The U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card offers cash back for common small-business purchases and rewards that are unlimited and never expire. There’s an easy-to-earn sign-up bonus and a $0* annual fee. But what makes this card stand out is the annual bonus.
U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card: Benefits and basics
The U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card starts off with an incentive for new cardholders to get in the habit of using it: Earn a new cardmember bonus of $150 after you spend $500 in net purchases on your card within the first 90 days of account opening. It offers 3% cash back on gas, office supply store and cellular purchases and 1% cash back on everything else, with no cash back limit.
The U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card offers free cards for employees, and they’re all eligible to earn rewards. Plus, the card entitles the cardholder to a variety of business tools to help manage and grow the business. The introductory annual percentage rate is 0% for 9 months on purchases, and then the ongoing APR of 12.24% - 18.24% Variable .
Let’s take a deeper look at what distinguishes this card.
Annual bonus
Every year, you’ll earn a cash bonus of 25% of your previous year’s cash rewards, up to $250. The bonus is awarded on your account anniversary date.
Unlimited cash back
The 3% cash back rewards at gas stations, office supply stores and cellular providers are in line with what many business cards offer. But while other cards often place caps on bonus rewards, the U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card does not. With no limit to the amount of cash you can earn, the U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card can really pay off.
Here’s just one way: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey, consumers spent an average of $963 on cellular service in 2014, up from $608 in 2007. Small-business owners who are constantly on their phones and who provide phones for their employees will likely spend even more. Getting 3% cash back on cellular expenses could reap a tidy savings each year.
Introductory APR deal
The U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card offers 0% for 9 months on purchases, and then the ongoing APR of 12.24% - 18.24% Variable , based on credit quality. If you’re planning a large purchase for your business — for instance, new computers — you can get cash back through the office supply store reward category and have some time to pay off the purchase before interest kicks in.
$0* annual fee
While many business credit cards waive the annual fee for the first year, the annual fee for the U.S. Bank Business Edge Cash Rewards Card is always $0*.
Business tools
To help manage your business, the U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card offers a suite of tools. ScoreBoard monitors your company’s spending so you know where you can cut back if need be. FlexControl allows you to set your payment-due date, create alerts and manage where and how your employees use their cards. Cardholders also have access to U.S. Bank Connect, which provides articles, tips and a community of business owners to discuss the day-to-day challenges of running a business.
U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card: Pitfalls and other possibilities
With an annual fee of $0*, the introductory APR and cash back rewards, the U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card looks good. But many business cards now have similar terms and offer better sign-up bonuses.
Small sign-up bonus
An alternative is the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business. It has a $0 annual fee, it pays 1.5% on all purchases in any category, and it has a slightly higher sign-up bonus: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months. And like all cards issued by Capital One, it has no foreign transaction fees.
If you do business internationally, the U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card won’t save you money on foreign transactions. It charges 2% on purchases or ATM withdrawals made in U.S. dollars and a 3% foreign transaction fee for purchases or ATM withdrawals made in a foreign currency.
Read our full review of the Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business for more details.
You need excellent credit
To qualify for the U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card, you’ll need excellent credit, which helps explain why the APR after the 0% period ends is lower than that of many other cards.
If your credit is only good, consider the Ink Cash® Business Credit Card. It has a $0 annual fee and also offers a sign-up bonus: Earn $200 bonus cash back after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Its cash back percentages will also help you earn more quickly, although there are caps on bonus categories: 5% cash back on the first $25,000 you spend annually on communication services — cellular, landline, cable and Internet — and purchases at office supply stores; 2% cash back on the first $25,000 annually at gas stations and restaurants; and 1% cash back on everything else. Read the Nerds’ full review of the Ink Cash® Business Credit Card for more information.
Is the U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card right for you?
The U.S. Bank Business Edge™ Cash Rewards Card will work for you if you don’t want to pay an annual fee, you want unlimited cash back and have excellent credit. The smaller sign-up bonus is augmented by the annual 25% bonus, up to $250, which you’ll be earning long after the sign-up bonus is history. Other business cards offer higher cash back percentages in more categories, though, so you may want to shop around before choosing the best cash back card for your business.
Ellen Cannon is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: ecannon@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @ellencannon.
Image via iStock.
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