Qualifying for a business credit card with an Employer Identification Number (EIN) only can help you separate your personal and business affairs. In many cases, that’s beneficial from a tax, credit, and liability standpoint.

Most credit card issuers make it difficult to do, but it’s not impossible. Here’s what you should know about qualifying for business credit cards with your EIN only, including what the obstacles are and how to overcome them.

Can You Get a Business Credit With Just an EIN?

You can get business credit with just an EIN, but it’s difficult for most companies. Also, the available financing options are limited. Lenders generally want small business owners to apply for credit accounts with a Social Security Number (SSN), not an EIN.

That’s primarily because the distinction between a small business and its owner is often negligible. In such cases, a creditor has to review the owner’s personal credit when they consider lending to the business, and they need an SSN to do it.

For example, say you’re a freelance photographer operating as a sole proprietor, with no other employees.

If you signed up for an EIN and tried to apply for a business credit card with it, any existing personal debts would unquestionably impact your ability to make your future business credit card payments.

In addition, your personal credit history would be the only indicator of your future behavior with the account since you wouldn’t have had time to build a business credit score yet. As a result, most lenders would make you give them your SSN to apply.

For you to access credit without providing your SSN, your business needs to be a more well-established, independent entity than a typical small business. You’ll usually have to meet minimum qualifications in areas like the following:

• Business credit: If your business has its own credit score that lenders can use to verify its creditworthiness, that makes it a lot easier to avoid leaning on your personal credit score and providing your SSN. Lenders can check your business credit with just an EIN.
• Time in business: If you’ve only been in business for a short time, your personal credit history is likely much more extensive than your business credit. Even if you have a business credit score, many lenders will still want to use your personal credit to gauge your creditworthiness in these cases.
• Annual revenue or spending: Most accounts that let you qualify with an EIN only are for large businesses. As a result, lenders may require that you have millions of dollars in projected annual revenues or expenses to qualify.

There may be other eligibility requirements as well, such as signing up for a minimum number of employee cards or registering your business as a corporation. Ultimately, it depends on the lender and the credit account, so shop around.

What Types of Business Credit Cards Can You Get With Only an EIN?

Most business credit card applications require that you provide your SSN. If you don’t want to hand it over, you’re probably going to have a tough time qualifying for an account. At the very least, you’ll have fewer choices.

That said, there are several types of business credit cards you can get with only an EIN, and they’re worth considering under the right circumstances. Here are some of the best options.

Corporate Business Card

Corporate business cards are a type of credit account that only large companies can access. In many cases, the business owners sign up for a corporate credit card account and set up their officers and employees as authorized users.

That makes it easier for employees to get reimbursed for business expenses, streamline the accounting process, and let individuals and the company accrue rewards.

Generally, the business has sole liability for the account, not the business owners or the employees. Because there’s no need for anyone to provide a personal guarantee, you usually don’t have to give your SSN when you apply.

However, as corporate cards are for larger businesses, they have stricter qualification requirements than small business cards. In addition to being generally creditworthy, your business should also meet the following criteria at least to be eligible:

• Have $4 million in annual revenue
• Operate as a C-Corporation, S-Corporation, or Limited Liability Company (LLC)
• Project $250,000 in annual spending for the card
• Have 15 employees or owners as authorized users

For example, when you contact Capital One about their corporate card program through their website, you have to select your annual business revenue from a dropdown list. The choices start at $10 million per year.

Note that to complete an application for a corporate business card, a business officer usually has to meet with a program representative of the credit card company in person.

When shopping around for a program, pay close attention to the annual fee for each option to make sure it’s worth it for your business.

Corporate Gas Card

Corporate gas cards are similar to corporate business cards in many ways. You can qualify with just an EIN, and they’re generally only available to larger businesses that meet stricter requirements than those of the average small business credit card.

However, while they may be tougher to qualify for than the average small business card, they’re not usually as difficult to get as a corporate business card.

For example, you can qualify for the Shell Small Business Card without using your SSN if your business is at least a year old with $1 million in annual revenue.

There’s a significant limitation on corporate gas cards, though. You can generally only use them to finance eligible purchases from gas stations, hence the name.

As a result, these are usually only helpful to companies whose employees have to do a considerable amount of driving in the course of business, such as a limousine service, a trucking company, or a consulting group that commutes to client sites.

