There are a lot of people who use a personal credit card for their small business. However, there can be a lot of problems when the accounts are not kept separate. Having a sound business credit card can offer you a different credit line to help meet your business’s needs and give you a way to earn some very good rewards. The CitiBusiness credit card offers some excellent rewards for using it for a small business.
There are a lot of perfect things about the CitiBusiness credit card. When you open an account, you don’t have to pay the yearly fee for the first year. Only after that will you be charged the annual fee. And you get 2 Advantage miles every time you spend $1 on the card for eligible purchases. So when you are buying office supplies, renting a car, or purchasing American Airlines tickets, you earn bonus miles. You can get 30,000 American Airlines bonus miles for spending $1000 on the card in the first three months after opening an account. This is a pretty easy way to get some bonus miles.
Another bonus that you get with the card is a 25% savings on some of your in-flight purchases. All you have to do is use the card to pay for food or beverages while flying on US Airways or American Airlines, and you get 25% off of your purchases. You will see this as a refund on your credit card statement in 6 to 8 weeks.
The CitiBusiness Card is designed for business people who are required to travel about their jobs. A perk of having this card is that you can check your first bag for free. Plus, up to four people traveling with you on the flight can check a free bag, as long as you are all listed on the same reservation.
When you buy plane tickets on American Airlines or US Airways, you and up to 4 people traveling with you can also avoid the long lines as you will get boarding privileges.
Those who own a small business can choose to provide credit cards for some of their employees. You are allowed to determine the credit limit on each card. This puts you, the owner, in charge of how much each employee can spend. And as an additional bonus, you get reward miles for the purchases made on the employee credit cards.
The card has great customer service. If you lose it, you can call to speak with a customer representative and immediately talk to them. Manage your card online, get your quarterly and annual summary for free – all sorted out by an employee. The statements are designed to help you keep track of all of your business expenses.
There are just a couple of negatives to having this business credit card. The first thing is that there is an annual fee of $95 to have the card. The good thing is, though, that this fee is waived for the year.
The second thing is that there isn’t an introductory APR offered on purchases or balance transfers. It would be an excellent benefit to have an introductory rate when you first sign up. However, they do have a really low-interest rate anyway, so it sort of offsets.
Once you apply and get a card, you’ll find a number for customer service located on the back of the card. Customer Service representatives are available to answer questions 24/7 every day of the year. And for those business people who either don’t like automated service or don’t have time to wait, you can push “2” to bypass all of the pre-recorded messages and options.
The CitiBusiness credit card is designed for use by a small business owner. Here is a list of the benefits the card offers for small businesses.
Business Solution: | Benefits: |
Managing Accounts | Efficient account management from a central location. |
Reporting Information | Allows you to set up accounts and reporting to your specifications. |
Receiving Payments | Reduce mail float and clerical costs improves cash flow and productivity. |
Making Payments | Access to numerous ways to make payments. |
Managing Funds | Anticipate fund availability, allow for investments, speeds up daily cash forecasting, reduce fraud risk. |
Accountability and Security | Control which employees have access to functions and funds. |
Commercial Banking Options | Domestic and international banking options. |
Having a CitiBusiness credit card is a good idea for anyone who has a small business in the long run. The interest rate is low, and there are many rewards given for using the card for many basic business expenses. The extra features and control that the account gives you are just shy have had full banking in your back pocket.
It’s an excellent deal for the growing small business too. Holding a CitiBusiness credit card account allows you to provide cards for trusted employees while setting individual limits based on the types of spending they will be doing for your business. The card has a multitude of choices and benefits for cardholders.
Not only do you get rewarded for everyday business spending by getting miles to use at a later date for free, but you also get discounts on some of the most basic expenditures you will face.
Yes, it is worth it for the rewards and benefits you will receive both domestically and internationally. You will quickly recoup the small annual fee that is charged after the first year.