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A million-dollar idea might be offering a designated credit card for real estate agents. Until that day comes, one of the best real estate business credit cards for agents & investors can help you earn bonus points on advertising, gas, and other purchases. Just like you try to get the best offer for your clients, these credit cards help you earn the most points on your business purchases.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Best Real Estate Business Credit Cards for Agents
Below are the three best credit cards for real estate agents. Each one offers bonus points on different expenses. Take a few minutes to analyze your largest expenses and decide where you can earn the most points.
For most realtors, you might focus on advertising and gas station purchases. As expected, credit cards that require an annual fee tend to have higher purchase rewards. But, our no annual fee recommendation might meet your expectations too.
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
A top-notch credit card for real estate brokers is the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
You will earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 in combined spending for these purchases:
- Travel
- Shipping
- Internet, cable, and phone services
- Advertising on social media and search engines
All remaining purchases earn 1 point per $1 spent.
While you won’t have the chance to earn bonus points have dining and gas purchases, you still have access to those other large expenses like online advertising.
You can redeem your points for award travel, cash back, gift cards, or Amazon rewards. While you receive a 25% redemption bonus for travel and can have 1:1 travel point transfers, you can redeem points for one cent each if you prefer cash back.
New Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card cardholders can earn 100k bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.
This is the most valuable Chase business credit card signup bonus.
One unique card benefit is $600 cell phone protection. Pay your phone bill with the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, and you can qualify for this free coverage.
Also, the annual fee is $95.
A Quick Note About Chase 5/24
Before you apply for any Chase Ink credit card, make sure you don’t fall prey to the Chase 5/24 rule. If you have five new credit cards as the primary or secondary user in the past 24 months, Chase will decline your application. In some cases, business credit card applications do not count towards the 5-card limit.
Ink Business Cash Credit Card
Our second choice for one of the best credit cards for real estate agents also comes from Chase. The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is pretty impressive for not having an annual fee. It offers tiered purchase rewards of either 5% or 2% back on select bonus categories. As a real estate agent, you will find these bonus points useful.
You will earn 5% back on the first $25,000 combined spending for:
- Office supply stores
- Internet, phone, and cable providers
And you get 2% back on the first $25,000 combined spending for these purchases:
- Gas stations
- Restaurants
All other purchases earn an unlimited 1% back.
One downside to the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is that you won’t earn bonus points on advertising. If advertising is a large expense, you might benefit more from either of the other two recommendations.
You can redeem your rewards points for cash back, travel, or gift cards. Regardless of which option you choose, your points are worth 1 cent each. If you prefer the travel redemption bonus and 1:1 point transfer, apply for the Business cash.
New Ink Business Cash® Credit Card cardholders can earn a $750 bonus cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
American Express Business Gold Card
How does the sound of 4x points on your business purchases sound? You might prefer the American Express® Business Gold Card if your two largest monthly expenses are advertising and gas stations. Their advertising category is very generous as you earn bonus points for physical and digital mediums.
With the American Express Business Gold Card, you earn 4 Membership Rewards points on the first $150,000 in combined annual spending for two of the below categories. Only the top two categories in each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap. Categories include:
- U.S. purchases at electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
- Monthly wireless telephone service charges that are made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
- Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshares, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
- Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, and radio)
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
Additionally, American Express Travel purchases through amextravel.com will now earn 3x points per $1.
All annual spending above $150,000 for the bonus categories and all non-bonus spending earns an unlimited 1x point per $1.
Welcome Bonus
New American Express® Business Gold Card cardholders can earn 70,000 points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
This welcome bonus is one of the reasons why this card is one of the best credit cards for real estate agents.
American Express Business Gold cardholders also have access to a Pay Over Time Option that lets cardholders decide whether they want to pay for their eligible purchases in full each month or pay over time with interest (terms apply).
The annual fee for the American Express® Business Gold Card is $295 ($375 if the application is received on or after 2/1/24; See Rates & Fees). You can request additional user cards if you have a real estate team.
Getting One of the Best Credit Cards for Real Estate Agents
If you don’t have a business credit card yet, the application process might feel daunting at first. In reality, it’s not much different than getting a personal credit card. Here are some things to note about getting a business credit card for real estate agents.
In fact, credit card companies will pull your personal credit information to make an approval decision.
You should practice the same basic tips as trying to get a personal rewards credit card:
- Keep your credit utilization ratio as low as possible
- Have as high a credit score as possible (preferably 750+)
- Pay your balance in full each month
If you handle your personal credit responsibly, your approval odds should be pretty good.
Once your application is approved, most banks don’t report your business credit card activity to the credit bureaus. Your business credit card payment history can still affect your business credit score though.
Summary: The Best Credit Cards for Real Estate Agents
While there are many common themes between real estate agents across the country, different real estate business credit cards for investors can benefit your spending differently.
