Getting business credit cards - Revision history

Editor: Editor moved page Getting Business Credit Cards to Getting business credit cards without leaving a redirect

2021-02-19T04:41:45Z

Editor moved page Getting Business Credit Cards to Getting business credit cards without leaving a redirect

Editor: /* Benefits of business credit cards */

2021-02-16T18:52:31Z

‎Benefits of business credit cards

Editor: /* Business cards affect your credit differently, and have different protections */

2021-02-12T07:02:58Z

‎Business cards affect your credit differently, and have different protections

Editor: /* Business cards affect your credit differently, and have different protections */

2021-02-12T07:02:26Z

‎Business cards affect your credit differently, and have different protections

Editor at 07:01, 12 February 2021

2021-02-12T07:01:52Z

Editor: /* Business cards affect your credit differently, and have different protections */

2021-01-15T18:43:52Z

‎Business cards affect your credit differently, and have different protections

Editor: /* Once you get a business card, you can usually use it for non-business-related purchases */

2021-01-15T18:42:56Z

‎Once you get a business card, you can usually use it for non-business-related purchases

Editor: /* You can get small business cards, even if you have a very small business */

2021-01-15T18:41:11Z

‎You can get small business cards, even if you have a very small business

Editor: /* Benefits of business credit cards */

2021-01-15T18:38:37Z

‎Benefits of business credit cards

Editor at 18:34, 15 January 2021

2021-01-15T18:34:11Z

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 Businesses can also get the {{Card|PlatinumBiz|only}} and use their Membership Rewards points to purchase certain airfares on the Amex website at 1.54 cents each (instead of only 1 cent). Using the cards together, you can earn over 3% "cash back", with the additional upside of also having the option to use your points for good frequent flyer opportunities.
-<li>'''Small business credit cards don't usually show up on your personal credit report, making it easier to get approved for new cards'''. Since most business credit cards aren't listed on your personal credit report, they are counted when Chase or Bank of America are determining the number of cards you've gotten in the past 12 or 24 months. Signing up for business cards lets you delay, or sometimes even avoid, hitting Chase's and BOA's limits. This maintains your flexibility to get new cards you are interested in. </li>
+<li>'''Small business credit cards don't usually show up on your personal credit report, making it easier to get approved for new cards'''. The main exceptions are cards from Discover and Capital One (except the Spark CASH card) and some smaller banks, which do wind up getting reported on your personal report. You can check detailed information on [//www.doctorofcredit.com/which-business-credit-cards-report/ Doctor of Credit].</li>
 Besides these hard barriers, other banks are sensitive to the number of your new cards. So, keeping some of your cards off your personal credit report increases the chance for an approval.

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 {{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|business cards}}}}
 {{seo|description=Even the smallest businesses can sign up for business credit cards and earn more rewards from credit card spending and signup bonuses.}}
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+{{Page|article|signups|Card Strategies}}
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 <li>When you first get the card, you’ll experience the same 2 to 5-point drop in your credit rating (from the hard inquiry) that you would receive from any other card. As with personal cards, this will go away in a year.</li>
-<li>Unlike a personal card, the credit limit of your new card won’t be get added to your “total credit”, and thus won't improve your credit utilization score.</li>
+<li>Unlike a personal card, the credit limit of your new card won’t be get added to your “total credit” and thus won't improve your credit utilization score.</li>
 <li>However, any charges you put on the business card also won’t be included in the total of the amount of credit you are using, which will contribute to a better utilization score.</li>

