For many small business owners, the line between business and personal is often blurry. Corporations and limited liability (LLC) companies protect business owners from lawsuits, but those protections can be watered down when using personal credit cards for business expenses, and vice versa.
It is possible to use a personal credit card when paying for business expenses. It happens on a regular basis. Retailers and vendors do not check your credit card to ensure that you are using the right type of credit card for your purchase. They just want to see that your payment is approved.
Banks also do not normally review your transaction history to determine what type of purchases you are making. However, if your credit card goes into default (you stop making payments), the bank may go after both your personal and business assets to settle the debt.
Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card
Up to 3% Cash Back
Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, 2% cash back on dining purchases and unlimited 1% cashRead More
Welcome Bonus
$300
Annual Fee
$0
Regular APR
18.49% - 28.49% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers
Credit Score
Excellent Credit (750 - 850)
For business owners who max out the 50k annual spending on the bonus categories, the rewards are substantial for a no-annual-fee card. Preferred Rewards for Business members can make out like a bandit with the 25-75% rewards bonus. The foreign transaction fee means it’s best to keep this card at home when traveling overseas.
- Introductory APR offer on purchases
- 3% cashback rate on the spending category of your choice
- Preferred Rewards for Business members earn a 25-75% bonus
- Foreign transaction fee
- 2% and 3% bonus categories have a combined annual spending cap of $50,000
- No intro APR offer for balance transfers
- Get a $300 online statement credit after you make at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.
- Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice: gas stations & EV charging stations (default), office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom & wireless, computer services or business consulting services, 2% cash back on dining purchases and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- You’ll earn 3% cash back on purchases in the category of your choice and 2% cash back on dining purchases on the first $50,000 in combined choice category/dining purchases each calendar year, 1% thereafter.
- You can earn up to 75% more cash back on every purchase, if you have a business checking account with Bank of America and qualify for Preferred Rewards for Business Platinum Honors tier. That means you could earn up to 5.25% cash back in your selected choice category and up to 3.5% cash back on dining purchases on the first $50,000 in those combined purchases each calendar year, and up to an unlimited 1.75% cash back on all other purchases.
- No annual fee.
- Choose how to redeem your cash rewards-as a deposit into your Bank of America® checking or savings account, as a card statement credit or as a check mailed to you. Cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
- To change your choice category for future purchases, you must go to the Mobile Banking app or Business Advantage 360, our small business online banking. You can change it once each calendar month, or make no change and it stays the same.
- 0% Introductory APR on purchases for your first 9 billing cycles. After the intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.49% to 28.49% will apply.
- Contactless Cards – The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
- This offer may not be available if you leave this page or visit our website. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Best Business Credit Cards 2024
Find the best business card for you & identify which factors matter for your business
Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Your Personal Card for Business Transactions
Many small business owners use their personal and business accounts interchangeably. But just because you can use a personal credit card for business expenses, that doesn’t mean that you should.
Doing so can create problems down the road through the loss of legal protections, difficulty in separating business and personal expenses and missed opportunities to earn additional rewards and benefits.
It’s Harder To Track Business Expenses
When you use your personal credit card for business expenses, it can be difficult to track tax-deductible purchases. As you review your credit card statements, you might not remember what you bought on each and every purchase and whether the purchase was a business expense. Business transactions can also get lost among all of your personal expenses, which means that you could miss out on valuable tax deductions or forget to bill a client for reimbursement.
Additionally, if you have an employee entering transactions into your accounting software, they might view personal information on your credit card statement. That information may include your home address, credit score, credit limit and personal purchases.
Weaker Legal Protections for Corporations and LLCs
To keep the legal protections afforded to a corporation or LLC, you must maintain a separation between your personal life and business life. Mixing your personal and business finances together erodes those protections. Smart attorneys can use this as an opportunity to “pierce the corporate veil” to go after your personal assets when they have a judgment against your business.
Personal Cards Do Not Build Business Credit
Building credit is important in both your personal and business life. When you use your personal credit card for business expenses, you are not building your business credit history. Just like building your personal credit history is important for loans like mortgages and car notes, adding positive tradelines to your business credit report is important for future business lending needs.
As your business grows, you may want to apply for an equipment lease, purchase a building or seek funding for expansion. A strong business credit history will improve your chances of getting approved.
You Might Miss Out on Valuable Welcome Bonuses
Many of your favorite personal rewards credit cards have business versions that earn the same type of miles, points or cash back. Just like a consumer credit card, business credit cards offer attractive welcome bonuses for new applicants. For example, both Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card* and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. Although the points earned by each card will be deposited into separate accounts, Chase allows cardholders to combine points from one Ultimate Rewards account to another.
