My partner and I are having a difficult time obtaining a business credit card. We’ve been turned down for 3 general cards, either visa or mastercards. Should we instead be applying for specific store cards, like Home Depot or Office Max, rather than just general biz credit cards? Can anyone recommend a good biz credit card to start out with? My personal credit score is like 680, (my partners is lower) so I don’t know if thats causing the rejections or what…but we REALLY need to start establishing our credit, so please advise!!
Hi Jake,
They have some really good advice over on credit boards dot com for getting business credit… I would recommend starting there… I am by no means affiliated with them
Good Luck
Tex
I REALLY dont like creditboards.com-whoever designed the layout is an idiot, its extremely difficult to navigate, people ramble incessantly and the threads are darn near impossible to follow, unlike this site. that being said i broke down and spent some time on there and found some good info. oh well…
Just like in RE Investing you have to weed out the crap to find the jewels :beer I don’t read anything but the business credit section on there, I agree with your comments on the rest…
the site has caused me to realize how little I know about the world of credit, I thought I had a decent handle on things, but it turns out I was wrong!
Do you have personal credit cards established with any lenders? If so, see if they have a business card. Chase has a very good rewards card and that is what I use. 3% cash back for Top 5 categories. I buy a lot of materials so it’s very nice.
TXRehabber-since you’re familiar with creditboards, have you used the strategies suggested on the site for biz credit? Est. phone number, DUNS number, 30Net accounts, them move to bigger ones like Staples, etc. Have you had any success this way? I just got my DUNS number today. If that stuff hasnt worked/you havent tried it, what have you done to est. biz credit?
Hi Jake,
I am still working on it, I just got my first rental last fall. I have started by using a business phone (Cell) via AT&T, they report to DUNS every month, I also have a small Net30 ($700) with Staples. I have been busy trying to get my rental rehabbed and rented so I haven’t explored any more yet. My next step will probably be to try to get a Dell and or IBM line so I can get a Business laptop…
It’s hard to think of other lines that report to DUNS as in Real Estate investing you really only need Computer/Office supplies. I did apply for a Business acct with Home Depot but they came back requiring personal guarantee so I canceled the application (I want to build the business to stand on its own).
I believe that just as with your personal credit it takes time to build. I have no expectations of becoming Donald Trump (yet) but I want to grow slowly so I still can have time for my 3 boys and wife while building a rental portfolio… I believe that once I have 5 or more properties with positive cash flow and I can show bank statements supporting that, my chances of getting business credit without personal guarantee will increase…
Good stuff-thanks a bunch!
American Express Open is a good product.
What kind of credit limit can you get on the AMEX Open? What kind of business do you need to have?
investorman- check out creditboards.com (thats kinda where this thread started) and you should be able to find a posting on your question about AMEX Open.