Best Employee Credit Cards of July 2025

Free employee cards are a common perk of business credit cards. The best options make it easy to keep an eye on employees’ transactions, while also earning you rewards for their spending.

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Capital One Venture X Business

Annual fee
$395

Rewards rate
2x-10x

Miles

Intro offer
150,000

Miles

on Capital One's website

Capital One Venture X Business

Annual fee
$395

Rewards rate
2x-10x

Miles

Intro offer
150,000

Miles

on Capital One's website

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Annual fee
$95

Rewards rate
1x-3x

Points

Intro offer
90,000

Points

on Chase's website

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Annual fee
$95

Rewards rate
1x-3x

Points

Intro offer
90,000

Points

on Chase's website

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Annual fee
$0 intro for the first year, then $95

Rewards rate
2x-5x

Miles

Intro offer
50,000

Miles

on Capital One's website

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Annual fee
$0 intro for the first year, then $95

Rewards rate
2x-5x

Miles

Intro offer
50,000

Miles

on Capital One's website

Best of awards Nerdwallet's badge 2025 BEST CREDIT CARD SMALL BUSINESS

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$750

on Chase's website

Best of awards Nerdwallet's badge

2025 BEST CREDIT CARD

SMALL BUSINESS

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$750

on Chase's website

Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$300

on Bank of America's website

Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$300

on Bank of America's website

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$350

on Chase's website

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$350

on Chase's website

U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$500

on U.S. Bank's website

U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$500

on U.S. Bank's website

Capital One Spark Cash Plus

Annual fee
$150

Rewards rate
2%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$2,000

on Capital One's website

Capital One Spark Cash Plus

Annual fee
$150

Rewards rate
2%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$2,000

on Capital One's website

Capital One Spark Cash

Annual fee
$0 intro for the first year, then $95

Rewards rate
2%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$1,500

on Capital One's website

Capital One Spark Cash

Annual fee
$0 intro for the first year, then $95

Rewards rate
2%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$1,500

on Capital One's website

Ramp Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-1.5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$250

on Ramp's website

Ramp Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-1.5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$250

on Ramp's website

Brex Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1x-7x

Points

Intro offer
10,000

Points

on Brex's website

Brex Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1x-7x

Points

Intro offer
10,000

Points

on Brex's website

BILL Divvy Corporate Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1x-7x

Points

Intro offer
N/A

on BILL Spend & Expense's website

BILL Divvy Corporate Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1x-7x

Points

Intro offer
N/A

on BILL Spend & Expense's website

Capital on Tap Business Credit Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Intro offer
N/A

on Capital on Tap's website

Capital on Tap Business Credit Card

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Intro offer
N/A

on Capital on Tap's website

or get back to the for more options

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Here are the best employee credit cards

Best of awards Nerdwallet's badge 2025 BEST CREDIT CARD SMALL BUSINESS

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Best for Sign-up bonus with no annual fee

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$750

on Chase's website

Best of awards Nerdwallet's badge

2025 BEST CREDIT CARD

SMALL BUSINESS

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Best for Sign-up bonus with no annual fee

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$750

on Chase's website

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

Best for New businesses and small teams

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-2%

Cashback

Intro offer
$250

on American Express' website

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

Best for New businesses and small teams

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-2%

Cashback

Intro offer
$250

on American Express' website

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Best for Travel rewards

Annual fee
$95

Rewards rate
1x-3x

Points

Intro offer
90,000

Points

on Chase's website

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Best for Travel rewards

Annual fee
$95

Rewards rate
1x-3x

Points

Intro offer
90,000

Points

on Chase's website

Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card

Best for Cash back on gas

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-3%

Cashback

Intro offer
$300

on Bank of America's website

Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card

Best for Cash back on gas

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1%-3%

Cashback

Intro offer
$300

on Bank of America's website

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Best for Luxury travel rewards

Annual fee
$695

Rewards rate
1x-5x

Points

Intro offer
150,000

Points

on American Express' website

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Best for Luxury travel rewards

Annual fee
$695

Rewards rate
1x-5x

Points

Intro offer
150,000

Points

on American Express' website

Capital on Tap Business Credit Card

Best for Business owners with fair credit

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Intro offer
N/A

on Capital on Tap's website

Capital on Tap Business Credit Card

Best for Business owners with fair credit

Annual fee
$0

Rewards rate
1.5%

Intro offer
N/A

on Capital on Tap's website

Capital One Spark Cash Plus

Best for Flexible cash back with no rewards cap

Annual fee
$150

Rewards rate
2%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$2,000

on Capital One's website

Capital One Spark Cash Plus

Best for Flexible cash back with no rewards cap

Annual fee
$150

Rewards rate
2%-5%

Cashback

Intro offer
$2,000

on Capital One's website

What is an employee credit card?

