As a business, it’s likely you have a fair amount of costs to pay every year. That’s where a business travel credit card could help turn your spending into rewards.
If you were to charge these expenses on a business travel credit card, you could earn thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of points on your expenditure, which you could redeem for cash back, reduced airfares, hotel stays and more.
If travel is a key part of your business, then holding a business travel credit card makes all the more sense, as you could gain complimentary airport lounge access, travel insurance, TSA PreCheck® credits and elite status at certain hotel chains, among other perks. You’ll also be able to issue employee cards, accelerating point earning.
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In this article, we’ll break down the best credit cards for business travel, going through their main features and outlining their pros and cons. At the end, we’ll provide a guide to help you understand the key features to focus on when choosing the best business credit card for travel rewards.
Here’s a quick overview of the best business credit cards for travelers:
Card | Annual Fee | Best for |
---|---|---|
Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Credit Card | $70 ($25 per employee card) | Alaska Airlines companion fare and redemption flexibility for travel |
American Express® Business Gold Card (see rates and fees) | $375 ($50 for the first employee card, up to 99 free of charge thereafter) | Earn 4X points on up to two business spending categories of your choice (up to $150,000 per year, 1X point thereafter) |
Capital One Spark Miles for Business Card | $95 (employee cards free of charge) | Access to Capital One lounges and TSA or Global Entry statement credit |
Capital One Venture X Business Card | $395 (employee cards free of charge) | Complimentary Priority Pass membership and Capital One Lounge access |
IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card | $99 (employee cards free of charge) | Annual free night award plus complimentary IHG Platinum Elite Status |
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | $95 (employee cards free of charge) | Strong bonus categories |
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card | $0 | Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases |
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card (see rates and fees) | $125 (employee cards free of charge) | Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status and other hotel related perks |
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card | $199 | Ability to work toward earning a Southwest Companion Pass |
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates and fees) | $695 ($350 per employee card) | Wide range of luxury travel benefits, including lounge access, as well as statement credits for business purchases |
Without further ado, here’s a detailed overview of the best business credit cards for travelers.
If you’re a frequent flyer with Alaska Airlines, one of its co-branded airline cards, the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Credit Card, offers significant value.
Compared to other business credit cards, the standout perk of the Alaska Airlines Visa® Business credit card is its companion fare.
The Alaska Airlines companion fare enables the primary cardholder to purchase one round-trip coach companion fare on Alaska Airlines flights for a price of only $122. This price includes a $99 base fare plus $23 worth of taxes and fees (subject to your flight itinerary). The companion fare is valid for one calendar year and unlike the Southwest Companion Pass, has one-time use only.
With Alaska Airlines’ business card, you’re entitled to earn two companion passes—one as part of a welcome bonus and another as an annual account anniversary reward.
The current welcome bonus enables you to redeem thousands of miles in addition to a companion pass fare, after charging $3,000 worth of purchases to your card within the first three months of opening your account. You then have a second opportunity to earn another companion fare, after charging a total of $6,000 to your card within the prior anniversary year. The latter is a recurring annual offer that enables you to receive one companion fare per year.
Given that the companion fare charges a flat fee, you can maximize its value by redeeming it on international flights during peak times.
The second major benefit of the card is its redemption opportunities. As a Oneworld alliance member with additional partner airlines, you can redeem Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles on up to 28 airlines, maximizing your redemption options when traveling internationally. You can get the best value out of your miles when redeeming them on transfer partner flights.
Alaska Airlines Visa® Business Card
50,000
Bonus Miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $23)
after you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days
Annual Fee: $70 | Terms Apply.
As business cards for travel go, the American Express® Business Gold Card offers higher category bonus spending rates that are based on your individual spending habits.
Using the card, you’ll earn 4X points on your top two spending categories each billing cycle on up to $150,000 per year in combined purchases (1X point thereafter). Eligible spending categories include the following:
This makes the card highly adaptable to your individual business expenditure. You’ll also earn 3X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked via AmexTravel.com, covering you for business travel.
The card comes with an annual fee of $375, plus a fee of $50 for the first Employee Business Gold card. After that, you can issue up to 99 additional employee cards free of charge.
American Express® Business Gold Card
100,000
Membership Rewards® Points
after spending $15,000 in the first 3 months. Terms apply.
Annual Fee: $375 | Terms Apply. | Rates & Fees.
The Capital One Spark Miles for Business Card offers a range of business-related perks for a relatively low annual fee of $95, which is waived in the first year.
It earns a flat rate of 2X miles on every purchase for your business, as well as 5X on hotels and rental cars when booked through Capital One Travel. This makes it perfect for earning miles on non-standard bonus category business spending.
You’ll also get up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck, as well as two annual complimentary visits to Capital One Lounges.
And when it comes to issuing employee cards, you won’t have to pay any extra fees.
