Limited-Time Chase Small Business Credit Card Offers
In celebration of National Small Business Week, Chase is boosting the signup bonuses on its small business credit cards when you apply between June 16 and June 22, 2013. During this time, the Ink Bold® Business Card and the Ink Plus® Business Card will each earn 60,000 bonus points (worth $ 750 in travel) after you spend $ 5,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account. That compares to the 50,000 bonus points that is normally offered for these cards.
In addition, the Ink Cash® Business Card will earn $ 250 bonus cash back and the Ink® Classic Business Card will earn 25,000 bonus points after you spend $ 3,000 in the first 3 months of opening your account.
For more info or to apply for these offers, see this link.
Note: If you recently applied for any of these offers with a smaller bonus, Chase is usually quite good about matching current offers. You can log into your account and send a secure message, telling them that you saw this current small business week offer and ask if it can be matched. Usually if you have applied for the same card within the past 90 days, Chase will credit you the difference.
This post is from Credit Card Watcher, where you’ll always find the best credit card deals.
Limited-Time Chase Small Business Credit Card Offers
United MileagePlus Small Business Network 1,000 Bonus Miles
Get 1,000 bonus miles from United MileagePlus Small Business Network when you enroll and earn 100 miles with their network partners good through August 17, 2013. Simply join and shop through their partners to earn 100 MileagePlus miles in order to receive 1,000 bonus miles. The bonus miles can be used for flights, products, and services with United and MileagePlus partners.
Hustler’s Tip: Get 30,000 bonus miles with United MileagePlus® Explorer Card after $ 1,000 in spending within 3 months of card membership. Check out the whole list of points/miles bonuses!
How to Qualify 1,000 Bonus Miles with MileagePlus Small Business Network:
- Enroll in MileagePlus Small Business Network.
- Complete qualifying earning activity for 100 miles or more with Small Business Network partners.
- Member must be a business that is duly organized and validly existing in the United States under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization.
Bonus offer available one time per member account. Earning points in connection with United PerksPlus will not count as qualified earning activity toward earning the enrollment bonus. The 1,000 bonus miles will be posted within 6 to 8 weeks after completing the qualifying activity. Those who own a business, check out these Small Business Card Promotions to earn more bonus points/miles. Join the United MileagePlus Small Business Network today to get 1,000 bonus miles!
Hot Deal of the Day: Personal Capital offers $ 10 Bonus with a new account. They help you with your finances to develop long term goals and investment plans.
 Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express OPEN offers new members up to 25,000 Starpoints – get 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase and an additional 15,000 bonus Starpoints when you spend $ 5,000 in 6 months. You can redeem 20,000 Starwood points to get 25,000 miles (free ticket) on all the major airlines. Receive up to 5 Starpoints for every dollar of eligible purchases charged directly with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Start with a $ 0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $ 65. Full Review |
Q&A: My Supplier Stopped Taking American Express. What’s an Alternative Business Travel Card?
I currently have an American Express Platinum and love the fact that you can get your full value for travel rewards. For example, a $ 200 ticket costs 20,000 points, and you’ll get a 20% credit, so the booking earns you an extra 4,000 points. Most airline credit cards will charge you 25,000 miles to go anywhere in America, regardless of the ticket cost. Is there another card that does award travel with the same ticket cost to reward point ratio as Amex? My biggest supplier no longer takes Amex so I can’t justify the $ 450 annual fee.
I’d recommend the Chase Ink Plus. It offers a signup bonus of 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards and killer ongoing rewards, but more importantly, points are worth 25% more when you use them for travel booked through Chase. If you use the tool to input your flights, you’ll see the cash price of the flight listed alongside the number of points needed. If you use the Chase Ink Plus or Ink Bold, or Sapphire Preferred, you’ll get a discount of 80% on points needed. So if the flight price is $ 650, it would cost just 52,000 points with the Ink Plus.
The ongoing rewards are great as well. You earn 5 points per $ 1 on utilities and office supplies (up to $ 50k spent annually), 2 per $ 1 spent on gas and lodging (also up to $ 50k) and an unlimited 1 point per $ 1 spent elsewhere.
