Which Business Credit Cards Do Not Report Personal Credit?
Business credit cards are great tools for improving your business credit score. They’re one of the most accessible financial tradelines, and they’re easy to use without straining your cash flow due to their revolving nature.
However, there’s a risk that using them may impact your personal credit score, as some credit card issuers report your activity to the consumer credit bureaus. If, for example, you made a late payment or had a poor payment history, this could lower your personal credit score.
Here are some business cards that will help you avoid that risk.
Which Business Credit Issuers Report Personal Credit?
Credit Card
Company |
Positive Activity
Reported to Personal
Credit |
Negative Activity
Reported to Personal
Credit |
| American Express |
No |
Yes |
| Bank of America |
No |
No |
| Capital One |
Yes |
Yes |
| Chase |
No |
Yes |
| Citi |
No |
No |
| Discover |
Yes |
Yes |
| U.S. Bank |
No |
No |
| Wells Fargo |
No |
No |
| FairFigure |
No |
No |
Most business credit issuers, like the majority of the ones listed above, and the Tap Business Credit Card, won’t report positive account activity to the consumer credit bureaus. In other words, your account typically won’t impact your personal credit score as long as you make your payments on time.
However, card issuers are split on reporting negative business activity to the consumer credit bureaus. As a result, only Citi, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo will let you build business credit without any risk to your personal credit score.
By the way, if you’re concerned about your personal credit score and want to keep tabs, Credit Karma is a good tool for monitoring it.
Which Business Credit Cards Report to the Business Credit Bureaus?
Credit Card
Issuer |
Dun &
Bradstreet |
Equifax |
Experian |
SBFE |
| American Express |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Bank of America |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Capital One |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Chase |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Citi |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Discover |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| U.S. Bank |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Wells Fargo |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
| FairFigure |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Choosing a business credit card that won’t show up on your personal credit report, even if you make mistakes with it, is great for your peace of mind. It insulates your personal credit history from the financial risks of being a business owner.
However, it’s just as important to pick a card that will show up on your target business credit report and help you build credit with positive card activity. Before you apply for an account, consider which business bureaus the issuer reports to, which you can find in the table above.
The sweet spot is a business credit card that reports to your desired credit bureau but doesn’t show up on your personal report. For example, Citi reports to all four major business bureaus but doesn’t send positive or negative card activity to the personal ones.
The Business Credit Cards that Don’t Report to the Personal Credit Bureaus
American Express
American Express doesn’t report positive activity to the consumer credit bureaus, but it does report negative activity. In other words, you can harm your personal credit with it by making mistakes like missing payments or defaulting.
However, if you’re confident you can use your credit card responsibly and maintain reasonable credit utilization, American Express offers an impressive suite of accounts. For example, the Blue Business Cash Card is one of the best options.
For no annual fee, you can get 2% cash back on up to $50,000 in eligible purchases with no category restrictions. Once you exceed the $50,000 cap, all other purchases earn 1% cash back.
The introductory bonus is also attractive. It lets you earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in your first three months.
And if you’re willing to pay an annual fee, you can earn even more significant rewards, especially if your business involves a lot of travel.
For example, the Hilton Honors Business Card costs $195 per year and offers a whopping 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points plus a free night’s stay when you spend $8,000 in your first six months of card ownership.
In addition, you can earn 5x points on all other eligible purchases of up to $100,000 in the first year and 3x points after that.
Bank of America
Bank of America used to be one of the few business credit card issuers that didn’t report account activity to any of the consumer credit bureaus. Unfortunately, that’s recently changed.
While they won’t report positive payment activity, they do report negative activity, which can potentially harm your personal credit score.
On top of that, most of Bank of America’s business credit cards offer relatively mediocre rewards. They’re serviceable, but you can probably do better with another credit card issuer, especially if you’re willing to pay an annual fee.
For example, Bank of America’s best cash-back card is the Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard.
It offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases plus a $300 bonus for spending $4,000 in the first 90 days. You’ll also get nine billing cycles with no interest on your purchases.
If you’re interested in travel rewards and willing to pay an annual fee, Bank of America’s Alaska Airlines Visa Business Card is probably the most lucrative option due to its introductory bonus. It provides the following when you spend $4,000 in the first 90 days:
Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare bonus lets you purchase a second roundtrip ticket alongside your own for just $122, even when the fare would have been much higher.
You can earn additional Companion Fare bonuses each year when you spend $6,000 or more and get a free checked bag whenever you purchase airfare with your card.