Capital One miles can be transferred to 18 different airline and hotel partners.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
50,000
Bonus Miles
after you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $0 for your first year, then $95. | Terms Apply.
If you want access to premium travel perks without such a hefty annual fee, the Capital One Venture X Business Card may be the option for you.
With an annual fee of $395, and no additional employee card fees, the perks of this card easily offset the fees.
The card has a strong base rate of 2X miles on every purchase, in addition to 5X miles on flights and 10X miles on hotel and rental cars when booked through Capital One Travel.
The card also comes with a $300 annual statement credit for travel purchases made through Capital One Travel—reducing the cost of business travel—as well as an annual account anniversary bonus of 10,000 miles.
You’ll also get a statement credit of up to $120 for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee to save you time when traveling through airports, as well as complimentary Priority Pass and Capital One Lounge membership—the former of which has an equivalent value of $469.
Capital One Venture X Business
150,000
Bonus Miles
after you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months
Annual Fee: $395 | Terms Apply.
If you want a business credit card for travel that rewards stays at IHG® Hotels and Resorts, the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card is the go-to choice.
It earns 26X points at IHG Hotels and Resorts, 5X points on travel, dining, gas stations and select business purchases and 3X points on all other purchases. The card therefore not only rewards spending at IHG properties but also expands to a diverse range of bonus categories, from travel to gas.
The card comes with an anniversary free night award (40,000 point redemption cap), as well as the ability to earn a fourth night free of charge when redeeming points for a consecutive three-night stay.
It also comes with IHG Platinum Elite Status, in addition to a statement credit toward Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($78)—solid business travel benefits.
The card has a reasonable annual fee of $99, which is quickly offset by its perks, and charges no additional fees for employee cards.
IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card
140,000
Bonus Points
after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee: $99 | Terms Apply.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card from Chase offers a lucrative welcome bonus in addition to strong bonus category earning rates, all for an annual fee of $95.
You’ll earn 3X points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases for the following spend categories:
After you’ve reached the annual spending cap of $150,000, you’ll earn 1X points on any remaining purchases for the rest of the account anniversary year.
The Ink Business Preferred offers a welcome bonus typically in the range of 100,000 points, after spending $8,000 within the first three months of having opened an account. These 100,000 points have an equivalent value of $1,000, which you can increase to $1,250 when redeemed for travel purchased via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
You can also take advantage of Chase’s transfer partners for 1:1 redemptions with a range of airline and hotel loyalty schemes.
On top of this, it’s free to issue employee cards, enabling employee spending to earn you the welcome bonus and additional points even faster.
Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
90,000
bonus points
after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Annual Fee: $95 | Terms Apply.
While the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card may not be as flashy in perks as other business travel credit cards, it serves one beneficial purpose: offsetting the cost of purchases that fall outside standard bonus categories.
The Ink Business Unlimited earns a simple 1.5% cash back on all purchases, without any annual fees or additional fees for employee cards. This makes it an excellent card to have in your wallet for those purchases that fall outside other bonus categories.
It also comes with a range of insurances, including travel, emergency assistance services and purchase protection.
You can choose to either earn cash back or Ultimate Rewards on the Ink Business Unlimited. If you simply want to offset upfront costs, you could opt for cash back. However, suppose you have other Chase cards in your wallet, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred®. In that case, you can transfer the Ultimate Rewards earned on your Ink Business Unlimited card to your Sapphire account for a 1.25% to 1.5% higher redemption value.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750
bonus cash back
after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Terms Apply.
For loyal Marriott Bonvoy customers, the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card offers great value for spending and redemption.
You’ll earn 6X points on eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program, 4X points at restaurants worldwide, U.S. gas stations, wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers and on U.S. purchases for shipping, and 2X points on all other purchases.
You’ll receive a 7% discount off standard rates for reservations of standard guest rooms at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy program (excluding Premium rooms). Additionally, every anniversary year, you’ll receive a free night award and you have the ability to earn a second free night if you spend $60,000 within a calendar year. Awards can be used for a redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points at more than 7,000 hotels.
The card also confers complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status.
For an annual fee of $125, with employee cards free of charge, the Marriott Bonvoy Business credit card is of significant value for the business traveler.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
Earn 3 Free Night Awards
after you use your new Card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Each Free Night Award has a redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points, for a total potential value of up to 150,000 points, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees. Terms apply.
Annual Fee: $125 | Terms Apply. | Rates & Fees.
The Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card offers unrivaled benefits for frequent flyers on Southwest.
Earning the lucrative welcome bonus, typically around 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, puts you well on your way to earning the coveted Southwest Companion Pass, which allows a companion to fly with you for only $5.60 in taxes and fees for the remaining calendar year you earn it in, plus a second year.