If you want to earn bonus points on advertising, you should consider a card that charges an annual fee like the American Express Business Gold Card or the Chase Ink Business Preferred. When you don’t have to earn reward points on advertising, your options are more flexible.
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card – HUGE bonus
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card– NO annual fee
- American Express Business Gold or Platinum – CRAZY perks
Other related posts:
- Best Small Business Credit Cards
- The Best Business Credit Cards for Advertising
- And the Best Business Credit Cards of Office Supplies
The Best Credit Cards for Real Estate Investors To Use
Real estate investing can be a capital-intensive business. But it can also be one of the best ways to build wealth and, perhaps surprisingly, indirectly earn credit card rewards points. Whether you’re a landlord or house-flipper, savvy real estate investors can use one of these credit cards to help boost your cap rate while earning cash or travel rewards.
The credit cards below are small business cards.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
If you’re getting ready to make a big purchase for your investment properties, now can be the best time to try for a new business credit card. The Capital One Spark Miles for Business comes with the ability to earn 50,000 bonus miles ($500 value) by spending $4,500 in the first 3 months.
Note that this is one of five Capital One Spark business cards available. Every dollar you spend earns unlimited 2x rewards miles. Each mile can be redeemed for travel statement credits, booking upcoming travel, or transferring to the Capital One airline miles.
The personal Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the best travel credit cards you can get (see our comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture to compare top personal travel cards).
Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card
One of the best flat-rate rewards credit cards with no annual fee is the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. You get 1.5% back on every purchase. This card can be your best credit card for real estate investors option if your spending doesn’t align with most tiered rewards credit cards bonus categories.
Instead of earning 1% back on most purchases, the Ink Business Unlimited rewards 50% more.
New Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card cardholders can earn a $750 bonus cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Note that the cards in the Ink Business family are also some of the best business credit cards for travel options.
The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express
If American Express Membership Rewards® points are your preferred credit card points, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express may double your earning potential.
There is a $0 annual fee (See Rates & Fees) with this best credit card for real estate investors option.
The Blue Business Plus Credit Card earns 2x Membership Rewards® points on the first $50,000 in annual everyday business purchases (then 1x point per $1). Use this card on purchases where your current credit card only earns 1x point per $1. Your points are most valuable when booking award flights on AmexTravel or transferring to a 1:1 travel partner.
Cardholders can also enjoy more flexibility to use their card for more purchases and rewards when buying above their credit limit. The amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express, and other factors.
New The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express cardholders can earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after they spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within their first 3 months of Card Membership.
The American Express Blue Business Cash Card
If you prefer earning cash rewards, The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card earns 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, and then 1% cash back earned is automatically credited to your statement.
It also comes with Expanded Buying Power which gives cardholders the ability to spend beyond their credit limit.
New The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card cardholders can earn a $250 statement credit after they make $3,000 in purchases on their Card in their first 3 months.
Just remember, the amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express, and other factors.
American Express automatically redeems your rewards as a cash statement credit each month. You will also appreciate this card doesn’t have a $0 annual fee (See Rates & Fees).
Get more details on the Amex Blue Business credit cards to learn which one is best for you.
The Plum Card from American Express
Being a real estate investor means you may earn a variable income. Consequently, you may struggle to pay your balance in full while waiting for the next deal to close. It’s possible to avoid credit card interest charges with The Plum Card® from American Express.
The Plum Card® from American Express offers up to 60 days to pay with no interest when you pay your minimum due by the Payment Due Date.
Plus, paying early pays off. Get an unlimited 1.5% Early Pay Discount on eligible charges within 10 days of your statement closing date and see the discount applied to your next statement when you pay at the least the Minimum Payment Due by the Please Pay By date.
The annual fee is $250, and there are $0 foreign transaction fees‡ (See Rates & Fees).
Although you don’t have unlimited purchase power, the Plum Card can have more flexibility than a standard business credit card.
Home Depot Commercial Credit Card
The information for the Home Depot Credit Cards has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The Home Depot Commercial Credit Card lets you save money at Home Depot and at Shell Fuel Rewards gas station partners.
You won’t get an automatic discount at Home Depot but getting this card does enroll you into the Home Depot Pro Xtra loyalty program. In case you need it, cardmembers also get up to 1 year to return Home Depot purchases.
Save 10 cents per gallon at Shell gas stations for every $100 you spend at Home Depot. If you’re a Home Depot regular this won’t be a problem. You can also get fuel savings when dining at select restaurants or getting an oil change at Jiffy Lube. This is also one of the best credit cards for house flippers.
Summary
Being a real estate investor is an exciting way to build wealth. Using the right credit card is an easy way to make good day-to-day business decisions. Whether you want to earn travel miles or cash rewards, the best credit cards for real estate investors offer some of the best purchase rewards and redemption options.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please click here.
And For rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Plum Card® from American Express, please click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.