Finally, you’ll earn 3 miles for every dollar spent on Alaska Airlines purchases and 2 miles for every dollar spent on gas, shipping, and ride share purchases. All other purchases earn one mile per dollar.
Chase
Like American Express, Chase is a credit card issuer that won’t show up on your personal credit report as long as you make your monthly payments on time and use your account responsibly.
They also have a similarly impressive list of business cards. However, Chase states that you'll need excellent personal credit to qualify for most of them.
If you can clear its personal credit check, Chase's best business credit card is the Ink Business Cash Credit Card. It lets you earn a $750 cash bonus when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of opening your account.
Conveniently, your purchases will carry a 0% APR for the first 12 months, making it another great option if you have a significant purchase coming. Just be sure you pay everything off before interest starts accruing.
In addition, the account offers 5% cash back on the first $25,000 you spend per year on several common business expense categories. That includes office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone services.
You’ll also receive 2% cash back on the first $25,000 you spend at gas stations and restaurants each year, plus unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. To top everything off, there’s no annual fee, and you can easily add an employee card to monitor team spending.
Citi
Citi is another of the three issuers that won’t report your small business credit card activities to any personal credit bureaus, no matter how you use the account. Unfortunately, its card selection is limited, with only two currently available.
The first option is the Costco Anywhere Visa, which is most useful for those who shop at Costco consistently. Other than a Costco membership, there’s no annual fee, and it provides the following cash-back rewards:
5% on your first $7,000 of Costco gas station purchases and 1% beyond that
4% on all other eligible gas station purchases and 1% beyond that
3% on all restaurant and eligible travel purchases
2% purchases at Costco and Costco.com
1% on all other purchases
Citi is another of the three issuers that won’t report your small business credit card activities to any personal credit bureaus, no matter how you use the account. Unfortunately, its card selection is limited, with only two currently available.
The first option is the Costco Anywhere Visa, which is most useful for those who shop at Costco consistently. Other than a Costco membership, there’s no annual fee, and it provides the following cash-back rewards:
- 5% on your first $7,000 of Costco gas station purchases and 1% beyond that
- 4% on all other eligible gas station purchases and 1% beyond that
- 3% on all restaurant and eligible travel purchases
- 2% purchases at Costco and Costco.com
- 1% on all other purchases
Most small business owners will probably benefit more from their other option, the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard. It’s particularly attractive if your business requires you to travel consistently.
The account’s most notable benefit is its introductory bonus, which provides 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles when you spend $4,000 within the first four months of opening your account.
However, it also provides two AAdvantage miles for every dollar you spend on common business vendors, including telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants, and gas stations.
Finally, you can earn two miles for every dollar you spend at American Airlines, plus one mile per dollar for everything else. There’s a $99 annual fee, but you don’t have to pay it the first year.
U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank is the third card issuer that never reports your business credit activities to the consumer credit bureaus. Fortunately, it has several competitive accounts, making it the best option for many small business owners.
Which U.S. Bank business credit card makes the most sense for you will depend primarily on your most common spending categories and whether you prefer to earn points or cash-back rewards. Let’s look at each of its best offers in turn.
First, the Business Leverage Visa Signature Card lets you earn a $750 cash bonus after you spend $7,500 within 120 days of opening your account. You can also earn 2% cash back in your top two spending categories, whatever they happen to be.
Second, the Triple Cash Rewards Visa Business Card lets you earn a $500 cash bonus after you spend $4,500 within 150 days of opening your account.
You also get a $100 annual statement credit against software service purchases like FreshBooks, plus 3% cash back on purchases at gas stations, office supply stores, cell phone service providers, and restaurants.
Third, there’s the Business Altitude Connect World Elite Mastercard offer. It lets you earn 60,000 points by spending $6,000 in your first 180 days. In addition, you can get extra points for the following purchase types:
- 5x points on hotels and car rentals through the U.S. Bank reward center
- 4x points on up to $150,000 or airfare, hotels, and gas purchases
- 2x points on dining, takeout, restaurant delivery, and cell phone services
- 1x points for all other purchases
The Leverage and Altitude cards cost $95 per year but waive the expense for the first 12 months. Meanwhile, the Triple Cash card has no annual fee.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo is the last of the three credit card issuers that won’t report your business activities to the personal credit bureaus. That makes it a top-tier option for those looking to build business credit without risking their personal credit score.
There was a period where Wells Fargo didn’t have any business credit cards that were available to new applicants. Fortunately, that’s recently changed, and it now offers the Signify Business Cash Card.
