Business Credit Cards With the Best Sign-Up Bonuses (2024)

NerdWallet rating: 5

Intro offer:

Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.

If your business's spending matches the bonus categories on the

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

, you can rack up some serious cash back. (If not, then look elsewhere.) There's an excellent sign-up bonus for a no-annual-fee cash-back card, plus an introductory APR period for purchases. Learn more and apply.

NerdWallet rating: 4.7

Intro offer:

Get a $300 online statement credit after you make at least $3,000 in net purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.

If your spending doesn't align with typical bonus categories, consider the

Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card

. This card offers

1.5%

cash back on all purchases with no annual cap. Rewards can climb even higher for Bank of America® customers who qualify for the bank's Preferred Rewards for Business program — up to 2.62%, depending on the tier — which is tough to beat among flat-rate cash-back business credit cards. Learn more and apply.

NerdWallet rating: 5

Intro offer:

Earn $500 in cash back. Just spend $4500 on the Account Owner's card in the first 150 days of opening your account.

The

U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard®

is a solid cash-back card for business owners.

Earn 3% cash back on eligible purchases at gas stations, office supply stores, cell phone service providers and restaurants. Earn 1% cash back on all other eligible net purchases

. Plus, the card offers a competitive welcome bonus and

0% intro APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.24%-28.24% Variable APR

— all with a $ annual fee. Learn more and apply.

NerdWallet rating: 4.9

Intro offer:

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.

The

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

starts you off with one of the biggest sign-up bonuses of any credit card anywhere:

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.

You also get bonus rewards on travel expenses and common business spending categories, like advertising, shipping and internet, cable and phone service. Points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel booked through Chase, or you can transfer them to about a dozen airline and hotel partners. Learn more and apply.

NerdWallet rating: 5

Intro offer:

Earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

The

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

is the closest thing this airline has to a premium card. Benefits and perks like 4x points on Southwest purchases, upgraded boardings and a credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry can return solid value to business operators who frequently fly the airline. Read our review.

NerdWallet rating: 5

Intro offer:

Earn 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

The

IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card

is a must-have if you frequent hotels under the InterContinental Hotel Group umbrella (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton and Intercontinental, to name a few). This card has a killer welcome bonus, a free anniversary night, automatic elite status and a slew of other travel-friendly perks. Learn more and apply.

NerdWallet rating: 4.4

Intro offer:

Eligible Prime Members get a $125 Amazon Gift Card upon approval for the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card. Terms Apply.

The

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card

is the rare business credit with an offer that requires no minimum spend. This card is available to Amazon Prime and Business Prime members, and it lets you choose between 90 days of interest-free financing on Amazon Business, Amazon Web Services, Amazon.com and Whole Foods purchases or an impressive 5% cash back on the first $120,000 spent within those categories (1% after that). Terms apply. Learn more and apply.

NerdWallet rating: 3.1

Intro offer:

Get $750 in Bonus Earnings to redeem with GM towards the purchase or lease of eligible, new GM vehicle after spending $5,000 on purchases in your first 5 months.

Similar to the airline and hotel cards above, the value of the

GM Business™ Mastercard®

will depend on how much you like the brand's vehicles. For those who do, the card may be worthwhile based on its welcome bonus and GM-specific rewards:

5% Earnings on purchases of eligible GM parts, accessories and service at authorized GM dealers. 3% Earnings on purchases at gas stations, restaurants and office supply stores. 1% Earnings on all other purchases.

Learn more.

The following business card sign-up bonuses are potentially less valuable or harder to get than those listed above. But they may make sense for you based on your spending habits or personal preferences. Here are some options to consider.

Cash-back business credit cards with welcome offers

Travel business credit cards with welcome offers

A business credit card sign-up bonus is a perk that issuers offer new cardholders. Typically, you’ll receive this bonus as a lump sum in either cash back or points if you spend at least a certain amount within a certain time period, often 90 days, after opening a card. Sign-up bonuses can change frequently.

Even though this may be called a sign-up bonus, you won’t get it simply by signing up for a business credit card. You’ll have to meet certain qualifications to earn the reward. For that reason, this benefit is also often known as a welcome offer — and the best offer will be one that you’re confident you’ll be able to earn.

Read an offer’s details in full to understand that possibility. For example, only certain purchases may count toward the spending requirement. In addition, you may not qualify based on your history with an issuer (whether you’ve had a version of that business card before, how many cards you have with the provider, etc.). If you’re unsure about your eligibility, contact the issuer before applying for clarification.

Credit cards for small-business owners differ from general consumer credit cards in many ways. The lucrative sign-up bonuses offered by business credit cards are perhaps the most eye-popping, though.

Here are some current examples of sign-up bonuses featured by business credit cards compared with a comparable consumer-level card.

It’s important to note that you don’t need a business to get a business credit card. Side jobs or an occasional freelance gig are enough to get a business card and qualify for these bigger sign-up bonuses. Just be aware that some cardholder protections are weaker for business cards versus consumer cards and you must agree to a personal guarantee stating that you are personally liable for debt even if your business goes belly-up.

On a good note, if you’re using your card for business, its fees and interest count as business expenses. That means you can deduct those card expenses at tax time.

In general, business credit cards offer bigger bonuses because small-business owners tend to spend more than consumers. That means issuers can afford to be more generous — and enticing — with their sign-up bonuses to attract customers.

Of course, this isn’t out of the goodness of their hearts: The more you spend on a business credit card, the more the card issuer earns.

If a business carries a balance, the issuer makes more in interest charges. And even if the cardholder pays in full each month and never incurs interest, the issuer earns a percentage of each transaction through swipe fees.

It can be tricky to evaluate business credit card bonuses with different criteria side-by-side. Here’s a simple equation to compare them:

The lower the result, the better potential value of the offer.

For example, let’s say card “A” has a $350 cash bonus if you spend $4,000 in 90 days while card “B” gives you $250 for spending $3,000 in that time frame. Here’s how these offers break down:

In this case, card A’s extra $100 is seemingly the better deal. Of course, if you know your business won’t spend $4,000, then your calculus should change. Ditto for if that card’s other features — perhaps it has an annual fee or capped rewards — would influence its staying power for you. Still, this is one way to factor bonuses into your broader decision.

Travel, hotel and airline business credit cards usually offer points in their welcome offers instead of cash. You’ll want to convert those points to dollars since their value depends on many factors, including how and where you plan to redeem them. Here’s how NerdWallet values different issuer points to help you evaluate those offers.

The information related to the

Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business

credit card has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.