6 easiest business credit cards to get of September 2024

Business credit cards can help business owners streamline expenses, earn rewards and finance larger purchases. However, opening a new credit card can sometimes be easier said than done.

When applying for a business credit card, issuers may consider your personal credit score if you don’t have a business credit report yet. As such, business owners with low personal credit scores may have difficulty being approved for a business credit card with favorable terms.

Fortunately, some business cards are easier to get than others. CNBC Select reviewed dozens of popular options to determine which business cards are the easiest to get approved for. (See our methodology for more information on how we made this list.)

Who’s this for? The *Capital One Spark 1% Classic is best for business owners who have fair or average credit. It’s often difficult to find an unsecured credit card that accepts applicants with less-than-ideal credit scores, making the *Spark 1% Classic stand out.

Standout benefits: The *Capital One Spark 1% Classic credit card doesn’t charge an annual fee or foreign transaction fee. This card also lets customers earn cash back while they are building their credit.

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Who’s this for? The Bank of America Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured credit card is geared toward business owners with poor or bad credit. As a secured credit card, you’ll need to put down a deposit that acts as your “credit limit” to use this card. The minimum security deposit required for this card is $1,000.

Standout benefits: Secured credit cards generally aren’t very rewarding, but cardholders can earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. And if you have a Bank of America Business Advantage 360 account, you can access your Dun & Bradstreet business credit score for free.

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Pro tip: You can pair this card with a Bank of America business bank account

If you want to keep as much of your business financial activity under the same roof, you may want to open a Bank of America Business Advantage Fundamentals™ Banking account. You can earn a $200 bonus when you open an account and meet the bonus requirements. Plus, deposits into Bank of America business accounts help you qualify for the Preferred Rewards for Business program, which can boost your credit card rewards and unlock lower fees and financing costs.

Who’s this for? The Brex Card is great for start-ups and fast-growing businesses because opening a Brex account and applying for the Brex Mastercard® Corporate Credit Card doesn’t rely on the owner’s credit scores. On the flip side, unlike traditional credit cards, it requires cardholders to pay off their balances in full either daily or monthly.

Standout benefits: Brex cardholders have access to a number of useful features for businesses, including expense management tools and discounts with various vendors.

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Who’s this for? While the Discover it® Secured Credit Card is a personal credit card, it can still be useful for those who are preparing to apply for a business credit card in the future. Improving your personal credit now can help make it easier to get approved for business credit cards with more attractive offers down the line.

Standout benefits: The Discover it® Secured Credit Card has a unique welcome bonus offer where Discover matches all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year.

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Who’s this for? If you’re working on building or re-building your credit and want to take advantage of a 0% intro-APR offer, the Valley Visa® Secured Business Credit Card is a rare card that covers both of those needs.

Standout benefits: With a new Valley Visa Secured Business Card account, you’ll get a 0% intro APR for six months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers. Once the intro APR expires, a variable 16.20% to 27.75% APR applies. There is a 4% balance transfer fee with a $5 minimum.

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The *Capital One Spark 1% Classic has lower credit score requirements than many cash-back business credit cards but still earns valuable rewards. Its other benefits are fairly limited, but the card has no annual fee, and once you build your credit, you’ll be able to qualify for more valuable cards.

Rewards

• 5% back on hotels and rental cars you book through the Capital One Travel site
• 1% back on all other purchases

Welcome bonus

None

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

The *Capital One Spark 1% Classic has no foreign transaction fees and offers roadside assistance and extended warranty protection. Account holders can request free employee cards and take advantage of various Capital One account management tools for businesses.

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The Bank of America Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured credit card is a secured credit card, geared toward applicants with poor or no credit scores. It requires a $1,000 minimum security deposit, which acts as your credit line, but Bank of America may eventually upgrade you to an unsecured card.

Rewards

• 1.5% cash back on all purchases

Welcome bonus

None

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

This card offers the ability to upgrade to an unsecured card after demonstrating positive credit habits for a certain amount of time. Cardholders also get access to cash flow management tools that let them schedule automatic payments and transfers as well as download transactions into QuickBooks.

Those with a Business Advantage 360 account can also access their Dun & Bradstreet business credit score for free.

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The Brex Card is unique in that it considers other factors to determine eligibility beyond just credit scores. However, as a charge card, you won’t be able to carry debt from one month to the next — all balances must be paid off in full either daily or monthly, depending on the type of card you’re approved for.

Rewards

Cardholders enrolled in Brex Exclusive Rewards that make daily payments earn the highest rewards:

• 7X points per dollar on rideshare
• 2X points per dollar on recurring software

Learn more about all reward multipliers and options here.

Welcome bonus

10,000 points when you spend $3,000 on your Brex card within three months of your Brex business account being opened.

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

Although a card like the Brex Card may function like a debit card, it offers the standard suite of benefits that you’d expect from a credit card. In addition to the generous reward structure, cardholders can take advantage of benefits associated with the World Elite Mastercard® for Business program, including:

• Discounts on popular software for businesses, such as TurboTax, Microsoft 365, QuickBooks® and Salesforce Essentials
• MasterRental Insurance, which covers damage or theft of a rental car if you use your card to pay for it
• Complimentary ShopRunner membership, worth a value of $79 per year for perks like free return shipping and unlimited free two-day shipping
• Mastercard’s Easy Savings program, which lets you score rebates for hotel stays, dining, car rentals, gas and other business expenses throughout the U.S.

