Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card
- Best for: Business owners whose card spending centers on one category, especially Bank of America clients
- What Sets It Apart: A 3% category you choose and can change monthly, worth up to 5.25% with Bank of America balances
- Welcome Offer: $500 once you spend $5,000 in the account’s first 90 days; online only
- Rewards: 3% in one of six categories you choose and 2% on dining, on the first $50,000 a year combined; 1% on everything else; 25% to 75% more with Preferred Rewards for Business
- Features: Free employee cards; travel accident insurance and auto rental coverage; purchase security and extended warranty; QuickBooks downloads
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro APR: 0% for 7 billing cycles on purchases
- APR: 16.99% to 26.99% variable
- Cost: 5% balance transfer fee; 3% foreign transaction fee; 5% cash advance fee; late fee up to $49
- Eligibility: Owner or authorized officer, 18 or older, with a U.S. address; sole proprietors use a Social Security number
- Pros: Bonus rates on $50,000 a year; up to 75% more with Preferred Rewards; free employee cards
- Cons: 1% outside your category and dining; 3% foreign transaction fee; office supply 3% excludes discount warehouses
Get the Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card if one of its six 3% categories, like gas or travel, takes more than a quarter of your business’s card spending. It pays 3% there on up to $50,000 a year with no annual fee, and members of Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards for Business earn up to 75% more.
It’s a business card, but a freelancer or side business owner can apply as a sole proprietor with a Social Security number instead of a business tax ID. Whoever applies, as the owner or an authorized officer, is personally liable for the balance along with the business.
Key Features
- No annual fee and a $500 bonus once you spend $5,000 in the account’s first 90 days, an online-only offer
- 3% in your choice of gas and electric vehicle charging, office supply stores, travel, TV and phone service, computer services, or business consulting, changeable once a calendar month
- 2% on dining, with 3% and 2% paid on up to $50,000 of category and dining purchases a calendar year, then 1%
- An intro rate on purchases of 0% for 7 billing cycles, then a 16.99% to 26.99% variable rate
Pros
- Bonus rates on up to $50,000 a year, against $10,000 a year ($2,500 a quarter) on the personal Customized Cash Rewards
- Preferred Rewards for Business, free to Bank of America business checking clients with $20,000 or more there and at Merrill, raises every rate 25% to 75%, up to 5.25% in your category
- Free employee cards whose transactions you can monitor
- Cash rewards that don’t expire while the account is open, redeemable as a deposit, statement credit, or check
Cons
- 1% on everything outside your category and dining, half what a flat 2% card pays there
- 3% fee on purchases in a foreign currency
- 3% on office supplies only at office supply stores, not department stores, discount warehouses, or drug stores
- A business that has or had another Bank of America business card in the past 24 months may be declined
By our math, owners who put more than a quarter of their spending, up to $50,000 a year, in one of its categories earn more here than on a flat 1.5% card, and Preferred Rewards members gain the most. Owners whose spending is spread evenly do better with the flat 1.5% Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards, and those who want travel points with the Business Advantage Travel Rewards.
Learn more about the Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card or see how it compares to the best small business credit cards.
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