Getting Approved For A Business Credit Card

by Daniel | Last Updated Dec 15th, 2022

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If you’re wondering how to get approved for a Business credit card then you’re in the right place.
In this article, I’m going to talk you through the entire process of applying for a Business credit card from start to finish.

Now it’s possible that you may well be eligible for a Business Credit card and not even know it.
And even if you are planning to start a business but haven’t created any revenue from that business, it is still possible to get a business credit card.

Now there are quite a few different business credit cards that actually offer much better sign-up bonuses than similar personal credit cards. 

For example, the Chase Ink Business Cash credit card offers $900 cash back after meeting the $6,000 spend requirement in the first 3 months of card ownership.
And considering this card has no annual fee makes this a really good deal!

The only personal credit cards from Chase that have no annual fee, offer a sign-up bonus of $200 cash back, which is pretty good, but it is nowhere near as much as the Ink Business cash cards $900 cashback offer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD3HFV5fFSY

Benefits Of Having a Business Credit Card 

Now before I talk you through the actual process of applying for a Business credit card let’s take look at some of the benefits that come with owning a business credit card.

Keep your expenses separate

One relatively obvious benefit of having a business credit card is that it will be a lot easier to keep your personal and business credit card purchases separate.
And this is an important point to remember, as keeping your personal expenses separate from your business expenses will make tax time a lot easier for you and your accountant.

This will save you money and your accountant time as they won’t have to sort through all of your personal and business-related expenses.
And if for any reason you happened to get audited by the IRS, it will make the process a lot easier.

Another benefit that some business credit cards have is the ability to connect or integrate your account with different bookkeeping software such as QuickBooks.
This will allow you to tag any business-related transactions automatically and basically simplify accounting.

Receive a large sign-up bonus

Now a really nice benefit in my option is the ability to receive a sign-up bonus for a business credit card even if you have received a sign-up bonus for the same personal credit card.

This is at least possible with American Express, for example, if you already have the Personal Gold or Platinum Amex and receive a sign-up bonus, it is still possible to receive the sign-up bonus from the Business card assuming you have never had the card in the past.
And best of all, it’s usually the case that the sign-up bonus with business credit cards is more than what you would get with a personal credit card.

Receive additional cards

If you do have employees in your business quite a few business credit cards will allow for free additional cards, and this can provide you with multiple benefits.

First of all, you will be able to provide your employees with company credit cards, and this will allow them to make business-related purchases on your behalf.
It will also remove the hassle of having to reimburse your employees for business-related expenses.

Best of all, it is easy to control how much your employees actually spend each month just by simply setting a spending limit to their business credit card, and if for any reason there are any unauthorized purchases made on the card you can simply freeze the card.

Earn more points

Along with this, you will significantly increase your points, miles, or cash-back earnings over the year, which will in turn provide you with a lot of potential value.

Miles and points can usually be most effectively redeemed for flights and cashback is usually credited to your account in the form of a statement credit. 

Take advantage of a 0% APR

If you are just starting out with a new business or have been running your business for a while now, it is not uncommon to have to spend money to make money.
This could be for anything from buying new inventory to paying your employees.

Now some Business credit cards actually offer the ability to receive interest-free financing which will allow you to pay for these purchases over time without incurring any interest at all, which can be really helpful.
A good example of this would be the American Express Blue Business Plus Credit Card which offers a 0% introductory APR on Purchases for the first 12 months of card ownership.

Definition of what a business is and being self-employed

Now being defined as a business these days is actually pretty easy.
There are so many different things you can now be doing to create an income that is considered a business.
You could be a YouTuber receiving income from the content you create, or you could be selling items on eBay, Etsy, or Amazon.
Or you could be an Uber driver, rent your car on Turo or even be an Airbnb host.

There really is a long list of possibilities available.

According to the IRS you are considered self-employed if you meet the following categories:

• If you carry on a trade or business as a sole proprietor or an independent contractor.
• You are a member of a partnership that carries on a trade or business. 
• Or if you are in business for yourself whether that be a part-time business or a gig worker.

Applying for a business credit card – step by step 

Now one of the most important things you will need before you do apply for a new business credit card is to have a good personal credit score. 

And this is important because most card issuers will almost always check your personal credit score to make sure you don’t pose any risk to them as a lender.
So it is possible that this will result in a hard inquiry. 

