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February 25, 2020

The 7 Best Business Credit Cards For Your Nonprofit Organization

From purchasing office supplies to taking staff out for dinner or traveling to events, nonprofit organizations have plenty of reasons to sign up for a credit card. And, because a nonprofit is technically a business, it may make sense to apply for a business-specific credit card. Consumer cards can work, if you use them correctly, but business credit cards usually offer rewards and benefits that better suit professional organizations.

There are also credit cards out there designed specifically for nonprofits. Depending on your location and your organization’s situation, you may find that one of these credit cards will actually work better for you than a business-centric card.

Curious to find out what’s out there in the world of credit cards for nonprofits? Take a peek below to find out which business credit card might work best for your nonprofit organization.

Best Credit Cards Designed For Nonprofits

While they may not be the most common type of credit cards, cards built for nonprofits do exist. The most notable thing about these cards is that they require no personal guarantee from applicants. This means that the card issuers won’t look into the personal credit history of individuals listed on the application; instead, they’ll simply consider the organization’s financial records. Let’s take a deeper look at a few credit cards designed from the get-go for nonprofits:

Charity Charge Nonprofit Business Card

Charity Charge is an issuer dedicated to helping nonprofits thrive. Besides its nonprofit business credit card, Charity Charge offers other cards that automatically donate cash back to a nonprofit of the user’s choice.

This co-branded Mastercard, meanwhile, was designed from the ground up for nonprofits to spend with. First appearing in the summer of 2019, the Charity Charge Nonprofit Business Card could make a solid option for your organization. There simply aren’t many credit cards dedicated to working for nonprofits — and certainly none of the others come from a company built around giving back to such organizations.

Besides requiring no personal guarantor, this card will generate 1% cash back on all of your purchases as an automatic rebate to your monthly statement. Going beyond rewards, Charity Charge promises online expense reporting and card management, dedicated customer service, and fraud protection. Charity Charge also markets this card to schools and associations.

U.S. Bank Community Card

In partnership with Mastercard, U.S. Bank offers its community card for nonprofit organizations. With this card, you’ll be able to apply without needing a personal guarantee. U.S. Bank also offers an online tool to analyze your organization’s spending. Plus, employees can get their own cards for free.

When it comes to rewards, you have two options. You can either pay $99 per year and gain access to 1% cash back on all purchases. Or you can choose to pay no annual fee — but you also eschew rewards. It’s also worth noting that going the annual fee route opens up the possibility to earn points for taking credit card payments and making purchases with U.S. Bank’s Encore Relationship Rewards program.

Unfortunately, you’ll need to live near a U.S. Bank location because you must apply in person for this credit card. While the bank operates in over half the states in the U.S., if you don’t live in Ohio or further west, there probably isn’t a U.S. Bank near you.

Visa CommUNITY Card

Introduced by Visa several years ago, the Visa CommUNITY Card is available at local banks and community credit unions throughout the country.

Because this card is issued through various banks, the exact terms may vary from location to location. You’ll generally be able to earn rewards for this card (usually either 1% cash back or 1 point per $1 spent) and the annual fee is low ($99 per year) or nonexistent. You’ll also be able to access high credit lines. Like the above two cards, no personal guarantee should be required when applying.

You’ll likely need to apply in person for a Visa CommUNITY Card. Several banks and credit unions issue this card, so you might be able to find a location near you. Issuers include:

Bangor Savings Bank (Maine and New Hampshire)
bankHometown (Massachusetts)
Beacon Credit Union (Indiana)
First County Bank (Connecticut)
Fulton Bank (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia)
PCSB Bank (New York)
Shelby State Bank (Michigan)
South State Bank (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia)
Sunrise Banks (Minnesota)
United Community Bank (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee)

There are also a number of other banks that offer a Visa CommUNITY Card, so be sure to call around locally if none of the above financial institutions are near you.

Best Business Credit Cards For Nonprofits

Unfortunately, it’s pretty slim pickings when it comes to credit cards designed specifically with nonprofits in mind. Because of this, you may find it better to apply for a business credit card that offers a set of rewards, benefits, interest rates, etc. that best suit your organization. Here are a few of our favorite business credit card picks for nonprofits:

Best For No annual fee

SparkÂ® Cash Select From Capital OneÂ® Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Â Purchase APR: 14.49%-22.49% (variable)
Required Credit: Excellent Welcome Offer: $200 cash back if you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months after opening your account Intro Purchase APR: 0% APR for 9 months Intro Balance Transfer APR: N/A Foreign Transaction Fee: 0% Rewards: Unlimited 1.5% cash back Featured Benefit: Zero fraud liability if your card is lost or stolen. Plus, get automatic fraud alerts via text, email, or phone call. More card details (click to expand) Hide

SparkÂ® Cash Select From Capital OneÂ®

Compare

Annual Fee:

Purchase APR:

14.49%-22.49% (variable)

Required Credit: Excellent

Welcome Offer: $200 cash back if you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months after opening your account

Intro Purchase APR: 0% APR for 9 months

Intro Balance Transfer APR: N/A

Foreign Transaction Fee: 0%

Rewards:

Unlimited 1.5% cash back

Featured Benefit:

Zero fraud liability if your card is lost or stolen. Plus, get automatic fraud alerts via text, email, or phone call.

More card details (click to expand)

Hide

No one likes an annual fee. While paying a yearly charge is often a requirement of some higher-tier credit cards, there are a few solid options without one. SparkÂ® Cash Select from Capital OneÂ® is one such option.

The Spark Cash Select card features a strong 1.5% cash back on all purchases. What’s most impressive about that rewards rate is that there’s no cap on how much you can earn. You’ll also be able to take advantage of a 0% introductory APR rate for your first nine months, free employee cards, and a welcome offer worth $200. The card also includes other standard credit card perks like extended warranty and fraud protection.

Best 0% APR introductory period

Blue Business Cashâ¢ Card from American Express Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Â Purchase APR: 14.74% – 20.74% (variable)
Required Credit: Good Welcome Offer: None Intro Purchase APR: 0% APR for 12 months Intro Balance Transfer APR: 0% APR for 12 months Foreign Transaction Fee: 2.7% Rewards: 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1% Featured Benefit: Spend beyond your credit limit with Expanded Buying Power (Just remember, the amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to us and other factors.) More card details (click to expand) Hide

Blue Business Cashâ¢ Card from American Express

Compare

Annual Fee:

Purchase APR:

14.74% – 20.74% (variable)

Required Credit: Good

Welcome Offer: None

Intro Purchase APR: 0% APR for 12 months

Intro Balance Transfer APR: 0% APR for 12 months

Foreign Transaction Fee: 2.7%

Rewards:

2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%

Featured Benefit:

Spend beyond your credit limit with Expanded Buying Power (Just remember, the amount you can spend above your credit limit is not unlimited. It adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to us and other factors.)

More card details (click to expand)

Hide

If you know you’ll be carrying a balance right off the bat, going with a credit card that has an introductory rate period could be a great possibility. When a card has an intro rate period you won’t have to pay interest until the period is up. The Blue Business Cashâ¢ Card from American Express has one of the longest intro rate periods for business credit cards at 0% APR for the first 12 months.

Outside the 0% intro rate, you’ll be able to nab 2% cash back on the first $50,000 you spend every calendar year (the cash back rate drops to 1% after passing the $50,000 threshold). There’s also no annual fee and Amex allows you to spend above your credit limit. Otherwise, standard credit card features come along for the ride, such as extended warranty and purchase protection.

Best For Travel

Chase Ink Business Preferredâ Compare	Annual Fee: $95 Â Purchase APR: 17.49% â 22.49% (variable)
Required Credit: Excellent Welcome Offer: 80,000 points if you spend at least $5,000 within the first three months of opening your account Intro Purchase APR: N/A Intro Balance Transfer APR: N/A Foreign Transaction Fee: None Rewards: 3 points per $1 spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet/cable/phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media and search engines each account anniversary year 1 point per $1 on all other purchases Featured Benefit: Points are worth 25% more if redeemed for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards More card details (click to expand) Hide

Chase Ink Business Preferredâ

Compare

Annual Fee:

$95

Purchase APR:

17.49% â 22.49% (variable)

Required Credit: Excellent

Welcome Offer: 80,000 points if you spend at least $5,000 within the first three months of opening your account

Intro Purchase APR: N/A

Intro Balance Transfer APR: N/A

Foreign Transaction Fee: None

Rewards:

3 points per $1 spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet/cable/phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media and search engines each account anniversary year
1 point per $1 on all other purchases

Featured Benefit:

Points are worth 25% more if redeemed for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards

More card details (click to expand)

Hide

Should your organization require frequent travel, finding a credit card with travel rewards and perks may be wise. One of the most well-rounded travel cards on the market is Chase Ink Business Preferredâ .

This card has a nifty rewards scheme — you’ll net 3 points per dollar spent on travel, shipping, internet/phone/cable services, and advertising. You can then redeem those points for 25% more when booking travel through Chase’s own online portal or you can transfer them on a 1:1 basis to an array of travel partners. In terms of perks, Ink Business Preferred promises trip insurance, extended warranty, and cell phone protection.

Best For Low Credit Users

SparkÂ® Classic from Capital OneÂ® Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Â Purchase APR: 24.49% (variable)
Required Credit: Fair Welcome Offer: None Intro Purchase APR: N/A Intro Balance Transfer APR: N/A Foreign Transaction Fee: None Rewards: Unlimited 1% cash back Featured Benefit: Zero fraud liability if your card is lost or stolen. Plus, get automatic fraud alerts via text, email, or phone call. More card details (click to expand) Hide

SparkÂ® Classic from Capital OneÂ®

Compare

Annual Fee:

Purchase APR:

24.49% (variable)

Required Credit: Fair

Welcome Offer: None

Intro Purchase APR: N/A

Intro Balance Transfer APR: N/A

Foreign Transaction Fee: None

Rewards:

Unlimited 1% cash back

Featured Benefit:

Zero fraud liability if your card is lost or stolen. Plus, get automatic fraud alerts via text, email, or phone call.

More card details (click to expand)

Hide

If you or your organization lacks a strong credit history — or doesn’t have one at all — the SparkÂ® Classic Card from Capital OneÂ® might work best for you. Designed for credit-building users, this card can help you strengthen your credit — allowing you to eventually graduate to a better credit card down the line.

Even though Spark Classic was constructed for those with weaker credit, it still comes with some decent perks. Its 1% cash back will see you earning rewards at a nice clip. Beyond that, the card comes with other standard benefits like free employee cards, no foreign transaction fee, and extended warranty.

Didnât Find What Youâre Looking For? Check Out Our Other Resources For Nonprofit Organizations

If a credit card isn’t the next step for your organization, Merchant Maverick has a few more tools that can lend a hand. In case you’re curious about the difficulties nonprofits face when it comes to financing, check out our guide to loans for nonprofits. Organizations in need of a grant may find our in-depth article on grants helpful. Or, if you’d like to try raising funds with a more modern approach, read up on crowdfunding for nonprofits.

The post The 7 Best Business Credit Cards For Your Nonprofit Organization appeared first on Merchant Maverick.

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November 5, 2019

6+ Best Dental Website Examples for Inspiration

So you’re creating a dental website, and you’re looking for dental website design examples for inspiration and guidance. You’re also wondering which website platform is best to use for your website.

But before we dive into examples of what professional personal websites look like in the wild on a variety of website builders and hosting platforms, there is one thing to keep in mind when you’re evaluating a website: it’s not just about how the websites look. The functionality matters too.

Think of it like buying a car. You have a make / model in mind, and you’re probably looking to see them drive by on the road to see how they actually look. However, you also care about how they operate. Does it accelerate well? Does it have the hauling capabilities you need? How is the gas mileage?

Looking at a dental website examples should be done in the same way.

Do you want the website to have appointment scheduling functionality? Do you want a patient portal? This functionality needs to be consider before you start choosing a website builder + hosting platform.

Find The Right Website Builder for Your Dental Website

We collected the following website examples not just to show you how they look on different platforms, but how they can function, so you can be sure you create a website that fits both the look and functionality you need!

Disclosure – I receive customer referral fees from companies mentioned on this website. All data & opinions are based on my professional judgement as a paying customer or consultant to a paying customer.

Best Dental Website Examples

We’ve pulled these examples based on functionality, design, and usability. Again, when you’re looking to build a dental website, remember that you’re not just thinking about making the site look good. You want to think about what your site actually needs to do, and find a platform that supports all of your needs.

Ponce Dental Group

Software: Adobe

Hosting: Adobe

This dental website by Ponce Dental Group has all of the bells and whistles. You can book an appointment, manage your appointments, and learn about payment plans and insurance all from the homepage. And yet even with all of this information, the layout is still clean and information is easy to find.

If you’re looking for a website layout that allows you to have multiple calls to action without overwhelming visitors or making the site difficult to navigate, this dental website example is a great one to use for inspiration.

Bay Area Dental Surgery

Software: Weebly (Weebly Review)

Hosting: Weebly (Weebly Review)

On the other side of the spectrum is this dental website by Bay Area Dental Surgery Center. We liked the simplicity of this website, with the clear header and subhead that tells you exactly what this dentist does and who they help, and the cartoon graphic that adds an element of creativity and branding to the site.

This example just goes to show that a simple, straightforward layout can still be incredibly effective for your dental website. You don’t necessarily need something with tons of advanced functionality or even advanced branding!

If you’re looking for a good dental website example that includes a simple template that you can just plug your content into and get going, this is a great one to reference.

Grace & Leedy

Software: Squarespace (Squarespace Review)

Hosting: Squarespace (Squarespace Review)

This dental website example stands out for a few key reasons. First, notice how clear the navigation is on the homepage. As soon as you land on the website, your focus is drawn to the options of where to go next. It’s straightforward and makes choosing a next step simple.

We also liked the download functionality on the Form page.

The clear instructions and bright call-to-action buttons make it easy for visitors to see exactly what they need to do, and including the forms on the website not only enhances new patients’ experience online… but in person, too! No more filling out endless forms in the waiting room!

