7 Best Credit Cards For House Flippers In 2024

Are you planning to venture into house flipping or expand your flip portfolio? It's a good idea, but you’ll need consistent cash flow.

You can always apply for a loan or have an established investor fill your pockets, but a credit card is the easiest way to access the funds you need.

A good credit card will shower you with cash on demand without tying your investment to lengthy contracts. Plus, most credit cards come with sweet rewards. The best part? You won’t have to gamble with the myriad options available because we’ve done the legwork and rounded up the seven best credit cards for house flippers in 2024

1. The Business Platinum Card® From American Express
2. Chase Freedom Unlimited®
3. Home Depot Consumer Credit Card
4. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
5. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
6. Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
7. American Express® Business Gold Card

Here’s a detailed breakdown of what each of the above credit cards brings to the table:

1. The Business Platinum Card® From American Express

Planning to invest in different parts of the country? Do you intend to set up a brick-and-mortar office for your house-flipping business? If you answered yes to either question, you should add the platinum card by Amex to your list of best credit cards for house flippers in 2024.

New Amex Platinum cardholders get a pretty awesome welcome: 120,000 membership reward points for $15,000 spent on eligible purchases within the first ninety days of membership. Depending on how you spend them, these points are worth 1 to 2 cents each and can even be transferred to Amex’s long list of airline and hotel partners.

These reward points, coupled with the 1.5X points earned for every dollar spent on purchases made with US-based construction materials and hardware suppliers, electronic retailers, software and cloud service providers, and U.S Shipping services could prove handy for house flippers in the process of setting up an office, or tackling a major renovation project.

New cardholders also get a 0% annual introductory APR offer for purchases made through the card’s Pay Over Time Feature.

Beyond the welcome perks, the Amex platinum card makes every phase of traveling a luxurious affair for its cardholders. They earn 5X points for every dollar spent on flights and hotels booked via AmexTravel.com and free access to the over 1,300 cozy airport lounges worldwide that are part of The Amex Global Lounge Collection. They also get a priority pass select membership, so they don’t have to wait in line at airports.

Additionally, the card grants you complimentary gold status with the Mariott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors collection hotels, which means privileges like late checkout and room upgrades.

Booking your stay with any Fine Hotels & Resorts property through the Amex platinum card also adds impressive stay benefits, such as complimentary breakfast for two, early check-in, and up to $100 experience credits to spend on food, drinks, and spa.

Amex also partners with popular rental card programs like Hertz and Avis, allowing platinum cardholders benefits such as free car upgrades and priority access. Impressive huh? Well, that’s not all. Adding to the list of its travel rewards are trip cancellation and interruption insurance, lost or damaged baggage, and trip delay insurance.

Simply put, the Amex card amply covers all aspects of your trips, making each journey you take a smooth sailing affair. On top of that, Amex platinum card holders get $200 back annually in the form of fee credits. However, they must pick one airline a year on Amex travel to earn these fee credits. Thankfully, they can change their airline of choice annually.

Other notable rewards with the Business Platinum Card® from American Express include $400 annual statement credits per year on Dell purchases, up to $300 statement credits for cruise bookings made with Amex cruise line partners, $150 yearly credits for select Adobe purchases, and up to $360 credits on Indeed products and services.

The catch? The Business Platinum Card® from American Express features an annual fee of $699, which is pretty high. However, properly maximizing the card’s long list of reward programs can help you offset the hefty membership cost.

2. Chase Freedom Unlimited

Want a no-frills cash-back card that lets you save on home improvement supplies and expenses? Add Chase Freedom Unlimited to your list of the best credit cards for home improvement purchases.

It has no annual fee, meaning you’ll never have to worry about card management, and it only requires a fair credit score. Plus, it offers rewards that could enable you to mitigate your renovation costs.

These rewards include a 3% cash back offer on all drugstore and restaurant purchases, including your favorite takeout services. Chase also offers 1.5% cash back on all other purchases, meaning whether you purchase construction materials or your house flipping office supplies, you get 1.5% of the cash you spend back.

