Business Credit Cards With No Personal Guarantee
Generally, most lenders require a personal guarantee by the business owner before issuing a business credit card.
After all, it’s one of the simplest ways to provide security if you default on a business credit card, but it does open up the business owner to potential financial liability.
But as we’ll learn, some lenders don’t require a personal guarantee as long as you qualify.
How Personal Guarantees on Business Credit Cards Work
In a previous post, we discussed How to Build Business Credit with Bad Personal Credit. To build on that, now we would like to discuss obtaining a business credit card with no personal guarantee.
Generally, lenders will require a personal guarantee to obtain a business credit card. A personal guarantee gives the lender more confidence that they will be repaid, so the personal guarantee will increase the likelihood that you will be approved for a business credit card.
As for when lenders require a personal guarantee, it is more likely when the business does not have enough financial history to adequately rate the likelihood the business will pay any outstanding debts.
For instance, new businesses are much more likely to require a personal guarantee than older businesses. Beyond the age of the business, businesses with a limited credit history or bad credit will also generally require a personal guarantee.
With a personal guarantee, you must personally pay any outstanding balance in the event the business cannot pay the balance on your business credit card.
But when there’s no personal guarantee, this means that you do not have to use personal assets to pay the outstanding balance.
So, for example, if your business fails or goes bankrupt, you don’t have to worry about losing your assets.
As a result, this type of business credit card is far more appealing for a business owner, as it allows you to take advantage of all of the benefits of a business credit card without putting your personal assets at risk.
7 Business Credit Cards With No Personal Guarantees
In a previous post, we discussed how to build business credit without using personal credit - How to Build Business Credit Without Using Personal Credit.
Now that we have discussed how personal guarantees on business credit cards work, we would like to discuss a few of our favorite business credit cards that require no personal guarantees.
1. Brex Card
The Brex card offers a unique approach to the business credit card space. Here are some key points to consider:
Personalized Credit Limits: The Brex card sets credit limits based on various financial factors such as revenue or dollars raised. This approach allows businesses to get higher credit lines based on the business’s financial health.
High Rewards: The Brex card offers competitive rewards for business expenses and allows you to redeem those rewards for cash back, credits, or even billboards.
Various card types, including:
- Time and Expense Cards: Enable travel expenses that automatically comply with your travel policies with automated controls, receipts, and memos.
- Vendor Cards: Establish limits for specific vendor expenses that recur or expire to avoid unwanted charges.
- Purchase Cards: Tie the card to per-transaction accounts payable controls including approval flows.
24/7 customer support: Address questions or issues 24/7 support from anywhere by call or live chat. Receive account notifications through various methods including text, email, or WhatsApp.
In summary, the Brex card provides flexibility, rewards, and credit limits tailored to a business’s financial situation. It’s a great choice for startups and small to medium-sized businesses.
2. Ramp Corporate Card
The Ramp Corporate Card is a unique offering in the business credit card landscape. Here are some key points to consider:
Charge Card, Not a Traditional Credit Card:
The Ramp card operates as a charge card, which means you must pay off the balance in full every billing cycle. They issue unlimited virtual and physical cards to support your entire team.
High Credit Limits Based on Cash Balance:
Ramp determines credit limits based on your company’s cash balance linked to Ramp. You can qualify for credit limits that are up to 20 times higher than traditional options based on Ramp’s underwriting policies.
Robust Features:
- 1.5% Unlimited Cash Back: The Ramp Visa Corporate Card earns unlimited 1.5% cash back on all spending.
- Built-in Spend Control: provides the ability to lock an individual card or restrict any type of spending.
- Capture receipts from anywhere: Reduce or eliminate manual expense tracking.
- No Fees: It has no annual fees, late fees, foreign transaction fees, or card replacement fees.
In summary, the Ramp Corporate Card is great for helping to manage your business by reducing manual expense tracking, managing expenses efficiently, and saving money.
If you value streamlined expense management and cash flow control, the Ramp Corporate card could be an excellent choice for your business.
