The benefits of using a corporate card for business travel

By Sophia ChengUpdated on 13 December 2024Published on 7 June 20235 minutes
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The benefits of using a corporate card for business travel
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When you’re away on a company trip, having a corporate card or business travel card often comes in handy. 

Your employees can use the corporate card or business travel card to book airfare and hotel rooms. That means they won’t have to pay out of pocket and seek company reimbursement, while your company can track relevant employee spending, making things easier for everyone.

The right card can help you better manage and keep track of your business travel expenses, make organising trips more efficient, and thus improve your corporate travel management.

APEC Business Travel Card vs. business travel card

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Card (APEC Business Travel Card) is designed for business trips to the 21 participating countries in the APEC program. With this card, individuals can enter and stay in these countries without a business visa. This card has a validity period of 5 years.

What is a corporate card/ business travel card?

A corporate card/business travel card is a payment card that employers issue to employees to use for company expenses. 

Corporate cards are a great way for employers to make sure their employees have the sufficient money they need to make the necessary business expenses, such as booking flights, ground transport, accommodations, and business dinners, without having to use their personal credit cards, then seeking reimbursement. 

Many corporate travel cards also come with additional benefits such as cash rebates and exclusive discounts, which can make business travel more affordable and enjoyable.

The one-stop financial and remittance platform Airwallex offers a multicurrency Borderless Visa Card that serves as business travel corporate card/employee card.  The card is available in physical or virtual forms, and includes Apple Pay and Google Pay support. The Borderless Visa Card is perfect for online or physical expenses for employees, such as business trip expenses like flights and hotels, and other miscellaneous expenses like coffee and snacks.

A virtual corporate card is also available for company use, tailored for online business procurement for specific teams, departments, or the entire company. It is ideal for managing expenses like software subscriptions, office supplies purchases, supplier payments, and marketing expenses.

The multicurrency Borderless Visa Card supports multiple currencies, comes with no annual fee, and offers an unlimited 1% cash rebate* and 0% foreign transaction fees. Expenses are directly deducted from your Airwallex multicurrency account, cutting out foreign exchange conversion costs, reducing operating expenses, and streamlining company expenditure management.

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How to choose the right business travel card?

Choosing the right business travel card can be a daunting task. With so many options available, it can be difficult to decide which is the best for you. In this article, we will discuss how to choose the right business travel card for your business and provide some tips on finding the best business travel solution. Here are some key features you should look out for when selecting a business travel card:

Annual card fees

Many corporate cards come with an annual fee that can range from $1,000 to $4,000. Some cards may waive the annual fee for your first year of having the card or if you spend a certain amount of money on the card each year. It is important to compare different cards and find one that offers the lowest annual fee or no annual fee at all.

Airwallex Borderless Card is a free corporate card that enables employees to make payments in multiple foreign currencies. You can issue Airwallex Borderless Cards to your employees with no annual fees charged. This allows them to manage their business travel expenses more conveniently, securely, and flexibly.

Instant card issuance

With some corporate cards, you have to wait until a physical card arrives in the mail before you can make your first company purchase. Airwallex offers Instant card issuance so your employees can use it right away once the card number is issued, and access funds immediately after approval.

With Airwallex, you can create your own multi-currency card online in minutes. This allows businesses to quickly issue business travel cards for employees who need to go on a company trip soon. As a key member of Visa, Airwallex empowers cardholders to securely and reliably transact in over 170 currencies worldwide.

Better travel expense management

Corporate cards are a useful corporate travel management tool for ensuring that your company’s business travel expenses are tracked and monitored, and that they remain within the set budget.

Using the Airwallex Borderless Card, you can know exactly where your money is going and how much you are spending on different items or services on your business trip. With this information, you can make better decisions about how to allocate and manage funds.

Airwallex Borderless Card also offers Xero integration, which makes corporate travel management easier and more efficient. This feature allows businesses to quickly reconcile accounts with ease and provides a comprehensive view of all your company trip expenses in one place.

The benefits of using a business travel cards for business travel expenses

Corporate cards can help companies save money by offering cash rewards, discounts, and other perks that can be used to pay for business trip expenses such as airfare and hotel bookings. This makes them an ideal choice for businesses that travel frequently or have large expenses related to business trips.

Business travellers can also save on foreign exchange and global transaction fees with multi-currency cards. Using the Airwallex Borderless Card, they can take advantage of the low FX rate, unlimited 1% cash rebate*, and $0 international transaction fee on overseas spending during their business trip.

What type of businesses can apply for the Airwallex Borderless Card?

Any business, including small and medium-sized enterprises, can apply. Simply visit the Airwallex website or app, upload your business proof documents, and open a corporate account. Approval process typically takes 1-3 business days – and once the account is activated, you can easily apply online for the Airwallex Borderless Visa Card, with card issuance usually completed within minutes.

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Create your Airwallex Borderless Card today

If you want to save money and manage your business spending more easily on your next company trip, create a free Airwallex Borderless Card today. To get your multi-currency corporate card, simply apply online and the card will be issued instantly. 

Applying for the Airwallex Borderless Visa Card is free. You can quickly proceed with the following steps:

  1. Open an Airwallex account.

  2. Choose between applying for a company card or an employee card.

  3. Set the purpose, name, and spending limit for the card

  4. Once you have successfully applied for the virtual card, you can start using it immediately.

The Airwallex Borderless Card supports 140+ currencies and can be added to Apple Pay or Google Pay for easy mobile checkout. You can also enjoy a $0 transaction fee for your international card payments even while travelling abroad.

Employers can better gain better control over their employee’s business travel expenses by setting a spend limit and tracking their spending in real-time with Airwallex. They can also save time in expense reimbursement as they can find all business travel spending in one place. Businesses can also instantly create, freeze, or cancel any cards, allowing real-time monitoring of ex

Travel global with the Airwallex Borderless Card. Click here to apply.

*T&Cs apply.

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Sophia Cheng
Senior Manager, Content Marketing

Sophia Cheng is a content strategist at Airwallex, specialising in FinTech, startups, and SMEs. She has a robust background in the FinTech industry spanning investments to payments, having previously worked for a leading roboadvisor in Hong Kong. Her background provides a holistic view of technology and finance and how they can play a crucial role in streamlining financial operations for businesses.

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