Cons Of A Business Credit Card That Shows Up On Your Personal Credit Report
There are also some downsides to business credit cards being reported on your personal credit history. These include the following:
- Late payments or a default could hurt your personal credit score: If you pay your business credit card late, this could be reported on your personal credit history and do serious damage to your score.
- Your business debt could affect your debt-to-income ratio: When your company borrows on the card, the debt will show up as an obligation you’re responsible for. This is factored in when lenders look at your debt payments relative to income. A debt-to-income ratio that is too high can sometimes disqualify you from getting a loan. If you are looking to take out personal loans in the future, this could be a negative for you.
- High credit utilization could reduce your credit score: When your credit utilization is above 30%, your credit score suffers. If you charge a lot on your business card and its reported on your personal credit history, this could drag down your score.
- You’ll get a hard inquiry on your credit report: When you apply for a business card and the card issuer checks your personal credit, you’ll show a hard inquiry on your credit report that stays there for two years. While one credit check is not a big deal, too many inquiries can lower your credit score.
American Express Hilton Honors Business Card Review
Frequent travelers who stay at Hilton hotels and are looking for a card with a great rewards program and no foreign transaction fee can benefit the most from the American Express Hilton Honors Business Card.
With this card, you can earn up to 180,000 Hilton Honors points as a welcome bonus. Once you spend $2,000 in the first three months, you earn 130,000 bonus points. You earn an additional 50,000 bonus points by making purchases worth $10,000 within six months of opening the account. These bonus points can be redeemed to book hotel stays, exclusive experiences and rental cars.
Card Details to Know Up Front
- Bonus, Fee or Feature
- Good-Excellent
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Know The Effects On Your Credit Score
When you apply for a business credit card, be aware that the issuer will also likely run a hard check on your personal credit report, which can affect your personal credit score. That’s why it’s important to make sure you know what credit score is needed for a business credit card before applying to ensure you’ll be approved. However, your business credit line and your personal credit lines will be completely separate so your spending on your business credit card won’t affect your personal credit usage.
Before you commit to a business credit card, find out whether or not the issuer reports to consumer credit bureaus. If the card does report to consumer credit bureaus, your business credit card activity will likely affect your personal credit score. That said, there are plenty of business credit cards that don’t pull personal credit, so be sure to do your research ahead of time if it’s something you’re concerned about.
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Requesting A Federal Tax Id
Once your business is incorporated, you can request an Employer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service . You’ll need this number to file both your federal and, if applicable, state business tax returns each year, as well as your state sales tax returns. You can apply for an EIN online here.
Compare The Best Business Credit Cards Of 2022
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What You Need To Know
- Great business credit scores can make it easier to access financing options from loans to credit cards and beyond with terms and features that meet your needs
- If you understand how your personal credit reports and scores work, youll have a good idea of how business credit works, too
- Start building your business credit by establishing a business credit file, then opening trade lines or a business credit card
Check Your Business Credit Reports For Accuracy
You may or may not have business credit reports yet.
If you do, you should check them to be sure there are no mistakes. If there are any errors, you should file a dispute or submit an update to remedy them. You can do this online.
Log in. From the iUpdate menu, select Submit Financial Statement or Review/Dispute Payments. Follow the instructions |
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Establish Trade Lines With Vendors Suppliers And Lenders
Some business-to-business merchants will report trade lines to the business credit bureaus. When you do business with these companies theyll report the account and payment history, and that information will show up on your business credit reports.
Just like with credit cards, be sure to always pay your vendor accounts on time.
Ask the merchants you work with whether or not theyll report a line of credit to the business credit bureaus. If they dont currently report, you can request that they start doing so.
We recommend looking for net 30-day vendors to work with. Net 30 refers to a payment system in which a business can make normal purchases on credit, with the full bill due in 30 days. .
