7 Little-Known Perks of Business Credit Cards

There's more to business credit cards than rewards and 0% intro APR offers.

For business owners and freelancers, business credit cards are a useful financial tool with some clear benefits. They make it easy to separate your business expenses from your personal expenses, which certainly helps at tax time. Many of the best business credit cards also help you save money with other features, such as cash back on purchases and a 0% intro APR.

Those might be the benefits that stand out the most, but they're only the tip of the iceberg. There are also quite a few little-known perks that could be just as valuable.

1. Employee cards with spending controls

Most business credit cards let you add employees as authorized users. Each authorized user gets their own card connected to your account, so they can make purchases for the business. To make it better, quite a few business cards allow you to add as many employee cards as you want to your account at no cost.

Card issuers also normally let you set up spending controls on employee cards. Instead of giving an employee access to your entire credit line, you could set a lower limit on their card for security purposes.

2. Cellphone protection

Some business cards offer complimentary cellphone protection. If you pay your business's monthly cellphone bill with a card that has this benefit, it will cover phones for you and employees listed on the plan. Considering how expensive smartphones can be, this protection can definitely come in handy.

Cellphone protection normally covers damage or theft. Full terms and conditions will be available in the card's guide to benefits.

3. Purchase protections

Purchase protections are another common complimentary coverage that many business cards offer. There are two types of protection that are seen often:

• Purchase protection that protects new purchases against damage or theft
• Extended warranty coverage that automatically extends eligible manufacturer's warranties

4. Accounting tools

Since they're designed for business owners, most business credit cards have more powerful accounting tools than consumer credit cards. Depending on the card, you may get detailed quarterly and yearly reports. Some business cards provide accounting software integration, making it quick and easy to connect your transactions to programs like QuickBooks.

5. Virtual credit cards

A virtual credit card is a temporary card number you can generate to make purchases online and over the phone. Some card issuers offer this feature with both their consumer and business credit cards. When you generate a virtual credit card, it has its own card number, expiration date, and security code. Transactions will process normally and go onto your credit card account.

Considering how prevalent credit card fraud is, virtual cards are a great way to make purchases without revealing your true card number. Anyone can benefit from this, but it's especially helpful for business owners. If you and your employees regularly use your business card account, it's a huge hassle if the card number is stolen and you need to get a replacement.

6. Flexible spending power

Even though most business credit cards have a credit limit, there are exceptions. Some of these cards have no preset spending limit and instead take a flexible approach. With these cards, the amount you can spend is adaptable and based on your spending habits and credit history.

Note that this is normally offered by pay-in-full cards. As the name suggests, these cards require you to pay in full every month, so you can't carry a balance. If you don't mind that and your main concern is having enough credit for major expenses, then a card with no preset spending limit will be a good fit.

7. Elevated rewards on large purchases

Rewards are one of the most common business card perks. If you pay with a card that earns rewards, you'll get cash back, points, or miles on your purchases.

A small number of business cards earn even more rewards on big ticket purchases. For example, a few high-end business cards offer an extra 0.5% back on purchases of $5,000 or more. If your business frequently has large purchases, you could maximize your rewards with a card that has this type of benefit.

Benefits vary depending on the business credit card. As you compare credit cards for your business, look at more than just the first few features. Little-known perks can also provide a lot of value, so it's worth seeing what else these cards have to offer.