Best Credit Cards for Google Ads [2024]: Turn Spending Into Rewards

To maximize your earning potential on advertising expenses, we recommend using multiple cards to take advantage of their high rewards rates. That includes the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card and American Express^® Business Gold Card.

Let’s explore the best credit cards for Google Ads spend to see how you can use a winning strategy to earn valuable rewards on your ad purchases.

Key takeaways

• The best credit cards for ad spend typically provide high earning potential on advertising in a bonus category.
• The Ink Business Preferred provides 3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases.
• The American Express Business Gold Card provides 4X Membership Rewards Points on purchases in the two eligible categories with the most spend each month from 6 eligible categories (up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, after that 1X), 3X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com, and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases.

The 5 best credit cards for Google Ads spend

We recommend utilizing the following credit cards in an order that could help you maximize your rewards from Google Ads spend:

1. Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card
2. American Express^® Business Gold Card
3. U.S. Bank Business Leverage^® Visa Signature^® Card
4. The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
5. Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card

Compare the best credit cards for Google Ads spend

Credit card	Welcome offer	Earning rate	Annual fee
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card 4.8 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening	3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases	$95
American Express® Business Gold Card 4.8 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months	4X Membership Rewards Points on purchases in the two eligible categories with the most spend each month from 6 eligible categories (up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, after that 1X), 3X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com, and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases	$375 (terms apply)
U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card 4.1 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	Earn $750 in rewards when you spend $7,500 in eligible purchases on the account owner's card within the first 120 days of opening your account	5% cash back on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Rewards Center; 2% cash back in top two categories where you spend the most each month automatically; 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases	$95 (waived first year)
The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card 5.0 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	Earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months	2% cash back on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases each year, then 1% after that	$0 (terms apply)
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card 4.8 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	Earn $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening	Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase	$0

1. Use Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card until maxing out its 3X elevated category

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Welcome offer: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening Annual fee: $95 Apply now or read our review

The Ink Business Preferred is one of our favorite cards for small business owners with online advertising expenses because of its high earning potential.

Why we like Ink Business Preferred

You can earn 3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases.

If your advertising spend reaches the $150,000 annual spending limit, this would result in you earning 450,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. That’s worth at least $4,500 in cash back or $5,625 toward travel redemptions through Chase Travel. That’s because the Ink Business Preferred earns 25% more value for travel redemptions via the Chase Travel portal.

What we don’t like about Ink Business Preferred

Cardholders have to pay a $95 annual fee.

2. Use American Express^® Business Gold Card until maxing out its 4X elevated category

American Express® Business Gold Card Welcome offer: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months (Terms apply) Annual fee: $375  Apply now or read our review

The Amex Business Gold provides excellent earning potential on advertising purchases and other common business expenses.

Why we like American Express Business Gold Card

You can earn 4X Membership Rewards Points on purchases in the two eligible categories with the most spend each month from 6 eligible categories (up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, after that 1X), 3X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com, and 1 point per $1 spent on other eligible purchases.

Eligible 4X categories include:

• Purchases at US media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
• U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
• Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.

If you reached that $150,000 cap, you would earn 600,000 points in the process. Putting these credit card rewards toward statement credits would net you $3,600. Redeeming your rewards toward flights through American Express Travel would net you $6,000 worth of travel airfare.

What we don’t like about American Express Business Gold Card

Cardmembers have to pay a $375 annual fee (terms apply).

3. Earn an uncapped 2% rewards rate with the U.S. Bank Business Leverage^® Visa Signature^® Card

U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card Welcome offer: Earn $750 in rewards when you spend $7,500 in eligible purchases on the account owner's card within the first 120 days of opening your account Annual fee: $95 (waived first year) Read our review

The U.S. Bank Business Leverage provides the opportunity to earn unlimited rewards in loads of different categories.

Why we like U.S. Bank Business Leverage

You can earn 5% cash back on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Rewards Center; 2% cash back in top two categories where you spend the most each month automatically; 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

There are over 40 different 2% spend categories, including:

• Advertising firms
• Airlines
• Cable, satellite, TV, and radio providers
• Entertainment places
• Gas stations and fuel dealers
• Grocery stores and supermarkets

With this rewards rate, spending $100,000 on advertising would net you $2,000 in cashback rewards.

