Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card
- Best for: Business owners with a combined $50,000 or more in Bank of America and Merrill business accounts
- What Sets It Apart: Preferred Rewards for Business adds 25% to 75% to the cash back on every purchase
- Welcome Offer: $500 online bonus after $5,000 in purchases within 90 days
- Rewards: 2.62%, 2.25%, or 1.87% at the Platinum Honors, Platinum, and Gold tiers ($100,000, $50,000, and $20,000 average balances); 1.5% otherwise; no cap
- Features: Free employee cards; QuickBooks downloads; $100,000 in travel accident insurance and rental car coverage; cash back redeemable anytime as a deposit, a statement credit, or a check
- Annual Fee: $0
- Intro APR: 0% on purchases for the first 7 billing cycles
- 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: Owners or authorized officers 18 or older in the U.S.; sole proprietors use a Social Security number
- Pros: Up to 2.62% on every purchase; free employee cards; open to sole proprietors; stays off your personal credit report
- Cons: No bonus categories; 3% foreign transaction fee; owner personally liable; may decline a business with another of its cards in the past 24 months
Get the Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card if your business keeps a combined $50,000 or more at Bank of America and Merrill. Enrolling in the bank’s Preferred Rewards for Business program lifts the card’s 1.5% cash back to at least 2.25% on every purchase. With less banked there, a no-fee card paying a flat 2% earns more.
It’s a business Mastercard that pays one rate on every purchase, so it suits owners who would rather not track spending categories. Preferred Rewards for Business requires a business checking account at Bank of America, and your tier in the program depends on your three-month average balance across Bank of America business deposits and Merrill business investments.
Key Features
- No annual fee
- 1.5% cash back on every purchase, with no cap
- An online bonus of $500 after $5,000 in purchases within 90 days of opening the account
- No interest on purchases for the first 7 billing cycles, then a variable annual percentage rate (APR) of 16.99% to 26.99%
Pros
- A boost to 1.87%, 2.25%, or 2.62% back at average balances of $20,000, $50,000, or $100,000
- Free employee cards whose charges you can monitor
- Sole proprietors, a side business included, apply with a Social Security number instead of a business tax ID
- Doesn’t show on your personal credit report while the account is in good standing
- Cash back you can redeem anytime as a deposit to a Bank of America or Merrill account, a statement credit, or a check
Cons
- Earns less, by our math, than the bank’s Customized Cash Rewards business card, which pays 3% in one category you pick, 2% on dining, and 1% elsewhere, once that category tops a quarter of your spending, within its $50,000 yearly cap on category and dining purchases
- 3% fee on purchases in a foreign currency
- You’re personally liable for the balance, along with the business
- Bank of America may decline a business that has, or had in the past 24 months, another of its business cards
On $60,000 a year in purchases, a business enrolled in Preferred Rewards for Business with a combined $50,000 at Bank of America and Merrill earns $1,350 here, by our math, against $1,200 from a flat 2% card. Owners with smaller balances earn more on their spending with Wells Fargo’s Signify Business Cash, which pays a flat 2% and has no annual fee.
Learn more about the Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card or see how it compares to the best small-business credit cards.
Editorial & Advertiser Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser. Opinions expressed here are ours alone, not those of any advertiser. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. That compensation may influence which products we cover and where and how they appear on a page – including the order in which they appear – but it does not influence our evaluations, ratings, or opinions. We do not include every company or offer available in the marketplace.
Related:
