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Even the most seasoned entrepreneurs still fret over finances. Any way to bring in additional money is always welcome, which is why it’s important that you discover and use all the tools at your disposal to earn extra funds for your business. One of the easiest ways to earn extra funds for your business is to have a rewards business credit card that allows you to maximize spending by offering points or cash back for every dollar you spend.
This being said, if you have a business that spends a lot of time packing, weighing, and sending goods, you probably face a hefty shipping bill. So—why not look into the best business credit cards for shipping to start earning rewards on all of that spending?
To help you find the right shipping credit card for your business, we’ll explore six top options—including tiered reward cards and cash back credit cards. We’ll explain how you can start earning with these cards on all of your shipping expenses, as well as discuss additional benefits each of these cards offers.
Between working with different carriers and the cost associated with each, shipping can be a huge hassle—and expense—for business owners. In particular, if you run an ecommerce business and sell items across the country, you need to be sure that your shipping is prompt, accurate, and as cost-effective as possible. Therefore, if you spend a significant amount of funds on shipping, you might decide to look for a business rewards credit card that allows you to earn points or cash back on all of your shipping expenses.
With all of the options on the market, you might find that any rewards-based credit card can save you money if you use it to pay for your UPS, FedEx, or USPS shipping expenses. This being said, however, the best business credit cards for shipping on our list will allow you to earn the most for your spending. Let’s take a look at these six options.
The first three options on our list of the best business credit cards for shipping are tiered reward cards. In essence, this means that these shipping credit cards will earn you a certain amount of rewards points based on the category of your spending.
With these cards, therefore, purchase eligibility is based on merchant codes—in other words, how the card issuer classifies purchases. So, to show the most savings, your shipping purchases will need to be made from vendors that focus on providing shipping services, such as UPS, USPS, or FedEx.
To ensure that what you spend on the most is classified by a card issuer as a shipping purchase, you can look through a merchant code directory—and some even allow you to sort digital locators by zip code— like this Visa supplier locator. Of course, the merchant code directory will be specific to the card issuer and, therefore, the directory you’ll want to reference will depend on which shipping credit card you ultimately choose.
The first option on our list of the best business credit cards for shipping is the Chase Ink Business Preferred card. One of the many business card options from Chase, you can use the Ink Preferred card to earn points on every dollar you spend on shipping as well as receive a substantial welcome bonus after spending a certain amount in the first three months.
As a tiered reward card, the Ink Business Preferred allows you to earn 3x points for every dollar spent on shipping (plus travel, internet, cable, phone, and qualifying advertising) with the card up to $150,000 each year. As we mentioned earlier, you’ll need to ensure that your shipping purchases (UPS, FedEx, USPS) are classified by Chase as shipping to make sure you actually receive 3x points for every dollar you spend.
In addition to these rewards, the Ink Preferred card also offers:
This shipping credit card has an annual fee of $95, and no foreign transaction fees. If any of your employees are authorized users and have a card of their own (which you can get at no added cost), any charges they make on shipping will accrue points as well.
Moreover, you can redeem the points you’ve earned from shipping expenses, as well as other purchases, for travel, cash back, gift cards, and more. Your points never expire as long as your account is open—plus, if you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, they’re worth 25% more.
Therefore, with a high cap on how much you can spend per year to earn 3x points, as well as the generous welcome bonus, the Ink Business Preferred card is certainly one of the best credit cards for shipping expenses.
Like Chase, American Express is one of the most robust issuers of business credit cards, offering multiple options, including the Business Platinum Card, the Plum Card, and the Blue Business Plus. Although each of these business credit cards has its own unique benefits, Amex’s best business credit card for shipping is the Business Gold Card.
With this shipping credit card, you’ll earn 4x points per $1 spent on the two select categories where your business spends the most each month, one of which, of course, can be shipping. You’ll be able to earn these points up to $150,000 in purchases annually—after which time you’ll earn 1x point for every dollar spent. In addition to shipping—which includes UPS and FedEx services purchased in the U.S. for courier, postal, and freight—you can choose from the following categories for your 4x points: airlines, advertising, gas stations, restaurants, and technology purchases from select providers.
You also get:
Moreover, for any purchases that do not fall under your two select categories, you’ll earn an unlimited 1x point per dollar spent. With the rewards you earn, you’ll be able to redeem your points for travel, merchandise, gift cards, donations, Amazon purchases, and more. Plus, like the Chase Ink Preferred card, if you redeem your points for travel through amextravel.com, they’ll be worth 25% more.
All of this being said, however, it’s important to remember that although this card gives you the option to pay for purchases of $100 or more over time, you must pay your balance in full each month, so you’ll need to consider your cash flow when thinking about this American Express Business card. The Business Gold Card also has a $295 annual fee, which is the highest annual fee of any of the shipping credit cards on our list.
Ultimately, though, the benefit of this card is that if you can earn significant rewards for your shipping expenses, as well as one other category—which could open the possibility for some really flexible rewards for your business.
