If you ask most financial experts they will tell you that the best policy when it comes to either personal or business credit cards is to pay off balances in full every month, as this avoids the need to pay interest charges, essentially increasing the costs of the purchases made on the card.
For some businesses, especially smaller or start up businesses, that is not always possible though bad carrying a balance from month to month is something they find themselves doing on a regular basis. For these businesses often finding a business credit card with the lowest possible APR for their credit profile is more important than finding a business credit card with a rewards program.
About Business Credit Card APR Rates
The first thing a business owner needs to realize is that most business credit cards have variable interest rates that will change as the prime rate does and the rate they are accessed will also depend very much upon their business credit profile and payment history. While many business owners realize that the one thing many do not realize is just how easy it can be to fall into the penalty APR category. A penalty APR is a higher rate of interest that a lender will access when a card holder has not met certain expectations that their contract calls for. A single late payment or going over the credit limit attached to the card usually sets the penalty APR in place and with some business credit cards it remains in effect indefinitely.
Some business credit cards do give cardholders a break in that respect and will allow one “mistake” before the penalty APR is enforced so it is something you may want to look at when comparing various credit card offerings.
Here is a little information about some of the best low APR business credit cards available at the moment:
Simply Cash Business by American Express
American Express now offer a number of more traditional credit cards for businesses as well as their famous charge card offerings. The Simply Cash is an excellent choice for a business looking for a card with a low APR that offers a number of other perks as well, namely that it offers good cash back rewards.
In terms of APR the first six months of card membership come with a 0% APR on purchases and then that rate rises to 13.24, 16.24 or 19.24% depending upon the businesses individual credit profile and payment record on the card to that point.
Cash back rewards are awarded at different rates according to the spending category. Office supply and wireless service purchases are awarded 5% cash back, gas purchases at 3% and all other purchases at 1%. There is no limit to the amount of cash back that can be earned and the rewards are credited every month to your card statement, which negates the need to remember to cash rewards in.
Simply cash card holders also receive a 10% discount on Fed Ex services and Hertz car rentals as well as discounts at other well known retailers.
Capital One Venture for Business
At 13.24% the Capital One Venture for business offers one of the lowest interest rates on a business credit card you will find anywhere. There is no 0% APR introductory offer and a $59 annual membership fee which may make some people over look it but as the annual fee is waived for the first year and the regular APR is so low if you are going to be carrying balances on your business credit card this really is a very good choice and what you will save in interest charges in the long run will more than make up for the annual fee.
The Capital One Venture for Business card has a bonus miles rewards program attached to it. Cardholders earn 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases with plenty of opportunities to earn bonus miles. For example each extra card ordered for employees earns 5,000 bonus miles and if $1,000 is spent on the card in the first 3 months then 10,000 more bonus miles are awarded.
Miles do not have to be redeemed on travel benefits only though, Gift certificates and various items of merchandise are available instead if a card-holder prefers. However if travel benefits are chosen there are no black out dates and no airline restrictions and rewards can also be used for hotel accommodations as well.
Citi Business AA Advantage Visa Card
This is a great low APR business credit card that is an excellent offering for businesses of all sizes for whom business travel is a large part of their day to day operations. Co branded with American Airlines this card offers a low 15.24% APR and there is no annual membership fee attached to the card.
The rewards earned on the card tend to accrue rather quickly because there are a number of bonus mile earning opportunities that are easy to earn. For example if you spend just $750 on the card during the first four months of card membership you are rewarded with 30,000 AA Advantage air miles. Bonus air miles can also be earned when you request additional employee cards for which there is no extra charge.
On all purchases air miles are awarded at a rate of 1 per every $1 spent. When you are ready air miles can be redeemed for domestic travel on American Airlines and air miles earned on this card go quite a long way as any domestic round trip can be obtained for as few as 25,000 AA Advantage air miles.
The rewards attached to this card are very specific and may not be useful to all businesses but as far as a travel branded business credit card goes it may be very attractive to some people looking for a low APR business credit card.