Many business credit cards offer cash-back. And while that’s nice to have, the real value emerges when leveraging credit card rewards for personal travel.
This is an especially lucrative game for business owners and marketing managers who use advertising platforms like Facebook and Google.
That’s because certain cards pay as much as 5X points for online ad spending, and then allow you to redeem those points at a value of 3 cents each, effectively yielding a 15% return.
Overview of Our Recommendations
We picked the best cards for online ad spending based on several factors including reward rates, annual fees, spending caps on bonus categories, point redemption value, transfer partners, additional perks, and the ease of earning and using rewards.
Here’s a rundown of our top picks:
- Best overall: American Express Business Gold Card. High rewards rate on online advertising spending (4X points per dollar up to $150,000). Plus, flexible redemption options with great transfer partners for booking airfare.
- Runner-up: Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card. Earns 3X points per dollar up to $100K on online advertising, with versatile redemption options (especially for luxury hotel stays, thanks to having Hyatt as a transfer partner).
- Best for high spending: Capital One Venture X Business Card. Most cards have upper limits for spending within a bonus category. For example, they may only pay bonus points on spending of $15,000 per year. The Capital One Venture X has no limit yet offers 2X on all purchases. While it’s not the highest rate, it could be the best choice for businesses with not only large ad budgets but other high credit card spending.
- Best for luxury vacation rentals: Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Credit Card. Has a high rewards rate of 5X points per dollar on online advertising with no cap. The points have no cash-back value, and the Wyndham Hotels program itself doesn’t offer great value. However, the value of Wyhdam points jumps significantly when redeemed for luxury vacation rentals with Vacasa (more details below).
- Best card without an annual fee: Blue Business Plus Credit Card. The annual fee for the other cards on this list ranges from $99 to $395. The Blue Business Plus is one of the only options we’ve found that pays transferable points (through American Express Membership Rewards) and has no annual fee.
- Best for hotel status: World of Hyatt Business Credit Card. Earns 2X points per dollar on online advertising, but the real value is in using the card to earn Hyatt Globalist status, which qualifies you for perks like suite upgrades and free breakfast.
Best Overall: American Express Business Gold Card
| Annual fee | $375 |
| Rewards rate | 4X points on up to $150,000 in combined purchases from your two top spending categories each year, then 1X on all other purchases. |
| Eligible spending categories | Advertising, gas, restaurants, shipping, wireless phone service, electronics stores. |
| Point value | Varies by transfer partner, but is typically 1.5 to 2 cents per point. |
| Transfer partners | 17 airline and three hotel partners. |
| Travel credits | None. |
| Other benefits | Up to $240 in annual statement credits for shipping, food delivery and office supply purchases. Complimentary Walmart+ membership (up to $155 in statement credits). |
The American Express Business Gold Card stands out with a high rewards rate of 4X points per dollar on online advertising spending, up to $150,000 per year.
Although the welcome bonus changes frequently, it’s typically above 50,000 points.
The American Express Membership Rewards program has a long list of travel partners (especially airline partners), making this card ideal for booking airfare.
For example, spending $100,000 on online advertising in a year earns you 400,000 points. One smart redemption strategy is transferring those points to Virgin Atlantic for international business trip flights on Delta One to Europe, starting at just 50,000 points.
The biggest downside to the card is the high annual fee of $375.
Pro Tip: The Amex Business Platinum card offers cardholders a valuable 35% point rebate when redeeming Membership Rewards points for airfare through the Pay with Points option on Amex Travel. This rebate applies to first class and business class tickets on any airline, or economy tickets on your chosen airline, bringing the value of points redeemed this way up to 1.54 cents each. Using this option, you don’t have to worry about award availability and you still get good value. Adding the Amex Business Platinum to your wallet alongside the Gold is worth considering for those who value travel flexibility. If you’re not looking for travel rewards, another way to get excellent value from Membership Rewards points is with the Schwab Amex Platinum card. This card allows you to redeem points at a rate of 1.1 cents each when depositing them into your linked Schwab brokerage account. All earned points from both Amex business and personal cards are combined into one membership rewards account, which simplifies the process of converting points to cash.
