During the first 6 months (or so) of the pandemic, Chase stopped approving most business card applications. Fortunately, it appears that Chase is once again approving them! This includes those applying as a sole proprietor. See this Doctor of Credit post (and the comments) for more details.
This is exciting because Chase consistently has great signup bonuses available for their business cards. In fact, as I write this, Chase holds 6 of the 10 top spots on our Best Business Card Offers page.
You have to be under 5/24 to sign up for a Chase business card, but if you’re approved the new account won’t add to your 5/24 status.
| Chase's 5/24 Rule: With most Chase credit cards, Chase will not approve your application if you have opened 5 or more cards with any bank in the past 24 months. To determine your 5/24 status, see: 3 Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely. |
Chase also happens to offer one of the best business cards for long term use: Chase Ink Business Cash. This card has no annual fee, yet it earns 5X rewards at office supply stores (which often sell gift cards) and for phone service, internet, and cable TV. Best of all, those rewards are in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can move those points to a premium Ultimate Rewards card (Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred) in order to get more value for your points. See: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide.
| Applying for Business Credit Cards Yes, you have a business: In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale, or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort. When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website. Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so. |
See Also: How to Sign Up for Chase Ink Cards
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[…] had been reports earlier this year that Chase had tightened up on approvals for business cards, but that appears to have been loosened in the last few months as there have been numerous data points of people being approved for new […]
We tried for CIC again and got declined for “business too new”, just like in June. We’ve had the business a year now. Got the CIP in December (3rd month of the business) and CIU in March. Score over 800. At this point, might just PC the CIP to CIC after annual fee posts in December.
Bummer. Did you try calling recon?
[…] Chase has resumed approving business card applications. That’s great news! Chase business cards consistently rank near the top of our Best of the Best Credit Card Offers list. Plus, I’ve often argued that the fee-free Chase Ink Business Cash is one of the few cards that all point collectors should have. It’s awesome that it’s now possible to get it again! […]
“If you sell items at a yard sale, or on eBay, for example, then you have a business.”
I really don’t know how this would cut it with Chase if they asked for proof of business. Tax Number ID, estimated income, some kind of established business paperwork.
It probably wouldn’t. But Chase usually doesn’t ask for proof of business.
If you are denied initially and call for reconsideration they will most likely ask for proof…
I’ve called recon and never been asked for that with Chase. I’ve long claimed my Amazon and eBay sales on my tax return, but I’ve never been asked for documentation. If you have a sole proprietorship (the type of thing that eBay / Amazon sales could be), you can use your SSN as your Tax ID number.
Nick, I hope your experience is more of the norm/what actually happens. When I applied for the CIB a few years ago, as a Sole Prop, using my own name, I was initially denied. I called the recon line and had to provide all kinds of info over the phone. I guess this may not technically be considered having to show “proof” / documentation, but without having that business now, it’s one of the reasons I’ve held back from applying for more Chase business cards.
If you use your own name as the business name then proof of business can be any utility bill with your name on it
My wife was declined for a chase biz card 6 weeks ago. She has a couple other chase cards (saphire and biz ink), has legit biz income of around $130k, 800+ credit score and still got declined. She called and asked for a manual review. They said it was because she already had 2 chase cards and there wasn’t much activity on them. Hmmmm…maybe it makes more sense now after reading this article.
The reason for decline used to be to few accounts or investment products with Chase. Basically not having a Chase business checking account
[…] UPDATE 9/21/20: It appears that it is safe again to apply for business cards. See this post: Chase resumes approving business card applications […]
If you’re one of those who were declined in the past few months for a Chase business card, is there a certain minimum amount of time you should wait before reapplying now that the restrictions appear to have eased up? Thanks.
I don’t think you need to wait, no. In fact, if you applied recently, I’d recommend calling recon even if you did so before.