The Best Business Credit Cards for Bad Credit

By Updated Oct. 7, 2022 Read time 6 min

Having trouble qualifying for the business credit cards you want? Maybe you haven’t been building your credit very long or made some mistakes in the past that are now affecting your credit. With bad credit comes fewer options, sometimes making it tough to find payment and funding options that work for you.

Depending on the card issuer, you may or may not be able to use these business cards to improve your personal credit (because the issuer may or may not report regular card activity to the consumer credit bureaus). You may also be able to use them to build up your business credit if the issuer reports to business credit bureaus.

Bad credit doesn’t mean you have to settle for cards without valuable features — three of our top picks for business credit cards offer points or cash back for your purchases. If you’re looking at a lot of business spending every year, those rewards could add up to quite a bit. Below the business card recommendations, you’ll see a selection of personal cards you may find useful for business expenses.

Insider tip

All of the business and personal cards on this page rely on your personal credit for approval, and you’ll be legally responsible for any credit card debts. If you need a corporate card that doesn’t rely on your personal credit and requires no personal guarantee, take a look at the corporate credit cards of Brex and American Express.

The 5 Best Business Cards for Bad Credit

Best for Fair or Average Credit

Capital One Spark 1% Classic for Business

So, the Capital One Spark 1% Classic for Business is technically designed for “fair or average” credit, which is a step above “poor or bad.” But maybe your scores aren’t quite as bad as you thought — maybe they’re on the edge, and some card issuers might be a little more accepting than expected.

It bears reminding that credit approval looks at factors beyond credit scores, including income. So you may still qualify with low scores if your finances are looking good.

This card is unsecured, so you won’t need to put down a security deposit to fund your credit line. This can free up some cash that would otherwise get put down for the deposit, leaving you with more money to put toward your business.

Unlike most issuers of business cards, Capital One reports your positive business card activity to the consumer credit bureaus, along with several business credit bureaus. That means this card can help you build (or hurt) both your personal and business credit.

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Best for No Credit + Rewards

Divvy Credit Builder

Struggling with no (or bad) credit, and wondering where to start? It can be hard to get approved for credit if you haven’t yet built up a credit history – a classic chicken-or-egg situation.

Here’s a different way to get your foot in the credit door: The Divvy Credit Builder, which is a prepaid card, rather than a credit card. But unlike most prepaid cards, Divvy will report your activity to major business credit bureaus like Dun & Bradstreet. This is an interesting opportunity to improve your business credit, even without an actual credit card.

The Divvy Credit Builder account even comes with excellent rewards and benefits – the same perks you might get with a regular business credit card account.

Best for High Credit Limit

Business Edition® Secured Mastercard® Credit Card

With big business comes big spending. If your company has high monthly expenses, you’ll need a credit card that can keep up. But, that can be a challenge when some secured cards have fairly low credit limits.

The Business Edition® Secured Mastercard® Credit Card from the First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) doesn’t have that problem, although there are some strings attached.

Your credit line can range from $2,000 to $100,000, although the limit you’re approved for will depend on your creditworthiness. You must provide a security deposit of 110% of the credit limit you’d like. If you want a $50,000 credit limit, for instance, you’d have to deposit $55,000. So you can get a high credit limit, but your deposit will be bigger than your limit.

Here’s another thing that sets this card apart: The security deposit you provide will earn actual interest, – compounded quarterly, unlike most secured cards. But don’t get too excited. At the time of publication, the interest rate was only 0.05%. It’s subject to change at FNBO’s discretion.

FNBO only has regional availability, meaning you need to be located in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota or Texas to open an account.

Can I Get a Business Card With Bad Credit?

Yes, you can. Even if your credit isn’t in the best shape, there are some business cards designed for you – but not many.

What does ‘bad credit’ mean?

“Bad credit,” also known as “poor credit,” usually refers to a FICO® Credit Score range of 300 – 579 or a VantageScore® range of 300 – 649.

Your credit scores are an indicator of your likelihood to pay back your debts on time; the lower the score, the less likely a person is to pay on time. And the lower the score, the greater the risk for the credit card issuer.

Credit cards and other financial products designed for bad credit typically have high-interest rates and, in some, cases extra fees. People with lower credit scores typically have a harder time qualifying, get lower credit limits and have to make larger down payments.

That’s why it’s important to understand and cultivate good credit scores. Bad credit can be expensive, and good credit can do more than just provide access to fancy credit cards.

What’s the Easiest Business Card to Get?

Of the three secured business cards we’ve highlighted, the easiest business card to get is probably:

Business Edition® Secured Mastercard® Credit Card: Security deposit of $2,000 to $100,000; security deposit earns interest

Bad credit indicates that a person is less likely to pay his or her bills on time. These cards require a security deposit to fund their credit limits, to help mitigate the risk assumed by the card issuer. That’s why secured cards are typically easier to qualify for than unsecured cards.

Personal Cards for Bad Credit

Did you know that you can use personal credit cards for business expenses?

Business cards typically come with higher credit lines than personal or consumer credit cards, along with business-specific perks and services. But if you have poor credit and are having a tough time qualifying for business cards, you may want to go for a personal card instead.

Here are some of our favorite personal secured cards, with the highest maximum credit limits. We recommend putting down as large a security deposit as you can manage to get a higher line of credit, giving yourself more spending power and helping keep your credit utilization on the low side.