Being a new entrepreneur can often be hard on your finances, balancing your own money with that of the business. A lot of times entrepreneurs get the help of the right credit card to give both their own and their company’s finances a boost.
Looking for a way to cut costs through business rewards credit card could be a good solution, but only if you get the right card.
Picking out a credit card for your business is a little trickier than ordering a paper supply for your office. While there are plenty of credit cards for entrepreneurs on the market designed to help their business grow and prosper, there are just as many cards disguised to help but only serve to squeeze entrepreneurs of their money.
First, decide on what you spend on the most as an entrepreneur. If your business is international or regional, you will probably spend a bit on travelling every other month. For those entrepreneurs who are more focused on sales and marketing, spending a bit more on client entertainment may make sense.
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you are in, or what you spend on the most, there is a card out there to help you cut down on expenses and also keep tabs on your finances. Take your time, investigate a little and make sure that you get the credit cards that will serve you the best.
Selecting the right credit card and financial products is just the beginning but will do great favours for every entrepreneur in the long run. Here are some factors to consider:
1. For the jet-setting entrepreneur
Being an entrepreneur, travelling becomes a part of acquiring business opportunities, creating networks and expanding your business. If you are a jet-setter, getting the right card can not only help you earn some air miles for your travel spending, it also acts as a back-up for you if you run out of cash in a foreign country.
Some of the criteria you need to consider when getting a travel credit card are:
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Earning points
Find out how much you need to spend to earn air miles on the card. For example, spending over RM1,000 on a flight ticket to Manila, Philippines on Malaysia Airlines, you stand to earn about 333 WorldMiles from the Standard Chartered WorldMiles credit card.
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Redeem points
Check the conversion rate of the credit card’s points to the frequent flyer programme of your choice. You need to have about 3,500 points to convert to 1,000 air miles, depending on the card.
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Travel insurance
The good thing about purchasing air tickets using the right travel credit card is the free travel insurance you will get. A lot of people overlook this part of travelling, but if you are going for an important meeting overseas, a delay in your flight can cost you money.
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Other perks
Spending most of your time in airports waiting for flight can be tiresome, which is why having the right card can help you. Certain credit cards allow you access to premier lounge at the airport, and also discounted rates for car rental. These are all good perks for frequent traveller to shave off some of their travelling expenses.
One of the cards in the market that offer good travel features for travelling entrepreneurs is the Mach Signature Credit Card:
- Get 1,000 Malaysian Airlines Enrich Miles for every RM3,000 local spending and RM2,000 overseas spending.
- Enjoy 6 months 0% interest on overseas transactions.
- Two Plaza Premium Lounge passes for the first year.
- Enjoy preferential foreign exchange rates when purchasing currencies from Hong Leong Bank Bureau de Change.
- Enjoy complimentary travel accident and inconvenience insurance coverage of up to RM1.5 million.
- Access to Visa and CIT travel desks for concierge service and personalised travel packages.
2. From dining table to profit
Entertainment cost is no stranger to any entrepreneur. Before you even begin your business, you are required to wine and dine certain clients to network and in a lot of cases, sell.
In addition to that, spending on client entertainment is important to show appreciation and maintain a good relationship with your clients to ensure business continuity.
What are some of the features you should look for when picking the right card to fit this usage?
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Cash back or points?
This really depends on your preference. Do you prefer to get rebates on your monthly credit card bill, or do you like to accumulate reward points to redeem items that are too expensive to purchase? It pays to check out what are the redeemable items on the catalogue before you decide on a reward points credit card. However, generally, cash back works better for entrepreneurs as it directly helps them to save and cut down on expenses.
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Participating merchants
Dining or entertainment cards are great to save money through discounts or even perks like free dessert or a buy-one-free-one deals. However, always check if the merchants — restaurants, bars or cafes — are the ones near you or you go to often.
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Monthly cap on cash back
Most cards have a cap on monthly cash back. No matter how high the percentage of cash back the card offers, you will be limited by this cap. It’s important to check the cap if you want to know whether the 10% cash back will mean anything to you. Spending RM5,000 a month does not equate to RM500 rebate at the end of the day.
The credit card that offers the widest array of perks and discounts with the largest list of merchants will win this category. One card that offers great cash back and high monthly cap is the HSBC Amanah MPower Visa Platinum Credit Card-i.
- 8% weekend cash back on all local dining spending if total spending is RM2,001 and above per month
- 5% weekend cash back on all local dining spending if total spending is RM2,000 and below
- 1% cash back on overseas spending and 0.3% on local spending every month.
- RM500,000 Travel Accident Takaful when you purchase any travel fares.
- Monthly cash back limit: RM100
