6 Best Business Credit Cards for Consultants in 2026 (Powered by Data-Driven Research)

We want to bring you expert business credit card recommendations, which is why we conducted one of the most in-depth business credit card comparisons online, as far as we know.

How? We looked at the business checking account spend of consultants falling under the industry of engineering and management services, which featured almost $9 million in spend.

Then, we compared that spend to the category rewards offered by the major branded business credit cards in the US.

Here are the 6 best business credit cards for consultants based on our research.

Best Business Credit Cards for Consultants Compared

1. Wells Fargo Signify Business Cash
2. FairFigure Lift Card
3. American Express Blue Business Plus
4. American Express Business Gold
5. Chase Ink Unlimited
6. Capital One Spark Cash Select

Why Flat Rate Cards Beat Category-Spend Cards for Consultants

Consultants, which fall under the category of engineering and management services, spend around $8.8 million within a few months.

Of this $8.8 million, we’ve found that around 41% of spend goes to professional services, while 13.7% goes to business services. Around 55% of spend doesn’t get you much more than 1x points on most category-spend cards.

In fact, breaking it down, here’s what you might expect to get back as a consultant on some of the different cards out there:

• Amex Gold: 1.38% back
• U.S. Bank Triple Cash: 1.26% back
• Chase Ink Cash: 1.22% back

But what about popular recommendations for business owners, such as the Amex Business Platinum or the Chase Sapphire Reserve cards? These are constantly being pushed, but they actually have the lowest rewards.

Consultants will only earn around 1.02% and 1.13%, respectively. These cards are only a good choice for those who are constantly flying.

Flat rate cards, be it a 1.5% cash back card or a 2% cash back card, are going to be a much better choice for most consultants.

Best Business Credit Cards for Consultants Compared

1. Wells Fargo Signify Business Cash: Best for Rewards

The Wells Fargo Signify Business Cash card is the best business credit card for consultants when you’re prioritizing rewards.

Unlike other business credit cards, the Wells Fargo Signify Business Cash card offers unlimited 2% cash rewards. This means that there are no caps or category restrictions, and your rewards are always available to you so long as your account is open.

There are other perks with the Wells Fargo Signify Business Cash Card. When you become a card member, you receive:

• 0% introductory APR for 12 months. Then, 16.99% to 24.99% variable APR based on creditworthiness.
• No annual fee.
• An extra $500 if you spend at least $5,000 in the first three months after account opening.
• Free employee cards with spend management features for business owners.
• Travel features, such as lounge benefits and insurance with your card.

Even if you’re spending as little as $5,000 a month in business expenses, you’re getting at least $1,200 back annually. The Wells Fargo Signify is going to give you the most savings when your business expenses don’t work for category-spend cards.

2. FairFigure Lift Card: Best for Bad Credit/Building Business Credit

Getting your foot in the door can be the most challenging part of being funded. For consultants with bad credit, the FairFigure Lift Card is a top choice to get them started.

The FairFigure Lift Card is not an EIN-only business credit card, but a business card alternative.

It only looks at your time in business and revenue rather than your personal credit. As long as you’ve been around for at least three months and bring in $2,500 monthly, you would qualify.

There’s no personal credit check, no personal guarantee, no paperwork, and no deposit required. If you’ve been in the market for business credit cards with no personal credit check or startup business credit cards with no credit EIN only, this is the card for you.

More than that, it comes with business credit-building benefits. Your FairFigure Lift Card payments get reported to the following business credit bureaus: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax Business, Experian Business, Creditsafe, and the SBFE.

Payback terms are flexible; you get your choice between four-week and eight-week payback terms. As you start earning more, you can unlock more funding to bolster your cash flow.

If you want comprehensive business credit monitoring tools and other features, you can sign up for FairFigure Premium. It only costs $35/month, and it gets you another tradeline to help you build business credit faster.

3. American Express Blue Business Plus: Best for Travel

If you’re looking for a card that rewards you in the form of travel points, then the American Express Blue Business Plus business credit card is the one to apply for.

The Amex Blue Business Plus card offers 2x Membership Rewards on all spend, up to $50,000 per year. Once you reach that threshold, you then get 1x points on all other purchases until next year.

