Business Credit Cards Comparison

Understand the basics of a business credit card and how it can benefit a business owner. Find out what to look for and how to use one so that you get the most from it.

Business credit cards have advantages for business owners such as tax deductions on spending and prestige benefits only available for those with an ABN (Australian Business Number).

These form of company credit cards generally require the card owner or company to be in a good credit standing. For more information about how business credit cards can benefit your small business, visit our business credit card resources.

Best Business Credit Card

Better manage your cash flow with the CitiBusiness Gold Credit Card. Also get rewarded for your hard work and earn 1.25 reward points for every $1 you spend.

• $74 for the first year (normally $149) annual fee
• 20.49% p.a. on purchases
• 2.9% p.a. for 9 months on balance transfers
• Cash Advance Rate of 20.99%
• Up to 99 additional cards.

Click here to read the Citibank CitiBusiness Gold terms and conditions

Business Credit Card Comparison

Credit Card	Card Details	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Interest free days (up to)
Citibank CitiBusiness Gold	Earn 1.25 reward points for every $1 spent – with no point expiry. 1 reward point is redeemable for 1 frequent flyer point among other rewards. Access up to $60,000 in credit limit. Complimentary International Travel Insurance and Business Concierge service.	20.49%	20.99%	2.9% for 9 months	$74 for the first year (normally $149)	55
American Express Gold Business	Reward yourself and earn 25,000 bonus points when you spend $50,000 each year.				$169	44
American Express Qantas Business Card	Earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points on every dollar spent with the AMEX Qantas Business Card. Redeem for Qantas and Jetstar Any Seat Rewards.				$299

What is a business credit card?

If you understand the concept of a personal credit card, then you're a good way to understanding what a business credit card is all about. Business credit cards work on the same principle as personal credit cards, allowing the cardholder to purchase goods or services physically at a merchant location, or remotely over the telephone or via the Internet.

However, there are crucial differences between a business credit card and one you would use for your personal purchasing needs, and for an ongoing business it would be inappropriate to use a personal credit card to fund things. Having said that, there are many well-known and super-successful firms that were originally financed by the credit available on the entrepreneur's personal piece of plastic.

Once a company is established, though, there are great benefits in switching to a business credit card, for which you will need an Australian Business Number. You can apply for one of these online from the appropriate government website.

How a business credit card differs from a personal credit card

These are the main differences you can expect to find between a business credit card and a personal credit card:

• Business credit cards are issued to the company not to an individual. In this way, the company named on the card is responsible for any debts that accrue on it, rather than the individual who has it in their possession and uses it for business purchases.
• These cards may have restrictions on them, aside from any credit limit that may apply to the card. This may mean that they can only be used for certain purchases, or perhaps that cash withdrawals from ATMs are not allowed.
• A number of cards can be issued on the account, and the credit limits and restrictions on each one can be geared to the individual employee who has use of it, so that junior employees will not have the spending power of more senior staff.
• The cards come with management reporting features such as monthly itemised purchase listings that allow easier tracking of expenditure for budgetary and tax purposes
• Business credit cards may also offer complimentary features such as general and business-specific insurances, and banking discounts

What is there to choose between them?

As this might be the main means by which a company makes its purchases, the key factor will most likely be the acceptance of the business credit card. In other words, a card that is rejected because the merchant does not accept it is going to be a problem. This is no different to the situation with personal credit cards, where a card carrying the Visa or MasterCard logo is more widely accepted than one with the American Express marque on it. Of course, Amex business cards can have their own perks, such as better rewards programs, extra features and greater kudos. For this reason, many business owners may opt to carry an Amex and one of the others to cover all the bases.

Aside from this, the obvious feature to check is the interest rate, or APR. This is especially relevant if you are going to be spending a lot on your card and will not be paying it off in full each month. Remember also to check the annual fees and transaction fees involved, plus any penalty charges and in what circumstances they are applied. It is important that you check the terms and conditions of any credit card you carry, but where a business credit card is concerned, it simply must be done. Check also to see how easy it is to access your account online, the kind of fraud protection measures that apply, and if there is a zero liability guarantee against fraudulent use of the account. Find out also what sort of insurances are included with the card, and how does the customer support stand up to scrutiny?

Finding the best business credit card

It's almost certain that whichever bank you do your business banking with, it will be able to offer you a business credit card. This may be the same bank you have banked with as a personal customer for many years, and as your business has developed it just seemed natural to open your business account in the same place. Whilst this may seem the easiest option, it may not always be the best for your business. Even if you don't choose to take your business elsewhere, there is certainly no harm in checking out what else is available on the market. This is simply done by checking a reputable credit card comparison website. Armed with the facts, you can always go to your own bank and haggle with them over what they are prepared to offer on their card, compared to what you know is being offered on the other cards. Most banks are happy to talk terms and conditions if it means they retain your business.

Within the various offerings you may discover, there will be two main types of business credit card:

Credit card

This is what you would probably expect a business credit card to be, and it operates as your average personal credit card does. You build up a balance over the month and your statement then requires that you pay off a minimum amount at the end of the month. Whatever you don't pay off is charged at a predetermined rate of interest. This is the better option for businesses that need flexibility due to ebbs and flows in cash reserves, where it may not be financially possible to clear the balance in full each month.

Charge card

Essentially, these provide a short-term (monthly) loan to a business on any purchases they load on the card, as they require the full amount to be completely paid off each month to avoid the imposition of hefty fees. These business credit cards are better suited to companies that are financially stable enough to always be able to clear their balance. American Express and Diners Club are the best-known of the charge cards.

