Business credit cards, what you got? Amex is pissing me off.
- Thread starter heavyt
- Start date
Not to derail the thread but I've incorporated my biz in the middle of '09 and have still not been able to get approved for any credit. Personal credit is spotless and I own multiple credit cards with limits of 10k in my name, but when I apply for my business I am always rejected with "No Credit History." even though I put myself down as a guarantor in the applications. Got a credit report and everything is spotless with an 800 credit score from the 3 agencies. No credit history on my business = no credit given, meaning it's a cycle of bullshit. Suggestions welcome.
I had an amex card last year for 2 days... they gave it to me and i paid off the balance in full each day like they told me to... then the card stopped working and i found out that for 'undisclosed reasons' my account was cancelled. yay amex
Try getting a Dunn & Bradstreet file for your company. When you do business with other companies, or if they extend credit to you, ask them to report to D&B.
^^ this.
Also, Amex is way over rated.
They have pulled off and lowered several good features of their Gold and Black cards over the years.
About the only thing left they even have worth mentioning I think is the upgrade on flights, everything else is not all that great. Is their points still 2% or did they finally lower that too? not sure if Plum has changed though.
Personally, I have found out that many other credit cards can somewhat match Amex for a lot of benefits. If your looking for a charge card where you still HAVE to train the card to even use that so called "unlimited spending" ( yeah right ) then you don't have a choice really.
If your looking for something to get upgrades, good points conversions, and other perks, then look at Chase Sapphire and a few cards from BOA.
I personally use a debit card tied to my biz bank account. I see no real need in borrowing money for 30 days and gaining a few interest points here and there and then spending time sending the credit card company the payment before the due date. When I first started out in affiliate I left a large amount of money in my interest bearing savings/checking account and it was pathetic the amount of interest it made in a month. it wasn't worth borrowing on credit to keep that money there for net 30 to gain that and then pay it back with affiliate earnings.
I'd rather it come out of my account and not worry about having to remember the due date later on. I actually get the same protection on purchases, point conversions, and less work of sending in a payment every month to a 3rd party as a charge or credit card. The only thing I might not get is upgrades on flights, but I have another card I use for that entirely anyways. If you have a good standing account, you can also get POS daily limits raised to almost 6 figures a day on the debit card as well.
Anyways, look at Chase Sapphire though for a credit card to run through biz stuff unless you just want the Ink one. If you want a high limit debit though, Chase and Citibank is where you should look. Also some financial services ( think mutual funds, retirement account ) will give you a bank account with them with high limit cards as well.
Blah
Amex ftw. I got my Plum in '08, grandfather clause is letting me keep my 2%, SPG points rock, and I just got a dedicated Rep who tripled my line of credit with 2 phone calls.
I started with a $2k line of credit on my Plum with 0 credit history, now close to 7 figures.
I guess YMMV with Obama castrating the financial services industry, but pay on time every time and you'll get the Amex love.
Amex ftw. I got my Plum in '08, grandfather clause is letting me keep my 2%, SPG points rock, and I just got a dedicated Rep who tripled my line of credit with 2 phone calls.
I started with a $2k line of credit on my Plum with 0 credit history, now close to 7 figures.
I guess YMMV with Obama castrating the financial services industry, but pay on time every time and you'll get the Amex love.
So they did lower it then. Good for you and others that got grandfathered in.
I just see Amex lowering its "benefits" all the time or restricting them, which is about the only reason I would even want a card for them ( the benefits ). You can get high credit limits with just about anyone if you have the credit, the history, and the funds of course.
I just don't see a valid a reason to be with Amex so much, they have taken away or restricted several benefits to want to be with just them. As it stands, I get the same points conversion, upgrades on flights, spending limits, and personal service/concierge service, and protection on purchases on other cards.
I also didn't have to train my card, pay for the membership to have it, or get benefits lowered/taken away on it. But to each their own.
How about setting up a loan company and signing yourself up as the first client. Give yourself a "50k loan" and report yourself as making monthly payments over 2-3 years.
I want props and + rep if this works though.
this. amex has been fucking awesome on every chargeback i made and their customer service is VERY responsive. Might be in luck though because the international card center is located in the UK
I live in the States but am not from here originally and haven't opened a company here, but I did a lot of research, and I am in the process of incorporating one..
My first concern was to build a Credit History. I like that D&B idea. New to me.
Another idea that I had was to take out a Secured loan from the Bank.
Open a CD with the same Bank. And use it as a security to Take out the loan.
The cost is minimal as you get some interest on the CD as well.
And repay for 6 months or till you get a good credit.
This is what I did for my personal credit when I first came to the States, besides a BOA secured Card. Secured Loan is a great way to build credit and that is what I am going to do anyway.
^^ sounds like your tieing up more money then you need to with the CD route.
People I know at the bank would tell people to open a passbook loan. You put in 1k, 2k or whatever you want into a savings account and then draw a loan out on that money. Set up automatic payments to that loan from your savings account 7 days before the due date and spread the payments out over 6 months.
Rinse and repeat with higher amounts until you get enough credit to not have to secure it yourself anymore.
People I know at the bank would tell people to open a passbook loan. You put in 1k, 2k or whatever you want into a savings account and then draw a loan out on that money. Set up automatic payments to that loan from your savings account 7 days before the due date and spread the payments out over 6 months.
Rinse and repeat with higher amounts until you get enough credit to not have to secure it yourself anymore.
Just to also add to this...
I know I guy from college that would take out a 1k from the bank and then pay the loan off with his credit card over a 6 month span, so each month he was paying $167 from his MC to the loan. At the same time, he was paying $167 to his MC for that too, so the MC would be paid off and no debt carried over month to month.
Im not sure what his available credit was compared to his actual debt for doing all this, but he said he was under 20%. So in 1 shot he was double dipping and building his credit up on 2 loans at once. He ended up getting above 800 credit score from all that.
Depending on your tax bracket, cash back is a horrible option if your on the higher end bracket.
I generally use my points for other things then the cash back because of the taxes involved and with Chase biz it should be 4 points for every $1 you spend with internet purchases ( like advertising and hosting/domains, etc ). Those points can then be redeemed for other things you might want, like travel or gifts.