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Most small business owners want to find a credit card that offers valuable perks to help their business and good spending bonuses. Some business owners may have already racked up a solid amount of credit card debt and need a card that will allow them to pay that debt off over time while avoiding interest. This kind of credit card is typically known as a balance transfer card, which is the category that the U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card falls under.
This card offers no rewards or one-time offers. That means that this card could be helpful for those who need to transfer a large balance from another card or for those who need to make a very large purchase. In both cases, the U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card allows you to avoid paying interest for many months as you pay down your balance.
The Business Platinum Card doesn’t charge an annual fee. If you don’t need to make a large balance transfer or make a large purchase to be paid off over the course of several months, then you shouldn’t go with the Business Platinum Card. There are plenty of other no-annual-fee business cards for “good” or “excellent” credit that offer rewards in the form of cash back or transferable rewards points. If you can get a card that rewards you for your spending, why wouldn’t you?
So, while the Business Platinum Card from U.S. Bank is only an attractive option to people in a very particular scenario, we’re going to cover all of the different aspects of this card to help you decide whether or not the U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card is right for your business.
| Pros | Cons |
| No annual fee | No rewards |
| Free employee cards | No welcome bonus |
| Charges foreign transaction fee | |
| Requires good to excellent credit |
U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card Benefits
The U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card is pretty straightforward in terms of its function and benefits. While this card offers no rewards or welcome bonus, it does offer the opportunity to pay off a large balance over 18 months without paying interest (regardless of whether that balance was accrued via a purchase or a balance transfer).
No Annual Fee
The U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card won’t charge an annual fee for as long as you keep the account open. Considering that this card is primarily intended for balance transfers, the fact that you don’t have to pay an annual fee is pretty helpful. For instance, you can make your balance transfer and then pay your balance off over the 18-month intro APR period. Then, once that 18-month period is up, you can keep your Business Platinum Card open without paying any annual fee, even if you only use your card once every six months or so.
Closing a credit card typically has a negative effect on your credit score, as it can change your credit utilization ratio as well as the length of your credit history, so you’ll want to keep your U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card open even after the 18-month intro APR period is over. However, once this period is over, you’ll probably want to do most of your spending on a card that earns rewards. Luckily, you can keep your Business Platinum Card open (thus leaving your credit score unaffected) without paying an annual fee.
Free Employee Cards
With the U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card, you can get employee cards at no additional cost. So, your employees can make purchases on behalf of your business without having to borrow your credit card.
If you want to add an employee card, you’ll need to log in to your U.S. Bank account either through their website or their mobile app. Then, you’ll need to select “Custom service” from the top of the page followed by the “Self service” option. After that, you’ll need to select “Manage Employees” and then choose which of your U.S. Bank business cards you’d like to view (if you have multiple). You’ll then need to select the “Add employee” option and fill out and submit the form that follows.
If you complete these steps, your employee will then become an authorized user on your account shortly after, and you will receive a physical card in the mail.
If you’re worried about your employees spending too much on your account, you can set different spending limits for each of your employees. The limits can be set in increments of $100 through the website or mobile app, and they’ll take effect immediately once you confirm them.
U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card Drawbacks
The U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card is a card that’s intended for balance transfers and not much else. Thus, it lacks many of the benefits that other no-annual-fee business cards have. There are even some significant drawbacks to this card that you should be aware of before you sign up.
Charges Foreign Transaction Fees
Unfortunately, if you use your U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card outside of the United States, they’ll charge you a foreign transaction fee equal to 3% of the transaction amount. This could get pretty costly for businesses that make international transactions often or for business owners who need to travel abroad often for work.
There are many business credit cards out there that don’t charge any foreign transaction fees. So, if you frequently make transactions in foreign countries, then you may want to consider one of these other cards over the Business Platinum Card.
No Rewards
Another unfortunate aspect of the Business Platinum Card from U.S. Bank is the fact that this card doesn’t offer any rewards. When spending on this card, you won’t earn any cash back, points or miles.
By contrast, there are many no-annual-fee business credit cards out there for excellent credit that offer great rewards in the form of cash back or transferable points. For example, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers 5% cash back on internet, phone and cable services and at office supply stores on up to $25,000 in combined spending annually. It also offers 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $25,000 in combined annual spending. When there are cards out there that offer such stellar rewards for no annual fee, such as the Ink Business Cash card, it’s hard to justify signing up for a card that doesn’t offer any rewards at all.
No Welcome Bonus
Another way that many credit cards offer near-instant value is by offering welcome bonuses. Typically, new cardholders will need to spend a certain amount on their card in a fixed period of time after opening the account. But, if they do so, they’ll be rewarded with a large sum of cash back or points. These welcome bonuses are a great way to get a lot of value out of a credit card quickly.
Unfortunately, the U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card is noticeably lacking a welcome bonus. This is common with most balance transfer cards, and it makes sense if you think about it. Balance transfer cards are meant for people who want to pay down their balance, not for people who want to spend even more in order to earn a welcome bonus.
Still, if you aren’t specifically looking for a balance transfer card, you should definitely look for a card that offers a welcome bonus, as welcome bonuses are a great way to rack up a lot of cash back or points quickly.
Other Cards to Consider
Depending on what you’re looking to get out of your credit card, there may be a better option out there for you than the U.S. Bank Business Platinum card. For instance, if you’re looking for long periods with no APR, there are personal cards that can offer that. Or, if you’re looking for a card that earns rewards, there are many no-annual-fee business cards out there that can offer that too.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
If you’re looking for a card to transfer a balance to, and you’re willing to work with a generous intro APR period, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees) might be your best bet. This card also doesn’t charge an annual fee and offers 2X Membership Rewards points on all purchases up to $50,000 in annual spending. On spending beyond $50,000, you’ll earn 1X Membership Rewards points.
Amex Membership Rewards points can be redeemed in a wide variety of ways. However, one of the best ways to use your Membership Rewards is to transfer them to one of Amex’s partner travel programs. Doing so often gives you access to redemptions that offer outsized value, meaning you can get far more than 1 cent per point in value out of your Membership Rewards points.
On top of that, the Amex Blue Business Plus card offers a very valuable welcome bonus for new cardmembers. The Blue Business Plus card is definitely the smarter decision for your wallet if you’re looking for better rewards.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
You may be able to get even more favorable rewards with the Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card. This card offers 3% cash back on the category of your choice and 2% cash back on dining on up to $50,000 in combined purchases per year. After that, you’ll earn 1% cash back on all purchases.
The categories that you can choose to earn 3% cash back on include gas stations, office supply stores, travel, TV, telecom and wireless services, computer services and business consulting services. So, if one of the aforementioned categories is your biggest expense, then the Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards card might be the best option for you.
Plus, if you have a checking account with Bank of America, you could earn as much as 75% more cash back on every purchase with this card. That means you’d earn up to 5.25% on your selected category, up to 3.5% on dining and 1.75% on all other purchases. Those cash back rates are pretty much unbeatable as far as no-annual-fee business credit cards go.
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a business credit card with no annual fees, the U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card may be a good option, but for most there are other business cards with no annual fees that earn better rewards.
For instance, the Blue Business Plus card from American Express charges no annual fee, has a lucrative welcome bonus and offers 2X Membership Rewards points on all purchases up to $50,000 per year. Obviously, this card provides far more value in the long-run than the U.S. Bank Business Platinum card.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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