Best business credit cards

A business credit card is a credit card specifically designed for business use. Like a personal credit card, it provides short-term borrowing up to a set limit, but business cards typically come with higher credit limits, expense tracking tools, the ability to add employee cardholders and rewards schemes tailored to business spending categories. The credit is usually taken out in the business’s name rather than the individual’s.

Yes, business credit cards are worth it for most businesses. They help separate business and personal spending (making bookkeeping easier), provide short-term cash flow flexibility, build the business’s credit history and often earn rewards on spending. Many providers offer cashback on business purchases, air miles or points redeemable for travel, which is useful for businesses with regular expenses.

Business credit cards are generally designed for small to medium-sized businesses, with credit taken out by the business owner or director. Corporate credit cards are designed for larger organisations and issued to employees directly, often with individual credit limits and centralised billing. Corporate cards typically come with more advanced expense management and reporting features.

Yes, many business credit card providers allow you to add employee cards under the same account. Each employee gets their own card with individual spending limits you can set, while all the spending is consolidated on one statement. This makes it easier to manage and track business expenses across a team without employees needing to use their personal cards and claim back.

It depends on the provider and the type of business. For sole traders or small businesses, the application may involve a personal credit check, and some providers report business card activity to personal credit files. For limited companies, business credit cards are typically reported to business credit files rather than personal ones. Always check whether a hard search will be run on your personal credit file before applying.