Business travel requires more than just booking accommodation. It demands creating efficient, productive experiences that benefit both companies and their travelling staff. While finding the right place to stay remains crucial, choosing the right credit cards can transform ordinary business trips into opportunities for cost savings, enhanced comfort, and streamlined operations.
For Australian businesses, smart payment strategies directly impact both financial outcomes and employee satisfaction.
According to Gareth Boyd, Head of Growth at CreditCardCompare.com.au, the credit card comparison website, and himself a heavy frequent flyer, “having the right credit card in your wallet can be quite transformative when travelling, unlocking benefits like insurance coverage, lounge access, and rewards."
These are the perks he swears by.
Long flights, unexpected delays, and crowded terminals can exhaust even the most experienced business traveller. Premium credit cards like the Qantas Premier Platinum or American Express Platinum provide complimentary airport lounge access across global networks, offering quiet workspaces, quality dining options, and comfortable areas to recharge.
For corporate travellers, this benefit delivers:
Real-World Value: A single lounge visit can cost $60-80 when purchased separately, making this benefit worth $600+ annually for quarterly business travellers.
"For me, knowing that I have airport lounge access represents one of the highest-value card benefits for business travellers," says Boyd.
Corporate travel disruptions can impact both productivity and budgets. Many business credit cards, including the ANZ Corporate Travel Visa and Westpac Altitude Business Black, offer built-in travel insurance that covers:
This integrated protection eliminates the need for separate policy purchases, and streamlines claim processes, as everything links to your payment method.
For business travelers staying in corporate apartments in Melbourne, having reliable travel insurance is particularly beneficial. Long-stay accommodations provide flexibility and cost savings, but unexpected trip changes—such as flight delays or cancellations—can disrupt schedules. Travel insurance helps mitigate these risks, ensuring peace of mind during extended business stays.
Cost Comparison: A standalone annual business travel insurance policy can cost $300-500 per employee, making this credit card benefit extraordinarily valuable for companies with multiple travellers.
“If you are relying on your credit card for coverage while travelling, double check what limits and exclusions apply,” Boyd says. “They vary substantially between cards, and typically aren’t effective if the card wasn’t used to buy tickets.”
In business travel, time equals productivity. Premium credit cards often include 24/7 concierge services that handle:
The Citi Prestige and American Express Business Platinum cards offer particularly responsive concierge teams with global reach and local knowledge.
“Concierge service is really easy to overlook, but they are time savers once you get used to using them,” according to Boyd. “Outsourcing these tasks to your card's concierge service can free up time so you can get on with more important things.”
Corporate travel spending represents an opportunity to generate value beyond the immediate trip. Credit cards linked to rewards programs enable businesses to:
"A most common mistake we see at Credit Card Compare is businesses treating their travel expenses purely as costs rather than as potential assets," Boyd notes. "It’s possible to return a small but significant percentage of your total travel spend in redeemable value."
Case Study: A mid-sized consulting firm issues staff with corporate cards and accumulates more than 1.2 million points in one year from corporate travel expenses. These points funded eight business class upgrades for executives travelling to international client sites, saving approximately $32,000 in flight costs.
To really maximise the rewards potential, centralise spending across departments onto rewards-earning business cards for higher earn rates and bonus point opportunities.
For businesses with global operations, which is basically any modern business, foreign transaction fees create significant hidden costs. Cards like the HSBC Business Platinum or ING Business Everyday eliminate these fees, saving up to 3% on every international purchase, including:
Example savings: A business spending $50,000 annually on international expenses saves $1,500 by switching to a no-foreign-transaction-fee card.
Modern business credit cards offer sophisticated expense management tools that integrate with accounting platforms like Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks. These features include:
Beyond practical benefits, premium business credit cards provide access to exclusive experiences that can strengthen client relationships and reward teams:
"What often gets overlooked in business card selection is the relationship-building potential of exclusive experiences," says Boyd.
Effective corporate card strategy typically involves multiple cards for different purposes:
For businesses looking to optimise their corporate travel through credit card benefits: