Ramp Card: No Personal Guarantee, But No Guaranteed Rewards
Built-in expense and employee spend management are the main draws for this corporate credit card.
Overview
The bottom line:
The Ramp Card is a fit for incorporated businesses that have strong (and growing) cash flow and value no personal guarantee over other potential perks and benefits.
Credit card details
Annual fee
$0
Regular APR
N/A
Intro APR
N/A
Rewards rate
1%-1.5%
Reward rate varies by customer and is determined by Ramp.
Cashback
Foreign transaction fee
0%
Intro offer
$500
Earn a one-time $500 Ramp card upon approval. Limit one per new customer. No minimum spend required.
Pros & Cons
Pros
No annual fee or foreign transaction fees
No personal guarantee or credit check
Direct integrations with tools and card-level spending controls
Rewards do not expire
Card-level spending controls
Cons
Not available to sole proprietors
Rewards rate varies and is determined per customer
More details from Ramp
- Get a $500 Ramp card upon approval. Limit one per new customer. No minimum spend required.
- Eliminate expense reports with automated receipt capture via SMS, mobile app, and integrations with Gmail, Lyft, and more.
- Control wasteful spending before it happens with built-in vendor and category restrictions.
- Complete visibility into corporate spending to help guide strategic business decisions.
- Seamless accounting and ERP integrations including QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, and more.
- Speed up monthly close with automated coding and reconciliation.
- Up to 30x higher credit limits than traditional business credit cards.
- Up to $350k partner rewards (AWS, UPS, Amazon Business, and more).
- No personal credit check or personal guarantee required.
- Up to 1.5% cashback on all card spend.
- Get approved in less than 48 hours.
- No annual fee or foreign transaction fees.
- Issue unlimited virtual cards and physical cards for each employee.
- Ramp is a corporate charge card powered by Visa. Businesses are required to pay the monthly balance in full by each statement period.
- Must have at least $25,000 in cash in any U.S. business bank account to qualify.
- Must have most of your operations and corporate spend in the US (although Ramp does support international transactions and will waive all related transaction fees).
- Ramp is only available to corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships. Individuals, sole proprietorships and unregistered businesses are not eligible.
Ramp is a financial technology company that offers business owners all-in-one spend management services. The Ramp Card is a corporate card
The Ramp Card itself is a business charge card
As a corporate card, the Ramp Card is only available to incorporated businesses (corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships). Your company will also need to be located in and do most of its business within the U.S., as well as have strong revenue and at least $25,000 in a business bank account
Compared to the best business credit cards
Recent changes to the card's rewards structure might give business owners pause, though. In May 2024, Ramp shifted from a simple, transparent 1.5% back on all purchases to a more opaque policy. While you can still earn cash back on qualified purchases (1%-1.5%), the reward rate now varies by customer and is determined by Ramp.
Key features
Card type: Small business
Annual fee: $0.
Sign-up bonus: Earn a one-time $500 Ramp card upon approval. Limit one per new customer. No minimum spend required.
Rewards: 1%-1.5%. (Reward rate varies by customer and is determined by Ramp.)
APR: N/A.
Foreign transaction fee: None.
Other benefits:
- Automatic receipt matching and expense categorization help streamline accounting functions.
- Spending controls and automatic approval flows allow you to dictate when, where and how company cards are used.
- Expense management and forecasting tools help identify cost-savings opportunities.
- Access to discounted pricing with partner vendors and free contract negotiation.
Ramp business card requirements
To apply for a Ramp Card, you need to provide the following:
- A business email address on a company domain.
- Login credentials to link your business bank account.
- Employer identification number, or EIN, and business formation documents (articles of incorporation, etc.).
- Personal address and Social Security number (last four digits). Business owners without an SSN can use a foreign passport and proof of address.
- Estimated monthly spend on all business credit cards.
Once approved, business owners get a virtual card and can start using it immediately. Businesses that apply for a physical card will receive one in seven to 10 business days.
Ramp account holders can order additional cards (physical and virtual) through the Ramp dashboard and set spending controls and alerts. You can also assign roles for admins, bookkeepers, employees and card managers, and set up integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, Slack and other business applications.
Customer support (via phone or email) is also handled through your Ramp dashboard. The dashboard is available via a web browser or mobile app. (Note: Ramp does not currently have an Android app.)
💬 From our Nerds: Recent changes to Ramp eligibility
"It can be tough for smaller businesses to qualify for corporate cards, but I’ve noticed Ramp making at least one hurdle a lot easier to clear over the past year: You can now get a Ramp Card with a business bank account balance of $25,000 — down from the $75,000 required as recently as March 2024..
"Of course, $25,000 isn’t exactly loose change, nor is it the lowest minimum we’ve seen. (BILL Divvy’s sits at $20,000
— Ryan Lane, assigning editor covering small business
Why you might want the Ramp Card
Available without a personal guarantee, credit check
Ramp is one of the few business cards you can get with only an EIN personal guarantee
Streamline spend and expense management
If your employees often spend on behalf of the business and submit reimbursements, Ramp's software could save everyone time. Ramp users can create unlimited virtual and physical employee cards, set highly specific controls on spending and set up workflows so that certain spending automatically comes out of certain budgets. It can even prompt users to upload their receipt by sending an automatic text message every time they use their card.
Ramp vs. Brex
Ramp and Brex are two of the leading corporate credit cards on the market. Both are charge cards, and neither requires a personal guarantee or credit check. There are a few key differences between the Brex Card
| Ramp Card | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rewards | Reward rate varies by customer and is determined by Ramp. Rewards can be redeemed for statement credits, airline or hotel loyalty points, or gift cards. | Earn 1 point per $1, or up to 7x points when you use the Brex card exclusively. Multiple ways to redeem, including travel, gift cards and statement credit. Rewards values vary by redemption type. |
| Sign-up bonus | Earn a one-time $500 Ramp card upon approval. Limit one per new customer. No minimum spend required. | Get 10,000 points when you spend $3,000 on a Brex Card within your first 3 months. |
| Eligibility | Minimum bank balance of $25,000. You must connect a business bank account to your Ramp card. | With professional investors: Minimum bank balance of $50,000. You must connect a business account to your Brex card. Self-funded: Minimum balance of $1 million. Businesses that don't meet these requirements may qualify for Brex Card with daily payments. |
| Integrations | Yes. | Yes. |
| Spending controls | Yes. | Yes. |
Why you might want a different card
Unable to carry a revolving balance
Ramp is a charge card, so your balance must be paid in full each month. To ensure this, companies connect a business checking account
If you want the high-limit spending power of a charge card — but also a little wiggle for certain big-ticket purchases — the Ink Business Premier® Credit Card business credit card with a 0% APR intro period
» MORE: Best credit cards for startups
Sole proprietors and unincorporated businesses don’t qualify
The Ramp Card is available only to registered, incorporated businesses: corporations, LLCs and limited partnerships. Individuals, sole proprietors and unregistered businesses cannot apply, making Ramp inaccessible to the vast majority of small-business owners in the United States.
Should you get the Ramp Card?
Ramp is worth a look if your business has strong financials, will take advantage of its suite of services and you can’t (or don’t want to) get a business credit card on the merits of your personal credit history
Business owners with strong personal credit can access more perks with some traditional business credit cards — and may even want to consider a different corporate option like the Brex Card, which offers greater opportunities to earn and redeem points, if you opt to use it exclusively.