Best Small Business Credit Cards for Recruiters
Moving your expenses to a small business credit card is one of the best ways for your company to start getting more out of every dollar spent. Depending on the size and scale of your recruiter, a different type of card may fit your situation better than another.
We’ll cover the top small business credit cards for recruiters, how to qualify for the card you want, and why a credit card makes sense for you and your company.
Recommended: Visit Divvy to apply for their easy-approval business credit card for recruiters and get a decision within days.
Top Small Business Credit Cards for Recruiters
Depending on your business’s expenses and cash flow, you should be able to use the different reward systems strategically to maximize the benefit to your bottom line.
Note: In most cases, small business credit card applications are based on your personal credit score. Be sure to know if you qualify before you apply for a new card.
These are the top three cards available right now for recruiters. If you know your credit isn't stellar, check out our Top 4 Cards For Building Credit.
Gas Rewards
Your recruiting work can involve a lot of travel. Because all that time on the road requires plenty of fuel, you might benefit from a gas rewards card. These specialized business credit cards offer a higher rate of cash back for fuel purchases than standard cash back cards. When you buy a lot of gas, the benefits can add up quickly.
However, some gas rewards cards require you to refuel at specific service stations. Be sure to select a card you can use along your regular driving routes. If you can’t find a gas rewards card you can use at your preferred stations, a standard cash back card might work better for your business.
AMERICAN EXPRESS SIMPLYCASH PLUS
Ideal for: Business owners who don’t travel overseas but have sizable fuel, cellular, and office supply expenses, and who would appreciate the ability to occasionally spend over their limit.
This card also offers 3% cash back on a category of your choice, including gas stations, for the first $50,000 per year. After hitting this limit, the cash back falls back down to 1%.
This card’s 0% intro APR offer lasts nine months, and American Express issues all cash back rewards as a statement credit—two key factors you should consider as you decide which card is best for your business. Finally, this card carries a 2.7% foreign transaction fee, making it a costly choice if you have a lot of international expenses.
REWARDS AND BENEFITS (TERMS APPLY)
- 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 9 months after opening an account
- 5% cash back at U.S. office supply stores and U.S. wireless telephone services, up to $50,000 per year (then 1% afterward)
- 3% cash back on a category of your choice (e.g., U.S.-based gas stations, restaurants, shipping services), up to $50,000 per year (then 1% afterward)
- 1% cash back on other purchases
- Ability to buy over your credit limit
FEES
- No annual fee
- No balance transfer fee
- No cash advance fee
- 2.7% foreign transaction fee
Advertising Rewards
If your recruiting business buys a lot of ads, an advertisement purchase rewards card could help you save money on your advertising expenses. These specialized business credit cards offer a higher rate of cash back for online advertisement purchases than standard cash back cards.
As you evaluate card offers, pay attention to the available cash back rates and calculate how much you can earn based on your expected advertising budget for the coming year. These cards work best for businesses with sizable advertising budgets, but, if you also spend a lot on other types of purchases, a standard cash back card might make more sense for your business.
AMERICAN EXPRESS SIMPLYCASH PLUS BUSINESS
Ideal for: Businesses that are looking to customize their rewards programs and that don’t travel overseas often.
You can earn 3% cash back on advertising purchases, but you have some work to do first. Within two months of getting approved for this card, you need to choose this specific bonus category. (You can change categories once every year.) Then you need to keep track of your purchases, because the 3% cash back level is capped at $50,000 of purchases per year.
You must make “U.S. purchases for advertising in select media,” which includes Google, Facebook, Yahoo, NBC National Broadcasting, and CBS Radio.
After you spend your first $50,000 in a calendar year, the 5% and 3% categories drop to 1%. That includes non-bonus category purchases. You also get 1% cash back on all other purchases.
REWARDS AND BENEFITS (TERMS APPLY)
- 0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months
- 5% cash back on office supplies and telephone services for $50,000 of purchases per year, then 1%
- 3% cash back for $50,000 of purchases per year (then 1%) on the category of your choice, including hotel rooms, airfare, restaurants, shipping, etc.
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
- Spend Manager: Helps manage your expenses by allowing you to add receipts and notes to your transactions through your desktop or mobile device
- Employee cards: Get up to 99 for free
- Connect to QuickBooks: Label and transfer transaction data into a QuickBooks account
- Car rental damage insurance and roadside assistance hotline
- Baggage insurance plan and travel accident insurance
FEES
- No annual fee
- No balance transfer fee
- No cash advance fee
- 2.7% foreign transaction fee
0% Introductory Rate
Whether you need to purchase more office equipment, rent a new space for your business, or travel to meet with prospective clients, credit cards that offer a zero annual percentage rate (APR) for an initial period of time can help you finance those purchases now. You can then pay off your card balance once you generate more revenue.
As long as you pay your balance before the end of your 0% introductory APR period, you’ll avoid paying interest on your purchases. Most of these cards feature a 12-month introductory period, but some offer a shorter or longer timeframe so pay attention to your card’s terms.
AMERICAN EXPRESS BLUE BUSINESS PLUS
Ideal for: New business owners, and those with irregular cash flow, who don’t travel overseas.
This card’s 0% intro APR offer lasts 12 months, one of the longest on this list. That makes it an ideal card for brand-new businesses and those whose cash flow is temporarily unpredictable.
