Brex guide: map for startups

Perhaps your business is so new that you have not yet been able to develop a significant credit score. If so, how do you get a business credit card if your business is so new?

Until recently, the answer was basically no. You will have to charge expenses from your personal credit card and figure out the accounting on the back.

Brex Inc. tried to solve this problem, and now her Brex Card is considered one of the best credit cards for business. Issued by a startup company and aimed at other startups, the Brex Card may be the card that is best for your small business. Read on to find out more about all the benefits and offers of the card.

What is Brex?

One of the things that makes Brex different from other issuers is that it does not require a personal guarantee or personal credit check for approval. A credit line can be approved in minutes – the loan is issued based on the company’s cash flow or sales.

In fact, Brex issues two cards – one with daily payments and the other with monthly payments. Since the monthly card is the most comparable to other credit cards, we will mainly use it in this article.

At first glance, the Brex Card does not look much different from other cards. It works on the Mastercard network and provides rewards for your purchase. It’s also a payment card (not a credit card) because full payment is automatically made to the account you specified at the end of each month.

But behind the scenes, “we manage everything,” Marco Machrus, senior vice president of business development at Brex, said in an earlier interview. “We have our own credit policy. We create our own reports, process transactions directly and use our own risk management platform.”

Thanks to this, companies can apply online and within a few minutes not only get approval, but also receive a virtual card that can be used immediately. The company not only issues a solid rewards card, but also provides many business tools so that you can easily scale your business and manage transactions.

Brex map at a glance

Once approved, the Brex Card instantly issues you a virtual card that you can start spending right away. You can even issue an unlimited number of virtual cards to your company’s employees.

The card provides rewards for your purchases, including 7 points for a trip, 4 times for Brex Travel, 3 times for restaurants, 3 times for qualifying Apple purchases through the Brex Rewards Portal, 2 times for recurring software and 1 time for everything else.

As an applicant, you were required to connect your bank accounts to the company’s software, allowing Brex to see your cash flow and determine your credit limit based on your spending and cash balances. The card also comes with no annual fees or foreign transaction fees.

Receiving awards

Brex also tailors bonus categories to your industry, depending on the type of company you list in your app. The reward structure described above, with bonus categories for trips, travel, restaurants, recurring software and more, is geared towards technology companies.

If your company is in the life sciences industry, your reward structure is as follows: 7X points for tickets to life sciences conferences, 4X points for trips booked through Brex Travel, 3X points for qualifying Apple purchases through Brex rewards portal, 2X points for lab supplies and 1X points for everything else. While it may not seem appropriate at first to declare the industry of your business, it will definitely make a difference in the long run, especially if you work in the life sciences and find it difficult to maximize certain technical categories.

Use of awards

Issuers vary on when they post rewards, sometimes after a few weeks or at the end of the billing cycle. However, Brex openly says that they post transaction rewards usually within two days.

As for redemption options, there are quite a few: credit statement, cashback, gift cards, cryptocurrency, travel (through the Brex Travel portal) or transfer to airline miles. Some of the most famous international airlines such as Aeromexico, Air France KLM, Avianca, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Asia Miles and Qantas are among the partner airlines you can transfer points to.

Keep in mind, however, that the value of your points depends on how you use them, as with many other rewards programs. For the most part, each point is worth 1 cent per point, although this drops to 0.7 cents per point when redeemed for statement credit.

High credit limit

Perhaps one of the most attractive aspects of the Brex Card is its high credit limit. One of the big benefits of getting monthly Brex Card payments is that you can qualify for a company credit limit 10 to 20 times higher than a traditional card. However, your exact credit limit changes on a regular basis, depending on your cash flow.

You should also be aware that your company’s credit limit is independent of the user’s credit limit, which you can set individually as a business administrator. The company credit limit and user limit operate differently, but of course the total of all your user limits cannot exceed your company’s total limit.

Expense management software

Not only does the Brex Card provide great rewards, but it also offers many business tools to help you manage costs and even scale your business.

Brex provides built-in expense tracking software where you can upload your receipts (or send them by text or email) and the company will automatically match them to your report. The software easily reconciles your spending data and you can even identify areas for cost savings by running customizable reports.

To facilitate automatic reconciliation, Brex also integrates with external accounting and business tools such as QuickBooks, Slack, 1Password, Netsuite and Concur. In addition, Brex reports timely payments to credit agencies to help your company get a loan.

Partner privileges

While the card does not currently have a welcome bonus, it does offer some valuable credits through its partners. One is through Amazon Web Services, which provides a $5,000 loan to all new Brex customers. If you qualify for the AWS Activate program, you can even receive credits up to $100,000.

Other partners with deals include QuickBooks, which gives you 30% off your first 12 months, and UPS, which saves you up to 50% on every shipment.

Brex Card Maximization

To be eligible for the monthly Brex Card, your company must be incorporated in the United States as a corporation or other form of non-individual company. Your minimum balance to qualify depends on the type of business (e-commerce, small business, etc.), but for start-ups, it starts at $50,000 if you have professional investors.

As far as maximizing the card, here are a few tips so that you can best enjoy all the benefits of the Brex card:

• Be honest about your industry: While there is no reason to lie, being transparent about your industry, be it technology or life sciences, will only make it easier for you to get the maximum rewards in the bonus categories you spend money on.
• Take care of your regular expenses: Like a personal card, a business card only serves you well if you use it for the expenses you would normally make. Don’t spend money on another category just for the rewards – it’s rarely worth it.
• Take advantage of partner benefits: Whether you’re thinking about building a website for your business or using Slack as your corporate messaging app, you should take advantage of the discounts offered by Brex partners while you can.
• Be aware of high credit limitst: If a high credit limit has been approved for your business, don’t be afraid to use it. Especially in the early years of a business, it can feel like all you’re doing is buying supplies and subscriptions and trying to break even. That’s when a high credit limit really comes in handy. Just be careful to spend within your means, as always.

bottom line

The Brex Card is certainly unique and has many benefits to offer the right business owner. If you’re looking for a business card that doesn’t require a personal guarantee, has competitive fees, and can offer a great line of credit, this might be a great choice.