Advantages of a business credit card

• The main benefit of a business credit card also applies to carrying a personal credit card: namely, that you have a ready source of funding that does not rely on you carrying around large amounts of cash, which is impractical and potentially a security risk.
• They also provide the opportunity to make instant approved purchases in person, online or over the telephone.
• Issuing credit cards is also usually cheaper than writing a cheque, which in this day and age looks positively antiquated and does not provide the instant assurance that the payment has been approved.
• Business credit cards allow for a separation of personal and business expenses, which makes things far easier for tax purposes and to keep track of business expenditure.
• Selected employees can be issued with their own card on the account, empowering them to make necessary business purchases, and to charge other business expenses to the card.
• Employee cards can have separate credit limits and controls placed on them, in accordance with the position of the individual within the company.
• Business credit cards also serve the hugely important purpose of building up your business credit rating.

Corporate vs. Business card cards

These two types of card are not the same, and it's is important to know how they differ so you can decide which one will best suit your venture.

Corporate credit cards

Corporate credit cards are designed for larger firms and corporations, and the features of these cards can be tailored to meet the needs of the specific business. This will involve the business owner and executive staff having a face-to-face meeting with a representative of the card provider to hammer out the details. For this reason, the business credit card you will see advertised by your bank or on a comparison site will not be a corporate credit card. To find out about this service will require that you make a personal enquiry at the bank or card company of your choice.

Small Business Credit Cards

This is the business credit card you will see advertised, and this is the popular choice with the small to medium sized business, or for the sole proprietor or business person working from home. Applications for a card of this sort are done in the same way as you would apply for a personal credit card. The easiest and fastest way to do this is with an online application. It goes without saying that a good credit rating will be needed for an approval.

Using a business credit card wisely

As with any credit card, a business credit card is only as good as the use it's put to. Here are a few tips to bear in mind:

Limit how many cards you have - The more cards you have in circulation amongst your staff, the higher the risk of debt building up. Keep the number of cards as low as you can to guard against this.

Use your interest-free period - This is the period in which you are not charged interest from the time the purchase is made until the day the balance is due. If you take advantage of this and then pay your bill off in full, you will have effectively enjoyed an interest-free short-term loan, which is something you can do every month with careful planning.

Don’t use your business credit card as a debit card - This means that you should not use your card to withdraw cash from ATMs, or for any other transaction that is deemed a cash advance. Cash advance transactions do not enjoy an interest-free period and are charged interest from the moment they happen, and the applicable interest rate is usually higher than the purchase rate.

Pay on time - The best bet is to pay in full on time to avoid any interest charges. Failing that, at least the minimum payment must be met, and it must reach the card company before the due date or a penalty will be charged.

How do I toss up different business cards when comparing?

As businesses will be likely to make a wide range of purchases, including foreign imports, credit card acceptance plays a large factor in credit card comparison. On the surface, the Business Accelerator card has more generous and appealing features, yet American Express cards have limited acceptance within Australia in relation to Visa and MasterCard.

When comparing business rewards however, the AmEx ‘Membership Rewards’ program is arguably the most competitive rewards program available to Australia consumers.

ABN’s and Business Credit Cards

Most business owners are short on time. Let’s face it, when it comes to doing a credit card comparison you probably have other things to worry about then running from lender to lender to find the best deal. The thing is that those entrepreneurs who do spend time to look into their options often save money opposed to their competitor who is too slack to research the market.

Most banks and lenders offer their customers a business credit card. By doing some research online you’ll soon see which of the offers apply to your needs. Once you have a short list of applicable business credit cards it’s time to drill down into the meat of things.

The difference between business credit card and personal credit card.

A common business credit card functions in the same way as a personal credit card does. You can use it to buy things offline, online, withdraw money from an ATM and pay by phone.

The main difference is that a credit card for business is issued to the company and not an individual person. Therefore the company is responsible for all credit card bets incurred on that card.

Some cards come with certain purchase limitations such as spending limits, But then the same applies to a personal credit card anyway. Some lenders provide extra features like discounts for banking or free insurance cover. Plus you can track your expenditure thanks to an itemised bill each month.

Advantages of business credit cards.

If the credit card comes with includes insurance then you might be able to benefit from this because nobody in your company needs to run around with large cash amounts anymore. Plus these cards also keep business from pleasure quite easily and are often cheaper to run than issuing cheques.

With the control given to you you can control spending while giving your employees freedom to purchase things for the business without needing to spend their own private money upfront.

Compare business credit cards according to their features.

Business credit cards have two main differences. They are issued as a credit card or a charge card.

Credit card feature: Having a business credit card functions in much the same way as having a personal credit card. It will allow you to pay the minimum amount on a bill while charging you interest on the outstanding debt.

Charge card feature: With a business charge card you are obliged to pay the full amount of your bill or else pay penalties and fees. These cards are probably better for larger corporations with plenty of cash flow.

Two strong contenders for business credit cards.

The following two cards have their own unique attributes if you are in the market for a credit card for your business. Start your business credit card comparison with the American Express Business Accelerator Card and the Citibank ‘CitiBusiness’ Card.

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Editor's Choice: Our Top Credit Cards




Credit Card	Card Details	Interest Rate (p.a.)	Cash Advance Rate (p.a.)	Balance Transfer Rate (p.a.)	Annual fee	Interest free days (up to)
HSBC Credit Card	Editor's Choice: 0% for 6 months Balance Transfer & No Annual Fee Featuring a $0 annual fee for life, and 0% p.a. balance transfer for 6 months, the HSBC Credit Card was voted the Best Transactor Credit Card for 2010.	16.99%	20.75%	0% for 6 months	$0	55
Suncorp Clear Options Standard Visa Card	A great 12 month balance transfer offer, combined with a low annual fee and a good interest rate on purchases.	12.24%	17.99%	1.9% for 12 months	$39	0