5 Best Business Credit Cards for New Businesses With No Credit History

If you’ve just launched your business, you’re likely going through all of the necessary steps to establish your business finances and fund your business. This being said, as a new business owner, you might not be quite sure exactly where to turn for funding. Luckily, you can explore a variety of business credit cards for new businesses—options that will not only provide the financing you need, but will also benefit your business in other ways.

Plus, even if your new business has no credit history, you can still qualify for business credit cards by relying on your personal credit history. What’s the best credit card for your new business? This guide is here to help you find out.

1. Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express: Best 0% Intro APR
2. Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Best Welcome Bonus
3. Capital One® Spark Cash for Business: Best for Cash Back
4. Chase Ink Business Unlimited®: Best for No Annual Fee
5. Capital One® Spark Classic for Business: Best for Fair Personal Credit

We’ll break down everything you need to know about small business credit cards for new businesses including how you can get one for your business with no credit, what to look for to find the best credit card for your new business, plus five top options to consider.

Before we dive into the details regarding our top five options for the best business credit cards for new businesses, let’s start with some of the basics about business credit cards.

As you probably know, there’s a difference between business vs. personal credit cards—namely, that business credit cards are designed with specific rewards, protections, and features for small business owners that personal credit cards don’t provide. Along these lines, getting a business credit card is a crucial financial step for any new business. A business credit card will help you separate your business and personal finances, establish a business credit history, and of course, grant you access to a line of credit that you can use to fund your operations.

Therefore, whether your new endeavor is an Etsy shop or a quick-service restaurant, it’s always a good idea to invest in a business credit card. All of this being said, however, it’s important to understand one crucial thing about business credit cards—especially as a new business with no credit history.

Ultimately, even after you’ve been in business for a while, card issuers will still look into your personal credit score to determine whether or not you qualify for a business credit card.

The way credit card issuers see it, you, as the business owner, will oversee all of the spending done on the business credit card account, so the main qualification they’ll want to look into is how trustworthy you are as a borrower—and the main metric to determine your creditworthiness is your personal credit score.

Although this business credit card requirement may be frustrating for some well-established business owners whose personal credit scores are less-than-stellar, it’s great news for new business owners. As long as your personal credit score falls somewhere over 580, then you’re more than likely going to be able to qualify for one of a number of business credit cards for new businesses—even with no business credit history.

So now that we know a little bit about how you can qualify for a business credit card as a new business with no credit, let’s discuss some of the features you’ll want to compare as you explore different cards on the market.

Ultimately, any of these may play a role in your decision to apply for one business credit card over another—nevertheless, it’s important to remember that the best credit card for your new business will be the one, on the whole, that most closely meets your needs—and hopefully, one you think you can qualify for.

One of the features that you might consider when comparing business credit cards for new businesses is a 0% intro APR period.

What is that exactly?

A 0% intro APR period is a period of time after you open your business credit card account in which your credit card balances will carry no interest at all. Therefore, as long as you make your minimum monthly payments on time, you’ll be able to carry a balance from month-to-month during your intro APR period without accumulating any interest.

This feature is particularly useful for new businesses who plan on making large purchases after they first open their account and want to pay them off over a series of months without interest. However, it’s important to remember that once the 0% intro APR period on your business credit card is up, a variable APR sets in at a rate depending on your creditworthiness. This rate will also vary with the market, so you’ll want to check the issuer’s terms and conditions for the latest APR information.

Any balance remaining on your card will be subject to this variable APR, so you’ll want to make sure you can pay off any purchases before the end of your 0% intro APR period.

Another credit card feature that you’ll want to look into—especially as a new business—is the welcome bonus. When a card comes with a welcome bonus, you’ll get a certain amount of cash back or rewards points if you reach a specified spending threshold within a particular amount of time.

This being said, when you’re setting everything up for your new business, an extra cash or rewards bonus will not only be an incredibly useful perk, but, you’ll also likely be spending more than enough to meet the bonus spending threshold without issue.

In addition to building credit for your new business and offering one-time perks like welcome bonuses, another perk of business credit cards is long-term rewards programs. Most business credit cards come with some type of rewards program—so you’ll want to consider what kind of rewards you prefer as you explore your card options.

Do you want simple cash back, or rewards points geared toward travel? Would you prefer a flat-rate rewards program—earning the same amount on everything you spend—or a tiered rewards program?

These are all questions to ask as you look at the different rewards programs offered by business credit cards for new businesses. Ultimately, you’ll want to find the card that will allow you to earn the maximum rewards that will most greatly benefit your business.

As we mentioned, business credit card issuers will use your personal credit score as a large determining factor on whether or not to approve your credit card application. Most business credit cards have a minimum credit card score that they’ll expect—and therefore, you’ll want to pay close attention to this as you look for the right option for your new business.

You’ll want to choose a business credit card that you’ll likely be approved for—especially since your credit card application will require a hard credit pull, meaning a small ding on your personal credit score.

This being said, however, even if you don’t have the best personal credit, there are still business credit card options you can consider. There are a handful of business credit cards for fair credit—including those with rewards programs and other benefits. Nevertheless, it’s important to be aware of personal credit requirements—and where your personal credit score stands—as you look at the different business credit cards for new businesses.

On top of these features, there are still a variety of qualifications you might consider—annual fee, foreign transaction fees, who the issuer is, and more—depending on what matters most to your new business.

