Top UK airline & hotel business credit card offers – January 2024
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
This page contains the UK’s only comprehensive and regularly updated guide to small business credit and charge cards offering air miles or hotel loyalty points.
If you are looking for a personal credit card for private use, visit our directory of the best airline and hotel personal credit card deals here.
How many small business cards offer travel rewards?
There are only four cards on the market which offer travel rewards to small businesses and sole traders.
Want an American Express card, for a limited company or sole trader?
There are three American Express options which are available to sole traders and Limited Companies. American Express Business Gold is the only card which is free for the first year and comes with a generous bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These convert 1:1 to Avios or other airline miles.
You also have American Express Business Platinum which has a big sign-up bonus and big benefits, but also with a big fee.
For a dedicated Avios card, take a look at the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business credit card.
Want a Visa or Mastercard which earns miles, and you’re NOT a sole trader?
You have only one choice – the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa card. This is good value, with a sign-up bonus which converts to 10,000 Avios and points worth 1 Avios per £1 spent. The annual fee is £99. You must have a Limited Company to apply.
Want a Visa or Mastercard which earns miles, and you ARE a sole trader?
Sorry, there are no business cards which earn miles and accept sole traders. Instead, we recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card. This has no annual fee and pays 1% cashback.
Here are your options in more detail:
American Express Membership Rewards cards:
American Express Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Flying Club and various other loyalty programmes
American Express Business Gold
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 20,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 within 90 days
- Earn 10,000 additional bonus points whenever you spend £20,000 in a quarter
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
Other information:
- Annual fee: Free for the first year, £195 from Year 2
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline schemes
- Get £100 per year to spend at Dell
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £195 from Year 2, free in Year 1.
You will receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Business Gold card if you spend £3,000 within 90 days.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 13 months, have held any other American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes Business or personal Gold, Business or personal Platinum and the personal American Express Rewards credit card.
You are OK if you had a complimentary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if the only American Express card you have had in the previous 13 months was a British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, Nectar, Platinum Cashback or Harrods American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Business Gold card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the ‘no fee in Year 1’ offer.
You receive £100 of Dell statement credit per calendar year. This is made available in two parts. You receive a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between January and June and a £50 credit on Dell purchases made between July and December. There is no minimum spend requirement.
You can apply for complimentary Amex business cards for your employees.
You will receive one consolidated statement showing the spend on your card and all of the complimentary cards. All of the Membership Rewards points earned on the complimentary cards will flow into your personal account.
Depending on when in your monthly cycle you make a payment, you will effectively receive up to 54 days free credit on your spending.
American Express statements provide more underlying transaction detail for flights and certain other transactions than Visa or Mastercard statements, making it easier to reconcile transactions.
You need a minimum personal income of £20,000 to apply for the card.
American Express Business Platinum
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Earn 10,000 bonus points in every month you spend £10,000+
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline schemes
Other information:
- Get £200 per year to spend at Amex Travel
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Get £150 per year to spend at Dell
- Get £300 per year to spend at job ads site Indeed
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Annual fee: £650
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £650.
You will receive 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on the American Express Business Platinum card if you spend £6,000 within 90 days.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 13 months, have held any other American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes Business or personal Gold, Business or personal Platinum and the personal American Express Rewards credit card.
You are OK if you had a complimentary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if the only American Express card you have had in the previous 13 months was a British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy, Nectar, Platinum Cashback or Harrods American Express card.
For clarity, you can still apply for the American Express Business Platinum card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from all of the other card features including the £200 of annual Amex Travel credit.
American Express Business Platinum comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
£200 of Amex Travel credit per membership year
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five complimentary cardholders, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)
You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.
