Brex Card Review: 2024 Edition

If you're a business owner, you already know that finding the right credit card can be challenging. That's why we will take a comprehensive look at one of the newer business credit cards on the market.

With its no APR and generous rewards program, Brex could be the perfect card for your business.

Brex Card Overview

Most start-up founders or other emerging businesses can appreciate that the Brex card, issued on Mastercard’s network, doesn’t have high demands from its applicants.

Brex has a streamlined application process that doesn’t require a personal guarantee, making it one of the best business credit cards for startups. 

It also comes with several great perks such as cash-back rewards, no foreign transaction fees, and no annual fee.

Cardholders have to complete their repayments daily or monthly since Brex is a charge card, but the card offers perks and rewards that can be of great help for savings. This means that you can tailor discounts towards your monthly expenses - a feature that can be very helpful for startups who are still working on getting their financial footing.

What Is Brex Cash?

Brex Cash is a management account for your money. It’s offered by Brex Treasury, a broker-dealer registered at FINRA, and works quite similarly to how a bank account would for a small business. 

You have the full functionality of depositing checks, sending and receiving payments, making wire transfers, and managing expenditures for established users within the company. 

Keep in mind that cash deposits and ATM withdrawals aren’t available.

How To Apply for a Brex Card

The basic Brex credit card requirements are as expected. You will need to have a business incorporated in the US, a valid EIN (Employer Identification Number), your services and products will need to be aimed at US customers, and you’ll have to employ US personnel.

Before approving your account, Brex will also analyze your business model, funding, and spending patterns. You will be offered a card with daily payments if you get approved. 

The credit card requirements for monthly payments and additional benefits are more demanding. These differ for eCommerce companies, startups, and small businesses. However, they all require having at least $1 million in a connected checking account for your business at the time of application. 

Applying for the Brex card doesn’t affect your credit score, regardless of whether the request is approved or rejected. 

Founder Liability 

The credit card is a great option, especially since it doesn’t require a personal guarantee from company founders in specific industries if the company fails. This applies to companies working in life sciences, tech, and eCommerce companies. 

Brex won’t use your Social Security number to do a hard pull on your credit file. The company also doesn’t use traditional underwriting methods. Instead, it focuses on funding and the company’s income to determine eligibility. 

No Fees Attached

Brex cards have many potential benefits for small-business owners, but one of the main advantages is having no fees and additional costs. This means there’s no annual fee and no interest charged on the card. Instead, Brex makes money via small fees from merchants through its partnership with the Mastercard network. This provides considerable savings value for cardholders.

Brex Credit Card Limit

Brex's credit limit solely depends on your company's cash balance and transactions. If your business has a limited operating history, revenue, or profitability, then Brex may not be able to offer you a high credit limit. 

However, you can expect Brex to try and provide the highest credit limit possible to its clients since the company can always see your cash balance and transactions. Because of this, the credit limits fluctuate more than limits on other credit cards as they adapt to the unique and ever-changing financial characteristics of each business.

Integration With Other Applications

The convenience of this card is also in the integrations it has with business solution apps. With accounting software such as Quickbooks, you can save time with automated ledger mapping. 

If your organization uses Slack, you can integrate the Brex App to remind employees to attach receipts or other missing information automatically. Furthermore, you can earn even more points by linking payroll software like Gusto or Rippling. 

Why Should You Apply for Brex Credit Card

Here are some of the reasons why it might be beneficial to use the company’s credit card: 

Rewards

Your organization earns one point for each dollar spent, redeemable for $0.01. Spending on certain services earns you more points. For example, rideshare services like Uber and Lyft can earn you eight times more points per dollar. Depending on your industry, you can choose reward points that are more suitable for companies that work in tech or life sciences. 

Your business can also redeem points for cash-back, cryptocurrencies, gift cards, and travel miles. The points you earn don’t expire and are unlimited, unlike with some other credit card providers. 

To redeem points for cryptocurrencies, you need to have a minimum of 1,000. You can complete the process through your dashboard, assign the funds to an existing Ether or Bitcoin wallet you are using, or click on the “Get Wallet” option to create one with Coinbase. 

Rewards are lower by one point if you use a monthly repayment model, but you are still eligible for more than $150,000 in partner perk rewards. 

Zero Fees

If your current business card solution has expensive transaction fees, you will find it convenient to use the companyt's services as zero costs are transferred to your business. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use Brex as a startup card. 

Fast Payments for eCommerce Businesses

It’s worth considering Brex if your business is based on eCommerce and sales through platforms such as Amazon, Shopify, and Square. It’s also great if you use payment processors such as PayPal and Stripe. You can get instant access to funds from these platforms by paying fees ranging from 1% to 1.5%. Furthermore, you can offset these fees with your accumulated bonus points. 

FDIC-Insured

Even though Brex isn’t a bank, this card is effectively a cash management account. You will still benefit from FDIC insurance. If you open an account at a Brex partner bank, you will be eligible for FDIC insurance of $250,000 per bank account, up to  $1,750,000 in total.  

Spend Management Software Integrations

Brex integrates with popular accounting software like QuickBooks Online, Expensify, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Xero, Pilot, and Concur. 

Disadvantages of Brex Credit Card

While the numerous benefits we’ve discussed are absolutely worth considering, you need to also take into account the disadvantages the card has. 

Fluctuating Credit Limit

The fluctuating credit limit the largest issue with the service. If a company depletes the majority of its funds, its credit limit will also drop until Brex registers that there’s more cash in its bank account. The daily card limit is even more restrictive. 

Since the card also acts a bit like a debit card, you can only spend up to the total balance on your account. Therefore, if you want to make a larger payment than you currently have funds available, you’ll have to load up the account with the required funds. 

Auto Debiting (Daily/Monthly)

Since there’s no APR, the balance you owe is due at the end of each day, or month, depending on your plan. The benefit here is that you won’t owe any interest. However, the lack of flexibility will force you to plan expenses within the limits of what your Brex card is capable of. 

High Requirements for Monthly Repayments

Companies with professional investors have lower requirements to access the card with monthly repayments, needing only $50,000 on the company’s account when applying.

If you are a self-funded business, the requirements are much higher, requiring you to have $1 million in your bank account of a US-based financial institution. The daily version of the card is okay for building business credit, but it isn’t as flexible.

Reward Structure Issues

The various discounts, rewards, and perks offered by Brex’s partnerships with other companies can potentially save you money and get you enough value to consider this cash card. However, depending on the nature of your business and personal spending needs, you may not get much use out of the rewards offered or a chance to earn many rewards points.

Brex Customer Satisfaction and Customer Support 

Brex is a verified company on Trustpilot. Its rating of 2.7 stars shows mixed sentiments from customers in recent times, with multiple people complaining about account closures, while others still praise the overall quality of service.

New clients can always request a demo from the team while existing customers have a comprehensive help center covering all topics. Furthermore, customer representatives are easy to reach through live chat, email, or directly by phone. 

Conclusion

This unique card is an interesting and handy option for businesses that need to build up credit. The non-intrusive application process that won’t tank your credit score is excellent for emerging businesses, but do bear in mind that there are some quirks, such as a fluctuating credit limit, based on the company’s current financial situation.