The Best Business Credit Cards For Bad Credit

The Ramp corporate card is unique in that it carries no fees whatsoever. No annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, no late fees, no employee card fees...you get the idea. You even get expense management software and employee spend controls for free.  Ramp doesn't require a personal guarantee or perform a credit check on applicants. To top it all off, you'll get 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

• Credit Required: None (other requirements apply)
• Rewards: 1.5% cash back on all purchases
• Annual Fee: $0
• APR: N/A (this is a charge card)

No fees whatsoever -- sounds amazing, right? Well, it can be if your business qualifies. To do so, your business must be a US-based corporation, LLC, or LP. Individuals, sole proprietors, and other types of unregistered businesses need not apply. Furthermore, you must have at least $75,000 in cash in a US bank account.

If you're running a startup with high growth potential but poor credit (or even no credit history whatsoever), the Brex card is a unique value proposition.

• Credit Required: None (other requirements apply)
• Rewards: Up to 8x points on rideshares, 5x on travel, 4x on restaurants, & 3x on software
• Annual Fee: $0
• APR: N/A (this is a charge card)

Brex doesn't even check your credit score when you apply -- factors such as your cash balance and your spending patterns are considered instead. What's more, the Brex Card is one of the very few business credit cards that require no personal guarantee -- you won’t be held personally liable for any business debt. Also, Brex is a charge card, so you can't carry a balance month-to-month.

The Brex card offers vastly higher points-earning rates than just about any other credit card available to borrowers with poor credit. You can earn as much as 8x points on rideshare/ taxi purchases. To earn these rewards, you'll need to make Brex your exclusive corporate card. Additionally, you can get additional cards for your employees for free.

The card's big catch is that many such new businesses won't meet Brex's high cash flow requirements and/or won't have enough cash in the bank ($50K in the bank is required for startups with investors, and $1 million is required if your business is self-funded) to be considered.

When it comes to unsecured business credit cards for bad credit, the Spark Classic from Capital One deserves a look. Marketed as a business card for people with "average" credit, it carries a high APR of 26.99% (variable), which is the card's main drawback.

• Credit Required: Fair (580+)
• Rewards: 1% cash back on all purchases
• Annual Fee: $0
• APR: 29.74% variable

On the plus side, you'll earn an unlimited 1% cash back on every purchase, which is good for an unsecured business credit card accessible to those with fair credit. The card also carries no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, and you can get additional employee cards (for which you can set customized spending limits) at no extra cost. Another benefit of the Spark Classic is that Capital One reports your card activity to several business credit bureaus so you can improve your business credit score, provided you make your payments on time.

Technically, the Revenued Business Card isn't a business credit card but a prepaid Visa spending card tied to your banking account. Revenued won't check your credit when you apply -- instead, you'll need 6+ months of business history, an average daily bank balance of $1K+, and you'll need to be making at least $15K in monthly deposits to your business bank account.

• Credit Required: None (other requirements apply)
• Rewards: 3% cash back on all purchases
• Annual Fee: 0%
• APR: No APR -- you'll pay a factor rate from 1.1 to 1.5 instead

The Revenued Business Card's universal 3% cash back rate is quite remarkable for any business credit card, much less one that doesn't care about your credit score. What's more, the card carries no annual fee, foreign transaction fee, or any other common fee to speak of. However, while you won't actually be paying interest, you'll be paying a factoring fee instead, as your credit line is tied to your future business revenue, somewhat resembling a merchant cash advance. Your factor rate may be rather high, but at least you’ll only incur factoring fees on the portion of your credit line that you use, not on your full credit limit.

The Credit One Bank Platinum Visa for Rebuilding Credit isn't a business credit card, but it can be used by entrepreneurs with iffy credit as a credit card option. The Credit One (not Capital One) Bank Platinum Visa carries an APR of 23.99% (variable) -- relatively average for a poor-credit card. Certain accounts will be given a monthly interest grace period of at least 24 days after the close of each billing cycle.

• Credit Required: Bad (300+)
• Rewards: 1% cash back on all purchases
• Annual Fee: $75
• APR: 28.24% variable

Interest will not be charged on purchases if your entire balance is paid by the due date each month. This won't apply if you aren't granted an interest grace period. Sadly, you'll also owe an annual fee of up to $99 ($75 your first year). The exact fee depends on your creditworthiness, so the primary audience of this article will likely be paying a fairly high annual fee.

The nicest benefit of the card is undoubtedly the 1% cash back you'll earn on gas, groceries, mobile phone plans, and cable, internet, and satellite TV services. However, there's also a $19 charge to add another authorized user (such as an employee) and a 3% foreign transaction fee. So while using the Credit One Bank Platinum Visa for Rebuilding Credit will see you earning cash back and can help you boost your credit score, it might not be the most friendly card for some users.

Discover it Secured is a secured consumer credit card that can be used for business. The minimum deposit is just $200, while the max reaches up to $2,500. You can expect a high-ish APR of 24.49% (variable), and the card carries a grace period of 25 days until interest on purchases starts to accrue. The card carries no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee.

• Credit Required: None
• Rewards: 2x cash back on gas & restaurant purchases
• Annual Fee: $0
• APR: 27.24% variable

For rewards, expect 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (up to $1,000 per quarter). This 2% rate is among the highest you can snag for poor-credit cards. All other purchases get 1% cash back. On top of those base rewards, Discover will match whatever you earn for your first year -- effectively giving you 4% back on gas station and restaurant purchases and 2% everywhere else.

The Capital One Platinum Secured card is a no-frills secured personal credit card for bad credit. With no rewards-earning and a high APR, it shouldn't be your first choice for a credit card for your business, but if you're unable to qualify for some of the others, it may be a useful instrument for you -- if you responsibly use this card, you can both rebuild your credit and get your deposit back with an upgrade to the unsecured Platinum card.

• Credit Required: Bad (300+)
• Rewards: None
• Annual Fee: $0
• APR: 27.74% variable

You'll need to make a deposit of $49, $99, or $200 to use this card. Luckily, once you're approved, you can choose the payment due date that works best for your schedule. But as this card's APR runs high, try not to carry a balance month-to-month.

It's a secured credit card with no rewards program, but when it comes to startup business credit cards for bad credit, the OpenSky Secured Visa has some key advantages.

• Credit Required: None
• Rewards: None
• Annual Fee: $35
• APR: 21.64% variable

First, the OpenSky Secured Visa's APR is lower than that of many competing credit cards in this space. Second, when applying for this card, you won't undergo a credit check at all, so you won't have to worry about your credit score taking a hit. The minimum deposit is $200, and the maximum is $3,000.

The downside: there's a $35 annual fee and a 3% foreign transaction fee.