How to Apply for a Small Business Credit Card in 5 Steps

A small business credit card can be a valuable tool to help you start and grow your business. The good news is that applying for a card and getting approved is a relatively simple process as long as you follow the right steps.

Our comprehensive guide can help you find and apply for the right credit card for your business.

Who can get a business credit card?

Just about anyone with a qualifying business can apply and have a chance at being approved for a business credit card.

Business credit card requirements vary by issuer. However, in most cases, the primary requirement is having a qualifying business. This can include established businesses and storefronts, as well as freelancers and self-employed individuals.

Several types of businesses that can qualify for business credit cards include:

• Limited liability companies (LLCs)
• Freelancers and gig workers (including babysitters, house cleaners, delivery drivers, etc.)
• Sole proprietorships
• Partnerships
• Corporations
• Startups

But having a business doesn't guarantee approval, as credit card issuers consider several other factors, including overall creditworthiness. And some types of businesses might find it harder to qualify. For example, some issuers may not work with cannabis-related businesses because they sell or produce a product that's illegal at the federal level.

How to apply for a business credit card

Step 1: Determine if you're eligible

Before you apply for a business credit card, understand eligibility requirements and whether you're likely to be approved. Start with your personal credit.

Credit requirements

When you apply for a small business credit card, the card issuer usually takes your personal credit score into account. Though some cards are available to borrowers with fair or poor credit, many business cards want to see at least a good or excellent credit score, which is defined as a FICO score of 670 or better.

Many business credit cards perform a hard inquiry or check on your personal credit, which often knocks your credit score down a few points.

Not all business credit cards require a personal credit check. For example, the Brex Credit Card doesn't require a Social Security number to apply. Rather, Brex checks your business funding, spending, and other relevant details to determine your eligibility.

Business requirements

You typically don't need years of business history and a high revenue to qualify for a business credit card. Many entrepreneurs qualify without even having a business.

However, with a limited business history, your application will often depend more heavily on your personal income, assets, and credit. This is why many business credit cards require personal guarantees.

Personal guarantee

You're often required to personally guarantee business credit cards. When you complete a business credit card application with a personal guarantee clause, you agree to use your personal assets to pay for your business-related debts if your business can't.

This can be helpful if you're a new business owner. A hard inquiry into your personal credit, along with a personal guarantee, may qualify you for a business credit card even if you have little or no business credit.

But know that failure to repay can result in late fees, damage to your credit, collections, or even a lawsuit. If you want to avoid these clauses, explore business credit cards without personal guarantees.

Step 2: Compare business credit cards

Once you've figured out whether you're likely eligible, spend time comparing cards. Just like personal credit cards, there are lots of different business cards on the market. It's important to find the best business credit card for your needs.

To compare cards, consider:

• Interest: If you're planning to make a large purchase or need to pay off an existing balance, think about business cards with 0% introductory APRs on purchases and/or balance transfers.
• Your travel habits: If you travel regularly, look for business travel cards with benefits like no foreign transaction fees, annual travel credits, trip delay/cancellation coverage, or airport lounge access.
• Rewards: Consider whether a card earns cash back, points, or miles on your normal business spending, and compare both earning and redemption options. You can find great generalist cash back business cards, as well as cards best for specific expenses (like business gas credit cards).
• Employee use: If you need employee cards, look for business credit cards that offer free employee cards and let you manage limits for each, which can be helpful if you want multiple employees to spend.

Step 3: Gather the required information

Information you might need to provide on a business credit card application includes:

• Full name, date of birth, and address
• Mother's maiden name
• Tax ID (ITIN or SSN)
• Email address and phone number
• Total gross annual income
• Business structure (corporation, LLC, partnership, non-profit, or sole proprietorship)
• Legal name of your business and its address
• Date the business was established
• Number of employees
• Annual business revenue and estimated monthly spend
• Employer identification number (EIN), if applicable
• Name and address of any employee you want to receive an employee card

Step 4: Complete your application

Once you've gathered all the necessary information, go ahead and complete your application. This process typically takes about 10 minutes and is a bit more in-depth than personal credit card applications, since you're providing information about both you and your business.

