Best cards for advertising
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card leads with 3x (up to $150,000/anniversary yr (combined)). It is a business card, so applying needs a business — including a sole proprietorship.
Rankings use issuer rates verified as of August 16, 2026.
Online/media advertising (Google Ads, Meta Ads).
#13x3xInk Business Preferred Credit Card
Chase · Visa · Business · $95/yr · up to $150,000/anniversary yr (combined)
#22x2xDelta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card
American Express · Amex · Business · $150/yr · up to $50,000/yr · Lower rate after the cap
#32%2%Apple Card
Goldman Sachs · Mastercard · No annual fee · Pay with the mobile wallet
#45x5xKroger Rewards World Elite Mastercard
U.S. Bank · Mastercard · ≈1.17x after the cap · No annual fee · up to $3,000/yr · Lower rate after the cap · Pay with the mobile wallet
How to choose
This ranking has a real gap at the top. The Ink Business Preferred earns 3x on advertising, worth about 3% in cash-equivalent value by our conservative count, while everything behind it settles at 2% to 2.2%. The catch is the $95 annual fee: the extra point over a no-fee 2% card only pays off once your ad budget is large enough to cover that fee and then some.
Caps are the pattern to watch here. The Ink Business Preferred's 3x applies up to $150,000 per anniversary year, and that limit is combined across categories, not advertising alone. The Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card drops to a lower rate after its own spending cap, and both no-fee Blue Business cards from American Express earn their 2% or 2x rate only up to $50,000 a year.
Past those caps, the flat earners take over. Spark Cash Plus pays a flat 2% with no cap noted, at $150 a year, and Capital One's Venture Business at $95 and Venture X Business at $395 both earn an even 2x. One quirk lower down: Apple Card only reaches its 2% when you pay through the mobile wallet, so confirm your ad platform can bill a wallet-stored card before relying on it.
The math
On $500 a month of advertising, Ink Business Preferred Credit Card returns about $180 a year at our valuations — a flat 2% card returns $120. Mind the ceiling: Ink Business Preferred Credit Card's top rate applies only up to $150,000/anniversary yr (combined); past that, purchases drop to its lower rate.
Common questions
- What is the best credit card for advertising?
- Ink Business Preferred Credit Card leads with 3x (up to $150,000/anniversary yr (combined)). It is a business card, so applying needs a business — including a sole proprietorship.
- How does SwipeCaddy pick the best advertising card?
- We rank each card by its reward rate times a conservative cash value of its points or miles — no inflated transfer valuations — and surface the fine print so the "best" rate is one you can actually get.
- What counts as advertising spending?
- This category covers online and media advertising, think Google Ads and Meta Ads billed to your card. Rates like the Ink Business Preferred's 3x apply to that kind of ad spend, subject to each card's caps. Before committing a big campaign budget, match your actual platforms against your card's advertising definition so the multiplier really applies.
- Is a no-annual-fee card enough for advertising?
- Often, yes. The Blue Business Cash Card from American Express and The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express both earn 2% or 2x with no annual fee, up to $50,000 a year. The 3x Ink Business Preferred only pulls ahead once your ad spend earns more than its $95 fee costs, so run your own numbers before paying for the upgrade.
Rankings reflect published earn rates and a conservative valuation of each rewards currency. SwipeCaddy earns no affiliate commission.