Best small-business credit cards
Business cards ranked by first-year value for a small business spending about $4,500 a month. Freelancers and sole proprietors can usually apply with their own name and Social Security number. Many big bonuses need several thousand dollars of spending in 3 months — CardCove only counts a bonus when the spending below reaches it.
Based on $4,500/month spending: dining $400, hotels $300, flights $400, gas $300, streaming $40, everything else $3,060.
Rerun this ranking with your spending-
1
Chase Ink Business PreferredSmall businesses that spend on travel, ads, shipping or phone bills
- Fee
- $95
- Bonus
- $1,500
- Year 1
- $2,467
- Yr 2+
- $967
-
2
American Express Blue Business Plus2x points on everything with no annual fee
- Fee
- $0
- Bonus
- $750
- Year 1
- $2,370
- Yr 2+
- $1,620
-
3
Chase Ink Business UnlimitedFlat-rate rewards on business spending with no annual fee
- Fee
- $0
- Bonus
- $750
- Year 1
- $1,560
- Yr 2+
- $810
-
4
Chase Ink Business CashBusinesses with phone, internet or office-supply bills
- Fee
- $0
- Bonus
- $750
- Year 1
- $1,393
- Yr 2+
- $643
-
5
Capital One Spark Cash PlusHigh-spending businesses that want simple 2% cash back · bonus needs ≈$10,000/mo of spending
- Fee
- $150
- Bonus
- $2,000
- Year 1
- $930
- Yr 2+
- $930
How we rank
CardCove adds up each card's sign-up bonus, the rewards it earns on the spending above (respecting caps), and a realistic share of its credits, then subtracts the annual fee. Points are valued at our estimates — in the calculator you can switch to cash-out (≈1¢) or transfer-partner (≈2¢) values, add the cards you already have, and see which new card adds the most.
Updated Nov 4, 2026.