Sounds easy, right? The no-annual-fee business card has a $400 cash bonus. It's fairly in most aspects. But there's a twist to this offer and it might give some cardholders reason to pause when reading the fine print, even within the numbers.

If you are a small business owner looking for a simple and reliable cash-back card, then you should dedicate a few moments to seriously considering the TD Bank Business Solutions Visa card it's upgraded its welcome offer.

The real offer in question

This now also gives new cardholders $400 after spending $3,000 on their card in first 90 days. This is quite an improvement from the $250 referral the card has previously given and is one of the times to really review the card if it is in your plans to acquire one.

The spending requirement is available for most businesses. Three thousand dollars over a nine month period is approximately 1000 dollars per month, which covers any normal expense incurred in a business, whether it is supplies, software, utilities or vendor payments, without having to resort to some formula for spending, or some easy way to spend more than you actually make.

The Continuing Earning Plan is Legitimate

TD Business Solutions Visa is a rewards card that earns 2% rewards on all purchases, is no-fee and has a welcome bonus. If you're not going to use your business card for travel or dining, then that's a pretty good place to begin a free business card.

The beauty of a flat rate card is that it's easy to use. No need to monitor a rotating category, remember a quarterly activation or plan spending to take maximum advantage of a bonus tier. The same percentage of the dollars you spend on the card is rewarded, allowing you to know exactly what reward you will receive for every dollar spent and thus budget accordingly.

A 2% flat-rate no-fee card is a perfect choice for business owners who already have a card that earns them travel miles for certain categories and seek a trustworthy blackjack that's available to them for spending all other money. In this situation, welcome bonus is a bonus that will be added to an already existing regular card.

The math on the Welcome Bonus

Let's make some real numbers real! That would mean you'd see a return more than 13% on your initial purchases, plus the 2% base earning rate. After that, you can count on earning the $3,000 in the first year plus the $60 in the bonus, a total of nearly $460.

It's a good first year offer on an annual fee card. The break-even math is easy: you don't have to pay anything to keep the card; you will earn 2% on all of your balances from then on; and the welcome bonus will provide you with an immediate cash return that most no-fee cards can't compete with.

‍

The most important thing you MUST NOT overlook: Chase 5/24

Your business credit cards are reported to consumer credit bureaus, so they will be the same as if you had a personal credit card they will be included in your personal inquiry history, and look like a new account on your personal credit report. These are not reported to business or consumer credit bureaus and will not have an impact on your consumer profile. Unlike most of the big banks business cards.

This is incredibly important to points and miles fans:

• The Chase 5/24 rule: Chase will not let applicants who have opened 5 or more personal credit card accounts in the past 24 months. TD business cards will not count towards this 24 months limit.
• The timing of your application: If you're planning on applying for a co-branded Chase product, like a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Diamond or Chase Sapphire Reserve within the next two years, this TD card may get you over the 5/24 barrier and disqualify you from the significantly larger welcome bonuses of the other Chase cards.
• Opportunity cost: Chase welcome offers now offer up to 100,000 150,000 points, which equals $2,000 or more in travel value, so a $400 cash bonus seems like not quite as much of a deal when you lose out on those points.

Who This Card Is For

If you aren't looking for a Chase card either because you have enough of them, you are already over 5/24 or chase products just aren't your game then it's a much easier yes for the TD Business Solutions Visa. It's a simple, efficient card that's offered to the organization without any monthly fees or maintenance that provides a welcome bonus of $400 and 2% back on all purchases.

It should also be noted for business owners who appreciate cash back over earning points and aren't interested in the travel rewards system. Not all users care about managing transfer partners, monitoring the availability of awards, optimizing rewards redemption in a variety of loyalty programs. If you're only looking for the payout and don't need to do anything, TD's flat-rate game might be the best option for you, particularly since they offer a higher prize amount for the welcome bonus.

A note on TD Bank as an Issuer

One of the large, well-established financial institutions is Toronto-Dominion Bank, and it's especially established and big along the East Coast, as the U.S. retail banking arm of TD Bank. Well, it's not a household name like Chase is, or Amex or Citi, so isn't as popular among points people. While that's not necessarily an indicator that they're any less legitimate, it does mean that some of the information regarding approval rates, quality of customer service and long-term account management is less frequently used than it is with the big issuers.

The Bottom Line

In reality, the TD Business Solutions Visa's new $400 cash-back promotion is a pretty sweet deal for the right cardholder but a scam for the wrong player. It's very simple, very honest and very worthwhile; there is no annual fee, no point optimization strategy, and a welcome bonus that will give you a solid first-year return.

The implications of 5/24, however, are very real, and if you're actively running a chase card application pipeline, the dollar cost of adding one up could be quite significant but so could be the dollar value of adding tens of thousands of points. It is a trade which, when analyzed, doesn't make much sense.

Look at your situation objectively, and apply if you feel you may be able to. This deal is perfect for those who don't intend to use Chase soon and would just like to have their business card with cash back rewards without an excessive amount of hassle, but without getting a huge reward at the beginning. If you'd like to go the Chase way, then put it off it's just too costly to miss out on.