With all of this in mind, let’s actually take a look at some of the best small business credit cards for new businesses. Here are five top options to consider:

If you’re looking for a business credit card for your new business with a particularly long 0% intro APR period, then you might consider the Blue Business Plus from American Express.

With one of the longest 0% intro APR periods on the market, this business credit card grants new business 12 months of no-interest balances, so long as they make their minimum payments on time. (Just remember to check the terms and conditions of your contract, as after that introductory period a variable APR will set in.)

Additionally, along with this lengthy 0% intro APR period, the Blue Business Plus offers the following perks:

• 2x rewards points for the first $50,000 you spend every year
• 1x rewards points for all of your spending beyond that cap
• No annual fee

Moreover, a particular benefit for new businesses is that American Express will report all of your activity on the Blue Business Plus to business credit bureaus, which means that your responsible spending will help you build your business’s credit history.

Therefore, the Blue Business Plus card is one of the very best business credit cards for new businesses with no credit history that need to carry a credit card balance and build business credit.

If you think a one-off welcome bonus will be the most beneficial perk for your new business, then you should definitely look into the Chase Ink Business Preferred.

This business credit card comes with one of the—if not the–most generous welcome bonuses available on the market.

If you spend $15,000 during your first three months with the card, then you’ll receive a welcome bonus of 100,000 reward points. If you redeem these points through Chase Ultimate Rewards, then your welcome bonus will be worth $1,250 toward travel.

Beyond this impressive welcome bonus, The Ink Preferred business credit card for new businesses comes with the following additional benefits:

• 3x points on the first $150,000 you spend annually within the following categories:
  • Travel
  • Shipping purchases
  • Advertising purchases made with search engines and social media sites
  • Internet, cable, and phone services
• 1x rewards after that spending threshold, with no limit on the amount you can earn
• No foreign transaction fees
• Employee cards at no cost

One notable downside to opting for the Ink Preferred, however, is that it comes with an annual fee of $95. Nevertheless, if you think you can earn the signing bonus and utilize the other rewards this card offers, the annual fee might be worth the investment.

If you want the best credit card for new businesses with a simple, long-term rewards program, then you should look into the Capital One® Spark Cash for Business. The Spark Cash offers a flat-rate, unlimited 2% cash back for every single dollar you spend on your business with the card. Plus, there is no limit on the cash back you can earn, your rewards don’t expire as long as your account is open, and you can redeem your cash back in any amount.

Additionally, this credit card for new businesses with no credit history comes with a welcome bonus of $500 once you spend $4,500 during your first three months with the card. You can also get free employee cards, all of which can also earn an unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases.

This being said, however, you’ll want to note that this card comes with a $95 annual fee, although Capital One will waive your annual fee for your first year with the Spark Cash.

Ultimately, even though the Spark Cash signing bonus is not as impressive as the Ink Preferred, this card can offer one of the highest flat-rate cash back rewards out there—giving you the ability to truly maximize what you earn for your business spending.

One of the biggest drawbacks of both the Spark Cash and Ink Preferred is the $95 annual fee. Therefore, if you’re looking for a well-rounded business credit card that can offer your new business a little of everything—including no annual fee—you might consider the Ink Business Unlimited from Chase.

In addition to the lack of an annual fee, the Ink Business Unlimited also has the following benefits:

• 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months (after this a variable APR will set in, so be sure to check the terms and conditions for the latest APR information)
• A generous sign-up bonus if you meet the spending threshold
• Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases
• Employee cards at no additional cost

Therefore, although the Ink Business Unlimited may not offer the most competitive perk in any one category compared to other options, this credit card can provide substantial value as a whole. Plus, if you’re looking for a business credit card for your new business with a straight-forward rewards program, the Ink Unlimited will be a great choice.

Finally, if you’re looking for a source of funding for your new business, but your personal credit leans more on the average side, then the Capital One® Spark Classic for Business is your best bet.

Because its minimum personal credit score rounds in at 580, the Spark Classic is one of, if not the most, accessible unsecured business credit card on the market. Most other options available to business owners with personal credit scores below 620 are secured credit cards, which means they require that you put down a security deposit when you open the account.

Plus, on top of the accessibility for business owners with fair personal credit, the Spark Classic has other benefits as well—you’ll get an unlimited 1% cash back for every dollar you spend, you’ll have no foreign transaction fees, and you’ll pay no annual fee.

Therefore, this business credit card for new businesses with no credit history is one of the best options for establishing business credit and rebuilding personal credit.

At the end of the day, only you can decide which business credit card will be best for your new business.

Luckily, even as a new business with no credit history, there are still a variety of great business credit card options out there—including those with no annual fee, 0% intro APR periods, and robust rewards programs.

This being said, it’s important to remember that as a new business, your personal credit score will be one of the biggest determining factors in your credit card application, so you’ll want to consider your credit history and the credit score threshold of any business credit card you’re considering before actually going through the process to apply.

If your personal credit isn’t where you’d like it to be, you still have options, like the Spark Classic from Capital One. Plus, if you don’t think you’ll qualify for this card, you might then consider a secured business credit card or even a prepaid business debit card.

Ultimately, whichever business credit card you choose for your new business, you’re taking a crucial step in managing your business finances—one that will hopefully support the growth and success of this new endeavor.