By Mario C Churchill
A credit card may well be today's currency of choice. Instead of carrying around wads of cash, a housewife can bring her credit card to the supermarket and buy all the things she needs for the week. Instead of walking around late at night, and bar hopping with a bulging wallet, young men and women can simply bring their credit cards and charge their drinks and food to their credit accounts. Instead of traveling on long-haul international trips with a briefcase of cash, businesspersons can bring a credit card and use it to buy supplies or to pay for emergency fees.
A credit card, however, will have its own disadvantages. If a person does not know his or her spending habits, he or she can spend endlessly using the credit card, and beyond his or her means to pay the debt. Some credit cards will also have their own incentives, such as points or rebates for a specific amount purchased – a move that actually forces people to charge more to their credit cards, and thus spend more. There is also the problem of credit card fraud, which runs rampant both offline and online, and which can cost the innocent consumer thousands of dollars each year in settlements.
All these advantages and disadvantages come into play when business credit cards are considered. Business credit cards are simply company credit cards that employees can use if they have to buy office-related supplies and materials. In the past, cash advances had to be requested by filing documents and waiting for them to be approved. Today, credit cards can get past the bureaucracy, so that all that an employee has to do is present the receipt for the purchase made.
Business credit card offers are unique in that they contain even more incentives than ordinary credit cards. Well-established businesses will be given even higher credit limits, as it is expected that they will not only have more purchases to make, but such businesses also have the means to pay their debts off. If you are looking at business credit card offers, take note of the credit limit – but most importantly, take note of the interest rates you might have to pay on overdue bills.
As credit limits are high, so are interest rates on overdue bills, especially for business credit cards. If you are not sure about your company's ability to pay off potentially large debts, you can negotiate for lower interest rate, lower credit limit business credit cards. These can help curb your employees' enthusiasm in charging everything to the credit card.
Business credit card incentives are also more generous, provided that your business is well-established, or has a good credit history. For instance, some credit cards offer airline miles for a specific amount purchased, which is important if you or your employees travel a lot for business trips. Other credit cards companies even give free airline miles to new business credit card applicants! Other incentives can include discounts on purchases made at partner stores, which will usually provide office supplies; and rebates on gas purchases, which can be great for employees that drive for cross-country business trips.
There are many other incentives possible for business credit cards. Choose carefully what incentives you want, as you might be forced to spend more and charge more for an incentive that you can get cheaper elsewhere. Moreover, set rules and regulations for the use of the business credit card, and make sure that these rules and regulations are followed strictly. Business credit cards, like other credit cards, should be controlled by their users, and not the other way around.
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. Checkout his information on credit card offers or business and college student cre
Source:www.isnare.com |
