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Amex Business Charge Card Questions

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webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Amex Business Charge Card Questions

Hi!

 

I was posting in the regular CC forum about my Chase card account, they recently closed the account... I mentioned in there that I had been running a lot of reimbursable expenses through there, such as travel and merchandise purchases for my job as an environmental professional working for a chemical producer.

 

Some of the members suggested  that I look into getting a Business CC for my reimbursable expenses, so that my monthly spend didn't appear to exceed my reported income...  

 

My 24 month spend on discover is about 17k...  until Feb 2012 this was my only CC account.    I opened an Amex Zync card in Feb 2012 and have run about 6300 through it to date., an Amazon.com Visa with Chase in Feb 2012, which I have run about 4k through, and a NFCU cash Rewards Visa in March 2012, which I have not used at all.   

 

The current balance on Discover is 1500/4200... the balance reported on my Credit report is about 3050  I purchased a Cruise for my honeymoon through shop discover in March which cost 3500, also purchased a nice fridge in Feb. I'm under a discover card promo rate of 2.9% until August 2012, but the cruise will be paid off next month.  

 

The Chase Visa card which was closed had a limit of 5k, it was a new account. I guess Chase didn't like me abusing their card too much... I have charged wedding expenses on there, and have paid the statement balance in full on the due date since opening the card.  

 

The NFCU visa with the 22k limit was offered AFTER I had submitted my financials to NFCU to review for an auto refinance.  

 

I'm just wondering what the Amex approval scores are for Business Charge Cards....   Does the balance of the business charge card report to my personal Credit Report.   Do I need a Taxpayer ID number for the business?  Its an LLC sole proprietorship and I pay taxes under my 1040A tax filing every yr...  My LLC is a property management company through which I run expenses and income for my rental property through.  My intent is to sell the property when the housing market rebounds.... I bought it in 2008 (a duplex)  to be used as a home / passive income source.  I have since purchased a single family home as my principle residence.   

 

My income is 121k per yr, which includes 24k of gross rental income, 4k of child support, and  93k of gross employment income.  My CC spending has been high in the last few months due to travel for work, buying the house and running new house stuff through cards, and getting married in May. I currently have 18k my checking account, so its not as though I"m spending more than I can repay....     Just wondering really what the criteria is for opening up an Amex Business Charge account

FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 1 of 11
10 REPLIES 10
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions

Business Amex probably not any harder then personal Charge Card (Green/Gold/Plat.) Plum little harder.

You can use SS# instead of EIN.

and unless you default Amex Business Accounts (Charge or Personal) DO NOT report to Personal Credit.

You will see the HP though.

Message 2 of 11
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions

Will I have to submit my tax returns during the application phase? During the application do I report business income only or do I submit my personal income?
Will I have to submit my LLC cert and articles of organization? Also, my business is jointly owned by me and my minor child, if I add her as an AU will this help later on with backdating? I don't want to add her on my zync just yet cause I don't want her to have an actual credit file just yet.
Thanks!
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 3 of 11
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions


@webhopper wrote:
Will I have to submit my tax returns during the application phase? During the application do I report business income only or do I submit my personal income?
Will I have to submit my LLC cert and articles of organization? Also, my business is jointly owned by me and my minor child, if I add her as an AU will this help later on with backdating? I don't want to add her on my zync just yet cause I don't want her to have an actual credit file just yet.
Thanks!

Very unlikely to have to submit tax returns... This would only happen if Amex FR your accounts and really don't get me started on the speculations for that!!!

I have not looked at an application lately but it might actually ask you both incomes otherwise I would use both if that is what is on your tax return because "IF" Amex did FR they would go by those taxes.

No to LLC etc. since you already stated you are using your Soc. for both PG and for Businness structure for re-payment

Adding daughter will help her later if backdating for another Amex "BUSINESS" account for this company, won't count towards backdating on Personal.

But why does it matter if she has a credit profile now or not? She still can't go off and apply until she is 18 but she would gain the backdating then of both personal and business if you added her now to both.

Message 4 of 11
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions


Very unlikely to have to submit tax returns... This would only happen if Amex FR your accounts and really don't get me started on the speculations for that!!!