3. Sam’s Club Business Mastercard
The Sam’s Club Business Mastercard is an ideal credit card for business owners who are Sam’s Club members and make a lot of purchases at Sam’s Club. Here are the key points:
No Annual Fees: The card has no annual fees beyond the Sam’s Club Membership fees.
Cash Back Rewards:
- 5% per dollar spent in Sam’s Cash on gas purchases anywhere Mastercard is accepted for the first $6,000 spent per year, then 1% thereafter.
- 3% per dollar spent in Sam’s Cash on Sam’s Club purchases with Plus membership (1% cash back for Club members only) and dining/takeout, where applicable.
- 1% per dollar spent in Sam’s Cash on other qualifying purchases.
In summary, the Sam’s Club Business Mastercard offers Sam’s Cash rewards, no annual fees, and is tailored specifically for Sam’s Club members. If you are a frequent shopper at Sam’s Club then this could be a great business credit card for you.
4. Office Depot Business Credit Account
The Office Depot® Business Credit Account provides convenient financing options for all of your office expenses. Whether you need to upgrade your technology, brighten up your office, or restock your supplies, a few key benefits include:
Special financing:
Available on purchases of $299 or more. Minimum monthly payments are required.
Business Credit Account:
Save $50 via a statement credit on your first purchase of $150 or more within your first 60 days. Choose low monthly payments or pay in full. Receive itemized billing statements. No annual fee.
Office Depot provides a wide variety of products and services to help you manage and grow your business. Whether you need flexible payment options or prefer to pay in full, the Office Depot Business Credit Account provides you the flexibility to finance your business needs.
5. The Stripe Corporate Credit Card
The Stripe Corporate Card is designed for Stripe users, particularly, for fast-growing businesses, and that allows your credit limit to grow along with your business. Here are a few of their key features:
Instant Provisioning and Real-Time Management:
Instantly provision cards for all employees in your company. Manage spending in real-time through the Stripe Dashboard.
Credit Limits Based on Payment Processing and Bank History:
Your credit limit is determined by your payment processing and bank history. As your business grows, your credit limit can grow with you.
Branded With Your Logo:
Upload your company logo from your Stripe dashboard to customize the card’s appearance. Make your card look and feel like your brand.
Simplified Rewards:
Earn 1.5% cash back on every business purchase, across all categories. No need to track or optimize credit card points.
Powerful Expense Management Tools:
Set custom spend controls including allowed merchant categories and spending limits per cardholder. Real-time expense reporting allows cardholders to text or upload their receipts to match transactions to simplify tracking and reconciliation. Seamlessly integrate with finance software such as Expensify and QuickBooks.
The Stripe Corporate Card is currently in limited beta for US-based companies and the only requirement to apply is having a Stripe account.
6. SVB Innovators Card
The SVB Innovator Card is uniquely designed to help fast-growing companies meet their business needs as they continue to grow. A few of the key features include:
Scalable Business Card:
Scalable credit to support your growing expenses for your growing business. Earns 2x rewards on all purchases with no caps that can be used for various rewards, cash back, or travel.
Time-Saving Tools:
Real-time visibility and control over expenses, including card policies, through the SVB T&E expense management platform. Integrated Travel & Expense (T&E) tools for automated accounting synchronization.
Help save the planet with an Eco-Friendly Card:
Made with 70% Parley Ocean Plastic®, up-cycled plastic collected from coastal areas, to help prevent plastic pollution from dirtying our oceans. Produced using carbon-neutral protocols supporting positive climate action.
The SVB Innovator Card is a powerful tool for helping manage your business by streamlining expense management all the while earning great rewards that can be used in a variety of ways to support your growing business.
This card is truly designed to scale with your business and support your growth.
7. BILL Spend & Expense
BILL Spend & Expense combines business credit cards and free management software to provide real-time visibility and personalized control over your business finances. Here are a few of their key features:
Business Credit:
Flexible credit for your business. BILL provides physical and virtual corporate cards for employees.
Expense and Budget Management:
Free expense management software offers real-time tracking and reporting. Set custom spending controls and policies to manage budgets more effectively.
Mobile App:
Empower your team with a user-friendly mobile app for on-the-go transactions. Complete transactions in real time.
