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The Brex Corporate Card has been replaced by the Brex Daily Card and Brex 30 Card.
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The information related to The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
We give the Brex Corporate Card 5 out of 5 stars because it’s a truly one-of-a-kind business credit card offer that combines strong rewards, valuable benefits, and convenient tools into a cutting-edge package.
Plus, it’s available without a personal guarantee. In spite of the stringent requirements your business does have to meet, and the card’s unavailability to sole proprietors, this is still very out of the ordinary, and remains one of the key factors that elevate this corporate credit card above and beyond the competition.
There’s quite a bit of buzz surrounding the Brex Corporate card, and as you begin to explore its features, you’ll quickly see why.
One of three cards in the Brex family, it’s a corporate charge card on the Mastercard network that’s designed with startups in mind, and it requires no personal guarantee. That’s buzzworthy enough in itself.
And it doesn’t stop there. The card provides a surprisingly diverse rewards program, plus thousands of dollars in statement credits and discounts, and a solid signup bonus that’s provided upon approval.
Brex even uses cutting-edge technology, from merchant data cleanup to photographic receipt capture, to help simplify the expense management process.
The only real catch is that your business has to meet some fairly strict standards in order to qualify for the card. Consumers and sole proprietors will not qualify. But that’s life when it comes to corporate cards, isn’t it?
Fortunately, if you meet those standards and can take advantage of the card’s reward categories, you’re in for a treat.
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Brex Corporate Card (This review) |
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Brex Ecommerce Card (Review) |
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Brex Life Sciences Card (Review) |
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Introductory Bonus Offer |
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The Brex card’s rewards program, known as Brex Exclusive, is aptly named. According to the Brex website, cardholders only get access to the program if they make the Brex card their exclusive corporate card.
But our Brex contact indicates that every cardholder has access to the program for at least a limited time, and many are impressed enough that they’ll adopt the Brex card exclusively anyway. Even so, the issuer offers some flexibility, our contact says.
Brex Exclusive provides some fairly impressive reward rates that are sure to come in handy if you or your employees travel frequently.
Its three highest-earning categories — rideshare services, Brex Travel bookings, and restaurants — seem to work hand in hand. If you’re going to be abroad on a trip booked through Brex Travel, then the odds are good that you’ll benefit from rideshare services. You’ll likely also have to eat once or twice, and it can’t hurt to earn a few rewards while you’re at it, right?
You won’t earn as high a rate on recurring software purchases as you will on travel-related expenses, but the reality is that many modern businesses rely on all sorts of software to survive. Even if you’re only earning 2X points per dollar, your business could very well be spending a whole lot of dollars on software. So there’s some potential there.
It’s not limited to specific software, either. Per Brex, you get the points on “anything you can put on a card.”
You get 1X point on everything else, which is standard for virtually any type of credit or charge card.
The Brex card offers a variety of redemption options that will likely seem familiar if you’ve ever used a travel credit card.
You can redeem your points for statement credits at a 1-cent-per-point rate that’s relatively appetizing when you consider how high the Brex Exclusive reward rates get.
If you’re not after statement credits, another option is to redeem your points for travel through the Brex Travel portal. Redemption rates here are, once again, 1 cent per point. But thanks to negotiated rates, you could have the opportunity to secure a fairly solid return on spend if you play your cards right.
The Brex website, for example, explains that cardholders get rates typically only available to enterprise companies, for average savings of 30%. Some deals may be even better, though — Brex mentions discounts as steep as 60%.
Another way to bolster your value is by transferring your points to one of Brex’s partner airlines. Like most cards that offer point transfers, this may provide access to a much higher value than you’d get through Brex itself, but it all depends on the airline and the flight you’re looking to book.
At the time of publication, Brex airline partners include all of the following:
Airline Partners | ||
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Aeromexico Club Premier | Air France/KLM Flying Blue | Avianca LifeMiles |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Qantas Frequent Flyer Program | Singapore KrisFlyer |
JetBlue TrueBlue |
This list covers three airline alliances — SkyTeam, Oneworld, and Star Alliance — which adds even further flexibility once you’ve actually transferred your points.
Point transfers are at a 1:1 rate for Brex Exclusive members, though the rate rises to 1.5:1 if you’re not using Brex as your exclusive corporate card.
Brex’s benefits are often presented as part of its “signup bonus,” but they work the same way as the statement credit benefits available with plenty of other business credit cards.
