7 ways to maximize rewards and perks on your corporate credit card

One of the most ubiquitous rewards categories offered by credit card providers is travel. By consolidating travel spending on a corporate card, businesses can quickly unlock higher tiers of perks and gain exclusive access, ensuring that business travelers are as comfortable and productive as possible. Some cards offer statement credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry applications as well as priority status, expediting the security process. Automatic elite status with hotel chains can lead to room upgrades, late check-outs, and other VIP treatment. A few even offer airline lounge access, a nice perk for frequent work travelers who desire a quiet place to work, grab a bite, or just recharge.

Brex’s points system is complemented by access to the Mastercard Luxury Hotel Program, which provides premium perks at over 2,000 properties worldwide, including complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, and early check-in or late check-out options. Brex also offers a lowest hotel rate guarantee and a hotel stay guarantee for 3-star or higher accommodations. Many cards offer travel insurance covering trip cancellations and lost luggage, and credits for travel-related expenses. Brex’s card extends protections to car rentals, with MasterRental Insurance covering damage and theft. Cardholders can also enjoy discounts and upgrades on car rentals, flights, cruises, and even private jet services. Moreover, Brex cardholders enjoy no foreign transaction fees, saving 2-3% on international purchases. For a company with $50,000 in annual international expenses, this could result in savings of up to $1,500 per year.

If there’s one thing the 2009 film “Up in the Air” gets right, it’s that people love their travel status. Hotel and airline programs help you get perks like free nights, room upgrades, priority boarding, and free flights faster and can enhance the employee experience while reducing costs. A number of corporate cards will help expedite the journey to status even faster. The Brex card can help you earn more loyalty rewards by offering higher point multipliers on travel purchases, including up to 4x points on travel booked via Brex travel. You can then redeem Brex points to airline miles to help you save on business or personal travel. We support a number of popular loyalty programs that include United, Delta, and American (restrictions may apply).

Additional benefits of a corporate card program include exclusive partner discounts, gift cards, and accelerated rewards for items you spend on for everyday business. Are you an Apple shop? Do you spend a lot with Amazon? Some card programs will offer complimentary Amazon Business Prime memberships or discounted Shopify subscriptions knowing what these services mean to their customers.

The Brex card offers more than $180,000 in partner perks, many of which directly help startups and growing businesses. These include 3x points on eligible Apple purchases through Brex, including free shipping. Other benefits include:

• Up to 30% off QuickBooks for one year

• 50% off new Dropbox Business plans for one year

• 20% off on Zoom annual plans

• 25% off 12 months of Slack

• 50% off any 12-month Gusto plan

First four months free with a one-year subscription for Microsoft 365®

You can also get company swag and discounted gift cards to reward employees for everyday excellence. But top card rewards programs can help you invest in your people and culture. Brex cards, for example, help secure executive coaching for leaders or high-potential employees, connecting you with some of the top coaches in the industry for multiple one-on-one leadership coaching sessions. Rewards can also be redeemed for mental healthcare packages through Spring Health. Additionally, Brex allows you to redeem points to organize offsites and team-building retreats for your employees. Simply fill out a few details in your Brex dashboard and we’ll connect you with our event and retreat planners for a free intake call to understand your requirements and simplify the process.

The best corporate card rewards providers understand that sometimes there are things more valuable to a brand than cash. Brex is one of those providers. One of the coolest perks of our card rewards program is that you can redeem Brex points to build your brand through discounted billboards and digital bulletins. However, such out-of-home advertising campaigns can be complex and difficult to get off the ground, which is why you also get to leverage our internal team of experts to plan, launch, and measure your campaign. You can also redeem your Brex points for digital advertising credits through Microsoft. The result: You get turnkey services that deliver more value than just cash back or statement credits.

“The Brex Billboards Rewards program is incredible. The process and work involved in successfully launching an out-of-home campaign is immense, and Brex’s team makes it a breeze. It’s one of the best corporate rewards we’ve seen from any vendor since we started Stytch.” — Reed McGinley-Stempel, Co-Founder and CEO of Stytch

Of course, some companies will always prefer cash back rewards and statement credits to reduce your overall costs. Modern card programs are strong at combining physical and virtual cards that help companies make money off their spend and improve cash flow. However, how will you really know if you’re maximizing your return? Cash or statement credit is often less than one penny per point, and searching for ways to get the maximum cashback percentage could be a full-time job. That’s why it’s important to consider the full breadth of rewards and what’s most important for the current stage you’re in. When choosing a corporate card, be sure any rewards program includes cash back as well as value-added benefits that will serve your business for the long term. Brex’s rewards program offers cash back and statement credit options in addition to so many brand-building and partner perks. If you have a Brex business bank account, you can redeem points as a statement credit on your account.

One final way credit card rewards can be redeemed is for charitable donations. Some consumer card programs allow cardholders to donate points to various charities and even offer bonus promotions for donations to specific causes. Bank of America lets users designate a charity to receive 3% cash back on a category of their choice, and Capital One enables cardholders to donate points or cash (and waive transaction fees) to more than 1 million charities. Corporate credit card programs are offering new ways to incorporate donations in similar ways and also by donating things like airline miles or hotel points to charitable causes. These programs not only provide a way for businesses to give back but can also help build a positive corporate image and kickstart companywide philanthropic initiatives.

When evaluating a corporate card program, you’ll also want to weigh the value beyond just travel perks and cash back. The Brex corporate credit card offers a tiered reward system, providing 7x points on rideshares, 4x on travel booked through the Brex portal, 3x on restaurants, 2x on recurring software subscriptions, and 1x on all other purchases. Teams can get 1x of additional rewards with daily payment terms.

Brex’s value extends to the card itself, as it is part of a comprehensive spend management software to help you better manage global spend and close the books in real time. Brex also offers instant corporate virtual cards for online purchases, reducing the risk of fraud, as well as immediate card freezing or cancellation capabilities for enhanced security. You’ll have peace of mind while your card earns meaningful rewards on your business spend.

Sign up today for the Brex corporate credit card today and get 10,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first three months. Upon signup, you’ll have access to other valuable perks, such as $5,000 in AWS credits and $10,000 in Freshworks credits, so you can scale your business faster. Check out Brex rewards for more on the benefits of using a Brex corporate credit card.