Step 5: Wait for a response

You may receive immediate approval or denial if you apply online, but not always. If you get a message along the lines of, "We need more time to review your application," don't panic. This is common.

If your application is approved, you'll usually receive your business card in the mail within a week or two.

If you receive a denial, check with the card issuer to find out why and whether there's a possibility of reconsideration. Many credit card companies have reconsideration lines where you can speak with someone about your application. In some cases, a call can turn a denial into an approval.

Business credit card application tips and best practices

1. Get started with your Social Security number

If your business is new and you don't have an EIN yet, that's OK. Many card issuers are new-business-friendly and will let you apply with just your SSN. Most applications have separate places for your SSN and EIN, and you may be able to indicate you don't have one.

2. Answer revenue questions conservatively

Don't oversell your business income in the hopes of getting a higher credit limit. Card issuers may verify this information, and you definitely don't want to get caught in a lie.

If an application doesn't provide specific guidelines, give either your previous year's income or your average income.

3. Space out your applications

Card issuers look at your credit report when reviewing your application, so it's important to understand an issuer's unofficial rules for how often you can apply. For example, Chase's 5/24 rule means that you can't have more than five applicable cards opened in the last 24 months.

In general, we recommend waiting at least three to six months between credit card applications, if you can. Applying more often than this can appear suspicious to credit issuers and negatively impact your credit.

Do business credit cards report to personal credit bureaus?

If your business doesn't have a credit history yet, a card issuer may approve or decline your application based on your personal credit.

Beyond the application stage, some issuers continue reporting to consumer credit bureaus for as long as your account is open. This means your business card activity (credit utilization, payment history, etc.) could show up on your personal credit report.

What credit information do business credit cards report?

Some card issuers report only delinquent activity to personal credit bureaus; others report all activity types.

The table below shows which issuers typically report what to personal credit bureaus. Note that these are subject to change.

Pros and cons of a business credit card that shows up on your credit report

The U.S. Bank Business Leverage^® Visa Signature^® Card is one example of a business credit card that doesn't report to personal credit (no U.S. Bank business credit cards do).

Is it illegal to use a business credit card for personal use?

While it isn't illegal to use a business credit card for personal expenditures, we don't recommend it. Also, using a business card for personal expenses could violate cardmember agreements.

Here are five possible consequences of doing so on top of that.

1. You may not be entitled to the same protections you get with a personal card

Federal law affords certain protections to personal credit card users that don't apply to business cards. Business cards tend to:

• Make it harder to dispute incorrect charges or missing goods/services
• Provide little to no protection from debt collectors
• Provide little to no notice before increasing rates or late charges

2. It may be harder to do your taxes

Mixing personal and business expenses makes it difficult to separate costs at tax time, which could lead to accidentally claiming personal expenses as business deductions. This is illegal. If the IRS audits you, you could face hefty fines and back taxes.

Keeping your business expenses separate is one of the best tax planning strategies you can adopt as a business owner.

3. It may be more difficult to track your company's financial health

Using business and personal cards interchangeably creates a lack of transparency into your business's financial health, making it much more difficult to manage cash flow, calculate cash runway, and assess profitability.

It could also hurt your chances of acquiring a business loan if lenders see a track record of commingled funds.

4. You could be held personally responsible for your company's problems

One of the benefits of setting up your business as an LLC or corporation is that your personal assets are protected in a lawsuit. If your personal and business funds are mixed, you could be held personally liable for your business's liabilities.

5. Your personal credit could be impacted

If you can't pay off your business balance, your personal credit could suffer, since many business card issuers report missed payments to credit bureaus.

How to get a business credit card with just your EIN

Although many credit card issuers require an SSN, some cards only require an EIN.

Using an EIN when applying helps establish a business credit history and keeps business and personal finances separate. The main EIN-only card types are corporate business cards, corporate gas cards, and secured business cards.