Few business cards provide this much value in the way of statement credits, though, and that’s definitely one way Brex overtakes its competitors. Plus, it certainly helps that a lot of the services available through these benefits are precisely tailored to benefit blossoming corporations.
On top of the card’s typical benefits, Brex is offering several additional perks to help serve remote workforces, including:
Annual Fee | Additional Cards Annual Fee | Regular APR |
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$0 | First 5 cards for free; $5 fee per card after that | Not Applicable - Paid in Full Monthly |
Foreign Transaction Fee | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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None | None | None |
With Brex, you never really have to worry about fees.
The Brex Corporate Card is a charge card, so there’s no interest, ever. Your Brex account is connected to your business bank account once your cardholdership is approved, and your card balance is automatically withdrawn from that account, in full, each month. So there are no late fees either.
If you’re planning on traveling, the card won’t really do you wrong, because there are no foreign transaction fees. And it’s on the Mastercard network, so you can expect near-universal acceptance.
The only time you’ll really have to pay a fee is if you’re looking to add additional cards to your account beyond the five you get for free. Even afterward, employee cards are quite inexpensive, which makes sense considering the Brex card has no annual fee in the first place.
In the current credit landscape, Brex is a fairly atypical card issuer, and the fact that the company provides enticing corporate charge cards without the need for a personal guarantee is sure to help the Brex brand remain in the spotlight for some time.
And why shouldn’t it? The Brex Corporate Card provides a competitive rewards program with useful categories. Plus, the opportunity to redeem for both statement credits and travel, or to transfer your points to a partner loyalty program, affords quite a bit of wiggle room to maximize the card’s value.
There’s also no annual fee, so you’re making out like a bandit if you can meet the approval requirements and take advantage of the Brex Exclusive rewards program.
Which brings us to the one catch: The Brex Corporate Card may be designed for startups, but it’s not meant for small businesses or solo entrepreneurs. Sole proprietors will be denied outright.
If you’re looking for a business card that’ll help your one-man show thrive, the Brex card isn’t it (though there are plenty of other options).
Corporations, however, may want to take heed of this distinctive card offer, which could become even more impressive as the young issuer evolves.
Getting the Brex card isn’t quite the same as applying for the typical business credit card. Ordinarily, you’d fill out a relatively standard credit card application, including a bit of information about your business ventures, and that’s that.
That’s not to say that the application process is any tougher, of course. It’s just that the issuer has set higher standards for the card, because it’s designed for corporate startups with serious investors.
You’ll want to begin by exploring the qualifications below. There are quite a few details to consider.
If you think you qualify for a Brex card, click Apply Now below to start the process.
While its brethren feature somewhat similar reward structures, the Brex Ecommerce Card is the Brex family’s black sheep. You get 1X point per dollar on every purchase, but only if you opt for net 30 payment terms, rather than the standard 60-day option.
Our Brex contact suggests that it’s those 60-day terms that attract interest from the ecommerce world in the first place, however, so the card’s reward rate isn’t meant to hog the spotlight.
The card also caters to ecommerce customers through the potential for a high credit limit, which is determined in part by your projected sales.
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The Brex Life Sciences Card is a bit more like the Brex Corporate card than its ecommerce sibling, but it’s still a unique credit card offer. It features rewards that reflect the needs of the life sciences industry, providing points for conference tickets and lab supplies, but eliminating the rideshare, restaurant, and software categories.
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The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a simpler offer than both the Brex cards above and the American Express card below. Its straightforward rewards program offers a lot of value for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and its benefits are standard.
Its annual fee is much lower than that of the Business Platinum Card (Rates & Fees), and it doesn’t have the stringent requirements that accompany the Brex cards, which makes the Ink Business Preferred an astute choice for smaller businesses.
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The Business Platinum Card® from American Express doesn’t need much of an introduction. It’s widely popular for an abundance of reasons, including its travel-focused rewards program and a seemingly infinite batch of valuable benefits.
The card carries a rather large annual fee, but if you can make use of its benefits, that fee should be offset without much hassle.
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The information related to The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
Feel free to share this review with a friend if you found it helpful! Think we missed something? Let us know, and comment below.
You shouldn’t use business cards for personal expenses, but you could use a consumer card for your business expenses if it makes sense with your spending habits. Browse our comprehensive list of the best credit cards to see what’s available.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
Sean Messier works to empower individuals with the knowledge required to use credit cards responsibly and to their advantage. His writing- and research-based background has granted him experience in an array of topics, from finance to business and beyond. Sean distills the knowledge accumulated over years of experience in the credit space into consistent, actionable articles, guides, and reviews.
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