security which could all just be paranoia to me.

I do not understand why banks/cards do not offer this as a standard thing - I would use it all the time. It has to cost less than dealing with the fraud related costs.