Best Business Credit Card Options for Status

The best way to support this page is by requesting a referral link to one or more of the cards below if a referral link is available for it.

Best Business Cards for Status

Best General Spend w/ Limited Bonus Spend Uncapped Points Earner For Those Spending $100k-$200k/yr (as long as you're able to hit 60 nights between spending & stays)

Annual Fee: $199

Earning:

"9 points total per $1 spent for Hyatt stays and experiences including restaurants and spas. That's:

• 4 Bonus Points per $1 you spend with your card**

• 5 Base Points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member

2 Bonus Points (TPG valuation $.034) per $1 spent for wherever you spend the most: Automatically earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent in your top three eligible spend categories each quarter through 12/31/23, then your top two categories each quarter**

• Dining

• Airline tickets purchased directly with the airline

• Car rental agencies

• Local transit and commuting

• Gas stations

• Internet, cable and phone services

• Social media and search engine advertising

• Shipping

2 Bonus Points per $1 spent for staying healthy with fitness club and gym memberships** 1 Bonus Point per $1 spent on all other purchases**" ($.017)

Sign Up Bonus: 150,000 miles after $30k in 1st 3 months (& another 150,000 miles after spending $500k within the first 6 months of card membership).

Perks:

If you only use Chase Ultimate Rewards at Hyatt (which is where I transfer most of my Chase UR to), this one has similar if not superior earning as the Chase Ink Unlimited effectively on general spending on the first $200k spent, except with much better perks & earning flexibility via Milestone Tiers of the Hyatt program. On the surface, it would seem inferior in earning on general spending (1x Hyatt Reward vs 1.5x Ultimate Reward if you convert the $ to UR), but that's before you consider Milestone Tiers that the card is able to achieve since it gets 5 nights of credit per $10k spent:

Image courtesy Hyatt

So at 60 nights based purely on spending ($120k) without any stays, you'd have Hyatt Globalist status (which is fantastic, including upgrades up to standard suites based on availability at many Hyatt brands, free parking at Hyatt brands on free night awards, free breakfast or free lounge access at many brands, 4 PM late check out, resort fees waived, Guest of Honor (which my business uses extensively), a Hyatt concierge, & much more). In addition, you could have (not counting the obsolete upon getting Globalist):

120k Hyatt Rewards

1 Category 1-4 Reward (worth up to 18k points on a category 4 peak night)

$100 Hyatt Gift Card

4 Suite Upgrade Awards (up to 7 nights each, which can mean >50k or >100k points each if used at the right properties). That said, suite upgrades are supposed to be used by the primary cardholder, not for Guest of Honor stays.

1 Category 1-7 Free Night Award (worth up to 35k points on a category 7 peak night)

All of the above is worth much more than 180k Hyatt Rewards that you could get with the same spending on the Chase Ink Unlimited Plus a conversion to Hyatt with an annual fee incurring Ultimate Rewards card.

10% Points rebate on your own stays with points on up to 200k points redeemed per year after you meet $50k in spending in a year for the remainder of the year

Get up to $100 in Hyatt statement credits when you spend $50 or more at any Hyatt property and earn $50 statement credits up to two times each anniversary year.**

Automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist status for you and up to five employees, plus additional cards at no cost.**

Once you get Hyatt Globalist status, be sure to sign up for recurring status matches to MGM.

Card Type:

Credit Card

No Impact on Credit Utilization on Personal Credit Report

Referral Link Available

Wyndham Business Earner: Decent Status w Status Matching, Great Uncapped Multipliers on Points Categories, Easy Net Positive w/ Minimal Spending, but Weak on General Spending

Annual Fee:

$95

Earning:

8k ($.088 TPG valuation) on hotels by Wyndham & gas

5x ($.055) points on marketing, advertising, and utilities

1x (.011) points on everything else

Sign Up Bonus: "Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days and earn 25,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 within the first 12 months."

Perks:

15k points/yr (which pays for the annual fee with positive expected value by over 50% by itself based on TPG valuations)

Wyndham Diamond Status, which provides upgrades up to standard suites at certain brands as well as 10% off award stays with just points, late checkout, early check-in, and solid status matching on a recurring basis to Caesars Rewards.

