Can you get a business credit card without a personal guarantee?

It is nearly impossible to get a business credit card with no personal guarantee. The vast majority of creditors are going to require a personal guarantee. With that said, there are a number of things you can do to help reduce the impact of a business credit card on your personal credit.

The short answer here is no, they do not -- at least not "regular" business credit cards.

The long answer here is that there are some very specialized options out there that do not require a personal guarantee, but they are largely focused on large or medium businesses, so small business owners would be excluded from getting them. With enough time and effort, you may be able to work your way up to qualifying for such a specialized card - but this article will focus on normal business credit cards.

With that said, while you may not find a business credit card with no personal guarantee, you can likely find an issuer who does not report to the consumer credit bureaus – given that your application and account meet a few requirements.

A personal guarantee is a way for creditors to protect themselves if your business is unable to pay its debts.

If a line of credit has a personal guarantee, it means that you will personally be responsible for paying the credit bill if your business cannot.

If the business defaults on a loan or fails to pay its balance, and you signed a personal guarantee for it, you will be held financially responsible for that debt. It will then appear on your personal credit report just like other delinquent accounts.

Beyond harming your personal credit score if your business fails to make payments, a business card could also affect your credit history in different ways.

From the beginning of creating the account, the lender will put a hard inquiry on your credit report. This itself will count against you slightly. If you pull a few different hard inquiries while shopping around for a loan, you may notice your credit score drop a few points.

Some business credit card issuers also report activity to account bureaus. If you are responsible for the account, it will appear on your history. This means issues such as late payments and keeping a high account balance may affect your credit report and reduce your credit score.

With that said, every lender is slightly different about how and when they report to credit bureaus.

There are a few things to consider when choosing a good business credit card. Here we will discuss two card options which work for many small businesses.

These cards may still report to major consumer bureaus, especially if you are late or delinquent on payment. However, regular card activity may not always be reported to the bureaus.

With that said, a credit issuer’s policy on reporting could change any time, and you should always call the card issuer to ask questions about reporting and how the card may affect your personal credit before applying.

This American Express card has an incredible rewards program. It gives you two points per dollar spent on your first $50,000 in purchases each year, making it great for businesses just starting up.

The card has no annual fee, and also offers a great 0% introductory APR, which is uncommon among business card lenders. Keep in mind that the APR will change after the introductory period, and talk to a representative of the company for more details.

An Ink Business Cash credit card offers you a 500 dollar cash back bonus after you spent $3,000 on purchases in your first three months. This gives a nice incentive for using the card during your start-up period, when your expenses are likely higher as well.

The card also has no annual fee. Additionally, you will earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each year. After this, the cash back goes down to 1%. The Ink Business Cash card also offers a 0% introductory APR, which again will go up after the period is over.

This would be a more specialized card, which is best if you spend a lot on dining, gas, and office supplies. Depending on where your business will be spending most, this card may not be the best fit.

Though it is very unlikely you will not get a business card with no personal guarantee, there are some promising offers on the market. Always talk to a representative to explore the cards and compare before applying. With that said, there should be no worry in getting many of the business credit cards designed for small businesses.