Best business credit card for my business.

[keeno1970]

I am in the middle of deciding which business card would be right for me. Amex Gold or Platinum. I own a manufacturing business. A machine shop. And it requires zero travel. I would run about $150,000 through that card every year to pay my net 30's. So unless I can use the travel benefits of the platinum card for personal travel then the Gold card might be the better fit. Or it could be possible that none of the Amex cards would be a good fit. Any advice would be appreciated.

[BearsCubsOtters]

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@keeno1970 wrote:

I am in the middle of deciding which business card would be right for me. Amex Gold or Platinum. I own a manufacturing business. A machine shop. And it requires zero travel. I would run about $150,000 through that card every year to pay my net 30's. So unless I can use the travel benefits of the platinum card for personal travel then the Gold card might be the better fit. Or it could be possible that none of the Amex cards would be a good fit. Any advice would be appreciated.

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Amex Platinum and Gold are usually associated with travel and travel rewards. Was there any reason that you are only looking at these options? Why not Plum, which gives a 1.5% discount if repaid early?

If you do not travel for your business, and you do not plan on using the earned rewards for your personal travel, the only reason to get an Amex Business Platinum would be for a large sign-up bonus and then later downgrade to Gold to save on the annual fee. 

Amex business cards are great tools; the no pre-set spending limit offers flexibility and, if you already are a cardmember, the application for the business card will likely not result in a hard inquiry on your personal credit bureaus and the card will not report anywhere. However, if you are looking to build business credit, Amex business cards will not help you with that. 

So to answer your question, I would ask you what you are looking to accomplish. If you just want one business card to keep your business spending in one place and with flexibility, the Amex Platinum or Gold are great options. 

If you want rewards, perhaps cash back, or to build business credit, a Chase Ink Unlimited or FNBO Evergreen Business may be a better option. These are known to give decent starting limits, cash back and as a Visa, can be used pretty much everywhere. They will also report to your Experian Business and D&B (if you have a DUNS #) to help build your business's credit. 

[wasCB14]

While the Amex revolvers may not offer you the rewards you need, keep in mind that they can have soft CLs. Not quite NPSL, but I've gone over 100% of my CL on my BBP before.

I like Business Platinum, but extended warranties are important for me (buying appliances for rental units), the credits are useful, and the lounge network works fairly well for my moderate travel.

[4sallypat]

Instead of the traditional big bank business card, look at the new fintech banks that are more geared to volume of sales and offer a suite of expense management tools.

They are typically Visa Commercial, Visa Business, MC Business cards that are net terms (like an Amex charge card) or some can revolve.

Usually they are no hard pulls and rely on your business banking income.

• Divvy
• Ramp
• Brex
• Torpago
• Corpay
• Kleer 

[SouthJamaica]

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@keeno1970 wrote:

I am in the middle of deciding which business card would be right for me. Amex Gold or Platinum. I own a manufacturing business. A machine shop. And it requires zero travel. I would run about $150,000 through that card every year to pay my net 30's. So unless I can use the travel benefits of the platinum card for personal travel then the Gold card might be the better fit. Or it could be possible that none of the Amex cards would be a good fit. Any advice would be appreciated.

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My suggestion would be the Amex Business Cash and/or the FNBO Business Evergreen.  Both are 2% cash back across the board with no annual fee. Amex 2% is limited to 50k spend, while FNBO 2% is unlimited.

[keeno1970]

I have read that Amex business doesn't report anywhere. There is no point in having it if it doesnt help build business credit. I have read about Brex. It's different. It looks more taylored to venture capitalists that invest in startups. I'm not sure if that is a good fit either. One of my vendors has the Chase ink preffered business and the business cash cards and he really likes them. He's ordered them for all of his employees for ordering supplys. And they report everywhere. So Chase ink might be a good fit.

[blackfines1]

Discover 1.5%  and BOA business  1.5%  cash back  all purchases,  AMEX  cash magnet 1.5% AMEX  Blue Business Cash Earn 2% cash back ,  Amazon Business Prime 5% cash back on amazon , Citi AA ( 65K AA ) miles, Citi costco, Citizen Bank Business 0% apr for 6 month 
+ Everyday Points,  2 points & 3.5% back in rewards ,  FNBO Business 2% CASH BACK on every purchase . Make your choice 

[ToughFistFight]

Amex biz cards do report to Experian biz reports.  So do Chase biz cards.  I have seen my pulled report.  All three showed up. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@blackfines1 wrote:

Discover 1.5%  and BOA business  1.5%  cash back  all purchases,  AMEX  cash magnet 1.5% AMEX  Blue Business Cash Earn 2% cash back ,  Amazon Business Prime 5% cash back on amazon , Citi AA ( 65K AA ) miles, Citi costco, Citizen Bank Business 0% apr for 6 month 
+ Everyday Points,  2 points & 3.5% back in rewards ,  FNBO Business 2% CASH BACK on every purchase . Make your choice 

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Discover business card reports to personal credit.

Amex cash magnet is a personal card, not a business card.

[Anonymous]

I currently have both cards and each serve their purpose. My guys have the gold cards for the gas and if they need to run to the hardware store. I carry the plat for my bigger expenses and to pay my suppliers. I can spend anywhere from 15-30k per month on either card. Now, since the plat has the 1.5 points at hardware stores or any purchase above 5k; we rack up a lot of points really fast. 

if your suppliers code as hardware stores or your purchases are for more than 5k at a time I'd go with the plat. If not, I'd look into something else (cash back)