My Credit Cards Blog

American Express Business Gold Rewards Credit Card is currently running a limited promotion for 25,000 Rewards points after first purchase. The 25,000 points can be exchanged for a free round-trip airline ticket anywhere in the U.S or $250 rewards gift certificate. You can choose the $250 gift certificate from stores such as Home Depot, Gap, Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic, and so on.

Whether you have a home-based business or that you have sold something on Ebay, you can apply for a business credit card. You can put your name as the business name and your social security number as the tax id. Your business is called sole proprietorship and it’s perfectly legal with the IRS.

There will be a hard pull, but business credit cards will not show on your personal credit report. Hence you can open and close accounts, open more new accounts, and max your credit limit without worrying about your credit report. The $250 bonus is worth a hard pull in my opinion.

The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. If you don’t find the card worth keeping, keep in mind that you can always cancel the credit card without paying any fees.

Here’s the fine print from American Express:

Apply for the Business Gold Rewards Card and make a purchase by 12/31/07. Upon the Basic Cardmember’s first purchase, a one time bonus of 25,000 points can be earned toward the Basic Business Gold Rewards Cardmember’s Membership Rewards® account and may appear as separate credits of 5,000 and 20,000 bonus points. The maximum 25,000 bonus points are available to first–time Basic Business Gold Rewards Cardmembers only; they are not available if you transfer an existing account. Welcome bonus points will be credited to your Membership Rewards account 6 to 8 weeks after your first purchase appears on your monthly billing statement. The bonus 25,000 Membership Rewards points may be redeemed for one domestic round–trip airline ticket.

The 25000 points bonus is a limited time offer. Just like the $250 Chase bonus, take advantage of this offer and apply right away.

One of the best credit cards out there is the Citi’s Driver Edge. Here’s my take on it:

It has:

• No Annual Fee
• 0% APR on Balance Transfer for the first 12 months

So if you are looking for a credit card to balance transfer your balance from other high interest credit cards, then apply for the Citi’s Driver Edge since balance transfer fee is capped at $75.

Not only it is a great card for balance transfer, Citi’s Driver Edge has 6% cash back on supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations for the first 12 months. After 12 months, you will get 3% cash back and 1% on all other types of purchases.

**Cash back come back in the form of Thank You points.

E.G. You can exchange Thank You points for gift cards or cash.

More importantly, you can get up to 12% cash back. From the website:

Whether you’re driving to the corner store or going on a 600-mile road trip, you’ll get rewarded for driving. You’ll earn $1 in Drive Rebates for every 100 miles you drive—up to $500 in Drive Rebates a year.

Tracking your miles is simple. You can enroll in Drive Rebates by calling toll-free or going online and then submitting an enrollment form. Then whenever you have scheduled maintenance performed on your vehicle, just submit a form with a copy of your receipt showing your odometer reading. It’s that easy. Your Drive Rebates will automatically appear on your statement.

What does that mean? You must enroll by going through this link to get the form. Make sure you keep a copy of your receipt showing your odometer and send them in. For example, if you have made $10000 in purchases ($100 rewards), then you must have 10,000 miles to double your reward. You can imagine spending all your money on gas, supermarkets, and drugstores with this card for the first year to get 6% cash back. Then enroll in their Driver Edge’s rebate program to double your thank you points making it 12% cash back.

My advice is to use this card as a purchase card for the first 11 months for all the cash back reward. At the end of the 11 month, use it for balance transfer to make money by putting BT money in a 5% savings account. This card is highly recommended.

For those with a good credit score, then Blue Cash from American Express is your best bet for a great cash back rewards program. Kiplinger’s personal finance called it the best cash-rebate. Here’s how the rebate formula set up. After $6500 in spending, it has unlimited cash back savings with 5% rebate on “everyday purchases” at supermarkets, gas stations, and drugstores. For all other purchases, you may earn up to 1.5% cash back.

As with every American Express credit card, cardholders get buyer’s assurance plan, purchase protection plan, and up to $100,000 in travel accident insurance. There is no annual fee. Six months of 0% APR on purchases is standard for all new cardholders. There is also 4.99% APR fixed rate for balance transfer if you requested balance transfer with the application.

Quick Summary:

• Up to 5% Cash Back with Unlimited
  Cash Rewards
• Earn unlimited cash back
• 0% Intro APR for 6 months
• Low Balance Transfer rate - 4.99% fixed APR for the
  life of the balance
• No Annual Fee

Apply Now!

For those who plan to maximize their rewards, Blue Cash from American Express is highly recommended.

Did you know that you don’t have to be part of a corporation or LLC to apply for a business credit card? Your name is consider a sole proprietorship type of business. When filling out business credit cards, simply use your name as your business name and your Social Security number as your tax id.

How does this work? Whether you have set up a lemonade stand, a garage sale, or sold something on Ebay, your business is called sole proprietorship. This is completely recognized by the IRS with your name as your business name.

Even if you have a business, you would still put down your EIN and your social security number on your application. There will be a hard pull on your credit report. However, business credit cards will not show up on your personal credit report. Your business credit card’s balance doesn’t effect the debt-credit limit ratio. This means that you can open and close business credit cards without worrying about showing up on your credit report.

How can you take advantage of this? Go for all the bonuses and play the 0% APR balance transfer game with business credit cards.

Here’s a list of some bonuses from business credit cards:

1. AmEx Business Rewards Gold - 25000 points after first purchase = $250 bonus. No fee first year.
2. Gold Delta SkyMiles Business - 15000 skymiles after first purchase. No annual fee first year.
3. AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest Business - 10000 Starwood points. No fee first year.
4. Citi Professional Thank You Network - $100 bonus. No BT fee.

The cards below are my recommended list of business credit cards. Balance transfer fee is cap with no annual fee.

1. Advanta BusinessCard Rewards - 15 months 0% APR on BT. $50 cap on BT fee.
2. Advanta Platinum BusinessCard - 12 months 0% APR on BT. $50 cap on BT fee.
3. Discover Business Miles - 12 months 0% APR on BT. Cap on BT fee.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Card gives you 10,000 bonus points after first purchase. The 10,000 points can be exchanged for $100 in gift card to stores such as Gap, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, etc.

This is a good card for frequent travelers since the membership rewards program allows you to earn unlimited points that do not expire.

There is no fee for the first year. If you do not find the card worth keeping, make sure to cancel the card before the first year anniversary.

Here are some more details about the card:

• First year fee-free - $125 Thereafter
• Get 10,000 Membership Rewards® points redeemable for Rewards right away
• No Pre-Set Spending Limit
• The Membership Rewards® program - a fast, flexible rewards program that lets you
  redeem travel rewards on over 21 airlines.
• Gold Card Events—exclusive access to tickets for select concerts, shows,
  major sporting events, and more in cities nationwide
• Global Assist® Plus Hotline and many more benefits included

Apply Now!