Best Business Credit Cards for Startups

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, they consolidate your spending into one monthly bill, and they 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 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 don’t require a personal guarantee and look at your business credit.)

Best for Flat-Rate Rewards

A flat-rate rewards card gives you freedom from bonus categories — no thinking about which purchases earn what, and how to best optimize your credit card spending. Just easy cash back or points for every purchase, no hassle.

The Capital One Spark 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 great 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: Use that other card whenever you’re spending in its bonus categories, and use your flat-rate card for everything else. Solid rewards all around.

Spending Rewards
2% cash back on all purchases

Introductory Bonus
$500 after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months; $500 after spending $50,000 in the first 6 months

Key Features

• Free employee cards
• Shopping protections: Purchase Security, Extended Warranty Protection, Price Protection
• Travel protections: Rental Insurance Coverage, Roadside Dispatch, Lost Luggage Reimbursement, Travel Accident Insurance
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $150
  

Best for Flexible Spending

Some companies have regular expenses each month, making it easy to plan out a credit card rewards strategy. But what if you make a variety of purchases, sometimes spending more on shipping, other times on advertising, or software, etc.?

You might want a flat-rate card like you’ll find above, or you might want to go with flexible bonus categories that can adapt to meet your needs. That’s what you’ll get with the American Express® Business Gold Card (Review), which gives more points for the categories you spend the most in each month.

Spending Rewards
4X Membership Rewards points per dollar in the two categories with the highest spend per billing cycle (up to $150,000 in combined purchases per year, then 1X): Airfare purchased directly from airlines U.S. advertising purchases: online, TV, radio U.S. providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions U.S. gas stations U.S. restaurants U.S. shipping
2X Membership Rewards points per dollar for eligible purchases from Amex Travel
1X Membership Rewards point per dollar for all other eligible purchases

Introductory Bonus
70,000 bonus points for spending $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership

Key Features

• 25% airline bonus: Get 25% of your points back when booking eligible airfare through American Express Travel using Membership Rewards Pay with Points.
• The Hotel Collection: A $100 hotel credit and room upgrades when available for every eligible two-night stay
• Point transfer: To a selection of airline and hotel partners
• Amex Offers: Access to extra point offers at a wide variety of merchants
• Shopping and travel protections: Baggage Insurance Plan, Trip Delay Insurance, Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance, Global Assist Hotline, Extended Warranty, Purchase Protection
• No foreign transaction fee
  
• Annual fee: $295

Enrollment required for select benefits; terms and limitations apply.

American Express® Business Gold Card (Rates & Fees)

Best for 0% APR/Borrowing Money

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 — you won’t be charged interest on the card balance for the length of the intro period, giving you time to ramp up operations and get that revenue going.

The U.S. Bank Business Platinum is one of the best in the biz, in this respect, offering 15 billing cycles on purchases at 0% interest before the regular 9.99%-17.99%* Variable rate kicks in. That’ll give you quite a while to get your cash flow in order and pay off the debt.

Or, if you’ve already got debt accruing interest on another credit card, you could transfer the balance over to this card and pay it down at no interest.

Remember that you’ll still need to make minimum payments each month, even when you have a 0% rate.

Key Features

• Purchase APR: 0% for 15 billing cycles on purchases, then 9.99%-17.99%* Variable
• Balance Transfer APR: 0% for 15 billing cycles on balance transfers*, then 9.99%-17.99%* Variable
• Balance Transfer fee: 3%
• Shopping and travel protections: Purchase Security, Extended Warranty, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
• Annual fee: $0*

Best for Businesses That Advertise

Got a big ad budget? Most business cards put caps on their advertising bonus categories, unfortunately.

That’s true for our top pick, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Review). 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 pair this card with a flat-rate business rewards card with no limit on how much you can earn.

Spending Rewards
5X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on Lyft rides (through March 2022)
3X Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent per year on: Travel Shipping Internet, cable, and phone services Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
1X Ultimate Rewards point per dollar on all other purchases

Introductory Bonus
100,000 bonus points for spending $15,000 in the first 3 months after account opening

Key Features

• 25% point bonus: When redeeming for travel expenses through Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Point transfer: At a 1:1 rate to a variety of airline and hotel loyalty programs, including British Airways, United, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hyatt
• Shop through Chase/Chase Offers: Earn more points by shopping at participating retailers with the Shop through Chase and Chase Offers marketplaces.
• Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection: Daily breakfast for two, free WiFi, room upgrades, early check-in, late checkout, and more at eligible hotels
• Visa Signature Business benefits: Purchase Protection, Cell Phone Protection, Primary Auto Rental Coverage, Roadside Dispatch, and more
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $95

Easiest Business Credit Card to Get

Most business cards look at your personal credit when you apply, just like regular consumer cards. And like consumer cards, some business cards are made for people with good or excellent credit, while others are easier to get.