This site is another great example of a simple template that makes the most out of the design and functionality to give visitors a great user experience.

Dr. James Catt DMD

Software: Self-Hosted WordPress

Hosting: Codero + Linode

This dentist website example stood out to us for a few key reasons — the first of which being the color palette! Notice how the buttons, logo, and even header image all have the same color scheme. It makes the design look sophisticated, even though the layout is fairly straightforward.

Next, we also liked how Dr. James used focus landing pages to expand on each of his services:

This is a great way to make more detailed services pages that also provide valuable information for potential clients who may be doing research on dental procedures before deciding to move forward with them.

St. Lawrence Dental

Software: Wix (Wix Review)

Hosting: Wix (Wix Review)

Have you ever gone to a website to try to find logistical information (like operating hours and contact information) and had to dig for it? How frustrating is that?

This dental website does a great job of keeping key logistical information in clear view. Notice how the operating hours, telephone number, and “request an appointment” button are all grouped together in the top right corner of the homepage. This gives visitors all of the information they need when booking an appointment, without them having to dig around the site to see when the clinic is open, how to call, or where to request an appointment.

Atlanta Dental Spa

Software: Self-Hosted WordPress

Hosting: Google Cloud / Google

This website for Atlanta Dental Spa is another strong dental website example that hits all of the marks. The layout is clean and sophisticated, and although the site has a lot of content (including before / afters), it’s organized in a way that’s easy to navigate.

We particularly liked the Messenger functionality Atlanta Dental Spa includes, which allows you to chat with them on Facebook Messenger directly from their website.

If you’re looking for an overall example to use for inspiration for your dental website, check this one out!

Next Steps

Now that you have some inspiration in terms of the design, colors, and functionality you may want in your dental website, where do you go from here?

Well, it really depends on where you are in your dental website building journey!

If you’re ready to decide on a website builder, check out my guide to choosing a website builder here.

Lastly, if you’re wondering how to market your dental website, check out my guide to creating a local marketing strategy.

The post 6+ Best Dental Website Examples for Inspiration appeared first on ShivarWeb.

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September 30, 2019

Most Popular Micropolitan Areas (Small Cities) for Startups According to the US Census

ShivarWeb has a lot of DIYers and freelancers not living in the biggest, richest cities of the world. In fact, I originally started this business in Athens, Georgia, USA – not in larger Atlanta. As a fun post, I thought I’d dig into some data for my non-metro area readers.

The benefits of big metro areas for new businesses are well-known, but so are the costs in money, time, and health. In the era of remote work, you can get a lot of the benefits of the city anywhere with an Internet connection, except one – being physically around other new business-owners.

With that in mind, I decided to look at the Census Bureau’s data on cities to see if there were any places in America that hit a sweet spot between being small & self-contained and being a popular place to start a new business.

Micropolitan areas are populated areas that have too much population to qualify as a rural area, and too few commuting ties to a larger city to qualify as part of a larger metropolitan area. They are between 10,000 to 50,000 people and quite a distance from a large city.

In other words – micropolitan areas are true small cities.

There are 536 micropolitan areas in America with a core city of between 10,000 and 50,000 people plus the population of the surrounding area.

Here are the Top 20 Most Popular Micropolitan Areas for New Small Businesses in America based on US Census data from 2015-2016 (most recently available). You can view the full list of 536 areas here.

Embed on your website

20. Breckenridge, CO Micro Area

New Businesses: 239

Breckenridge, Colorado is a hub for every outdoor sport that you can imagine. The Rocky Mountain scenery is incredible. It has world-class skiing, hiking, fishing, and kayaking. The area has a population of 31,007.

According to Crunchbase, you’ll find startups like –

Vaway, a vacation rental marketplace
Tomorrow Holding, a fiber reactor technology firm
Area 101, a professional food service firm

19. Tupelo, MS Micro Area

New Businesses: 247

Tupelo, Mississippi is the hub of North Mississippi with an area population of 140,552. It’s the smallest city in America with two banks with more than $10 billion in assets.

Unlike many small towns, it has a thriving downtown with a strong balance of businesses and an independent spirit. You’ll also find growing startups such as –

Central Services Association, an IT firm focusing on utility management
Malco Theaters, a family-owned cinema firm

18. Summit Park, UT Micro Area

New Businesses: 247

Summit Park has an area population of 41,933 and is known as the “richest small town in America.” Nestled in the Uinta mountain range, many of the homes are vacation homes, but it is also a hub for consultants and wealthy remote workers.

17. Sevierville, TN Micro Area

New Businesses: 247

The Sevierville, Tennessee area has a population of 97,892 and is a mountain vacation hub on the East Coast. It’s surrounded by the Great Smoky Mountains with world-class hiking, fishing, and kayaking.

In addition to tourism-based startups, Sevierville is home to stratups such as –

Carp Data Service, a data analysis firm
Comfort Flow, an orthopedic dog bed firm

16. Jackson, WY-ID Micro Area

New Businesses: 251

The Jackson, Wyoming area has a population of 34,721 and has played an outsized role in America’s history. It’s surrounded by two of America’s most iconic National Parks with the Rocky Mountains forming a bowl around the city.

The small city is a mini-hub for a range of startups like –

DMOS Collective, a provider of collapsible stealth and alpha shovels
Odyssey Sensors, an ag-tech company
Video Science, a video chat service for the healthcare industry

15. Brainerd, MN Micro Area

New Businesses: 251

The Brainerd, Minnesota area has a population of 94,408 and a deep history with railroads, logging, mining – and now, tourism. It has a wealth of lakes and deep forests in addition to a classic downtown.

Brainerd is home to startups such as –

Elite Motorcycle Parts, a maker of premium motorcycle parts
MaxBotix, a designer & manufacturer of ultrasonic sensors

14. Branson, MO Micro Area

New Businesses: 263

The Branson, Missouri area has a population of 87,601. It is the home of Mark Twain, and the setting of many of his stories.

The startup community is focused on tourism and food.

13. Augusta-Waterville, ME Micro Area

New Businesses: 269

The Augusta, Maine area has a population of 122,083, and is also the capital of Maine. The city lies on the Kennebec River, and is also host to the University of Maine.

The startup community includes companies like –

Kenway, a manufacturer of custom composite products for mining
Southport Boats, a maker of high performance boats

12. Truckee-Grass Valley, CA Micro Area

New Businesses: 274

The Truckee, California area has a population of 99,696, and is a popular home for small companies moving out of the Bay area into the beautiful Sierra Mountains.

The town lies on both I-80 and the first (and main) transcontinental railroad. The startup community includes companies like –

bigtruck Brand, a specialist in the design, marketing, and manufacturing of hats
Clear Capital, a valuation company for the mortgage industry
1bios, a health tracking & engagement platform for healthcare companies

11. Twin Falls, ID Micro Area

New Businesses: 279

Twin Falls, Idaho has an area population of 110,096. The main city has grown so fast, that the Census Bureau reclassified the area as a metropolitan area in 2019.

The startup community includes companies like –

Plant Therapy, a direct-to-consumer supplier of essential oils
BestNotes, a HIPAA compliant CRM and EHR system
KickBack Rewards, a data entry & CRM company

10. Concord, NH Micro Area

New Businesses: 301

The Concord, New Hampshire area has a population of 151,232, and has strong links to the Boston startup scene. It’s the capital of New Hampshire and lies on the Merrimack River.

The startup community includes companies like –

Bradford Networks, a maker of automated security products for enterprise & governments
Nanocomp, a commercial producer of carbon nanotube-based lightweight sheets, tapes, and wires
CoolSim, an advanced CFD-based tool available for optimizing energy consumption in data centers

9. Hilo, HI Micro Area

New Businesses: 318

The Hilo area has a population of 200,383, and is the main city of the “big island” of Hawaii. The city lies at the base of Mauna Lea and Mauna Loa – two of the most famous volcanoes in the world.

The city has large scientific, agricultural, and tourist industries – all of which influence the startup community. Companies in Hilo include –

Mauna Loa Macadamias, the world’s largest processor of macadamia seeds
DroneFlow, a fully automated aerial inspection technology
Shaka Tea – a line of refreshing herbal iced teas

8. Edwards, CO Micro Area

New Businesses: 322

The Edwards, Colorado area has a population of 54,993, and lies in the heart of the Rocky Mountains in Central Colorado.

The area is a favorite of skiers and outdoor fans. The startup community is spread out & remote, but includes companies like –

HomeTrax, online tools for homeowners, service providers, and organizations
TripHero, a solution to the multi-layered problem of traveling with luggage and equipment

7. Glenwood Springs, CO Micro Area

New Businesses: 342

The Glenwood Springs area has a population of 77,732, and is the “sister” micropolitan area to Edwards, Colorado. The city is nestled in the Roaring Fork Valley on the Colorado River. It has been named “the Most Vibrant Small Town for Arts” and the “5th Best Small Town” in America by different publications.

The startup community is very small and focused on arts & agriculture, but also includes some tech startups like Helpp, a connecting service for providers & consumers.

6. Kalispell, MT Micro Area

New Businesses: 353

The Kalispell area has a population of 102,106, and lies nestled near both Glacier National Park (the “Crown of the Continent”) and the Canadian border.

The startup community includes companies like –

Roomie, a provider of better furniture options for college students
Counter Assault, a manufacturer of bear spray and personal protection spray
Expesicor, a drug discovery firm for neurological disorders

5. Torrington, CT Micro Area

New Businesses: 382

The Torrington area has a population of 181,111, and lies within day trip distance of both New York City and Boston.

The business community includes companies like –

Trlby Innovative, a maker of custom impulse heat sealing equipment
Altek Electronics, an electronic manufacturing company providing chassis and control panels

4. Traverse City, MI Micro Area

New Businesses: 385

The Traverse City area has a population of 149,914, and lies at the far north of Michigan’s “mitten” along Lake Michigan. The city is a top agricultural producer of cherries and other fruits. It’s regularly named as one of the best small town travel destinations and one of the best small towns to retire to.

The business community includes companies such as –

ATLAS Space Operations, a satellite communications service
DriveShare, an online marketplace for classic cars

3. Key West, FL Micro Area

New Businesses: 387

The Key West area has a population of 75,027, and is the sourthernmost city in the continental United States. It is a hub for tourism, festivals, and tropical living.

The business community centers around consultants, travel, and tourism companies.

2. Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT Micro Area

New Businesses: 437

The Lebanon area has a population of 217,215, and lies in the Connecticut River Valley. It is home to the Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth Medical Center. It also has strong transport links to the Boston area, which influences its business community.

The Lebanon area is home to businesses such as –

Appcast, a job advertising platform
Adima, an antibody discovery and optimization platform
Avitide, a purification solutions firm for biopharmaceutical companies

1. Bozeman, MT Micro Area

New Businesses: 536

The Bozeman area has a population of 111,876, and lies at the gateway to Yellowstone National Park along with the largest ski resorts & outdoor opportunities in the United States. The town regularly appears as the “Best Small Town in America” lists. With all the entrepreneurs & economic growth moving to Bozeman – I’m not surprised to see it top this list as well.

Bozeman is home to businesses such as –

Schedulicity, an online appointment scheduling platform for discovering and booking local services
Quiq, a customer service messaging platform
Absaroka Energy Company, a provider of clean renewable energy

Takeaways

I can’t criticize big cities. After all, I ended up moving to Atlanta after starting in Athens, GA. Big cities are great.

But…big cities aren’t the best option for some businesses. And the certainly aren’t the best option for many individuals. I loved this Planet Money episode explaining why.

Remote work and online tools make anywhere a good place to work. But you still need to be able to make “anywhere” work for you – and that includes being around other businesses & startups.

There are plenty of startups & small businesses in nearly every city. And as you can see from the list above, there are some small cities that have more than plenty.

Find your place, find your people, and build your business.

You can view the full list of 536 areas here.

The post Most Popular Micropolitan Areas (Small Cities) for Startups According to the US Census appeared first on ShivarWeb.

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August 20, 2019

How To Sell On Instagram With Shoppable Posts

Instagram holds a world of infinite interest. You can scroll past picture-perfect destinations, see curated fashion trends, and ogle delicious confections, all with the touch of your fingertips. But there’s one thing you can’t do. You can’t click on just any Instagram post and be redirected towards an outside site like you can on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. For most Instagram accounts, there’s only one measly way to explore a particular business, person, or organization more on Instagram â by clicking the link in the bio (if they’ve supplied one).Â Sure, some larger channels with thousands of followers can add a link to swipe up within Instagram Stories, but not everyone can attain those levels of popularity immediately — or ever!

What’s more, I’d be willing to bet that many of you who are reading this post have never even actually clicked the bio links of your favorite Instagrammers.Â And all that is by design. Instagram is structured to keep you engaged and interested by scrollingâand stayingâwithin the app itself. Historically, Instagram has kept a tight leash on outgoing links, and the reason for that is now becoming clear; by limiting outside link clicks, Instagram has created an ideal scenario to introduce shopping right on its own platform.

Shoppable Instagram posts are an entire ecosystem just ready to flourish. But will they? What do shoppable Insta posts mean for small businesses in general, and how can you make them work for your business? In this post, we’ll explore what you need to do to sell on Instagram and show you some options for getting started. Let’s get going!

Ready to sell on Instagram? Shopify makes it easy.

Mobile	POS	Online	Social Media

Mobile App + Free Card Reader	Point of Sale	Online Store	Social Media Selling
Get Started	Get Started	Get Started	Get Started
Low-cost POS for iOS and Android with free hardware	All-purpose POS integrated with all sales channels	Build a store or integrate with your current website	Sell on Facebook and other platforms
Starts at $9/month	Starts at $29/month	Starts at $29/month	Starts at $9/month
Free Trial	Free Trial	Free Trial	Free Trial

Read on to learn more about how this works.

What Are Instagram’s Shoppable Posts?

