Business credit cards in Canada

The four lists below group the business and corporate credit and charge cards in this site’s card data by type, each sorted by annual fee, with what the cards earn. After them come the issuers’ terms on who can apply, who repays the balance, what additional cards cost and what the agreements say about personal spending. Welcome offers are not part of the lists; see how welcome offers work.

Business credit cards by type

RBC describes a business credit card as one that works like a personal card but is meant for businesses to use. Each list below holds one group of cards, ordered by annual fee; the no-fee list repeats cards from the other three.

Business cash back cards

These business cards pay cash back.

Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

RBC pairs this card’s no annual fee with cash back on purchases. The rate in the entry is the one that applies after the card’s introductory period; RBC’s page sets a different rate for purchases made in the first three months, which the offer line points to. How liability works on RBC’s business cards is in the liability table below.

TD’s pages for its Business Cash Back, Business Select Rate and Business Travel cards say changes are coming to those cards; the details are on TD’s site.

Business travel and points cards

These business cards earn points, or airline or hotel rewards, instead of cash back.

Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

BMO lists this card as its travel rewards business card with no annual fee. Its higher rate covers three kinds of spending: gas, office supplies, and cellphone and internet bill payments. Its World Elite version, which has an annual fee and its own rates, is a separate row in the table above.

No-fee business cards

These business cards, all from the lists on this page, can be held with no annual fee.

A dash means this table shows no figure for that card. Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

Low-rate and corporate cards

These business cards are not in the cash back or points lists above. For some of them, the name the issuer gives the card includes the word “Corporate”.

A dash means this table shows no figure for that card. Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

CIBC presents this card on its interest rate and on having no annual fee. CIBC places it with its personal liability cards, the group it bases mainly on the applicant’s own finances.

Who can apply for a business card, and who is liable for it?

A business card agreement says who repays the balance, and the wording differs between issuers; the table below shows what each card’s provider states. RBC’s agreement makes the business that applied and each owner who signs liable together for all debt on the account, unless RBC’s Liability Waiver Program applies to the card, while the CIBC agreement for its business liability cards makes only the business liable.

CIBC sorts its business cards into two groups. Its personal liability cards are based mainly on the applicant’s personal finances and suited, CIBC says, to newer and smaller businesses; its business liability cards are based mainly on the business’s own finances and suited to older and larger ones.

On the kinds of business the agreements name, the American Express agreement for its Business Gold Rewards and Business Platinum cards, and TD’s agreement for its Business Cash Back Visa, each name a sole proprietor as one kind of business that can be liable on the account. BMO’s page for its CashBack Business Mastercard says a sole proprietorship can apply, and CIBC lists sole proprietorship among the structures suitable for its personal liability cards.

Responsibility for the balance, card by card, with the provider’s eligibility statement where the table shows one:

A dash means this table shows no figure for that card. Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

Employee cards and spending controls

RBC notes that many business card programs let the business issue cards to its employees. Additional and employee card fees, for these cards:

Welcome offers, first-year fee waivers and fee rebates tied to a bank account, banking package, profession or another card are not included.

Whether an employee who holds one of these cards is also responsible for its balance depends on the agreement. TD’s agreement for its Business Cash Back Visa makes the cardholder liable together with the business and the individual borrowers. RBC’s says a cardholder who is not an owner is not responsible, and CIBC’s personal liability agreement requires only the primary cardholder and the business to repay. Under the American Express agreement, the cardmember and the company are liable for charges on supplementary cards as well.

Controls for the cards a business hands out, as these card pages describe them:

• RBC Avion Visa Infinite Business: RBC's card page says Visa Spend Clarity for Business is an expense management tool, available on desktop and mobile, with which you can control employee card spend.
• National Bank Corporate Mastercard: National Bank's page for this card says restrictions on card usage can be set by group of merchants, merchant category code, specific merchant, transaction amount, credit limit (daily, weekly, monthly), number of transactions (daily, weekly, monthly) and days and times of use.

In general terms, RBC says that a card program with reporting and controls lets the owner track employees’ spending and set limits.

Can you use a business credit card for personal spending?

What these business card agreements say about the purpose of the account (CIBC has separate personal liability and business liability agreements):

• American Express Business Gold Rewards Card: American Express's cardmember agreement for this card says the cardmember acknowledges the agreement is entered into for business purposes, and that the cardmember and the company are responsible for all use of the account.
• TD Business Cash Back Visa Card: TD's business card agreement for this card says the cardholder agrees to use the card or the account for business purposes and not for personal, family or household purposes.
• CIBC bizline Visa Card: CIBC's business credit card agreement for this card says the account may only be used for business purposes.
• CIBC Corporate Classic Plus Visa Card: CIBC's business liability credit card agreement for this card says the credit card account may only be used for business purposes and as permitted by the business.
• Scotia Momentum for Business Visa Card: Scotiabank's Revolving Credit Agreement says that for its business credit card accounts the account will only be used for business purposes.
• BMO CashBack Business Mastercard: BMO's Business Mastercard Cardholder Agreement says cardholders may use the account only for business, commercial or organizational purposes, and not for personal, family or household purposes.

RBC says a dedicated business card lets an owner keep business and personal expenses apart, which it says helps with managing business expenses.

Business card records and tax

For claiming business expenses and the records behind them, see self-employed taxes. For the account a business pays its card from, see business bank accounts.

How this list works

The lists hold the business cards in this site’s card data, grouped by type and sorted by annual fee; cards with the same fee keep the data’s order. The yearly value figure that other rankings compute rests on an assumed household spending pattern, which this page does not use for businesses, so the lists here carry the fee order alone. Welcome offers are left out. The method behind the computed rankings is on how we rank cards.

Related pages

• How to choose a credit card: the steps and the card types.
• Best credit cards in Canada: personal cards, for an owner weighing a personal card against the ones here.
• Best cash back credit cards: personal cash back cards, ranked by yearly value at an assumed spending pattern.
• Best Aeroplan credit cards: the personal Aeroplan cards, next to the Aeroplan business cards in the travel list.
• Credit card rewards: how points programs and welcome offers work.
• Business bank accounts: the account side of business banking.
• Self-employed taxes: business expenses and records for the self-employed.