← Older revision	Revision as of 04:41, 19 February 2021
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-By law, business cards don’t have the same protections as personal credit cards. As a result, banks need to be sure that they can’t be accused of skirting the personal credit card regulations by promoting small business cards for personal use. Therefore, you’ll never see any materials from the bank saying that you can put personal charges on a business card. And the official rules for the card will typically prohibit using the card for personal spending.
+By law, business cards don’t have the same protections as personal credit cards. As a result, banks need to be sure that they can’t be accused of skirting the personal credit card regulations by promoting small business cards for personal use. Therefore, you’ll never see any materials from the bank suggesting that you can put personal charges on a business card. And the official rules for the card will typically prohibit using the card for personal spending.
-However, putting personal expenses on small business cards is very widely done, especially by people who like to collect points and miles. While keeping your small business expenses on your small business cards and personal expenses on your personal cards, makes it much easier to keep track of your spending when it is time to file your taxes, there are no laws that require you to do so.
+However, putting personal expenses on small business cards is very widely done, especially by people who like to collect points and miles and we've never heard of an issue. While keeping your small business expenses on your small business cards, and your personal expenses on your personal cards, makes it much easier to keep track of your spending when it is time to file your taxes, there are no laws that require you to do so.
 You need to make a personal decision about whether you are comfortable putting personal expenses on a business card. Conventional wisdom is that banks really don’t care—don’t ask, don’t tell. However, there is theoretically some risk to violating these terms. The worst-case scenario is that the bank will shut down the card, pull back the rewards points they gave you, and decline to do business with you in the future. We've never heard of this, but it is conceivably possible.

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 <li>'''You (usually) don’t even need to be making any money yet'''. Most small businesses start out spending money, before they ever earn their first dollar. It is natural to want to be able to use a business credit card for your start up purchases. The banks are eager to get your business—that’s what the signup bonuses are fundamentally about in the first place. You may not be able to get a huge credit line, but you can generally get approved for business credit cards, even for a side business you are just setting up.</li>
-Amex and Chase sometime require that your small business generate over $1,000 in revenues. But many people believe that the revenue question on their business credit card application represents a prediction of the current year's revenue, rather than a summary of the previous year's.
+Amex and Chase sometime require that the business revenue on your application be at least $1,000. But many people believe that the revenue question on their business credit card application represents a prediction of the current year's revenue, rather than a summary of the previous year's.
 <li>'''Your business doesn’t need to be incorporated'''. Many smaller businesses are simple sole proprietorships. If you have a sole proprietorship, you are personally responsible for any debt and your personal credit report will be pulled when you apply for the card. Instead of using a business Federal ID number, you can just enter your personal social security number into the Federal ID number box on the credit card application.</li>
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 But you can also apply with an Employer Identification Number (EIN) instead. You can very quickly go [//www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online online] and acquire a free EIN for your sole proprietorship.
-<li>'''Banks will ask for information about your business, such as your annual revenue, but most credit card companies don’t require you to send them any records or other information'''. Never lie about your business. If your revenue is zero, just put zero into the signup form. You’re still likely to get approved.</li>
+<li>'''Banks will ask for information about your business, such as your annual revenue, but most credit card companies don’t require you to send them any records or other information'''. Never lie about your business. </li>
-<li>'''Ideally, you'd open a business checking account and make sure you have any necessary business licenses before you start applying for business credit cards'''. If you look around, you should be able to find a bank or credit-union that will give you a checking account without any monthly fees.</li>
+<li>'''Ideally, you'd open a business checking account and make sure you have any necessary business licenses before you start applying for business credit cards'''. If you look around, you should be able to find a bank or credit union that will give you a business checking account without any monthly fees.</li>
 </ul>

