GM BuyPower Business Card from Capital One®: An update but not an upgrade?

Quick highlights

• Rewards rate: 5 percent cash back toward the purchase or lease of an eligible, new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicle, purchases of GM Genuine and ACDelco parts, eligible accessories and paid Certified Service at authorized General Motors Dealers, 3 percent cash back on purchases at gas stations, restaurants and office supply stores, plus 1 percent cash back on all other purchases
• Welcome offer: Get $750 in Bonus Earnings after spending $5,000 in the first 5 months.
• Annual fee: $0
• Purchase Intro APR: 0 percent intro APR for 12 months
• Balance Transfer Intro APR: N/A
• Regular APR: 16.24 percent to 26.24 percent (variable)

New card members who spend $5,000 within the first five months of their account opening will receive $750 in earnings. Yet, this is only redeemable towards the purchase or lease of an eligible new GM vehicle, including Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac models.

While easy to reach, this bonus is incredibly specific and only useful to those who are looking to save on a new car. If you’re not currently car shopping or don’t prefer GM as a brand, it loses all its potential value. If you’re looking for a card that can reward you for general driving instead, it may be better to check other co-branded cards or cards that reward gas purchases.

There’s really only one way to make sure you get a ton of value out of this business card. By using it for all your business purchases, and especially purchases made in bonus categories, you’ll rack up considerably more rewards over time.

How to earn

The GM Business Card earns 5 percent towards an eligible, new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac along with General Motor dealership parts or services. You’ll also receive 3 percent cash back on gas, restaurants and office supply stores. All other eligible purchases will earn 1 percent.

Rewards earned with the GM Business Card are worth one cent per point. There’s no limit to how much cash back you can earn nor do points expire as long as your account is open and in good standing.

How to redeem

While there are plenty of redemption options, they all center around GM purchases, which makes them very limiting.

Cardmembers can redeem points towards qualifying GM car purchases (up to $1,000 on Certified Pre-Owned vehicles), GM Protection Plans, OnStar and GM Connected Services as well as eligible accessories. You may also be able to redeem gift cards for partnered merchants. and Sirius XM subscriptions. You have to redeem points either online or at a dealership through your account.

The GM Business card isn’t your traditional business card, so it won’t include a lot of travel perks or spending limit extensions like most cards. However, there are other benefits that make this card shine. Despite not being as packed as business cards with annual fees, you can look forward to unique business perks offered through Mastercard. 

World Elite Mastercard for Business Benefits

With all the elements it takes to run a business, the World Elite Mastercard for Business benefits do their best to help you manage as much as possible. There’s a 24/7 business assistant concierge that helps with key business services like finding tech support, getting meeting rooms and more. You also receive access to Mastercard BIZ, a website that’s goal is to help small businesses grow and cellular wireless telephone protection for up to $800 (with a $50 deductible per loss).

There are also partner merchants that offer deep discounts and credits for advertising, savings, accounting and shopping from brands like ZOHO, Microsoft and Intuit. These benefits are especially handy for new businesses as some perks can only be accessed by new customers of those partner merchants.

No-Cost Employee cards

Often, business credit cards will charge for additional cards for employees, but the GM Business card provides employee cards at no extra cost. Even better, you can set unique spending limits for each all while earning rewards that won’t expire on every transaction.

This is probably one of the lowest-costing business cards on the market with no annual fee, foreign transaction fees, balance transfer fees, cash advance fees or penalty APR. For late payments, you have to pay up to $40, an industry standard. You also get to enjoy 0 percent APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers with an ongoing variable APR of 16.99 to 26.99 percent, which can be under the current interest rate average depending on your creditworthiness.

The GM Business card is a low-cost but unconventional business card. The benefits offered through Mastercard can be enticing along with its 3 percent rewards rate on gas, dining and purchases at office supply stores. However, the drawback of the highest rewards rate being on car purchases and the very GM-focused reward redemption options can turn away quite a few people. Here are a couple options that may fit your business better.

GM Business Card vs Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card

For a card that meets more standard business needs, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is a great fit. One of its strongest points is the 5 percent cash back on the first $25,000 spent on combined purchases of office supplies stores, internet, cable and phone services, especially when combined with its intro APR offer for purchases. It also has a good range of redemption options as you can redeem cash back for gift cards, travel rewards, or pay with points for select products or services.

The main drawbacks of this card are its fees and welcome bonus. Unlike the GM Business Card, the Ink Business Cash card comes with a 3 percent foreign transaction fee and a 5 percent or $5 balance transfer fee, whichever is greater. That’s higher than the average balance transfer fee. The card’s welcome bonus has a high spend requirement — 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. However, you do have more accessible redemption options for that bonus, so keep that in mind.

GM Business Card vs Capital One Spark Miles for Business

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is a great flat-rate option for business owners who don’t want to be limited by categories, offering unlimited 2 percent cash back on all purchases. The welcome bonus of 50,000 miles after spending $4,500 within the first three months, worth up to $1,000 when you redeem through Capital One’s travel portal, is also strong. There’s also the additional benefit of the $120 TSA Precheck or Global Entry credit, a great perk for frequent flyers. Other perks include free employee cards, discounts through Paribus and Spring as well as purchase and account protections.

However, this all comes at a cost. After the first year, your annual fee will be $95 and the 25.74% (Variable) APR See Rates & Fees, which can be steep for those who tend to keep a balance on their card. Still, the price and high interest may be worth the overall flexibility.

Should you sign up? That really depends on whether you are a GM loyalist who upgrades to a new or leased Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicle every few years. If you plan to upgrade your vehicle anyway, earning rewards that can be used to knock down the purchase price is an easy decision.

However, if you aren’t 100 percent certain you’ll be buying or leasing a new vehicle from one of these automakers soon, then it doesn’t make sense to sign up for this card. In that case, you should consider a rewards credit card for business that lets you cash in your points in more than one way. Fortunately, many business credit cards let you redeem points for statement credits, travel, gift cards, merchandise and more.

*The information about the GM BuyPower Business Card from Capital One® has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.