Brex Corporate Card Overview
The Brex Corporate Card for startups offers an attractive rewards structure and generous benefits for cardholders who make it through the selective application process. While you can get a lot of value from this card, keep in mind that it’s not as widely available as a small business credit card. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½
*Card Ranking Based on the opinions of TPG editors and not influenced by card issuers.
It’s easy to find a small business credit card that fits your needs, whether you’re looking to earn rewards to fund business travel, save on monthly bills, or a combination of both. But tech startups and larger businesses that spend far more than the rewards limits on their small business cards can struggle to find a business card that meets their needs while still offering rewards and other perks at the scale they need.
While you don’t have to be a registered business to apply for and use a small business credit card, that’s not the case with the business cards offered by Brex. These cards are only available to U.S. corporations and other non-individual liability entities, such as LLCs, LLPs, C-corps, and S-corps. Additionally, you must have at least $50,000 in your business bank account to qualify for the card. Unfortunately, that means freelancerSole proprietors and side hustlers are not eligible.
Let’s take a closer look at this card to determine if it’s right for you and your business.
The information about the Brex Corporate Card for Startups has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Pros and Cons of Brex Corporate Card
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Brex Corporate Card Welcome Offer
Earn 10,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first three months.
While we’ve seen higher rewards offered with this card before, this isn’t a bad welcome offer considering the low spending requirement. If your business qualifies for the card, you could potentially hit this reward requirement in your sleep.
There are two things to keep in mind before signing up for this card. First, the Brex Business Card is a debit card, and payments are automatically deducted from your business account each month. Second, Brex requires access to a business bank account with a minimum cash balance of $50,000. Some may find this intrusive, but it’s how Brex justifies offering its customers a larger spending limit.
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Related: Do I need to go through a business to get a corporate credit card?
Benefits of the Brex Corporate Card
The Brex business card doesn’t offer many of the benefits you’ll see on traditional small business cards or luxury travel cards from issuers like Amex credit card And Chase. This card doesn’t offer hundreds of dollars in travel credits, automatic elite status at any hotel brand, or access to exclusive lounges. However, the Brex does offer an impressive list of discounts on top services.
For example, you’ll get up to $5,000 in credit for one year on Amazon Web Services. You’ll also get up to 50% off UPS shipping and 25% off 12 months of Slack. Other partners include Freshworks, QuickBooks, Gusto, Vouch, Experian, and many more. Brex values its partner deals at over $180,000. While it’s unlikely that any one business—startup or not—will take advantage of every partner deal, corporations can save a lot of money through these deals.
As one Mastercard World Elite CardThe card also comes with perks like access to Mastercard Travel Services and Mastercard Airport Concierge. The Brex business card also has business features, including expense management tools, accounting integration, and the ability to collect receipts. Employee cards are available at no additional cost.
The Brex business card can also be combined with additional cards that have different controls, such as cards for single purchases or employee cards with embedded policies that allow them to pay for only selected items. The Brex business card automatically collects receipts by item, which can help automate employee compliance. It also includes a built-in expense management software suite.
You must be a sole proprietorship to get this card because the Brex card does not require a personal guarantee. Brex acts as the guarantor for the card and they use your employer identification number (EIN) instead of your personal SSN. For this reason, your Brex card will not affect your personal credit score (although it will affect your business credit score). This also means you will have a higher spending limit than a traditional small business card.
Related: How to get a business credit card
Earn Points on the Brex Corporate Card
The Brex Corporate Card offers a rewards structure that benefits many companies.
With this card you will earn:
- 7 points per dollar on ride-hailing, including Uber, Lyft, taxis, scooters and more
- 4 points per dollar on travel booked through the Brex travel portal
- 3 points per dollar at restaurants
- 2 points per dollar on recurring software subscriptions
- 1 point per dollar for everything else
Get 7 points per dollar in any category outside of co-branded categories hotel credit card It’s rare, but remember that of all these categories, a large company is likely to spend the least on ride-hailing throughout the year. This is a big profit, but make sure this is a category where you’re actually spending a lot of money before getting excited about the 7-point multiplier.