What is predictable: If you use this card overseas, you’ll pay an extra 2.7% foreign transaction fee, which is a surcharge if your purchase passes through a foreign bank. Unlike, say, annual fees that are often offset with upgraded rewards and benefits, you get nothing but the fee for your trouble. If you travel out of the country for business, this isn’t the card you should use.
REWARDS AND BENEFITS (TERMS APPLY)
- 0% intro APR for 12 months
- 2x points per dollar spent on the first $50,000 of every calendar year
- 2x points on business purchases like office supplies and client dinners
- 1x point per dollar spent after that
- Spend Manager: American Express mobile app. Helps add receipts and notes to transactions
- Get up to 99 employee cards for free
- Spend beyond your credit limit
- Exclusive access to ticket pre-sales and cardmember-only events in your city
- Complimentary ShopRunner membership: Provides two-day shipping at participating retailers
- American Express personal loans: Apply for a pre-approved loan of $3,500 to $25,000
- Access to Quickbooks to label and transfer your transaction data from American Express
FEES
- No annual fee
- No cash advance fee
- 3% or $5 balance transfer fee (whichever is greater per transaction)
- 2.7% foreign transaction fee
Cards For Multiple Uses
Most businesses start with one card that fits their largest need and transfer most or all of their expenses to that card. Once you get to a certain size, however, it may make sense to have different cards with specific rewards programs catering to the different types of expenses you have. Most larger businesses use multiple cards to optimize for rewards.
Remember, you aren't limited to just one credit card, just be careful not to overextend yourself for unnecessary purposes.
How to Qualify for Small Business Credit Cards
Unless your business has a positive credit history of its own, your eligibility will be based on your personal credit rating. If you have a new or existing business that has never had a credit card or loan before, it’s likely that your business has no credit history.
Since your personal credit will be measured when you apply for a business credit card, it’s wise to have a good idea of what your credit score is.
If you don’t know your credit score, check out our article: How To Find Your Credit Score.
Once you have your score you can make a decision on which card to apply for. If you have good, great, or excellent credit, then go for one of the cards at the top of this article! If your credit isn’t quite there yet, check out our article: What Business Credit Card Can I Get With My Credit Score?
The great thing about credit scores is that they can be improved over time! We have a great article on the Best Business Credit Cards To Build Credit.
A rejected credit application can have a negative effect on your credit score, so act with responsibility and make careful decisions when deciding to apply.
Recommended: Learn How to Build Business Credit to help establish your business's fundability, get lower interest rates on loans, higher lines of credit, and sign up for all of this in your business's name, instead of yours.
Why You Should Get A Small Business Credit Card
There are many reasons why a company would want to have a business credit card. Depending on the type of business you operate, the strategies you employ may be different than one another, but we will describe the basic benefits of small business credit cards.
Separates Personal And Business Expenses
No matter the size of your company, you should keep all of your business finances separate from your personal finances. This means paying any bills you have in the business from a business account and paying for all personal expenses from a personal account.
This separation accomplishes two main tasks:
- Simplified Accounting - Keeping your accounts separate will allow you to fully understand the numbers of your business. If you have personal dollars in a business bank account or vice versa, it will be more difficult to understand how much you are spending, how much your revenue is, and therefore, your bottom line.
- Prevents Commingling - Commingling funds is one of the most basic and damaging errors a small business can make. Separating your funds, along with operating your business in a structure such as an LLC, will create your corporate veil. A corporate veil works to keep your personal assets safe if your business is ever sued.
There should never be a reason to mix your business and personal money, even if you run a small sole-proprietorship. The risks are too great, and there are no benefits.
Before you get a small business credit card, if you haven’t opened a business checking account for your company, you should do that right now.
Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank, credit union, business-loan friendly banks, one with many brick-and-mortar locations, and more.
Smooths Inconsistent Cash Flow
Some businesses, such as those with long sales cycles, can often go a few months without revenue, then see a large spike when a sale is finalized.
While it’s exciting to see large numbers come in all at once, it can be stressful in the meantime to pay bills, salaries, and other expenses with little to no income.
Credit cards offer business owners the ability to spend money that they haven’t made yet, capitalizing on future sales right now.
While you absolutely need to be careful about spending money you don’t have, this is a method that businesses can use to keep the doors open between sales cycles.
Credit Card Rewards
There are two main types of business credit card rewards: cash back and travel rewards.
Cash Back Rewards
There are multiple ways a small business can get the most out of cash back rewards programs.
For each dollar that your small business spends with these credit cards, you can get some money back. Some cards even have higher rates for specific purchases.
For example, businesses that do a lot of road travel can maximize their driving costs with a card that offers cash back on gas purchases.
Other businesses may require a lot of office supplies and can find a cash back or points program that rewards them for these costs or others like telecommunications, advertising, shipping, and more.
Finally, most cash back cards offer a flat percentage rate back on general purchases.
Travel Rewards
On the other hand, businesses that fly to visit conferences, do on-site visits with clients, or any other activities that usually involve airline trips or hotel stays can benefit from general or brand-specific travel rewards.
These usually come in the form of points or mileage rewards, where for every dollar you spend, miles you fly, nights you stay, or any other qualifying action you take, you’ll get rewarded. These build up and can be spent on upgrades, free nights and flights, and more.
Finally, there are typically premium versions of these cards that cost more in terms of annual fees but have more luxurious rewards such as access to airport lounges, events, and activities most people wouldn’t have access to.
