How To Use Credit Cards To Save On Business Travel

Enterprise journey may be very costly, however there are methods to save lots of — and one of the crucial efficient instruments for saving cash is a bank card. The perfect enterprise playing cards for journey can save enterprise vacationers each money and time whereas providing invaluable journey rewards and money again. Premium journey rewards playing cards also can go a great distance towards bettering the journey expertise by providing vacationers upgraded airline seats and free lodge rooms, in addition to entry to airport enterprise lounges.

Right here are some things you are able to do to economize on enterprise journey — whereas including consolation and comfort — utilizing a bank card.

Use your card to save lots of on resorts

When paying for a lodge keep, one of the crucial efficient methods to economize is to make use of a bank card that’s provided by the lodge chain. Resort rewards playing cards help you lower your expenses in a number of methods. First, they function bonus factors or money again for lodge prices, which may later be redeemed free of charge night time stays. Moreover, a lodge rewards card can give you credit score towards elite standing within the lodge loyalty program. And if you maintain that standing, you’ll get pleasure from perks like precedence customer support, room upgrades and even waived charges.

For instance, the World of Hyatt Enterprise Credit score Card* from Chase gives the cardholder (and as much as 5 staff) Discoverist standing, in addition to 5 qualifying night time stays for each $10,000 you spend in a calendar yr. After spending $50,000 in a calendar yr, cardholders additionally obtain 10 % of their redeemed factors again as bonus factors (on as much as 200,000 factors redeemed) for the rest of the calendar yr. And because you get worker playing cards without charge, their spending counts towards the $50,000 requirement.

Discoverists obtain additional factors and perks like free bottled water and a couple of p.m. late checkouts. And when vacationers obtain top-tier World of Hyatt Globalist standing, perks embody free breakfast, suite upgrades and free parking on award nights. Cardholders additionally get entry to Hyatt Leverage, Hyatt’s international enterprise journey program that gives particular charges on collaborating Hyatt resorts worldwide.

Save on flights with a companion move

Whenever you’re touring with a colleague, nothing saves cash like receiving two tickets for the value of 1. Fortunately, a number of airline bank cards supply companion passes. As an example, the Alaska Airways Visa® bank card from Financial institution of America gives a companion fare from $122 ($99 fare plus taxes and charges from $23) every account anniversary after you spend $6,000 or extra on purchases throughout the prior anniversary yr.

Higher but, the British Airways Visa Signature® Card* from Chase includes a Journey Collectively Ticket you could earn after spending $30,000 in purchases in a calendar yr. This provides you two airline award tickets for simply the value of taxes and charges. Simply observe that British Airways has a behavior of imposing notoriously excessive provider surcharges, particularly on its awards in enterprise in firstclass.

However maybe the very best companion move is the one provided by Southwest Airways, which is often achieved by incomes 135,000 qualifying factors in a calendar yr. Nevertheless, holders of a Southwest® Speedy Rewards® Efficiency Enterprise Credit score Card can earn a welcome bonus of 80,000 factors for spending $5,000 in purchases through the first three months — getting you greater than midway to the Companion Move throughout your first yr. And cardholders obtain a lift of 10,000 qualifying factors yearly and may earn qualifying factors from bank card spending and flight purchases. As soon as earned, the Southwest Airways Companion Move gives limitless tickets to your designated companion for simply the value of taxes, usually $5.60 every approach inside the USA.

Get free expedited safety

Many enterprise vacationers are compelled to waste unimaginable quantities of time going via airport safety. However with the proper bank card, you and your staff may be reimbursed for expedited safety program memberships.

Many bank cards now embody reimbursements for TSA PreCheck and World Entry, which incorporates TSA PreCheck. TSA PreCheck means that you can undergo an expedited safety screening the place you possibly can depart your footwear on and your 3-1-1 liquids and laptops in your carry-on suitcase. World Entry gives expedited immigration screening if you arrive in the USA.

Some enterprise bank cards function a credit score of as much as $100 for TSA PreCheck or World Entry — together with the Capital One Enterprise X Enterprise, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Enterprise American Specific Card and the IHG One Rewards Premier Enterprise Credit score Card. In reality, the TSA maintains a listing of all playing cards that supply this free credit score. The credit score is often accessible simply as soon as each 4 years.

