How to Get a Business Credit Card With an EIN Only

Best EIN-only business credit cards

Corporate cards are among the only options available to business owners searching for an EIN-only business credit card. You won't find big sign-up bonuses or sky-high rewards rates with most corporate cards. Instead, these cards boast high credit limits and have robust expense management platforms built in. But you need substantial revenue and cash on hand to qualify.

The U.S. Bank Commercial Rewards Card is best for companies with $10 to $150 million in revenue and a large team of employees. It shines as a travel rewards option: Earn 1% cash back quarterly on purchases* or earn points redeemable for gift cards (*Applies only when the $150,000 quarterly spending threshold has been met).

Brex is geared toward professionally funded startups and requires a bank balance of $50,000 to qualify ($1 million if you're self-funded). This card has a modest welcome bonus (when you sign up through NerdWallet) and the opportunity for big rewards: Earn points on every dollar spent with industry-leading multipliers: 7x on rideshare, 4x on Brex Travel, 3x on restaurants, 2x on software subscriptions and 1x on all other transactions. Earn 3x Brex Rewards points on all eligible Apple purchases through the link or your Brex dashboard.

While the BILL Divvy Corporate Card does a soft credit pull to help determine approval, it does not require a personal guarantee (similar to other corporate cards). The BILL Divvy Corporate Card offers a wide range of credit limits — anywhere from $500 to $5 million — and a lower minimum bank account balance (at least $20,000), making it a potentially more accessible option for smaller companies than EIN-only options like Brex and Ramp. It's also the rare corporate card available to sole proprietors.

Like other options on this list, the Rippling Corporate Card is part of a larger spend management platform (Rippling Spend). However, Rippling's backbone is HR software instead of business banking. If your business would benefit from such products (for payroll, hiring, etc.), this card is worth considering. But getting the Rippling Corporate Card on its own makes less sense. That's largely because it requires you to subscribe to Rippling Spend — which costs at least $11 per employee per month. Less expensive EIN-only business cards are available.

If gas is one of your business's primary expenses, a fleet card may be a fit. These cards are best for businesses that manage at least five vehicles and care more about tracking driver expenses than earning lucrative rewards.

You can apply for AtoB's secured fuel card with just your EIN, for instance. And while Coast's application asks for a Social Security number, the card doesn't require a personal guarantee and applying for it won’t affect your personal credit.

Other EIN-only business credit cards

Several business technology companies also offer EIN-only business cards, though most require you to use their services. These products include:

• The iO Card and Rho Corporate Credit Card are part of larger business banking ecosystems from Mercury and Rho, respectively. Both offer flat-rate cash back and don't require a personal guarantee. The iO Card requires you to have a Mercury business bank account, whereas Rho lets you use the card independent of their other accounts.

• The Expensify Card from expense management platform Expensify isn’t really a credit card — you can only spend the money you have in your business account — but it allows your employees to make business purchases and offers cash back.

• The Stripe Corporate Card and the Square Credit Card from payments providers Stripe and Square, respectively, offer invite-only corporate cards with credit limits based on your company’s payment processing history. Square says applying doesn’t impact your personal credit; Stripe doesn’t require a personal guarantee.

• Shopify has a no-credit-check business card for eligible sellers on its e-commerce platform. Applicants need to provide a Social Security number to verify their identity, but Shopify says your personal credit won’t be impacted.

• Fair Figure and Revenued are EIN-only cards. But they aren't "credit" cards. Instead, spending limits are largely tied to receivables these companies purchase from you — at a discount. That makes these options similar to invoice factoring.

Alternatives to EIN-only business cards

Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Mastercard® Secured credit card

Best for poor personal credit score and low business revenue

A secured business card is a good option for business owners who want to build business credit but don't have the personal credit score or the business revenue to qualify for other options. You can’t apply with only your EIN; secured business credit cards require a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). But approval is not based on your personal credit score.

Bank of America’s Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured credit card earns unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. You need to put down a security deposit (minimum of $1,000), which is equal to your credit limit. Bank of America will periodically review your secured card and may upgrade you to an unsecured card if and when you qualify. This card has no annual fee.

» MORE: Best business cards for fair or average credit

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Best for building EIN credit history

If you have good personal credit and simply want a card to build your EIN credit history, this no-annual-fee business credit card is a great option. You'll earn 1.5% on all purchases and there's an excellent welcome offer: Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

You'll need your Social Security number to apply, and Chase will do a hard credit pull — which may temporarily impact your personal credit score. But Chase does not otherwise report activity on business cards to consumer credit bureaus (unless you default on the card). Instead, activity on the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card appears on your business credit report and can help you build credit with your EIN.

Startup business loans with an EIN only

Best for larger capital needs

If your business is a startup — typically considered to be a business in operation for two years or less — you may consider looking for startup business loans you can get with only an EIN. These loans may use assets to offset the lack of time in business, or they may come from alternative lenders with more lenient qualification requirements.

Many of these lenders will consider poor personal credit, and can fund amounts up to $1.5 million, depending on the type of financing and your available collateral. These loans can also build your business credit to help you qualify for additional financing in the future.

Why do business credit cards require an SSN?

Most small-business cards require applicants to personally guarantee the debt on the card. In other words, you are still responsible for paying back any debt, even if your business goes under.

Card issuers use your personal credit score as a basis for approval and will use your SSN or ITIN to check your personal credit even if you also provide an EIN. Many small-business cards require good to excellent personal credit (typically FICO scores of at least 690).

» MORE: Can you open a business bank account with an EIN only?

Will an EIN-only card affect your personal credit?

Activity on most business credit cards won't affect your personal credit score unless your account is seriously delinquent. That's true of EIN-only cards as well. Instead, these cards typically report to commercial credit bureaus.

But EIN-only cards provide another layer of protection for your credit, since most do not require a personal guarantee. That means if your business fails and you default on your card, the issuer won't come after your personal assets for repayment.

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