Card Type:

Preset Limit Credit Card

No Impact on Credit Utilization on Personal Credit Report

Referral Link Not Available

IHG Business Credit Card: Decent Status Standard w Free Night Certificate, 4th Night Free on Award Stays, Not Bad Category Spend, But Weak on General Spending

Annual Fee:

$99 easy positive net value w/ free night certificate

Earning:

3x on general spending ($.015 TPG valuation)

5x ($.025 TPG valuation) on gas stations, travel, select business (social media, search engine advertising, and office supply stores), & dining

Earn a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points after spending $20,000 each calendar year

Earn an Additional Free Night with a current point redemption cap of 40,000 points, after spending $60,000 on your IHG One Rewards Credit Card each calendar year. You can also use existing points from your IHG One Rewards account to redeem your Free Night at hotels above the 40,000 point redemption level

Sign Up Bonus: 140k points (TPG valuation $700) after $3k within 1st 3 months

Perks:

Free Night Certificate up to 40k pts ($200 TPG valuation)

Platinum status standard (which offers up to standard suites, early check in, late check out, & reward night discounts)

4th night free on award stays

TSA Pre or Nexus or Global Entry credit up to $100 every 4 years

$25/6 months United Travelbank

Each calendar year you make purchases totaling $40,000 or more, you, as the primary cardmember, will qualify for Diamond Elite Status through December 31st of the following year.

Card Type:

Credit Card w/ no Utilization Impact on Personal Credit

Referral Link May Be Available At Some Points (not as of 7/12/23)

Delta Reserve Business Credit Card: Standard Perks like below silver status, spend $120k for gold status, & Stack with Other Delta Cards, But Weak Earning on General Spending Unless You Fly Enough to Justify the Weakened Earnings via Status Perks

Annual Fee:

$550

Earning:

3x miles on Delta

1x miles on up to $150k/yr

1.5x miles on >$150k/yr

Sign Up Bonus: 100,000 ($1410 based on TPG valuations) miles after $6000 in 1st 3 months

Perks:

15% off award rates

15k MQMs per $30k spent

Upgrade priority above non-elites including to 1st class based on availability soon before check-in.

Lounge access for 1 (recurring, w 2 one-time use guest passes) prior to departure and after arrival at Delta lounges when flying Delta. Lounge access prior to departure when flying Delta at Centurion lounges.

Companion certificate including for first class

Card Type:

Credit card w no impact on personal credit

Referral Link Available

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: spend $4-l for AA Gold (like Delta Silver) status, $75k for "platinum" (like Delta gold, but more competition since easier to get so not as good as Delta gold) status, $125k for Platinum Pro, $200k for Executive Platinum, But Weak Earning on General Spending Unless You Fly Enough to Justify the Weakened Earnings via Status Perks

Annual Fee:

$0 Intro, $99 after

Earning:

1x miles on general spending

Perks:

"First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to 4 travel companions on the same reservation."

25% savings on inflight wifi & food/beverage on AA travel.

Annual companion certificate after spending $30k+ each card member year after renewal. Redemption costs $99.

The spending threshold perks are visible here, where you get 1 loyalty point per dollar spent no matter whether it's bonus spending or general spending. The status perks are visible here.

Sign Up Bonus:

65,000 after $4k within 4 months

Card Type:

Credit Card w Utilization Not Impacting Personal Credit

Referral Link Available

Amex Business Platinum: Best Multi-Status Card (Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz President's Circle)

Annual Fee:

$695

Earning:

1x miles on general spending

Perks:

Centurion Lounge access, Delta access when flying Delta & fantastic total lounge portfolio

Many credits to cover the annual fee (i.e. $200/6 months for Dell)

Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz President's Circle

Hotel Collection

More Perks

Sign Up Bonus:

120,000 after $15k within 3 months

Card Type:

Chard Card w Utilization Not Impacting Personal Credit

Referral Link Available

What's Not on the List

You'll notice I'm not including the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card on this list. It's a runner-up to the Delta Skymiles Reserve, but if you're looking for status, the reserve is more effective by 25% in terms of MQMs generated per dollar spent & comes with automatic status perks that the Platinum doesn't like the possibility of getting an upgrade to 1st class or Delta One just by holding the card. Also, the companion certificate is superior, offering options on 1st class.

Marriott Bonvoy Business only provides gold status, with no ability to spend toward a higher status, and a low earning rate.

The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card isn't a bad card for the first $15k of spending, but you're likely better off getting the personal premium Hilton Aspire card if going after Hilton status which comes with Diamond status standard.