Ink Business PreferredSM vs. SimplyCash® Plus vs. Spark Business Miles vs. Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard®

Winning When It Comes to Your Business Credit Card with Rewards

Choosing a business credit card requires business owners to consider different factors and features. You want a card with a high enough limit to make significant transactions. In addition, you want to gain some benefit from your business credit card.

This may be through travel rewards with a Capital One Spark^® Business Miles Card or through cash back from a Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® from Bank of America.

You may opt for the Simply Cash^® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express or go the Chase Ink credit card route.

Whichever you choose, a thorough understanding of your business’s needs is essential when it comes to choosing a card with a decent APR (this flexibility depends on your credit score), an affordable annual fee, good rewards, and the kind of insurance and perks that any business owner expects from a business credit card.

Why Should I Sign Up for a Business Credit Card?

You may be wondering what the point of a small business credit card is. Why can’t you just use your personal credit card instead of going through the hassle of applying for a Simply Cash^® Plus Business Credit Card or a Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® credit card?

There are a few good reasons why you should ditch your personal Visa and opt for a Chase Ink credit card or a Capital One Spark card. Mainly, it keeps your professional and personal finances separate.

You can also benefit from bigger signup bonuses and more lucrative rewards programs through business credit cards. Finally, you can request additional cards so that you can increase efficiency by allowing trusted employees to make business purchases without seeking your approval first.

Comparison Review List

The list below is sorted alphabetically (click any of the names below to go directly to the detailed review section):

Bank of America Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^®
Chase Ink Business Preferred^SM
SimplyCash^® Plus Business Credit Card
Spark Business Miles Select from Capital One

High-Level Comparison Table

Credit Card	Purchase APR	Into Purchase APR
Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^®	11.49%–21.49%	0%
Chase Ink Business Preferred^SM	16.24%–21.24%	Not Offered
SimplyCash^® Plus Business Credit Card	12.49%, 17.49% or 19.49%	0%
Spark Business Miles Select	13.24%–21.24%	0%

Table: The above list is sorted alphabetically

Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® Review

The Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® credit card from Bank of America is a Bank of American small business credit card that allows business owners to earn money for their business through work-related expenses.

The Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® credit card comes with an introductory APR of 0% for the first 9 billing cycles after you open the account. Afterwards, the amount you pay for your Bank of America small business credit card is a variable APR of 11.49% to 21.49%. This rate applies to balance transfers as well, but there is no introductory APR promotion for balance transfers.

Any cash advances or convenience checks from this Bank of American small business credit card are charged with an APR of 24.49%. There is no annual fee charged for those who hold the Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® credit card.

The great thing about the Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® credit card is that you can ditch the middleman that usually comes with rewards programs and get straight cash instead. After you earn $25 in cash back on your Bank of America small business credit card, you can either have the money deposited into your Bank of America small business checking account or opt for the money to appear as a statement credit for your credit card.

If you make at least $500 worth of purchases in the first 60 days of opening your Bank of America small business credit card account, you are eligible for a bonus statement credit of $200. Cardholders earn 1% back on regular purchases and 2% back on purchases at restaurants. Furthermore, any purchases made at gas stations and office supply stores using the Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® credit card earn 3% cash back.

The Bank of America small business credit card comes with a suite of sophisticated online tools that customers can use to manage their money and payments. Additionally, the Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® credit card comes with $100,000 in travel accident insurance, providing business travelers with peace of mind.

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Chase Ink Business Preferred^SMCard Review

Chase Bank offers the Chase Ink Business Preferred^SM card as its credit card option for small businesses. This Chase Ink card comes with an attractive Chase Ink credit card rewards program that can make business owners feel a bit better about the number of costs and expenses associated with running a company.

Source: Chase Ink Business Preferred^SM

For starters, anybody who signs up for a Chase Ink card receives a variable rate between 16.24% and 21.24%. The APR you are given for your Chase Ink credit card is based on your creditworthiness which is determined by your credit history. The annual fee for this card is $95.

There is no introductory APR offered for the Chase Ink card, so customers will have to pay the regular interest rate they are extended from the jump if they decide to carry a balance on their credit card. The variable APR for regular purchases is the same for balance transfers on your Chase Ink credit card.

If you want to do a cash advance on your Chase Ink card, your Chase Ink credit card will be charged an APR of 25.24%.

The Chase Ink card for business offers a travel rewards program. If you make $5,000 or more in purchases using your Chase Ink credit card in the first three months of opening your account, you will receive 80,000 bonus points – that’s worth $1,000 in travel rewards.

The points on this Chase Ink card for business are also earned on a tiered system. For the first $150,000 a Chase Ink credit card cardholder spends on travel, Internet, cable, phone services, advertising or shipping purchases, each dollar will earn 3 points.

After this initial $150,000 spent using your Chase Ink credit card, you earn a point a dollar, and your points never expire so long as your Chase Ink card account remains open.

If you choose to redeem the points you earn using your Chase Ink credit card through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, for things like airfare, car rentals, and hotels, your Chase Ink card points are worth 25% more.

The Chase Ink business card is ideal for business owners whose work involves regular travel. The Chase Ink card is geared towards their needs. They can employee Chase Ink credit cards at no extra cost and enjoy a number of different travel-related perks.

Travel and Purchase Coverage via the Chase Ink Card

Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance
Trip delay reimbursement
Roadside dispatch
Cell phone protection (theft or damage)
Purchase protection
Extended warranty protection

For more details, visit the Chase Ink card travel and purchase coverage page.