Unlike the typical Instagram post where you can look but not “touch,” a shoppable Instagram post is one that is connected to a seller’s inventory and available for purchase. A shoppable post may keep you entirely within Instagram for in-app payment, or you may be redirected to that particular product on the seller’s outside website. We are going to take a look at both of these scenarios by examining both Square and Shopify â two platforms that take different approaches to reaching customers on Instagram.

Want to see some examples of shops that sell directly within Instagram? Start by going to Search, which on Instagram is the magnifying glass icon located at the bottom ofÂ the screen. Once you are in the search function, you’ll find general categories lining the top, as well as a random conglomeration of posts like those below. Since we’re only interested in shoppable posts right now, we would click Shop at the top.

Once you select Shop, you’ll find shoppable categories along the top of your feed. In the screenshot below, category buttons (such as Beauty and Clothing & Accessories) line the top of the screen. Note: If you’re just scrolling around on Instagram and happen to see a post with a little purse icon at the bottom right, you can be sure it’s shoppable. Every post shown below is shoppable because I’m within the Shop section on Instagram.

In the example below, you can see that each item for sale is also tagged with a price. Moving your attention to the bottom left, you’ll see the little purse. You can pull up even more available items from that seller by selecting the View Products button.

Before we go too much further, I want to point out that there are two different types of shoppable Instagram options: One confines the purchase entirely on Instagram, and the other involves a tagged post that’s shoppable by a link that takes your shoppers directly to your online storefront. Let’s first take a look at the in-app purchase flow.

For the customer who is ready to make a purchase, the checkout flow within Instagram’s app is short and sweet. After supplying my name in one screen and shipping information in the next, I am now ready to give my payment details. When I do this, Instagram saves my information so that I don’t have to ever enter it again in any other Instagram shop. Instagram Checkout accepts all the major credit cards, plus PayPal.

Screen capture of Instagram checkout 2019

Selling on Instagram with a completely in-app payment flow requires integrating with an existing eCommerce platform such as Shopify, 3dcard, Big Commerce, or Magento. We are going to take a close look at connecting Shopify with Instagram in just a minute. With this option, you actually don’t even need a separate website to start selling on Instagram, but if you do, everything syncs automatically for you.

As mentioned a moment ago, your other option to sell on Instagram is by creating a tagged post that goes directly to your site. The shop below is an example of what that looks like. Customers can check out the items you’ve connected to Instagram by clicking on View Products, or they can click on a tagged product and go directly to that product’s page on your own site. What we are looking at below is inventory that this particular seller created and added to their Product Catalog. We’ll talk more about this catalog in a moment, as it’s the gateway to selling all things on Instagram.

Shoppable Catalog

But first, let’s see what happens if we like an item in this seller’s catalog. I like the look of this art print, so I click on it. The button below tells me I’ll be redirected to the seller’s outside site.

Now that you have an idea of how customers may find and interact with shoppable posts, you probably are getting excited to sell your own items on Instagram. Let’s keep going and find out how to do it!

How Do You Become Eligible for Shoppable Posts?

Becoming eligible for shoppable Instagram posts starts with setting up a business account, but not just anyone can sell on Instagram. Instagram has an easy little checklist for those who are thinking about setting up shop.

Is your business located in a supported market?
Does your business sell physical goods?
Does your business comply with commerce policies?
Is your Instagram account a business account? (I’ll show you how to switch to a business account in the next section.)
Is your account connected to a Facebook Page? (We’ll also show you this!)

If you haven’t noticed yet, Facebook (the parent company of Instagram) is the official gatekeeper to all Instagram selling. You can’t create an Instagram business account or sell on Instagram without having and connecting to a Facebook Business page. That also means you’ll need to create a business profile on Facebook for your business.Â Within your business dashboard, you can easily connect Instagram and get into the nitty-gritty when it comes to setting up shopping.

For those who haven’t set up a Facebook Business Page, it’s simple to start. At the top of your Facebook page, you’ll see buttons labeled HomeÂ and Create right next to the search bar. Select Create and your business type as seen below, and you’ll be guided through the process.

Screen Capture of Facebook’s Create a Business Page Flow

Now that you have a Facebook business page, let’s keep the ball rolling so we can start selling on Instagram!

Set-Up Requirements For Selling On Instagram

To start selling on Instagram, make sure you also have an Instagram business account set up rather than a personal account. You can easily change an existing account to a business Instagram account by heading to your Instagram profile and tapping the “hamburger” icon (three horizontal lines).

From there, you’ll select settings (circular gear icon), and then tap Account where you can select Switch to Business Account. You can also add details about your account, such as contact information and your category here, too. Make sure you tap Done as that saves your updates!

The next thing you’ll need to do is create a Facebook Catalog because this houses all of your products and connects with Instagram. You have a few ways to create your catalog for syncing with Instagram. The next section shows you how to create your catalog manually so you can start enjoying shoppable posts. We’ll also explore some other options, like integrating apps or using a payment processor like Square to link directly to an existing Square site.

How To Create Shoppable Posts On Instagram

Selling on Instagram all starts with your catalog you create back within your Facebook Business Page. Here’s what a Facebook Catalog workspace looks like; it’s nice and simple to get started.

Screen Capture Instagram Catalog Creation

We are going to select Add Your Products underneath the Instagram Shopping section. If you haven’t yet, you can also connect your Instagram and Facebook Business account right back here, too! That’s another necessity to get everything set up correctly.

If your inventory is small, adding products manually here is probably the choice for you. However, you can also opt to upload data feeds or connect with Facebook Pixels by clicking those options. In upcoming sections, we are also going to explore how to use Facebook Partnersâapps like Shopifyâthat can sync all of your inventory, so you don’t have to do anything manually. For now, let’s keep moving with manual uploading, however.

Manually creating products is actually easy, as long as you have manageable amounts of inventory. Simply fill in the form, add an image and you’ve got a product added to your catalog!

Screen Capture of Manual Product Creation

While it’s a straightforward process, this manual product entry option may not be for you. Perhaps you have an extensive inventory, or you want to integrate with a platform that gives you more control or better features. By choosing the Connect with an eCommerce Platform, you have options that may simplify your process considerably.

Regardless of whether you manually create your catalog in the back end or you have integrated an eCommerce platform (more on that soon), you’ll create your shoppable Instagram post the same way:

Upload your image to Instagram
Tap where you want a tag
Search and select for your product from your catalog that’s synced to Instagram
Tag up to five items for a single post, or up to twenty items for a multi-image post
Publish your post

Let’s not forget that before we go live with our Instagram post, we need to have Instagram approve our shop.

Getting Approved To Sell On Instagram

Once you’ve got your catalog created, you’ll need to head back into your Instagram profile’s setting and tap Business, and then select Shopping on Instagram. Here you will submit your account for review. You can’t start selling on Instagram until you get approved. Instagram may take a few business days or more to review your catalog, so don’t panic if it doesn’t happen as soon as you expect.

How To Simplify Your Instagram Sales

Screen capture of eCommerce Options

Choosing to connect to an eCommerce platform that’s partnered with Facebook (pictured above) means that you can automatically import products and save yourself a lot of time. It also means that your customers can search for and complete their purchase all without leaving Instagram.

Your inventory syncs across any platform that’s set up through one of these third-party apps. So whether they shop on your site directly, or on your Facebook shop, Instagram feed, or anywhere else, you know that your inventory stays seamlessly updated. We are going to take a closer look at Shopify as an option for selling on Instagram.

Selling On Instagram With Shopify

Although I just hyped you up with the fact that Shopify syncs with your site and a multitude of platforms, you can actually set up a Shopify account and start selling in person and online without having an eCommerce site at all! With the Shopify Lite option for only $9 a month, you can get your foot in the door selling on Instagram (and all over the web) without having a site. Of course, people who have a higher-tiered Shopify plan can enjoy selling on social channels as well, too! Check out our full Shopify review for all of your options, features, and pricing details.

Mobile	POS	Online	Social Media

Mobile App + Free Card Reader	Point of Sale	Online Store	Social Media Selling
Get Started	Get Started	Get Started	Get Started
Low-cost POS for iOS and Android with free hardware	All-purpose POS integrated with all sales channels	Build a store or integrate with your current website	Sell on Facebook and other platforms
Starts at $9/month	Starts at $29/month	Starts at $29/month	Starts at $9/month
Free Trial	Free Trial	Free Trial	Free Trial

If you go the Shopify (or any other Facebook partnered eCommerce) route, you don’t have to set up a catalog for Instagram manually. Once you’ve linked your Instagram and Facebook and have your eCommerce platform selected (push of a button as seen above), your audience can click any post you have tagged. They can make all of their purchases with you in-app right through Instagram, while your inventory all stays synced and up to date.

A few important things to remember about using Shopify and Instagram:

As mentioned in the Getting Approved To Sell On Instagram section above, you can’t start selling on Instagram until Instagram approves you. You won’t be able to start tagging Instagram posts with your Shopify inventory until you see the notification in your Instagram business profile that you’ve been approved. And keep in mind that can take a few days.
Products need to be available in your Facebook Catalog and Shopify store. So make sure you sync them both, which you can do from your Facebook Business catalog page.
Once you’re set up and you tag an item in your Instagram post, you’ll see your catalog products appear and you can make your selections. If you have more than one variant in Shopify, you’ll need to choose which variant for that product tag as well.
In Instagram stories, you can tag products with a shopping sticker, but only on images, not videos at this time.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about using Shopify to sell your wares in more online channels, take a look at Shopify Facebook Stores: The Cheap And Easy Way To Sell Online for a closer look.

If a consistent, in-app experience within Instagram is something that appeals to you, the only way to do that is to link with one of the eCommerce platforms. If you would rather that people click directly to your site rather than finishing their sale on Instagram, you have options, too! You’ll need to manually create products and link to your site from your catalog unless you use Square, which just recently announced that you can now sell on Instagram easier while fully syncing the inventory from your Square site!

Selling On Instagram With Square

Setting up Shoppable Instagram posts with Square is a little bit different. You’ll start the process back on Square’s end rather than the other way around. Essentially, you’ll follow a very simple and easy-to-follow flow that clearly walks you through the connection process.

As with all of the other option, you still need to have:

An Instagram Business Account (and be eligible to sell)
Facebook Business Page
Approval from Instagram

You’ll also need:

A Square website
At least one product in your inventory

Haven’t decided if Square is the right choice to help you sell online yet? Check out our full Square Online Store and eCommerce Review and find out everything you need to know about pricing, features, and all that awaits you as a Square merchant.

Back at your Square Website Dashboard, you’ll be ever-so-gently walked through the complete flow to set up your Instagram account through Facebook Business Extension. Don’t be intimidated, because you won’t need to know any code whatsoever. As you are guided through the relatively short steps, Square even automatically installs the Facebook Pixel, which tracks everything for you. That means you don’t have to even think about code to track any future ad campaigns you want to create to promote your Instagram or Facebook shop. You’ll also get insight into how much business your Instagram shoppable posts are bringing in. You’ll get all that information automatically and right from your dashboard. The image below is taken from Square to illustrate what I mean about the whole thing being very user-friendly.

Screen Capture of Square Online Set Up Shopping on Instagram

Remember, you need to make sure that you head back into Instagram and request approval before you can start selling. We cover how to do that in a previous section within this post. Also take note that with the Square option, your shoppers don’t pay within Instagram; instead, they’ll go to your site to finish their purchase after clicking on a tagged post.

Extra bonus: Businesses that offer appointments can now integrate Square Appointments with Instagram to book with followers. Just like creating shoppable posts, you need your Instagram profile set to a business account to reap the benefits of appointment booking. You’ll also want to turn on Square Appointments online back in your Square dashboard. When you link your Instagram to Square, the Book button will automatically show up in your profile!

Are Instagram’s Shoppable Posts Right For You?

If you have a physical product and even just a small loyal following, merging the two with shoppable Insta posts is probably the smartest business move you can make. Whether you go the manual route, integrate with an app, or sync with an existing Square site, the effort required to get everything going is very minimal. Once you choose an option, getting things connected at your dashboard really couldn’t be any easier. Every solution we explored today is for those who have very little technical expertise or who just don’t have time to fuss with a lot of details.

Selling on Instagram connects you to more people. By using hashtags and networking in similar circles, you can potentially tap into greater success for your business. And that’s the ultimate goal! If you’d like more information about setting up an eCommerce site to complement your social selling, check out How To Accept Online Payments With Square.

The post How To Sell On Instagram With Shoppable Posts appeared first on Merchant Maverick.

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July 16, 2019

What Is Square And How Does It Work?

We at Merchant Maverick like Square. Itâs a great service that opens up the ability to process credit card payments to many small businesses, and weâve written a lot of articles about Square’s point of sale, payment processing, inventory, booking, and invoicing features. These articles can be prohibitively in-depth to the uninitiated, however, so you might want to read this quick overview of Square for a summary before digging into the details.

A Brief History Of Square

Square was founded in 2009 when Jack Dorsey (also of Twitter) tried to help his friend Jim McKelvey take a credit card payment of $2,000.00. Squareâs first product was a magnetic stripe credit card reader that could be inserted into a smartphoneâs headphone jack to take credit card sales.

Square became a public company in November of 2015, and its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SQ. While Square does bring in a lot of money ($3.3 billion for the year 2018), it still has not made a profit. For the moment, the company seems to be more focused on growing by adding new services for its customers.

While Square’s main focus continues to be helping small businesses quickly and easily set up taking credit card payments, it has also expanded its services to point of sale, inventory, and employee management — giving small businesses the ability to run more like large ones (more on these services below). To this end, it has bought the food delivery business Caviar, the catering service Zesty, and the website building service Weebly. It also owns a consumer-centric digital wallet called the Cash App, where users can send money to each other and even buy from any store with the money in the app.

In the span of about ten years, Square has grown from a startup focusing on one aspect of helping small businesses grow to a large business providing a suite of services that help small businesses expand. With so many additional services, what exactly does Square do these days?

What Does Square Do?

At its heart, Square is still a credit card processing aggregator (also sometimes called a third party payment processor or a payment service provider (PSP)). We have a great article on the difference between a merchant account provider and an aggregator, but below is a quick explanation.

