Best business credit cards for small business​ in 2025

• Rewards categories

  If you spend heavily in certain categories, like office supplies, look for a card that offers a higher rewards rate for these purchases. But if your spending fluctuates, a flat-rate card might be a better choice.

• Points or cash back

  If you’re looking for a business rewards credit card, consider whether you want to earn cash back, points or airline miles. Points and miles are typically flexible (and potentially more valuable), but a cash back card is a solid choice if you want a simple rewards structure.

• Sign-up bonus

  If you know you’ve got a big purchase coming up, a sign-up bonus or welcome offer can help offset the cost.

• Intro APR

  If you need to finance a big-ticket item over time or move debt from another card via balance transfer, you’ll want a 0% intro APR period.

• Travel plans

  Frequent flyers should consider cards that offer travel protections like trip cancellation insurance. And if your business trips often take you to destinations abroad, choose a card with no foreign transaction fee.

• Annual fee

  If you’re a new business owner or are strapped for cash, consider cards that don’t charge an annual fee. But if you want premium benefits, such as airport lounge access or credits for certain types of spending, you’ll likely need to spring for a business card with an annual fee.

• Number of employees

  If your small business has employees, consider a business card that offers free employee cards.

The process of getting a business credit card is very similar to that of getting a personal credit card. You’ll need to research and choose the best business credit card for you and submit an application.

When you apply for a business credit card, though, you’ll need to provide more information than you would on a personal credit card application. We recommend gathering the following information ahead of time:

• Business name
• Business address and contact information
• Business industry
• Your role in the business
• Type of business (e.g. LLC or corporation)
• Age of business
• Number of employees
• Personal information – Social Security number, birthdate
• Employer identification number (EIN), if you have one
• Annual business revenue, real or projected
• Monthly spending, real or projected

The benefits of having a business credit card don’t stop at earning rewards. With a business credit card, you can:

1. Separate business and personal expenses
2. Track business spending
3. Manage employee spending with employee cards
4. Finance a big-ticket item with a 0% intro APR
5. Take advantage of travel protections and other perks

Card issuers don’t always report card activity to every business credit reporting agency, so your business credit card should only be part of your strategy to build your business credit. You can also consider taking out a business line of credit — making regular, on-time payments and keeping your balance low on your business line of credit will help you establish and build your business credit.

In order to build business credit with your business credit card, you should:

• Pay at least the minimum. A history of late payments could harm your business credit score, so make your payments on time. If you can, pay your card off in full every month to avoid incurring interest.
• Know when your 0% intro APR period ends. Make a plan to pay off your outstanding balance during the introductory APR period in order to avoid late payments.
• Set spending limits on employee cards. If you issue any employee cards, setting spending limits will help you avoid racking up debt that you can’t afford to pay off.

Your personal credit impacts your ability to get a business credit card, as most business cards require good to excellent credit. If you have a poor credit score, you should consider a secured business card, which will require you to submit a security deposit to the issuer. If you default on what you owe, the issuer can recoup the loss by confiscating the deposit, which is why secured cards are more accessible with bad credit than unsecured cards. You can also consider business credit cards that don’t run personal credit checks.

If you have a fair credit score, you’ll find that you have more options, including some unsecured cards. The Capital One Spark Classic for Business is a good no-annual-fee card for business owners with fair credit that offers cash back on every purchase.