Are you one of the many small business owners missing out on free vacations every year, just by using the wrong card to make your everyday purchases?
It’s important to realize that not all small business cards are created equal! Depending on your spending, you could reach a free trip to Europe, Asia, or South America 3 TIMES as quickly, just buy using the proper card. Especially folks who spend a lot for online advertising through Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
Here are my picks for the 2018 best credit cards for online advertising expenses.
Don’t Be Afraid to Squeeze Every Bonus Point From Your Advertising Expenses
Link: How to Qualify for a Small Business Credit Card (And Why You Should Get One!)
There are lots of scary myths about credit cards. But don’t let them deter you from getting Big Travel with this hobby! As long as you are responsible with your credit and pay your balance in full each month, your credit score will be just fine, and may even increase!
Just realize that missed credit card payments are a dagger through the heart of your credit score. And carrying balances on your cards will often negate any miles & points you’ll earn.
If you have any type of for-profit venture (even if it’s a minor side gig), you have an incredible amount of opportunities to earn free flights, hotel nights, and more. That’s because you can apply for a small business card as a sole proprietor with just your social security number. No Employer Identification Number required!
Folks paying for online advertising likely qualify for small business cards. For example, if you’re a real estate agent, online marketer, or if you own a dental practice or car dealership, you’ll do well when you advertise your small business with the following cards.
Depending on how much you spend on advertising, you might need to spread out your expenses on multiple cards. For example, the Chase Ink Business Preferred will give you bonus points on $150,000 in combined spending per calendar year. So if you spend more than that, you’ll want another card to share the expenses. Or you won’t earn bonus points for spending beyond $150,000!
| Card | Bonus for Online Advertising | Maximum Bonus Spending | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Ink Business Preferred |  | 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards points (3% cash back) per $1 | $150,000 in combined purchases in the 3X bonus category per account anniversary year |
1. Chase Ink Business Preferred
Link: Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card
Link: My Review of the Ink Business Preferred Card
When you open the Ink Business Preferred, you’ll earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (worth $800 in cash back or more if you redeem for travel) after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
The Ink Business Preferred earns 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per $1 you spend on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites, and search engines (up to a maximum of $150,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year).
My favorite use of Chase Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to travel partners, like Hyatt, Southwest, and United Airlines. But you can also redeem them for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. So at the very minimum, you’ll receive 3% back from using the Ink Business Preferred for advertising purchases.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are much more valuable when you redeem them through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal. For example, you can redeem your points for 1.25 cents each. And if you also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, your points will be worth 1.5 cents each through the Chase Travel Portal. That’s like earning 4.5% back on your advertising purchases, as long as you redeem your points for travel (1.5 cents X 3 points per $1 spent on advertising).If you spend the full $150,000 each calendar year, you’ll earn 450,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. That’s worth:
- $4,500 in cash back
- $5,625 in travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal
- $6,750 in travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal when you also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve
- 7 round-trip coach flights to Europe when you transfer your points to United Airlines
The card has a $95 annual fee, NOT waived the first year. And it’s affected by Chase’s tougher application rules. So if you’ve opened 5+ cards from any bank (NOT counting Chase business cards and these other business cards) in the past 24 months, it’s unlikely you’ll be approved for this offer.
2. AMEX SimplyCash Plus
Link: SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express
Link: My Review of the AMEX SimplyCash Plus Card
The AMEX SimplyCash Plus card earns 3% cash back on eligible purchases in 1 of several categories of your choice. Including US purchases for advertising in select media. But you’ll only get bonus cash back on up to $50,000 in spending per calendar year. Then you’ll earn just 1% cash back.
If you spend the full $50,000 each year in your bonus category of choice, you’ll earn $1,500 cash back every year ($50,000 X 3% cash back).
Plus, this card has NO annual fee! (See Rates & Fees)
3. AMEX Business Gold Rewards Card
Link: The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN
Link: My Review of the 50,000 Point AMEX Business Gold Offer
The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN, is currently offering 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.The AMEX Business Gold Rewards card is a charge card, NOT a credit card. That’s helpful for big spenders, because you have no set limit to how much you can spend. However, you must pay off your balance in full each month. If that’s a problem, you shouldn’t use a charge card (or even a credit card, for that matter!).
Similar to the AMEX SimplyCash Plus, the card is good for folks who spend on business advertising because it earns 3X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 on 1 bonus category of your choice. Including US purchases for advertising in select media, like Google Ads and Facebook advertising.
If you choose to earn 3X AMEX Membership Rewards points on advertising, you’ll still earn 2X points per $1 when you spend on things like gas stations, shipping, computer hardware, and airfare purchased directly from airlines. You’ll earn bonus points on up to $100,000 you spend in each bonus category per calendar year (1 point per $1 after that).
If you spend the full $100,000 on your 3X bonus category of choice, you’ll earn 300,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points. You can redeem your points for 1 cent each through the AMEX portal for things like flights, hotels, or gift cards.
But you can also transfer your points to valuable partners, like Air Canada, Delta, and Singapore Airlines for Big Travel with Small Money.
The card comes with a $175 annual fee, waived the first year.
Sometimes the Best Card Is a NEW Card!
Other cards might not have bonus categories for online advertising. But that doesn’t mean you can’t earn a ton of bonus miles & points from your spending!
There are plenty of small business credit cards with amazing welcome offers. If your online advertising can help you meet minimum spending, you can use your expenses to help you earn bonuses for Big Travel. You can decide later if the benefits of the cards you open will be worth keeping the card.
For example, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business comes with 50,000 miles (worth $500 in travel!) after spending $4,500 on purchases within the 3 months of account opening. And the Capital One Spark Cash for Business comes with a $500 cash back bonus after spending $4,500 on purchases within the 3 months of account opening. Both cards have a $95 annual fee, waived the first year. So you can decide if they’re a good fit for your wallet.
Or open The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card to earn 100,000 Hilton points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. You’ll even earn 1 weekend night from Hilton after spending $15,000 in purchases in a calendar year. And another weekend night after spending an additional $45,000 within the same calendar year. The $95 annual fee is NOT waived the first year.
Bottom Line
There are lots of great cards that will give you excellent benefits when you use them for big spending. But it’s vital to know which small business cards will get you the MOST bang for your buck when you use them to promote your small business. And it’s easy to qualify for a small business card!
Whether you’re spending for online advertisements to promote your law firm, corner market, or real estate practice, you’ll earn lots of bonus miles & points by using the right card. My top 3 cards to use for online advertising are:
If you spend a hefty amount on advertising, you can always use your spending to earn new bonuses for Big Travel! Then evaluate the card benefits to see if it’s worth keeping.
Which card do you use for online advertising?
For rates and fees of the SimplyCash Plus Business card, please click here.