Square’s Credit Card Processing Services

Traditionally, if you want your business to take credit card sales, you would work with a provider to set up something called a merchant account. To get a merchant account, you typically undergo a long application process and provide a lot of financial information before you are approved. These providers want to make sure that, based on your businessâs existing history, you don’t present a huge financial risk.

Credit card processing aggregators take more of a see-as-we-go approach and assume financial risk for bad accounts. Aggregators merely need to verify the identity of the applicant before authorizing a new account, and generally don’t ask too much more information. They have more freedom on who they sign up and how they do business with those they sign up.

While this means aggregators can quickly set your business up to take credit card payments without needing an established history, they tend to be cautious afterwards. These types of payment processors have advanced systems in place to analyze each transaction for any red flags. Suspicious transactions can cause the processor to hold funds until it has more information. Worse, third-party processors often have a clause in the contract that says they can terminate your account if they see fit. Usually, this happens to businesses that have high numbers of chargebacks or fraudulent transactions.

Square is an aggregator, so essentially the above is its business model. You can sign up for Square within minutes and without providing detailed financial information. In addition, Square gives you a basic set of free hardware and software so you can start taking credit card payments almost right away. The free items include:

Square Point Of Sale Software: Square’s free POS software is incredibly advanced for being free, though it’s certainly not a full-fledged POS. Still, for most small businesses it is more than sufficient. Square also offers premium iPad POS systems for a monthly fee if you need more advanced features.
Credit Card Reader: You can get a basic magnetic strip reader for free, but if you want support for chip cards, you’ll have to upgrade to another reader, which will cost you.
Invoicing: For those businesses that bill a larger amount but less often (e.g. lawn care services), Square offers an electronic invoicing function. The invoices are free to send, but you will pay a transaction fee when your customer pays with their card.

Square’s Value-Added Services

As mentioned earlier, Square has been adding more services to its core credit card processing business. Some of these services are for free, but others are available for a small fee. These services include:

Employee Management: With this service, you can manage your employees from anywhere. You can add new employees to the system, track their hours, track their register/sales (at either single location or multiple locations), edit and close employee timecards, and give selected employees selected access to various parts of this software (e.g. so they can enter their own hours but not see your weekly sales numbers).
Payroll Services: This service imports data from the employee management software so that you can easily pay your employees and contractors. Square will handle tax filings and withholdings, and they can handle the payments to other employee benefits such as health insurance and 401(k). You can even offer direct deposit to your employees.
Inventory Management: Square offers basic inventory management in its Point of Sale app for free, but the premium iPad POS systems offer a more detailed system that can track and analyze your business’s inventory across multiple stores and multiple registers. You are notified when inventory is low, and items are automatically removed from inventory when they’re sold, whether at one of your physical locations or online.
Business Debit Card (Square Card): When you are paid by your customers through Square, the money goes to an account kept by Square. Rather than moving the money to your bank, you can use it immediately with the Square Card. The Square Card is a debit card sponsored by Mastercard, and you can request it from Square for free. Check out How Does Square’s Instant Deposit Work?Â for more information about how to access your funds.
Appointments: Square provides a booking calendar for professional service businesses (like hair salons). The calendar not only tracks and moves appointments, but it can also send appointment reminders to customers. The POS and booking system is free for a single user, but if you have multiple users you’ll need to pay a monthly fee.
Square Online Store: Pretty much every business needs an online presence, and Square can help you build a professional-looking website even if you’ve never done it before. Square provides tools that can help you track your inventory sold through your online store and helps you with shipping (printing labels, discounted rates). Best of all, when you sell out of state, it tracks all the different sales taxes that you might owe. There’s a basic free webstore, but if you need more advanced features, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the other plans.
Other Services: Square offers many more services designed to make a small business owner’s life easier. For instance, Square offers marketing software to help you build email and social media advertising campaigns. It has an installment payment service for certain businesses so that a customer can buy a big-ticket item and pay Square in installments while you get paid right away. Square can help you build a loyalty program where customers can redeem goods or services with points. You can get your own branded gift cards to sell to your customers. Square even provides online store owners with a product photography service so that the items sold through webstores are presented in their best light.

As can be seen above, Square is well on its way to offering an entire suite of software and services that not only help you take credit card sales, but also help you manage your entire business’s operations.

What Are The Advantages of Square?

Every successful business has a few things it does extremely well, and Square is no exception. Square basically provides you with a free, fast, and easy-to-get-out-of way to start taking credit card sales. To elaborate a bit, the following are some advantages for signing up with Square:

Fast Setup: You can sign up for Square within minutes and get a credit card reader shipped to you very quickly.
Easy Termination: If you sign up and find that you don’t like Square, you can stop working with Square any time you want. There are no penalties for leaving, so you can sign up without fear. (There may be loose ends to tie up, but you can still terminate the services at will.)
Easy To Use: Square is focused on small businesses that are just starting out. They provide a simple piece of hardware and intuitive software to help you run your business and help you grow.
Simple Fee Structure: Compared with other pricing models, Square has an easy-to-understand flat fee structure so you can better predict your profits.
Fast Payment: With Square, you can get paid almost right away after a customer makes a charge. You can instantly deposit these funds into your outside account or use the funds directly with the Square Card debit card. In contrast, traditional merchant account providers typically hold the funds for at least 24 hours before releasing it to you. For a small business with tight cash flow, Square’s fast payment can make a difference to the business’s survival.
No Minimums Or Monthly Fees: A small fee here and there might seem insignificant, but they can add up in the long run. Square’s credit card processing service (and a lot of their other services) have no minimum or monthly fees, so a small business doesn’t have to worry about paying for anything other than the transaction processing costs.

These are just some of the advantages for signing up with Square. Of course, no business is perfect, and neither is Square. Under some circumstances and for some types of businesses, Square is not the best option.

What Are The Disadvantages Of Square?

No business can be everything to everyone, so Square is not suitable for every type of business. One of the biggest complaints we see about Square is that Square sometimes withhold funds in a merchant’s account, with or without warning. Sometimes, you never get paid. If you fit into one of the categories below, you might want to think twice before signing up with Square:

Not Suitable For High-Risk Businesses: A “high risk” business is usually defined as a business that deals with guns and ammo, tobacco and vaporizers, pharmaceuticals, gambling and financial services, and similar — anything highly regulated or prone to chargebacks and disputes. If you deal in any of these, Square is likely not the right business partner for you. Specifically, in its Terms of Service, Square reserves the right to terminate service if you violate any export control regulations (for example, sell military-grade items to specific countries) and money laundering laws, sell weapons or devices designed to cause physical harm, or “use the Services except as otherwise allowed” under their agreements.
Not Suitable For Business With Many Chargebacks: If you have a business that causes a high rate of dispute or chargebacks (even if it’s not otherwise a high-risk business), then Square is probably not the right company for you. Going back to Square’s business model, it fronts you the money that you take from your customers so you can collect right away while it waits for the banks to settle the charges. So, if Square can’t eventually get the money from the banks, it might stop fronting you the money (put a hold on your account) or stop working with you altogether.
Not The Best Pricing For High-Volume businesses: Despite its transparent pricing, Square might not be the cheapest service provider for your particular business. If your business is mature, you have an established financial history and are doing a consistently high volume of card payments, and you know how your customers tend to pay for your goods or services, then you might want to shop around a little more to find the merchant account provider that can offer you interchange-plus pricing and volume discounts. (That said, Square does negotiate custom rates for high-volume businesses, but you should absolutely shop around all the same.)

We have an article that gives more details on why Square is not suitable for high risk and high chargeback businesses. If you have an established business and wish to shop around, here’s some information on where you might be able to get a better deal.

What Are Square’s Fees?

Business owners like having predictable operating expenditures every month. Because credit card fees usually have a percentage component and a flat fee component, the cost of allowing credit card sales tend to be less predictable. Compared to traditional credit card processors, however, Squareâs fees are easier to predict.

With Square, you usually only have to worry about just one fee, expressed in a percentage form. Right now, if you use Squareâs free credit card reader and free Point of Sale software, you pay 2.75% of the sale. Thatâs it. If your customers choose to pay online, your rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.Â Having only to keep two numbers in mind makes it easier for you to figure out your markups so you can make a profit for your entire business.

Note, though, that if you use Squareâs premium hardware or software, the charges can get a little complex. Here’s an article giving a more detailed breakdown of Square’s fees.

How Do You Use Square?

When it comes down to it, it’s fairly easy to start using Square’s services. You can do it in four steps:

Sign Up For A Free Account. This only takes a few minutes, and we even have an article walking you through the process. You wonât have to provide a lot of financial information, and they wonât do a credit check on you at this stage (they will later, after youâre all set up).
Get Your Free Square Reader. Youâll have quite a few hardware choices–some of which you will need to pay for–but thereâs always one thatâs free for either iOS or Android.
Download The Free Square App. The app is called Square Point of Sale, and you will need this app to process payments through a mobile device.
Log In To The Free Square Dashboard And Explore. This is a fairly robust piece of software that manages all your credit card charges. You can customize reporting in a centralized hub, and do much, much more (some of which cost extra). Here’s a Merchant Maverick article on the details of the dashboard.

As mentioned above, Square wants to help you run your business. There are a lot of value-added services they offer, so once you’re all set taking credit card sales, you might wish set aside a little time to explore these additional services to see how they can help you run your business.

What Kinds of Businesses Is Square Best For?

Square isnât right for every business, but if your business is small or new, Square is very likely the best bet for you. With Square, youâll get lots of free software, hardware, and add-ons to get you up and running very quickly. You can use Square on the web, at a brick-and-mortar store, and even at mobile locations such as food festivals.

We’ve compared Square with PayPal and Clover Go and believe Square really does offer the best value for the price for a start-up business. As long as youâre not one of the âhigh riskâ businesses, you should have no problems getting payments from Square or with your account being abruptly suspended or terminated. Best of all, if you use Square and then after a while decide you donât like them, you can stop using them at any time.

Is Square right for you? This more in-depth article can help you decide.

The post What Is Square And How Does It Work? appeared first on Merchant Maverick.

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July 11, 2019

Top Credit Cards With Airport Lounge Access

Airports are not places of emotional respite and quiet contemplation. Airports are angry, crowded, chaotic, exploitative places where anxiety thrives like bacteria on picnic potato salad. Heavily-policed cathedrals of dread and frustration where the malware-ridden charging stations are all occupied and a mediocre sandwich costs 12 bucks. The modern airport experience distills and concentrates the existential toxicity we spend our lives trying and failing to avoid.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were something you could do to make airports less awful? As it turns out, for a price, there is.

Most airports have lounges where you can take refuge from the rest of the airport. While airports differ in terms of the lounge benefits they offer, these benefits typically include complimentary snacks and drinks, free wi-fi, computer workstations, comfy seating, and other luxury amenities. Some even offer full spa treatments!

You can just pay to get into these lounges, but if you use them with any frequency, this will cost you quite a bit. Thankfully, some travel credit cards come with complimentary airport lounge access, entitling you — and up to two companions, in most cases — to use these lounges and enjoy their benefits. While these cards normally carry a high annual fee, you’ll still come out ahead if you use these lounges often enough. Plus, premium travel cards offer a host of additional benefits, like travel protection, the ability to earn points or cash back, and more.

Read on to get the details of the top travel credit cards with lounge access. Hopefully, you’ll find one that appeals to you!

Credit Card	Annual Fee	Lounge Access
The Platinum Card from Amex	$550	Amex Centurion, Priority Pass, Delta Sky Clubs, Airspace
The Business Platinum Card from Amex	$595	Amex Centurion, Priority Pass, Delta Sky Clubs, Airspace
Mastercard Black Card	$495	Priority Pass
Chase Sapphire Reserve	$450	Priority Pass
Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard	$450	American Airlines Admiral’s Club
Hilton Honors Amex Aspire	$450	Priority Pass
Hilton Honors Amex Ascend	$95	Priority Pass

The Platinum Card from American Express

The Platinum Card from American Express Compare	Annual Fee: $550 Purchase APR: N/A (charge card)
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer: 60,000 points after you spend $5,000+ on purchases in your first 3 months Purchase intro APR: N/A (this is a charge card) Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 5 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.comâ¨ 1 point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases Notable perks & benefits: Get access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide via theÂ American Express Global Lounge Collection Receive a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85) Use Membership Rewards Pay with Points for a First or Business class flight with any airline available through Amex Travel and get 35% of the points back Get $200 per year in statement credits for incidental fees with the qualifying airline of your choice More card details (click to expand) Hide

The Platinum Card from Amex earns first mention from us in this article. Why? Because no other credit card out there (with the exception of the business version of this card) gets you access to as many airport lounges as this one.

With Amex’s Platinum Card, you’ll gain access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which includes the following airport lounge networks:

Amex Centurion — Typically rated as the most luxurious of the bunch, Amex Centurion lounges can be found at 8 domestic airports and 8 non-US airports
Priority Pass — Priority Pass is the world’s biggest airport lounge network with over 1,200 locations across 130 countries
Delta Sky Clubs — You must be flying with Delta to take advantage of these lounges
Airspace — Airspace lounges can currently be found in just two airports, Cleveland and San Diego

The Platinum Card gives youÂ and up to two companions free access to these lounges. Not too shabby!

The airport lounge benefits are only the beginning of the perks you’ll be able to access. You’ll earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $5,000+ on purchases within 3 months. You’ll get an annual $200 airline fee credit to cover incidentals with an airline of your choosing. You’ll get up to $200/year worth of Uber credits.

Shall I go on?

You’ll get 5X Membership Rewards points on a) flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel,Â and b) prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com. You’ll get a statement credit to cover the cost of applying for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. You can use your points to book travel with amextravel.com and not have to deal with blackout dates or seat restrictions. You’ll even get complimentary benefits with an average total value of $550 with Fine Hotels & Resorts.

As you can see, the Amex Platinum Card carries a great many high-value benefits (and I didn’t even list them all!). However, these benefits don’t come cheap, as the card carries a $550 annual fee. Now, keep in mind that every other card featuring this level of free airport lounge access also carries a hefty annual fee (over $400). Of course, in order to come out ahead financially with any of these cards, you’ll have to fly often enough to take full advantage of your travel benefits.

