Review: the Barclaycard Premium Plus business credit card
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This is our review of the Barclaycard Premium Plus business credit card for sole traders and small businesses.
Key link: Barclaycard Premium Plus business credit card application form
Key facts: £150 annual fee
The representative APR is 56.8% variable, including the anual fee. The representative APR on purchases is 20.2% APR variable. Rates may vary based on your financial circumstances and borrowing history.
About the Barclaycard Premium Plus business credit card
Slightly oddly for Head for Points, the Barclaycard Premium Plus business credit card does not offer you any miles or points when you use it. Let’s clear this up from the outset! It does offer some travel perks, however.
The reason we feature it is that it is, in our view, the best premium Visa or Mastercard for a small business.
Whilst we recommend American Express Business Platinum, American Express Business Gold and the British Airways Accelerating Business cards for their ability to earn you generous travel rewards, American Express acceptance is well below 100% in the B2B sector. These cards also come with 2.99% foreign exchange fees.
You will need a Visa or Mastercard to use alongside any American Express business card you get. Barclaycard Premium Plus comes with:
- 0.5% cashback on eligible purchases, up to £400 per year
- very low foreign exchange fees
- travel insurance
- passes for two free airport lounge visits each year
What is the Barclaycard Premium Plus sign-up bonus?
There is no sign up bonus on this card.
What are the conditions of applying?
As well as the standard age and residency restrictions, your business turnover must be over £10,000 per year.
If you are a start-up, you are welcome to apply if your business plan shows expected turnover of £10,000+ per year.
Sole traders are welcome to apply. The card is not restricted to Limited Companies.
What is the Barclaycard Premium Plus annual fee?
There is an annual fee of £150 per year. This should be tax deductible if you only use the card for business purposes.
Supplementary cards for your employees are free.
What do I earn per £1 spent on the card?
You earn 0.5% cashback on virtually all spending charged to the card, up to an annual limit of £400.
You are paid your cashback each month, via a credit to your card statement.
Is Barclaycard Premium Plus a good card to use when travelling?
Yes, very much so.
Barclaycard Premium Plus charges a very low 0.99% foreign exchange fee on non-Sterling transactions. The typical FX fee on UK credit and debit cards is 2.99%. This could mean substantial savings if you travel a lot for business or make a lot of purchases in foreign currency.
(You will also receive your 0.5% cashback on your foreign currency spending, of course, taking the net FX fee down to just 0.45%.)
You also receive two airport lounge passes each year. These are valid for entry to any lounge in the Priority Pass network, which covers most major airports globally and a lot of regional ones too. Further lounge visits after your two free visits each card year are charged at the special rate of £20.
You will also receive travel insurance as a card benefit.
Any other benefits?
Barclaycard runs a special programme for its business credit and charge card holders called Business Rewards.
You can find full details on this page of the Barclays website.
It offers a variety of discounts and cashback deals for customers. These currently include, for example, Avis, Zipcar and Heathrow Express savings.
Conclusion
The Barclaycard Premium Plus business credit card is a suprisingly decent product from Barclaycard for anyone who has a lot of foreign currency spending via their business.
The cashback and the two airport lounge access passes are the icing on the cake.
Even if you are considering getting American Express Business Platinum, Business Gold or British Airways Accelerating Business due to their generous rewards, this card is useful for places which do not accept American Express.
If you don’t have a lot of foreign spending, you may want to consider the Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card for businesses. This is free and pays 1% cashback on virtually all of your spending.
The application for the Barclaycard Premium Plus business credit card can be found here.
(Want to earn more miles and points from credit cards? Click here to visit our dedicated airline and hotel travel credit cards page or use the ‘Credit Cards’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.