£150 of Dell statement credit per year – you receive £75 credit on Dell purchases betweeen January and June and £75 credit on purchases between July and December
Digital subscription to The Times and The Sunday Times, worth over £300
Avios credit cards:
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 30,000 Avios when you spend £5,000 within 90 days
- Earn 1.5 Avios per £1 spent
- Receive 10,000 bonus Avios for every £20,000 you spend each year, up to £60,000
Other information:
- Get 1 bonus On Business point per £1 spent on BA flights
- Annual fee: £250
Representative 108.4% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £250 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 28.5% APR variable.
You will qualify for the bonus as long as you have not held an American Express Business card, including Accelerating Business, Business Gold and Business Platinum, in the previous 12 months.
There are no restrictions if you only have personal American Express cards at the moment, including the personal British Airways cards.
You need to spend £5,000 in 90 days to earn the bonus.
The card comes with the typical American Express credit card benefits:
Up to 56 days to pay
Up to 20 complimentary cards for your employees
Travel inconvenience cover (with higher payouts if you or your baggage is delayed on a British Airways flight)
Travel accident protection
Purchase protection
Refund protection
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 10,000 points when you spend £5,000 within three months
- Get an extra 500 for applying via our link
- Earn 1 point per £1 spent
- Capital On Tap points convert to Avios at 1:1
Other information:
- No foreign exchange fees
- Points transfers to Avios are instantaneous
- Points can also be turned into cash
- Annual fee: £99
Representative 34.3% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £99 annual fee. Rate varies by individual circumstances and can be as low as 1.19% per month.
You will receive the bonus as long as you are a new customer of Capital On Tap.
You will receive 10,500 points when you spend £5,000 within your first three months. This includes a special 500 points additional bonus for applying via the Head for Points link.
The bonus will arrive with your fourth statement, irrespective of how quickly you spend £5,000.
You must be a limited company or LLP to apply, with a minimum turnover of £24,000. Partnerships and sole traders are not being accepted at this time.
Capital On Tap points transfer to Avios at 1:1.
Other card benefits include:
unlimited free supplementary cards for your staff
a credit limit of up to £250,000
up to 56 days to pay before interest is incurred
accounting integrations with Sage, QuickBooks, Xero and more
no foreign exchange fees and no ATM fees
Cashback credit cards:
There are few Visa or Mastercard business credit cards which offer travel rewards apart from the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa card above.
The Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa credit card is not available to sole traders or partnerships. Instead we recommend the free Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card as a good companion to an American Express Business card:
Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card
Core features:
- 2% cashback uncapped in the first 3 months from account opening (offer ends 2nd April 2024)* (T&C apply)
- 1% cashback uncapped on all your business spend at the expiry of the promotional period**
- No annual fee
Other information:
- Up to 56 days interest-free credit on business purchases. You must pay your balance back in full each month ***.
- Access business rewards with discounts and savings on everyday essentials, entertainment, travel and more
- Purchase protection and cardholder misuse insurance ****
Representative 27.5% APR variable. Approval of your application depends on financial circumstances and borrowing history, as do the terms you may be offered. T&C apply.
Whilst Head for Points is primarily focused on credit cards which offer travel rewards, there are few suitable options in the small business sector if you are looking for a Visa or Mastercard.
The Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card is our preferred choice for a non-Amex SME card. Apply by 2nd April 2024 and you will receive 2% cashback on your business spending for the first three months (T&Cs apply). There is no annual fee.
You can also access business rewards with discounts on everyday essentials, entertainment, travel and more, free accountancy software (T&C apply) and purchase protection and cardholder misuse insurance.
Please note:
*Get 2% cashback uncapped on all business spend for three months from account opening. Promotional cashback available to new Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card customers who apply between 14th December 2023 and 2nd April 2024. The approval of your application depends on your financial circumstances and borrowing history, so do the terms you may be offered.
**At the expiry of the promotional period you will revert to the standard 1% cashback uncapped on all business spend. Standard cashback T&Cs apply.
***If you do not pay your balance in full, you will pay interest on the outstanding balance in line with the standard terms and conditions.
****If you opt out of insurance, you will not be eligible for the insurance benefits and will not be able to make a claim.
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.
