Running a business can be expensive enough without the added price of high monthly fees and huge interest rates from a credit card. Choosing a good credit card with low monthly fees, low interest rates and options to improve your business dealings would be beneficial to growing into the kind of business you desire.
Options in the business arena include business credit cards and corporate credit cards. Corporate credit cards may have no interest rates, but they do have other fees. Monthly or annual fees are normally charged. Business credit cards do have an interest rate attached to them. Some of them may start out with 0% interest, and after a predetermined amount of time jump to a high interest rate. You want to make sure that if you get one of these cards, you don’t carry a balance beyond the end of the 0% interest period. If you do, you may want to transfer to a card with a regular lower interest rate.
One benefit of using a card designed just for business is the expense tracking some companies offer. Monthly expenses may be kept track of easily, and employees may have their own cards to use for business purposes. Bills can also be kept track of easily if paid monthly with the same card.
Another good idea is looking for a card that offers rewards that will be good for your business. Cash back incentives, frequent flier miles, and gas points are a few you may want to look for. If expenses such as gas, motels, airfare, etc. are a regular part of business, some cards offer a discount or rewards if you use certain gas stations, motels, or airlines.
When looking for a business credit card account, look for one that covers all the cards issued (all the employee cards) on one bill. Make sure you check expenditure sheets regularly, keeping track of how the cards are used. It is important to keep business cards for business, and not for personal use.
Interest rates vary. If you personally have good credit, and your business has good credit, you should be able to find a card with a fairly low interest rate, and low monthly or annual fees. If your credit is poor, you may have a harder time finding a suitable credit card for business. Getting your personal credit report on track is a good idea before applying for a business credit card.
Making purchases with the card is the same as with a personal card. It can be used for any purchase and from any place that accepts credit cards.
Doing the research on all your options, making wise choices about what credit cards to apply for, deciding how and when to use them, and paying on time will be great business building blocks. Let the right business card help build your business.
