4 BEST SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARDS FOR PURCHASING OFFICE SUPPLIES
Office supplies can be a major recurring expense—and therefore a good opportunity to save lots of money each month with cash back rewards.
Certain small business credit cards specialize in rewards for office supplies, and they offer other enticing perks, too.
Several cards also extend the office supply category to include business services like internet and phone contracts.
In this guide, we'll show you the best small business credit cards to help with purchasing office supplies.
APPLYING FOR A SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD
One common myth is that you must be a corporation or an LLC to apply for a small business credit card. In actuality, you can be a sole proprietor. That includes everyone from a freelancer to a side-hustler, and you can use your Social Security Number instead of an Employer Identification Number.
Recommended: Learn more with our guide, Can I Qualify for a Small Business Credit Card?
1. CHASE INK BUSINESS CASH
You can earn 5% cash back, with a limit of $25,000 each membership year—not just on purchases at office supply stores, but also on internet, cable, and phone services.
Also note that you can redeem earnings for cash back, gift cards, and other rewards through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This program is an incredible value because it allows you to transfer points to a wide range of partners—so many, in fact, that it can become overwhelming to figure out the best way to redeem your points. But what a problem to have.
REWARDS AND BENEFITS (TERMS APPLY)
- Sign-up bonus of $750 cash after spending $7,500 in purchases in the first three months of opening an account.
- 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months.
- 5% cash back on purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services up to $25,000 per each account anniversary year, then 1% afterward.
- 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants up to $25,000 per year, then 1%.
- Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- Employee cards at no additional charge.
FEES
- No annual fee.
- 3% foreign transaction fee.
- 5% or $5 balance transfer fee (whichever is greater per transaction).
- 5% or $15 cash advance fee (whichever is greater per transaction).
Learn more about this card on the Chase website.
2. AMERICAN EXPRESS SIMPLYCASH PLUS BUSINESS
If you spend a lot on office supplies, this card might be better for you than Ink Business Cash. You earn 5% cash back at U.S. office supply stores and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, but the cap is doubled—from $25,000 to $50,000.
That $50,000 cap in annual spending is figured each calendar year. Once you hit that limit, your rewards tumble to 1%. The card also comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first nine months.
REWARDS AND BENEFITS (TERMS APPLY)
- 5% cash back at U.S. office supply stores and U.S. wireless phone services up to $50,000 per year, then 1% after that.
- 3% cash back on the category of your choice from the following up to $50,000 per year, then 1% after that:
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines.
- Hotel rooms purchased directly from hotels.
- Car rentals from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, E-Z, Fox, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt, and Thrifty.
- U.S. gas stations.
- U.S. restaurants.
- U.S. purchases for shipping.
- U.S. computer hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers: Apple, CDW, Dell, HP, IBM, Intuit, Lenovo, Microsoft, Newegg, Oracle, Rackspace, Sage Software, Salesforce.com, Symantec, or TigerDirect.
- Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
FEES
- No annual fee.
- 3% foreign transaction fee.
- 5% or $5 balance transfer fee (whichever is greater per transaction).
- 5% or $15 cash advance fee (whichever is greater per transaction).
Learn more about this card on the American Express website.
3. AMERICAN EXPRESS AMAZON BUSINESS PRIME
Who says you need to save on office supplies at office supply stores? Amazon is cutting into their business. CNBC has reported, “the households of small-business owners are significantly more likely to be Amazon Prime members than the general population of Americans.”
That’s probably why, with this card, you can earn 5% cash back when you buy your office supplies online through Amazon.com. Also, you can earn 2% on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers.
REWARDS AND BENEFITS (TERMS APPLY)
Cardholders with Amazon Prime:
- $125 Amazon gift card welcome bonus.
- 90 days of interest-free financing.
- 5% cash back on all Amazon purchases.
- 2% cash back on U.S. gas station, restaurant, and wireless telephone purchases.
- 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Cardholders without Amazon Prime:
- $100 Amazon gift card welcome bonus.
- 60 days of interest-free checking.
- 3% cash back on all Amazon purchases.
- 2% cash back on U.S. gas station, restaurant, and wireless telephone purchases.
- 1% cash back on all other purchases.
FEES
- No annual fee.
- No cash advance fee.
- No foreign transaction fee.
- 3% or $5 balance transfer fee (whichever is greater per transaction).
4. US BANK BUSINESS CASH REWARDS WORLD ELITE
Earn 3% cash back on cellular, gas, and office supply store purchases. Best of all, there’s no spending limit. If your business would chafe at the spending limits on other cards, this might prove more lucrative in the long run than 5% cash back at $25,000 or even $50,000. As always, you’ll need to do the math for your business’s expenses.
REWARDS AND BENEFITS (TERMS APPLY)
- Earn $200 in bonus cash after you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days.
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles.
- Unlimited 3% cash back on eligible cellular, gas, and office supply store purchases.
- 25% annual bonus equal to your prior year’s Cash Rewards ($250 maximum).
- No expiration on cash back limits on the total rewards you can earn.
FEES
- No annual fee.
- 2% foreign transaction fee.
- 3% or $5 balance transfer fee (whichever is greater per transaction).
- 5% or $10 cash advance fee (whichever is greater per transaction).
Learn more about the US Bank Business Cash Rewards World Elite MasterCard on their website.
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THESE CARDS
If you shop at Office Depot OfficeMax, you can sign up for its “card free” rewards program and receive 2 percent back in rewards, which can be redeemed in the store or online. If you spend more than $500 within a 365-day period, you can get VIP status and earn 5 percent back in rewards. These points can only be spent with Office Depot OfficeMax, but when you put these charges on one of the cards mentioned above, you can effectively double your savings.
The same goes for signing up for Amazon Business Prime. While Office Depot OfficeMax’s rewards program is free, Amazon Business Prime costs $179 for up to three users and $499 for up to 10 users. Still, if you find value in these programs, combining it with one of the cards above could maximize your savings.
BOTTOM LINE
Sometimes the best savings are the most mundane. While we’d all like to boast that we scored a free First Class ticket to a vacation hotspot, savvy business owners know it’s better to save consistently on the basic categories, then plow those savings back into their business. Using one of these cards to defray the cost of office supplies and business services can accomplish that.