An employee credit card is a business credit card that employees can use on the owner’s behalf. You can add specific employees as authorized users, and each gets their own physical credit card.
Employee credit cards extend the benefits of business credit cards to your team. If your business credit card offers cash back rewards, for instance, adding employee cards means that your team’s purchases may generate rewards too.
But the risks of using credit cards are extended, too. If an employee spends more than you expect, you’ll be on the hook for paying off that debt.
You can request employee credit cards from your business credit card issuer. There’s generally no charge for employee cards, and you may be able to have an unlimited number.
🤓
Nerdy Tip
Have a lot of employees who need your business credit card? Consider a corporate credit card. These cards are issued to your company, eliminating your personal liability. But they typically require several million dollars in annual revenue to qualify.

How do employee credit cards work?

Here’s what happens if you want an employee credit card:
  • Add the employee as an authorized user and order them a card. Most card providers allow a large or unlimited number of additional cards, and they tend to be free. Some may let you issue your team one-off virtual cards as well, which can help with spend management.
  • Set up your employee’s constraints. You may be able to cap how much an employee can spend on their card or get notified when they make a purchase outside a designated category. This can help you react quickly in case of potential fraud.
  • Set up alerts. Your credit card issuer may be able to ping you whenever an employee makes a purchase, when they go over their spending limit or when a purchase looks fraudulent. You can lock employee cards and report fraud as needed.
  • Earn rewards — but watch out for caps. Let’s say you’re using The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, which offers 2% cash back on your first $50,000 in eligible spending, then 1% after that. Terms apply. As employees put more purchases on your credit card, you may hit that spending cap faster — which may mean it’s time to shop for a card without them.
  • Know other rules, too. Employee card spending may not count toward a business credit card's sign-up bonus requirements. This is the case with U.S. Bank business credit cards, for instance.
  • Beware credit limits, too. While you can set spending caps for each employee, every card will count toward the same credit limit. Keep a close eye on your spending and pay down your balance regularly if needed to avoid reaching the limit.
  • Designate another account manager, if needed. If someone else manages your day-to-day business finances, you may want to add them as an account manager so they can add additional authorized users and approve spending. 

Should you get employee credit cards?

If you have multiple employees responsible for making purchases, it may make sense to give each person their own credit card.
Some advantages of employee credit cards for small and midsize teams include:
  • Limit reimbursements and combine statements. When employees use your business credit card, you’ll be able to see more of your business’s spending on one monthly statement or in one online account. Plus, you may be able to limit the number of reimbursements you have to process. 
  • Earn more rewards on your business spending. If your workers are making purchases on your business’s behalf, they can use an employee credit card to help you earn cash back, points or other rewards. They may appreciate not having to tap into their own cash or credit as well. 
  • Monitor and limit each employee’s spending. Many cards allow you to cap how much individual employees can spend and get alerts if they go over those limits. Some issuers offer category-specific spending notifications, too.
  • Easily track expenses. Instead of having to categorize each reimbursement expense, most business credit cards will sync automatically with your accounting software.
But be wary of these potential drawbacks:
  • You may reach rewards caps sooner. It’s fairly common for cash-back cards to offer rewards only up to a certain amount of spending. If you and your employees’ combined spending results in you hitting those caps, you may want to shop around for cards that offer unlimited cash back or other rewards, like Capital One Spark Cash Plus or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card.
  • Employees might misuse their cards. Employee cards get the same fraud protection as the main business credit card, and you can lock or freeze users’ cards at any time if you think they’ve been lost or stolen. But if your employee purchases something they shouldn’t have and your credit card issuer does not think it was fraudulent, you’ll still be on the hook for paying off that purchase.
To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.
To view rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, see this page.
Last updated on July 15, 2025

Methodology

NerdWallet's business credit card team selects the best small-business credit cards without outside input from partners or other business interests. We evaluate business cards based on value and simplicity, weighing fees, sign-up bonuses and reward rates, alongside perks like interest-free periods, statement credits and elite status (for travel cards). Business cards that earn the highest scores deliver the most value to the greatest number of business owners.
Notable changes to our methodology for 2025 include factoring in whether spending on employee cards earns rewards and counts toward the welcome offer requirements. We also now consider what information the card issuer reports to consumer credit bureaus. Learn how NerdWallet rates small-business credit cards.