Credit Card Recommendation for Small Business Owner That Travels Often

• 

  AustriaBargain on 13/05/2022 - 13:49

  Are you a sole trader or a company?

  • 

    phancy on 16/05/2022 - 12:18

    Company

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  Stopback on 13/05/2022 - 13:51

  You want a card that gives stuff like lounge access and buying protections?

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  Ocker on 13/05/2022 - 14:02

  +1

  A lot of places charge a higher fee when paying by Amex

  • 

    JCrown9 on 13/05/2022 - 14:17

    not many do this anymore. Used to; but you'll find these days the fee is either the same as visa / mc or no fee.

    • 

      JimB on 13/05/2022 - 14:42

      True…. and AMEX's awards/benefits also dropped dramatically also.

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  ddhar on 13/05/2022 - 14:03

  +2

  Qantas Ultimate is you exclusively fly the 'roo, otherwise get the Explorer.
  Earn rate is better with Qantas card but credit is usable only for Qantas flights and you are tied to QFF.
  Explorer is more flexible as MR can convert to other airlines and credit can be used for either hotel or flight.

  Consider if it makes more economic sense to instead get a Visa/MC card. Vendor surcharge for Amex can often cost more than the value of your points.

• 

  TheMindsetTraveller on 13/05/2022 - 17:42

  +2

  Travel is such a loose description nowadays.

  I ask people where they are travelling to (regularly) and they are like … from Sydney to my (holiday) house at Terrigal. Then others, have flown from Sydney to Brisbane twice this year (and it's like 40% of the year gone). But I digress.

  If you travel domestically? Then any Amex type card is fine, Ultimate is an example, and then purchase a Qantas Club membership to access domestic QF lounges - skip the membership if you solely fly domestic business class as you get access to the Qantas business (and club) lounge.

  If you travel internationally, then consider the Amex Charge Card. Yes, the annual fee is a killer but you make it up via worldwide lounge access (this access may be moot if you flying solely international business/first class where lounge access is given). The other benefits include the ability to transfer card points to two large hotel loyalty programs being Marriott and HIlton (I am biased since I hold Marriot Platinum and Hilton Diamond status). If you are a high spender, then you can generate decent amounts of Marriott Bonvoy points and go spend time at the St Regis Bora Bora for example, or the Waldorf Astoria Maldives from Hilton points. Plenty of opportunities to make the most of this, think outside the square and don't just think of earning points = flying premium, because you can stay at resorts that cost $3k per night just being savvy.

  • 

    ddhar on 13/05/2022 - 18:11

    +1

    Very much agree.

    The $400-odd credit (with either card) may be too much for domestic travels, especially if flying solo, as any unspent balance is forfeited.

    OP needs to provide a bit more details on their travel habits.

  • 

    phancy on 16/05/2022 - 12:25

    I will likely fly internationally (8+ hours one way destinations) twice a year for work. Perhaps 1-2 times of the same distance for leisure.
    Domestically can range from 1-4 times interstate. All travel is economy. I expect to make around $250k of expenses a year.

    I think given your advice, it's difficult for me to see the value of $1,450 if its predominantly for lounge access - as this is not much of a draw for me.

    The use of points on a premium hotel does entice though. Is this function only available for the Charge Card? And if so, from your experience: is the point to dollar value better when purchasing a hotel room vs. a airfaire ticket?
    (i.e. 100,000 points gets you $1,000 worth of airfaires. But it gets you $2,000 worth of hotel stays)

    Also thoughts on other cards that arent AMEX?

    • 

      daft009 on 16/05/2022 - 13:05

      You use Amex points to convert to airline points and book a redemption air fare

      Those international flights could be in business with points which means you could work on the flight and hit the ground running in both directions.

      I do the same and the platinum card is justified

      Also free hotel status to get room upgrades etc

    • 

      ddhar on 16/05/2022 - 15:20

      +1

      The airline and routes you fly will largely decide between QFF or others (Amex MR, VFF, etc). Concentrating your spends and miles into one program will significantly accelerate your earn and status gain.

      Your flight plan should net you at least Silver status (which includes 2 complimentary lounge tickets along with other benefits) or even Gold (if you take advantage of double status offers). So indeed there is no need for a card purely for its lounge access.

