The Little-Known Tools and Features of Top Business Credit Cards

If you're an entrepreneur, business owner, or even just a freelancer or gig worker, opening a credit card account for your business could offer a lot of benefits. First and foremost, it gives you the chance to easily separate your business and personal expenses, which will absolutely improve your life come tax time. And business credit cards also come with perks that you might have a harder time finding on personal credit cards.

Let's take a closer look at a few of these features and discuss how the right small business credit card can make managing your business cheaper and easier.

Bonus earnings on business-specific spending

You'd be hard-pressed to find a personal credit card that pays you extra cash back or points on your trips to the office supply store. But business-specific bonus categories can be found on business credit cards (no surprise there!). You might see 5% back on spending for office supplies or internet service, for example.

Depending on the nature of your business, you might also benefit from categories also found on personal cards, like gas fill-ups. Let's say you drive for a ride-hailing service or you've started a small local transport or delivery company in your area. A business credit card with bonus rewards for gas could really save you a lot of money -- and good news, they are available.

Higher credit limits -- or no preset limits at all

Your personal credit cards might not have super high limits, and this is for good reason -- it's not likely that you'll be putting $25,000 or $50,000 worth of purchases at once on a personal credit card. For a big personal purchase, there are often better ways to pay, like a personal loan.

But small businesses might regularly spend this kind of money on a credit card, between paying for equipment and sourcing inventory and materials. So you're likely to find a higher credit limit on a business credit card. And for some card options, you might not have any preset spending limit at all.

Additional cards for employees

If you have staff members who make purchases on behalf of your business, you can choose a business credit card that gives you free cards for employees. In some cases, you'll be able to set a lower spending limit on employee cards, which will keep any staff member from maxing out the account (which would be terrible for your bottom line and could even impact your personal credit score).

International spending and travel perks

Finally, if your business has contacts (such as vendors) in other countries, you'll be happy to know that a lot of the best options for business credit cards come without foreign transaction fees. These typically amount to 3% of transactions made in other countries or in currencies other than U.S. dollars.

And if your business operates internationally, using a card that charges those fees will only serve to make everything you buy more expensive. Plus, if you travel abroad for business, you'll be able to use the card to cover expenses while you're out of the country without having those extra fees tacked on.

Speaking of travel, some business credit cards earn travel points or miles rather than straight cash back. Like with a consumer travel rewards card, you can then turn these rewards into free or lower-cost hotel stays and airline tickets. Plus, these travel-focused cards sometimes also include credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and airport lounge access. These features can make your business travel more relaxing and less stressful.

Looking for a credit card for your business? Check out our options.

This article was written by Ashley Maready from The Motley Fool and was legally licensed through the DiveMarketplace by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.