This article contains general information and is not intended to provide information that is specific to American Express, or its products and services. Similar products and services offered by different companies will have different features and you should always read about product details before acquiring any financial product.
For some entrepreneurs, small business credit cards can offer flexible financing solutions. Business owners who ordinarily use their bank account alone to cover expenses may wonder if there are benefits to a business credit card — and there could be, including the ability to help:
- Separate their personal and business finances
- Oversee employee purchases
- Create some cash-flow breathing room
- Build their business credit score
- Earn rewards
- Guard against fraud
Here's more about each potential benefit to help owners find the best business credit card for their small business.
Separate Personal and Business Finances
Running a small business can potentially blur the lines between someone’s personal and professional life. But keeping personal and business finances separate could help simplify accounting. For owners who operate under LLCs, partnerships, corporations, or other business structures, mixing personal and business funds could jeopardize protections.
Some business credit cards come with robust tools or apps for tracking and managing spending, which can help simplify the process of overseeing employee purchasing.
Business credit cards for small businesses could make it easier to separate personal and company expenses. For example, an entrepreneur could get the best credit card for small business use, put all business purchases on it, and help keep their expenses well-organized.
Oversee Employee Purchases
Any business owner who has asked an employee to make a business purchase knows that reimbursements can be complicated. Small business credit cards that offer employee cards could help eliminate that hassle.
Once an owner has identified the best credit card for their small business, they can apply for a business credit card for themselves and employee cards for trusted workers. Some business credit cards come with robust tools or apps for tracking and managing spending, which can help simplify the process of overseeing employee purchasing.
Create Some Cash-Flow Breathing Room
Business credit cards could give small business owners some wiggle room to manage cash flow. Small-business owners may use their credit cards to pay invoices, buy supplies, or absorb costs that stem from business emergencies. That can add up to a helpful benefit of a business credit card: access to cost-effective, short-term working capital.
Building Your Businesses Credit Score
Once an owner has a small business credit card, using it regularly and responsibly could help build their business credit score. Good credit practices include keeping the average balance well below the card limit, making payments on time, and paying more than the minimum balance due. When a business improves its credit score, it may affect obtaining financing in the future.
Earning Rewards
Some business credit cards for small businesses may offer rewards programs like cash back, eligible discounts, and points. Cash-back rewards may prove beneficial because they could help reduce the effective cost of business purchases.
While business expenses can earn rewards on a business credit card, those rewards may be able to be redeemed for personal use — like a much-needed getaway. Businesses may also redeem points to offset the costs of everyday purchases like office supplies or to motivate staff.
Guard Against Fraud
Fraud can be an unfortunate risk for businesses of all sizes. When a small business loses cash due to fraud, the business owner may be limited in what they can do to recover their losses. With small business credit cards, however, a business owner could monitor their account online for suspicious charges — some business credit cards also offer alerts for irregular spending — and contact their card issuer in case of fraud.
When trying to decide on the best business credit card for a small business, a business owner may want to review each issuer’s fraud protection policies.
Consider the American Express Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Card
The new Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Card is designed to help you get business done with straight forward cash back, flexible cash flow features and access to American Express financial tools and solutions. Discover how this Card can support your evolving business needs. Card Members can earn unlimited 2% cash back on eligible purchases1. There are no caps or categories. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed for a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
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The material made available for you on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, tax or financial advice. If you have questions, please consult your own professional legal, tax and financial advisors.
Terms and Conditions
1. Basic Card Members will earn Reward Dollars (Reward Dollars) for eligible purchases on their Graphite™ Business Cash Unlimited Card (Card Account). The number of Reward Dollars earned is based on a percentage of the dollar amount of their eligible purchases during each billing period. Basic Card Members will earn a reward of 2% on all eligible purchases. Eligible purchases are purchases for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents, gift cards, or person-to-person transactions, or any portion of a purchase that is covered by Reward Dollars at point of sale. Basic Card Members can redeem Reward Dollars for statement credits or for eligible items at Amazon.com checkout, with no minimum redemption amount. Basic Card Members cannot use cash back to pay their New Balance (or Minimum Payment Due or Amount Due, if applicable) on their most recent billing statement. Statement credits, or any reversals of a statement credit, may be applied to either their Pay Over Time balance or Pay In Full balance, at our discretion. The Basic Card Member must link their Card Account to their Amazon.com account in order to use Reward Dollars at Amazon.com. When a Basic Card Member uses Reward Dollars at Amazon.com, we will charge their Card Account for the purchase, deduct the Reward Dollars from the available Reward Dollars on their Card Account, and apply a credit to their Card Account to reflect the Reward Dollars used. In addition to these Terms and Conditions, the terms and conditions for Shop with Points at Amazon.com apply to eligible purchases made with Reward Dollars at Amazon.com.
