Small business owners need fast access to a credit line when they need to purchase office supplies, inventory or travel. With a credit card that has a loyalty program, you can recoup some of your business expenses, giving you more money to put back into your business.

Cash Back Cards

One of the most sought-after rewards is the cash back reward. This rewards certain types of purchases, and sometimes all purchases, with a small percentage earned back in cash. These cards are a great way for small businesses to earn revenue for doing nothing more than making their routine purchases.

Australian cash back cards include Commonwealth Bank rewards cards, including the Commonwealth Bank Awards card, which has a cash back award system as well as a points award system. Commonwealth Awards, Gold Awards, Platinum Awards and Diamond Awards cards from Commonwealth offer varying credit lines. The cards award one point for each dollar spent. The ANZ Business One Cash Rewards credit card pays cardholders 0.5% cash back on all purchases. It also offers up to 40 interest-free days on each purchase.

Frequent Flyer Cards

Most small businesses have a need for travel, but that travel is a major expense. With most frequent flyer rewards programs, you earn airline points for making routine business purchases. Some give you extra rewards points when you use the card to book a flight with a specific airline and still more points for signing up for the card.

The Virgin Money High Flyer Card offers almost-free flights on specific Virgin Airlines flights after you have purchased a flight with the card. It also earns you 1.25 Velocity Points for each spent dollar. Purchasing flights with the card earns you free international travel insurance and interstate flight inconvenience insurance.

The HSBC Platinum QFF Credit Card offers two frequent flyer points with Qantas for each dollar spent overseas and one point for each dollar spent in Australia. It gives flyers two free invitations to the Qantas Club lounge annually.

The ANZ Frequent Flyer Platinum card offers an unlimited number of frequent flyer points, a free membership in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program and travel insurance when flying overseas.

The AMEX Qantas Premium Credit Card has an annual fee, but for each dollar spent it offers 1.25 Qantas Frequent Flyer points and transfers the points to your Qantas Frequent Flyer account automatically each month. Signing up earns you 5,000 points and an additional 2,500 points the first time you use it for Qantas services.

The ANZ Classic Frequent Flyer Credit Card awards you with 10,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points upon acceptance and no limit on the number of points you can earn. If you don’t already have a Qantas Frequent Flyer account, you can get one free as a cardholder. The accounts are normally $82.50.

Store Rewards Cards

Some Australian stores have their own credit cards that offer a store-specific reward to cardholders. By choosing these wisely, a small business owner can earn free or discounted items at stores that sell what the business needs.

A Coles Myer Source credit card gives you the option of using the rewards points that you earn at any of several stores, including Coles and Target. These stores carry countless items useful to small businesses, including paper products, cleaning supplies and snack-room supplies. The Coles Myer Source card also gives cardholders a discount on fuel and has no annual fee. There is no interest on balance transfers for six months. Cardholders can redeem 1,250 FlyBuys points from purchases for $10 off a Coles purchase.

Rewards Points Cards

Rewards points cards give cardholders a specific number of points for their purchases, and those points can be redeemed for merchandise. That merchandise can include business machines and office supplies.

The Citibank Rewards Platinum card rewards each dollar spent with 1.5 Citibank rewards points. These can be spent in a merchandise catalogue or cardholders can request specialty items. The rewards points can also be redeemed for Qantas Frequent Flyer points. The rewards points never expire, and the annual points maximum is 250,000. When you spend internationally, each dollar spent earns you three rewards points. The card also offers free insurance on all purchases and international travel insurance.

Finally, another great option if you or your employees travel overseas frequently is the 28 Degrees Mastercard. It may not come with any loyalty programs but it does not charge any international transaction fees, currency conversion fees nor annual fees. This can’t be overlooked if your business requires frequent overseas travel. The 28 Degrees Mastercard also recently won the 2012 Choice award for Best Travel Money Card.

Kristy Alexander is a freelance travel and finance writer for HotelClub Australia where you can earn member dollars with every booking. Whether you are seeking a business hotel in Adelaide or a romantic hotel in Sydney you are sure to find something to suit your needs.