While most cards typically offer a welcome bonus with a 3-month spending threshold, Chase takes a different approach with its freedom of unlimited cash; it provides an annual unlimited matched cashback to all new card holders. This means that at the end of the year, the credit card provider offers you all the money you spend!

That’s huge especially if you’re in the house flipping industry where business expenses can push to four figures.

The best part is that there’s no minimum to redeem. Whether you have 10 points or 1,000, you can use them at any time to cover the cost of your purchases or directly deposit them into your US-based savings or checking account.

You can redeem your points as gift cards for Amazon purchases at 0.8 cents or use them to cover your travel expenses at 1 cent per point. Talking of travel, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card also offers 5% cash back on travel arrangements made via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

Note that although you cannot transfer the Chase Freedom Unlimited rewards to partner airline or hotel programs, Chase offers the flexibility to consolidate the points earned on this card with those from your Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire reserve cards and convert them to Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.

Chase Ultimate Reward points are not only more valuable but are also transferrable to Chase’s airline and hotel loyalty programs to reduce your travel costs. Redeeming your points as Chase Ultimate Rewards points bumps up their value to 1.5 points per dollar, enabling you to make the most of every penny you spend using Chase Freedom Unlimited.

However, note that this card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee for all purchases made outside the US, and you cannot be approved for one if you registered for five or more consumer credit cards within the past 24 months.

3. Home Depot Consumer Credit Card

Home Depot is among the top stores for home improvement projects. From tools and building materials to home décor and landscaping supplies, the retailer offers an extensive and diverse selection of home improvement projects. Consequently, as a house flipper investor, you can find everything you need for your rehab projects under one roof. If you regularly shop there for house-flipping supplies, you should consider adding the best Home Depot Consumer credit card to your credit card stack.

This store card, offered by Citi Bank, charges no annual fee, and you get a welcome discount ranging from $25 to $200 off the first purchase, depending on how much you spend.

New Home Depot card holders also often get a 0% introductory APR offer for 6-24 months for all purchases worth $299 or more. Thereafter, the interest rate varies between 16.24% and 26.24%. Also note that, with the Home Depot consumer card you may be eligible for special financing for up to 24 months. However, this option is only applicable during special promotions. So, if your home rehabbing project coincides with one of these promotions, check in with Citi for financing.

Home Depot offers its consumer cardholders a separate project loan credit card with a line of credit of up to $55,000. This could be useful when you’re strapped for cash but need to handle a rehab project. Additionally, those who carry the Home Depot Consumer card enjoy return periods of up to 12 months, which is four times longer than what regular consumers get. This lengthy return period could prove incredibly beneficial, especially if you make large home renovation purchases you don’t need.

Now that you know of the advantages of the Home Depot credit card, you’re probably wondering about the disadvantages, and as a platform committed to transparency, we’ll let you in on those, too. But first, is it hard to get a Home Depot credit card? No. It’s among the credit cards with the lowest barriers to entry since all you need is a fair credit score; usually, a score as low as 580 is enough to get approved for this card.

You’ll also need proof of income to prove you can cover your monthly minimum payments, a social security number to enable the issuer to assess your credit history and a physical U.S. address.

Now, onto the downsides; you probably have noticed we haven’t discussed any rewards. That’s because the card doesn’t offer any, which is a major deal breaker considering it’s designed for loyal Home Depot clientele.

Additionally, this card only defers interest. That means if you don’t make a point to clear your monthly payments before the 6-24 grace period elapses, you’ll have to pay all the interest that had been accumulating from the day of your purchase.

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4. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is hands down one of the best business credit cards for real estate investors just getting started in REI. Why? It has no annual fee and doesn’t charge any fees on additional employee cards, thus granting your team access to consistent cash flow without additional costs.

Plus, while most credit cards cap your cash back or reward point earning opportunities, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card offers uncapped 1.5% cash back on all business purchases regardless of the category. So, whether your house-flipping enterprise spends the most on transit or renovation supplies, you get 1.5% of all the money you spend back, which goes a long way in managing overhead expenses.

Additionally, we consider it one of the best credit cards for rental property businesses because it offers 5% cash back on any $25,000 spent on office supplies or related services such as internet and cable.

