tassojunior

I know that credit pulls for a business card are supposed to be completely separate from personal credit pulls. I haven't had a chance to check my reports for pulls so I wonder if anyone who has can confirm this for us. It would seem like in a sole proprietorship using SS# the pull would have to come from the personal report.

I have an actual business license in DC but it's a sole proprietorship. My SS# is my fed id. I've gotten a couple business cards with it. Recently I was shut out of the Citi AA MC business card even though I had not had it- just personal cards. With AmEx I've had no trouble.

Before I apply for business cards with Chase and Barclays I'd like to know for sure I'm not getting multiple hard pulls on my personal credit report. Like many here, conserving personal inquiries is important to me.

ddallas

I have not found that to be the case.

Most business cards applications pull one of your personal reports. So yes, you usually will get a hard inquiry on one of your reports. Every business card I have ever applied for (sole proprietorship) has resulted in a hard pull on a personal report.

They usually do not report the credit line on your personal reports (Citi AA, AMEX, most others) but some do (Discover, State Farm).

trach500

Hey everyone, I am looking for some advice on a new business credit card recommendation for my business. I currently have the SPG Business Card with tons of SPG Points as well as both the citi/visa biz card from AA with tons of AA miles accrued. I am looking for the next best card, whether it be hotel or airline. I also like the Amex Gold Business card but there does not seem to be any good offers out there right now for signup bonuses. I travel often out of NYC & Miami.

I have close to 1m SPG points so I know I can transfer them to majority of airlines for a 25% bonus. Any suggestions would be great? I'd like to be flexible with this card as SPG is very flexible on how you can use your points.

I would also prefer to use a card where my spend accrues to status.

mia

The intersection of the set "business cards" with the set "spend accrues to status" is very small. The only cards which earn status are the official co-brand affinity cards, and not every program offers a business version.

For example, it's possible to earn Hilton Diamond status by spending $40,000 on a Hilton Surpass card, but there is no business version.

There are two Delta cards:

http://www201.americanexpress.com/bu...c_viewallcards

http://www201.americanexpress.com/bu...c_viewallcards

I assume you are already aware that once 2 million AAdvantage miles have passed through your account you will hold Platinum status, and that Platinum is much more valuable than Gold. AA is the only airline to count "all" miles toward lifetime status.

bluto

I have started looking into the same question. I have the same set of cards (Amex Business Rewards Gold, CitiBusiness AA Visa, and had the SPG Amex). I don't see many alternatives so far, especially business cards that offer bonuses. I have made a note of the Continental World Mastercard for Business, though. It offers only 25k miles for a signup bonus but Continental is being merged into United, so this is probably our last chance to grab it. I am looking around for a better bonus but have not seen anything else yet.

Oh, and it is a mastercard, which is a bit easier to use than the Amex Gold and SPG Amex.

trach500

I am not too interested in Hilton points. What do you think about this card?

Obviously, they are trying to compete with the Amex Plat Biz Card.

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...8AE39B7B1E3438

Full Presidents Club® membership*
First and second checked bags free*
1,000 Flexible Elite Qualification Miles (Flex EQMs) every time you spend $5,000 on your Card*
Premier Access® Travel Services*
Hyatt Gold Passport® Platinum membership level status*
Guest privileges with The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection*
No Foreign Transaction Fees+

Can somebody explain how the EQM's work? What are the benefits? I can easily spend around 150k+ on this card every year.

Also, what about the Hyatt perks? Can you convert Continental onepass miles into Hyatt Reward stays? This something I would definitely be interested in,

Windward Side of Life

Perhaps the Chase Sapphire Preferred (personal card) w/ its current 50,000 bonus and Chase Ink or Ink Bold card (business cards) with their 10,000 bonus would work well for you. The Ultimate Rewards points earned from those cards transfer 1:1 into Hyatt as well as Marriott; IHG; BA and, for the time being, CO.

mia

The best place to research a Chase Continental or United co-branded card would be in the United Airlines section of Flyertalk. Try these threads to start:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/conti...-benefits.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-visa-eqm.html

trach500

Silver Elite 25,000 Elite qualification miles or 30 points
Gold Elite 50,000 Elite qualification miles or 60 points
Platinum Elite 75,000 Elite qualification miles or 90 points

Looks like I found the answer.

shanshan

I've read a lot and haven't been able to find the explicit answer to this question. I am sure it is an easy answer, but have yet to find the explicit answer. I am a freelancer and am going to open a sole proprietorship, business checking account etc. I will be using my SSN# for my relevant applications. Thanks in advance for any clarity.
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My basic question is:

1) Do issuers view business credit card applications for a sole proprietorship the same as personal cards?
2) And thus, for purpose of the my personal card churn, should I stagger business credit card applications within own personal applications? For
3) Will my "business credit profile" ever be created if I go this route?

For example for inquiries: Business cards I realize often result in a "soft pull" of credit, and not a "hard pull". However, when an issuer is viewing a business card application, will they look at the number of personal inquiries a person has? E.G., if I have 50 inquiries in past 3 months, but only for personal cards, will I automatically be dinged for a business card? I imagine this to be the case... [But on the flip side.. if the business inquiries indeed will not show up on my credit report... should I just max my business inquiries ad nauseum since there is no fall-out from doing so? (aside from not getting the card and reapplying with the given issuer).]

mia

Business cards are based on your personal credit. There will be a hard pull, it's no different than a personal application. The reason for the pull (personal card vs business card) is invisible.

Where business cards differ from personal is in the reporting after the account is open. Typically, business cards will not appear on your credit report, unless you default. This has the affect of keeping the credit lines and balances out of your credit utilization ratio calculation.

shanshan

That makes a lot of sense. I did all of that reading but still screwed it up. Thanks for clarifying -- exactly what I needed to read (and what makes sense to me).

Thread can be closed

jayentee

What is the best way to take advantage of getting both a business card and a personal card when doing the CC mile promos. Particularly, if you don't have an actual business.

clacko

do a search in this forum for business card.....there has been a lot of posts on your topic, including not having a business....good luck

parioli

Personal cards get more protection now per new rules.