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Online ad spending is one of the biggest business expenses for many small businesses. What if you could turn your digital marketing spend into more cash in your business bank account?
If you're using social media ads or search engine ads to help market your business and find new customers, choosing the right business credit card can help you earn big rewards from this everyday cost of doing business. A few of the best business cards earn extra rewards for digital ad spending as a category, while others earn a high level of cash back or reward miles on everyday purchases -- which can include online ad spend.
Let's discuss some of the best business credit cards for digital advertising and see how they can help you earn cash back and other valuable rewards from your business spending.
Great for: Online ad spend and travel
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Intro APR N/A
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
20.24% - 26.24% Variable
Rewards Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases-with no limit to the amount you can earn.
Earn 3 points per $1 in select business categories
Annual Fee N/A
$95
Welcome Offer Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Earn 90,000 bonus points
This card offers excellent earning potential for businesses looking to earn valuable rewards on everyday expenses. You’ll earn 3X points on travel, shipping, and advertising purchases (up to $150,000 per year), making it a great fit for businesses that invest in growth. With an impressive 90,000-point welcome bonus and access to the Chase Ultimate Rewards® ecosystem, this card helps you maximize rewards. Plus, we like that points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, further boosting the card’s value.
Read Full ReviewWhy we picked it: The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card pays 3X points per dollar on the first $150,000 per year of combined spending on select categories, including advertising purchases on social media and search engines, and travel. So if you spend a total of $150,000 per year just on digital ads and business travel, you'll earn 450,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points -- worth $4,500 of cash back.
What to watch for: If you spend more than $150,000 on online ad purchases, travel, and other qualifying categories, your additional purchases will only earn 1X point per dollar. Plus, this credit card charges an annual fee of $95.
Great for: Cash back for big spenders
Excellent (740-850)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
N/A
Rewards Earn unlimited 2% cash back for your business on purchases, no limits or category restrictions; plus, earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
2% - 5% cash back
Annual Fee
$150
Welcome Offer $2000 Cash Back once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year
$2000 Cash Back
This card is built for businesses with significant expenses that want high-value rewards. You’ll earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, plus 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. If you spend over $150k annually, your annual fee will be refunded, and we love that in your first year alone, you could earn over $4,000 in cash bonuses -- the largest welcome offer Capital One has ever provided for this card.
Read Full ReviewWhy we picked it: The Capital One Spark Cash Plus (see rates and fees) card offers 2% unlimited cash back on all purchases, with no spending caps or category restrictions. So if your business spends $200,000 per year on digital ads, you'll earn $4,000 of cash back.
And this card has a huge welcome offer: get $2000 of cash back after spending $30,000 in the first 3 months, plus an additional $2,000 of cash back for every $500,000 spent in the first year. And you get 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
What to watch for: This is not a typical credit card -- it's a pay-in-full card, meaning your balance is due in full each month. Also, this card has a $150 annual fee. (See rates and fees.) So make sure your business is really a big enough spender to get your money's worth -- you'd need to spend at least $7,500 on online ads to recoup the annual fee.
Great for: No annual fee
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Intro APR 0% Intro APR on Purchases
Purchases: 0% Intro APR on Purchases, 12 months
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
17.49% - 23.49% Variable
Rewards Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business
Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Offer Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Earn $750 bonus cash back
This card is a cost-effective option for businesses of all sizes. There is no annual fee, yet offers an attractive $750 welcome bonus & unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase — that is a straightforward way to earn cash back on everyday business expenses. Plus, you can add employees cards for no extra cost. No wonder it's one of the most popular business cards we've reviewed.
Read Full ReviewWhy we picked it: If you want to simplify your small business spending, the Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card gives you unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, including online ad spend. There are no spending caps or category restrictions -- so if you spend $200,000 per year on online ads with the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, you'll get $3,000 of cash back.
This card has no annual fee and a lucrative welcome offer: get $750 of bonus cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening the card.
