Where to Get a Business Credit Card With EIN Only (Rare but Available)

Where to Get a Business Credit Card With EIN Only

An EIN is an employer identification number, also called a tax ID. It is a number assigned to a business and acts similarly to a Social Security number — meaning you can use an EIN to apply for a business credit card that can help build your business credit.

We contacted several major issuers of business credit cards, including Chase, Citizens, Citibank, PNC, SunTrust, and Wells Fargo. We found that most business credit cards require an EIN plus the Social Security number of the business owner. If you submit a business credit card application with only your EIN, most banks won’t process the application until it can conduct a credit check on the business owner using his or her Social Security number.

Several major retailers and airlines — like Costco and Southwest Airlines — also offer business credit cards. However, these cards are issued by the same banks listed above that require more than just your EIN.

The only options we found for EIN-only business credit cards are those offered by financial technology company Brex and corporate cards from select banks. We’ve listed the details here:

Brex

• Cards available: Brex offers corporate credit cards specific to the type of business you have. Available cards include the Brex Startup Card, Brex Life Sciences Card, and Brex Ecommerce Card.
• Requirements:
  • Brex Startup Card: Valid EIN, cannot be a sole proprietorship, must have a consistent bank balance of at least $50,000
  • Brex Life Science Card: Valid EIN, cannot be a sole proprietorship, must have a consistent bank balance of at least $50,000
  • Brex Ecommerce Card: Valid EIN, cannot be a sole proprietorship, must have at least one year of sales history, at least $100,000 in sales within the last 30 days, and at least $20,000 in gross cash balance
• Source: Brex customer service representative; Brex FAQs page
• Find out more

Corporate Cards

We contacted the following financial institutions and found that they require both an EIN and Social Security number for their small business credit cards. They do, however, offer corporate cards that only require an EIN.

Customer service representatives for each card issuer said the terms and requirements for these corporate credit cards can be discussed during the application process. You must, however, be a corporation to qualify for an EIN-only card and your business must have millions of dollars in annual revenue.

• American Express
• Bank of America
• Capital One
• Chase