Brex Credit Card Review 2023: Is A Brex Card Worth It?

Pros

• Flexible and unique rewards structures
• Linked cash account with high APY
• Valuable partner discounts
• No personal guarantee
• No credit check

Cons

• Limited to C-corp, S-corp, LLC, and LLPs with equity investors, $1 million/year in revenue, and 50+ employees
• Top rewards require an exclusivity agreement
• Daily repayment is required for new users
• Hefty cash reserve requirements

What Is Brex?

Brex is a fintech company offering a full suite of financial services, including corporate credit cards, expense management software, bill payments, spend management, and select business banking services to corporate clients. The Brex card delivers impressive rewards, with up to 8x points on certain purchases made with the Brex card.

Note that Brex is currently focused on working with venture-backed startups and mid-market companies rather than small and mid-sized businesses. (Brex’s definition of a venture-backed startup is a company that has been professionally funded or received non-traditional funding prior to opening its doors. For mid-market businesses, Brex’s definition is a company that has 20 or more employees if it has been professionally invested in and 50 or more employees if not.)

Could Brex be what you need to simplify your business finances? Let’s find out.

How Does Brex Work?

Brex works like a credit card, although it’s actually a charge card, in that you won’t be able to carry a balance from month to month. In fact, if you want to access Brex’s eye-popping top rewards rates of up to 8x, you’ll need to pay off your balance daily and make Brex your exclusive corporate card.

Brex stands out from many of its competitors in the corporate card field by offering a linked cash management account, Brex Cash, that can provide basic business banking services. Brex Cash offers its users unlimited deposits, payments, and transfers as well as an attractive APY without restricting access to funds. You can learn more about the banking service Brex offers in our comprehensive Brex Cash review.

Brex also offers standout spend management tools, bill payment, employee cards, and integrations with some useful business software. Read on for more details on all these.

How Does Brex Make Money?

Brex charges users absolutely no fees. So how does Brex make money? Essentially, Brex earns most of its money through interchange fees, which are the fees merchants pay to accept cards, process transactions, and maintain merchant services.

In practical terms, that means that Brex earns a percentage of each sale made using a Brex card. Brex makes some money through partner relationships and banking yield, as well.

Brex Credit Card Rewards & Perks

Brex corporate cards come with some eye-popping points-earning potential in several spending categories. In fact, the rates are among the highest we’ve seen in the crowded field of corporate cards. However, it’s important to note that you’ll be eligible to earn points at these rates only if you make Brex your exclusive corporate card and agree to make automatic daily payments using a linked Brex Cash.

If you meet those conditions, you’ll earn points at these rates:

• 8x points per $1 on ridesharing and taxis
• 8x points on life sciences conference tickets
• 5x points on trip arrangements booked via Brex Travel
• 4x points on restaurant purchases
• 3x points on eligible Apple product purchases made through the Brex Rewards portal
• 3x points on software subscriptions
• 1.5x points on ads
• 1x points on everything else

If you don’t qualify for Brex’s exclusivity program or choose not to participate, or if you make monthly payments, your purchases will earn rewards at slightly lower rates. You can find full details about the rewards Brex offers on the company’s website.

How To Use Brex Points

The Brex points you earn never expire, and they can be redeemed only by an account administrator. You can use your points to pay for flights and hotels, so long as you book through Brex Travel. You can also transfer your points to partner airlines or redeem them as cash back (as long as you’re enrolled in Brex Cash), a statement credit, gift cards, or crypto payments, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. If you use a Brex Cash account, you can redeem points for cash back into your account.

Brex points rewards are uncapped, and the multipliers are not cut off or reduced after you hit any spending or rewards limits.

Exclusive Signup Offers

Brex customers also can take advantage of exclusive signup offers from various partners worth more than $180,000. Here are some examples:

• Amazon Web Services: $5,000 in credit and up to $100,000 in AWS Activate, depending on eligibility
• QuickBooks: Get 30% off your first 12 months of QuickBooks
• UPS: Save up to 50% every time you ship
• Gusto: Get 50% off any plan for 12 months
• Slack: 25% off 12 months of eligible Slack paid plans
• Freshworks: $10,000 credits on Freshworks suite of products

Additional Tools

Brex users also gain access to a variety of tools, which we’ll cover in-depth in the Brex Features section below. In addition to corporate cards, Brex supports payments, accounting, spend management, and access to a new platform Brex calls Empower, all at no additional cost to the user. These tools and features are one of Brex’s calling cards.