With it, you get a $500 bonus by spending $5,000 on business purchases within the first three months. This card also offers unlimited 2% cash back on all business purchases, and there’s no limit to the number of rewards you can earn.
On top of that, there’s no annual fee.
FairFigure
FairFigure has a business credit builder card that is truly an “EIN only.” In other words, your personal credit isn’t taken into consideration for qualification.
Unlike other cards designed to build business credit, you can access working capital through the FairFigure Capital Card. No deposit is required. The credit limit is determined by the revenue of the business. Other qualifications include:
-
The business must be at least 3 months old
-
The business must have at least $2,500 per month in revenue. There are expanded financing opportunities for businesses with at least $5,000 per month in revenue.
Access to the card is only available to paying FairFigure customers, which requires a $30 per month fee. The subscription also gives access to its business credit monitoring platform. The monthly subscription also reports to business credit bureaus as a vendor tradeline, so accessing the FairFigure Capital Card gives access to two business tradelines.
FairFigure reports payments to Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax Commercial, Creditsafe, and the SBFE. It does not report any payment activity - good or bad - to the personal credit bureaus. Nor does it require a personal guarantee.
Note that new businesses may also want to consider secured business credit cards for getting the ball rolling. These require a deposit, but lower your risk level.
Use eCredable to Build Business Credit
Business cards are a great way to improve your business credit scores, but they often put your personal credit score at risk. If you make a mistake with a credit account from the wrong issuer, they may report it to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Fortunately, they’re not the only tool you can use to establish a business credit history. The eCredable Business Lift program is another highly effective option and is conveniently available to every small business owner.
If you have recurring business expenses, such as an office lease or utility payment, we can report that expense to Equifax Business as a vendor tradeline. We can also share up to 24 months of previous payment data to help flesh out your credit history.
To top it off, we’ll also report the cost of your eCredable subscription to D&B, Experian Business, and, Equifax Business, ensuring that you build strong business credit with each major business credit bureau. Give it a try today!
Pros of Using Business Credit Cards That Don’t Report Personal Credit
The advantage of using business credit cards that don’t report to the consumer credit bureaus is that you minimize the risk to your personal credit reports. You can rest easy knowing your personal credit score is safe, no matter what happens to your business account.
You may be willing to bet on yourself if you’re confident in your business plan, but don’t underestimate the risk. Remember, a significant percentage of businesses fail in their first few years, which could cause you to default on your business credit card. In turn, this could create bad credit on both the personal and business levels.
Even if you manage to avoid defaulting, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to maintain your company’s cash flows well enough to make all of your monthly payments on time. Many businesses have periods where they struggle financially.
If you have a business credit card that reports to a personal bureau, missing payments or defaulting on an account could significantly hurt your score. That would limit your ability to qualify for new credit and increase the interest rates available to you.
However, by using cards that don’t report card activity to personal credit bureaus, you can build business credit without putting your personal score in jeopardy. In turn, this can make it easier to qualify for a business loan or corporate card with higher credit limits and obtain other forms of business financing without a personal guarantee in the future.
And if you can get a business card with no personal guarantee, this creates added peace of mind that your personal assets won’t be seized if your business struggles.
Further, if you want to obtain a corporate card in the future, responsibly managing business cards can help put you on your way to doing so. Besides strong business financials and the requisite company size, corporate card issuers pay close attention to business credit history. So this can be beneficial in the long run.
Cons of Using Business Credit Cards That Don’t Report Personal Credit
Sticking to business credit cards that don’t report your activities to the consumer credit bureaus may protect your personal score, but it’s not without its drawbacks. The most notable is that it significantly limits your credit account options.
Remember, the only business credit cards that never show on your personal credit report come from Citi, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. Of the three, only U.S. Bank has a respectable selection of business credit lines right now.
Currently, Citi only has two accounts available, and one is only for Costco members. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo doesn't have any business accounts for new applicants.
Of course, the other downside to using these types of business credit cards responsibly is that they won’t positively impact your personal credit either. However, you’re better off using a personal credit card to build credit for yourself anyway.
Learn More About Building Business Credit:
- Which Business Credit Cards Report to Dun & Bradstreet?
- Do Business Credit Cards Affect Personal Credit?
- What Is a Business Credit Builder Card?
- Does Bank of America Business Card Report to Personal Credit?
- Does PNC Business Credit Card Report to Personal Credit?
- Does US Bank Business Card Report to Personal Credit?