Runner Up: Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
| Annual fee | $95. |
| Rewards rate | 3X points on your first $150,000 in combined spending per year in shipping, advertising, internet/cable/phone and travel categories. Then 1X on all other purchases. |
| Eligible spending categories | Shipping, advertising, internet/cable/phone and travel. |
| Point value | 25% more (1.25 cents per point) when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. More when redeemed with transfer partners. |
| Transfer partners | Options include United, Southwest, British Airways and more (see full list). Hotels include Hyatt, Marriott and IHG. |
| Travel credits | None. |
| Other benefits | No foreign transaction fees. Free employee cards. |
The Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card slots in as a runner-up, offering a decent rewards rate of 3X points per dollar on online advertising spending up to $150,000 per year.
The card provides versatile redemption options through the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, with top-tier partners like Hyatt and United.
Illustrating its potential, let’s say you spend $100,000 on online advertising in a year. This would earn you 300,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
A valuable redemption option could be transferring these points to Hyatt, then redeeming them at a luxury hotel such as the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa for 30,000 points per night, effectively granting you 10 free nights at a luxury resort.
Rates for the Grand Hyatt typically run above $1,000 per night, so you’re getting above 3 cents per-point on redemption.
Pro Tip: The Chase Trifecta is a strategy that allows you to maximize rewards by transferring points between Chase cards held by members of the same household. For example, if you hold a Chase Ink Business Preferred card and your spouse has a Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer points earned from your business card to your spouse’s Sapphire Reserve account to redeem at an increased 1.5 cents per point value when booking travel through Chase.
Best for High Spending: Capital One Venture X Business Card
| Annual fee | $395. |
| Rewards rate | Unlimited 2X miles on all purchases. |
| Eligible spending categories | All purchases. |
| Point value | 1 cent per mile when redeemed for travel. |
| Transfer partners | Valuable transfer partners include Air Canada, Wyndham Rewards, Air France/KLM and more (see the full list). |
| Travel credits | $300 annual credit for Capital One Travel bookings. |
| Other benefits | Priority Pass lounge access, no foreign transaction fees, free employee cards, and statement credit to cover the application fee for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years. |
The Capital One Venture X Business Card is ideal for high spenders, whether or not that’s on paid ads, offering an unrestricted 2X miles on every purchase with no cap. For example, a $500,000 spend on can yield 1 million points.
Unlike the preset spending limits most cards have, the credit limit on this card changes based on your spending behavior, payment history and credit profile, providing flexibility for handling larger or unexpected expenses.
For business travelers, the card offers 5X on flights and 10X on hotels and rental cars when booked through Capital One Travel.
And with transfer partners like Avianca and British Airways, it offers the flexibility to book with a plethora of carriers.
Although there’s a high annual fee of $395, the card justifies this with premium benefits like $300 in annual travel credits and Priority Pass membership, which grants you and two guests access to over 1,200 VIP lounges worldwide.
While the rewards rate may be lower compared to the Amex Gold Card and Chase Ink Business Preferred Card, the uncapped earning potential paired with top-notch travel benefits renders this card a compelling option for high spenders.
See the current welcome bonus of the Capital One Venture X Business Credit Card compared to the other top business credit cards.
Best for Luxury Vacation Rentals: Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Credit Card
| Annual fee | $95. |
| Rewards rate | 8X points on Wyndham hotels and gas, 5X points on advertising/marketing/utilities, and 1X points on other purchases. |
| Eligible spending categories | Wyndham hotels, gas, advertising, marketing and utilities. |
| Point value | Up to three cents per point when booking with Vacasa. |
| Transfer partners | None. |
| Travel credits | None. |
| Other benefits | Complimentary employee cards, cell phone protection, extended warranty protection and no foreign transaction fees. |
The Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Credit Card comes into focus for high-spenders looking to book luxury vacation rentals.
