U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card review: A good intro APR to finance business expenses

If you want a business card in the U.S. Bank family, the U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Credit Card is tough to beat. Business owners can get excellent upfront value from this no-annual-fee card with a solid welcome offer and bonus reward categories in many commonly used business categories. 

While the Triple Cash comes with an intro APR on purchases for a shorter timeframe than the Business Platinum, you can stack rewards and the welcome bonus on top of it. Although the intro APR term on purchases with the Business Platinum is longer, the added value of the Triple Cash’s rewards and welcome bonus should provide significantly better value and is worth keeping long-term.

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is one of the market's top no-annual-fee business card options. It’s straightforward, offering a flat 2X points reward rate on all purchases (up to $50,000 annually, then 1X points. Terms and limitations apply). You can also get a modest welcome offer and the ability to combine your points with other Membership Rewards-earning American Express cards. Membership Rewards points are flexible and worth around 2.0 cents per point with the right Amex transfer partner, according to Bankrate’s valuations.

The Business Platinum provides a longer intro APR on purchases than the Blue Business Plus. Still, the added value from the Blue Business Plus’s rewards and transferability should make up for the shorter term it offers.

The U.S. Bank Business Platinum card offers value to startup and small-business owners by allowing them to finance startup costs and other significant expenses for a lengthy introductory term, giving them breathing room to help their business grow.

Businesses that want to increase their spending to expand their business can take advantage of this card’s lengthy intro APR on purchases to give them more purchasing power for growing expenses.

The best business cards offer rewards in key business spending categories, so a primary factor in a business card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a business card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average small-business owner’s spending habits. In other words, we assess whether the card earns rewards at a high rate in the most popular business spending categories. 

We researched 10 key business spending categories including dining, gas, office supplies, travel, telecommunications, insurance and more to get a sense of the average small-business owner’s spending habits. We assumed an average annual spend of around $40,000 per year based on Bankrate survey data. 

Using this data, we are able to assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your business purchases — as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other business cards, factoring in the card’s annual fee.

The better these values, the higher its score will be, making it more worthy of inclusion in our list and increasing its potential ranking.

We also score business cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each business card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other business cards. This is because an intro APR on new purchases or balance transfers can be a lifesaver if you need to pay down debt, finance a large business purchase or free up cash flow. 

While intro APRs are not uncommon on business cards, they aren’t a given, so cards that offer this sort of payment flexibility will score higher in our card rating system.

Even more important to both a card’s score and its inclusion in our list, however, is how its annual fee influences its overall value. We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. 

Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value. However, if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score and a spot in our list even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against those of other cards in the category when you subtract annual fees.

We rate each business card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on only a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you opt for some redemption options over others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to travel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. Top-tier perks include benefits like airport lounge access, travel credits, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs.

We give extra weight to perks especially useful or valuable for small-business owners, like being able to qualify with no personal guarantee, digital advertising credits, free employee cards and accounting perks.

To have a good chance of approval, you’ll need good credit or better, which means a FICO Score of 670 or higher or a VantageScore of 661 or higher.

Opening a business credit card doesn’t affect your personal credit score and won’t show up on your credit reports. However, it may be considered as a factor in whether you get approved.

In many cases, yes, sole proprietors qualify for business credit cards. On your application, list yourself as a sole proprietor and use your Social Security number when asked for a business tax identification number. However, each issuer has specific guidelines, so you may need to submit additional documentation to get approved.