Do you ever open the mail to find yet another credit card sign-up bonus offer and get excited about the possibilities, only to notice that it’s restricted to business owners?
If so, and you’ve been throwing these mailers straight in the trash because you don’t own a traditional business, you may want to reconsider.
“In almost all cases, you do not have to have an LLC; you do not have to have an EIN,” or employee identification number, says Steven Fox, a certified financial planner in San Diego. “There are all kinds of sole proprietors who are able to get credit cards… without having any separate entity established.”
A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business owned by one person, and you don’t need formal paperwork to make one. Do you perform any freelance or gig work? Do you sell used clothes or electronics? Do you have a side hustle like online tutoring?
You may already be a sole proprietor, meaning you can apply for business credit cards — and benefit from the sign-up bonuses, rewards and access to credit.
What you need to apply for a business credit card
Most credit cards you hear about are personal cards intended for everyday spending. Business credit cards, on the other hand, give cardholders separate credit accounts to use for business expenses. They also crucially come with the opportunity to earn rewards on common items for small business.
Eligibility usually boils down to confirming that you’re in pursuit of providing a service or good, says credit card points expert Max Do, who goes by @maxmilespoints on Instagram. Applicants must certify that they’re an officer of the business named on the application and agree to use the card for business purchases.
“Some people might tell you otherwise, but for the purposes of being on paper and following all the rules, you do need a business to have a business credit card,” Do says. “Your business can be small, it could be big. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s a business.”
In online forum posts, users without businesses often report successfully opening business credit cards simply by using their legal name as their business name and applying with their personal information and Social Security number.
“The requirements for a business to apply for a business credit card — the bar is not that high. I wouldn’t say it’s low, but it’s not that high,” Do says. “Then it comes down to whether the bank approves you.”
Money reviewed the application pages of three top business credit cards, each with a significant sign-up bonus. The Chase Ink Business Cash, American Express Business Gold and Capital One Spark 2% Cash credit cards all asked for:
- Standard personal information (name, residential address, date of birth, phone number, email address)
- Identification (usually a Social Security number or EIN)
- Business information (business name, address, phone number, legal structure, business type, etc.)
- Financial information (revenue, monthly spend, number of employees, years in business, etc.)
- Monthly rent or mortgage payment
Why you might want a business credit card
Leading business credit cards are currently offering sign-up bonuses of 200,000 points or more — potentially enough for two round-trip tickets to Europe in business class.
Sign-up offers make these cards attractive to people who can meet promotional spending requirements, which are usually higher than the minimums to earn bonuses on personal credit cards. For example, the Chase Business Ink Cash bonus (100,000 points) is awarded when customers satisfy a spending requirement of $8,000 within four months.
That’s one reason credit card enthusiasts pursue these deals, especially after they’ve exhausted many standard sign-up promotions. Business credit card promotions can become an appealing option when someone is planning for a large, one-off purchase, like a freelancer upgrading their computer equipment, Do says.
Sweetening the deal, many of the most popular business credit cards offer extra rewards on certain spending categories, like phone and internet bills.
“They offer more opportunities to earn more points,” Do says. “Sometimes the perks and benefits of these business credit cards are more business-oriented, but they offer additional benefits that some personal cards don’t offer.”
3 things to know about business credit cards
Before you open a business credit card, there are few things you must know.
First, business credit cards affect your personal credit. All three business cards reviewed in this story require a personal guarantee. That’s the case for most business credit cards issued by major banks, and it means you’re on the hook for the bill.
“You can still be held personally liable for the balance of that card if it’s not paid. Doesn’t matter if there’s an LLC there or not,” Fox says.
Not all issuers of business credit cards report full payment history to the credit bureaus, but they typically do report negative marks such as delinquencies.
Second, business credit cards lack some of the protections that personal credit cards have under the 2009 CARD Act, like caps on how much interest rates can be raised by issuers and certain dispute rights.
“You lose all of that if you go with the business credit card, unless those things are explicitly stated in the cardholder agreement — that will vary per card issuer,” Fox says.
Third, you typically are expected to use business cards explicitly for business expenditures. Using business credit cards for personal purchases is not illegal, but it’s generally forbidden in the terms and conditions. If you violate them, issuers could, in rare cases, shut down your account.
The bottom line: Business credit cards offer some of the biggest sign-up bonuses on the market, but you should proceed with caution because they come with risks. Stick to your normal budget whenever you’re working toward a sign-up bonus; don’t take yourself shopping just because you want that bonus to hit sooner.
Fox recommends researching cards based on their long-term rewards and what’s relevant for your type of business.
“If somebody’s offering a bonus of $500 to open a business credit card, think big-picture and long-term,” he says. “That may not necessarily be the card that is the best fit for you.”
