How do they work
Business credit cards are a money tool with cost-saving perks for business owners. It helps keep finances tidy and separate from your personal money, sure. But frequent flyer business cards can also provide big travel discounts and freebies, cashback and earn more points on your travel expenses.
You can choose to earn points directly with the Qantas Frequent Flyer or Virgin Velocity programs, or redeem points with partner airlines through Amex Membership Rewards. Partners include Velocity, Air New Zealand, Emirates Skywards, Singapore KrisFlyer, Malaysia Airlines, Asia Miles and more.
To apply, you’ll need to be a business owner with an ABN, and meet minimum revenue requirements to be eligible (among other criteria). Click each card to read our review for more detailed info.
How many points can you earn?
Earning points depends on how much you spend each month, and where. You’ll need to compare how many points per dollar the card earns; for frequent flyer programs, 1 point per $1 dollar is a decent trade.
The card might earn fewer points for certain purchases. For instance, one of the great things about business credit cards is that you can earn points for business-related purchases, like government payments to the ATO - however, you might only earn 0.5 points per dollar on those expenses.
On the flip side, some cards pay more points if you spend with partner businesses, or when you make certain travel-related purchases. For example, you may earn triple points for Qantas flights when you book using your card.
You can use the toggle at the top of the page to input your monthly spending amount for an estimate of how many points you could earn (based on the standard points earning rate).
How much do you have to earn to get one?
Most business credit cards need you to earn at least $75,000 per year in business income, or personal income if you’re a sole trader. You may need to be registered for GST.
How do you compare?
There are a few basics you’ll always need to compare between credit cards:
- Annual fee. The more extras and rewards your card delivers, the more the annual fee will be (it is tax-deductible, though). Make sure you’re comfortable with the cost of the card, since some can be as low as $150 and others run into the thousands.
- Credit limit. Business credit cards usually allow a higher credit limit (how much you can borrow per month) than personal ones. It’s a good perk, but it still comes back to working out how much money your business needs to access.
- Interest-free days. Most cards offer 44 or 55 interest-free days, which means you don’t have to pay interest on purchases within the interest-free period. Check the interest-free period fits with how you manage your cashflow.
- Interest rates. Also called the purchase rate, interest is charged on your purchases each month unless you pay the debt off completely. If you know you’ll carry your debt month-to-month, look for a low interest rate to keep ongoing costs down.
On top of the normal features to compare, frequent flyer credit cards can compare:
- Additional cardholders. You can usually add extra cardholders so your staff can have their own business credit card. Some credit cards limit it to one or four, while others let you add 99. Check if there’s a cost involved, too.
- The points program. Check which frequent flyer program the card is connected to. You might want to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points directly, or have some more flexibility with Amex Membership Rewards. Look at each program to see which one suits your business.
What perks come with frequent flyer business credit cards?
As well as earning points when you spend, you could also get other extras like complimentary travel insurance, airport lounge access, and 24/7 concierge services.
Most business credit cards also come with account management software to help you stay on top of expenses, which is handy at tax time and to keep track of employee spending.
Some business credit cards even allow for ‘virtual credit cards’ that you can issue to your employees to use as one-time payments online or over the phone.