What to watch for: The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card charges foreign transaction fees, so it's not the best choice for international business travel.
Small businesses are spending big on social media ads, search engine ads, and other online ads as a great way to reach customers. Recent research from the Connected Commerce Council found that 32% of small business advertisers spend $10,000-$100,000 per year on online ads, and 29% spend more than $100,000 per year. And 70% of all small business advertisers say they intend to spend more on online ads in the next two years.
If your business is part of this trend toward bigger online ad spending, you might as well get some cash back in your bank account. Here are a few ways that the best business credit cards for online ad spend can help your business.
Many of the best business credit cards for online ad spend also include big-time welcome offers for new card customers. Let's say that you know you're going to be spending a certain amount of money on a new online ad campaign in the next few months. You can plan ahead, open a new business credit card, and easily spend enough money just on online ads to earn a big welcome offer worth $900 or more.
Even aside from a big one-time welcome offer, the best business credit cards for online ad spend help turn an ongoing expense (digital ad costs) into new revenue for your business (in the form of cash back).
Some of the best cards on this list offer 1.5% or 2% cash back for online ad spend, guaranteed. Think of this as like an extra bonus return on investment (ROI) on your ad spending -- along with all the customers that click and convert, you'll get an extra percentage of cash back from the business credit card you used to buy those ads.
Here's another great reason to use business credit cards: they're versatile. Some of the best business credit cards earn cash back, and some earn reward points that you can use for booking business travel or other goals.
If you want more money in your business bank account, that's great. If you want to exchange your business credit card rewards for cheaper flights and VIP upgrades on your next business trip, you can do that too.
Here are a few factors to look at as you decide which is the best business credit card for digital ad spend -- based on how your business spends money.
Some of the best credit cards on this list have an annual spending cap for how much you can earn. For example, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers 3X points per dollar on your online ad spend, but only for the first $150,000 per year of combined purchases (including online ads and other select categories; terms apply).
If your business only spends $1,000 per month on online ads, you'll probably be happy with the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. But if your business spends more on online ads, you might be better off choosing the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card, with 2% unlimited cash back on every dollar you spend (across all purchases except some travel booked through Capital One; see rates and fees).
Before you apply for a new business credit card, think strategically about how you can earn the welcome offer. Some of the best cards on this list have welcome offers that can earn $900-$2,000 of cash back with qualifying purchases within the first few months.
Generous welcome offers can make these cards a great fit for online ad spending, because sometimes your business might have a short-term goal where you're planning to ramp up your ad spend for a specific campaign or seasonal marketing. Give your next ad campaign guaranteed ROI with extra cash back from your newly opened business credit card.
Online ads are not your only big business expense. Before you apply for a new credit card, look at your last few months of business spending. See how much you're spending on categories like business travel, restaurants, gas, software, hardware, or other business supplies. The best business credit cards on this list can help you earn extra cash back and reward points on multiple types of business expenses, not just online ads.
Choosing the right business credit card for online ad spend can help you design a lucrative rewards program for your everyday business spending, and unlock more value from every ad you buy.
The requirements to apply for a business credit card are similar to applying for a personal credit card, but with a few extra details about your business. Here are a few pieces of information that you'll likely need:
Some business credit cards will let you check to see if you are pre-approved for the card, without doing a hard credit pull. But others might require a hard credit check which can affect your credit score. Make sure you're comfortable with your credit score before applying for a new credit card or any other loans -- personal or business.
Card | Our Rating | Intro APR | APR | Learn More |
---|---|---|---|---|
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Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
Great For:
Online ad spend and travel |
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A |
20.24% - 26.24% Variable | |
![]() |
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
Great For:
Cash back for big spenders |
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A |
N/A | |
![]() |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
Great For:
No annual fee |
Purchases: 0% Intro APR on Purchases, 12 months
Balance Transfers: N/A |
17.49% - 23.49% Variable |
At Motley Fool Money, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.
Our highest-rated credit cards have:
We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how Motley Fool Money rates credit cards.
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