How to apply for and get a business credit card

There are several key advantages to using a business credit card versus personal credit cards or cash for your company's expenses.

Building business credit history

One of the big benefits is the ability to build a credit profile specifically for your business entity. By using a dedicated business card responsibly and making timely payments, you can establish a strong credit history and score for your company.

Your business credit record is separate from your personal credit. And it can open doors to financing options like business loans, lines of credit, higher card limits, and more as your company grows.

Separating business and personal expenses

You know what they say about mixing business and pleasure. Well, mingling business and personal expenses on the same card isn’t a great idea either. It makes accounting and expense tracking an absolute nightmare. But, with a dedicated card for business spending, you can clearly categorize and track business expenses from personal costs for cleaner bookkeeping. Separating your business and personal expenses will also make tax time much easier.

Earning business rewards

Many business credit cards offer rewards programs geared toward the needs of a company instead of an individual consumer, such as bonus points or cash back on common corporate spending categories like travel, office supplies, advertising, and shipping. For example, Brex cards offer higher rewards on areas where businesses spend the most, including 2x back on software, 4x back on travel, and 7x back on rideshares. Another big perk: Brex also offers $180K+ in discounts on top services like AWS, Apple, QuickBooks, and Slack to help run your company.

On top of its robust rewards program, Brex also helps companies grow their cash with a business banking solution that includes access to high-yield treasury from your first dollar. The Brex business account also provides up to $6M in additional FDIC insurance to safeguard your funds as you grow.

Potential for financing purchases

Business credit cards tend to offer higher credit limits than personal cards. You can leverage that higher credit limit to finance larger investments or smooth temporary cash flow issues in a lean period. Still, it’s important to pay statements within the ~30-day billing cycle to avoid interest and to help build healthy credit.

Now that you understand the advantages of a business credit card, let's look at what you need to apply for one successfully. Card providers typically consider several key factors related to your company's profile and financial standing when evaluating applications:

Business type and structure

The nature of your business — whether it is a sole proprietorship or an LLC, corporation, partnership, or other registered entity — can impact your card eligibility. Some credit card issuers may have different levels of acceptance for certain business structures.

Generally speaking, a newly-formed LLC can get a business credit card. And you can use an Employer Identification Number (EIN) when you apply for a business credit card.

Time in business

How long your company has been operating can be a factor in whether you’re approved or denied. Established businesses with longer track records may have an easier time getting approved compared to brand new startups. Issuers want to see that your business is stable before granting you a significant credit line. The longer you’ve been around, the more credibility you’ll have. Some card providers won’t even consider your business if it hasn’t been in operation for at least one year.

Personal credit score / guarantee

Your personal credit score is often factored into business card approvals — at least initially before your company has built its own established credit profile.

As the first corporate card for startups, the Brex business card is a founder-friendly option that does not require a personal guarantee or business credit check/history. But that’s not the case with other issuers.

Business revenue and financials

Many credit card issuers want to see that your company has healthy, sustainable revenue and cash flow before handing you a new credit line. You may need to provide business tax returns, profit/loss statements, and other financial documents to demonstrate your fiscal responsibility.

Industry

Some legacy business credit card programs cater to traditional industries and may reject atypical applicants like cannabis-related companies . An early stage e-commerce business, for example, could have a hard time getting approved by one of the Big 4 banks.

Now that you know why you need a business card and what you need to obtain one, let’s look at how you can find and acquire the right card for you.

Before you get a credit card for your business, you’ll want to:

1. Research and choose the right card

With so many business credit cards available, it's important to research and compare your options. Some key factors to carefully consider:

• Annual fees and interest rate: There’s no annual fee and no interest with the Brex card, making it an attractive option among no annual fee business credit cards. Most business cards charge annual fees and interest. If you crunch the numbers, you may find that any rewards and perks do not outweigh the extra cost of a hefty annual fee or high interest rate.

• Rewards programs: Evaluate the rewards earning structure (cash back, points, miles, etc.) and determine if the bonus categories align well with your biggest expenses. Do you really want 100% of your rewards in the form of airline miles? Probably not.

• Integration with accounting and other software: Look for a card that easily integrates with apps and software like QuickBooks, Slack, Okta, and Zenefits to drive productivity and accuracy.

• Number of cards: Consider how many cards you'll need to issue for your team. Some providers limit the number of cards you can have. Others, like Brex, offer unlimited virtual cards and spend limits to accommodate growing teams.

• Overall ease of use and customer service: Consider how user-friendly the card management experience is through features like mobile apps, digital wallets, and account alerts. Pro tip: Look for card providers like Brex that offer 24/7 support via live chat as well as human support over the phone when you need it and five-star mobile app.

2. Gather the required documents

Before you apply for a business credit card, it’s a good idea to be prepared with your:

• Business tax returns or profit/loss statements

• Recent business bank account statements

• Business formation/registration documents

• Valid, government-issued identification for yourself and any other business owners

3. Complete the online application

Most business credit card applications can be completed online. Brex’s process is user-friendly — similar to a personal credit card application — with clear prompts and guidance every step of the way and takes less than 10 minutes. (Heads up: The application process is usually more complicated when dealing with major banks.)

Be sure to complete all sections regarding your business info, expenses, revenue sources, owners, and other fields. Having your documents organized ahead of time will allow you to fill out the application as quickly — and accurately — as possible.