Finally, there’s no foreign transaction fee, you can transfer your points to a number of hotel and airline programs, and 2 free Lounge Club passes a year. It’s a great choice for a business traveler who doesn’t want the hassle of Amex’s limited acceptance but still wants good value on award flights.
| Ink Plus® Business Card | |||||||
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| Annual Fee | Signup Bonus | APR , Variable* | APR Promotions |
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| $ 0 Intro Annual Fee for the first year. After that, $ 95. | 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Bonus after spending $ 5,000 – in first 3 months. | 13.24% (Variable) | Purchase: None Transfer: None |
Q&A: What’s a Good Business Credit Card for International Travel?
I need some advice. I have a small, nonprofit organization and I travel both domestically and abroad. I have an American Express business card, but many of the international destinations I go to don’t accept it. I’d like a Visa or MasterCard. Which of those two do you recommend? I’d prefer cash back to airline miles.
Your best bet is the Capital One® Spark℠ Cash Select for Business. It’s a Visa, so you don’t have to worry about the card’s acceptance internationally. It has no foreign transaction fee, so you don’t have to pay an extra 3% of whatever you purchase overseas – and given the cost constraints nonprofits face, 3% can make a big difference. The card gives cash back, so there’s no hassle there, and it has no annual fee. Plus, it earns a full 1.5% back on every purchase you make – no bonus categories to deal with, which is helpful if you spend your money overseas. It’s simple, straightforward and great for travel.
| Capital One® SparkSM Cash Select for Business | |||||
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| Annual Fee | Signup Bonus | APR , Variable* | APR Promotions |
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| $ 0 | 0% intro APR on all purchases until December 2013. | 12.9% – 20.9% (V) | 0% introductory APR on Purchases until December 2013. |
If you’re working at a nonprofit, I also suggest that you check out our blog post on ways to avoid credit card processing fees on donations. Visa cuts its transaction fee on credit cards to 1.35% + $ 0.05, while participants in American Express’ Members Give program are charged 2.25%.
You can also get transaction fee-free donations through Capital One’s No Hassle Giving website, or a cool new startup called Frendo, which doesn’t charge for donations from a bank account.
You might also be interested in:
- What’s a Good Business Credit Card for Frequent Travelers and Airport Lounges?
- What Business Credit Cards Don’t Affect Your Personal Credit Score?
- The How, Where and Who of Giving
Got a question for the nerds? Drop us a line at cards@nerdwallet.com. Remember, there’s no question too obvious or too silly – if you’re wondering about it, you can bet that everyone else is, too.
Q&A: What’s the Best Business Credit Card for Home Improvement?
I have an established construction business and need a credit card expenses such as home improvement stores and paying for gas. However, I do not want my social security number to be attached to my business card. Any suggestions?
There are two questions here: How do I get a business credit card that isn’t tied to my personal credit history, and what’s the best credit card for my business spending needs? We’ll tackle them one by one.
How do I get a business credit card without linking it to my Social Security number?
In the end, someone will have to be liable for the debts on the business credit card. Since you’re the business owner, that person is probably going to be you. However, Chase, Citi and American Express do not report your business credit card utilization and limits to the bureaus, so they won’t appear on your credit score (unless you default, of course). Because of this, we’ll look for cards from those issuers.
What’s the best business credit card for home improvement and gas?
I’d recommend the Chase Ink Plus. It offers a signup bonus of 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards when you spend $ 5,000 in the first 3 months, as well as a solid ongoing rewards program:
- 5 points per $ 1 spent on internet, cable, phone and office supplies, up to $ 50k spent annually
- 3 points per $ 1 on gas and lodging, also up to $ 25k spent
- 1 point per $ 1 elsewhere, unlimited
Points are also worth 25% more when you spend on travel booked through Chase – quite a perk. The card’s $ 95 annual fee is waived the first year.
So you’ve got 3% rewards on gas. What of home improvement? The Ink gives you access to the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall, which offers 2-20 points per $ 1 spent on a variety of stores, from Apple to Zales. As of today, you can get 5% back online at Lowe’s and 3% at Home Depot and Ace Hardware. And these rewards aren’t subject to bonus caps, so spend away!
| Ink Plus® Business Card | |||||||
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| Annual Fee | Signup Bonus | APR , Variable* | APR Promotions |
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| $ 0 Intro Annual Fee for the first year. After that, $ 95. | 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Bonus after spending $ 5,000 – in first 3 months. | 13.24% (Variable) | Purchase: None Transfer: None |
You might also be interested in:
- Q&A: What’s the Best Credit Card for a New Small Business?
- 4 Banking Tips for New Small Businesses
- Q&A: What Business Credit Cards Don’t Affect Your Personal Credit Score?
