Treated as an opt-in pool, not a default
The optimizer only considers business cards when you switch on “Include Business Cards” in the preferences panel — it’s off by default. That’s deliberate: business cards earn against the same spending categories as personal cards inside the tool, since there’s no separate business-spend input, so turning it on is really asking “if this category’s spend ran through a business card instead, would it earn more?” Whether that spend actually belongs on a business card is a card-terms and tax question the tool can’t answer for you — more on that below.
Who actually qualifies as “a business”
This is the part that stops most people before they even look at the cards: you do not need an LLC, an EIN, or registered revenue to apply for a small-business credit card. Issuers generally accept sole proprietorships, and a sole proprietorship is just you, doing anything income-generating, under your own name and Social Security number. Freelancing, consulting, selling on Etsy or eBay, driving for a rideshare app, or renting out a property can all potentially qualify you to apply as a sole proprietor.
That’s eligibility to apply — not a guarantee of approval. A sole proprietor’s application typically relies on your personal credit and finances, since a brand-new sole proprietorship has no credit file of its own; expect a personal guarantee and a personal credit check either way. Qualifying to apply isn’t the same as knowing you should.
The four business cards in our catalog
| Card | Annual fee | Headline earning | Points currency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ink Business Cash | $0 | 5% on select business categories like internet, phone, and office supplies (up to $25,000/year combined), 2% on gas and dining (each up to $25,000/year), 1% elsewhere | Chase Ultimate Rewards |
| Ink Business Unlimited | $0 | Flat 1.5% on everything, no categories to track | Chase Ultimate Rewards |
| Ink Business Preferred | $95 | 3x on travel and select business categories (up to $150,000/year combined), 1x elsewhere | Chase Ultimate Rewards |
| Amex Business Gold | $375 | 4x automatically on your top 2 spending categories each month, chosen from a set list (up to $150,000/year combined), 1x elsewhere | Amex Membership Rewards |
Where they can beat a personal card
Ink Unlimited’s 1.5% is respectable but not exceptional next to a strong personal 2% cash-back card, while Ink Cash’s 5% categories can outearn almost anything in a personal wallet if your business genuinely spends on internet, phone, or office supplies. The two fee-bearing cards work like their personal counterparts in a second way: Ink Preferred and Amex Business Gold both unlock transfer-partner redemptions for the points they earn — the same Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards currencies covered in our points-currency guide — so a business card’s fee can pay off through transfer value on top of whatever it earns directly, the same case a personal Sapphire or Gold card makes for its own fee.
Whether any of that clears its fee for you is the same break-even question as any personal card: does the extra rate on your actual business spend outweigh the fee, net of any credits you’d genuinely use?
Keep the spend genuinely separate
The practical guardrail matters more than the math: card terms generally require business cards to be used for business purposes, and routing personal purchases through one to chase a category rate is both against most issuers’ terms and a bookkeeping and tax headache waiting to happen. Keep a clean line between the two, even where the optimizer would technically show a better number by blurring it.
One thing that can work in your favor if you keep that line: business-card spending usually is not reported to your personal credit bureaus the way a personal card’s balance and utilization are — issuers generally reserve that reporting for missed payments or default. That means a business card’s monthly balance typically won’t move your personal utilization the way opening or carrying a personal card can. It’s a helpful side effect, not a guarantee — reporting practices differ by issuer, and applying still generally involves a personal guarantee and a hard inquiry on your personal credit regardless.
One more nuance if Chase is part of your plan: Ink cards generally still count toward Chase’s unpublished application-pacing behavior the same way personal Chase cards do, even though the account itself doesn’t always show up on a personal credit report the way a personal card does. See our issuer application rules guide for how that pacing works before sequencing a business card alongside personal Chase applications.
Try it against your real numbers
If part of your income comes from freelance, gig, or small-business work, switch on the business-card toggle in the optimizer, enter that spend in the categories it actually falls into, and see whether an Ink card or the Amex Business Gold earns its way into your optimal setup. Browse the full catalog for complete, current terms on any card before applying.