Keep in mind that this is a charge card — you have to pay your balance in full each month.

The Business Platinum Card from American Express

American Express Business Platinum Card Compare	Annual Fee: $595 Purchase APR: N/A (this is a charge card)
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer: 50,000 points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 on all qualifying purchases within the first three months Purchase intro APR: N/A (this is a charge card) Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 5 points per dollar spent on flights and prepaid hotels booked via Amexâs travel website 1.5 points per dollar on eligible purchases of $5,000 or more â up to 1 million additional points per year 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases Notable perks & benefits: Get access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide via theÂ American Express Global Lounge Collection Receive a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85) Use Membership Rewards Pay with Points for a First or Business class flight with any airline available through Amex Travel and get 35% of the points back Get $200 per year in statement credits for incidental fees with the qualifying airline of your choice More card details (click to expand) Hide

American Express Business Platinum Card

Compare

Annual Fee:

$595

Purchase APR:

N/A (this is a charge card)

Required credit: Good, excellent

Bonus offer: 50,000 points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 on all qualifying purchases within the first three months

Purchase intro APR: N/A (this is a charge card)

Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Foreign transaction fee: None

Rewards:

5 points per dollar spent on flights and prepaid hotels booked via Amexâs travel website
1.5 points per dollar on eligible purchases of $5,000 or more â up to 1 million additional points per year
1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases

Notable perks & benefits:

Get access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide via theÂ American Express Global Lounge Collection
Receive a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85)
Use Membership Rewards Pay with Points for a First or Business class flight with any airline available through Amex Travel and get 35% of the points back
Get $200 per year in statement credits for incidental fees with the qualifying airline of your choice

More card details (click to expand)

Hide

You guessed it: The Business Platinum Card from American Express is the business version of Amex’s Platinum Card. Naturally, the two cards are similar, but not identical.

The similarities? Both cards offer the same level of airport lounge access and largely carry the same travel perks, such as a fee credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck and a $200 airline fee credit. Also, both are charge cards.

The differences? The Business Platinum card has a slightly higher annual fee ($595) and no Uber credits. It also sports a higher signup bonus, though you have to spend more in order to get it in full. The Amex Business Platinum offers 50,000 points after you spend $10,000 in your first three months and another 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 within those same three months.

The card’s points-earning structure is also a bit different: 5X points on airfare and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com and 1.5X points on purchases of $5,000 or more. All other purchases earn you 1 point per dollar spent.

As the Amex Business Platinum is a business credit card, you can get cards for your employees for no additional fee.

Mastercard Black Card

Mastercard Black Card Apply Now	Annual Fee: $495 Purchase APR: 17.24%, Variable
Required credit: Excellent Bonus offer: None Purchase intro APR:Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR: 0% for the first 15 billing cycles Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 1 point per dollar spent 2% value for airfare redemptions 1.5% value for cash back redemptions 1% value forÂ hotel stays and car rental redemptions Notable Perks & Benefits:Â 24/7 Luxury Card Concierge Luxury gifts fromÂ brand name companies Room upgrades, complimentary food and beverage, and spa credits when booking with Luxury Card Travel Travel benefits, including global luggage delivery,Â 24/7 chauffeured transportation, and private jet/yacht chartering services $100 annual airline credit Priority Pass Select VIP airport lounge access Global Entry & TSA PreCheck application credit More card details (click to expand) Hide

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The Mastercard Black Card doesn’t carry the same level of travel benefits as most of the other cards here, so it’s fair to ask how one can justify getting this card, given its $495 annual fee. Well, there’s one thing the Mastercard Black Card can offer that other travel cards with airport lounge access don’t.

The Mastercard Black Card gives you access to Priority Pass lounges via the Priority Pass Select program, but unlike other credit cards offering this benefit, the Mastercard Black Card bestows free access to Priority Pass lounges for both you and an unlimited number of guests. The other credit cards offering Priority Pass Select limit free lounge access to two companions with any additional companions subject to a fee for entry. If Priority Pass Select membership is of the utmost importance to you and you travel frequently with a sizable family or entourage, the Mastercard Black Card might be just what you’re looking for.

While the Black Card’s other benefits don’t quite live up to those of the other cards listed here, the card does offer 2% of your value back (in the form of points) for airfare redemptions and 1.5% value for cash back redemptions. You’ll also get a $100 annual air travel credit toward all flight-related purchases as well as a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Additionally, the card is made out of stainless steel, so it looks cool.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase Sapphire Reserve Compare	Annual Fee: $450 Purchase APR: 19.24%â26.24%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer: 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Purchase intro APR: N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 3 points per dollar spent on travel and dining at restaurants 3 points per dollar spent on travel worldwide immediately after earning your $300 annual travel credit 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â $300 Annual Travel Credit 50% more value when redeeming points for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel and baggage delay insurance Auto rental collision damage waiver Trip delay reimbursement Purchase protection and extended warranty More card details (click to expand) Hide

Chase’s Sapphire Reserve card is a solid contender in the travel credit card race, offering free access to all Priority Pass lounges for you and up to 2 guests. The annual fee is $450, but in exchange, you’ll be entitled to some great high-value benefits.

The Sapphire Reserve has an impressive signup bonus of 50,000 points after you spend $4,000+ on purchases in the first 3 months. When redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, those points will be worth $750, as your points get a 50% value boost when you redeem them this way. You’ll also get a statement credit of up to $300 to cover your travel purchases each account anniversary year.

As far as ongoing points-earning goes, you’ll earn 3X points on all travel purchases after earning your $300 annual travel credit. You’ll also get 3X points on all restaurant purchases and 1 point for all other purchases. And yes, you’ll get a statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can also transfer your points over to other leading travel loyalty programs on a 1:1 basis. Score one for points flexibility!

Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard

Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard Compare	Annual Fee: $450 Purchase APR: 17.99% – 25.99%, Variable
Required credit: Excellent Bonus offer: 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months Purchase intro APR:Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â 10,000 AAdvantage Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) once you spend $40,000 in purchases within a calendar year 25% savings on in-flight food and beverage purchases on American Airlines flights Up to aÂ $100 credit every 5 years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Priority check-in, priority airport screening (where available) and boarding privileges for you and up to 8 companions on the same reservation First bag checked free on domestic American Airlines flights for you and up to 8 companions ComplimentaryÂ Admirals Club membership Dedicated concierge More card details (click to expand) Hide

Here’s a luxury travel card with lounge access for frequent American Airlines travelers. The Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard’s main benefit is the access it grants you to AA’s Admiral’s Club program. Both you and your immediate family (or two unrelated companions) will get free access to the 50+ Admiral’s Club lounges around the world along with 60+ partner lounges.

While the card does carry an annual fee of $450, consider that a standalone Admiral’s Club membership costs up to $650/year for an individual membership and $1,250/year for a household membership!

The Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard comes with a host of additional travel benefits. You and up to 8 travel companions will get one free checked bag on domestic AA flights, and if your companions are on your reservation, you’ll all enjoy priority check-in, priority airport screening (where available), and priority boarding.

You’ll also get 25% savings on inflight food and beverage purchases on AA flights, a statement credit to cover your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee, 50,000 AAdvantage miles when you spend $5,000+ in the first 3 months, 2 miles for every dollar spent on AA purchases (1 mile per dollar spent on everything else), dedicated concierge service, and more.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card Compare	Annual Fee: $450 Purchase APR: 17.99% – 26.99%, Variable
Required credit: Excellent Bonus offer: 150,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $4,000+ in purchases within your first 3 months Purchase intro APR: N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 14 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent on all Hilton-related purchases 7 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and US restaurants 3 points per dollar spent on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â Unlimited Priority Pass lounge access for you and up to 2 companions per visit Annual $250 Hilton Resort statement credit Annual $250 airline fee credit with a qualifying airline of your choosing Complimentary Diamond status in Hilton’s loyalty program More card details (click to expand) Hide

Hilton-heads out there will appreciate the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire card. Yes, you’ll get Priority Pass Select membership granting you and up to 2 companions free access to Priority Pass lounges. You’ll also get a nice set of Hilton-specific benefits, including:

Hilton Honors Diamond status
Two weekend award nights — one when you open your account (and on your account anniversary) and one when you spend $60,000 in a calendar year
$250 Hilton Resort statement credit — you get one each calendar year
$250 airline fee credit for incidentals with an airline of your choosing

As far as points go, you’ll get 150,000 Hilton Honors points when you spend $4,000+ on purchases in the first 3 months. The Aspire card also offers a whopping 14X points on all Hilton-related purchases along with 7X points on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, and US restaurant purchases. All other purchases will earn you 3X points.

The Hilton Honors Amex Aspire card carries a $450 annual fee.

Hilton Honors American Express Ascend

Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card Compare	Annual Fee: $95 Purchase APR: 17.99% – 26.99%, Variable
Required credit: Good, Excellent Bonus offer: 125,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $2,000+ on purchases in the first 3 months Purchase intro APR: N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 12 Hilton Honors points per dollar spent on all Hilton-related purchases 6 points per dollar spent on all purchases at US restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations 3 points per dollar spent on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â 10 free visits per year to Priority Pass lounges, with each subsequent visit costing $27 Your guests can enter Priority Pass lounges for $27 apiece Complimentary Gold status in Hilton’s loyalty program Earn a Weekend Night Reward after you spend $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year More card details (click to expand) Hide

No, we didn’t screw up and list the same card twice. The Hilton Honors American Express Ascend (not the Aspire) card differs from its sister card — and every other credit card listed in this article — in that it offers airport lounge access while sporting an annual fee of just $95. Relatively speaking, the Ascend card is the “bargain” option if you want a credit card that grants you airport lounge access!

However, along with the smaller annual fee comes a lower level of lounge benefits. You get 10 free visits per year to Priority Pass lounges, with each subsequent visit costing $27. And if you want your guests to get in for free, you’ll have to use up one of your 10 free lounge visits on each person you bring with you.

The card comes with a bonus offer of 125,000 Hilton Honors points after you spend $2,000+ on purchases in your first 3 months. You’ll also earn 12X points on all Hilton purchases, 6X points on US restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations, and 3X points on everything else. Additional benefits include complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and a free weekend reward night after you spend $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year.

Final Thoughts

Airports are not fun places. If you’re prepared to pay for the privilege of having a more pleasant airport experience, a travel credit card gives you a better deal on airport lounge access than a standalone membership. If you travel often enough to take advantage of the benefits of these cards, you can easily recoup the value of these cards’ high annual fees.

Still searching for the credit card that fits your needs? Let these articles inform your decision!

Best airline credit cards for businesses
Top credit cards with no foreign transaction fees
Guide to using personal cards for business

The post Top Credit Cards With Airport Lounge Access appeared first on Merchant Maverick.

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July 4, 2019

Credit Cards With Car Rental Insurance: The Complete Guide

Travel often? Tired of paying extra for your rental carâs insurance? If you can find the right credit card, you may be able to skip forking over cash for a rental car companyâs coverage.

Included as a benefit on many travel cards, credit card car rental insurance can cover your rental car in case of damage. This means that if you book your rental through your card, you can decline any coverage offered by the rental car company.

Of course, not all credit card insurance is created equal. Plus, using your card in lieu of a rental car company waiver comes with its own set of headaches. To help you along, this guide is meant to give you insight into the nitty-gritty of credit card car rental insurance.

In some cases, business owners may need to opt for a personal card to receive proper car rental insurance while earning rewards that match their spending habits. This isnât a bad thing; personal cards can still work great for business expenses.

How Credit Card Car Rental Insurance Works

Car rental insurance is a benefit provided by numerous credit cards (especially those marketed as travel cards). Depending on the card, this benefit can act as primary or secondary insurance in case you are involved in a crash with a rental car. As is the case with most things surrounding credit cards, youâll need to check with your cardâs terms and benefits to see exactly what coverage you have.

As long as you have a credit card with solid car rental coverage, youâll be able to decline the rental car companyâs collision damage waiver (CDW) or loss damage waiver (LDW). This can save you moneyâitâs not unheard of for a waiver to cost as much as $30 per day.

If you are using a business credit card note that youâll likely need to be using the rental car for business purposes for the credit cardâs insurance to kick in.

Primary Insurance VS Secondary Insurance

Some credit cards will offer primary insurance, while others offer secondary insurances. Whatâs the difference?

Primary insurance: If your card offers primary insurance, then it can replace any other insurance you might have. By having a card with primary insurance, youâll be able to decline a CDW or LDW when the rental car associate asks you.

Cards known to come with primary car rental insurance include Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve, United MileagePlus Explorer and MileagePlus Club, Ritz-Carlton Visa Infinite, and the J.P. Morgan Reserve Card. Overall, there are fewer cards on the market that offer primary insurance for rental cars (compared to those with secondary insurance).

Secondary insurance: For those with secondary insurance on their card, your cardâs insurance will only activate after youâve gone through another insurance. This means youâll need to file a claim with a different insurance first (such as with your primary driving insurance, or the rental car companies).

Note that in some cases, if your card advertises secondary insurance, but you donât have primary insurance (for instance, if you donât own a car) the cardâs insurance will become your primary insurance on a rental car. Before declining the rental companyâs waiver, however, contact your issuer to make sure this option is available.

What Car Rental Insurance Typically Covers

Generally, your credit cardâs car rental insurance wonât cover damage to property outside the rental car, injury to others, and potential lawsuits. Additionally, you likely wonât be covered if your belongings are stolen from inside the car, nor if you have to pay ambulance bills. Of course, some of these situations may be covered by your normal car insurance, your health insurance, or your homeowner’s insurance.

In most cases, credit cards neglect covering rented luxury cars. However, there are a couple of exceptions. Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve holders can receive coverage for âselected modelsâ of BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln, and Mercedes-Benz. Citi also offers a few cards that simply cover up to $100,000 worth of damage to road-worthy four-wheeled vehiclesâregardless of make or model. American Express also provides a premium protection program that covers pickups, vans, sport-utility vehicles, and luxury vehicles valued above $50,000.

