A business credit card for your new startup can help propel you through that first year.
Credit cards are convenient payment options. They’re accepted practically everywhere, consolidate your spending into one monthly bill and provide a host of rewards and benefits.
The right card can save you some money on your most frequent expenses – or give you some extra time to pay while you wait for revenue to come in. Business cards tend to have special features for expense tracking and monitoring employee spending, along with other tools aimed at helping your company run smoothly. They also make it easy to separate your business and personal spending.
You may have a new business, but in most cases, the age of your business won’t affect your ability to get a business credit card. That’s because most business cards only look at your personal credit and require a personal guarantee – just like regular credit cards. Your business credit usually isn’t involved. (Some notable exceptions are the Brex cards, which look at your business credit and don’t require a personal guarantee.)
Best for Flat-Rate Rewards
Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus
A flat-rate rewards card gives you freedom from bonus categories. There’s no thinking about which purchases earn what or how to best optimize your credit card spending – just easy cash back or points for every purchase, no hassle.
The Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus provides an excellent rate for everything you buy, twice as much as the normal 1% or 1X point for non-category purchases. It usually comes with a nice welcome bonus, too.
Flat-rate cards are perfect to pair with cards that have bonus categories for specific purchases, like internet services or office supplies. It’s a pretty simple strategy. You’ll use that other card whenever you’re spending in its bonus categories and your flat-rate card for everything else – solid rewards all around.
More flat-rate cards
- Capital One Spark 2X Miles for Business
- Capital One Spark 1.5X Miles Select for Business
- Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select for Business
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
- American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
- American Express Blue Business® Plus Credit Card
Best for Flexible Spending
American Express® Business Gold Card
Some companies have regular expenses each month, making it easy to plan a credit card rewards strategy. But what if you make a variety of purchases, sometimes spending more on shipping, advertising or software other times?
You might want a flat-rate card – like you’ll find above – or you might prefer to go with flexible bonus categories that adapt to meet your needs. That’s what you’ll get with the American Express® Business Gold Card, which gives more points for the categories you spend the most in each month.
More business credit cards for flexible spending
- Bank of America® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
- U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus for Business
- Capital One Spark 2X Miles for Business
- Brex Card (paid daily)
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Best for 0% APR/Borrowing Money
U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card
Maybe you’ve got some big startup expenses – more than you can pay off in the normal month-by-month fashion. A credit card with a 0% APR for purchases can give you some breathing room. Since you won’t be charged interest on your card balance for the length of the intro period, you’ll have time to ramp up operations and get that revenue going.
In this respect, the U.S. Bank Business Platinum is one of the best in the biz, offering 18 billing cycles at 0% interest before the regular 14.99% – 23.99%* variable rate kicks in. That’ll give you quite a while to get your cash flow in order and pay off the debt.
If you already have debt accruing interest on another credit card, you could transfer the balance over to this card and pay it down at no interest.
Just remember you’ll still need to make minimum payments each month, even when you have a 0% rate.
More 0% APR cards
- U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card
- Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
- American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
- American Express Blue Business® Plus Credit Card
Best for Businesses That Advertise
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Got a big ad budget? Unfortunately, most business cards put caps on their advertising bonus categories.
That’s true for our top pick, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. Despite the $150,000 annual spending limit, cardholders can still earn a wealth of points – not only on advertising but other common business purchases, too.
If you’ll spend a lot more than that on advertising every year, you may want to use this card and a flat-rate business rewards card with no limit on how much you can earn.
More cards for businesses that advertise
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus for Business
- Capital One Spark 2X Miles for Business
- U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card
- Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Easiest Business Credit Card to Get
Capital One Spark 1% Classic for Business
Just like with regular consumer cards, most business card lenders look at your personal credit when you apply. Similarly, some business cards are made for people with good or excellent credit, while others are easier to get.
The Capital One Spark 1% Classic for Business is relatively easy to get because it’s made for people with limited credit – that means you’ve established some credit history but not too much (i.e., only a few credit accounts or young accounts). The rewards and benefits aren’t very strong, but it’s not a bad offer if you’re new to credit and have limited options.
More easy-to-get business credit cards
- Business Edition® Secured Mastercard® Credit Card
- Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
Best for Business Owners With No Credit
Divvy Credit Builder
If you haven’t established a credit history yet, you might be wondering how to get started. How do you show you’re a responsible borrower, and can handle a credit card, if you’ve never borrowed before?
Thankfully, there are some options. One of the best is the Divvy Credit Builder, but it’s not an actual credit card. Instead, it’s a prepaid card – so you must pre-fund the account before you can make payments.
But unlike most prepaid cards, the Divvy Credit Builder will actually report your card activity to business credit bureaus (Dun & Bradstreet and Small Business Financial Exchange), allowing you to improve your business credit. The Credit Builder card also comes with all of the same rewards and budget management tools of the basic Divvy account.
Another Business Credit Card for No Credit
- Business Edition® Secured Mastercard® Credit Card
Best for No Personal Guarantee & Industry-Specific Rewards
The Brex Card (paid daily) is the most accessible Brex card, though it requires a Brex Cash account. Your card balance will automatically be paid daily from the funds in your Brex Cash account, so you never have to worry about interest rates or late fees.
Take note: Brex products aren’t available to consumers, sole proprietors, unregistered businesses and other non-individual liability companies.
Pick a rewards program that aligns best with your business spending – you can change it later, if you’d like.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have a new business, am I eligible for a credit card?
Yes – the fact that you have a new business doesn’t impact your eligibility for most small business credit cards. Like personal credit cards, most business cards look at your own personal credit when you apply. Your business credit, good or bad, isn’t involved.
The exception to that rule is a rare class of business cards that don’t require a personal guarantee or involve your personal credit scores. These cards look at your business credit and business financials to determine your eligibility. Some of these cards are available to new and small business owners, like the Brex cards, while others are geared toward larger corporations, like the American Express corporate cards.
What’s the best credit card for a new business?
The best card for a new business depends on the nature of the business. There’s no correct answer. Great cards for new businesses include:
- Capital One Spark 2% Cash Plus for Business
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- U.S. Bank Business Platinum Card
- Brex Card (paid daily)
What’s the easiest business credit card to get?
Like consumer cards, the easiest business cards to get are all secured cards. We included a good prepaid option, too:
- Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
- Business Edition® Secured Mastercard® Credit Card
- Divvy Credit Builder
If you have some established credit history, but not much, you can also consider the Capital One Spark 1% Classic for Business.
For certain businesses, the Brex cards may be easy to get as well – if you meet the financial requirements. The Brex Card (paid daily) doesn’t look at your personal credit when you apply. It instead uses your business credit and business financials.
Can I get a business credit card for an LLC?
Yes – in general, any business credit card can be used for an LLC. Independent contractors, freelancers and sole proprietors are typically eligible for business cards, too.
Having a dedicated card for business spending makes it easier to separate your business and personal expenses, which is important when documenting for taxes and keeping things in order.
