Driving for a ridesharing app like Uber or Lyft or a meals supply app like DoorDash or Instacart. Working as a author or graphic designer for rent. Instructing English on-line in your spare time. These are among the many most popular side gigs and freelance alternatives for individuals seeking to earn additional revenue.
These solopreneurs depend as self-employed people — small-business house owners, technically — and are usually eligible for a lot of small-business credit cards. That is true even for these with no plans to show their aspect enterprise right into a full-time enterprise.
What follows is a listing of the perfect bank cards for freelancers and aspect hustlers hoping to earn rewards for business-related purchases and lift their business credit score within the course of.
Greatest Credit score Playing cards for Freelancers & Aspect Hustles
The very best small-business bank cards for freelancers, sole proprietors, and aspect hustlers pair modest annual charges — if they’ve annual charges in any respect — with beneficiant rewards applications whose bonus classes favor normal spending or a broad vary of on a regular basis enterprise bills.
Many even have enticing sign-up bonuses — often known as welcome presents, welcome bonuses, or early spend bonuses, relying on the issuer. And all settle for private ensures from candidates, which suggests you may apply utilizing your private credit score rating. That is very helpful for those who don’t have any enterprise credit score historical past (otherwise you haven’t formally integrated your freelance enterprise in any respect).
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn limitless 1.5% money again on all purchases and luxuriate in an unusually lengthy 0% APR introductory promotion (for a enterprise bank card).
Rewards Fee
Limitless 1.5% on each enterprise purchases
Intro APR
0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases, then variable common APR
Common APR
18.49% to 24.49% (variable)
Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Earn as much as 5% money again on on a regular basis enterprise purchases. Plus, make the most of an above-average 0% intro APR provide and sign-up bonus alternative.
Rewards Fee
As much as 5% money again
Intro APR
0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases, then variable common APR
Ongoing APR
18.49% to 24.49% (variable)
The American Express Blue Business Cash card
Earn 2% money again on the primary $50,000 in eligible purchases, then 1% money again on all eligible enterprise purchases. Plus, take pleasure in 0% intro APR for the primary 12 months on purchases.
Rewards Fee
As much as 2% money again
Intro APR
0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases, then variable common APR
Ongoing APR
18.49% to 26.49% APRs is not going to exceed 29.99% (variable)
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Earn 2 factors per $1 spent on the primary $50,000 in eligible purchases, then 1 level per $1 spent. An above-average welcome provide and 0% intro APR on purchases add but extra worth.
Rewards Fee
As much as 2x factors
Intro APR
0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, then variable common APR
Ongoing APR
18.49% to 26.49% APR is not going to exceed 29.99% (variable)
Methodology: How We Select the Greatest Credit score Playing cards for Freelancers & Aspect Hustlers
In the event you’re a freelancer or sole proprietor available in the market for a bank card to cowl skilled bills, you have to take into account lots of the similar components house owners of (barely) bigger enterprises do when purchasing for small-business bank cards. These are crucial standards that we use to separate the perfect freelancer-friendly bank cards from the remainder.
Private Assure Requirement
Many freelancers and aspect hustlers aren’t formally integrated and haven’t any want to be. As a result of they haven’t any “enterprise” within the technical sense, they haven’t any enterprise credit score. They will’t get permitted for enterprise bank cards that don’t settle for private ensures.
Because of this, a lacking private assure requirement is a deal-breaker. All of the playing cards on this checklist settle for private ensures or provide methods round them, like ensures based mostly totally on enterprise income fairly than credit score.
Credit score & Revenue Qualification Necessities
Most bank card issuers require candidates to again up their private assure (or enterprise assure) by assembly sure credit score and revenue requirements. For premium enterprise bank cards, these requirements will be excessive — successfully out of attain of the everyday freelancer or aspect hustler.
So we search for freelancer-friendly bank cards with extra relaxed qualification requirements. Many of the bank cards on this checklist set minimal FICO scores close to 700, however they’re not as choosy as top-shelf enterprise playing cards and don’t ask candidates to show they’re pulling in tens of 1000’s of {dollars} a month on prime of that.
Rewards Program
Each card on this checklist has an above-average rewards program. When evaluating these applications, we search for playing cards that do one among two issues:
- Earn increased returns on widespread enterprise purchases, corresponding to workplace provides and telecommunications
- Earn an above-average flat fee of return (1.5% or above) on most or all eligible purchases
We rule out playing cards that solely earn rewards on sure purchases or ask you to leap by too many hoops (like activating your money again earlier than every buy).
