I am looking to setup a corporate card program for a small non-profit. It will be used mainly for travel but a "one card" program is being considered. Much of the travel is in South Africa and India - so acceptance is key, along with overall ease of use, control, and costs. Any recommendations on providers to try. AMEX is already on the list.
Corporate Credit Card Program
Answers
I'm not sure if those areas accept Discover, but if so the new Discover It card offers some great cash back deals. I would look for a card that will provide you with the most rewards; cash back puts money back in the business; many also have rewards earned for travel too; which would help! Chase Visa has some great rewards.
Most banks will offer a card with the name you want (Visa, MasterCard, etc). They will also offer some type of rebate based on your payment history. If it is a corporate card that the company pays, you can control obtaining that rebate. I would shop around with even some smaller banks and see what you can get.
For international purposes, I agree that AMEX should be on the list and may be preferred. You should also check to see what VISA can do for you.
My experience with AMEX internationally; I was running over $100K/month - mostly international charges as well as traveling a fair amount; is that outside airlines, major hotels, larger restaurants and other "fine" stores, AMEX was not accepted.
The reason was always the discount rate (expense) to the vendor.
Lesson learned; have an AMEX, but carry a VISA/MC as well.
Upside to AMEX - you didn't have to ask for permission to leave the country
Downside to VISA/MC - you do have to ask for permission to leave the country.
I found myself researching and setting up credit card accounts for our NFP last year. Unless your revenue is over a certain amount, AMEX will require you to set up the account under the name of an individual rather than in the corporation name. I found the best all around option to be with Chase. They allowed us to set the account up under the corporation's name. In addition, there were good perks and and excellent online
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You have those tools with Corp Amex, Small Bus Amex and then there are web tools like Expensify (as an example) that give you a tremendous amount of flexibility (with any card).
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