Got a question for the nerds? Drop us a line at cards@nerdwallet.com. Remember, there’s no question too obvious or too silly – if you’re wondering about it, you can bet that everyone else is, too.
Q&A: What’s a Good Business Credit Card for Frequent Travelers and Airport Lounges?
NerdWallet, I’m a general contractor seeking a good company credit card. I put a lot of money on my credit card each month and pay in full every monthly bill. My family and I, as well as my business partner, will primarily use the points for travel. I love the idea of having access to the lounges at the airport. I don’t travel a ton so lounges are not a top priority but I love the idea. I use the credit card to purchase construction supplies, fuel for our trucks and company lunches of course. What card do you recommend?
Your best bet is the Chase Ink Bold, as long as you’re sure you can pay off your bills every month. It’s a charge card, so you shouldn’t carry a balance. The Ink Bold has a number of perks going for it:
- Killer rewards:
- 5 points per $ 1 on office supplies and cable/telecom, up to $ 50k spent annually
- 3 points per $ 1 on gas and hotel stays, also up to $ 50k spent annually
- Everything else earns an unlimited 1 point per $ 1
- Points are worth 25% more if you redeem for travel booked through Chase
- You get 2 free passes to the Lounge Club every year; past that, you’ll only pay $ 27 per visit
- There are no foreign transaction fees, which is key for going abroad
The signup bonus, 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards, is one of the best in the business, and remember that points are worth 25% more when used for travel. The Ink Bold is unparalleled for big-spending, oft-traveling business owners.
You might also be interested in:
- Q&A: What Business Credit Cards Don’t Affect Your Personal Credit Score?
- What Do I Do if I’m Denied a Secured Credit Card?
- What’s My Credit Score?
Got a question for the nerds? Drop us a line at cards@nerdwallet.com. Remember, there’s no question too obvious or too silly – if you’re wondering about it, you can bet that everyone else is, too.
Q&A: What’s the Best Credit Card for a New Small Business?
NerdWallet, I just started my business and I need a credit card that will earn rewards. I will be buying supplies for the new office and will be doing some travel. What’s the best card for me?
Contrary to popular belief, a new business can get the same credit cards as a more established business. You don’t need to be turning a profit, you don’t need to have employees; you can be a sole proprietorship, an LLC or a seller on Etsy and you’re still eligible for a business credit card.
However, a new business has two considerations:
- Qualifying for the card: Without years of records and a history of strong financial health, you may need to use your own personal credit history and FICO score to qualify for the card. Please note that this means you’re liable for the debts put on the card, and that the accounts will appear in your personal credit report as well as your business credit report.
- Maximizing rewards: A new business might be purchasing office supplies or spending a lot of money on gas. Look for a card that rewards such purchases, and one that has a 0% introductory APR period that will let you make big purchases and pay them down over time without paying finance charges.
Best business credit cards for new businesses:
Chase Ink Cash: With no annual fee, 5% cash back on office supplies and utilities (up to $ 25k spent per year), 2% on gas and dining (also up to $ 25k) and an unlimited 1% elsewhere, the Ink Cash is perfect for furnishing your first office and shuttling supplies back and forth. Plus, to kickstart your business, you’ll get a signup bonus of $ 200 and 6 months of 0% interest on purchase and balance transfers. This no-fee card is great for a business that’s just starting out.
Chase Ink Plus: If your new business will easily exceed the $ 25,000 threshold mentioned above, consider the souped-up version of the Ink Cash. The Chase Ink Plus offers the same rewards program as the Cash (though it earns 2% rewards on gas and hotels, not gas and dining), but it caps bonus rewards at $ 50,000 a year instead of $ 25k. There is a $ 95 annual fee (waived the first year), but that’s offset by a killer signup bonus: 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards. The bonus is worth 25% more when redeemed for travel. If stocking the new office will rack up a large bill, the Plus offers a better value than the Cash.
Capital One® Spark℠ Miles for Business: If you’re traveling with business, this card offers a one-two punch of no foreign transaction fees and a cold 2 miles earned on every dollar you spend, on top of a 10,000 Capital One No Hassle Miles℠ signup bonus. Currency conversion fees can easily run 3% of all the funds you spend abroad, and an international business traveler would easily recoup the annual fee ($ 59, waived the first year) if she spent just $ 2,000. Plus, the miles can be redeemed against any travel expense – you aren’t tied to a specific airline or hotel.
