The
Sam's Club® Business Credit Card is a good credit card for business owners with good or excellent credit who belong to Sam’s Club and want to earn bonus rewards on gas, dining and Sam’s Club purchases. It has a
$0 annual fee and rewards you with
1 - 5% cash back, depending on what you buy and how much you spend.
This card does have its share of downsides, though. For one thing, it does not have a low APR, even temporarily. Plus, you can’t earn more than $5,000 in rewards per year. There’s a limit. In addition, you have to be a Sam’s Club Plus member to get the maximum rewards rate.
What I Like About the Sam's Club® Business Credit Card
$0 annual fee
Some business rewards cards charge hundreds of dollars in membership fees per year. The
Sam's Club® Business Credit Card saves you a boatload compared to those cards. It also saves you
$22.29 per year compared to the average credit card offer on the market right now.
Up to 5% back on gas
The
Sam's Club® Business Credit Card gives
5% cash back on your first $6,000 in gas purchases per year, and you can fill up wherever you want. The deal is not limited to Sam’s Club gas stations.
Once you spend $6,000 on gas, however, you will only earn 1% back in this spending category for the rest of the year. As a result, this is a great option for businesses that spend up to $500 per month on gas. But the higher your spending is above the $6,000 annual threshold, the more you’ll want to explore alternatives.
3% back on dining and Sam’s Club purchases
All cardholders earn 3% back on dining, which includes eating at restaurants as well as ordering takeout and delivery directly from restaurants. In addition, Sam’s Club Plus members earn 3% cash back on Sam’s Club purchases made with their card.
The average rewards card only gives about 1% back on all purchases. What the
Sam's Club® Business Credit Card offers on dining and club purchases is more in line with what the best credit cards for restaurants and groceries will give you.
Extra rewards on eligible Sam’s Club purchases
If you are a Sam’s Club Plus member, you can earn an extra 2% back on up to $25,000 in in-store and curbside-pickup orders per year. You can save up to $500 per year this way. You don’t need a Sam’s Club credit card to get this perk, however.
Works anywhere Mastercard is accepted
The
Sam's Club® Business Credit Card can be used pretty much anywhere credit cards are accepted. You’re not limited to Sam’s Club and Walmart, as is the case with the
Sam's Club® Business Store Card.
No foreign transaction fee
You can earn Sam’s Club savings all over the world with this credit card, and it doesn’t have a foreign transaction fee to counteract your savings. Many other credit cards charge a fee equal to 3% of all purchases made through internationally based merchants, whether you’re physically abroad or not.
$30 initial bonus
If you charge at least
$30 to this card within
30 days of opening the account, you will earn
$30 in bonus rewards. The rewards will be credited to your account within 90 days of meeting the spending threshold.
This is by no means a big initial bonus, but it can be very good on a percent-return basis. The bonus can be equal to the spending requirement, which is not common.
What I Don’t Like About the Sam's Club® Business Credit Card
$5,000 annual rewards limit
Most credit cards these days do not limit the total amount that you can earn in rewards. The
Sam's Club® Business Credit Card is unique in that regard. This is not a good distinction, though. Rather, it’s a reason not to apply if you’re a really big spender.
Thankfully, you’re probably not going to flirt with the annual limit unless you spend around $170,000 in a year.
High APR
Many credit cards for people with good or excellent credit offer 0% introductory APRs to help applicants avoid finance charges, at least temporarily. The
Sam's Club® Business Credit Card is not among them. It only offers a regular APR of
20.9% to 28.9% (V), depending on your overall creditworthiness when you apply. That does not compare favorably to the average APR among credit cards for people with excellent credit (
18.04%).
Lower rewards rate for Club members
If you’re only a “Club” member at Sam’s Club, you will only earn a fraction of the rewards on Sam’s Club purchases that “Plus” members get. You should therefore think twice about either upgrading to Plus or applying for a different card. A Plus membership costs $110 per year.
Good personal credit needed
Like with most other small business credit cards, your personal credit score and income matter more than the business equivalents when you’re applying for the
Sam's Club® Business Credit Card. As a result, you will need a
700+ credit score for good approval odds. You can check your credit score for free right here on WalletHub.