Corporate Store Credit Cards

Like corporate gas cards, corporate store credit cards are essentially corporate business cards with limited use. In this case, they’re generally only usable at the specific store or vendor that issues the card.

Besides the fact that they’re accessible with just an EIN, the primary advantage to corporate store cards is that they offer highly competitive rewards at the issuing vendors.

Though they’re limited to qualifying purchases at one store, you’ll likely get a higher percentage of cashback rewards on your spending with a store card than you would with most other business cards.

For example, the Staples More Account Credit Card lets businesses get 5% back on all their purchases. As a welcome bonus, you’ll also get a $50 statement credit upon the account opening after reaching $150 of combined purchases.

If your business consistently purchases supplies through a vendor that offers a corporate store card, it could be the perfect opportunity for you to get an EIN-only credit card.

Benefits of Business Credit With Just an EIN

If you can qualify for a business credit account with just an EIN, you can separate your personal and business affairs, which can provide significant benefits.

First, it greatly improves your chances of avoiding personal liability for your business debt. That means if your business goes under or fails to pay for whatever reason, the lenders can’t come after you for the money.

That’s a huge advantage, and it drastically reduces the financial risk to you as a business owner. The reality of business ownership is that many fail, and it’s a good idea to take steps to protect yourself against that possibility.

Second, you don’t have to worry about any business or personal credit issues affecting the other. That helps you avoid putting all your eggs in one basket.

For example, if your business defaults on a debt that you took out with your SSN, your personal credit would likely suffer for it. Likewise, if you ever missed a payment on your personal debt, it could affect your business’s ability to get financing.

Taking out your business credit with an EIN only would let you avoid both scenarios.

Disadvantages of Business Credit With Just an EIN

Qualifying for business credit with just an EIN has a lot of attractive benefits, but it’s not always the right move, even if your business is eligible. There’s at least one downside to consider.

Namely, your financing options are significantly limited. You’ll miss out on accounts that require an SSN, like small business credit cards, SBA loans, and business lines of credit, all of which could enhance your business.

Not only do your available credit options diminish, but you’ll have a much harder time qualifying for the remaining ones. Most EIN-only credit cards have higher qualification requirements than typical small business cards.

Unless your business is bringing in millions of dollars in revenue each year, it’s going to be difficult for you to qualify for an account.

If you’re trying to get a credit card with just an EIN because you already have bad credit and are worried it will affect your chances, it might be a good idea to focus on increasing your personal score instead of trying to avoid the issue.

It would take some time, and you’d need to sign a personal guarantee for your future credit accounts, but you’ll have many more borrowing options that way.

One of the best tools for raising your credit score is a credit builder loan like Credit Strong’s. It’s an installment loan secured by your principal amount, so there’s no credit check when you apply.

We report your payment history to all three major consumer credit bureaus, and our customers see an average increase in their FICO Score 8 of 25 points within three months. After nine months, the average increase goes up to nearly 40 points.

Even better, those who make their payments on time for a year see an average increase of nearly 70 points! Our credit builder loans work, and they can work for you too. Give one a try today!

Why Do Business Credit Cards Usually Want Your SSN?

Creditors usually want you to provide your SSN when you apply for a business credit card for two primary reasons.

First, they typically want to check your personal credit history. For new businesses, the owner’s personal credit is the more accurate representation of the business’s creditworthiness than its business credit score, if it has one at all.

For example, if your business has only been operating for a few years, the chances are high that you’ve been in the workforce and carried a personal credit card or two for much longer. In that case, your personal history would be a more informative story.

That said, it’s worth noting that even if your business is many years old with a solid business credit score, some lenders may want to check your personal credit anyway, especially if you’re the only owner or closely involved in the business operations.

The second reason lenders usually want you to apply using your SSN is because they want you to guarantee your business’s debts personally.

Once again, that means that if your business can’t pay back what it owes, you’re liable for picking up the tab yourself. The creditor can come after all your assets, not just those the business owns. That could include your residence, vehicle, or cash reserves.

These are the reasons why getting a business credit account with your EIN only is so hard. It exposes the lender to several risks that they would rather avoid.

You’ll have to prove to a lender that your business is well established enough to mitigate those risks if you want to avoid applying with your SSN.

CreditStrong for Business is the only 0% interest business credit builder in the nation

Start Building