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Business credit cards have lots of valuable perks. Check out some of the benefits that might not have crossed your mind. [[{“value”:”
When you have a business, no matter how big or small, it’s important to have a business credit card. You need a way to pay for business purchases. With a business credit card, you ensure that your business expenses and your personal expenses stay separate.
That’s only scratching the surface of what a business card can do for you. If you’re new to business credit cards, here are some common perks that you may not have known about.
1. Welcome offers worth up to $1,000 (or more)
A welcome offer is a credit card bonus available to new cardholders. If you open the card and meet a spending requirement, you can earn a big chunk of cash back or points.
Business credit cards tend to have some of the most valuable welcome offers. Take the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You could redeem those points for $1,000 in cash back or $1,250 for travel booked through Chase Travel.
2. Zero-interest financing offers
Plenty of business owners have used debt to expand their companies. A small business loan is one option, if you can qualify for one and get a reasonable interest rate. But for short-term financing, a business credit card could be your best option.
Some business cards have a 0% intro APR on purchases you make. That means you can put business expenses on your credit card and pay them off over time without getting charged any interest. The amount of time the 0% intro APR lasts depends on the card — I’ve seen offers for six to 15 months.
Let’s say you need to finance $10,000 in business expenses. If you paid for that with a 12-month loan at a rate of 8%, your monthly payment would be $870. You’d also end up paying $439 in interest. Not bad, but you could get a better deal.
If you put $10,000 on a card with a 0% intro APR for 12 months, you’d only need to pay $833 toward that balance each month to have it paid off in time. You’d save all $439 in interest.
3. Spending reports to organize your finances
Staying on top of your business spending is a crucial part of your success. Credit card issuers know how important this is, which is why most business credit cards have useful tools to track spending.
For example, my business credit cards generate quarterly and yearly spending reports. These break down how much I spent and in which categories: utilities, gas, merchandise, travel, etc. This is a good way to hone in on where your business is spending money and see if there are any places you can cut back.
Some business credit cards can also connect to your accounting software. This makes life much easier at tax time, since you don’t need to import all your expenses yourself.
4. The option to issue employee cards and set up an account manager
As a business grows, the owner needs to delegate responsibilities. There comes a point when buying printer paper isn’t the best use of your time.
You may have already known that business credit cards allow you to issue employee cards connected to your account. Many credit card companies also let you set spending limits on employee cards as an extra layer of security.
In addition, some let you set up an account manager. This person can monitor transactions and pay the bill for you, taking more of those administrative tasks off your plate.
There are all kinds of ways that business credit cards can save you money or time. If you already have one, make sure you’re taking advantage of all its benefits. And if you don’t have one or you’re not happy with the one you have, spend a little time checking out new business credit cards to find a good fit.
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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Lyle Daly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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