So now let’s go through the process of actually applying for a business credit card, and for this section, I’ll walk you through the application process for the American Express Blue Business Cash Card.

This is a great Business credit card that has no annual fee, offers a 0% intro APR of 12 months, and has a welcome offer of $250 after you spend $3,000 on the card within the first 3 months of opening the account.

So starting first on the Amex Blue Business cash card webpage, come over to the blue button that says ‘Apply now’ and click.
This will open a new page where you can start to input your personal information.

So first of all you will need to input your email address at the top of the page here.

And then in the next section, we can start to put in our business information.

So when filling out your Legal Business Name, if you are a sole proprietor and didn’t choose to use a DBA (which stands for Doing Business As) it is possible to use your first and last name.
And if you do have a DBA just use the name you have decided to use for your business.

Now the section right next to this is Asking for the Business Name On Card, this will be the name that is displayed on the actual card, so if you are a sole proprietor and using your own name just put your first and last name here.
And if you have a DBA, you can put that name here instead.

Now in the section below it will ask you for your Company DBA Name, and if you have one just input that name here, and if you don’t have one that’s no trouble at all, just click the box where it says “Company Does not have a DBA.

So in the next section, you will be asked to input your Business address, so if you actually have a physical business address you can put that here.
It is also possible to use a PO Box if you prefer.
And if you don’t have either of these options it is possible just to use your home address.

Now the next section will ask for your Business phone number, so this can either be a designated phone number you have set up just for your business or you can use your personal phone number if you don’t have a specific business phone number.

So the next section will now ask you for the industry type, and this is relatively straightforward.
As you can see here there are a few options to choose from, so if you work in real estate you would click ‘Finance/real estate’.
Now let’s say you are a personal trainer and you can’t see your industry type, you would then just go straight down to the bottom and select ‘other’

Then in the next section, it will ask you for the ‘Company Structure’ and again this is relatively straightforward.
if you are a sole proprietor you would select the ‘Sole Proprietor’ tab
And likewise, if your business is a corporation or partnership just select the appropriate tab.

Now in the next section, it will ask you ‘Years in Business’
And this doesn’t necessarily mean how long your business has been making money.
If you have been a personal trainer for the past 2 years then just select 1-2 years.

Then the next section will ask you for the Number of employees, so if you are a sole proprietor you can just select one, and if you do have a couple of employees or work in a partnership just put how many people you employ here.

Now the next section will ask you for your annual business revenue, and for this section, I recommend that you are totally honest with how much revenue your business makes.
So if your business is brand new and hasn’t had any revenue yet just put $0, and if you do have revenue just put down what your revenue is.
And remember it is not the profit you have made but the revenue.

Now in the next tab, it will ask you what your ‘Estimated Monthly Spend’ will be.
This can be more of an approximate amount, so as an example if you were a personal trainer you would want to calculate an approximate of how much you would spend each month to maintain your business.
So for this example that could be anything from fitness equipment, fitness clothing, gym rental, or advertising you might do to promote your business.

Now in the next section, it will ask for your “Federal Tax ID” and this is also known as an EIN or Employer Identification Number.
Now depending on how your business is set up you may or may not need an EIN.
In some cases, if you are a Sole Proprietor, Single member LLC or a freelancer that has no employees you may not need an EIN.
For example, I am self-employed and I just use in SSN when I pay my taxes each year, and until I employ a new employee I probably won’t need an EIN.

Now for the next section, it will ask you what is your “Role In the Company”
And you will see in the drop-down menu where there are 7 different choices to choose from.
So just choose the role that best describes your position in your business, so If you were a personal trainer you could choose “Owner’

Now the next section is pretty straightforward, basically, you just need to fill out all of your personal information. 

So once you have filled out this information you will then be asked to fill on your ‘Total Annual Income’ which is basically all money you have earned over the course of a tax year.
And then if you have any ‘Non-Taxable Income you can fill that out as well.
This can include anything such as receiving an inheritance, child support, or even worker’s compensation. 

Then after this, you can choose where to have your bill sent to, so choose either Business or Home.

You will then have the option of looking through the Terms and Conditions if you are interested, and then just below that, you can click Submit Application.

And you will generally receive an answer quite quickly, sometimes within a couple of minutes.
Now it is possible that the card issuer will ask you for more information and documentation about where you live and your actual finances.
If this is the case, just provide the information they require and you should receive a response relatively quickly.

What To Do If You Get Denied?