Even more impressive is that you can convert the 1.5% cash back you earn into Chase ultimate rewards points if you hold an ultimate rewards card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. What makes this so valuable is that Chase's ultimate reward points are usually worth about 2 cents per point, and you can redeem them in a couple of ways, such as gift cards, renovation goods, or even cash that you can put back into your business.

New Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card holders get a 0% intro APR in the first year, which helps mitigate credit card costs. After the first year, cardholders pay a variable APR rate between 18.49% and 24.49%. Chase also offers new cardholders a whopping $900 cash back as a sign-up bonus if they spend $6,000 within the first three months.

Other perks of this best credit card for landlords include purchase protection, primary rental car insurance, and extended warranty coverage. The issuer also offers a dedicated roadside dispatch hotline to which you can reach out should you experience car-related trouble while scouting your house-flipping market. Cardholders also get a travel and emergency assistance hotline that‘ll readily offer medical and legal referrals should they need them.

However, while this card features some terrific cash back and benefits, not everyone can qualify because it’s designed as a small business credit card. Moreover, while there’s no annual fee, there are charges you should be aware of, such as a 5% transaction fee on all balance transfers, a $40 returned payment fee, a 3% fee on foreign transactions, and a $40 late payment penalty.

5. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Chase has a reputation for offering awesome credit card rewards, and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is proof. For an annual $95 membership fee, Ink Preferred cardholders usually get a remarkable welcome bonus: 100,000 points for the $ 8,000 they spend within the first three months. Also, on every cardmember anniversary date, cardholders often receive 3x points on the first $150,000 they spend on its bonus offer categories, cable and phone services, social media and search engine advertising, internet, and travel. Spending on other non-bonus categories earns you 1 point per dollar. Consequently, even if you don’t manage to achieve the maximum expenditures in the 3X bonus category program, you still get some of your money back.

Do note that points earned on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card are categorized as Chase Ultimate reward points, meaning you can redeem them as cash back, gift cards, statement credits, merchandise, or even for travel. Alternatively, you may transfer the points you earn to one of Chase’s partners to bump their value to 1.25 per dollar, making the most of the money you spent on your house-flipping investments.

Beyond these rewards, Chase offers Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card holders additional perks such as purchase protection, primary car rental insurance, trip cancellation, and interruption coverage, plus an extended warranty.

Additionally, Ink-preferred cardholders get cell phone protection. This unique protection protects and reimburses the cardholder’s phone in case of damage or loss and covers everyone listed on their monthly bill. But to activate coverage, one must pay their entire phone bill using the card, and protection only kicks in on the second billing cycle. Additionally, you can only submit a maximum of three claims per year and only claim $600 annually, including a $100 deductible cost.

Sounds good so far? Well, it is. But there are some drawbacks to remember if you choose this as your best credit card after buying a house for a rehabbing project. Unlike most cards, which offer a 0% introductory offer, the Ink Preferred credit card has no intro APR offer, and you have to pay a variable 21.24%-26.24 variable APR from the day you open your account. It also has an annual fee, which isn’t as high as what other cards, such as the Amex platinum card, charge. Ultimately, we’d recommend it if you’re in the market for the best home improvement credit card because it balances costs and rewards.

Read Also: Flipping A House Checklist: 10 Essential Steps For Rehabbing

6. Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

If you often travel internationally, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business credit card is one you should consider. For an annual membership fee of $199, this card gives you 4X points on all Southwest-related purchases and 3X points when booking hotel and car rentals with Rapid Rewards partners.

New members get an appealing sign-up bonus of 80,000 points if they achieve a $5,000 spending threshold within three months of account opening. With such points at your disposal, you only need to earn 45,000 more points to qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass, which lets you choose a companion to fly with you for free for about two years.

In addition to the welcome bonus offer, Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card holders also get 9,000 bonus points annually as a reward for their card membership. Frequent flyers will also be glad to know that for every $10,000 spent on select Southwest Airlines products and services, they earn 1,500 tier-qualifying points towards A-List and A-list preferred tier statuses. Qualifying for either level unlocks awesome travel benefits such as priority check-in and bonus points.