For every $10,000 you spend, you’ll earn 1,500 qualifying points toward A-List status, without any caps. You’re also eligible for up to four upgraded boardings per year (subject to availability), as well as an annual 9,000 point anniversary boost.
You’ll also benefit from expedited security processing with a statement credit toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS membership application fees.
Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
80,000
bonus points
after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee: $199 | Terms Apply.
When it comes to business travel and lounge access, the Business Platinum Card® from American Express is unbeatable.
Despite its hefty fee of $695 and the additional fee of $350 per employee card, its return in benefits can go a long way to offset these costs.
The card offers a strong bonus category earning rate of 5X points on prepaid flights and travel booked through AmexTravel.com as well as 1.5X points on key business categories, including purchases costing $5,000 or more. Additionally, it offers more than $1,000 worth of statement credits for business-related purchases with specific brands.
When it comes to business travel, this card really stands out.
It reimburses the application fee for either Global Entry every four years or TSA PreCheck every 4.5 years, up to $120, allowing you to speed through Customs and Border Protection processing as well as physical screening on international and domestic flights. It also reimburses CLEAR® Plus membership (up to $199 in statement credits) and offers a $200 statement credit toward airline incidental fees with one pre-selected qualifying airline.
Members also receive complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, Hilton Honors Gold status and access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection. This alone makes it one of the best business credit cards for travelers.
For frequent flyers, hotel users or high-spenders, the Business Platinum card quickly justifies its annual fee.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
150,000
Membership Rewards® Points
after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Platinum Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership
Annual Fee: $695 | Terms Apply. | Rates & Fees.
Business owners who travel frequently can benefit significantly from holding travel rewards business credit cards.
You’ll be able to earn points and miles on travel-related purchases, as well as on other key business spending categories, depending on the card.
You’ll also benefit from business and travel-related statement credits, as well as lifestyle perks, such as airport lounge access or rental car company status privileges. These perks and bonus category earning rates can lead to significant business savings in the long run.
For employees on the go, you can issue multiple cards, conveniently enabling their spending to earn points as well as allowing them to redeem these points for travel rewards.
When it comes to redemption opportunities, you may be able to redeem points and miles for reduced airfares, hotel stays and rental car costs, as well as for plain-and-simple cash back.
Opening a business travel rewards credit card also comes with the general perks related to separating personal and business expenditures.
First off, tax season will be less of a stress when it comes to calculating business expenditures.
Second, you may see an increase in your personal credit score, as opening a business travel rewards credit card will allow you to build your business credit score, while reducing your personal credit utilization ratio.
When selecting the best business card for travel, there are some key card features to consider. By prioritizing these features in your selection, you’ll maximize the benefit of holding a business travel credit card.
1 U.S. Dollar is not equal to 1 Swiss Franc. Likewise, 1 Chase Ultimate Reward is not equal to 1 Avios.
Choosing a card with a reward system that aligns with your travel goals and business expenditure is crucial for maximizing the value of your business spending.
You need to consider what your end travel goal is when it comes to redeeming points, as well as what your regular business expenses are.
Are you looking for discounted air travel with a specific airline? Discounted hotel stays? Or do you want a card that earns a point currency that is flexible enough to be redeemed and transferred to a wide range of airline and hotel loyalty schemes?
For example, take Chase Ultimate Rewards. They’re one of the most valuable and flexible point currencies you can hold. You can transfer them at a ratio of 1:1 to 11 different airline frequent flyer programs and three hotel loyalty schemes, as well as redeem them for fixed value through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.
However, if your business primarily takes frequent flights on Alaska Airlines, then an Ultimate Rewards-earning card is not going to get you very far. In this case, a card that earns Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles would be of greater value to you, as they will reward your spending and offset flight costs far more than Ultimate Rewards will.
This of course is one example of many, and the reverse could easily apply to your specific business situation. The point is that the value of any reward points system is dependent on your business’ specific travel behavior and goals.
Similarly, don’t neglect the power of airline alliances and card-issuer transfer partners.
Welcome bonuses on business travel credit cards are often more lucrative than those on personal cards. They typically require you to reach a minimum spending threshold within the first three months of opening your account.
In the world of points and miles, welcome offers are your best friend. Welcome offers are the number one way to accumulate thousands of points and will give you the best return on your spending.
For example, if a card offers a 100,000-point welcome bonus after spending $3,000, you’re effectively earning 33X points per dollar spent, giving you a massive return on your spending.
When planning your wider card strategy, you should ensure that new card applications for business travel credit cards align with periods of high business expenditure. For example, if your business requires new capital or renovation, this would be the perfect time to use a new business travel credit card to earn its welcome bonus through organic spending.
Finding a card with the highest welcome offer you can realistically earn without overspending is key to accumulating thousands of points and miles.
