Business credit cards offer small business owners access to a flexible line of credit along with a convenient and safe way to pay for business expenses. Many offer cash back rewards, sign-up bonuses, and other perks. If your credit scores aren’t high you may find it more difficult to qualify — but there may still be options available to you. In this article, we’ll discuss how to find and qualify for small business credit cards for bad credit.
Do Business Credit Cards Check Personal Credit Score?
Yes. Even though you use business credit cards for business purposes, financial institutions look at your personal credit score to determine if you qualify. The process often requires what’s called a hard credit check, which shows up on your personal credit report and may lower your credit score by a few points.
However, you can also establish business credit scores. This score represents your business as a separate entity and its ability to repay what it owes. We discuss how to establish business credit later in this article.
Some business credit cards also report the activity on your business credit card to consumer credit bureaus. Thus, signing up for a business credit card to take advantage of the great rewards program or balance transfer rates may end up impacting your personal credit score. It’s helpful to keep this in mind when shopping around for a business credit card.
If your personal credit score isn’t quite where it needs to be to get a top-of-the-line business credit card, you still have options.
What Is Considered Bad Credit?
A bad credit score depends on which scoring system you’re using, usually FICO Score or VantageScore. Credit card providers use one of the available scores to determine if you’re eligible, and you can ask which score the lender uses before applying.
A FICO credit score of 669 or lower is considered “fair” or bad and can make it more of a challenge to qualify for a credit card. A VantageScore of 600 or lower is considered “fair” or bad credit. It’s usually easier to qualify for a credit card when you have scores in the “good” or “excellent” range. We explore your top choices for the best business credit cards for bad credit below.
The Best Business Credit Cards for Bad Credit
There may be credit card options available to you even if you have poor credit. Here are credit cards to consider if your credit scores aren’t strong.
Best Credit Cards for Limited Credit
The Capital One Spark Classic for Business is a popular card for those with less than perfect credit.
Pros
- No interest charged.
- annual fee.
- Up to 7% points, based on payment settings.
Cons
- Welcome offer: .
- Foreign transaction fee of .
The could work well if you want to avoid paying interest on your credit card and don’t travel much for business. You’ll pay more to use the card overseas because of the foreign transaction fee.
Divvy Smart Credit Card for Business
A great option for businesses trying to manage expenses both easily and cheaply. This card requires you to pay off your balance in full each month.
Intro APR
N/A
Purchase APR
All charges made on this charge card are due and payable when you receive your periodic statement
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Offer
N/A
More Details
FAQs
Commercial property insurance is designed to help you replace property after damage or theft, Including:
- Your building
- Equipment (computers, furnishings etc.)
- Products and inventory
Product liability insurance covers the costs of legal defense resulting from a complaint about a product you manufacture or sell, including:
- Injury or illness
- Property damage
- Wrongful death
Professional liability insurance covers the cost of defending against a complaint about your services or performance, including:
- Negligence
- Misrepresentation
- Inaccurate advice
General liability insurance covers injury or damage connected to your operations or the space where you do business, including:
- Physical injury
- Property damage
- Personal injury from your communications (libel, etc.)
Commercial auto insurance covers company-owned or leased vehicles used by you or your employees, and includes:
- Bodily injury caused to other people
- Property damage caused to other people’s property
- Damages to your vehicles
Cyber insurance covers costs associated with a data breach or other cyber attack and covers things like:
- Rebuilding your network · Notifying and compensating customers
- Paying regulatory fines & legal costs
- Handling crisis management and PR
Workers’ compensation insurance is required in almost every state and covers employees who are injured or become ill on the job, including:
- Provides lost wages and disability benefits
- Provides medical expenses, including ongoing care costs
- Shields you from employee lawsuits
Hi
I’m just starting a business and I don’t have any income coming in for it yet. Which credit card or product would you recommend to get started to buy things for the company?
Most small business credit card applications will allow you to include income from all sources, not just the business. If you have income from other sources that could help you qualify.
I have two vendor accounts that are not reported on my business report. How do I get these accounts added to my business report through my Established Business plan with Nav?
Unfortunately Nav cannot report other vendors accounts. (We report for our customers with Business Boost or Business Loan Builder accounts.) You’ll need to ask those vendors to report directly to credit bureaus.
I’m looking at the capital one spark cash select business card. Do you have any idea what credit is needed?? I’m getting so many different scales on the internet. Thank you
The issuers aren’t eager to publish minimum credit scores (and the score you see may be different than the one they use). It may help to have a Nav account and see which cards are a good match. It’s not full preapproval but it should help to get you in the ballpark.
Capital one spark did not approve me due to a open bankruptcy on my personal credit
I’m sorry to hear that.
Hi I just heard about Nav , I have a decent credit FICO 740; also I have my LLC company with out credit history since 2007 was launched, my question is about create a credit to my company with just my EIN and create a trade lines separate from my personal credit, it’s possible?
Thanks
Yes try capital one spark.