Not all business suppliers, lenders, and net 30 vendors report trade lines and payment history to the commercial credit bureaus. The bureaus dont publish official lists of reporting vendors, because that would skew customer behavior and reporting accuracy.
However, theres a lot of anecdotal online evidence of companies that report to the business credit bureaus. Heres a collection of some of these companies, including net 30 vendors, gas companies, and lenders .
Remember that these arent official lists, and you should check with the company before assuming it will report your account. In some cases, you may need to meet certain requirements before a company will report, like a minimum purchase amount.
Net Day Companies
Capital One Spark 15% Cash Select
Capital One reports to the SBFE and Experian Small Business. If you decide a Capital One Spark Card is right for you, this is a great pick for businesses that want to carry a balance with an introductory APR.
Theres no annual fee and it offers a 0% intro APR for 12 months with 15.99% 23.99% variable APR after that. You can also earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase with no minimums or expiration date. Rewards wont expire for the life of the account, and you can redeem your cash back for any amount. Good credit is required.
*All information about the CapitalOne Spark 1.5% Cash Select Card has been collected independently by Nav. This card is not currently available through Nav. To see what business credit cards are available, please visit the Nav Credit Card Marketplace.
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Re: Amex Business Card Reports To Business Credit Reports
wrote:
I was for some reason under the impression that American Express didnt report their business cards to the business credit bureau unless you default or something.
I know they dont report to personal credit reports, which is great, but for some reason I had it in my head that my Chase Ink card reports to my business reports, but my AMEX SimplyCash does not and remember being kinda bummed about that…
I just got my busienss credit report and the AMEX card is being reported on there…any idea what is going on with that? Or was I just totally mis-remembering from the time when I originally got the card, or maybe some bad info?
Amex reports to business bureaus but NOT personal reports unless you default. It is a business card going to help build your business credit so what is the problem? Don’t you want it reporting to business?
Well I just though they didn’t report at all unless you default. Thought it might be a new thing they are doing or something. Who said there is a problem? I’m saying this is a good thing! Definitely want all that good history reporting!
I thought you didn’t want it to report to the business report thats why I asked what the problem was…
Does All Business Credit Activity Affect Personal Credit
Some activities from some business cards can affect both personal and business credit scores, while others will influence only your business score. It all depends on what the credit card issuer chooses to report. If your business credit card issuer reports all of your business credit card activity to both the consumer and business credit bureaus, the purchases you put on your business credit card could be factored into your total which means that carrying a high balance on your business credit card could have a negative effect on your personal credit score.
The same goes for missed payments and other less-than-stellar credit card usage. On the other hand, your business credit card has the potential to boost your personal credit scoreas long as you use your business credit card responsibly, and as long as your credit card issuer reports that activity to the consumer credit card bureaus.
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Best Small Business Credit Cards Of 2022
Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure: ValuePenguin is an advertising-supported comparison service which receives compensation from some of the financial providers whose offers appear on our site. This compensation from our advertising partners may impact how and where products appear on our site . To provide more complete comparisons, the site features products from our partners as well as institutions which are not advertising partners. While we make an effort to include the best deals available to the general public, we make no warranty that such information represents all available products.
The best business credit card is the Capital One Spark Cash Plus, for small business owners of all types. It lets you earn simple cash back at a high rate on all your purchases.
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the authors opinions and recommendations alone. It may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through a credit card issuer partnership.Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Citi is an advertising partner
Amex Blue Business Plus Vs Amex Blue Business Cash Card
The Blue Business Plus and Blue Business Cash cards are nearly identical, except for their rewards program.
The Blue Business Cash Card offers cash back, rather than travel rewards. You can earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1% cash back after that.
In addition, the Blue Business Cash has an enticing welcome offer: You can earn a $250 statement credit after you make $3,000 in purchases on your card in the first three months from account opening.
Overall, when you maximize how you redeem your points, the Amex Blue Business Plus is slightly more valuable. However, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use card, the Blue Business Cash has good rewards rate and the cash back you earn can be reinvested into your business.
