Can I get a business credit card if I personally have bad credit?
If your business is already established and you have checking accounts under the business name, a tax file number and a good financial history, a credit card company may choose to issue a credit card for your business. However, if the account is tied to your personal information, your credit rating may be used to determine your eligibility.
If you are working from your credit history, and have a good credit rating, you could be issued a card, but you may be charged an annual fee. This means you will be paying higher interest rates. If your credit score is low, you may want to choose a secured credit card or a prepaid card.
Several different companies offer secured credit cards and you choose your limit based on the minimums and maximums determined by the credit card company. Some have a minimum of $200 dollars and some have a maximum of $25,000 dollars. You pay an amount equivalent to the limit you want to set and the money goes into a savings account to secure the credit card. Some of these cards even offer reward credits. The secured credit card companies report the information to your credit file and, if you make the payments on time and keep the card in good standing and make any other monthly payments you have on time, they can help you to clean up your credit report and raise your credit score.
Or you may want to consider getting a prepaid debit card. The prepaid debit cards also have minimum and maximum limits that are determined by the card company. You determine how much you want to have on the card, you pay the card company that amount, and they load the card for you. Of course, you cannot exceed your limit, but you can reload the card at anytime. They even allow you to load these cards by direct deposit of your paycheck or government checks. Since you do not make monthly payments, they do not report your reloading information to your credit file, but several of the cards do offer to assist in building your credit.
These cards have the same emblems as the regular credit cards and you can use them anywhere you would use regular credit cards. Whichever card you choose to use, there is nothing on the card itself to distinguish it from regular credit cards; the only difference is in the terms.
Used correctly, any credit card that requires some sort of monthly payment will not only give you the credibility you need, but they can also help you to build your credit history for the future.
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