The Capital One Spark Classic for Business (Review) 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 with limited options.

Spending Rewards
1% cash back on all purchases

Key Features

• Shopping and travel protections: Purchase Security, Extended Warranty, Travel and Emergency Assistance Services, and more
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $0

Best for Business Owners With No Credit

If you haven’t yet established a credit history, you might wonder how to get started. How do you show you’re a responsible borrower, and can handle a credit card, if you’ve never borrowed?

Thankfully there are cards designed for you. The Wells Fargo® Business Secured Credit Card is one of only a few secured business cards, meaning it requires a security deposit to be approved.

In this case you’ll need to provide a deposit of $500 to $25,000, and your credit limit will be equal to your deposit. The landscape of secured business cards isn’t very impressive, but they tend to be better options for business spending than personal secured cards because they come with higher potential credit limits.

Spending Rewards
Cash Back Option: 1.5% cash back for every purchase
Reward Points Option: 1X point per dollar for every purchase 1,000 bonus points for spending $1,000 in a monthly billing period

Key Features

• Earn More Mall: Earn extra points and find discounts at select merchants (point rewards only).
• Zero Fraud Liability: You’re covered against fraud and unauthorized activity
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $0
  
• Security deposit: $500–$25,000

Best for No Personal Guarantee & Industry-Specific Rewards

There’s a lot going on with the Brex business cards. They stand out in a number of ways:

• They don’t require a personal guarantee, meaning they don’t look at your personal credit when you apply (no hard inquiry on your personal credit reports)
• They’re easily accessible for small, medium, and large businesses
• They’re typically paired with a Brex Cash account
• You can pick from one of three comprehensive and above-average rewards programs
• You get thousands of dollars in business credits and perks

The Brex Daily Card (Review) is the most accessible Brex card, and 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):

Tech Rewards
8X points per dollar on: Rideshares Taxis 5X points per dollar on: Flights booked through Brex Travel Hotels booked through Brex Travel 4X points per dollar on Dining 3X points per dollar on: Recurring Software purchases Eligible Apple products via the Brex portal 1.5X points per dollar on Ad purchases 1X point per dollar on every other purchase

Life Sciences Rewards
8X points per dollar on Conference tickets 5X points per dollar on: Flights booked through Brex Travel Hotels booked through Brex Travel 3X points per dollar on eligible Apple products via the Brex portal 2X points per dollar on Lab supplies 1.5X points per dollar on Ad purchases 1X point per dollar on every other purchase

Remote Workforce Rewards
8X points per dollar on Collaboration tools 4X points per dollar on Food delivery services 3X points per dollar on Recurring Software purchases 1.5X points per dollar on Ad purchases 1X point per dollar on every other purchase

Introductory Bonus
10,000 bonus points for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months; 20,000 bonus points for linking payroll to Brex Cash (Brex Cash customers only)

Key Features

• Perks: Thousands of dollars in statement credits, plus discounts and more, for services like Amazon Web Services, WeWork, Google Ads, SendGrid, and Twilio (explained here)
• Expense management and receipt reconciliation tools
• Point transfer: At a 1:1 rate to select airline loyalty programs
• No foreign transaction fee
• Annual fee: $0

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 have anything to do with 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 and don’t 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 is no correct answer. Great cards for new businesses include:

• Capital One Spark Cash Plus: 2% cash back for every purchase; $500 after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months; $500 after spending $50,000 in the first 6 months; no foreign transaction fee
• American Express® Business Gold Card (Review): 4X points in the two categories you spend the most in each month (up to $150,000 spent per year, then 1X); 70,000 bonus points for spending $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership
• U.S. Bank Business Platinum: Purchase APR: 0% for 15 billing cycles on purchases, then 9.99%-17.99%* Variable
• Brex Daily Card (Review): No personal guarantee required; valuable industry-specific rewards programs; thousands of dollars in business perks and credits

What’s the easiest business credit card to get?

Like consumer cards, the easiest business cards to get are all secured cards:

• Wells Fargo® Business Secured Credit Card
• BBVA Compass Business Secured Visa Credit Card
• Business Edition® Secured Visa® Card

If you have some established credit history, but not much, you can also consider the Capital One Spark Classic for Business (Review).

The Brex cards may be easy to get for certain businesses as well, if you meet the financial requirements. The Brex Daily Card (Review) and Brex 30 Card (Review) don’t look at your personal credit when you apply, and instead use 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 your business spending makes it easier to separate your business and personal expenses, which is important when documenting for taxes and keeping things in order.

The Best Business Credit Cards

See a wider selection of cards, with options for every business.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.