You also may be unable to utilize a cardâs insurance on car-sharing services like ZipCar or car2go. Instead, youâll probably only be covered on rentals via traditional car rental companies. To see if your card covers car-sharing services, check with your issuer.

Additionally, some credit cards do not provide coverage outside the United States. Other cards do, but they may exclude certain countries. Commonly excluded countries include Israel, Ireland, and Jamaica. Youâll need to confirm with your issuer to check if the country youâre visiting is included in your cardâs coverage.

In some cases, you may also not receive coverage if you book your car rental completely on points. If this is the case, you may need to pay with your card for at least one day to trigger coverage. Note that Chase is an exception to this; booking through Chase Ultimate Rewards while using points obtained from either Sapphire Preferred or Reserve still qualifies for rental insurance coverage.

Finally, some cards wonât cover car rentals that last longer than 31 days. There are also some that only cover up to two weeks. If you are planning to rent a car long-term, youâll likely need to end the rental within your cardâs insurance window. Then you can start a new rental.

How To Check If Your Credit Card Has Car Rental Insurance

If you are unsure if your credit card has car rental coverage, the easiest way to check is by reading through your cardâs terms and benefits. If you do not have an up-to-date copy of your terms and benefits, contact your issuer to get a new version sent to you. You may also be able to access a digital copy through your credit cardâs online portal.

You can also call your cardâs customer service line and ask your representative if your card has car rental insurance and what that insurance covers.

How To Use Your Credit Cardâs Car Rental Insurance

While using your credit card for car rental insurance may save you money, it doesnât come without its own set of hassles. Those looking for simplicity might want to sign the rental car companyâs waiver instead. Hereâs a look at what using your cardâs insurance may entail:

How To Apply Insurance To Your Rental

After youâve confirmed that your credit card offers car rental insurance, youâll usually need to book the rental with your card. Once you do that, youâll then need to decline the rental car companyâs CDW or LDW.

In some cases, rental companies require proof that your card offers insurance. If this is the case, it may be handy to print out a copy of your cardâs terms and benefits that you can show the rental car associate.

You also must make sure that all potential drivers of the car are listed on the rental agreement. This is especially true of the driver at the time of the accidentâyour issuer may void the insurance coverage if a different person is behind the wheel.

How To File A Claim

Processes vary from issuer to issuer, so youâll need to contact your cardâs issuer to find out what youâll need to submit a claim and how. In most cases, youâll be asked to share documents related to the rental car and any damage sustained. These documents could include an accident report, a police report, a rental agreement, repair estimates, and photographs.

Final Thoughts

If you book a rental car with the right credit card, you may be able to save lots of money while still receiving proper collision coverage. This means you can travel without worrying about spending money on unnecessary expenses. With plenty of credit cards to choose from, youâll likely be able to find one that matches your spending habits, too.

Curious which cards are best overall for travel? Check out the Merchant Maverick article on the best business credit cards for travel perks.

The post Credit Cards With Car Rental Insurance: The Complete Guide appeared first on Merchant Maverick.

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July 3, 2019

Top Metal Credit Cards For 2019

Metal credit cards promise sturdy construction and a premium in-hand feel. These cards are often heavier and thicker than regular cards, which helps prevent damage and theft. Plus, whipping out a metal card at checkout means that youâll stand out compared to other basic plastic cards.

Besides a deluxe build, metal credit cards usually come with better-than-average perks and rewards. Most metal cards are also targeted towards frequent travelers; however, there still are options for those who want more general reward categories.

Business owners will want to note that most of the credit cards listed below are marketed as personal cards. As such, they may not come with business-specific perks, such as employee cards or rewards targeted towards business-spending habits. However, personal cards are still a viable option for small businesses.

Curious to learn which metal credit card is best for your business? Keep reading to find out!

Best Metal Credit Cards For Travel

If youâre looking for a travel card, you wonât be lacking options if you also want one that comes in metal. While many metal cards include high annual fees, there are a few that are more affordable. Below are a couple of options with sub-$100 annual fees:

Venture from Capital One

Venture from Capital One Compare	Annual Fee: $95 ($0 the first year) Purchase APR: 17.99% – 25.24%, Variable
Required credit: Excellent Bonus offer: 50,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months Purchase intro APR:Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases 10 miles per dollar at eligible hotels booked through Hotels.com (offer ends January 2020) Notable Perks & Benefits:Â Up to aÂ $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck 24-hour travel assistance services Auto rental collision damage waiver Travel accident insurance Extended warranty Virtual card numbers More card details (click to expand) Hide

This card from Capital One features a simple two miles per dollar spent on all purchases. You also get the bonus of no annual fee during your first year (though itâs $95 thereafter).

For other perks, Venture comes bundled with 50,000 bonus miles once you spend $3,000 in your first three months. Until January 2020, youâll further be able to snag 10 miles per dollar on eligible hotels when you book at Hotel.com. Thereâs additionally up to a $100 credit available for your Global Entry and TSA PreCheck applications.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Preferred Compare	Annual Fee: $95 Purchase APR: 18.24% – 25.24%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer: 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Purchase intro APR: N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining at restaurants 1 point per dollar on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â 25% more value when redeeming points for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer points to other travel programs on a 1:1 point basis Travel and baggage delay insurance Auto rental collision damage waiver Trip delay reimbursement Purchase protection and extended warranty More card details (click to expand) Hide

For our other travel-focused metal card with a budget-range annual fee, itâs hard to go wrong with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This card will net you two points per dollar spent on travel and dining, and one point everywhere else. Like with the Venture card, the annual fee will run you $95, although it’s waived the first year.

The real bonus of Chaseâs card is that when you redeem points for travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, your points will be worth 25% more. That means the cardâs bonus offer of 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months is worth about $750 when redeemed for travel. If Chaseâs redemption portal isnât for you, there are over 10 travel partners where you can transfer points on a 1:1 basis.

Best Metal Credit Card For Points

Points credit cards can be a great tool for businesses, especially if you can redeem points for more than theyâd be worth as cash back. Unfortunately, there arenât many metal credit cards that deal out points not directly related to travel. Hereâs our top pick, though:

American Express Business Gold Rewards Card

American Express Business Gold Rewards Card Compare	Annual Fee: $295 Purchase APR: 16.49% – 24.49%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer:Â Up to 1 year free of G Suite Basic for 3 users and up to 1 year of ZipRecruiter Standard in the form of statement credits for purchases in your first 12 months and earn 35,000 points when you spend $5,000 in your first 3 months Purchase intro APR: N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee:Â None Rewards: 4 points per dollar on 2 categories (out of 6 available) where your business spends the most each billing cycle 1 point per dollar on other purchases Notable perks & benefits: 25% airline bonus when you book your flight through American Express Travel using Membership Rewards Pay $100 hotel credit on qualifying charges when booking two consecutive nights with American Express’s Hotel Collection No preset spending limit Employee cards available Global Assist Hotline forÂ 24/7 access to medical, legal, financial and other select emergency coordination and assistance services Travel and transportation coverage Extended warranty and purchase protection More card details (click to expand) Hide

American Express Business Gold Rewards Card

Compare

Annual Fee:

$295

Purchase APR:

16.49% – 24.49%, Variable

Required credit: Good, excellent

Bonus offer:Â Up to 1 year free of G Suite Basic for 3 users and up to 1 year of ZipRecruiter Standard in the form of statement credits for purchases in your first 12 months and earn 35,000 points when you spend $5,000 in your first 3 months

Purchase intro APR: N/A

Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Foreign transaction fee:Â None

Rewards:

4 points per dollar on 2 categories (out of 6 available) where your business spends the most each billing cycle
1 point per dollar on other purchases

Notable perks & benefits:

25% airline bonus when you book your flight through American Express Travel using Membership Rewards Pay
$100 hotel credit on qualifying charges when booking two consecutive nights with American Express’s Hotel Collection
No preset spending limit
Employee cards available
Global Assist Hotline forÂ 24/7 access to medical, legal, financial and other select emergency coordination and assistance services
Travel and transportation coverage
Extended warranty and purchase protection

More card details (click to expand)

Hide

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If youâre in the market for a metal credit card, but donât want something directly aimed at travel, the Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express could be a great option for business owners. While all purchases net one point per dollar spent, youâll collect four points per dollar on your two highest spending categories. The eligible categories for the bonus points are:

Airfare purchased directly from airlines
US advertising purchases in select media (online, TV, radio)
US purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions
US gas station purchases
US restaurant purchases
US shipping purchases

Note that this card does require an annual fee of $295. However, you gain access to a range of perks, including: 25% airline bonus when you book flights through American Express Travel, hotel credit, and employee cards. Thereâs an additional welcome offer of up to one year free of G Suite Basic for three users and up to one year of ZipRecruiter Standard. Amex rates those bonuses up to $3,200 combined.

Curious to learn more about the Amex Business Gold card? Visit the Merchant Maverick review.

Best Metal Credit Cards For Cash Back

With usually simple redemption methods, cash back cards are a popular option for those who donât want to worry about jumping through hoops. Like with points cards, metal cards with strictly cash back redemption methods are somewhat of a rarity. Still, there are a couple worth considering:

Capital One Savor Rewards

Savor Rewards from Capital One Compare	Annual Fee: $95 ($0 the first year) Purchase APR: 16.74% – 25.74%, Variable
Suggested credit: Excellent Bonus offer:$400 cash back if you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening Intro purchase APR: N/A Intro balance transfer APR:Â N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: Unlimited 4% cash back on dining & entertainment Unlimited 2% cash back on groceries Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases Other Benefits:Â Complimentary concierge service $0 fraud liability Auto rental damage waiver Travel accident insurance Extended warranty and purchase protection More card details (click to expand) Hide

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If cash back is more your thing, Capital One offers a metal card in the form of Savor Rewards. Like with Capital Oneâs other card on this list, this card requires a $95 annual fee thatâs waived the first year. In terms of rewards, youâll score 4% cash back on dining and entertainment purchases, 2% back on groceries, and 1% back on everything else. On top of those base rewards, ticket purchases through Vivid Seats earn 8% cash back until May 2020.

Youâll additionally receive a complimentary membership to Postmates Unlimited through December 2019. This is a potential boon for businesses that buy employees lunch because orders above $15 avoid paying delivery fees. You can further receive $300 cash back by spending $3,000 within your first three months.

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Purchase APR: 16.24% â 24.24%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer:Â $125 Amazon.com gift card upon approval (if you have an eligible Amazon Prime membership) Purchase intro APR:Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee:Â None Rewards: If you have an eligible Amazon Prime membership:Â 5% back or an extra 90 days interest free on purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market If you do not have an eligible Amazon Prime membership: 3% back or an extra 60 days interest free on purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market 2% back on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers 1% back on other purchases Notable perks & benefits: Employee cards available Employee purchase control withÂ multi-user accounts, shared payment methods, approval workflows, and spending limits Purchase protection, extended warranty, and travel coverage Access to Amex Offers More card details (click to expand) Hide

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A rarity in the world of metal credit cards, the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card does not have an annual fee. However, you will need to have an Amazon Prime account (which annually costs $59 for students, $119 for personal accounts, and $179 for business accounts) to take full advantage of the cards benefitsâincluding receiving a metal card.

Itâs also worth mentioning that this is a business-specific card, so youâll get employee card options as well as various spending tools. Youâll also snag a $125 Amazon gift card upon approval and you can refuse rewards in exchange for an extended interest-free period on purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market.

Get the full picture of the Amazon Business Prime Card by checking out our review.

Best Luxury Metal Credit Cards

The highlight of metal credit cards, luxury cards often feature solid rewards with some unique perks, like travel credit and special hotel benefits. However, they also come with extravagant annual fees and usually require an excellent credit history. Hereâs a couple of our favorites:

Mastercard Black Card

Mastercard Black Card Apply Now	Annual Fee: $495 Purchase APR: 17.24%, Variable
Required credit: Excellent Bonus offer: None Purchase intro APR:Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR: 0% for the first 15 billing cycles Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 1 point per dollar spent 2% value for airfare redemptions 1.5% value for cash back redemptions 1% value forÂ hotel stays and car rental redemptions Notable Perks & Benefits:Â 24/7 Luxury Card Concierge Luxury gifts fromÂ brand name companies Room upgrades, complimentary food and beverage, and spa credits when booking with Luxury Card Travel Travel benefits, including global luggage delivery,Â 24/7 chauffeured transportation, and private jet/yacht chartering services $100 annual airline credit Priority Pass Select VIP airport lounge access Global Entry & TSA PreCheck application credit More card details (click to expand) Hide

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When it comes to premium cards, the Mastercard Black Card from Luxury Card is among the first names to pop into peopleâs minds. With 46 patents globally, the steel and carbon fiber build is instantly recognized for its classy design and exclusivity. Itâs also one of the heaviest metal cards available.

With this card, youâll get an effective 2% back on travel redemptions, 1.5% on cash back, and 1% back on all other redemption methods. You will need to keep in mind the $495 annual fee, but the Black Card comes with an array of extra benefits, including:

24/7 Luxury Card Concierge
âLuxury Giftsâ from name brands
$100 annual airline credit
Global Entry & TSA PreCheck application credit
Priority Pass Select VIP airport lounge access
Complimentary hotel benefits with an average total value of $500 per stay

These benefits are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Black Card. Want to learn more? Read the Merchant Maverick review for all the deets.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase Sapphire Reserve Compare	Annual Fee: $450 Purchase APR: 19.24%â26.24%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer: 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Purchase intro APR: N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 3 points per dollar spent on travel and dining at restaurants 3 points per dollar spent on travel worldwide immediately after earning your $300 annual travel credit 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â $300 Annual Travel Credit 50% more value when redeeming points for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel and baggage delay insurance Auto rental collision damage waiver Trip delay reimbursement Purchase protection and extended warranty More card details (click to expand) Hide

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Those looking for a more low-key card, but still want some luxury benefits, may find the Chase Sapphire Reserve to be a good fit. This cardâs reward rates start at three points per dollar on travel and restaurant purchases. Youâll then snag the standard one point per dollar on all other purchases.

