Five Strategies for Finding the Right Business Credit Card

For many small business owners, the decision to get a business credit card is a no-brainer. A business credit card is a powerful tool for building business credit, earning business-specific rewards, and keeping business and personal finances separate. But choosing which card to get can be overwhelming.

Like personal credit cards, business credit cards generally fall into one of three categories — cash reward, point reward and low-interest rate cards. And within each category is a menagerie of different cards with a seemingly endless and ever-changing variety of features, rewards, networks and issuers.

To find the best business credit card for your company, ask the following questions:

Choosing a business credit card — or personal credit card for that matter — usually requires a tradeoff between rewards and interest rate: lower-interest cards tend to come with fewer rewards, while the best reward cards often carry higher interest rates.

If you plan to carry a balance on your card over time,  then opting for a low-interest card, like Zions Bank’s AmaZing Rate Business credit card, will save you untold amounts in interest payments compared to a rewards card with a high interest rate. A low-interest card, particularly one with a 0% APR introductory period, can also serve as a quick and accessible alternative to a bank loan.

If you expect to pay off your credit card balance in full each month, then focus your search on comparing business credit card rewards instead of interest rates.

Credit card rewards are usually doled out in the form of either points or cash — often at a rate of one point for every dollar spent or 1 percent cash back on purchases. Reward points can be saved up and redeemed for merchandise, cash or business travel, depending on the issuer. Cash rewards are usually applied as a credit to your business credit card account statement or as a direct deposit in your checking or savings account.

Business credit cards are often tailored to business spending, with tiered rewards that offer extra points or cash back on categories like shipping, office supplies and business travel.

Zions Bank’s AmaZing Cash Back Business credit card and AmaZing Rewards Business credit card, for example, both give users triple rewards on office supplies, internet, phone, and TV, and double rewards on plane tickets and car rentals. Look at your current expenses to figure out which rewards programs will complement your spending and benefit your bottom line.

Once you’ve estimated the potential benefits — including sign-up bonuses, cash back, redeemable points, and waived fees — of a particular card, calculate how fees will offset rewards.  Generally, the higher the annual fee, the more benefits a card should offer.

While some issuers will waive the annual fee the first year as a sign-on incentive, remember that the annual charge will follow you for the life of the card, whether or not you continue to take advantage of its rewards. To find cards with no annual fee and competitive rewards, check out Zions Banks’s AmaZing business credit cards.

Understand the terms and conditions before applying for a business credit card. Pay attention to possible penalties such as late fees, balance transfer fees, penalty APR fees and return payment fees. Also understand how a business credit card’s rewards are applied; some cards come with reward fees and limits on how much you can earn.

Not sure which business credit card is right for your business? Compare Zions Bank’s AmaZing business credit cards, which come with terrific rewards and no annual fees. Visit your nearest Zions Bank branch location to apply.