CreditCardsAct

The first and most obvious thing is to have a business. Second, if you are trying to get a business credit card so that you can charge it up, then claim bankruptcy on the business and get out of paying the debt, it most likely won’t work.

Credit card companies will usually pull your personal credit reports before giving a business card to a business with no credit history. You will most likely be personally liable for any expenditure you make.

However, if you are a legitimate business and would like to have the ease and convenience of making your day to day purchases by credit card, there are plenty of lenders out there looking for you. If your business is established with a nice credit history of its own, you may find this process easier and less invasive personally. But as mentioned above, if you’re a new business, be prepared to open up personally!

Just like looking for a personal credit card, you need to decide what features are important to you. Do you plan to pay this off every month and just want the pay by plastic convenience? Do you want your purchases to work for you by building up miles or points or cash back awards? Do you travel a lot for business and need the extra travel insurance some companies provide? Also consider where you plan to use it. Visa and MasterCard are still accepted in the most places although American Express is accepted almost everywhere as well.

If you have an established business relationship with a local bank, you might check there first. Otherwise, your best bet is probably to search the web. Websites such as CreditCards, CreditorWeb and Financial Web offer free reviews of business credit cards. Be sure to check how often the websites are updated as some offers may no longer be valid.

Be prepared to provide documentation that you have are a legitimate business. Tax info and license numbers may be asked to be provided. Personal information such as cardholder’s social security numbers may also need to be provided.

Once you’ve decided on a card or two with the features you want, you’ll need to apply for it. Don’t be too discouraged if the first one turns you down. That doesn’t mean that you can’t get a business card, it just means that the provider you chose isn’t looking for businesses like yours. Try another one. If several turn you down, then you may need to find out why and work to correct whatever deficiency they think you have.

There are millions of small businesses in the United States. A very large percentage of them use business credit cards. Getting one for your business probably isn’t as hard as you think!

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