Top UK airline & hotel business credit card offers – December 2021
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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. Head for Points readers get a higher sign-up bonus of 10,500 points.
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.
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 earnings 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
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 six 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 supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if the only American Express card you have had in the previous six 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 supplementary Amex business cards for your employees at no extra cost.
You will receive one consolidated statement showing the spend on your card and all of the supplementary cards. All of the Membership Rewards points earned on the supplementary 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.
American Express Business Platinum
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,300 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Annual fee: £595
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £595.
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 six 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 supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if the only American Express card you have had in the previous six 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.
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:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five supplementary cardholders, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,300 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Gold), MeliaRewards (Gold)
£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 earnings rate:
- Get 10,000 points when you spend £5,000 within 90 days
- Get an additional 500 points using code ‘headforpoints’ when applying
- 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
- Annual fee: £99
Representative 39.9% 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 9.9% APR.
You will receive the bonus as long as you are a new customer of Capital On Tap.
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.
The standard bonus is 10,000 points. You will receive an additional 500 points if you use promo code ‘headforpoints’ during your application.
Capital On Tap points transfer to Avios at 1:1.
Other card benefits include:
20 free supplementary cards for your staff
a credit limit of up to £100,000
up to 56 days to pay before interest is incurred
no foreign exchange fees and no ATM fees
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 30,000 Avios when you spend £5,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1.5 Avios per £1 spent
- Receive 10,000 bonus Avios for every £20,000 you spend each year, up to £60,000
Other information:
- Get 1 bonus On Business point per £1 spent on BA flights
- Annual fee: £250
Representative 96.7% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £250 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 22.2% APR variable.
You will qualify for the bonus as long as you have not held an American Express Business card, including Accelerating Business, Business Gold and Business Platinum, in the previous 12 months.
You need to spend £5,000 in 90 days to earn the bonus.
The card comes with the typical American Express credit card benefits:
Up to 56 days to pay
Up to 99 FREE supplementary cards for your employees
Travel inconvenience cover (with higher payouts if you or your baggage is delayed on a British Airways flight)
Travel accident protection
Purchase protection
Refund protection
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.
This 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 eligible spend (T&C apply)
- Exclusive discounts with selected partners (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)
Representative 21.9% 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 eligible 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 and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.
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