How To Use Credit Cards To Save On Business Travel

Business travel can be very expensive, but there are ways to save — and one of the most effective tools for saving money is a credit card. The right card can save business travelers both time and money, while offering valuable travel rewards and cash back. Premium travel rewards cards can also go a long way toward improving the travel experience by offering travelers upgraded airline seats and free hotel rooms, as well as access to airport business lounges.

Here are a few things you can do to save money on business travel — while adding comfort and convenience — using a credit card.

Use your card to save on hotels

When paying for a hotel stay, one of the most effective ways to save money is to use a credit card that’s offered by the hotel chain. Hotel rewards cards allow you to save money in several ways. First, they will feature bonus cash back for hotel charges, which can later be redeemed for free night stays. Additionally, a hotel rewards card can offer you credit toward elite status in the hotel loyalty program. And when you hold that status, you’ll enjoy perks like priority customer service, room upgrades and even waived fees.

For example, the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card* from Chase offers the cardholder (and up to five employees) Discoverist status, as well as five qualifying night stays for every $10,000 you spend in a calendar year. Cardholders also receive 10 percent of their redeemed points back (on up to 200,000 points redeemed) as bonus points for the remainder of the calendar year. And since you get employee cards at no cost, their spending counts toward the $50,000 requirement.

Discoverists receive extra points and perks like free bottled water and 2 p.m. late checkouts. And when travelers receive top-tier Globalist status, perks include free breakfast, suite upgrades and free parking on award nights. Cardholders also get access to Hyatt Leverage, Hyatt’s global business travel program that offers special rates on participating Hyatt hotels worldwide — saving you up to $350 per year.

Save on flights with a companion pass

When you’re traveling with a colleague, nothing saves money like receiving two tickets for the price of one. Thankfully, several airline credit cards offer companion passes. For instance, the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card from Bank of America offers a $99 companion fare each year on your account anniversary.

Better yet, the British Airways Visa Signature® Card* from Chase features a Travel Together Ticket that you can earn after spending $30,000 in purchases in a calendar year. This gives you two airline award tickets for just the price of taxes and fees. Just note that British Airways has a habit of imposing notoriously high carrier surcharges, especially on its awards in business in first class.

But perhaps the best companion pass is the one offered by Southwest Airlines, which is normally achieved by earning 135,000 points in a calendar year. However, holders of a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card from Chase only need to earn 125,000 points. Furthermore, you can earn qualifying points from the new account bonus and from credit card spending, as well as from flights. Once earned, the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass offers unlimited tickets for your designated companion for just the price of taxes, normally $5,60 each way within the United States.

Get free expedited security

Many business travelers are forced to waste incredible amounts of time going through airport security. But with the right credit card, you and your employees can be reimbursed for expedited security program memberships. Many credit cards now include reimbursements for TSA PreCheck and Global Entry, which includes TSA PreCheck. Having TSA PreCheck allows you to go through an expedited security screening where you can leave your shoes on and your liquids and laptops in your suitcase. Having Global Entry offers expedited immigration screening when you arrive in the United States.

Some credit cards that feature an up to $100 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry include the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. In fact, the TSA maintains a list of all cards that offer this free credit.

Several credit cards also offer free or discounted Clear membership. Clear is a private company that authenticates your identity using biometrics, before escorting you to the front of the TSA lines, either PreCheck or standard. For example, The Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Green Card* offer up to $189 in credits for Clear membership.

If you’re wondering which program would work best for you, here’s our comparison of TSA PreCheck vs. Clear.

Get free business lounge membership

Another way that travelers waste time and money is when they have a layover or an airport delay. Airport food is generally expensive and of inconsistent quality while sitting around a crowded departure gate can be a waste of productive time. But if you have an airport business lounge membership, then you can enjoy a free meal while having a less hectic place to get work done.

Several cards offer airport lounge access. The American Express Platinum offers access to the Centurion Lounges, Delta SkyClubs and the Priority Pass Select lounge network. The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card also offers a Priority Pass Select lounge membership, as well as access to its new and expanding list of Capital One lounges.

Alternatively, you could consider an airline co-branded card. For example, the American Express Delta SkyMiles Reserve card offers access to the Centurion Lounges and the Delta SkyClubs and the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card offers access to American Airlines Admirals club lounges.

Earn elite status with an airline

Having elite status with an airline frequent flier program can be extremely valuable, and traditionally the only way to earn that was by actually purchasing airfare and then flying. However, airlines are increasingly offering elite status, in whole or in part, through credit card spending.

For example, the American Airlines AAdvantage rewards program allows you to earn any level of elite status simply through spending on its co-branded credit cards. For 2023, the JetBlue TrueBlue program is offering a chance to earn all four levels of its newly revised Mosaic elite status for a combination of credit card spending and flying. The United Quest℠ Card from Chase allows you to earn 500 Premier Qualifying points (PQPs) for every $12,000 you spend on purchases with your Quest Card, up to 6,000 PQP in a calendar year, that can be applied toward your Premier status qualification on United MileagePlus, up to the Premier 1K level.

How to turn business rewards into personal travel

One of the beauties of earning travel rewards is that they are retained by the credit card’s primary account holder. So if you are a small business owner, you receive ownership of all of the points and miles that you earn from your credit cards, including any rewards earned by authorized users of your cards. Likewise, you also earn rewards for anything you charge to your personal credit cards for company travel that your employer reimburses.

This means that you get to keep all the rewards earned by your credit cards, and there’s nothing that says you must use those rewards for business. Therefore, it’s advantageous for small business owners to use cash for tax-deductible business expenses, while redeeming their travel rewards for personal travel.

The bottom line

The key to saving both time and money on your business travel is understanding and maximizing the potential of your credit cards, including their travel benefits. By using the right credit card for your needs you can enjoy more productive business trips while earning points and miles toward your next vacation.

*All information about the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, British Airways Visa Signature® Credit Card and American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.