There’s also no limit to the number of employee credit cards you can get from Brex.

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The Discover it® Secured Credit Card is CNBC Select’s top overall secured credit card. It can help business owners build their personal credit, and eventually help them qualify for the top business credit cards. It offers many benefits that are typically found with unsecured cards, including cash-back rewards, a generous welcome bonus and no foreign transaction fees — all for no annual fee.

Rewards

• Earn rewards and cashback on everything you spend
• 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on up to $1,000 in combined purchases each quarter
• 1% cash back on all other purchases 

Welcome bonus

• Discover will match the cash back you earn during the first year with no minimum spending requirement or cap on the match.

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

The Discover it® Secured Credit Card charges $0 in foreign transaction fees, which can save your business money if you frequently make purchases abroad. Plus, after seven months from account opening, Discover automatically reviews your credit card account to see if you can upgrade to an unsecured line of credit.

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The Valley Visa® Secured Business Credit Card is a secured no annual fee business card that can save you interest on purchases and balances you transfer.

Rewards

• 1% cash back on all purchases 

Welcome bonus

None

Annual fee

$0

Notable perks

You can take advantage of an intro 0% APR for the first six billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, after that a variable 16.20% to 27.75% APR applies. The balance transfer fee is 4% of the amount you transfer with a $5 minimum.

Your credit limit is based on your security deposit and the deposit needs to cover 110% of the credit limit you want (up to $25,000 maximum). So if you want a $1,000 credit limit, you need a security deposit of $1,100.

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The Ramp Visa® Corporate Card has a wide range of features that will make managing your business easier. To qualify for Ramp your company needs to have at least $50,000 in a U.S. business bank account, be a business registered in the U.S. and the majority of your operations and spending should be in the U.S.

Rewards

• Up to 1.5% cash back on all purchases 

Welcome bonus

Earn $250 after approval with no minimum spending required.

Annual fee

$0, with a free subscription, paid subscriptions available

Notable perks

The Ramp Corporate Card has a range of features aimed at saving your business time and money. You can set card spending limits and streamline expense tracking with automatic receipt matching. In addition, dozens of accounting software services integrate with Ramp.

The 1.5% cash back feature is determined case-by-case for all Ramp cards based on factors such as the company’s industry and number of employees.

You’ll also have access to perks from a massive list of business service providers. You can take advantage of deals and discounts on travel management services, sales and marketing tools and collaboration software.

Other benefits include:

In addition to straight cash back or gift cards, you can transfer Ramp rewards to airline and hotel partners at a 1.5:1 ratio (except where noted) including:

• Air France/KLM Flying Blue
• Cathay Pacific Cathay
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards (2:1)
• Etihad Guest
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
• Wyndham Rewards

Business owners and account administrators can transfer points to an employee’s airline or hotel loyalty account, as long as they are a Ramp user with the business that is requesting the transfer.

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To qualify for a business credit card, you must operate a business. This could be a full-time venture or a part-time side hustle, even freelancers or independent contractors could qualify.

Completing a business card application is similar to applying for a consumer credit card, but there are some key differences. You’ll need to provide your personal information, such as:

In addition, you’ll also have to share the details about your business, including:

• Annual revenue
• Business address and contact information
• Business tax ID
• Business name
• Industry
• Number of employees
• Years in business
• Estimated monthly credit card expenses

Some of the business details on your application can match your personal information. For example, you can use your personal address and phone number as your business address. If you’re a freelancer or don’t have a registered business name, you can use your name as your business name. Also, sole proprietors may be able to use an SSN as their business tax ID, but if you have an Employer Identification Number, you’ll want to use that.

Most business credit cards designed for small businesses require a personal guarantee, which means your personal credit score factors into your approval. Just like with consumer travel credit cards and rewards credit cards, the most valuable options usually require a good to excellent credit score.

However, secured business credit cards are available if you have no credit history or a low credit score. This type of credit card requires an upfront refundable security deposit which determines your credit limit.

Corporate credit cards are typically available without a personal guarantee or personal credit check requirement. So in that sense, they are easier to get, but you’ll need a larger business to qualify. Corporate cards may have a minimum revenue requirement or require a certain number of employees. Many small businesses won’t meet those standards.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the easiest business credit cards.

To determine which business credit cards are the easiest to get approved for, CNBC Select analyzed the most popular credit cards available to U.S. business owners with poor or average credit.

We compared each card on a range of features, including minimum and maximum security deposit, rewards (e.g., cash back, points and miles), annual fees, welcome bonuses, introductory and standard APR and balance transfer fees and foreign transaction fees. We also considered additional perks (e.g., ongoing travel or merchant statement credits), cardholder protections (e.g., purchase protection, $0 liability protection and travel insurance), the application process when available (e.g., is there a credit pull or required credit score) and how easy it is to redeem points (e.g., are rewards are tied to a specific brand; if transferable, to how many/which partners, can you redeem for straight cash back). 

We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.  

The main criteria in our ranking were the rewards rates and accessibility to a small business owner without good credit. The fewer costs a card required, and the more rewards it offered to offset them, the higher it ranked on our list.

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*Information about the Capital One Spark 1% Classic Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.