Top UK airline & hotel business credit card offers – September 2023
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This page contains the UK’s only comprehensive and regularly updated guide to small business credit and charge cards offering air miles or hotel loyalty points.
If you are looking for a personal credit card for private use, visit our directory of the best airline and hotel personal credit card deals here.
How many small business cards offer travel rewards?
There are only four cards on the market which offer travel rewards to small businesses and sole traders.
If you want a Visa or Mastercard, you have only one choice – the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa card. This is good value, with a sign-up bonus which converts to 10,000 Avios and points worth 1 Avios per £1 spent. The annual fee is £99.
There are three American Express options. American Express Business Gold is the only card which is free for the first year and comes with a generous bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These convert 1:1 to Avios or other airline miles.
Applications for the British Airways Accelerating Business American Express card are currently suspended due to issues with the British Airways On Business programme.
Here are your options:
American Express Membership Rewards cards:
American Express Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Flying Club and various other loyalty programmes
American Express Business Gold
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 10,000 additional bonus points whenever you spend £20,000 in a quarter
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
Other information:
- Annual fee: Free for the first year, £175 from Year 2
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline schemes
- Get £100 per year to spend at Dell
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £175 from Year 2, free in Year 1.
You will receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Business Gold card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 13 months, have held any other American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes Business or personal Gold, Business or personal Platinum and the personal American Express Rewards credit card.
You are OK if you had a complimentary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if the only American Express card you have had in the previous 13 months was a British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, Nectar, Platinum Cashback or Harrods American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Business Gold card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.
You receive £100 of Dell statement credit per calendar year. This is made available in two parts. You receive a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between January and June and a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between July and December. There is no minimum spend requirement.
You can apply for complimentary Amex business cards for your employees.
You will receive one consolidated statement showing the spend on your card and all of the complimentary cards. All of the Membership Rewards points earned on the complimentary cards will flow into your personal account.
Depending on when in your monthly cycle you make a payment, you will effectively receive up to 54 days free credit on your spending.
American Express statements provide more underlying transaction detail for flights and certain other transactions than Visa or Mastercard statements, making it easier to reconcile transactions.
You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.
American Express Business Platinum
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Earn 10,000 bonus points in every month you spend £10,000+
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline schemes
Other information:
- Get £200 per year to spend at Amex Travel
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Get £150 per year to spend at Dell
- Get £300 per year to spend at job ads site Indeed
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Annual fee: £650
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £650.
You will receive 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Business Platinum card if you spend £6,000 within 90 days.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 13 months, have held any other American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes Business or personal Gold, Business or personal Platinum and the personal American Express Rewards credit card.
You are OK if you had a complimentary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if the only American Express card you have had in the previous 13 months was a British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, Nectar, Platinum Cashback or Harrods American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Business Platinum card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from all of the other card features including the £200 of annual Amex Travel credit.
American Express Business Platinum comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
£200 of Amex Travel credit per membership year
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five complimentary cardholders, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)
You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.
£150 of Dell statement credit per year – you receive £75 credit on Dell purchases betweeen January and June and £75 credit on purchases between July and December
Digital subscription to The Times and The Sunday Times, worth over £300
Avios credit cards:
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 10,000 points when you spend £5,000 within three months
- Get an extra 500 for applying via our link
- Earn 1 point per £1 spent
- Capital On Tap points convert to Avios at 1:1
Other information:
- No foreign exchange fees
- Points transfers to Avios are instantaneous
- Points can also be turned into cash
- Annual fee: £99
Representative 34.3% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £99 annual fee. Rate varies by individual circumstances and can be as low as 1.19% per month.
You will receive the bonus as long as you are a new customer of Capital On Tap.
You will receive 10,500 points when you spend £5,000 within your first three months. This includes a special 500 points additional bonus for applying via the Head for Points link.
The bonus will arrive with your fourth statement, irrespective of how quickly you spend £5,000.
You must be a limited company or LLP to apply, with a minimum turnover of £24,000. Partnerships and sole traders are not being accepted at this time.
Capital On Tap points transfer to Avios at 1:1.
Other card benefits include:
unlimited free supplementary cards for your staff
a credit limit of up to £250,000
up to 56 days to pay before interest is incurred
accounting integrations with Sage, QuickBooks, Xero and more
no foreign exchange fees and no ATM fees
Cashback credit cards:
There are few Visa or Mastercard business credit cards which offer travel rewards apart from the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa card above.
The Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa credit card is not available to sole traders or partnerships. Instead we recommend the free Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card as a good companion to an American Express Business card:
Core features:
- Earn 1% cashback on business spend (T&C apply)
- No annual fee
Other information:
- Up to 56 days interest-free credit when you pay in full and on time
- Purchase protection and cardholder misuse insurance (T&C apply)
- Exclusive discounts with selected partners (T&C apply)
- Free accounting software, provided by Freshbooks (T&C apply)
Representative 27.5% APR variable. Approval of your application depends on financial circumstances and borrowing history, as do the terms you may be offered. T&C apply.
Whilst Head for Points is primarily focused on credit cards which offer travel rewards, there are few suitable options in the small business sector if you are looking for a Visa or Mastercard.
The Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card is our preferred choice for a non-Amex SME card. You receive 1% cashback on your spending (T&C apply) and there is no annual fee.
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.
