Business credit cards allow for more options, bonuses, cash leverage, spending power, and much more.
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Rough Transcript:
You’re listening to the Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast. I’m your host, Justin Vacula, here to help you travel the world at next to no cost through credit card points, miles, benefits, and rewards. Make money, save money, and take advantage of great deals!
Visit my website at HurdyGurdyTravel.com to contact me, find me on social media, read episode transcripts, schedule a free credit card consultation & support the show through Patreon, SubscribeStar, referral links, and buying from my Ebay store! Watch me on camera on YouTube and listen on many podcast platforms. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe!
Thanks for joining me for episode 51: Advantages of Business Credit Cards. Business credit cards allow for more options, bonuses, cash leverage, spending power, and much more.
Recently, a member in fellow YouTuber Brian Jung’s group The Credit Society, asked why one should sign up for business credit cards. Are personal credit cards enough? Is it worth the effort of applying for business credit cards given that approval standards can be higher than those of personal credit cards?
Frequent listeners of my show should know that I love options. I focus on several bank accounts, credit cards, loyalty programs, grocery stores, and even valuable debit cards with Cash App and Venmo! Business credit cards allow for more signup bonuses, benefits, bonused spending categories, and so much more. In many cases, if there had to be a choose only one scenario for some reason, many business cards outperform many personal cards in head-to-head matchups.
The Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card, for example, outperforms many, if not all, Wells Fargo personal credit cards on my valuation – a monster 50,000 point signup bonus with no annual fee, a 0% intro APR offer, and bonus points each month you spend $1000 or more. The popular and highly overrated Wells Fargo Propel personal card only gives a $200 signup bonus and some three times points categories which almost certainly won’t make a big difference.
Of course one can get both Wells Fargo cards I mentioned, but I’d certainly get the Business Platinum first and personally wouldn’t get the Propel card soon even now having 23 active cards because I have so many better options especially when considering business cards. The worst scenario, though, would be totally missing out on the Business Platinum card which should be an easy win of $500 just from the start.
American Express Business cards are especially powerful. At this time of recording, most people can only have four credit cards with American Express but up to ten charge cards. One can get business charge cards like Business Platinum, Business Gold, Business Green, and even the Plum Card to have more options, benefits, and signup bonuses. Missing out on these cards would be a significant loss for those who could use them well!
I’ve signed up for many business cards including those I mentioned. I was also approved for Barclays JetBlue Business card, Barclays Aviator Business card, Chase Ink Cash, American Express Blue Business Plus, Amex Blue Business Cash, Amex Delta Gold Business, Amex Delta Platinum Business, Amex Bonvoy Business, Bank of America Business Advantage Cash Rewards, Capital One Spark Cash for Business…what a loss it would have been to miss out on all of these cards!
In addition to options, signup bonuses, and benefits, many business credit cards — with the exception of some like Capital One, TD Bank, and our favorite United Bank of Switzerland from way back in episode 25 — do not appear on one’s personal credit report. What’s the big deal? Absent from personal credit, one can hold a high balance on a business credit card and not negatively impact one’s credit scores and credit utilization.
When I mention utilization, I’m talking about how much of one’s available credit is being used. High utilization will likely tank one’s credit scores and lead to denials when applying for credit cards. I’m not advocating for paying interest by any means, but rather having a balance with a 0% intro APR feature common on business credit cards or taking advantage of 30-day grace periods after card statements close.
Resellers, for example, may want to buy high-value products to flip for profit shortly after a statement closes and use the eight-ish weeks to essentially borrow money from a bank with no interest charges. Maybe she will also want to essentially take a $10,000 loan at 0% interest during a promotional APR period. Be careful out there, though, as this can be risky! This is for informational purposes only of course!
Since most business cards stay off your personal credit reports, you can also preserve your eligibility for credit cards with Chase and Barclays. In past episodes especially #35, I’ve delved into Chase’s 5/24 rule which makes you ineligible for Chase cards if you’ve opened five or more cards that appear on your personal credit report in the past 24 months. Barclays may also deny you for opening six or more cards appearing on your personal credit report in the past 24 months.
