Opening business cards should be an essential part of your points strategy if you want to travel on points and miles long term, but many people dismiss this idea because they don’t think that they can qualify for these cards.
However, you would be surprised to find out that most people CAN qualify business cards and they should definitely be part of your plan! There are so many business cards out there that often have great signup bonuses. Opening business cards is also a great way to help put space between opening personal cards. But, there is one family of cards that stands above the rest!
The Best Business Cards:
The first business cards we recommend for almost everyone are the Chase Ink® business cards. These cards earn Ultimate Rewards® points that can be transferred to a variety of hotels or airlines. Our absolute favorite points are Chase’s travel points called Ultimate Rewards® points. These points can be transferred to travel partners like World of Hyatt, Southwest, United, Marriott, Air France, and more, allowing you to get great value out of your points AND have flexibility in your trip planning.
Our two favorite business cards are the Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. In addition to having no annual fees, they have solid signup bonuses of flexible, transferrable points that can be used in so many ways! You really can’t go wrong with either card, but we will break each of them down for you.
The Signup Bonus:
The bonuses on the Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Cards are both marketed as cash back. But, when you hold either the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card your earnings can be used as points, so essentially you would be earning a substantial amount of Ultimate Reward points after meeting the minimum spend in the set time-frame. Basically, you apply for the card, meet the spend, then those earnings are deposited in your account and you can transfer them to a hotel or airline to get a steeply discounted vacation.
And one tip– even if you don’t currently have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, you can always grab one of these personal cards later and combine the earnings on the Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card with your personal card to really maximize your earnings! You most definitely can open a business card before the personal card.
Transfer Partners
Once you have earned the bonus, there are a couple of ways to use your earnings. We typically recommend transferring points to travel partners. When you transfer flexible rewards points to a travel partner, you are essentially turning those points into brand-specific points. We have found that the deals are usually better when using your points with the actual airline or hotel brand versus redeeming your bank points in the travel portal. But remember, in order to use the earnings from the business card, you need to open either a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card.
Once you have your earnings on the business card you can combine/move those earnings to your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. Then, you can decide where you would like to transfer your points.
To transfer to a travel partner, you will first want to have an account with the travel partner (Southwest Rapid Rewards account, World of Hyatt account, etc.) Make sure the name on the travel partner matches the exact name listed on your credit card bank account. Also, we would recommend checking the dates/hotel/airline etc. for availability before getting ready to transfer your points.
Transfer partners include: Aer Lingus Aer Club, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skyward, Iberia Plus, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United Airlines Mileage Plus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and World of Hyatt.
Benefits Beyond points:
The Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card are both great business cards. But, what really sets these cards a part is the value you can get when you use the earnings as points rather than cash back. Both of these cards have $0 annual fees which is a HUGE perk! If you have recently opened one of the personal travel cards from the same bank with an annual fee, one of these cards would be the perfect next step in your points and miles journey.
Credits and Benefits
While these cards can be somewhat similar, let’s break down the differences:
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card:
- 1.5% back on a business purchases. If you use these points for travel, that equates to 1.5X points on all business purchases.
- $0 Annual fee
- O% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases. After that, 16.74%–24.74% variable APR.
- Earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides through 9/30/27
- Complimentary three month lnstacart+ membership through 12/31/27
- Travel and Purchase Protection
Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
- Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services. If used as points, that equates to 5X points.
- Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at gas stations and restaurants. If used as points, that equates to 2X points.
- 1% unlimited cash back on all other purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn.
- $0 Annual fee
- O% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases. After that, 16.74%–24.74% variable APR.
- Earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides through 9/30/27
- Complimentary three month lnstacart+ membership through 12/31/27
- Travel and Purchase Protection
How To Apply
Many people are surprised to find out that they are eligible for business cards. There are two ways to apply for a business card. First is with a small business LLC where you have an EIN, and the second would be as a sole proprietor.
If you apply as a sole proprietor, you don’t have to have an LLC, and you simply use your name and social security number to apply. This would be if you have some kind of side job such as: babysitting, pet-sitting, mowing lawns, tutoring, selling items on Facebook Marketplace, etc.
One very important tip: Make sure not to include anything except your name in the business name section if you apply as a sole proprietor! Putting a business name that isn’t actually registered anywhere can cause issues with the application even if it’s a business name you use informally. Just put your actual name in the business name section and you will be good to go!
To find out more about applying for a business card, you can check out our free business card guide!
Business Card Referrals
We almost always recommend opening a card and referring your Player 2 (spouse/partner) to the same card to earn extra referral points and another sign up bonus for your family. BUT, there are some updates to referring business cards from Chase. As a business card holder, you can only earn referral points if the person you are referring does NOT already have a business card from Chase. If the person you are referring already holds a business card from this bank, you will NOT earn referral points. Your Player 2 can still earn a sign up bonus though and those points can still be so valuable.
If you are wanting to apply for one of these business cards, we would love for you to apply by using one of our links. You can learn how to apply for the Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card here.
In Summary…
Business cards really are the best way to help spread out your personal cards and make points and miles travel sustainable. If you only open personal cards, you will quickly reach your limit of how many you can have. Applying for business cards and spacing things out with your Player Two is an essential part of a long-term award travel strategy.
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