The best credit cards to use for large purchases - get bonus rewards, purchase protection, and more

• If you need to make a large purchase, it could be worth using a rewards credit card that offers a bonus for spending a high dollar amount, or applying for a new card to earn a welcome offer with a high minimum spending requirement.
• Business credit cards like the Business Platinum® Card from American Express and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card can be especially good options for maximizing large purchases.
• If you need to make a big purchase, you should also consider using a card with comprehensive purchase protection.
• See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards.

Many travel rewards credit cards offer bonus points or miles for certain activities like using them at specific types of merchants, hitting spending thresholds, or even making large purchases. If you need to spend thousands of dollars on particular items or expenses using your rewards credit card, it pays to know which ones offer such perks and to maximize them in terms of earning, unlocking other value-added benefits like companion tickets and elite status or free nights, and to use a card that offers adequate purchase protection to safeguard your acquisitions.

Here are the key factors to look for when deciding on a credit card to use for large purchases as well as some of the best options for each.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Earning a high welcome offer

One of the best reasons to use a rewards card to make a large purchase is to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn a new card's welcome offer of bonus points, miles, or cash back. There are a few rewards credit cards currently available with relatively high spending requirements in place to earn their welcome offers. If you're in the market for a new rewards card and have one or more large purchases to make, this could be the exact right situation to maximize your spending.

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card just launched an elevated welcome bonus of 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after new cardholders spend $15,000 in the first three months. This card is one of the best business cards out there thanks to its reasonable annual fee of $95, strong travel protections, and generous bonus categories. You'll earn 3x points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping, internet, cable, and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each calendar year (and 1 point per dollar on everything else).

Click here to learn more about the Ink Business Preferred card »

For a limited time, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card is offering new cardholders up to 100,000 bonus points - 70,000 after spending $5,000 or more on purchases in the first three months, and another 30,000 bonus points if you spend $25,000 total on purchases within the first six months of account opening. If you do hit that spend, you'll also have accrued at least enough points to earn the airline's ultra-valuable Companion Pass benefit.

The card has a $199 annual fee, but cardholders receive perks like 9,000 anniversary bonus points, four upgraded boardings per year, in-flight Wi-Fi credits, and up to a $100 statement credit to cover the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. The card earns 3x points on Southwest purchases, 2x points on social media and search engine advertising, and internet, cable, and phone services, and 1x point per dollar on everything else.

Click here to learn more about the Southwest Performance Business card »

Also for a limited time, Chase's new United Business Card is offering an introductory bonus of up to 100,000 United miles after new cardholders spend $10,000 or more on purchases within the first three months of account opening. The card earns 2x miles on United purchases, at gas stations, restaurants, office supply stores, and on local transit and commuting, and 1x on everything else. Cardholders get a free checked bag, priority boarding, 25% back on in-flight purchases, and two one-time United Club passes each year, among other benefits. Its annual fee is $99.

Click here to learn more about the United Business card »

These three cards are for small business owners, so not everyone will be eligible for them - though it's easier to qualify for a business credit card than you might think, since freelancing or selling items online can count.

If you're only looking at personal credit cards, you'll generally find that the minimum spending requirements for earning a welcome bonus are lower than on business cards. However, some cards still have significant spending requirements - for example, the Platinum Card® from American Express offers new cardholders 60,000 points, but only after they spend $5,000 in the first three months.

Low APR on balances

This consideration is a bit of a mixed bag, since you likely will not want to carry a balance for too long as it will eventually negatively impact your credit score over time. However, if you do have large purchases to make that you cannot put off but you won't be able to pay them off in full immediately, it might be worth looking into a credit card that includes a introductory APR offer.

Many of the cards that include this type of introductory offer are great starter rewards cards like the Chase Freedom® and Discover it® Miles.

There are also some solid business credit card choices with intro APR offers:

Among the best ones at the moment is the Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card, which offers 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases (then a variable rate of 14.74% to 20.74%) applies. The card earns an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Its current welcome bonus is $500 cash back after you spend $3,000 in the first three months of account opening, and it has no annual fee.

The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business does not charge an annual fee, either, and offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases. Its current welcome offer is $200 cash back after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months, and it's offering 0% intro APR on purchases for nine months (then a variable rate of 14.49% to 22.49% applies).