Some of them, such as spend controls, are fairly common among corporate cards. Others, such as Brex Empower, are unique to Brex and add significant value. Empower is a financial software platform within Brex that includes budget tools, receipt integration, expense comment fields, customizable accounting fields, global currency support, and more.

Brex’s Money Market Fund

Finally, cash invested in Brex’s money market fund may earn variable interest rates. At the time of this review, funds invested in Brex Cash’s money market fund earn 1.99%, based on an average seven-day yield. This rate is subject to change. Visit the Brex Cash Yield & Fees Schedule page to see current rates.

Brex Card Pricing & Fees

Brex is free to use, with no annual or account fees, global ACH or wire transfer fees, or fees for requesting additional employee cards. Plus, the Brex card carries no foreign transaction fee. Combine that with the generous points-earning for travel purchases, and you’ve got the makings of a nifty business travel card.

Brex Credit Card Eligibility Requirements

Brex eligibility requirements are easy to find and understand, but they’re a little complicated and worth unpacking. Brex has recently sharpened its focus on equity-backed tech startups and stopped serving smaller businesses. The company lists four basic requirements for a Brex account:

• Equity investment of any amount and kind (from accelerator, angel, VC, or web3 token)
• More than $1 million/year in revenue
• 50+ employees
• $500,000 minimum cash holdings

Brex also notes that tech startups that are on track to meet those requirements may be accepted if they are referred by a current Brex customer or partner. Because of this complexity, be aware that Brex can take up to 15 business days to review your application and reach a decision.

Here are some other basic requirements:

Eligible Businesses

First, Brex is available only to C-corp, S-corp, LLC, or LLP corporations. As Brex underwrites with Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) and not Social Security numbers, consumers and other unregistered businesses are not eligible. Sole proprietorships are not eligible even if they have a valid EIN. Brex is open to various types of businesses but has certain exceptions for prohibited activities and businesses.

Although Brex requires its clients to operate in the US, provide services and products to US customers, or employ/contract with or have plans to employ/contract with US personnel, Brex now offers support and incentives to foreign-based companies interested in becoming incorporated in the US. The support comes via a partnership with Firstbase, with up to 45,000 reward points (worth up to $450).

According to Brex, when assessing your company for eligibility, “Brex analyzes a company’s business model, source of funds, spending patterns, and other areas that may pose a higher risk to Brex and our partners.” Companies that qualify will likely be offered a card with daily repayment required via a Brex Cash account. Those making daily payments will have a credit limit calculated at 100% of their Brex Cash account balance, with connected bank accounts not entering the consideration.

After establishing a history with Brex, larger companies may be able to pay less frequently or pay with an external bank account. Those wishing to pay less frequently will be given a credit limit between 5%-20% of their aggregate bank balance + 30% of their Brex Cash balance, with autopay required from any linked bank account.

Cash Requirements

Brex requires its customers to have a certain amount of cash on hand before they’re eligible for approval.

You’ll also need to maintain a minimum balance at all times to continue using Brex. Generally, that means a balance of at least $50,000, although Brex may adjust this amount based on its determination of your creditworthiness and risk. If your company’s net balance falls below your limit, your credit limit may be revoked. Keep in mind that most new customers will be required to pay off their Brex card balance daily.

Some companies may apply for monthly payments instead of daily, but to qualify, they’ll need to demonstrate significantly higher cash reserves:

• Self-funded startups must have a minimum of $1 million in a US bank when they apply.
• Startups with professional investors can get by with a $50,000 minimum balance in a US bank.
• eCommerce companies are required to have $1 million if they are self-funded.

No Personal Credit Score Check

Two final notes on eligibility for the Brex credit card: Brex does not check your personal credit score when you apply for an account, and it won’t require that you sign a personal guarantee.

Brex Card Features

Brex is a full financial stack that aims to deliver an all-in-one solution for startups and growing businesses. Brex’s feature set is built around its corporate card and cash management account products. These tools enable businesses to track where and how employees are spending money more easily.

Even better, most features are built-in and won’t cost a cent to use.

Let’s take a deeper look at some additional features Brex bundles in:

• Instant Access To Revenue: Connect your Brex account to your eCommerce sales platform or POS and access instant payouts within minutes of getting approved for your Brex account. Supported platforms include Amazon, PayPal, Shopify, Square, and Stripe. Without connecting your Brex account, you could see payment ranges with these platforms from two to 14 days.
• Flexible Credit Limit: Your company’s credit limit for the Brex Card is flexible and linked to the amount of money in your Brex Cash account plus external accounts. That means your credit limit will fluctuate automatically as your business grows. It also depends on your repayment rate: Pay daily, and your Brex card limit can be up to 100% of your balance.
• Receipt Matching: Upload receipts to the Brex mobile app, and they will be automatically matched to your company’s statement. Receipts can also be submitted via text and email.
• Fraud Coverage & Alerts: Brex keeps your account secure with 24/7 fraud monitoring.
• Travel Perks: Brex users have access to Brex Travel, a portal powered by TravelBank that uses real-time data to predict travel costs and build travel budgets. The app features curated travel bookings with special corporate rates, a rewards program that incentivizes cost-effective options, and 24/7 support. Brex also offers a travel concierge service 24/7.
• Software Integrations: Make reconciliation easier and avoid accounting errors when you integrate accounting tools with your Brex account. Available integrations include QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Expensify, Concur, Gusto, Sage Intacct, SAP Concur, Oracle Netsuite, and Rippling.
• Pay Invoices Automatically: Forward bills and invoices to Brex via email to pay vendors without additional data entry.
• Spend Controls: Set custom expense policies and manage employee spending with approvals for out-of-policy spending and limit increases, and alerts for unusual spending, duplicate subscriptions, or price increases.

Finally, you can add money to your Brex account via a number of different methods. Let’s take a look at the typical processing times for each method:

Other Services Offered By Brex

Brex is a corporate card, but that’s not all. Beyond the Brex credit card, you can use Brex as a complete financial services provider.

• Brex Cash: Brex is one of the only cards to offer a cash storage option. Brex Cash allows you to store money via Brex’s partner banks (eligible for FDIC insurance up to $250,000) and/or a government money market mutual fund. The money market mutual fund currently offers a 1.99% yield, but rates are based on current rates and subject to change.
• Expense Tracking: Brex includes expense-management tools that help you sync expenses across systems and automate reconciliations. You’ll be able to issue cards, search transactions, approve expenses, follow up on them, and more, all from your Brex dashboard. You can set custom limits and give users approval to spend for specific items. Custom spend reports help reveal cost-saving opportunities. Employees can email or text receipts and have them matched automatically to the right expenses.
• Empower: Brex customers can choose to use Empower, a separate linked software platform with enhanced spend management tools. You can access Empower through your Brex dashboard, where Empower lets you use a Your Wallet tab and a Budgets tab. Empower includes a Lyft receipt integration and customizable accounting fields that connect to your existing ERP integration. You can also use Universal CSV. If you manage employees overseas, Empower allows you to see both reimbursements and expenses in the original currency purchases were made. Autogenerated receipts attach to transactions and allow you to track spending and ensure compliance. You can access multiple budgets and toggle them, so transactions instantly show as spent from the appropriate budget.
• Financial Modeling: Brex offers cardholders access to a platform called Pry that enables accurate forecasting, scenario planning, and KPI dashboards.

Brex Customer Service

After studying various review websites for user experiences, we can say that Brex generally has well-received customer service. In fact, several users suggest that Brex’s customer service is better than that of traditional banks. Users appreciate Brex for having customer service that is quick, friendly, and helpful. A typical comment about Brex customer service is, “They listen to what you say” and even make adjustments to products and features.

We’ve also noticed that Brex is responsive across its social media channels, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Brex Reviews & Customer Complaints

Brex scores highly across user reviews. Brex receives an average of 4.5/5 stars (based on 666 reviews) on G2 and 4.5/5 stars (based on 110 reviews) on Capterra.