The rest of the categories are generous, too. Earning 4 points per dollar on travel is great, especially since it’s not as strict in definition as American Express Business Platinum Card® is 5 points per dollar for prepaid airfare and hotels. Just keep in mind that you’re booking through an issuer’s portal, so you may not earn eligible points or miles for some bookings, especially hotel bookings.
My favorite spending category on this card is 2 points per dollar for software. You don’t often see this specific category on small business cards, and Brex has a broad definition for recurring software subscriptions. Almost any subscription qualifies, from Slack to Salesforce to Grammarly and everything in between. You can earn a nice amount of points annually just for your business subscriptions.
What really sets Brex apart from other small business cards is that there’s no cap on rewards. Traditional small business cards cap your rewards per year, typically at $150,000. Businesses spending $500,000 or more per year would have to juggle five different credit cards (all with different rewards structures and annual fees) to earn rewards throughout the year. With Brex, you’ll earn rewards points whether you spend $100,000 a year or $1 million.
Unfortunately, there is one condition. To qualify for this reward structure, it must be to exclude, to expel Corporate Card. What does that mean, exactly? Well, Brex doesn’t clearly define exclusivity, and considering that you’re stuck with a flat 1 point per dollar on all purchases if that requirement isn’t met, the lack of clarity in the terms and conditions is concerning. While you might be able to get away with just spending the majority of your money on the card to qualify for the bonus rewards, full exclusivity may be required. If you’re not ready to let go of your other corporate and/or business cards, the Brex Corporate card may not be for you.
Related: How to Get a Business Credit Card with Just an EIN
Redeem points on the Brex Corporate Card
Brex offers a variety of ways to redeem your points. You can redeem your points for a variety of options, including gift cards, travel, cryptocurrency, cash back, mental health benefits, offsite teams, executive coaching, billboards, donations, airline miles, and gifting and transferring points.
We like that Brex has a variety of ways to redeem your points, including some unique ones like billboards and offsite groups. If your business spends a lot of money on advertising, being able to redeem your points for billboard ads might be something you consider strongly.
Brex points are worth 1 cent when redeemed for travel through their portal and 0.6 cents per point when redeemed for cash. Fortunately, you can get more value for your points when using a transfer partner.
Related: Cash Back vs. Travel Rewards: How to Choose a Credit Card
Transfer points on Brex Corporate Card
Brex has seven airline forwarding partners, which significantly increases the value of the program.
The seven transfer partners are:
Brex Points are transferred at a 1:1 ratio and can also be transferred to any employee account.
Transferable currency has become more valuable as more airlines move to dynamic award pricing. The addition of transfer partners to the Brex program is a big improvement.
Luckily, all three major airline alliances are represented by this list: Star Alliance, Oneworld and Sky Group. This greatly expands your redemption options. For example, you can transfer Brex points to Avianca LifeMiles at a 1:1 ratio, then redeem those miles for a Lufthansa first-class flight from the US to Europe at a reasonable price—all without costly airline surcharges.
Related: Credit Card Transfer Partners: Guide to Transferring Points and Miles to Airlines and Hotels
What cards can compete with the Brex Corporate Card?
The Brex Corporate card is unlike many other corporate cards. It is designed for a specific group of businesses and cannot be compared to many other cards. Its only direct competitors are other corporate cards.
The information about the American Express Corporate Platinum Card® has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
For more options, check out our full list of the best products business card.
Related: How to Choose the Right Credit Card for Your Business Expenses
Is the Brex Corporate Card Worth Buying?
If your business has enough cash to qualify and can use the generous spending factors, this card may be a good fit, especially since it has no annual fee. However, if you can’t meet the strict requirements, your business may be better suited to other business card offerings.
Last line
If you meet the eligibility requirements and have a budget that exceeds the spending and rewards limits of typical business cards, the Brex Corporate card could be exactly what you need. The program continues to improve as Brex adds more airline partnerships. If most of your spending falls within the card’s rewards category, you can earn a lot of points to use toward travel and other rewards.
Before applying, I recommend Contact Brex Sales Team to ask any clarifying questions and discuss your specific business needs.
Related: How Business Credit Cards Can Help Improve Your Personal Credit Score
For Amex Blue Business Cash rates and fees, click This.