Welcome Gives for New Cardholders
Many of the playing cards on this checklist have spending-based welcome presents (aka sign-up bonuses) that enhance their rewards applications’ enchantment. We deliberately exclude playing cards with uncomfortably excessive spending necessities — a $3,000-per-month tempo or above. The remaining presents’ spending necessities are sensible for a lot of if not most freelancers.
Different Enterprise Advantages
Freelancers have much less use for widespread enterprise bank card advantages like Amazon Net Providers credit and Salesforce integrations, however all else being equal, we desire playing cards that provide the choice. And a few enterprise bank card advantages are legitimately freelancer-friendly, like reductions on in style bookkeeping software program.
Curiosity Fee & Introductory APR Promotions
We don’t advise anybody to hold a bank card stability if they will keep away from it, however enterprise house owners — together with sole proprietors — typically haven’t any different possibility. With that in thoughts, we search for freelancer-friendly playing cards with low ongoing rates of interest and long 0% APR introductory promotions.
Annual Charge
All else being equal, we desire skilled bank cards with out annual charges. Nevertheless, dedicated freelancers can offset extra modest annual charges (below $100) with out an excessive amount of bother, so this checklist isn’t totally annual-fee-free.
Credit score Card FAQs for Freelancers & Aspect Hustlers
Discovering and making use of for a freelancer-friendly bank card isn’t an excessive amount of completely different from the method for shopper playing cards. As soon as in your arms, these playing cards work roughly the identical as shopper playing cards too. But when it’s your first time, you would possibly nonetheless have questions as you’re employed by the method.
Do You Must Incorporate to Get a Skilled Credit score Card?
Not essentially. Freelancer-friendly bank cards typically don’t ask candidates to show they’ve formally integrated their enterprise. This can be a good factor for part-time freelancers who don’t need the headache (and added price) of managing a authorized enterprise entity.
Against this, some small-business bank cards do require formal incorporation. These playing cards don’t make this checklist.
How A lot Can You Spend on a Skilled Credit score Card?
It is dependent upon two components: whether or not the cardboard has a preset spending restrict, and if that’s the case, the restrict’s greenback worth.
Some enterprise bank cards haven’t any preset spending limits, together with some we take into account freelancer-friendly. To stop runaway spending, these playing cards normally have a pay-in-full requirement, so you may’t cost greater than you may afford to repay (for lengthy, anyway). In case your freelance enterprise is flourishing, these no-limit, pay-in-full playing cards normally provide higher spending energy.
Different enterprise bank cards base spending limits on income. That is extra widespread for playing cards that underwrite based mostly on enterprise credit score, however for those who’ve been freelancing for some time and might present constant revenue, you would possibly qualify for a beneficiant credit score restrict and not using a enterprise credit score rating.
Do Freelancer-Pleasant Credit score Playing cards Enable Private Ensures?
They need to in the event that they need to be on this checklist. Some freelancers have integrated enterprise entities of their very own, however many don’t. This implies they will’t get a enterprise bank card that doesn’t settle for private ensures.
Does Your Skilled Credit score Card Have an effect on Your Private Credit score Rating?
In the event you certified utilizing your private credit score and revenue, sure.
This impact will be optimistic, detrimental, or each at completely different occasions. In the event you use your skilled bank card responsibly, your private credit score rating might enhance over time. In the event you bump up in opposition to your credit score restrict or miss funds in your skilled bank card, your private credit score rating might endure.
What’s a Good Annual Charge for a Skilled Credit score Card?
Probably the most freelancer-friendly bank cards waive annual charges altogether. Nevertheless, playing cards with unusually beneficiant rewards applications or perks typically cost annual charges. In the event you spend sufficient to offset these charges by incomes rewards and web greater than you’ll have with a no-annual-fee different, it’s value the price.
Ultimate Phrase
As a result of freelancers and aspect hustlers are eligible for a lot of bank cards historically marketed to small-business house owners with workers or contractors on the payroll, this checklist overlaps significantly with our general checklist of the best credit cards for small-business owners.
The lists aren’t equivalent, nevertheless.
A number of the prime playing cards for small companies, such because the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and the Amex Business Platinum Card, aren’t perfect for part-time entrepreneurship or freelance work as a result of some mixture of excessive annual charges, strict credit score underwriting necessities, and welcome presents that require heavier spending than most aspect hustlers can handle.
That’s to not say these playing cards don’t enchantment to unusually prolific aspect hustlers.
In the event you’re lucky sufficient to have the ability to scale your aspect enterprise right into a full-time enterprise with a stability sheet to match, you would possibly end up in quest of a bank card with a credit score restrict to satisfy your spending wants. When that day comes, you’ll be solely too completely happy to commerce up.
