Best Small Business Credit Cards for 2012

Here are our thoughts and recommendations on the what we think are the best business credit card available today.

Cash Back

At this moment, the Ink Cash(SM) Business Card from Chase is probably the best cash back card for the business owner. Cardholders get to earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 that is spent on office supply stores, cellular phone, landline and internet and cable TV services. You also get to earn 2% cash back for the first $25,000 that you spend on gasoline and restaurant expenses. You also earn 2% cash back when you book your travel with Chase Ultimate Rewards website.

The SimplyCash® Business Card From American Express OPEN is arguably the top cash back credit card for business owners. You can earn 5% on your wireless bills and office supplies^* for up to $12,000 in annual spending for each category (thereafter, you earn 1% cash back). You can also earn 3% cash back at gas stations^* for up to $12,000 in annual spending (thereafter, you earn 1% cash back). For other regular purchases, you earn 1% cash back. As this card is part of Amex OPEN, you can also get discounts from OPEN merchant partners like Marriott, Hyatt, Fedex etc. The way it works is that when you use this card at say the Marriott Hotel, the 5% discount will come out of the following statement where you will see a credit (5%) applied to your statement. There is no annual fee and you can earn unlimited cash back. If most of your suppliers and vendors accept Amex, this would be a card we'd highly recommend.

All Round Rewards - No Annual Fee

The Ink(SM) Classic Business is in our opinion the best all round rewards card with no annual fee for small business owners. The reason rest on two things. Firstly, there are many types of expenses which you can earn more than 1 point per dollar. Secondly, we feel that Chase Ultimate Rewards program is the best in the market and you simply get more value for the points you earn than other programs.

Best Bonus Points Sign Up At The Moment

The Ink(SM) Bold with Ultimate Rewards is Chase direct challenge to American Express Business Charge Card. This one comes with an annual fee of $95 (first year waived). But the unique proposition is that with the Ultimate Rewards Program, you can transfer points directly into miles for Continental, British Airways, Marriott, Hyatt, Priority Club and Amtrak. Right now, new cardholders can get 50,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 within three months. These points points are really useful because you can transfer them to their airline and hotel partners and get set for a free flight next year. Aside from that, you can book your travel with any agent if you wish and just use points to redeem them, or simple use their travel booking site. This flexibility and ability to transfer points to their airline partners make this a great card for those who will benefit from it.

Travel Rewards

For business owners who are frequent travelers on several airlines, the best card to get is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Card from American Express OPEN. The reason (as most frequent travelers know) is that they have the best frequent guest program. There are two features that really make the Starwood program stand out. Firstly, you can transfer points into air miles. Furthermore, you can use Starpoints to book flights directly with Starwood through their StarFlight program. The Starflight program allows you to use a fixed number of points for a ticket price within a certain range. This feature is no longer offered with any other credit card reward programs. Even if you do not stay at Starwood Hotels, it is worth getting this card for the airline tickets you can get. The annual fee is also so low compared to more expensive dedicated airline cards.

The The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN is a great card (I used to have it before I upgraded to Platinum). This card will appeal to business owners who travels and wants to earn reward points to use back for their business.