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Regardless of your business’s size, age, or industry, using a business credit card is the best practice for streamlining your company’s finances. With this magical piece of plastic (seems magical, anyway!), you’ll your build business credit score, seamlessly pay for your business’s everyday expenses, and reap your card’s perks. And if you sign on for one of the following best signup bonus credit cards, you’ll benefit from those perks right off the bat.
Obviously, signup bonuses are intended to incentivize browsers to sign up for a given credit card. And if a signup bonus is really generous, that incentive works—which means browsers might end up signing on for a card that doesn’t work for them. Because in reality, a signup bonus is useless if you either can’t reach the spending threshold you need to earn your bonus, or if the signup bonus doesn’t benefit your business as much as a different set of rewards would.
To get the most out of the best signup bonus credit cards, pick the card that truly best serves your business’s needs and preferences. Those needs and preferences might be a batch of rewards points, miles, cash, no annual fee, an extra saving cushion, or simply an easily reached spending threshold—it all depends on you.
We’ll show you the best signup bonus credit cards you can get based on how you spend, no matter what you’re seeking within your first few months of card ownership (and beyond).
If you want some flexibility in what you can do with your signup bonus, a batch of rewards points is a good way to go. Depending on your card, you can redeem your points for gift cards, travel, products, experiences, or even cash back. And for points junkies, the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card offers the absolute best signup bonus on the market.
If you spend $5,000 in the first three months of owning your Ink Business Preferred card, you’ll earn 80,000 rewards points. True, $5,000 is the highest welcome-bonus spending threshold on this list. But when you really break it down, you only need to spend $1,667 every month to reach that signup bonus.
And if you choose to redeem your points through Chase Ultimate Rewards, those points are worth 25% more—and those 80,000 signup points are worth $1,000 toward travel bonuses. So, as you spend a little over $1,500 on purchases for your business every month, you might inadvertently end up earning a plane ticket or two.
Hotels, car rentals, airfare, dining out, airport snacks… As a frequent flyer, you know how quickly travel expenses rack up, and how mitigating even one of those costs can seriously unburden travel stress. Using a credit card that earns you travel rewards is a pretty foolproof way to pay for constant business travel.
Look toward the Capital One Spark Miles for Business card, a standout for the travel perks it offers users both during and after its signup bonus period.
First off, if you spend $4,500 on any purchases during the first three months after account opening—just $1,500 per month—you’ll earn 50,000 miles. For translation’s sake, that’s $500 shaved off your travel expenses, after only three months of using this card.
The card’s $95 annual fee is also waived during your first year with Spark Miles, and overseas travelers will be happy to learn that Spark Miles charges no foreign transaction fees at all during the life of your card.
After your first three months, you’ll earn a flat rate of 2 miles back for every dollar you spend, with no limit to the amount of miles you can gain. That makes using this card refreshingly straightforward: Every time you swipe your Spark Miles, you’re contributing toward your next plane ticket, plain and simple.
True to its name, the Chase Ink Business Cash credit card is an excellent choice for business owners who’d like to earn some extra cash while they spend (which, we can safely say, is pretty much every business owner).
If you spend $3,000 on this card within your first three months, you’ll get $500 back in hard cash from Chase. That’s a nice amount of capital you can use to pick up extra supplies, invest in new marketing tactics, or simply to deposit into your business bank account for an extra cash cushion.
On top of a generous cash back signup bonus, the Chase Ink Business Cash credit card comes with a 12-month 0% intro APR period—so, you could consider putting that $500 toward an even bigger purchase for your business, and take a whole year to pay it down without worrying about incurring added interest. Be aware that after those first 12 months, your APR will set in at a rate that will vary with the market Prime Rate. Check the issuer’s terms and conditions for the latest APR information.
This card offers a robust cash-back program even after the welcome bonus period is up, too. Their rewards program is tiered, so you’ll earn different amounts of cash back when you spend in different categories. You’ll earn:
Spending $5,000 or $3,000 to unlock your card’s signup bonus just might not be doable for you, especially if you’re experiencing a slowdown in your cash flow. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a business credit card with a great cash back signup bonus—just look toward the Bank of America® Business Advantage Cash Rewards Mastercard, instead. You just need to spend $500 within the first 60 days of card ownership, and you’ll earn a $200 statement credit.
After those first two months, you’ll continue to earn cash back as you use your card on a variety of business expenses, including:
You can spend safe in the knowledge that you’re easily earning cash back, no matter where or how you use your Business Advantage Cash Rewards card. Plus, that stream of cash is never mitigated by an annual fee.
If you’re interested in a welcome bonus that provides you with saving power rather than earning power, look for a business credit card with a long 0% intro APR period. Essentially, that introductory grace period lets you use your card like an interest-free small business loan, because you can carry a balance without getting hit with heavy APR rates. (Just remember to keep your credit utilization rate down, so you don’t end up dinging your credit score.)
If that sounds like the best signup bonus credit card for your business, shoot for the American Express Blue Business Plus credit card. This card boasts a 12-month 0% intro APR period that applies to purchases as well as balance transfers, as long as you transfer your balance within the first 60 days of card ownership.
This is an introductory rate, though, so after your 12 interest-free months are up, a variable APR sets in at a rate depending on your creditworthiness. This rate will also vary with the market, so check the issuer’s terms and conditions for the latest APR information.
Plus, the Blue Business Plus card carries no annual fee. That’s another feature that makes this card a great option for cash-strapped small businesses.
It’s not hard to find a business credit card that loops no annual fee into the terms of its signup bonus. A little tougher, though, is finding a business credit card with a great signup bonus and no annual fee, ever. The new Chase Ink Business Unlimited fills that gap.
Business Unlimited’s generous welcome bonus includes:
Even when your welcome bonus is up, you don’t have to worry about an annual fee at all, nor do you need to worry about finagling your way through a complicated rewards system. No matter where, on what, or how much you spend on the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card, you’ll earn an even 1.5% cash back. You can also add employee cards to your account for free, so you can supercharge your cash-back rewards potential without the added stress of added costs.
What counts as the “best” signup bonus credit card is ultimately at the discretion of the cardholder herself. First off, a signup bonus is only valuable if you can reach the spending limit necessary for unlocking that signup bonus, whether it’s points or miles or cash back.
And even if you can reach that threshold, you need to make sure that your business will best benefit from whatever that bonus entails. If you don’t often travel, for instance, then you’re better off not going for a card that rewards you in miles.
Rather, take a look at what you and your business need right now: Is it a bit of extra capital to drop into your bank account? Is it a card whose annual fee doesn’t cut into your cash flow? From there, you can find a card whose signup bonus helps you reach that goal fast.
Wading through all the business credit cards on the market can take a lot of time, though (not to mention the extra time it takes to read the fine print). Instead, scan over this list to find the card that truly affords your business with the best signup bonus:
A business credit card is more than the sum of its signup bonus, though—obviously, that signup bonus period doesn’t last forever! Ultimately, you should choose your business credit card based on what the card’s key features can offer you and your business for years to come. Really, a great signup bonus should just be an added bonus.