This business card offers 15,000 Membership Rewards if you spend at least $3,000 within three months of card membership.

You also get an additional 2x points on every eligible purchase on AmexTravel.com. This doesn’t count toward the $50,000 cap.

There’s no annual fee for this business credit card.

You can transfer your points to airline partners, which can often get you more than 2¢ per point.

If you’re looking for other ways to use your points, you can redeem them for:

• Hotels
• Gift cards
• Statement credit
• Participating partners (Best Buy, GrubHub, Amazon)

If you’re approved, you get 0% introductory APR for the first 12 months. Then, 16.99% to 28.74% variable APR after. If you need to spend more than your credit limit for any reason, you can take advantage of Amex’s Expanded Buying Power perk.

Check out our other credit card industry articles here: Business Credit Cards for Sole Proprietors, Law Firms, Restaurants, Ecommerce, Construction, Real Estate Agents, and Retail Stores.

4. American Express Business Gold: Best for High Advertising and Spend

Finding the right business card is all about strategy. The American Express Business Gold business card can be the right card for some consultants, but there are conditions.

In order to get the most out of the American Express Business Gold Card, you’ll need to make sure that:

• Your advertising and dining spend concentrates on the 4x top-two categories for the card. If you’re not spending that much on either, this card won’t be worth it. Keep in mind that you only get 4x points up to $150,000 each year.
• You redeem your points for travel rewards. This is going to help you maximize the benefits of the card.
• Your spend clears the $375 annual fee. If it doesn’t, then the annual fee is going to eat into your rewards.

It’s the best of the category cards so long as the above is true for you.

What else can you look forward to? The Amex Business Gold business credit card offers:

• Up to 200,000 Membership Rewards if you spend at least $15,000 within the first three months.
• 3x points on prepaid flights and hotels booked through AmexTravel.com.
• 1x points on all other purchases.
• Up to $845 in partner credits.
• No preset spending limit. This is a charge card, but it does offer Pay - Over Time features. The variable APR for Pay Over Time ranges from 17.99% to 28.74%.
• Amex’s Apply With Confidence, which helps you see if you qualify without affecting your personal credit score.

Employee cards cost $95 for the first five. Every employee card after that costs $95, up to 99 cards.

5. Chase Ink Business Preferred: Best for International Clients and Travel

The Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card is a solid business credit card if you’re a consultant with international clients or travel needs.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred card offers 3x points per $1 up to $150,000 per year for the following categories:

• Shipping purchases
• Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
• Internet, cable and phone services
• Travel

When you hit the limit, or if your business expenses fall outside of this category, you’re getting unlimited 1x points with this business card.

Other highlights of this business credit card include:

• No foreign transaction fees. While the Signify Business Cash card is the best overall, a foreign transaction fee of 3% or higher counteracts your rewards. This makes it the best credit card for expenses outside of the U.S.
• 100,000 bonus points if you spend at least $8,000 in the first three months after getting card membership.
• 5X total points on Lyft rides through September 30, 2027.
• Complimentary access to DashPass through December 31, 2027. Plus, up to $10 a month on grocery and retail DoorDash orders.
• Up to 200,000 points per year for each successful Chase business credit card referral to business owners (40,000 points each).

This card does come with an annual fee of $95, and you will be paying 17.74% to 26.74% variable APR upon account opening.

6. Capital One Spark Cash Select: Best for International Clients or Travel With Rewards

Another option if you want a cash back card without a foreign transaction fee is the Capital One Spark Cash Select card.

This business credit card also offers unlimited 1.5% cash back. You can earn an additional unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel.

The intro APR promo is a bit shorter on this one, but you still get 0% APR for 9 months. After that, you’ll get 16.74% to 26.74% variable APR.

Some other features of this business credit card include:

• No annual fee.
• A $750 cash bonus if you spend at least $6,000 in the first three months after getting card membership.
• Redeem cash rewards at any time at any amount, so long as your account remains open.
• Free employee cards with built-in spend limits.
• Travel perks.

Methodology

The above recommendations are a result of our study featuring internal data from 5,769 customers, spanning 75 industries and 506,801 transactions. This data was recorded between May 30, 2026, and August 25, 2026.