Are credit cards important for small businesses?

Each year, in the USA alone, more than 600,000 small businesses are started, and with the current financial crisis and higher level of unemployment that figure will certainly increase, as more and more people leave the corporate world to start their own business.
Credit cards play an important role in the success of any small business:
- Credit cards help to maintain separate accounts for personal finances and business finances. Keeping a credit card only for business purposes will be particularly useful in separating your business transactions from your personal ones at the end of the month.
- Your FICO score will also benefit since your social security number will be used by the credit card issuer; and this is another reason to maintain a healthy credit score.
- At the same time, a business credit card will create a credit history for your business, which will equally play an important role in when you’ll apply for business loans, leases, factoring, and lines of credit.
- You can use reward credit cards to decrease the cost of doing business, or use them for employees perks. Happy employees help the bottom line.
- A business credit card makes record keeping easy, you’ll be able to see at a glance your recurring monthly expenses, as well as things like meals, travel and entertainment expenses, especially if your credit card issuer offers an annual, itemized statement that comes very handy at tax season.
- Last but not least, many business credit cards offer exclusive travel benefits and travel insurance that are very important to businesses where its employees have to travel to see clients.
As usual, in business just like in your personal finances, credit cards and credit in general are tools to build and manage your business, but if you abuse them and misuse them they might become your downfall: use it wisely.
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Photo Credits: chenutis (cc)
Don’t Like Travel Restrictions? No Problem
You have finally earned enough points using your credit card to actually qualify for a free airline ticket. It has taken you awhile since they don’t accrue very fast, but sure enough you got there. You consult your calendar, you peruse the myriad of travel destinations that you wish to enjoy and then make your final decision of where and when to go. With a sigh and relief and anticipation you go ahead and pick up the phone to call your credit card company and make the joyous flight reservation.
After all that planning you are informed by an emotionless and unflinching reservation specialist that you are not able to redeem your points at that time of the month. Not only that, but you cannot redeem them with the airline which offers the flight schedule you had found. Sorry, you are on your own.
If you can relate with these credit card “Miles Card” program woes, you are not alone. If fact many thousands of Americans each year are affected by just this scenario. How does one get around it? The Discover Business Miles Card. It has all the normal bells and whistles of a great travel credit card, but it also offers absolutely unrestricted travel through any airline, travel agent, or online travel site no matter what the date. Finally you have the control on how to use your hard earned points.
Additionally, there is a 0% introductory APR, double miles on gas and travel purchases and one mile earned for every $1 spent on other card purchases. If you like to fly for free, you have found the right card!
Photo Credits: Miguel Sancheese (cc)
A head start on a vacation with your favorite Airline: JetBlue and American Express
Jet Blue has rocked the Airline Industry by delivering excellent service and making air travel fun. If you haven’t tried JetBlue you owe it to yourself, and if you have, you know that’s one of the best ways to fly.
And now for the good news: American Express and JetBlue Airways have gotten together to offer the JetBlue Card, a reward card where you can earn TrueBlue points good towards free flights.
And of course the perks are numerous (*):
- Exclusive benefits for JetBlue Business Cardmembers: 5% savings on JetBlue flights purchased directly from JetBlue, using your Card
- 50 TrueBlue® points, worth 1/2 of a free flight, after your first purchase
- Double Award Dollars on JetBlue purchases, gas, wireless phone charges, and more
- Automatic discounts at leading merchants through the OPEN Savings program
- Your TrueBlue points do not expire when you use your Card
- Protection when you travel: Car rental loss and damage insurance, baggage insurance, and more.
(*) See the official American Express JetBlue Card site for details.
The AT&T Universal Business Reward Card by Citibank
AT&T means business, and for many Small Businesses AT&T is a businesses partner for internet access, phone services, cell phone services (got an iPhone?), and other telecommunications products.
If that’s you, why not take advantage of the The AT&T Universal Business Reward Card with ThankYou Reward Network where you get 5 points for every dollar spent on products and services from AT&T?
Powered by Citibank you get unsurpassed customer service on line or on the phone, and much more:
- No Annual Fee
- APR on purchases: Prime + 5.99% (as of 08/17/2008) (*)
- Balance Transfer Offer: 0% for 12 months (*)
- 5 points for every $1 spent on eligible products/services purchased directly from AT&T 2
- 3 points for every $1 spent on purchases at certain office supply merchants and gas stations, and on professional services (*)
- 1 point for every $1 you and your employees spend on other purchases (*)
- Redeem your points through ThankYou Network
Will this be your next Business Credit Card? If you already use AT&T or you are planing on using it, it’s surely worth taking a look at.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
(*) See the official AT&T Universal Business Reward Card site for details.