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How To Get A Business Credit Card
You’ll need to have a business in order to qualify for a business credit card. Even if you’re an online freelancer or operate a service business without a brick-and-mortar storefront, your business can certainly qualify for a small business credit card. Here are the steps you’ll need to take to get a business credit card:
If your card application is approved, the card will be mailed to you and you’ll need to activate it, just like with a personal credit card.
Does The Card Require A Personal Guarantee
Most issuers require a personal guarantee for their small business credit cards, so you’ll need to decide if this is something that you are willing to bear. A personal guarantee makes you personally responsible for the debt rather than it being borne strictly by a separate corporate entity. In the event the business fails, you’ll still be liable for the debt. Issuers will typically be looking for a business to have $1 million or more in annual revenue to be considered for a card without a personal guarantee.
The reason that most issuers require a personal guarantee is that it protects the issuer from loss. Nearly half of businesses fail within the first five years, and lenders could be stuck with a large amount of unpaid business debt unless they made borrowers personally responsible for the debt.
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Understanding The Fine Print
Understanding the fees and charges associated with the American Express Hilton Honors Business Card will give you a better idea if getting it is worth it or not.
- Card Feature
- 312 Points per $1*
- Airline Benefits
- Rewards Rate on Online Shopping3x
- Rewards Rate on TV, Phone, Internet Services6x
- Rewards Rate on Air Travel6x
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-
Regular APR
This card charges a high variable APR of 15.74%24.74%, making it unsuitable to carry a balance every month as youll accrue high interest charges.
-
Annual Fee
The annual fee of this card is $95, which may be worth paying depending on how you use its rewards program.
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Cash Advance Fee
On every cash advance, youll pay either $5 or 3% of the total amount, whichever is greater.
You can find this information on your credit card issuers website, mobile app or the maintained by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Re: Amex Business Cards Not Reporting
Found this.
wrote:
They supposedly report to sbfe, but I have no way of pulling that
+1. I also read that they report to SBFE. They definitely do not report to your personal reports, however.
They do report late payments and charge offs to personal credit report, but nothing if in good standing.
wrote:
They supposedly report to sbfe, but I have no way of pulling that
+1. I also read that they report to SBFE. They definitely do not report to your personal reports, however.
They do report late payments and charge offs to personal credit report, but nothing if in good standing.
Seconded, that’s what a CSR explained to me when I called and asked.
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Which Credit Report Does American Express Pull
American Express has long been known as a premium credit card provider that gives cardholders a wide variety of perks. Given its reputation, wanting to apply for a card from American Express is not unusual.
When you apply for an American Express credit card, the company will almost always check your with Experian. In some very rare cases, American Express will check with a different credit bureau. Remember that all three credit bureaus get their information from the same place: your financial life. That means there isnt a big difference between them, so which report is pulled doesnt usually matter. However, there are some cases where knowing which bureau is pulled.
We found out that American Express primarily works with Experian by reviewing 337 consumer-reported credit inquiries from January 2016 through December 2017. That information showed that American Express works nearly exclusively with Experian.
How Charge Card Payments Work
You likely wont notice a difference between a charge card versus a credit card when you swipe it or insert either payment method into a chip reader to pay for a transaction. But when your first charge card statement shows up in your inbox or mailbox, a few features might surprise you if youve only used credit cards in the past.
Unlike credit cards, which feature minimum payments and give you the option to roll a portion of your balance over each month, charge card issuers expect you to pay your full statement balance by the due date. Its a good habit to pay your statement balance in full anywayregardless of whether youre using a charge card or credit card. However, if you opt to use a charge card, paying in full is typically not optional.
Its worth noting that certain cards, such as some offered by American Express, might give you the option to pay over time with interest on some purchases. If you elect to take advantage of such an offer, your charge card bill may behave more like a credit card, especially in terms of interest charges.
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