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The Brex Credit Card is a special business card for well-funded startup companies. In fact, the founders’ inspiration came from running their own startup.
They had plenty of money in the bank, but that wasn’t enough. To qualify for a business card, they’d have to put their personal credit on the line.
So, they created the Brex card, a rare card where debt attaches to the company, not to an individual.
But there’s more to a business card than not being held personally liable for your debt. Here’s an overview of everything you need to know about this card.
The Brex Credit Card is a company card for corporations. It’s not designed for small businesses with low cash on hand. It’s also a charge card, not a traditional credit card.
This means you can’t carry a balance from one billing cycle to the next. Payment is due in full at the end of each cycle.
Charges on the Brex card are automatically debited from your business checking account when your statement comes due.
Depending on your account type, you can pay either daily or monthly.
The Brex card pays rewards at a rate of 1% for all purchases. This isn’t very high, but it guarantees a minimum payout no matter what you’re buying.
The real benefits kick in when you spend in bonus categories. These categories are paid out as follows:
One thing you’ll appreciate is that there are no limits to your rewards, unlike most rewards cards. That said, there’s a major downside.
To qualify for bonus rewards, Brex will need to be your exclusive corporate card. This means you’ll have to give up any cards you’re already using.
Otherwise, you’ll only earn 1%, no matter what you’re spending your money on.
You can redeem your Brex card rewards in several ways. The easiest is to take cash back through your Brex Cash account or apply your rewards as a statement credit.
You can also cash them in for gift cards, which can be used as gifts for employees or for company spending.
In addition, Brex partners with all three major airline alliances to provide mileage rewards. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio and can be redeemed via Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and Oneworld.
If you’re already dealing with one of these programs, you won’t have to give up any of your existing points.
Here are the features Startups and business need to take note of.
The Brex Credit Card has no annual fee, no interest, and no foreign transaction fee. The only fees you’ll pay are for extra cards, and even then, the fees are low, and you only pay them under certain circumstances.
The Brex Credit Card is associated with a company, not an individual. This means you won’t need a social security number to use one.
As a result, it’s a great choice for non-US citizens who are running a business in the US.
The advantage of associating your card with your company rather than you as an individual is that you won’t be personally liable for any charges.
If the company goes bankrupt and can’t pay its bills, you won’t find yourself on the hook for a massive fee.
This is the same principle behind the idea of a corporation itself. People can do business in a modern economy by attaching liability to the corporation rather than the individual.
Most business credit cards will consider your personal credit rating. And even if they’re based on other factors, you’ll have a fixed credit limit. If your spending needs go up, you’ll need to apply for an increase.
Brex does things a little bit differently. Once you’re signed up for an account, they will monitor your company’s cash flow in real-time.
Using this information, they’ll set a credit limit just for you. Better yet, because they’re monitoring in real-time, your limit will reflect your business’ real-world spending. As you grow, your credit limit will constantly increase to keep pace with your growth.
Keep in mind, though, that this also has the opposite effect. If your company hits a cash crunch, your credit limit will be correspondingly reduced.
This card is better for streamlining spending than for getting yourself out of a temporary jam.
We’ve already discussed the Brex card’s cash-back rewards. However, there are some other bonus rewards you should be aware of.
To begin with, after you’ve spent your first $1,000, you’ll earn 50,000 bonus points. At the base reward rate of 1%, you’d normally have to spend $50,000 to earn that many points.
Not only that, but Brex will give you 20,000 bonus points for linking your company’s payroll to your Brex Cash account and another 10,000 points if you spend $3,000 within the first 90 days. In total, that’s 80,000 points, a value of $800.
In addition to all that, Brex also provides several exclusive benefits from their partners. Brex cardholders can get discounts with Salesforce, Amazon Web Services, Google Ads, and more.
You can technically earn up to $150,000 in rewards, although you’ll use significantly less in practice.
As we’ve already discussed, the Brex card is designed to grow along with your company. If part of your growth includes issuing more cards to more employees, don’t worry.
Brex allows you to issue as many as you want. Bear in mind, though, that only the first four cards are free. Additional cards cost $5 per month per card.