Like with the Black Card, youâll need to fork over a hefty annual fee (this one clocks in at $450 per year). However, points redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards generate 50% more value (effectively giving you 4.5Â¢ per dollar on travel and restaurant purchases and 2Â¢ per dollar on everything else). Youâll also collect a $300 annual travel credit, a $100 fee credit for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck credits, and special benefits at a range of hotels.

Want to find out more about luxury credit cards? Check out our more in-depth article on premium-level cards.

How To Destroy A Metal Credit Card

Because these cards are made of metal, things can be tricky when it comes time to get rid of them. You probably wonât be able to cut them with scissors, like you might with a standard plastic card. Itâs also not recommended to shred the cardâthe metal may damage your shredder.

Instead, your best bet will to send the card back to your issuer. Contact the company that issued your card to find out if theyâll take back the old card. Your issuer may also include an envelope for this very purpose along with your new card. If this is the case, youâll simply need to seal your old card in the envelope and drop it in the mail.

Final Thoughts

With plenty of options, there should be a metal card that fits within your businessâs needs. Especially when it comes to travel, most metal cards include stellar rewards with enticing perks, from travel credits to impressive welcome offers.

Canât find the right card? Keep looking by checking out Merchant Maverick’s best all-around business cards.

The post Top Metal Credit Cards For 2019 appeared first on Merchant Maverick.

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April 19, 2019

How To Start A Pet Sitting Business: The Complete Guide

Have you always had an affinity for furry (or scaly) things? Have you ever needed money? If you answered yes to both these questions, you may want to consider starting a pet-sitting business.

But before you pick up the leashes and pooper-scoopers, it’s a good idea to sit down and plan out the trajectory of your business. If that sounds overwhelming, don’t fret. Below, we’ll lay out the steps you can take to start a pet-sitting business.

Decide On A Location

Since you’re going to be dealing with people’s pets, you’ll need to take into account your proximity to your clients. If they’re dropping their pets off with you, you’ll want to be located somewhere easily accessible to most of your customers, and one that can accommodate animals. Depending on where you live, this can be tricky as the space necessary to accommodate animals will usually be cheaper in less centralized locations.

On the other hand, if you’re going to your customers, you’ll need to take into account the amount of time you need to spend with each client’s pets, the costs of commuting to the job, and how animal-friendly/animal-hostile the infrastructure in your service area is (dog parks, etc.).

Register Your Business

Why should you register your business? Depending on your local laws, you may actually be required to register your business in order to legally pet-sit. But even in jurisdictions where it isn’t compulsory, there are some advantages to doing so.

The first is that you can do business under a name other than your own. So instead of Martha Swearingen, LLC, you can do business as Baron Bark’s Pet Pampering Service (you can have that one for free).

The default configuration for businesses is aÂ sole proprietorship (or a partnership, if you’re starting it with someone else). This essentially means that you’ve started a business with your own name or, if you file a DBA (Doing Business As), a name of your choice.

Sole proprietorships have the advantage of being cheap and easy to start. Your taxes will also be easier to file (and lower) than they would generally be with other forms of incorporation. Keep in mind, however, that for liability purposes, sole proprietorships and the individuals behind them are essentially one and the same.

Other forms of incorporation will require a bit more work and come with their own advantages and disadvantages.Â Most pet-sitting companies aren’t going to be interested in forming C-suites for governance, so you can probably ignore S-Corps and C-Corps for now. You may, however, want to consider forming an LLC to provide some separation between your personal finances and liabilities and your business ones.

Here are the most popular ways to incorporate:

Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs):Â If you’ve seen LLC after a corporation’s name, you’re dealing with this type of company. LLCs offer limited liability protection for their owners without the full complexity of a corporation. Each state has its own rules for how to start and maintain an LLC, and you don’t necessarily have to register your LLC in the state where you’re doing business (although you’ll generally want to). LLC owners report theirÂ business earnings and losses on their personal taxes.
C-Corp:Â This is the “basic,” default form of incorporation. Shareholders are considered the owner(s) of the company and receive limited liability protection; however, the business decisions are made by corporate officers who may or may not be shareholders. The corporation is taxed separately and shareholders pay income tax on dividends. To form a C-corp, you’ll file articles of incorporation with your state.
S-Corp:Â S-corps are similar to C-corps in most ways, but come with a few additional restrictions: you have to have fewer than 100 shareholders and they have to all be U.S. citizens or residents. Unlike C-corps, profits and losses are reported on personal taxes, not unlike an LLC. In addition to filing articles of incorporation, you’ll also need to file IRS Form 2553.

Get Business Insurance

As a pet-sitter, you’re not just dealing with property, you’re dealing with animals whose owners often view them as part of their family. In other words, if something goes wrong, things could get ugly.

Depending on your local laws, you may be required to carry certain types of insurance.

The type of insurance that will probably be of most interest to you is general liability insurance. This protects you in the event of a lawsuit or accident, whether it’s an accidental injury to the animal or if you accidentally damage property within a client’s home. It doesn’t only protect you, however; it also makes you look like a safer option than a business that isn’t covered.

There are other, more specialized types of insuranceÂ that are worth taking a look at depending on the specifics of your business. These include:

Property Insurance: Protects the property needed to run your business (as opposed to damages you cause to clients’ property).
Business Interruption: Covers costs related to unforeseen events that make your business unable to function.
Professional Liability (Error and Omissions): Covers the costs of defending your company in lawsuits in cases where your business caused a financial loss.

If you aren’t sure where to look, we can help you.

Invest In Business Software

While not absolutely necessary, you can save yourself and your customers some hassle with strategically chosen business software. For pet sitting, there are probably three types most worthy of consideration.

Payment Processing

Doing business with cash can be convenient when you’re first starting out, but as you grow, you’ll probably be missing out on clients if you can’t accommodate other forms of payment.

Recommended Option: Square

Best Overall Mobile POS	Review Visit Site

Highlights No contract or monthly fee Instant account setup Retail upgrade available Restaurant upgrade available For iOS and Android mobile devices 2.75% per in-person card swipe	Retail POS:Â Free trial ($60/mo value) Â Restaurant POS: Free trial ($60/mo value) Â Square POS: Always free

If you have an iOS or Android device, Square offers an extremely convenient way to accept mobile payments while on the go via a small add-on you plug into your device. It’s also a very scalable service; if you’re running a retail location, there are even more features and service options you can take advantage of.

Best of all, there aren’t any monthly fees to worry about. Square charges between 2.75Â – 3.5 percent per transaction (depending on whether you swipe or key in the info), so you’ll want to factor those costs into your expenses.

Scheduling Software

As you add clients, it will get harder to remember their particular preferences, not to mention more difficult to fit them all into your schedule. With booking or scheduling software, you can track your time, note customer needs, and efficiently plan your days’ work. Many of these offer their basic features free of charge.

Accounting Software

Most businesses can benefit from accounting software. What you don’t want is to spend money unnecessarily on one. Wave offers most of the features you need at no cost.

With no monthly fee, you’ll get invoicing, estimates, contact management, expense tracking, accounts payable, and inventory tracking.

Seek Funding

Pet-sitting, especially, if you’re going to your clients, doesn’t have a lot of overhead when you’re first starting out. In the event that you do need to scare up some money to cover starting expenses or equipment, there are a number of options available to you.

Personal Savings

If you can avoid taking on debt, it’s usually a good idea. It may hurt to part with some of your rainy day funds, but you won’t be accumulating expensive interest and fees.

Tap Your Support Network

If you do need money from an outside source, you can often get a better deal from your support system than you can from a private lender.

Keep in mind that this comes with its own risks. You may stress your relationships, especially if you aren’t able to pay back these so-called friendly loans quickly. One way to avoid this is to formalize any agreements you make with friends and family so that everyone fully understands what they’re getting into and what the expectations are. You may even want to draw up a formal contract that outlines any expected payments and return on investment.

Credit Cards

For the relatively low expenses you will encounter when you start a pet-sitting business, credit cards can probably suffice for most of your needs.

The general rules of thumb when it comes to using credit cards effectively are these:

Use credit cards for expenses that you can pay off within their interest-free grace period.
Pick a card with a reward program that matches your spending habits and needs.
Do not take out cash advances on your credit card.

If you follow these rules, you can actually save money by using your credit card to make purchases.

Recommended Option: American Express SimplyCash Plus

SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card from American Express Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Purchase APR: 14.49% – 21.49%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer: None Purchase intro APR: 0% for the first 9 months Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: 2.7% Rewards: 5% cash back at U.S. office supply stores and on wireless telephone purchases, up to $50,000 per year 3% cash back on a category of your choosing (airfare, hotel rooms, car rentals, gas stations, restaurants, advertising purchases, shipping, or computer hardware, software, and cloud computing), up to $50,000 per year 1% cash back on all other purchases Notable perks & benefits: Expanded buying powerÂ â buy above your credit limit with no penalty fees Employee cards available Extended warranty & purchase protection Car rental loss & damage insurance More card details (click to expand) Hide

Amex’s SimplyCash Plus offers one of the best cash back programs available without an annual fee. You’ll get 1 percent back on generic purchases, 5 percent back on wireless telephone purchases and office supply stores in the U.S. But it’s the middle tier that’s most interesting. You can select a category of your choosing (airfare, hotel rooms, car rentals, gas stations, restaurants, advertising, shipping, or computer hardware) to get 3 percent back.

It also carries an introductory 0% APR for the first nine months, which can be helpful if you’re just starting out.

Recommended Option: Amazon Business Prime American Express Card

Amazon Business Prime American Express Card Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Purchase APR: 16.24% â 24.24%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer:Â $125 Amazon.com gift card upon approval (if you have an eligible Amazon Prime membership) Purchase intro APR:Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee:Â None Rewards: If you have an eligible Amazon Prime membership:Â 5% back or an extra 90 days interest free on purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market If you do not have an eligible Amazon Prime membership: 3% back or an extra 60 days interest free on purchases at Amazon Business, AWS, Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market 2% back on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and on wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers 1% back on other purchases Notable perks & benefits: Employee cards available Employee purchase control withÂ multi-user accounts, shared payment methods, approval workflows, and spending limits Purchase protection, extended warranty, and travel coverage Access to Amex Offers More card details (click to expand) Hide

This one’s a little more niche. But if you find yourself buying supplies and random pet-related doodads on Amazon frequently, you can get a lot of value out of the Amazon Business Prime American Express Card.

If you have a Prime membership, you’ll earn a whopping 5 percent back on purchases made at Amazon.com, Amazon Business, AWS, and Whole Foods Market — or an extra 90 days interest-free grace period for purchases made at those places. Even if you’re not a Prime member, you’ll get 3 percent or 60 days, respectively. You’ll need to spend around $6,000 to recoup the cost of a $119 Prime membership with points alone, but that’s without factoring in money saved through Prime’s programs (shipping, deals, etc).

Personal Loans

If you need more money than you can safely put on a credit card, or need longer to pay it off, you should consider getting a personal loan that can cover business expenses.

There are some disadvantages to taking this route, namely that you’re on the hook rather than your business, but if your credit is good, it’s not the worst option out there.

Recommended Option: Lending Club Personal Loans

	Review Check Rate

Time in business: N/A Business revenue: N/A Personal credit score: 600 Credit history: 3 years Borrower requirements for personal loans (click to expand) Hide

Lending Club is a good option for individuals who may not have the strongest credit, but have a good debt-to-income ratio. The borrowing range is fairly narrow at $1k to $40k, but when you’re just starting out, you don’t want to go too deeply into debt anyway. You’ll have three-to-five years to pay it off, which makes it fairly manageable.

Recommended Option: Lendio

	Review Visit Site

Time in business: 6 months Business revenue: $10,000 per month Personal credit score: 550 Borrower requirements (click to expand) Hide

If you’re just entering the alternative loan market for the first time, it can be pretty overwhelming. Lendio takes some of that burden off of you by allowing you to effectively apply to their whole network of lenders with one application.

Need more options? Check out our feature on startup loans.

Create Contracts

If you’ve just been watching your friends’ pets, you’ve probably had an informal agreement about the services you’d provide and the expectations of safety and liability involved. And that was probably enough.

When you’re dealing with strangers in a professional capacity, however, it’s smart to formalize these elements in a contract. This can save you a lot of headaches, if not legal troubles, down the road. You’ll want to include critical information about the pet (when and what they eat, how they are with strangers, pertinent medical history, etc.), what’s included in your services, and the client’s expectations for how their home will be treated under your care (if applicable). You’ll also want to include your fees and rates.

If you can, have a lawyer look it over to make sure it checks out legally.

Market Your Business

Getting the word out is always one of the most challenging parts of getting a business off the ground. The easiest place to start is through word of mouth. Are you already looking after the pets of a family or two? Let them know you’re looking to take on more clients, along with your friends, family, and social contacts.

At some point, you’ll probably want to expand outside the reach of your current contacts, which means advertising. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can post flyers on bulletin boards and leave business cards in places trafficked by pet owners. Online classified sites like Craigslist can also cover a large audience in your area.

Bolster Your Web Presence

When it comes to promoting small business, the internet is one of those things that’s easy to both over- and underestimate. On the one hand, simply buying an ad and hoping for the best likely won’t yield amazing results. On the other, you do need an internet strategy to grow your business.

It doesn’t have to be fancy, but you’ll probably want a website that details your basic services and contact information. Don’t overthink it. There are a lot of great tools available that can help youÂ build a website.

Remember, too, that social media isn’t just for sharing pictures of your dinner with your friends. You can use to communicate with customers, make engaging content that makes them keep your brand in mind, and announce special deals and service changes.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, everything we covered doesn’t look too intimidating. If you’re good with animals and don’t mind turning that love into a source of revenue, you can get a pet-sitting business up and running in no time!

Having second thoughts about pet-sitting but are still looking to open a business? Check out our other beginners’ guides.

