Thermal management for batteries in electric minibuses is crucial for energy consumption, performance and battery degradation. At low temperature, the maximum recuperative current is reduced, while the battery loss is increased. Furthermore, operating the battery at low temperature may lead to accelerated battery aging. Here, heating the battery can reduce the negative effects, at the cost of additional consumption. Likewise, at high temperature, the maximum recuperative current is reduced to prevent further temperature increase, while the elevated temperature may trigger unwanted side reactions, that again lead to increased battery aging. These effects can be mitigated by cooling the battery, which increases the energy consumption. In this paper, the above outlined tradeoff between recuperated energy, battery loss, thermal management system consumption and battery aging shall be studied. Based on comprehensive experimental data obtained from measurements with an electric minibus on a climate-controlled chassis dynamometer testbed, a control-oriented model of the battery including the thermal management system is developed. Using this model, a nonlinear programming optimization is conducted to find the thermal management strategy that minimizes battery loss and thermal system consumption while maximizing recuperated energy. Eventually, the effect of the optimized thermal management strategy on battery degradation is evaluated using a 1D electrochemical battery model that includes physics-based degradation mechanisms for lithium plating and solid electrolyte interface growth. The results show that the optimal battery thermal management strategy significantly reduces energy consumption compared to the baseline rule-based approach, with minimal impact on battery lifetime. By incorporating the findings of this study into optimized thermal management strategies, the energy consumption and thus the driving range of electric minibuses can be improved while maintaining battery health.