I have not looked at an application lately but it might actually ask you both incomes otherwise I would use both if that is what is on your tax return because "IF" Amex did FR they would go by those taxes.

No to LLC etc. since you already stated you are using your Soc. for both PG and for Businness structure for re-payment

Adding daughter will help her later if backdating for another Amex "BUSINESS" account for this company, won't count towards backdating on Personal.

But why does it matter if she has a credit profile now or not? She still can't go off and apply until she is 18 but she would gain the backdating then of both personal and business if you added her now to both.


Thanks for your perspective and experience on business amex cards ... I can see the value of adding her on an Amex Business as well as an Amex Personal, especially if I decide to expand.  I guess I need to take a look at the business card application and see what it asks for specifically. Gross income is easy on my business, because its a fixed monthly amount... Net income can vary from yr to yr due to expenses cropping up.  I may wait to apply for Amex Business, so that they have a better Amex internal score to go by. I'm a fairly new Amex customer, I opened Zync in Feb, and I'm loving the flexibility of using a charge card to manage cash flow in my personal finances.  I can see the value in using it to manage business cash flow as well.

FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 5 of 11
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions

Just when time is right make sure you do a little googling around for most up to date offer for applying for Bussiness Gold... Way back when I had first started my business and added the Gold for business charge I got some 50k offer I think it was and then it also continued for life of card bonuses when I hit 25,50,100k annual spending I believe.  Im not sure I hit any of them the first year but the 2nd year I think I hit them all... nice little bonus to all of a sudden see 50k points or 75k points show up in bonus category on statement!!!

Message 6 of 11
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions


@Creditaddict wrote:

Just when time is right make sure you do a little googling around for most up to date offer for applying for Bussiness Gold... Way back when I had first started my business and added the Gold for business charge I got some 50k offer I think it was and then it also continued for life of card bonuses when I hit 25,50,100k annual spending I believe.  Im not sure I hit any of them the first year but the 2nd year I think I hit them all... nice little bonus to all of a sudden see 50k points or 75k points show up in bonus category on statement!!!


I don't think I'll ever see 50k annual spend on the card....  unless I completely quick my day job and do nothing but work for myself...  Would be nice, but right now i'm 30 and I'm not free enough financially to take that risk.  I would love to go into business for myself doing consulting, but I think I need more yrs on the job in the trenches because there is still a lot for me to learn in my field, and also in dealing with people and managing other people in business to get the results you want.  My day job is as an environmental scientist, and I deal primarily with environmental, DOT, FRA, and OSHA compliance at a chemical manufacturing facility.  Lots to learn Smiley Wink

FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 7 of 11
Open123
Super Contributor

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions

The requirements are similar to personal cards, since AmEx requires a personal guarantee.

 

With Amex, your business card does not report on your personal credit report, unless you default.  Then, I'm sure it'll pop up as a derogatory entry.  You can have either a business tax ID or use your personal one.

 

Depending on the business, they may do an idenity review.  As with all their cards, the business charge cards are easier to qualify for than their credit cards.

Message 8 of 11
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions

Ok I'm sold, I'm going to app for an amex business card, possibly gold or green. I'm going to wait til wedding is over and util is low. Right now my util is high on my report because I don't play the game where I pay before statement cuts. I typically just pay when I get paid. Right now my discover is reporting a 3k balance cause I just got a cruise for our upcoming honeymoon. And the chase will report a 2400 balance cause I just got a patio set of furniture and my wedding gown using that card. And my amex reported a 3k balance due to work trips that I used the card for. Literally I added it up and I've paid the cc companies 6k this month! Once those balances update ill apply. I want chase and discover to report a before I apply. NFCU is not reporting yet.
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 9 of 11
Open123
Super Contributor

Re: Amex Business Charge Card Questions

Since you spend a pretty good amount, I'd recommend waiting for a bonus offer before applying for the card.  Currently, there are no bonuses.  I've seen the Business Gold offer as much as 75k - 100k bonuses with first year fee waived.

 

If you don't need it immediately, I'd wait until a good offer comes along.

 

If you need one immediately, I'd app for this one:  http://www262.americanexpress.com/business-credit-cards/business-card-details/american-express-blue-...

 

Then, wait for the charge card sign up bonuses before apping.

Message 10 of 11
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