Large-purchase bonuses

More and more small-business cards now offer bonus earning opportunities specifically on high-dollar purchases. Among the most prominent is the Business Platinum Card from American Express, which earns 1.5x Amex Membership Rewards points on purchase transactions of $5,000 or more. So if you buy something for $10,000, you'd earn 15,000 points total. You can earn up to one million extra points per calendar year per account via this large-purchase bonus.

Aside from that, the Business Platinum card is currently offering new cardmembers up to 75,000 bonus points - 50,000 after you spend $10,000 and an extra 25,000 if you spend an additional $10,000 (so $20,000 total) within your first three months. It also earns 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, among many other benefits.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card also earns 1.5x miles on purchases of $5,000 or more, but only up to an additional 50,000 bonus points per calendar year.

Spending-based bonuses and benefits

Other cards offer members bonuses or other perks if they reach a certain threshold of spending each year.

For example, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card normally earns 3x miles on eligible Delta purchases and 1x on everything else. However, if you spend $150,000 or more on your card in a calendar year, you begin to earn 1.5x miles on eligible purchases. That's a high dollar amount to hit, but if you do, you'll also net a total of 60,000 Medallion Qualification Miles toward Delta elite status thanks to one of the card's other spending-based benefits. The card comes with access to Delta Sky Clubs and Amex Centurion Lounges as well as up to a $100 statement credit to cover the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee.

With the Hilton Honors Business American Express Card, you can earn one free weekend night reward each calendar year you spend $15,000 or more on eligible purchases, and if you hit $60,000, you get a second free night, plus Hilton Honors Diamond status at $40,000, all of which are nice value-added perks if you spend these types of figures anyway. The card has a $95 annual fee and is currently offering 125,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months.

If you have the American Airlines AAdvantage Aviator Silver World Elite Mastercard, you earn not one, but two $99 companion certificates good for economy travel within North America for hitting $20,000 in spend in a calendar year. If you hit $50,000, you get $3,000 elite-qualifying dollars toward elite status. The card also offers several other impressive perks like $25 back per day as statement credits on in-flight food and beverage purchases, free checked bags and priority boarding, a Global Entry application fee credit, and earning rates of 3x per dollar on American Airlines purchases, 2x on hotels and car rentals, and 1x everywhere else.

Purchase protection

If you're making large purchases, you'll want to make sure your credit card covers you in case something goes wrong with the merchandise. That's why it's important to ascertain the purchase protection your card extends. While this benefit can vary dramatically, several products offer excellent coverage.

The Amex Business Platinum card covers items against theft of damage up to 120 days (90 days for New York residents) after purchase with a maximum of $10,000 per covered purchase and $50,000 per eligible card per calendar year.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card will protect your purchase up to 120 days out against theft or damage as much as $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.

And with the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business, you have up to 90 days after your purchase to make a claim against theft or damage, with caps of $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account. The card earns unlimited 2x miles on every purchase, and its $95 annual fee is waived the first year. New cardmembers can earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 within the first three months of account opening.

On the personal credit card side, the following cards offer some of the best purchase protection:

• Amex Platinum card: covers items against theft and damage up to 120 days (90 days for New York residents) after purchase with a maximum of $10,000 per covered purchase and up to $50,000 per eligible card per calendar year
• Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express: covers items against theft and damage up to 120 days after purchase with a maximum of $1,000 per covered purchase and up to $50,000 per eligible card per calendar year
• United Explorer Card: covers items against theft and damage up to 120 days after purchase with a maximum of $10,000 per covered purchase and up to $50,000 per eligible card per calendar year
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: covers items against theft and damage up to 120 days after purchase with a maximum of $10,000 per covered purchase and up to $50,000 per eligible card per calendar year

Bottom line

You might think that simply earning thousands of points or miles is reason enough to make large purchases with a rewards credit card. But you can boost your points balance even further by using a credit card that offers bonus earning opportunities specifically on high-dollar buys, not to mention additional perks like award flights or nights for hitting certain spending thresholds.

Just be sure your items are covered by sufficient purchase protections and that you are using your credit line responsibly to rack up rewards on ther large purchases you need to anyway.

See Business Insider's list of the best business credit cards »

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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.