Customers who use their Chase Ink business card abroad (outside the United States) are hit with no foreign transaction fees on their Chase Ink credit card.

SimplyCash^® Plus Business Credit Card Review

For its business clients, American Express offers the SimplyCash^® Plus Business Credit Card. The Amex SimplyCash card is a great option for business owners who are interested in earning cash back on their business purchases. This is possible with the American Express SimplyCash card.

Before we discuss the cashback features of the Amex SimplyCash card, let’s take a look at the rates and fees that will determine how attractive this American Express SimplyCash card will be to business owners.

The Amex SimplyCash card has an APR with a variable rate of 12.49%, 17.49% or 19.49%, depending on your creditworthiness. The American Express SimplyCash card comes with an introductory offer of 0% for the first 9 months after opening the account. There is no annual fee on the SimplyCash^® Plus Business Credit Card from American Express.

Amex SimplyCash cardholders receive 5% cash back when they use their SimplyCash^® Plus Business Credit Card at an office supply store (in the United States) and on wireless phone services that are purchases from U.S. wireless phone providers.

At the lower tier, you can earn 3% cash back on your American Express SimplyCash card when you make a purchase from the category of your choice:

Airfare purchased from airlines
Hotel room purchases from hotels
Car rentals purchased from specific car rental companies
U.S. gas stations
U.S. restaurants
U.S. purchases for advertising in certain media
U.S. purchases for shipping
U.S. computer hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases that the business owner makes directly from specific providers

Amex SimplyCash cardholders earn 1% cash back on all other purchases that they make using their American Express SimplyCash credit card.

There is also no additional fee for any extra Amex SimplyCash credit cards you may want to receive for other employees who often make purchases on behalf of the company.

Spark Business Credit Cards from Capital One Review

The Spark Business credit card family of business credit products offered by Capital One is all about putting money back into the pockets of business owners who use the Capital One Spark brand and benefit from Spark rewards.

Source: Spark Business credit card

The Spark Business credit card family is divided into two main branches: Capital One Spark credit cards that provide Spark rewards in the form of cash back and cards that provide travel rewards.

Generally speaking, the Spark Business credit cards for cash back offer a base rate of 2% cash back for purchases made using any of the Capital One Spark cashback cards. Customers also receive the opportunity for bonus Spark rewards, and the specific amount is determined by the kind of Spark card you sign up for.

We will specifically review the option that we think will work best for business owners. But before we do that, here is a quick overview of the Capital One Spark cashback cards that are available:

Capital One Spark^® Cash for Business

Cash back:2% on all purchases
Intro bonus:$500 after spending $4,500 in the first three months
Purchase APR: 17.24% (variable)
Annual Fee: $59 ($0 for the first year)

Capital One Spark^® Cash Select for Business

Cash back:1.5% on all purchases
Intro bonus: $200 after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
Purchase APR: 13.24%–21.24% variable APR (intro rate of 0% for 9 months)
Annual Fee: $0

Capital One Spark ^®Classic for Business

Cash back: 1% on all purchases
Intro bonus: None offered
Purchase APR: 23.24% variable APR
Annual Fee: $0

And here is an overview of the Capital One Spark cards with Spark rewards for travel.

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Travel Rewards: 2 miles per dollar on all purchases
Intro bonus: 50,000 miles for spending $4,500 in the first three months
Purchase APR: 17.24% variable APR
Annual Fee: $59 ($0 for the first year)

Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business

Travel Rewards: 1.5 miles per dollar on all purchases
Intro bonus:20,000 miles for spending $3,000 within the first three months
Purchase APR: 13.24%–21.24% variable APR (0% for the first 9 months)
Annual Fee:$0

As you can see, each of the Capital One Spark business cards in the family of Spark business credit cards offers different perks at varying levels, annual fees, and rewards tiers. It’s up to you to analyze your business’s needs (and consider your business’s credit score) to determine which card you should apply for.

Capital One Spark^® Miles Select for Business

While there are many cards from the Capital One Spark line that we could review, we will be reviewing the Spark^®Miles Select for Business from Capital One.

This member of the Spark business credit cards family comes with unlimited Spark rewards. Cardholders earn 1.5x the miles on every purchase they make for their business using their Capital One Spark^® Miles Select for Business.

Customers earn 20,000 bonus miles as Spark rewards when they spend at least $3,000 in the first three months of obtaining their Capital One Spark^® Miles Select for Business.

Capital One Spark members can also add additional cardholders at no extra cost if they need to provide a card for an employee that is responsible for a lot of the business’s cash flow.

The APR on this card is a variable rate of 13.24%–21.24%. There is also a Capital One Spark introductory rate of 0% for the first 9 months after opening the account.

There is no annual fee for the Capital One Spark^® Miles Select for Business. There are no foreign transaction fees, you get an auto rental collision damage waiver, and receive travel and emergency assistance services when you are a Capital One Spark cardholder.

Conclusion: You Have a Lot of Variety When It Comes to Business Credit Card with Rewards

Getting a business credit card means a more organized business, increased efficiency when it comes to business purchases, and access to signup bonuses and rewards programs that are not available for personal credit cards.

Image source: Pixabay

This article, comparing the Ink Business Preferred^SM vs. the SimplyCash^® Plus Business Credit Card vs. the Spark Business Miles vs. the Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard^® credit card, is meant to serve as a starting point for you to conduct research into finding the credit products that will work suitably for your business and earn you some money at the same time.

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