A number of bank cards additionally supply free or discounted Clear Plus membership. Clear is a personal firm that authenticates your id utilizing biometrics earlier than escorting you to the entrance of the TSA strains, both PreCheck or commonplace. For instance, The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Specific or a private card just like the American Specific® Inexperienced Card* supply as much as $189 in credit for Clear Plus membership.

Should you’re questioning which program would work finest for you, right here’s our comparability of TSA PreCheck vs. Clear.

Get free enterprise lounge membership

One other approach that vacationers waste money and time is once they have a layover or an airport delay. Airport meals is mostly costly and of inconsistent high quality, whereas sitting round a crowded departure gate could be a waste of productive time. However if in case you have an airport enterprise lounge membership, then you possibly can get pleasure from a free meal whereas having a much less hectic place to get work completed.

A number of playing cards supply airport lounge entry. The American Specific Enterprise Platinum gives entry to a wide range of lounges — together with the Centurion Lounges, Delta SkyClubs and the Precedence Move Choose lounge community. The Capital One Enterprise X Enterprise card additionally gives a Precedence Move Choose lounge membership, in addition to entry to its new and increasing listing of Capital One lounges.

Alternatively, you may think about an airline co-branded card. For instance, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Enterprise American Specific Card gives entry to the Centurion Lounges and the Delta Sky Golf equipment whereas the Citi® / AAdvantage® Government World Elite Mastercard® gives entry to American Airways Admirals membership lounges.

Earn elite standing with an airline

Having elite standing with an airline frequent flier program may be extraordinarily invaluable. Historically, the one solution to earn that was by really buying airfare after which flying. Nevertheless, airways are more and more providing elite standing — in entire or partly — via bank card spending.

For instance, the American Airways AAdvantage rewards program means that you can earn any stage of elite standing merely via spending on its co-branded bank cards. The JetBlue TrueBlue program gives the possibility to earn all 4 ranges of its Mosaic elite standing utilizing a mix of bank card spending and flying. The United Quest℠ Card* from Chase means that you can earn 25 Premier Qualifying factors (PQPs) for each $500 you spend on purchases together with your Quest Card (as much as 6,000 PQP in a calendar yr) that may be utilized towards your Premier standing qualification on United MileagePlus, as much as the Premier 1K stage.

Benefit from assertion credit and extra

Though it may be tough to find out the precise worth that some bank card advantages present, different advantages are rather more simple. In reality, many enterprise bank cards supply annual assertion credit, free checked baggage and extra.

For instance, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Enterprise card permits cardholders to verify their first bag free of charge when flying with Delta. The United℠ Enterprise Card features a free checked bag for you and a companion plus an annual $100 assertion credit score if you make a minimum of seven United airways purchases of a minimum of $100 per yr. Amex Enterprise Platinum cardmembers stand up to $200 a yr in assertion credit towards qualifying airline charges together with your chosen airline, whereas The Hilton Honors American Specific Enterprise Card gives a “Free Night time Reward” after making $15,000 in purchases in a calendar yr. You’ll be able to even earn a second reward night time after making $45,000 in purchases throughout a calendar yr.

Tips on how to flip enterprise rewards into private journey

A great thing about incomes journey rewards is that they’re retained by the bank card’s major account holder. So in case you are a small enterprise proprietor, you obtain possession of all the factors and miles that you just earn out of your bank cards — together with any rewards earned by licensed customers of your playing cards. Likewise, you additionally earn rewards for something you cost to your private bank cards for firm journey your employer reimburses.

The underside line

The important thing to saving each money and time on your enterprise journey is knowing and maximizing the potential of your bank cards, together with their journey advantages. By utilizing the proper bank card to your wants, you possibly can get pleasure from extra productive enterprise journeys whereas incomes factors and miles towards your subsequent trip.

Take a look at our listing of the very best small enterprise bank cards or use Bankrate’s free CardMatch software to seek out the proper card for your enterprise.

*Issuer-required disclosure assertion

Details about the World of Hyatt Enterprise Credit score Card, British Airways Visa Signature® Credit score Card, American Specific® Inexperienced Card, Citi® / AAdvantage® Government World Elite Mastercard® and United Quest℠ Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or accepted by the issuer. Info concerning the Alaska Airways Visa® bank card was final up to date on February 1, 2024.