The next option on our list of the best business credit cards for shipping is the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Business Credit Card. Of all the shipping credit cards on our list, this card has a unique appeal. The Marriott Bonvoy card allows you to earn high rewards points for U.S. shipping purchases as well as at participating SPG and Marriott Rewards hotels.
This being said, with this card, you’ll earn 4x points for every dollar of eligible U.S.-based shipping purchases.
In addition to these shipping rewards, the Marriott Bonvoy card will also earn:
Moreover, you can earn a welcome offer of 75,000 points if you use your card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first three months after opening your account. Plus, as an Amex card, you’ll be eligible to explore Amex Offers, which allows you to add special rewards offers to your card.
Although not as pricey as the Amex Business Gold card, the Marriott Bonvoy credit card will require a $125 annual fee.
Although each of the three shipping credit cards we’ve just discussed offer notable rewards, you might instead prefer a simple cash back business credit card. With flat cash back on all purchases—including your shipping purchases—you’ll have a versatile, straightforward business credit card that will maximize your spending, regardless of how or where you do it.
If you think this type of card will be best for your business, here are three options to consider:
The next option on our list of the best business credit cards for shipping is the Chase Ink Business Cash Card, which is perhaps one of the best cash back credit cards on the market.
Although the Chase Ink Cash card will not offer cash back rewards specific to your shipping purchases, you will be able to earn high rewards for office supplies, as well as for general business spending, including:
Additionally, you’ll earn a $500 cash back welcome bonus after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months after opening your account. Moreover, this card has no annual fee (unlike the previous three cards we discussed), as well as a long 0% intro APR period of 12 months before the variable APR sets in. You can also get employee cards at no extra cost. Unlike some of the other shipping credit cards on our list, however, the Chase Ink Cash card will have foreign transaction fees.
Ultimately, even though the Ink Cash card doesn’t offer rewards specific to shipping, you can easily use this card to earn cash back on all of your shipping purchases, as well as any other purchases. Plus, unlike the tiered reward cards, you don’t have to worry about counting points and redeeming them for certain rewards—with this card, you’ll simply receive cash back for your purchases, meaning you can spend these extra funds however you wish.
For a flexible cash back card that offers multiple avenues by which to save—including shipping—you might consider the Blue Business Cash Card from American Express.
First, you can earn cash back on all of your shipping purchases with this card, up to 2% on all eligible purchases, up to an annual maximum of $50,000. After this threshold, you’ll earn 1% cash back on all eligible purchases.
Additionally, you can save substantial money with the Blue Business Cash card if you already have outstanding debt. This card offers a 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases and is one of the only business credit cards on the market to offer the same 0% intro APR for balance transfers as well.
Moreover, like the Chase Ink Cash card, the Blue Business card has no annual fee, but will charge foreign transaction fees. Plus, Amex offers their “more buying power” feature with this card, meaning they won’t charge you for going over your credit spending limit, as long as you pay off the amount you spend over your limit each month. Amex will adjust your limit with you, depending on factors like your payment history, credit record, income, etc.
Therefore, with no fee, a 12-month 0% intro APR, and a flat 2% or 1% cash back on all eligible purchases, including shipping, the Amex Blue Business Cash card gives you an impressive number of ways to save money and earn cash back to use in whatever way works best for your business.
Finally, if you’re looking for the best business credit cards for shipping, but don’t want to have to worry about different rewards rates and annual caps, you might consider the Chase Ink Unlimited Business card.
With this card, you’ll receive 1.5% cash back on every purchase with no cap. Not only is this a decent cash back rate, but it’s an incredibly simple system—you’ll earn 1.5% cash back on every dollar you spend no matter what you spend it on and how much you spend.
On top of this cash back rate, you’ll also be eligible to receive a $500 cash back bonus after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months after opening your Chase Ink Unlimited account. Additionally, you’ll have access to a 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases, employee cards at no extra cost, plus no annual fee.
Although the Chase Ink Unlimited card may not be able to offer some of the more high-end benefits that the first three cards on our list provide, this is definitely one of the best credit cards for shipping for small business owners who value simplicity in their credit card rewards program.
If you’re an online business owner, for example, you can easily pay for shipping costs, office supplies, internet access, anything you need for your operations, and you’ll receive 1.5% cash back for every dollar with no limit. With this system, therefore, you’ll be constantly earning rewards without having to spend time and effort to actually manage your credit card reward program—giving you a greater ability to work on other aspects of your business.
There you have it—six of the best business credit cards for shipping expenses. At the end of the day, any of the shipping credit cards on our list may serve your business well—each has a unique rewards program to accommodate shipping expenses, as well as other purchases.
This being said, however, you know your business best—and therefore, you’re the only one who can decide which business credit card is right for you. Even if you’re looking for a card to save money on shipping specifically, you’ll also want to consider other card features like the annual fee, welcome bonus, and anything else in particular that matters to your business. Ultimately, though, by choosing a card that will be able to balance rewards with your shipping costs, you’ll hopefully be setting yourself up for success when it comes to your business’s bottom line.
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