Easy Savings for Small Businesses from MasterCard
Got a small business? What if you could easily add savings to your existing card?
If you have a MasterCard BusinessCard, regardless of the Bank that issued it, you can register it at EasySavings.com and start receiving exclusives discounts at those companies that you already use, such as DHL, SurePayroll, Intuit, monster.com, Fuelman Network, Microsoft Ad Center, Avis, web.com, Maggiano’s, Administaff, Midwest Airlines, HRTools.com, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.
The savings are easy:
- Register your MasterCard BusinessCard.
- Use it to pay for the services at participating merchants.
- Watch your rebate savings add up on your statements, and you can track them on the web as well.
And if you don’t have a MasterCard BusinessesCard, you can pick one here.
CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network
Earn 10,000 bonuses ThankYou Points and redeem a $100 gift card for every $250 in purchases.
Building a business is always a challenging affair. Now using your CitiBusiness with ThankYou Network, you can build your business even faster. Get to earn and enjoy 10,000 ThankYou points with every $250 purchases to redeem a $100 gift card. Not only that, you can redeem your points for travels, merchandise and much more. You can start to earn rewards from just 1000 ThankYou points.
Lower your business overheads and get to earn ThankYou points when you use your CitiBusiness with ThankYou Network credit card at certain professional services and office supply merchants. You will get to earn three ThankYou® points for every one dollar spent on your office supplies and professional services. For other purchases, you will earn one ThankYou® points for every one dollar spent.
You will also get to reap the benefits of having your own Personal Business Assistant with the CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network. The Personal Business Assistant is available 24/7 to assist you with:
- Obtaining leads for marketing & administrative needs
- Office management
- Dining arrangements
- Entertainments
- Gathering business intelligence
- Travel arrangements
- Hotel accommodations
Take the hassles out of managing your budgets and expenses with quarterly & yearly account summaries broken down by amounts, spending categories and employees at no additional cost.
You also be able to mange your account online saving you those precious minutes for more productive activities for your business. With your account online, you can make payments, check statements, add employees, track business activities linked to the card and even request credit lines increases for your business with just a touch of a button.
Additional cards for employees are also simplified and there are also options for you to control employees spending by setting limits on the CitiBusiness Card with ThankYou Network.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
If Platinum is better than Gold. What’s better than Platinum?
Q.: If Platinum is better than Gold. What’s better than Platinum?
A.: Plum!
Introducing a new dimension in a Credit Card for Small Businesses, from who else but American Express OPEN.
American Express has listened to the many challenges faced by today’s Small Business, and they have loaded the American Express OPEN PLUM Card with features that ease those challenges in a way that other credit cards cannot:
- Get an Early Pay Discount of up to 2% if you pay your bill in full within 10 days of your cycle cut * or,
- Defer payment for up to 30 additional days with no interest if you pay at least 10% of your balance by your ”please pay by” date *;
- No pre-set spending limit. *
- Select when your monthly billing cycle ends.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
(*) See the official American Express OPEN Plum Card site for details.
As Seen on TV
We HAD to do it!
How many times do you remember a funny and entertaining commercial on TV, you remember what it was for (in this case – of course – credit cards) but you just can’t remember the name of the company or their web site. We understand. There are just too many credit card companies out there, and remembering a web site name? Forget about it, often there’s no MOJO in their name.
So a few people, very resourceful people, have emailed our webmaster asking “what was that credit card with the funny TV ads that lets you build your own card? You know, the one where you can put the photo of your cat and pick the interest rate and the rewards?”
It’s Capital One’s Card Lab. Capital One pairs great offerings on their credit cards with highly creative and entertaining TV ads.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
Got your own Business? Get the Gold Card that understands your needs.
American Express Gold Card from OPEN is the de-facto standard when it comes to business cards.
American Express Gold Card from OPEN offers Membership Rewards points redeemable for either airline travel or anything else you or your business might need, the points have no expiration and there’s no limit on the numbers of points you can earn, no annual fee for the first year, no finance charges and no spending limit (*), savings on business partners like FedEx, Hertz, Delta and others, be part of the OPEN network.
Calling all business owners!
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
(*) See American Express official web site for details
