The card offers a straightforward rewards rate of 5X points per dollar on online advertising spending, which isn’t capped.
While Wyndham points are not that valuable when booking Wyndham hotels, you can book Vacasa vacation rentals for 13,500 points per bedroom (capped at about $350 per bedroom).
For instance, a three-bedroom space would require 40,500 points, with a maximum rate of $1,050 per night (including taxes and fees).
So, an annual advertising spend of $50,000 can earn 250,000 points, which is enough to book a three-bedroom vacation rental for six nights, each night valued up to $1,050.
Furthermore, the card allows you to earn 8X points on gas, and pays an anniversary bonus of 15,000 points each year.
Best Card without an Annual Fee: AmEx Blue Business Plus Credit Card
| Annual fee | $0. |
| Rewards rate | 2X points on your first $50,000 in purchases annually, then 1X on all other purchases. |
| Top spending categories | All purchases. |
| Point value | Varies by transfer partner, but is typically 1.5 to 2 cents per point. |
| Transfer partners | 17 airlines and three hotel partners (see full list). |
| Travel credits | None. |
| Other benefits | 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, with no preset spending limit. |
The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express is best for those just beginning to invest in paid advertising, due to its lack of an annual fee.
The card offers a modest rewards rate of 2X points per dollar on the first $50,000 in purchases each year, with 1X points on purchases after that.
Even if your advertising spend is modest (like $5,000 a year), you’d still earn 10,000 points plus the welcome bonus.
These points can be transferred to travel partners like British Airways Avios, covering short-haul U.S. and Europe flights.
This card also offers a 0.0% introductory APR on purchases 12 months from the account opening date, which could benefit your cash flow.
While not the best for high-spenders, the Blue Business Plus Credit Card provides a straightforward, cost-effective way to earn rewards on advertising spend without an annual fee.
See the current welcome bonus of the American Express Business Plus Credit Card compared to the other top business credit cards.
Best for Hotel Status: World of Hyatt Business Credit Card
| Annual fee | $199. |
| Rewards rate | 4X points on Hyatt hotels, 2X points in your top three spending categories quarterly through 12/24 (this drops to your top two categories after 12/24). You’ll also get 2X points on gym memberships, and 1X points on all other purchases. |
| Eligible spending categories | Beyond social media/search ads, categories include dining, shipping, airlines, transit, car rentals, gas and internet/cable/phone. |
| Point value | Varies. Can redeem for free nights starting at 5,000 points per night. |
| Transfer partners | None. |
| Travel credits | Annual free night award. |
| Other benefits | Five elite night credits toward status per $10,000 in spending, Discoverist status. |
The World of Hyatt Business Credit Card is a worthwhile option for people aiming to attain higher hotel status.
This card provides a moderate reward rate of 2X points per dollar on online advertising spending. However, for every $10,000 spent, cardholders are awarded five qualifying elite nights towards Hyatt status.
This benefit is particularly valuable for those working towards achieving Hyatt Globalist status, which requires 60 qualifying nights. Top-tier status qualifies you for perks like suite upgrades and complimentary breakfast.
Once approved for the card, you automatically earn Hyatt Discoverist status, bringing along benefits such as late checkout and bonus points during stays.
You also get an annual free night certification, which can help offset the $199 annual fee.
The downside to the card is that points can only be used within the Hyatt rewards program. While Hyatt has a lot of options within the United States, options are limited internationally compared to a program like Marriot.
Also, the rewards rate on advertising spending, which is just 2X, is not as high as some of the other cards we mentioned.
Nonetheless, if climbing the ladder to a higher status at Hyatt is on your agenda, and your advertising spend is substantial, this card merits consideration.
It is best when paired with cards like the Chase Ink Business Preferred, which earns 3X points that can be transferred to Hyatt. The idea would be to earn enough for elite status with this card, then put the rest of your spend on the Chase Ink Business Preferred.