What we don’t like about U.S. Bank Business Leverage

You have to pay a $95 (waived first year) annual fee as a cardholder.

4. Use The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card for a $0 annual fee

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card Welcome offer: Earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Annual fee: $0 Apply now or read our review

The American Express Blue Business Cash provides great earning potential up to its $50,000 spending cap.

Why we like American Express Blue Business Cash

You can earn 2% cash back on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases each year, then 1% after that.

This type of rewards rate makes sense if you typically spend $50,000 or less on advertising in a year. It could also make sense if you plan to spend $50,000 on advertising and then switch to another card.

With this rewards rate, spending $50,000 would net you $1,000 in rewards.

What we don’t like about American Express Blue Business Cash

This isn’t the best card for making purchases abroad since you have to pay 2.70% foreign transaction fees on applicable purchases.

5. Use the Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card for a $0 annual fee and unlimited rewards

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card Welcome offer: Earn $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening Annual fee: $0 Apply now or read our review

The Chase Ink Business Unlimited is an excellent all-around cashback card with a $0 annual fee.

Why we like Ink Business Unlimited

You can earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase. If you’ve already hit the spending cap on other cards, this is a great card to switch to. It doesn’t have as high of a rewards rate compared to some cards, but it has a $0 annual fee, and there’s no limit to how much you can earn.

Spending $50,000 on this card would net you $750 in rewards.

See more $0-annual-fee business credit cards.

What we don’t like about Ink Business Unlimited

Cardholders have to pay foreign transaction fees (3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars) on applicable purchases.

Bonus hack: If you have multiple LLCs

Looking for a way to double up your premium spend categories? If you have multiple LLCs (limited liability companies), you can apply for separate business cards for each registered LLC. Just make sure you keep your finances separate for every LLC to ensure that you’re following best practices — and to make things easier at tax time.

Important things to know before you get started

There are plenty of strategies designed to help you use the best credit card for Google Ads and reap the rewards. What’s outlined above is the strategy I personally use for our company ad spends and have refined over the years, and it’s worked really well for me.

As you employ this strategy, though, it can start to feel overwhelming because you have to manage multiple credit cards. But there’s one thing I do to make things simpler — pre-charge my cards with Google Ads. If I know my limit every month is $100,000 on each card I have, I can log in and pre-charge that limit. This saves me from having to juggle cards on a daily basis.

Finally, read up on the Chase 5/24 rule before you dive in. If you get too many cards in the space of two years, you might not qualify for another Chase card — and what if a Chase card would be the best credit card for Google Ads in your situation? A simple rule of thumb is to consider opening Chase cards first, and then move on to other cards.

In the end, making the most out of your credit cards and getting the best value for your business expenses requires strategy. With a good plan, you’re likely to get more for your business buck.

FAQ

Best credit cards for Google Ads spend: bottom line

We think the Ink Business Preferred and American Express Business Gold cards are some of the best cards for ad spend because of their high rewards rates. But keep in mind that high-spending businesses would likely need to switch between multiple cards (due to capped spending rates) if they want to maximize their earning potential.

For more of our top recommendations and business credit card offers, check out the best business credit cards.

Methodology

To identify the best credit card for Google Ad Spend, we considered various credit cards based on their rewards, benefits, and perks for advertising purchases or other related expenses, including on Google.

We also considered factors such as annual fees, rewards rate, and acceptance when using each card for advertising. We selected a range of credit cards that cater to different needs and preferences, but keep in mind that our list doesn’t include all available options. Our goal is to provide a variety of options that can help businesses research their options and find ways to earn rewards on their advertising expenses.

Up to 5% Cash Back

Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card

4.8

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card

Apply Now

Current Offer

Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year; 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year; and 1% cash back on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Solid rewards on office supply, telecom spending, gas, and dining
• Generous welcome offer
• Intro APR on purchases
• $0 annual fee
• Valuable purchase and travel protections

Drawbacks

• Bonus rewards capped after $25,000 annual spend in each category
• No bonus rewards for travel or advertising purchases
• Foreign transaction fee of 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars

Card Details

• Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening
• Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year
• Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases
• 10% Business Relationship Bonus If you have the Ink Business Cash card plus a Chase Business Checking account on your first card anniversary
• With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
• No Annual Fee
• Redeem rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel and more through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
• 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases
• Member FDIC