Thanks for making it to the halfway point of this episode. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe if you’re listening through YouTube. If you’re listening to this as a podcast episode, subscribe to my feed in your favorite podcast player program, leave a review, and share the episode found at hurdygurdytravel.com. Back to the show!
Next, business credit cards should lead to future opportunity not only for more business credit cards, but also vendor accounts, bank loans, tax breaks, and more legitimacy in the eyes of lenders. When business credit cards report to Dun and Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian, you’re viewed as a more legitimate entity in a field of people claiming to have businesses, but maybe not actually having businesses. Banks suspect fraud and regulations demand that a certain amount of vetting must occur rather than Joe Schmo getting the world handed to him even though he just got an EIN yesterday.
Many credit YouTubers say that you can and probably should get business credit cards by applying as a sole proprietor and getting an EIN even if you don’t have or instead of having a more solid business foundation like registering with your state, having articles of organization, having a business bank account, and so much more. I don’t suggest the minimal sole prop with EIN route because that will only get you so far.
Maybe you get a handful of business cards as a sole prop with EIN and a quote unquote business, but you will almost certainly run into roadblocks when banks Google your business and ask you for documentation you don’t have. Why not make the investment and do things more properly? For more on forming a business and getting business credit the right way, listen to episode 12 of my show with special guest business coach Cakeologi.
I wish I established my LLC about a year and a half ago because I may have been eligible for pandemic relief including loans and grants. I’d also have more credit cards. Many banks want to see businesses existing for at least a year, some two years, others even more…and they want to see various tradelines reporting. I’d also have more business bank accounts and bonuses from opening those accounts. I may not have been denied for a second Bank of America business credit card…it goes on and on.
Moving on to another benefit, business credit cards also are typically more lenient towards high spenders when compared to personal cards. Surely banks expect that business owners will generally spend more than individuals spending on personal credit cards! The resellers, real-estate aficionados, and other high spenders can enjoy generous spending allowances on business credit cards not to mention the typically higher credit limits compared to personal credit cards.
Maybe you as a business owner will also want to separate personal expenses from business expenses for purposes of record-keeping or other reasons. Business credit cards can be handy in having this separation and having a business, in many cases, can also separate personal liabilities from business liabilities.
Many business credit cards will also offer incentives for such separation and/or high spend like the previously mentioned Barclays Aviator and JetBlue business credit cards…and they also offer bonus points for spending in categories like office supply stores often not found on personal credit cards.
Hopefully this episode will motivate you to pursue business credit cards, build business credit, and create a business or scale up a business. How to start or scale up businesses is beyond the scope of this episode, but do listen to episode 12 and feel free to contact me for more. Your business doesn’t need to be a brick and mortar million dollar operation either!
You can start small by monetizing a hobby or something you do already. Maybe you’ll provide consulting services, sell products, tutor, babysit, offer ridesharing services, deliver with food services, the sky’s the limit! For me, although this pandemic has brought many negatives, I found inspiration to build a business and take on new hustles with newfound time. Rather than squandering time watching Netflix for most of your day waiting for Dr. Fauci to give the all clear announcement which probably won’t come anytime soon, try something new to generate money and have fun while doing it.
Join me on most Tuesdays at 9PM Eastern for livestreams focused on money, business, and credit – past livestreams are archived on my website at hurdygurdytravel.com and future livestreams will be announced.
Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more content! Leave comments on this episode with your thoughts and questions concerning business credit cards!
Visit my website at HurdyGurdyTravel.com to contact me, find me on social media, read episode transcripts, schedule a free consultation & support the show through Patreon, SubscribeStar, referral links, and buying from my Ebay store! Watch me on camera on YouTube and listen on many podcast platforms. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe! Have a great day!
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