4. Wait for approval

Processing times for business credit card applications can vary between issuers. But, generally, you'll receive a decision within 7-10 business days.

Brex offers an exceptionally efficient application review process, so qualified applicants usually hear back in hours or in a matter of days.

“With Brex, we immediately had access to 30-40x the amount of money that Chase or Amex would have given us,” said Aura Bora Co-Founder and CEO Paul Voge. Thanks to Brex, we were able to finance a lot of product runs that we would not have otherwise."

5. Start using your business credit card responsibly

Now that you have your card -- and a generous credit limit if you went with Brex -- you can start making purchases to grow your business, from inventory to ads to shipping. Use this opportunity to build strong business credit so you can avoid high fees and other financial roadblocks down the line.

Once approved, you can use your new business credit card to make purchases and payments related to your business operations. However, it's crucial to establish good financial habits. Remember to:

• Pay your full statement balance every month

• Respect and stay below your total credit limit

• Review your account regularly for any unauthorized charges

• Track your expenses rigorously

Brex offers tools like spend management software, advanced fraud detection, and real-time transaction alerts to support responsible card usage. Plus, with Brex, your credit limits can actually grow as your business expands, thanks to their proprietary underwriting based on your business factors. This means your spending power can increase in line with your company's growth.

Businesses need a credit card that truly understands and supports their unique financial needs and growth aspirations. Brex has emerged as a frontrunner in the business card space, offering innovative features and benefits that set it apart from traditional business credit cards.

Underwriting based on your business’ true potential

Legacy credit card issuers can heavily weigh personal FICO scores when evaluating applicants and setting credit limits. It’s an old-school underwriting model that doesn’t factor in the complete picture of a company's financial performance, operations, growth potential, and spending needs.

Major banks tend to underestimate businesses based on personal credit — they’ll often give them low credit limits that don’t align with their real revenue. Or they’ll reject those businesses outright. Brex, on the other hand, is a founder-friendly card created by founders, for founders.

When companies don’t get a sufficient credit limit in a single card program, they may resort to applying for multiple low-limit credit cards to cover their spending needs. But juggling multiple cards is an expense and accounting nightmare.

With Brex, you can get up to 20x higher credit limits in one global card program, without a personal guarantee. This is because Brex takes an innovative approach by looking at the full picture to analyze a business' operations, cash flow, and overall financial health. This allows Brex to approve you for credit limits that actually work for your company and help you grow, rather than using a generic debt-to-income model for consumers.

As a result, Brex customers routinely receive 10 to 20 times higher corporate credit limits than they could access from traditional banks or card issuers. Brex also prioritizes security and responsible credit management with industry-leading fraud protection, expense controls, and account monitoring.

Fast and transparent application process

Applying for a traditional business credit card often involves lengthy applications, burdensome documentation requirements, unclear decision criteria, and opaque processing timelines that leave you in the dark. Some business credit cards require companies to be at least a year old and they may ask for vendor / supplier references. In contrast, the Brex application experience is fully online, highly transparent on the few pieces of information needed, and designed to give you a fast decision.

Many customers can get approved and receive virtual card numbers and business bank accounts set up within just a few hours or days. Brex also offers top-tier customer support to assist applicants if needed.

Tailored features for businesses

Most corporate credit card rewards programs offer generic travel points with no particular focus on the unique needs of businesses. Brex rewards, however, are designed to provide the most value for companies through bonus points on popular spending categories like rideshares, travel, restaurants, SaaS subscriptions, and more. You can redeem those Brex points for cash back, statement credit, miles, or gift cards – or even redeem them for rewards that help grow your business, like custom billboards in Times Square or San Francisco.

Brex cards also integrate seamlessly with 1,000s of leading accounting software, HR platforms, and ERPs. (Brex was named NetSuite's 2023 Partner of the Year for its direct and robust NetSuite integration.) You can use those integrations to two-way sync your expenses with your ERP in real time, automate employee onboarding/offboarding through a platform like Workday, easily pay vendors with Coupa Pay, and more.

Plus, the Brex mobile app allows you to easily issue virtual cards to employees in seconds, review and approve/deny transactions, adjust card spend limits and controls, view automated expense reports, and more on the go.

Exceptional customer support

Calling a big bank's credit card support line? You’ll be waiting for a while. And you’ll probably get transferred three or four times before you get a hold of the right person.

Some business credit card providers don’t even provide a phone number or email address, leaving customers to submit requests through a slow ticket system instead.

In contrast, Brex Support is available 24 hours, seven days a week via live chat on desktop or mobile app. Or call to speak to a real, live human member of the support staff.

The right business credit card can help you reach your next stage of growth faster. Ultimately, you want a card that can simplify your expense management, deliver quality rewards, and truly support your growing business. That’s Brex.

Applying for a business credit card doesn’t have to be difficult. Brex simplifies the application process with clear requirements, fast decisions, and less documentation hassle. More importantly, Brex is designed to scale with your needs. You can start out with just the card and the business account if that’s all you need today — when you start thinking about your IPO, Brex will be ready with the global spend management tools you need to make it a reality.

Are you ready to increase your spending power and future-proof your company? Learn more about Brex and apply for a business credit card today.