      Amex cards will always have the best return (and facilities) as long as your vendors' Amex surcharge is not excessively high.
      If that is not the case, then business cards from the likes of NAB & Westpac should be fine. The higher annual fee cards have better earn rate which work better with high spends. I suspect at $250K annually, you're best served by these but always do your calculations.

      • 

        phancy on 16/05/2022 - 15:40

        Thanks for your advice ddhar.

        Just to be clear, you believe @ $250K - this is a small spend and that it is likely that NAB/Westpac is best?
        At this moment, it seems that getting a card that provides a $450 credit in travel along with bonus points is best for me as it insures that I will make back such fees whilst also getting the best rate for points per $dollar. If this doesnt make sense from your viewpoint, please educate me! :)

        Also, i expect most of my expenses will be direct payments to business providing products and salaries. I imagine this is much like my other banking service - where I input BSB/ACC number and then it transfers the amount…. I dont think there's likely to be AMEX fees here … unless im mistaken? :/

        Cheers though!

        • 

          ddhar on 16/05/2022 - 16:14

          @phancy: With personal cards, you're often limited by either low point cap (no points earned beyond this) or low spend limit. This is where business cards come in (always check the T&Cs). I only mentioned NAB & Westpac as examples; always read their product disclosures and decide if they suit your spending habits (and ultimate use of points).

          Also, you're thinking of EFT payments where most vendors charge no fee.
          You'll likely be using BPAY for credit card payment. Vendors usually declare their card surcharge on their tax invoices. Check that this does not exceed the value of your point earn per dollar. I usually value QFF/VFF at a minimum of 1.8c per point, which means vendor surcharge should not exceed 1.8% per QFF/VFF point earned (note this is my personal take and does not necessarily apply to you). If you do intend to redeem business/first class (which you've mentioned you're not planning to), then you can raise that bar to 4-5c per point.

          Hope that helps.

          • 

            daft009 on 16/05/2022 - 17:41

            @ddhar: Point earn in a business card might be uncapped but low PPD

            • 

              ddhar on 16/05/2022 - 18:32

              @daft009: Generally yes but it's also moot point if a low spend cap or limit severely limits actual points earned. OP expects to spend $250K annually which is more than $20K per month (possibly more during peak periods). An individual card may not be sufficient.

              • 

                daft009 on 16/05/2022 - 20:50

                @ddhar: I'd still want to maxmise my PPD and uncapped.

                anyway OP's choice…

                Once I went to the platinum I can't believe I didn't get it sooner

• 

  payless69 on 14/05/2022 - 10:20

  None of the above!
  CBA
  StGeorge
  Latitude

• 

  daft009 on 14/05/2022 - 21:18

  The Amex platinum charge card.

  I had the explorer too but the $50k limit got in the way, finally got the charge card and it's been awesome, no more having to pay the card mid cycle

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  Killtheoriginal on 05/09/2022 - 10:50

  I am a small business owner too.

  Which one did you get? Did you apply for a personal or business credit card?

  I applied for a personal explorer card and provided AMEX a letter from my accountant but they are asking me to amend the letter to be just about myself. What did you provide as proof of income?

  • 

    daft009 on 05/09/2022 - 10:59

    personal card = just payslips & maybe tax returns if they ask.

    I was asked nothing for the explorer in 2016 when I applied.

    • 

      Killtheoriginal on 05/09/2022 - 12:00

      Thanks for your reply - appreciate it! I actually just got off phone with them and they approved my application!

      Are you now the Amex platinum card holder? I was trying to justify the $1000 extra fee and then went with the explorer. Do you travel a lot?

      • 

        daft009 on 05/09/2022 - 12:13

        yeah I have the charge card.
        the perks are useful and the high earn rate.
        for me the biggest benefit is no credit limit on the charge as I have some small $ months and some very large $ months.
        was annoying Bpaying everytime I reached my limit, then sometimes wait 1-2 days for the bpay to clear etc

        i travel international twice a year and domestic 4-5x a year

        • 

          Killtheoriginal on 05/09/2022 - 14:47

          @daft009: Thanks for sharing. I might use the explorer for a bit and then consider whether I should upgrade.