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May 20, 2019

Review: The Associated Bank Business Credit Cards

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Fora Financial

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Associated Bank offers four business credit card options, the Visa Business Cash,  Visa Business Bonus Rewards, Visa Business Bonus Rewards PLUS, and Visa Business credit cards. Each of these cards has a variety of benefits and drawbacks, which we’ll review in this post to help you determine if any of them are right for your business.

Everything You Need to Know About Associated Bank Business Credit Card:

Associated Bank Business Credit Card Common Features:

Each one of these cards comes with free employee cards with limits on credit and cash access set by the account owner. They also all feature the Associated Bank’s expense management tool called ScoreBoard and provide liability protection for fraudulent use. Upon application, each card has a $25,000 limit unless you provide two years of financial information and there’s no minimum time-in-business requirement.

What are the Penalties and Fees of These Cards?

All of these cards except the Business Rewards PLUS don’t have an annual fee. For all four cards, fees for balance transfers are the greater of 3 percent of each transfer and $5, and fees for cash advances are the greater of 4 percent of the advance and $10. Each card also has a penalty APR of 29.49 percent. Associated-Bank-In-Text-Image

What are the Perks of Associated Bank Business Credit Cards?

Except for the Visa Business card, each of these Associated Bank cards come with a variety of ongoing rewards. The Visa Business card offers no rewards, but it does come with a low introductory rate which may help you save on interest and pay down existing balances. With the Reward PLUS card, you’ll receive 5000 points — equal to $50 cash back — with your first purchase. In addition, if you spend $2000 in the first 3 months of opening your account, you’ll earn 20,000 rewards points. You’ll also earn a point for each dollar you spend, plus a 50 percent monthly bonus on all points earned within the month. Finally, you also earn 3 points on each dollar you spend the most on airlines, hotels, or cell phone service. With the Business Real Rewards card, you’ll receive 2500 points with your first purchase, 1.5 points for every dollar you spend on qualified purchases, and 1 point per dollar for all other purchases. The Visa Business Cash credit card’s rewards are more cash-focused with the following perks:
  • 3 percent cash back on purchases from office supply stores, phone, and TV services.
  • 2 percent cash back on restaurant and gasoline purchases.
  • 1 percent cash back on all other purchases.
In addition to the cash back rewards, you’ll also get $25 cash back after your first purchase with the Visa Business Cash card.

How to Choose the Right Associated Bank Business Card:

Like most financial decisions, choosing which of these cards to apply for depends on which rewards and fee structures you will benefit from the most.  For example, if you spend a lot of money each month on hotels, airlines, or cell service, the Rewards PLUS card may be a good fit since you’ll triple your rewards. Still, the rewards you receive will have to justify the $99 annual fee for the Rewards PLUS card to make financial sense. The VISA Business Real Rewards card is a bit more flexible with its rewards which makes it a good fit if you have a wide variety of expense types. In any case, the key to choosing the card that’s best for you is to understand your spending patterns and the rewards of each card so you can choose whichever card benefits you the most.

Conclusion: Are Associated Bank Business Credit Cards Right for You?

Ultimately, if you understand the features, perks, and fees associated with these cards, you can’t go wrong with any of them. The Rewards PLUS card is the only one with an annual fee, but that only kicks in after the first year, so you can always decide to cancel the card if you find that the fee isn’t worth the rewards. Still, unless you’re set on an Associated Bank Business credit card, you should research other credit card options just to make sure there’s nothing that serves your needs better.