Members who use the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card to pay or renew the Global Entry or TSA Precheck membership often get reimbursed $100. Moreover, cardholders are eligible for up to four upgraded boardings per year, which they can leverage to book flight seats early for a seamless flying experience.

Although it’s specifically an airline card, the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card also offers benefits that’ll have you getting your cash back even when you’re not spending with the airline. For instance, cardholders earn 2 points for every dollar spent on local transit and commute costs such as rideshare and an additional 2 points per dollar spent on phone services, internet expenses, and social media and SEO marketing. Southwest cardholders also get 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases regardless of the category. The card also includes daily $8 in-flight Wi-Fi credits.

Since the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is registered under the Visa Network, paying for your expenses overseas is always smooth since merchants widely accept Visa. Even better, it has no foreign transaction fees.

The card also includes a long string of benefits of Visa-affiliated perks such as travel accident insurance, baggage delay coverage, lost luggage reimbursement, and auto rental collision damage. Note all these rewards extend to your employees’ cards as well. Should you want to transfer your points to another Rapid Rewards member, you will get reimbursed up to $500 for the fees you incur during the transfer.

Ultimately, except for the limited point redemption options, the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is a fantastic option when you’re in the market for a real estate credit card suitable for travel.

7. American Express® Business Gold Card

If you want to cut your house flipping business’s overhead costs, the American Express® Business Gold Card might just be the card you need. This card earns four membership reward points in two out of the following six categories where your house-flipping business spends the most every billing cycle:

• Transit-related expenses such as trains, buses, cabs, rideshare services and parking
• U.S. purchases from electronic goods retailers and software providers
• U.S. expenses at gas stations
• U.S. purchases for advertising in select media platforms
• U.S. purchases at restaurants
• Monthly wireless telephone service charges from a US-based wireless service provider

Additionally, you earn one reward point per dollar spent on the other four categories.

This rewards program is incredibly valuable for house flipping since business expenses such as transit, gas, telephone services, and advertising are usually recurrent. The best part is that you don’t have to commit to any category to activate these points. Amex takes care of that on your behalf by automatically selecting your top spending category each billing cycle. However, note that the 4X membership rewards cap at $150,000 in combined purchases annually.

The impressive reward program aside, note first-time American Express® Business Gold Card holders get 70,000 points for $10,000 spent on qualifying purchases within the first three months (terms apply). What’s even more impressive about this card is that it has no preset spending limit, making it a suitable option for house flippers seeking a consistent cash flow source.

This card also includes cell phone protection coverage worth $800 per claim, attractive travel rewards such as room upgrades, and up to $100 experience credit for hotel bookings made via Amex’s hotel collection. However, as with Amex cards, the American Express® Business Gold Card features a high membership fee of $299 annually, which is set to increase to $375 in 2024.

Read Also: Real Estate Financing: The 6 Best Funding Options For Investors

Final Thoughts

House flipping investments are not just lucrative but also quite fulfilling. However, these projects call for hefty upfront capital that, thankfully, you can seamlessly access through the best credit cards for new homeowners.

Our list above features the best credit cards for landlords, rehabbers, and other players in the real estate industry. The American Business Platinum card offers fantastic travel rewards and is a superb option for the house-flipping investor with rehab projects nationwide. In addition to the travel rewards, the card offers points on US-based construction materials and hardware supplies. This category is valuable and money-saving for a house-flipping investor. However, it has a pretty steep annual fee to keep in mind.

If you’d like to skip the high annual fee but still enjoy rewards that could benefit your house-flipping business, the Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card is an excellent alternative. It has a significantly lower annual fee than the Amex platinum yet offers points on expenses a house-flipping business regularly incurs, such as transit purchases.

On the other hand, the Amex business gold card holder has a lower annual fee than its platinum counterpart and, with no credit limit, could prove a valuable cash flow source for house flippers.

The Chase preferred card is an excellent choice for an even lower annual fee but with impressive rewards. It charges only $95 annually but offers 1 point per dollar spent on all purchases.

So, what is the best credit card for house flippers? All the credit cards on our list are the best. However, they each have pros and cons, and it’s up to you to weigh which one on our list offers your house-flipping business the most value.

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