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 <ul class="bulletlist">
-<li>'''Getting small business cards allows you to double-up on your signup bonuses (and certificates)'''. Many cards are available in both a personal and business version. If you sign up for both, you can earn twice the number of points. For example, you can apply for both the personal and business versions of the Marriott cards to earn a total of 160-200,000 bonus points. Or you can apply for both the personal and business version of the Alaska Airlines card to earn double the signup bonus and get two companion certificates every year, instead of just one. Quickly accruing large number of points in the same program can be critical when you are trying to book a premium cabin international flight or make other expensive point redemptions. </li>
+<li>'''Getting small business cards allows you to double-up on your signup bonuses (and certificates)'''. Many cards are available in both a personal and business version. If you sign up for both, you can earn twice the number of points. For example, you can apply for both the personal and business versions of the Marriott cards to earn a total of 150-200,000 bonus points. Or you can apply for both the personal and business version of the Alaska Airlines card to earn double the signup bonus and get two companion certificates every year. Quickly accruing large number of points in the same program can be critical when you are trying to book a premium cabin international flight or make other expensive point redemptions. </li>
-<li>'''Some of the best cards are only available in small business versions'''. For example, the Ink Preferred card has the biggest Chase Ultimate Rewards bonus (normally 80,000 points), and the Business Platinum card has the biggest Amex Membership Rewards bonus (normally 75-150,000 points).</li>
+<li>'''Some of the best cards are only available in small business versions'''. For example, the Ink Preferred card has the biggest Chase Ultimate Rewards bonus (normally 80,000 points) and the Business Platinum card has the biggest Amex Membership Rewards bonus (normally 75-150,000 points).</li>
-<li>'''Getting at least one business card is the only way to easily earn the Southwest Companion Pass'''. The Southwest Companion Pass allows two people to fly for the price of one on Southwest Airlines. It works on both paid and award tickets, for up to two years. The only way to qualify without a lot of flying (or a lot of credit card spending) is to earn the signup bonus on two Southwest Airlines cards in the same year, and the only way to do that is for at least one of them to be a business card. {{Link|Companion Pass}}.</li>
+<li>'''Getting at least one business card is the only way to easily earn the Southwest Companion Pass'''. The Southwest Companion Pass allows two people to fly for the price of one on Southwest Airlines. It works on both paid and award tickets, for up to two years. The only way to qualify without a lot of flying (or a lot of credit card spending) is to earn the signup bonus on two Southwest Airlines cards in the same year and the only way to do that is for at least one of them to be a business card. {{Link|Companion Pass}}.</li>
 <li>'''If you like frequent flyer miles, the Amex Blue for Business card is the most rewarding credit card for everyday spending'''. If you are planning to use your reward points for frequent flyer tickets, the {{Card|BlueBiz|only}} is the best general purpose reward card, earning 2x Membership Rewards points on every purchase. But it is only available in a business version. {{Link|advanced everyday}}.</li>
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 <li>'''Small business credit cards don't usually show up on your personal credit report, making it easier to get approved for new cards'''. Since most business credit cards aren't listed on your personal credit report, they are counted when Chase or Bank of America are determining the number of cards you've gotten in the past 12 or 24 months. Signing up for business cards lets you delay, or sometimes even avoid, hitting Chase's and BOA's limits. This maintains your flexibility to get new cards you are interested in. </li>
-Besides these hard barriers, many banks are sensitive to the number of your new cards. So, keeping some of your cards off your personal credit report increases the chance for an approval.
+Besides these hard barriers, other banks are sensitive to the number of your new cards. So, keeping some of your cards off your personal credit report increases the chance for an approval.
 <li>'''The only cards that earn good reward bonuses for office supply stores are small business cards'''. Many business cards come with lucrative bonus rewards at office supply stores and on telecommunication services (usually including Cable TV). These bonus categories aren’t usually available with personal cards and are particularly easy to take advantage of. </li>

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 {{Image|ChaseBusiness.jpg|full}}
-If you have a small business, the world of available credit cards includes a lot more options. Alongside the many “personal” travel and reward credits cards are dozens of credit cards targeted at small businesses.
+If you have a small business, the world of available credit cards includes a lot more options. Alongside all of the “personal” travel and reward credits cards are dozens of credit cards targeted at small businesses.
-The same credit card will be often available in both a personal and a business version, allowing you to double-up on signup bonuses (or valuable hotel or companion certificates). In addition, there are some unique and valuable credit cards that only available in business versions.
+The same credit card will often be available in both a personal and a business version, allowing you to double-up on signup bonuses (or valuable hotel or companion certificates). In addition, there are some unique and valuable credit cards that only available in business versions.
 <blockquote>
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 </blockquote>
-Most people who have any kind of small business should take advantage of business credit cards.
+And most people who have any kind of small business should take advantage of business credit cards.
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