Best Credit Cards for Freelancers: The Cards I Actually Use and Why
A business credit card is a tax tool disguised as a payment method. Every transaction creates an automatic, time-stamped record of your business spending. Your accounting software pulls it in, categorizes it, and you have a clean expense trail at tax time. The cash back is a bonus.
I’ve had three business credit cards over four years. Here’s what worked and what wasn’t worth the plastic.
My Top Picks
1. Chase Ink Business Unlimited — Best for Most Freelancers
Annual fee: $0 Rewards: 1.5% cash back on everything Sign-up bonus: $750 after $6,000 in first 3 months (as of 2026) My card: This is what I use daily
Why I picked it: 1.5% on everything means I never have to think about bonus categories. Software subscription? 1.5%. Office supplies? 1.5%. Client lunch? 1.5%. My brain doesn’t have to optimize which card to use.
At roughly $3,000/month in business expenses, I earn about $540/year in cash back. That basically covers my FreshBooks subscription. Free money.
Pros:
- No annual fee, ever
- 1.5% flat rate eliminates mental overhead
- Chase’s mobile app is excellent for tracking
- Integrates well with FreshBooks, Wave, QuickBooks
- 0% intro APR for 12 months (useful for equipment purchases)
Cons:
- 1.5% isn’t the highest rate available for specific categories
- Chase’s approval can be tricky if your credit score is under 700
- No travel perks (no lounge access, no travel insurance)
2. American Express Blue Business Cash — Best Cash Back Rate
Annual fee: $0 Rewards: 2% cash back on first $50,000/year, then 1% Sign-up bonus: Varies ($250-500 typically)
If your business spending is under $50K/year (most freelancers), this card beats Chase Ink by 0.5% on every purchase. That’s an extra $150/year on $30K in spending.
Why I don’t use it as primary: Amex isn’t accepted everywhere. Some vendors, especially smaller businesses and international merchants, don’t take Amex. I keep Chase as my primary for universal acceptance and Amex as a secondary.
Pros:
- 2% cash back is hard to beat at $0 annual fee
- Amex’s purchase protection is excellent
- Extended warranty on purchases
- No spending cap on the 2% (first $50K)
Cons:
- Amex not universally accepted
- Harder to get approved for first Amex card
- The 2% drops to 1% after $50K annual spending
3. Capital One Spark 1% Classic — Easiest Approval
Annual fee: $0 Rewards: 1% cash back on everything Sign-up bonus: None
This is the “starter” business card. If your credit score is under 700 or you have limited credit history, Capital One will likely approve you when Chase won’t.
Pros:
- Easy approval, even with limited credit history
- No annual fee
- Automatic business expense categorization
- Good mobile app
Cons:
- Only 1% cash back (lowest of the bunch)
- No sign-up bonus
- Limited benefits
Honorable Mentions
Chase Ink Business Preferred ($95/year): 3x points on travel, shipping, internet, and advertising. Worth it if you spend $1,000+/month in those categories. Not worth $95/year for most freelancers.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus ($150/year): 2% unlimited cash back with no $50K cap. Better than Amex Blue Business Cash if you spend over $50K/year. The $150 fee is offset at $15K in annual spending.
Brex (no personal guarantee): For freelancers with $50K+ in a business bank account. No personal credit check. Interesting for freelancers with strong business finances but less-than-perfect personal credit.
How I Use Credit Cards for Expense Tracking
My workflow:
- All business purchases go on Chase Ink — software, supplies, meals, everything
- FreshBooks auto-imports transactions from Chase every 24-48 hours
- Weekly review: I categorize imported transactions (5-10 minutes)
- Monthly: Chase statement matches my FreshBooks records for reconciliation
- Tax time: Everything’s already categorized in FreshBooks
The credit card creates a parallel record to my bank transactions. If my bank connection drops (happened twice in 4 years), my credit card transactions still flow into FreshBooks.
Business Card vs. Personal Card for Business
Always use a business card. Here’s why:
Tax simplicity: Every transaction on your business card is a business expense. No sorting through personal purchases. Clean audit trail.
Credit building: Business credit cards build a separate business credit profile. This matters if you ever want a business loan, line of credit, or SBA financing.
Higher limits: Business cards typically offer higher credit limits than personal cards. My Chase Ink has a $15,000 limit vs. my personal card’s $8,000.
Liability separation: Business expenses on a business card, personal expenses on a personal card. Clean separation supports your LLC’s liability protection.
Tips for Freelancer Credit Card Use
Pay in full every month. Business credit card interest rates are 20-26% APR. No amount of 1.5% cash back justifies carrying a balance. If you can’t pay in full, use a debit card instead.
Don’t use for client payments or deposits. Taking client deposits on a credit card invites chargebacks. Use proper invoicing with ACH or dedicated payment processing.
Track the annual fee cards carefully. If you have a $95/year card, make sure the additional rewards exceed $95 compared to a free card. Run the math annually.
Use the 0% intro APR strategically. If you need a $2,000 laptop, a 0% APR for 12 months lets you spread the cost without interest. Just set up automatic payments to pay it off before the intro period ends.
The Bottom Line
Get a no-annual-fee business credit card. Put all business expenses on it. Pay in full monthly. Earn $300-600/year in cash back for spending money you’d spend anyway, while creating a clean expense record for taxes.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited for most freelancers. Amex Blue Business Cash if you want slightly higher cash back. Capital One Spark Classic if you need easy approval.
It’s not exciting. But $500/year in free money and effortless expense tracking is worth 15 minutes of application time.