The Best Credit Cards for Real Estate Investors To Use

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Real estate investing can be a capital-intensive business. But it can also be one of the best ways to build wealth and, perhaps surprisingly, indirectly earn credit card rewards points. Whether you’re a landlord or house-flipper, savvy real estate investors can use one of these credit cards to help boost your cap rate while earning cash or travel rewards.

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The credit cards below are small business cards.

The Best Credit Cards for Real Estate Investors

Here is a preview of some of the best credit cards for real estate investors:

• Capital One Spark Miles for Business
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
• American Express® Business Gold Card
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
• American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
• The Plum Card® from American Express
• Lowe’s Business Rewards Card from American Express
• Home Depot Commercial Credit Card

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

If you’re getting ready to make a big purchase for your investment properties, now can be the best time to try for a new business credit card. The Capital One Spark Miles for Business comes with the ability to earn 50,000 bonus miles ($500 value) by spending $4,500 in the first 3 months.

Note that this is one of five Capital One Spark business cards available. Every dollar you spend earns unlimited 2x rewards miles. Each mile can be redeemed for travel statement credits, booking upcoming travel, or transferring to the Capital One airline miles.

The personal Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the best travel credit cards you can get (see our comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture to compare top personal travel cards).

Learn more: Business Credit Cards

Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card

One of the best flat-rate rewards credit cards with no annual fee is the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. You get 1.5% back on every purchase. This card can be your best credit cards for real estate investors option if your spending doesn’t align with most tiered rewards credit cards bonus categories.

Instead of earning 1% back on most purchases, the Ink Business Unlimited rewards 50% more.

New Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card cardholders can earn $750 bonus cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 

Note that the cards in the Ink Business family are also some of the best business credit cards for travel options.

American Express Business Gold Card

The American Express® Business Gold Card is one of your best options for advertising purchases. You can earn 4x Membership Rewards® points on tv, online, and radio advertisements, so long as they are purchased with U.S. carriers. Most business cards only that award bonus points for online advertising and TV or radio purchases only earn 1x point per $1.

If advertising isn’t a large monthly expense, American Express lets you pick two of the following purchases to earn 4x points per $1 (on the first $150,000 in combined annual spending)*:

• Airfare purchased directly from the airlines
• Online, TV, and radio advertising (U.S. purchases)
• Select computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions providers (U.S. purchases made directly with the provider)
• Gas stations (U.S. purchases)
• Restaurants (U.S. purchases)
• Shipping (U.S. purchases)

Your points are most valuable when booking award flights. You can get 25% points back for a second redemption when booking award flights on American Express Travel*. Another option is transferring your points at a 1:1 ratio to domestic or international airlines like Delta, Emirates, and British Airways. The annual fee is $295 (See Rates & Fees). 

New American Express® Business Gold Card cardholders can earn 70,000 points after spending $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.* 

*Terms apply.

American Express Business Gold cardholders also have access to a Pay Over Time Option that lets cardholders decide whether they want to pay for their eligible purchases in full each month or pay over time with interest (terms apply).

For this reason as well as for the quadruple earnings per dollar spent on direct airline purchases, this is one of the best miles cards to consider.

However, since this card only earns on U.S.-based purchases, you may want to check out the best cards for international travel to supplement this card if you’re looking to spend abroad.

The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express

If American Express Membership Rewards® points are your preferred credit card points, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express may double your earning potential.

And you never pay an annual fee (See Rates & Fees) with this best credit cards for real estate investors option.

The Blue Business Plus Credit Card earns 2x Membership Rewards® points on the first $50,000 in annual everyday business purchases (then 1x point per $1). Use this card on purchases where your current credit card only earns 1x point per $1. Your points are most valuable when booking award flights on AmexTravel or transferring to a 1:1 travel partner.

Cardholders can also enjoy more flexibility to use their card for more purchases and rewards when buying above their credit limit. The amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express, and other factors.

New The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express cardholders can earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within their first 3 months of Card Membership.

It’s one of the best business credit cards with no annual fee.

American Express Blue Business Cash Card

If you prefer earning cash rewards, the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card earns 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1% cash back earned is automatically credited to your statement.

It also comes with Expanded Buying Power which gives cardholders the ability to spend beyond their credit limit.

Just remember, the amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to American Express, and other factors.

New American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card cardholders can earn a $250 statement credit after making $3,000 in purchases on their Card in the first 3 months.

American Express automatically redeems your rewards as a cash statement credit each month. You will also appreciate this card doesn’t have an annual fee (See Rates & Fees). 

Get more details on the Amex Blue Business credit cards to learn which one is best for you.

The Plum Card from American Express

Being a real estate investor means you may earn a variable income. Consequently, you may struggle to pay your balance in full while waiting for the next deal to close. It’s possible to avoid credit card interest charges with The Plum Card® from American Express.

The Plum Card® from American Express offers up to 60 days to pay with no interest when you pay your minimum due by the Payment Due Date.

Plus, paying early pays off. You get a 1.5% Early Pay Discount on your statement on the amount paid within 10 days of your statement closing date and no cap on what you can earn back. Just pay the Minimum Due by the Payment Due Date.

Although you don’t have unlimited purchase power, the Plum Card can have more flexibility than a standard business credit card.

The annual fee for the Plum Card is $250 (See Rates & Fees).

Lowe’s Business Rewards Card from American Express

The information for Lowe’s Business Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Getting discounts at home improvement stores is a good way to maximize your purchase power as well. The Lowe’s Business Rewards Card from American Express gives you a 5% discount at Lowe’s. The Lowe’s store cards also give you a 5% discount, but can only be used at Lowe’s. If you frequently shop at Lowe’s, this can be one of the best credit cards for real estate options.

This credit card can also be used for non-Lowe’s purchases. You earn 3x points on U.S.-based dining, U.S. office supply stores, and wireless telephone purchases made directly from U.S. providers. Lowe’s purchases also earn 2x points in addition to the 5% discount. All remaining purchases earn 1x points. You can redeem points for statement credits or American Express cash gift cards.

You also get $100 cash statement credit upon approval. This is one of the easiest welcome offers you can earn. This is also one of the best credit cards for rental property.

Home Depot Commercial Credit Card

The information for the Home Depot Credit Cards has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The Home Depot Commercial Credit Card lets you save money at Home Depot and at Shell Fuel Rewards gas station partners.

You won’t get an automatic discount at Home Depot but getting this card does enroll you into the Home Depot Pro Xtra loyalty program. In case you need it, cardmembers also get up to 1 year to return Home Depot purchases.

Save 10 cents per gallon at Shell gas stations for every $100 you spend at Home Depot. If you’re a Home Depot regular this won’t be a problem. You can also get fuel savings when dining at select restaurants or getting an oil change at Jiffy Lube. This is also one of the best credit cards for house flippers.

Summary

Being a real estate investor is an exciting way to build wealth. Using the right credit card is an easy way to make good day-to-day business decisions. Whether you want to earn travel miles or cash rewards, the best credit cards for real estate investors offer some of the best purchase rewards and redemption options.

For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please click here.

And For rates and fees of the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, please click here.

For rates and fees of the Plum Card® from American Express, please click here.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.