The post How To Start A Pet Sitting Business: The Complete Guide appeared first on Merchant Maverick.

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April 19, 2019

Top Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fees

Your credit card might come with some nice rewards for your spending. It might even offer some nice travel benefits. But if it carries a foreign transaction fee, that means that every charge you make while outside the US is subject to an extra fee, usually 3%. Think of it this way: for every $100 in overseas charges you make, you’ll be spending another $3 in fees.

Spend enough on purchases outside the country, and foreign transaction fees will eat into whatever net benefit your card use would have otherwise brought you. Thankfully, the solution is clear. If you’re going to be using your credit card outside the US with any frequency, use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees.

Most credit card companies offer both cards that carry a foreign transaction fee and cards that don’t. However, there are two prominent exceptions to this general rule: Capital One and Discover. Neither credit card issuer charges a foreign transaction fee on any of their cards, making their credit card lineups particularly appealing to the traveler who spends a significant amount of time and money outside the US.

Let’s survey the landscape and highlight the best credit cards with no foreign transaction fees.

Credit Card	Best For
Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards	Cash Back with No Annual Fee
Chase Ink Business Preferred	Business
Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards	Average Credit
Barclays Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard	Travel Rewards
Chase Sapphire Preferred	Transferable Travel Rewards
The Platinum Card from American Express	Luxury Travel Benefits
Uber Visa	Restaurants/Dining
Discover it Cash Back	Rotating 5% Cash Back Categories

Best For Cash Back With No Annual Fee: Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards

Quicksilver from Capital One Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Purchase APR: 16.24 – 26.24%, Variable
Required credit: Excellent Bonus offer:Â $150 once you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months Purchase intro APR:Â 0% for the first 15 months Balance transfer intro APR: 0% for the first 15 months Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: Unlimited 1.5% cash back Notable Perks & Benefits:Â 24-hour travel assistance services Auto rental collision damage waiver Travel accident insurance Extended warranty Virtual card numbers More card details (click to expand) Hide

The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card is a great cash back credit card for the international traveler who can’t be bothered with category restrictions on earning cash back and just wants to earn cash back at a flat rate — all without paying an annual fee.

The highlight of this card is undoubtedly the unlimited 1.5% cash back you’ll earn on every purchase, everywhere. You won’t have to worry about spending categories and there is no limit on the amount of cash back you can earn. You won’t have to weigh the benefits you’ll accrue against foreign transaction fees or an annual fee either, as there are no such fees.

Another great feature of the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card is the 15-month 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers. Most credit cards offer an introductory 0% APR for a year or less (if they offer one at all), so with the Quicksilver card, you’ll get an extra buffer period before you’ll have to start thinking about monthly interest charges.

Best For Business: Chase Ink Business Preferred

Chase Ink Business Preferred CompareÂ	Annual Fee: $95 Purchase APR: 18.24% – 23.24%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer:Â 80,000 points if you spend at least $5,000 within the first three months of opening your account Purchase intro APR:Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR:Â N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 3 points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet/cable/phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media and search engines each account anniversary year 1 point per dollar on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â Points are worth 25% more if redeemed for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards Points can be transferred to other travel programs on a 1:1 point basis Points do not expire while your account is open Employee cards at no additional cost Cell phone protection More card details (click to expand) Hide

Chase Ink Business Preferred

CompareÂ

Annual Fee:

$95

Purchase APR:

18.24% – 23.24%, Variable

Required credit: Good, excellent

Bonus offer:Â 80,000 points if you spend at least $5,000 within the first three months of opening your account

Purchase intro APR:Â N/A

Balance transfer intro APR:Â N/A

Foreign transaction fee: None

Rewards:

3 points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet/cable/phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media and search engines each account anniversary year
1 point per dollar on all other purchases

Notable Perks & Benefits:Â

Points are worth 25% more if redeemed for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards
Points can be transferred to other travel programs on a 1:1 point basis
Points do not expire while your account is open
Employee cards at no additional cost
Cell phone protection

More card details (click to expand)

Hide

Chase Ink Business Preferred is a business credit card that confers some nice travel benefits. One of these benefits, of course, is the lack of a foreign transaction fee.

Ink Business Preferred offers an eye-catching bonus offer: 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. When redeemed for travel, that’s a $1,000 reward. That’s because points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

On the subject or points-earning, you’ll earn 3 points per $1Â on your first $150,000 spentÂ in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable/phone services, and on social media/search engine advertising each year. You’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.

Not only will you get a 25% boost to your points value when booking travel via Chase’s travel portal, but you can transfer your points on a 1:1 basis to the travel rewards programs of partners like United Airlines and Marriott.

The Ink Business Preferred does, however, carry a $95 annual fee.

Best For Average Credit:Â Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards

QuicksilverOne from Capital One Compare	Annual Fee: $39 Purchase APR: 26.99%, Variable
Required credit: Fair Bonus offer:Â None Purchase intro APR: N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee:Â None Rewards: Unlimited 1.5% cash back Notable perks & benefits: Get access to a higher credit line after making your first 5 monthly payments on time Monitor your credit profile with CreditWise from Capital One $0 fraud liability if your card is ever lost or stolen Travel services and accident insurance More card details (click to expand) Hide

Not to be confused with Capital One’s other Quicksilver card, the QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards credit card is one of the few credit cards out there that both lacks a foreign transaction fee and is available to applicants with average credit.

TheÂ Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards card offers the same unlimited 1.5% cash back as the Quicksilver Cash Rewards card. Not bad for a card available to people with average credit!

Of course, there are some trade-offs to be made here. Unlike Capital One’s other Quicksilver card, this card offers no introductory 0% APR, an annual fee of $39, and a high variable APR that currently stands atÂ 26.99%. The high APR combined with the lack of an intro 0% APR period means that you’ll want to avoid carrying a significant balance on this card from month-to-month. You’ll also need to spend at least $2,600 a year in order to earn enough cash back to make up for the annual fee.

Best For Travel Rewards: Barclays Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard

Barclays Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard Compare	Annual Fee: $89 (waived the first year) Purchase APR: 18.24% – 25.24%, Variable
Suggested credit: Good, Excellent Bonus offer: Earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days Purchase intro APR:Â Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR:Â 0% intro APR for 12 months for each Balance Transfer made within 45 days of account opening Foreign transaction fee: 0% Rewards: Earn an unlimited 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases Get 5% of your miles back when you redeem Other Benefits:Â Mastercard World Elite Concierge More card details (click to expand) Hide

The Barclays Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard makes some tantalizing offers to the frequent traveler. Along with no foreign transaction fees, this card offers three big perks for the international traveler.

Earn 70,000 bonus milesÂ when you spend at least $5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days — the equivalent of aÂ $700 travel statement credit
Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase
Get 5% of your miles backÂ to use toward your next redemption each time you redeem them

The 2X miles you’ll earn with every purchase is one of the highest flat earning rates of any travel credit card. And since you’ll get 5% of your miles back whenever you redeem them, the cash back rate is effectively 2.1%.

What’s more, your miles can be redeemed for a lot more than just airfare. You can redeem them for hotel stays, car rentals, trains, buses, taxis, and more. You can even use your miles to pay the $89 annual fee (the fee is waived the first year), though hopefully, you can find something more exciting to use them on!

Another nice card feature: If you transfer a balance to this card within 45 days of your account opening, you’ll pay a 0% introductory APR on that balance for 12 months.

Best For Transferable Travel Rewards:Â Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Preferred Compare	Annual Fee: $95 ($0 the first year) Purchase APR: 18.24% – 25.24%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer: 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Purchase intro APR: N/A Balance transfer intro APR: N/A Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining at restaurants 1 point per dollar on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â 25% more value when redeeming points for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer points to other travel programs on a 1:1 point basis Travel and baggage delay insurance Auto rental collision damage waiver Trip delay reimbursement Purchase protection and extended warranty More card details (click to expand) Hide

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is another travel rewards card with no foreign transaction fee. With Sapphire Preferred, not only can you redeem your rewards through Chase’s travel portal — you can also transfer your points on a 1:1 basis to the following airline and hotel travel partners:

Aer Lingus, AerClub
British Airways Executive Club
Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
Iberia Plus
JetBlue TrueBlue
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
United MileagePlus
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
IHG Rewards Club
Marriott Rewards
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards
World of Hyatt

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card features a bonus offer ofÂ 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Thanks to the 25% value bonus you’ll get when redeeming your points for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards, these 50,000 points can become $625 for travel expenses.

You’ll alsoÂ earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants and 1X points on everything else.

Unfortunately, the card carries a $95 annual fee (waived the first year) and lacks an introductory 0% APR period.

Best For Luxury Travel Benefits: The Platinum Card from American Express

The Platinum Card from American Express Compare	Annual Fee: $595 Purchase APR: N/A (charge card)
Suggested credit: Good, Excellent Bonus offer: 75,000 Membership Rewards points — earn 50,000 points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 on qualifying purchases in the first 3 months Purchase intro APR:Â Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR:Â N/A Foreign transaction fee: 0% Rewards: Earn 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or with amextravel.com Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com Earn 1X points on all other purchases Other Benefits:Â Access to 1,200+ airport lounges worldwide via the American Express Global Lounge Collection Fee credit for checked bags and in-flight food and drinks, up to $200/year Platinum Travel Service Hilton Honors Gold Status Enrollment Fine Hotels & Resorts Program More card details (click to expand) Hide

The Platinum Card from American Express may not have a foreign transaction fee, but it does sportÂ a $550 annual fee. That should tell you who this card is aimed at. It’s not the average traveler looking to earn some points/miles on the side. This card is for the well-heeled traveler seeking the finest in travel perks.

Of all the travel benefits this card offers, the best benefit might just be the 1,200+ airport lounges worldwide you’ll gain access toÂ via the American Express Global Lounge Collection. It’s the largest airport lounge network around. I may not have any personal experience with these exclusive lounges, but I’m sure they’re spectacular.

The card comes with a host of other travel perks befitting a card with such a high annual fee. You’ll earn 5X Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel and on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com. You’ll get a fee credit of up to $200 a year to cover checked bags and in-flight food and drinks. You’ll be enrolled in the Fine Hotels & Resorts program, giving you access to travel amenities with an average value of $550/year.

The card currently offers quite the bonus offer: 75,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases on your new card in your first 3 months.

Just keep in mind that the Platinum Card is a charge card, meaning you won’t be able to carry a balance from month to month.

Best For Restaurants/Dining: Uber Visa Card

Uber Visa Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Purchase APR: 17.24% – 25.99%, Variable
Suggested credit: Good, Excellent Bonus offer:Â Earn $100 after spending $500 on purchases in the first 90 days Purchase intro APR:Â Â N/A Balance transfer intro APR:Â N/A Foreign transaction fee: 0% Rewards: Earn 4% back on restaurants, takeout, and bars Earn 3% back on hotels and airfare Earn 2% back on online purchases (including Uber) 1% back on all other purchases Other Benefits:Â Cellphone protection – get up to $600 for mobile phone damage or theft Get up to a $50 statement credit for online subscription services after you spend $5,000 in a year More card details (click to expand) Hide

The Uber Visa card, a joint venture of Uber and Barclays, is a new credit card that offers great value to those who love to go out and live it up without worrying about things like foreign transaction fees or an annual fee.

The card offers an amazing 4% back on restaurants, takeout, and bars (UberEATS included), making the Uber Visa a compelling choice for you nightlife lovers. The card also offers 3% back on airfare and hotel stays, 2% back on all online purchases (yes, including Uber), and 1% back on all other purchases.

That’s not all. There’s a signup bonus ofÂ 10,000 points ($100) after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 90 days. There’s a cellphone protection plan that offers up to $600 if your phone is broken or stolen (conditions apply). There’s even a $50 credit toward digital subscriptions you’ll get if you spend at least $5,000 on your card each year.

With a system that rewards going out for food and drinks, online shopping, and offers cellphone protection, this card seems targeted at millennials, or at least the few millennials who aren’t drowning in debt already. One thing that won’t appeal to millennials, however, is the card’s lack of an introductory 0% APR.

Best For Rotating 5% Cash Back Categories: Discover it Cash Back

Discover it Cash Back Compare	Annual Fee: $0 Purchase APR: 14.24% – 25.24%, Variable
Required credit: Good, excellent Bonus offer: None Purchase intro APR:Â 0% for the first 14 months Balance transfer intro APR: 0% for the first 14 months Foreign transaction fee: None Rewards: 5% cash back on a selection of categories that rotate each quarter, up to a quarterly maximum Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases Notable Perks & Benefits:Â Unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back earned at the end of your first year Free Social Security number alerts Access to yourÂ FICO Credit Score for free $0 fraud liability on unauthorized purchases More card details (click to expand) Hide

The Discover it Cash Back card allows those who don’t mind tracking rotating spending categories the chance to earn 5% cash back on their purchases.

With the Discover it Cash Back, you’ll earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter on selected spending categories. The 5% categories for 2019 are:

January to March: Grocery stores
April to June: Gas stations, Uber, and Lyft
July to September: Restaurants
October to December: Amazon.com

Of course, you’ll earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.

What makes this Discover card an even better cash back value is the fact that Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year, thus doubling your first year’s cash back haul.

Beyond that, this card is a simple, reasonable credit card. There’s no annual fee, a competitiveÂ regular APR, aÂ 0% intro APR for 14 months on purchases and balance transfers, and you can access your FICO score for free.

One word of caution: Though there is no foreign transaction fee, international acceptance of Discover cards can be hit-or-miss.

Final Thoughts

If you spend a significant amount of time outside the US, an ordinary credit card will have you needlessly paying 3% extra to your credit card company in the form of foreign transaction fees.

Don’t be a sucker. When spending money abroad, use a credit card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee. Thankfully, the number of such cards has been expanding in recent years and you now have a wide range of choices!

Not sure which cards you’ll qualify for? Check out these helpful resources!

Best free credit score sites
Ways to improve your credit score
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The post Top Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fees appeared first on Merchant Maverick.

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