Reimbursements Made Easy:
Track out-of-pocket expenses and manage reimbursements within the same platform with BILL Spend & Expense.
Rewards and Integrations:
Earn rewards on spending. Seamlessly integrate with accounting software like QuickBooks and Sage Intacct.
BILL is a powerful tool for businesses that combines corporate cards with free management software to easily control, track, and manage your company’s expenses.
While these no personal guarantee business credit cards may help you build better business credit over time, there are also ways you might be able to build business credit in 30 days if you’re looking to build your credit faster.
Who Can Get a Business Credit Card With No Personal Guarantee?
While these providers offer a business credit card with no personal guarantee, not every business will qualify.
To qualify for a business credit card without a personal guarantee, your business will need to meet certain criteria. While the criteria will vary by provider, here are some common requirements:
1. Established Business:
You’ll need a legitimate business entity (e.g., LLC, corporation, partnership).
2. Employer Identification Number (EIN):
Obtain an EIN from the IRS for your business. The EIN serves as your business’s tax identification number.
3. Good Business Credit and, Perhaps, Good Personal Credit:
Build and maintain a positive business credit history. Pay bills on time, manage debt responsibly, and establish trade lines. Even though a personal guarantee may not be required, your personal credit may factor into your ability to get a business credit card.
4. Annual Revenue or Sales:
Some providers require a minimum annual revenue or sales threshold. If required, the amount will vary but it is typically over $100,000.
5. Number of Employees:
Certain providers may require a minimum number of employees in your business. This demonstrates stability and growth potential, as well as potential usage.
6. Business Age:
Certain providers may look for a certain age of the business (e.g., 2 years) to demonstrate growth and stability. New startups may find it challenging to qualify.
7. Bank Account or Deposit Account:
Some providers may ask you to use their other services, open a deposit account, or link a bank account to the card. This allows the providers to monitor the health of your business and provides additional security.
Remember that while no-personal-guarantee business credit cards provide less personal risk and may offer many other benefits, please make sure that the business credit cards fit the needs of your particular business.
A no personal guarantee credit card that does not help you manage and grow your business will not help you achieve your business goals. Sometimes a personal guarantee business credit card makes sense for your particular situation and business.
No PG Business Credit Cards vs. Traditional Business Credit Cards
Let’s explore the key differences between personal guarantee business credit cards and traditional business credit cards:
1. Risk and Liability:
No Personal Guarantee Business Credit Cards:
Traditional Business Credit Cards:
- Higher risk for the business owner due to personal guarantee.
- If the business defaults, the owner’s personal assets may be at risk.
2. Credit Limits:
No Personal Guarantee Business Credit Cards:
Traditional Business Credit Cards:
- Typically have higher credit limits than personal credit cards.
- Consider both personal- and business-related credit factors when determining credit limits
3. Rewards and Bonus Categories:
No Personal Guarantee Business Credit Cards:
- May have reward categories similar to personal cards (e.g., cash back, travel points, etc.).
- May have reward categories specific to business expenses (e.g., office supplies, business services, etc.).
Traditional Business Credit Cards:
-
May or may not offer rewards, but in general, the reward categories may be focused on business-related spending (e.g., travel, office supplies, etc.).
In summary, while both types of cards may offer different credit limits and rewards, the key distinction lies in the personal guarantee requirement.
Build Credit with eCredable
Opening no personal guarantee business credit cards is a way to help build better business credit without any personal risk. However, it’s not the only way to build better business credit without personal risk.
Your company is already paying for many business services and products and there is a risk-free way to utilize those payments and accounts to build better business credit.
Fortunately, eCredable’s Business Lift program offers an efficient and no personal risk way to build trade credit. For just $19.95 per month, we’ll report an unlimited number of your recurring expenses to Equifax Business and Creditsafe.
With eCredable, you can report utilities like gas, water, power, and internet, as well as business services like marketing, accounting, and web services to business credit bureaus.
Not only will we share your current monthly payments, but we’ll also report up to 24 months of historical activity! That can help you establish years of credit history overnight, which is one of the only ways to improve your business credit scores quickly.
Sign up for eCredable today and take the shortcut to good business credit!