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A common misunderstanding is that every artist is a starving artist. You may create masterpieces as a hobby or a full-time profession. Either way, you probably have enough business expenses to own a business rewards credit card. The best credit card for artists can help you build your brand as you travel to art shows and ship items to buyers.
The Best Credit Cards for Artists
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
- The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card – Best Credit Card With Annual Fee
If you travel to craft fairs and ship your work to buyers, the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a solid option. It does a good job of letting you earn points when you travel and also making money online.
You earn 3 Ultimate Rewards points per $1 spent on the first $150,000 in combined spending for these purchases:
- Travel
- Shipping purchases
- Internet, cable, and phone services
- Search engine and social media advertising purchases
All other card purchases earn 1 point per $1 spent.
Your points are worth 1.25 cents each when booking any award travel through the Expedia-powered Chase Ultimate Rewards travel booking site. You can also transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to airlines and hotel loyalty programs including Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, British Airways, and World of Hyatt.
Your points are also redeemable for cash and gift cards. But, each point is only worth 1 cent each if redeemed this way.
The Ink Business Preferred offers several travel insurance benefits that can save you money on expensive trips. They include primary rental car collision damage and theft insurance up to the vehicle’s actual cash value. You also get up to $5,000 in trip cancellation and interruption coverage for non-refundable travel purchases.
Charging your cell phone bill to the Ink Business Preferred gives you $600 per claim in cell phone protection.
New Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card cardholders can earn 100k bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
The annual fee is $95 and there is no foreign transaction fee.
Related: Small Business Credit Cards for Travel Rewards
American Express Blue Business Credit Cards – No Annual Fee
A flat-rate rewards card is a better option when your buying habits don’t align with a tiered rewards credit card. The American Express Blue Business credit cards are some of the best because they earn up to 2% cash back on purchases. Most flat-rate rewards credit cards earn up to 1.5% back or less.
The two Blue Business cards are one of the easiest and cheapest ways to maximize your daily expenses. You have two different no-annual-fee options:
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (See Rates & Fees)
- The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card(See Rates & Fees)
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is better for earning travel rewards. You earn 2x Membership Rewards® points per $1 on the first $50,000 on everyday business purchases (then 1 point per $1). You can also transfer points at a 1:1 ratio to the Membership Rewards airline and hotel partners including Delta Air Lines, Emirates, and British Airways. The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express 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.
Choose The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card to get a monthly cash statement credit. Cardholders earn 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.
Related: Best American Express Business Credit Cards
American Express Business Gold Card – Best Travel Rewards
The American Express® Business Gold Card awards up to 4x Membership Rewards points on purchases. Your first $150,000 in combined annual spending earns 4 Membership Rewards per $1 on the 2 categories which your business spent the most each billing cycle*. The categories include:
- Airfare purchased directly from airlines
- TV, radio, and online advertising (U.S. purchases)
- Select computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions (U.S. purchases)
- Gas stations (U.S. purchases)
- Restaurants (U.S. purchases)
- Shipping (U.S. purchases)
All non-bonus spending earns 1 point per $1.
The American Express Business Gold is a good option if you prefer redeeming points for award flights. Your points are worth 1 cent each when booking award flights on AmexTravel. You get 25% of your redeemed points back on your airline of choice and premium cabin flights with most airlines (up to 250,000 points back per year)*. This redemption bonus essentially makes each point worth 1.25 cents each.
A potentially more valuable option is transferring your points at a 1:1 ratio to the Membership Rewards airline and hotel transfer partners. Your points can easily be worth more than 1.25 cents, especially you save them for first-class or business class award tickets. Some of the best transfer partners are Delta SkyMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Air France FlyingBlue, and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
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).
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.
There is also no foreign transaction when you travel abroad but the annual fee is $295 (See Rates & Fees).
Related: Best Metal Credit Cards
Capital One Spark Miles for Business – Best for Travel Statement Credits
The Capital One Spark Miles for Business earns unlimited 2 miles per $1 on every purchase. This is your best option if you travel but usually don’t redeem your miles for award flights. Your miles are worth the same amount when redeeming as a travel statement credit for recent purchases like flights, hotels, and rental cars.
The Spark Miles also reimburses your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit as a fee credit of up to $100. The annual fee is $0 for the first year and then $95.
Learn more: Business Credit Cards
If you don’t want to pay an annual fee, you can get the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business. It earns 1.5 miles per $1 on all purchases. It doesn’t come with a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit though.
Redeeming your miles as a travel statement credit is usually your best redemption option. Although you pay cash upfront for travel purchases, you earn the travel loyalty miles plus the Capital One purchase rewards. Some travel loyalty programs don’t issue points or miles if you book a reservation on a third-party booking site.
Your miles with the are worth the same for travel statement credits or booking upcoming travel. Opting for the statement credit means you don’t jeopardize earning the loyalty points. If you want to redeem your miles for award flights, you can also transfer them to over a dozen Capital One transfer partners.
Related: How to Share Capital One Miles With Another Account
The information for the Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Summary of the Best Credit Card for Artists
The best credit card for artists lets traveling artists and those who remain local or online to boost their spending power. Many tiered rewards cards are artist-friendly. And you have the option of redeeming your points or miles for cash or travel rewards to get the most value possible.
Related Articles:
- Best Limited-Time Credit Card Offers
- The Easiest Credit Cards to Get Approved For
- Best No Annual Fee Travel Credit Cards
For rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, please click here.
And for rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.