Now if for some reason you get denied on your application for a new business credit card it is possible to call the Credit Card Reconsideration line for the specific credit card you are applying for.
Here you will be able to talk to customer service about why you may have been denied, and in some cases, they may be able to overturn the decision and axially get you approved for the credit card.

And here is a list of a few different consideration lines that you can call:

• American Express: 1-866-314-0237 for existing customers, and 1-877-399-3083 for new customers.
• Chase: 1-800-453-9719 for business cards and 1-888-270-2127 for personal cards.
• Capital One: 1-800-625-7866
• Wells Fargo – 1-800-967-9521
• Citibank – 1-888-201-4523

Now if calling the credit card reconsideration line doesn’t work you may want to look at getting a secured business credit card.
This can be a good way to help improve and establish your business credit.
Generally speaking, you will need to put down a security deposit which will then end up being your available credit line.

Business credit cards worth considering

So below I have listed 4 business credit cards that are all worth considering, two from Chase and two from American Express.
And it’s worth knowing what knowing that neither Chase nor Amex reports your business credit line to your personal credit report unless your account reaches delinquent status. 

And if you are looking for the path of least resistance when it comes to getting approved, I would say that Amex is generally more relaxed than Chase when it comes to applying for and getting approved for a business credit card.

But with that being said, don’t forget that Chase has the 5/24 rule, which basically means you can only apply for 5 credit cards within a 24-month period.

So if your game plan is to receive a few different sign-up bonuses by applying for multiple credit cards, it can make sense to try and receive as many Chase credit cards first before moving on to another credit card issuer such as Amex.

This will insure you don’t instantly hit the 5 /24 rule with Chase and will be able to get at least a few cards with them.

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1. Chase Ink Business Cash credit card

The Case Ink Business Cash credit card is a great business credit card from Chase, not only does it have no annual fee at all, it offers a $900 cash back sign-up bonus if you can manage to meet the $6,000 spend requirement within the first 3 months of opening the account.

It is possible to earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent at office supply stores or on internet, cable, and phone services.

Then similar to this is the ability to earn 2% cashback up to a total of $25k each year for purchases made at gas stations and restaurants.
And then all other purchases made on the card will earn 1% cash back 

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2. Amex Blue Business Cash Card

Then there is the American Express Blue Business Cash Card.
And this is another great business card that has no annual fee.

Currently, it is possible to earn up to $500 cash back on the card if you can manage to meet the spending requirement.
Basically, the first $250 in cashback will be honored if you manage to spend $5,000 on the card within 6 months of opening the account.

And then if you manage to spend another $10,000 on the card within the first year of card ownership, it is possible to receive an additional $250 cash back.

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3. Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card

Now the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card is another great business credit from Chase.
With this card, it is possible to earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of card ownership.

And if you redeem these points through Chase Ultimate Rewards each point is worth 1.25 cents per point which means this sign-up bonus is worth $1,250.

The points-earning potential is also pretty decent with this card.
It is possible to earn 3x points up to a total spend of $150,000 each year for purchases made on:

• Travel
• Shipping
• Advertisements made on search engines or social media
• Internet, Cable, and Phone services.

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4. American Express Platinum business card

Read my review of the Amex Platinum Business card here

Now probably one of my favorite business credit cards available right now is the Amex Platinum Business card.
And although this card isn’t exactly cheap with its $695 annual fee, it does offer a huge variety of benefits and perks that quite easily offset this cost.
First of all it offers a really great sign-up bonus which can sometimes be as high as 170,000 Membership Reward Points, And with points being worth at least 1 cent per point or more, this sign-up bonus is worth at least $1,700 if you can manage to get it.

Another fantastic perk of this card is the ability to receive a 35% Airline Bonus.
Basically, if you make a booking through American Express Travel and use your points, it is possible to receive 35% of these points back up to a total of 1 million points each year.

Final Thoughts 

So that covers all the basics you will need to know if you do decide to get a business credit card.
And as you can see, the process is not too difficult if you just follow the steps I showed you in this article.

As I mentioned earlier in the video, you can receive a reasonably large sign-up bonus that more often than not easily covers the cost of the annual fee and leaves you with a decent amount of points of miles to play with.
And by keeping all of your business-related expenses separate from your personal expenses really should make tax time a lot easier for you and your accountant.

And if you want to learn how you can get a massive signup bonus with Amex Business credit cards, check out this article here.