High annual fees are a surefire way to put many prospective users on edge. However, annual fees need to be understood not simply in terms of their upfront cost, but rather in terms of the degree to which the card’s perks can offset them.
Think of it this way. If a card costs $500 per year to hold, but gives you a return value in cardholder perks of $1,000, then you’re offsetting the annual fee by double—as long as you actually use these perks. That’s why selecting a business travel credit card with bonus spending categories and perks that align with your spending habits and goals is crucial for determining your ability to offset annual fees.
Similarly, annual fee-incurring cards often confer greater value and higher welcome bonuses than $0 annual fee cards. Normally, the higher the annual fee, the greater the monetary value of perks and bonus spending category rates are. Take the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card vs. the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, for example.
The $0 annual fee Ink Business Unlimited card offers a welcome bonus typically in the range of $750 to $900 in cash back, after spending $6,000 within the first three months. In contrast, the $95 Ink Business Preferred card offers a welcome bonus typically of 100,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 within the first three months.
100,000 Ultimate Rewards have a value of at least $1,000 or $1,250 when redeemed for travel via the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Sure, there’s a higher minimum spending requirement for the welcome bonus on the annual fee card. But in return, you receive greater value for your spending and even have the ability to increase the redemption value via Chase Ultimate Rewards travel purchases.
Given these reasons, you need to consider the degree to which cardholder perks and bonus category spending rates can help you to offset the annual fee when selecting a card, rather than shunning annual fee cards altogether.
Airport lounge access is no longer just for the rich and famous. In fact, many business travel credit cards now offer complimentary lounge access.
There are thousands of airport lounges scattered across the globe. However, no single card is a universal key. Instead, business travel credit cards offer complimentary access to specific lounge networks.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is the juggernaut of airport lounge access. It confers complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which includes multiple networks such as Lufthansa, Delta Sky Clubs and Centurion lounges.
When selecting a card, consider which airports you and your employees frequent and which lounge networks operate there. By selecting a card based on this strategy, you’ll be able to maximize lounge access benefits, thereby offsetting the annual fee to a greater degree.
Many premium business travel credit cards come with various forms of travel insurance. You can expect to benefit from the following insurances on certain business credit cards for travel:
In the event that your trip is cut short by severe weather, sickness or any other covered situations, you can receive reimbursement for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses charged to your business travel credit card.
Some of the best business credit cards for travel also come with cell phone protection, purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
In some cases, these complimentary insurances can suffice to cover you for a trip, saving you from having to pay for an extra insurance policy.
That being said, be sure to always read the exact terms of coverage, as well as keep in mind that you may need to take out a separate insurance policy to cover special activities or customize insurance limits.
If you’re considering opening a business travel credit card, it’s likely you may need to use your card abroad. For this reason, it’s important to opt for a card without foreign transaction fees.
It’s easy to neglect the cumulative effect of foreign transaction fees. What may seem like a few dollars extra can quickly add up. For example, if your card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee and you spend $2,000 abroad while on business travel, that amounts to $60 in fees.
On top of this, when paying for hotels, flights or business-related purchases on a non-U.S. website, you may also incur foreign transaction fees. If you regularly pay suppliers abroad, the cost of these foreign transaction fees will not only eat into the rewards earned on credit card spending, they may eat into your end profit.
For this reason, the best business credit cards for travel are those which waive foreign transaction fees.
The strategy for maximizing the benefits of your business travel credit card is no different from that for a consumer card.
It begins by selecting a card that offers high bonus category spending rates on your everyday business expenditure, as well as perks that you can use often. This alone will offset most annual fees.
Next, you need to consider the ideal time to apply for the card.
Some business travel credit cards vary their welcome bonuses depending on the time of year. If you check a card’s welcome bonus history and apply at the time it’s typically highest, you’ll maximize the return on your spending.
Likewise, if possible, try to align your card application with periods of naturally high expenditure. If you need to make some big investments in your business, paying for it with your new card will make earning that welcome bonus one step easier.
Aside from strategically planning application dates and selecting a business travel credit card best suited to your business, success with business travel credit cards comes from following the general principles of responsible credit card usage. Those are:
You can have the best business travel credit card, but only responsible usage will guarantee you thousands of points and miles.
If you charge most of your business purchases to your business travel credit card, you’ll accumulate thousands of points while building a solid business credit score.
As a business owner, business expenses are an inevitable part of life. But using these expenses to leverage discounted travel is optional—and it’s an option you should always choose.
By opening a business travel credit card, you’ll turn your and your employees’ expenditures into points and miles. Whether it’s airport lounge access, discounted airfares, free hotel stays, priority boarding, travel insurance or expedited security screening via Global Entry, points and miles will make it possible.
Once you find the business travel credit card that suits your needs, keep up with 10xTravel for the best insider hints and tips to maximize your points and miles.
* Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.