In an earlier Brex review, we noted a bit of a misstep when looking at the Brex mobile app. However, users’ ratings have shown improvement, with an average of 4.2/5 stars (based on 639 reviews) on the Google Play Store and 4.9/5 stars (based on 1,700+ reviews) on the Apple App Store.

Brex has consistently been considered one of the top fintech startups. Brex credit card reviews reflect that Brex is a solid company that offers a quality product.

Negative Brex Credit Card Reviews

• Uploading receipts can be a hassle
• Expense tracking is limited
• Trouble receiving promotional bonus points
• Credit limits being tied to a bank balance can restrict startups

Positive Brex Credit Card Reviews

• Great rewards
• Smooth and easy onboarding
• Intuitive user interface
• Virtual cards
• Instant revenue from connected eCommerce sales

Is Brex Safe?

Brex’s corporate card operates on the Mastercard network. That means customers will have access to the World Elite Mastercard slate of benefits, including zero liability and ID theft protection to help minimize fraud.

Brex also protects users with fraud monitoring and protection; secure browsing, authorization, and authentication; data privacy; and full PCI-DSS certifications where available. These factors mean that Brex should be generally safe to work with.

How Does Brex Compare To Other Cards?

Brex is a solid corporate card with above-average rewards, free cards for employees, valuable partner perks, and strong tools for expense tracking and spending controls. But is Brex the best corporate card for your business? To help you answer that question, let’s see how Brex stacks up against a couple of other strong contenders, Ramp and Divvy.

Divvy VS Brex

Divvy and Brex both offer above-average rewards rates, unlimited free employee cards, spend management tools, and valuable partner perks, with no annual fees or other common fees to worry about. While Brex is truly fee-free, however, Divvy does have two fees listed: a late payment fee and foreign transaction fees. And whereas Brex is available only to corporations, Divvy works with sole proprietors in addition to corporations.

Brex brings a couple of extra assets to the table with its cash account, Brex Cash, and access to instant revenue once you connect your eCommerce or POS platform to your Brex account. Divvy does not have eCommerce and POS integrations at this time. However, Divvy does not require users to pay off their full balance each day. Read more about these two corporate cards, including which one we think is a better option for most businesses, in our Divvy vs. Brex comparison post.

Ramp VS Divvy

Another top-rated card, Ramp, is often mentioned as a good Brex or Divvy alternative. Let’s take a look at how Ramp compares specifically to Divvy. For starters, Divvy offers higher rewards rates, with up to 7x points on purchases compared to a straight 1.5% cash back from Ramp. The rewards scales could rebalance somewhat in light of the fact that Ramp offers up to $300K in available discounts and deals for cardholders, compared to just $25K possible from Divvy. Neither Ramp nor Divvy charges setup or monthly fees or fees for employee cards, but while Ramp charges no late fees or foreign transaction fees, you’ll find both those with Divvy.

The Ramp card is available to corporations and LLCs, whereas Divvy is only available to corporations and LLCs. Ramp expects applicants to have at least $75K in the bank, while Divvy expects cash holding to total only $20K. Ramp’s simple cash back scheme may suit companies that don’t want to bother categorizing their spending to maximize rewards, although Divvy’s potential 7x earnings may win other business owners over.

Keep in mind that Divvy expects applicants to have good or very good personal credit. Ramp does not subject applicants to a personal credit check. You can read more about how these two corporate cards stack up in our complete Ramp vs. Divvy comparison.

Final Verdict: Is Brex Worth It?

Brex is well on its way to becoming a one-stop shop for business financial solutions. Between its cash management account and its corporate card, Brex is suitable for businesses that need to store cash using the attached Brex Cash account and facilitate employee spending. Plus, the company offers solid expense tracking and receipt matching tools, ultimately helping businesses understand where and how money is spent.

Whether Brex is worth it to your business will depend on individual factors. That said, Brex will be a solid choice for qualifying businesses needing a corporate card, a cash management account, or both.

Brex Credit Card FAQs

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

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After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Brex for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Brex	Apply Now

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Brex for yourself.

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