How to qualify for EIN-only business credit cards

EIN-only cards typically have stricter requirements around business sales, assets, history, and type. Having a good business credit score with bureaus such as Dun & Bradstreet or Experian Business could help you qualify.

Why you may want to apply with just your EIN

• Low or no personal credit: Getting approved with your SSN might be harder if you don't have a strong personal credit history.
• Avoid personal liability: Using an EIN means you're not acting as a personal guarantor, so the card issuer can't hold you personally accountable if your business goes under.
• No SSN: If you aren't a U.S. resident and used an ITIN to request an EIN, a business credit card using an EIN could open the door to credit card benefits.

Why do business credit cards typically require your SSN?

Card issuers use your SSN to access your credit profile and assess whether you're a strong candidate, especially if your business hasn't demonstrated its creditworthiness yet. They also look at your personal credit because you'll be personally liable if the business fails.

Applying with your SSN can give you access to:

• A wider range of card options
• Easier access to a line of credit without needing to prove business revenue
• More robust rewards programs

Types of business credit cards you can you get with an EIN

Corporate business credit cards

Corporate credit cards are available to large businesses with large annual revenues (typically in the millions). Your business must operate as a separate legal entity and have a good business credit score to qualify.

These cards often offer corporate liability coverage, robust reporting tools, and spending controls for employee cards.

Corporate credit cards we recommend:

• Brex Credit Card: Uses an algorithm to assess eligibility by analyzing your company's cash flow and spending. Provides automated expense management and easy accounting integration.
• Ramp Card: A corporate charge card that earns up to 1.5% cash back on qualified purchases (varies by customer and determined by Ramp) with credit limits based on the company's cash balance. Offers automated expense management and seamless integration with business tools.

Corporate gas credit cards

If your business requires frequent fuel fill-ups, a corporate gas card (such as the Shell Card Business) lets you issue multiple cards to employees and set fuel and location limits. Like regular corporate cards, they require good business credit, but they can only be used for fuel and sometimes vehicle maintenance.

Secured business credit cards

A secured credit card could be a good alternative if you have poor personal or business credit. Some secured business credit cards may only require an EIN, making them a potential fit for small startup businesses, partnerships, and sole proprietors.

One example is the First National Bank of Omaha Business Edition^® Secured Mastercard^® Credit Card, which lets you choose a credit limit between $2,000 and $10,000, secured with a deposit of 110% of your credit limit. It includes auto rental insurance and certain Mastercard benefits, such as automatic rebates at 40,000 participating merchants. But one drawback is that it does carry a $39 annual fee.

The Bank of America^® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard^® Secured credit card is another example we recommend looking into.

Prepaid business cards (not credit cards)

If you don't qualify for a corporate card and a secured card doesn't feel right, consider a prepaid business card. Since prepaid cards are low-risk, your SSN is unnecessary. They offer the flexibility of a credit card for situations where cash isn't feasible, and they're safer than cash if lost.

However, prepaid cards won't help your business credit score since they aren't credit cards, and issuers typically don't report activity to credit bureaus.

How to get a business credit card with no credit history

Getting a business credit card without any personal credit can be difficult. We recommend focusing on establishing a positive credit history for yourself, ideally before you apply for any business cards.

Here are some ways to build credit and potentially increase your chances of being approved for better business cards.

Tips to improve your personal credit

1. Become an authorized user on someone else's card

Becoming an authorized user on a parent's, spouse's, or business partner's card lets you piggyback off their good credit to help boost your own personal credit history. As long as the primary account holder maintains a good or excellent score, your score may see a quick boost.

2. Consider a secured credit card

Secured credit cards can be easier to qualify for than unsecured credit cards when you have no established credit because they typically require a security deposit (usually at least $200 to $300) that is often equal to your credit limit. Many secured cards report to the major credit bureaus, which could help you qualify for unsecured business and/or personal cards down the road.

Avoid cards with high annual fees, monthly maintenance fees, and other unavoidable charges. These are known as "fee harvesters."

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Earn $750 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening

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Why we like it

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