By using the business credit card for your business expenses, you can meet the minimum spending requirements to earn the welcome bonus. Once the bonus is earned, as the business owner, you can combine those miles and points into your personal loyalty program accounts to grow your balances even faster.
Business Credit Cards Have Different Bonus Categories—Targeted to Businesses
Rewards credit cards have bonus categories based on the customer they are targeting. Personal rewards credit cards often earn additional points for travel, dining or grocery purchases. Business rewards credit cards target categories where businesses spend the most, such as office supplies, telephone and internet service and online advertising. Using a business credit card for your business expenses allows you to earn additional miles and points where you spend the most.
Some Benefits Are Specific to Business Credit Cards
Business cards also offer benefits that can be useful to business owners and typically aren’t available to consumer cards. For example, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply, see rates & fees) offers up to $200 annual airline fee credit on an eligible airline you enroll with each year, airport lounge access at participating lounges and Marriott and Hilton Gold status when you enroll just like The Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply. See rates & fees).
However, the business card also includes credits for U.S. Dell purchases (enrollment required, expires 12/31/24) and the ability to earn 5 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels through American Express Travel, 1.5 points per dollar on eligible purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases. Additionally, you’ll receive 35% of your points back when using Pay With Points to book part of an eligible flight, up to 1,000,000 bonus points per calendar year when you book with American Express Travel. The card has a $695 annual fee.
Depending on which type of business credit card you have, you can also participate in additional savings programs. Visa SavingsEdge and Mastercard Easy Savings are free savings programs that provide automatic benefits once you enroll your business credit cards.
Visa SavingsEdge is a savings program for enrolled business credit cards. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll automatically participate in Everyday Savings. SavingsEdge users can save more with offers that you must activate, similar to Amex Offers or Chase Offers. Participating retailers include Freshbooks, Stamps.com and Chevron.
Mastercard Easy Savings provides automatic rebates of 1% to 25% on gas, dining, hotels and more for your business. Sign up to receive statement credits automatically on eligible purchases with participating merchants, such as McAfee, Microsoft and Dropbox.
It’s Harder To Track Employee Expenses
You probably won’t want to give your employees your personal credit card. But most business credit cards allow you to add employee credit cards for free. When your employee is issued a card, each employee will receive a unique credit card number. This makes it simple to know who spent what each month. Plus, some banks allow you to set individual credit limits on each card so employees won’t have access to your entire credit limit.
Many Business Credit Cards Don’t Report to Credit Bureaus
As long as you keep your business credit card current and in good standing, most banks do not report business credit cards to credit bureaus. This helps to keep your personal and business lives separate and can help you get approved for (or get better terms on) personal loans in the future.
When a business credit card does not report to your personal credit report, it helps you in a few major ways:
- New business credit cards do not affect your ability to apply for a personal credit card (e.g. Chase 5/24 status) if they aren’t on your credit report.
- If you have a high credit utilization on your business credit card, it won’t affect your credit score.
- The minimum payment due won’t affect your debt-to-income ratio when applying for a mortgage, car or another major personal loan.
While many business credit cards do not report to your personal credit report, some do. Keep in mind that late payments and charge-offs on a business credit card will report to your personal credit report if you have personally guaranteed the card, no matter which bank issued it.
Business Credit Cards That Have a Consumer Version
To make the transition from a personal card to a business credit card easier for you, here is a sample of the business cards that earn miles and points in the same program as their personal card counterparts.
*The information for these cards has been independently collected and not provided or reviewed by the bank
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Up to 5X Reward Rate
Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on American Express Travel; Earn 1.5X points on eligible purchasesRead More
Welcome Bonus
Earn 150,000 points
Annual Fee
$695
Regular APR
19.49% - 28.49% Variable
Credit Score
Good,Excellent (700 - 749)
- Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases.
- Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.
- Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. See how you can unlock over $1,000 annually in credits on select purchases with the Business Platinum Card®, here.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to the Card.
- $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $189 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card®.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 03/2023.
- $695 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
Bottom Line
While it is permissible to use a personal credit card for business expenses, there are numerous reasons why you shouldn’t. As a business owner, it pays to keep your personal and business lives separate. With a business credit card, you can earn additional welcome bonuses, receive business-specific benefits and make it easier to track business expenses. Many personal credit cards have business versions so you can continue to earn the miles and points that you find most rewarding. Adding a business card to the mix helps you start taking advantage of these perks for your business.
To view rates and fees for the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for the The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