Brex includes an app, which can be used for expense management and tracking. You can even upload receipts, and the software will match them to your record.
Not only that, but you can integrate your expense tracking with QuickBooks, Expensify, Concur, NetSuite, Xero, Rippling, and Gusto. This makes it easy to use your company’s existing accounting software.
To qualify for a Brex Credit Card, you must be a C-corp, S-corp, LLC, or LLP. Brex cards are not associated with Social Security numbers like most credit cards.
Instead, they’re associated with Employer Identification Numbers (EINs). As a result, sole proprietors, partnerships, and DBAs will not qualify.
Only US-based companies are eligible for the same reasons, and your company cannot engage in gambling or other prohibited activities.
Your business will need to have a balance of at least $100,000 in a US-based business checking account. You’ll also need to open up a Brex Cash account if you don’t already have one.
Brex will not run a credit check when you apply. However, they will look at your business’s cash flow and other factors to determine your credit limit.
Like most other business cards, the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Card charges a $95 annual fee.
In exchange for that fee, you won’t have to meet the strict requirements the Brex card sets for their members.
This makes it easier for smaller businesses and sole proprietorships to get approved.
The rewards program is straightforward, with benefits in the most popular business spending categories. As a result, it’s a solid choice for most businesses who are looking for a day-to-day card.
The Capital One Spark Cash for Business card provides 2% cash back on all your purchases. This makes it all-around higher paying than the Brex card.
On the other hand, you won’t get the same absurd multipliers, so your mileage may vary.
This card charges a $95 annual fee, although that fee is waived for the first year. You can carry a balance from month to month, but there’s a 20.99% variable APR.
The American Express® Business Gold Card offers nearly as generous rewards as the Brex card. In some categories, you can earn as much as 4%. Not only that, but you can also carry a balance.
That said, this is more like a traditional credit card than the Brex card. It comes with a $295 annual fee and a 14.24% – 22.24% variable APR.
For the most part, yes. There are no fees, so it’s not as if you’re paying extra for the card if you don’t end up using it.
That said, if you need to carry a balance from month to month, you’re going to want to look at other cards.
The Brex Card is a good choice for businesses planning to grow rapidly in the near future. Because your credit limit grows with you, you won’t have to keep reapplying.
Not only that, but the rewards are some of the best out there, provided the high-points categories align with your company’s spending patterns.
It’s also a good choice if you don’t have a good personal credit score or are a non-US citizen who runs a US business.
On the other hand, there are some reasons you might want to look for another card. To begin with, smaller businesses won’t meet Brex’s bank balance requirements.
You also may not be able to take advantage of the points multipliers, whether because Brex isn’t your exclusive card or because you don’t spend much in those categories.
The Brex Credit Card charges only one type of fee: there’s a $5 monthly charge for each employee card after the first four.
So, if you have four-employee cards, you pay nothing. If you have five, you pay $5 per month. If you have six, you pay $10 per month, and so on.
Other than that, you pay nothing. There’s no APR since you don’t carry a balance. There’s also no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.
Your Brex Card credit limit will be based on a number of factors. According to their official website: “Brex considers factors relevant to your business: your investors, your cash balance, and spending patterns, and sets your limit accordingly.”
Yes, Brex is a real credit card.
It depends on the nature of your business. If you’re a small corporation, or if you just incorporated your one-man operation, probably not.
You likely won’t be able to maintain the minimum cash reserve requirements. On the other hand, if you’re relatively well-funded, it’s a great way for your startup to build credit and manage cash flow.
Yes. Brex reports your payments to all major credit bureaus, so you’ll be building credit every time you pay your bill.
The Brex Credit Card is a good choice for businesses that want to simplify cash flow while simultaneously earning rewards.
If you want to carry a balance or need a personal card, you’re going to have to look somewhere else. But if you need a business charge card for your organization, you should probably consider this card.
Kim Pinnelli is a Senior Writer, Editor, & Product Analyst with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been a professional financial writer for over 15 years, and has appeared in a myriad of industry leading financial media outlets. Leveraging her personal experience, Kim is committed to helping people take charge of their personal finances and make simple financial decisions.
