The Right Way to Tap Personal Credit for Small Business Needs
Small business credit cards are superior to their consumer counterparts for purchases that you pay for in full, as they typically offer much better rewards on business-oriented expense categories like office supplies and wireless services, give you the ability to set custom spending limits on employee credit cards (and appoint more authorized users), and provide account features specifically geared toward making the life of a small business owner easier.
Another advantage of using one credit card for funding and another for everyday expenses is that you can get a far better collection of terms than is possible with a single credit card.
For example, you could use the Citi Diamond Preferred Card to get 0% on new purchases for 18 months and the SimplyCash Business Card from American Express to score 5% cash back on office supplies and wireless services, 3% on gas, and 1% on everything else. It's called the Island Approach because you're segmenting different types of transactions on different cards like they're stranded on desert islands.
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Now, there is an alternative for those of you who really don't relish the prospect of managing multiple credit card accounts. You can use a Bank of America business credit card. Bank of America(BAC) is the only major issuer that has proactively extended the CARD Act's protections to its suite of business cards, which means you can garner debt stability and the unique features of a business card all in one neat package. You're just not likely to get the best possible terms by limiting your options to one issuer.
At the end of the day, it's simply important that you recognize the potential benefits and pitfalls of credit card use as well as adopt a strategy that suits your personal preferences and the needs of your business.
More on credit cards for small business:
Card Hub's small business credit card study
--By Odysseas Papadimitriou
Papadimitriou is the CEO of Card Hub, a website that helps people find the right credit cards for their needs, and Wallet Hub, a new personal finance social network.