For more information on choosing a business credit card, check out NerdWallet’s top small business credit cards or get customized credit card comparisons.
You might also be interested in:
- What’s a Good Business Credit Card for Frequent Travelers and Airport Lounges?
- What Business Credit Cards Don’t Affect Your Personal Credit Score?
- What’s My Credit Score?
Got a question for the nerds? Drop us a line at cards@nerdwallet.com. Remember, there’s no question too obvious or too silly – if you’re wondering about it, you can bet that everyone else is, too.
Q&A: What Business Credit Cards Don’t Affect Your Personal Credit Score?
What cash rewards business cards don’t hold individuals personally responsible for the purchases? Is there a business card that will completely separate my business reporting from personal reporting?
Unfortunately, if your business credit card is in your name (rather than just your employer’s), you are personally liable for the debts. The card also goes on your credit history. However, if you aren’t self-employed, you can ask your employer to give you a card where the company, not you, is liable.
That said, even if the card’s in your name, it may not affect your FICO score as much as a personal card would. As Million Mile Secrets explains, Chase, Citibank and American Express don’t report your credit limit and spending to the credit bureaus (Capital One, Barclays, Bank of America and US Bank, however, do). If the issuer doesn’t report your limit or spending, your debt utilization ratio, overall credit limit, and length of credit history won’t be affected. However, it will show up as a new inquiry on your credit history, which will temporarily ding your credit.
Remember: If your name is on the card, you are probably liable for the debts on the company account. Make sure you trust your employer, if you’re signing for the loan, or your employees, if you’re giving them access to the account.
You might also be interested in:
- What’s a Good Business Credit Card for Frequent Travelers and Airport Lounges?
- What Do I Do if I’m Denied a Secured Credit Card?
- What’s My Credit Score?
Got a question for the nerds? Drop us a line at cards@nerdwallet.com. Remember, there’s no question too obvious or too silly – if you’re wondering about it, you can bet that everyone else is, too.
Certus Bank $125 Bonus for Personal Checking and Business Account
CertusBank is now offering $ 125 bonus for both new personal and business accounts. With personal checking, you get three excellent choices to choose from: 1) Certus Simple Checking – A simple, straightforward checking account — no minimum balance requirement and no monthly fee. 2) Certus Easy Checking – Earn competitive interest and enjoy benefits such as 2 non-CertusBank ATM waivers per statement cycle. 3) Certus Edge Checking – Higher balances gain an edge with competitive rates and services provided at no cost with unlimited non-CertusBank ATM waivers per statement cycle.
Important: You must visit a branch in Georgia, Florida, or South Carolina to open an account.
Here’s how you can earn up to $ 125 Bonus:
- $ 100 bonus deposit when you open a new checking account with direct deposit and bill pay
- Additional $ 25 if you use your debit card five times in the first 60 days
For a bonus interest rate, you’ll receive an additional 0.20% on a new Easy Savings account interest rate for the first 12 months. Plus, receive $ 25 bonus when you participate in our Refer-A-Friend program.
CertusBank personal checking account features:
- Free access to 50,000+ surcharge-free ATMs worldwide with Presto! and Allpoint 2
- Free Online Banking with Bill Pay
- Free Mobile Banking app
- Free Direct Deposit
- Free eStatements
- Free CertusBank VISA® Debit Card
- Free first order of checks
- Unlimited check writing
- Consumer loan rate discount (Subject to credit approval)
Earn $ 125 Bonus with a Business Account:
Those with a business, you simply open any business checking account and receive $ 125 when you make $ 2,500 in deposits within 30 days. Every CertusBank business checking account includes free Online Banking with Bill Pay, free eStatements, free CertusBank VISA® Business Debit Card, and free access to 50,000+ surcharge-free ATMs worldwide with Presto! and Allpoint.
Choose from the following business accounts:
- Certus Business Simple Checking frees your business from monthly maintenance fees.
- Certus Business Easy Checking is the perfect choice for growing businesses that require a flexible checking account to handle moderate activity.
- Certus Business Edge Checking provides the flexibility you need to manage your business with ease. Help your business gain an edge with competitive interest rates.
- Certus Analyzed Business Checking is the smart choice for businesses with higher levels of activity and cash needs.
Hot Deal of the Day: Sharebuilder offers a $ 100 bonus to join with promo code 100LSQ4 when you deposit $ 5K or more. Select from over 7,000 stocks and ETFs.
 Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express offers 30,000 bonus miles after $ 500 in purchases on the card - valued at $ 300 in travel credit, that’s enough for a round-trip ticket. With no limit to the number of miles you can earn, these can be redeemed for flights without seat restrictions and blackout dates. Enjoy extra perks such as free first bag check-in, priority Boarding, and 20% In-Flight Savings in the form of a statement credit on eligible purchases. Best of all, you’ll get $ 0 introductory annual fee for the first year. Full Review |
Tracking your card purchases: Big data becoming big business
If sharing information about what you buy with strangers makes you squeamish, then you may want to think twice about swiping your credit card.
Everyone from the IRS to your neighborhood burger joint wants to know what you charge to your card. And, increasingly, new tools and services — courtesy of credit card issuers and other businesses — are allowing them to sneak a peek.
The IRS, for example, has just begun to track credit card purchases — in addition to a wide range of public and private data — in an effort to catch tax-evading deadbeats, reports U.S. News and World Report. 
Credit card issuers, meanwhile, are using your purchase history to target what kinds of perks to offer you — and get a sense of how likely you are to default on a loan, according to a conversation I had earlier this year with Zoot Enterprise’s Tom Johnson.
Startups such as edo Interactive and Swipely, are allowing businesses, ranging from mom-and-pop retailers to mega stores such as Best Buy, to track your in-store credit card purchases so that they can target you with discounts.
Meanwhile, sophisticated ad agencies are quietly buying credit card transaction data from card network heavyweights, such as MasterCard and American Express, according to an April 16 report in AdAge. They’re using that data to target people with digital ads and coupons.
Even the market research company, Nielsen — which is best known for publishing TV ratings that can make or break a television show — is collecting the purchase histories of people who agree to be part of its TV ratings panel and selling that data to advertisers, according to a March 20 report in AdAge.
“Basically, anything you buy, we now see,” said Nielsen executive Nada Bradbury at a recent conference in New York, according to the article.
Spooked by being tracked? Get used to it
Making money off of credit card users’ purchase histories is an idea that’s been floating around the business world for a while.
Similar to social networking sites such as Facebook, credit card companies are well aware of how valuable their vast treasure troves of consumer information are to savvy marketers. (If only people weren’t so touchy about their personal privacy, these companies could be making gobs more money.)
However, as more organizations, such as the IRS, realize the value of what’s come to be coined as “big data,” the tracking of people’s credit card purchases appears to be gaining steam — and could become even more widespread with time.
After all, as the authors of the new book “Big Data: A Revolution that Will Transform How We Live, Work and Think” point out, collecting vast quantities of real-time information about how people behave — such as what they buy using their credit cards — is a deeply powerful tool for predicting what they and people like them will do next.
The more information an organization has about you and your neighbors, the more likely they are to spot patterns that they wouldn’t otherwise see and gain unprecedented insight into who you and the people around you really are.
That’s why companies are partnering with data carriers, such as MasterCard and American Express, and working so hard to collect and analyze as much information about you as they possibly can.
The more information they have — even if it’s chaotic and incomplete, and in some cases, partially inaccurate — the more likely it is to be right, according to “Big Data” authors Viktor Mayor-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier.
That’s good news for businesses, which now have unprecedented tools at their disposal to try to predict what their customers will do next.
However, it could also spell trouble for everyday consumers, say big data experts.
It’s not just that privacy is no longer a reality for most people who interact with the world, both on and offline. (Who knew that credit card purchase you discreetly made online, with your cookies turned off, was being watched?)
There’s an even more disturbing problem that could arise for some consumers, say Mayor-Schonberger and Cukier: What if the data-based predictions about how you will behave are wrong, and you’re punished as a result?
Companies aren’t just using big data — such as credit card transactions — to learn more about the world and the people in it. They’re also using it to make decisions — often with real-world consequences.
For example, a credit card company could offer you a significantly higher interest rate or deny you a credit limit increase, based on information it’s gathered beyond your credit report. Or, a lender may deny you a loan altogether, basing its decision on a credit score that incorporates nontraditional data that may not be entirely accurate.
And because the emergence of “big data” is so new, there are few — if any — rulebooks, best practices or ethical guidelines for companies to follow to make sure they’re doing it right.
Instead, many companies are simply making it up as they go along. Until those rules shake out it seems like big data is fueling Big Brother.
Instead, many companies are simply making it up as they go along. Until those rules shake out it seems like big data is fueling Big Brother.