6 Major Differences Between Business and Personal Credit Cards
Business and personal cards work similarly, but report to different credit bureaus and may have different credit limits.
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Updated Jul 23, 2025 8:38 a.m. PDT · 2 min read
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Small-business credit cards function much like personal credit cards. But business credit cards support the expenses of a company, not an individual. They generally offer higher limits and business-specific rewards categories — but fewer consumer protections.
It’s important to keep your business and personal finances separate. Getting a business credit card is a simple way to do so.
Here are the major differences between business and personal credit cards.
1. Business credit cards have higher credit limits — usually
Business credit cards consider both personal income and business revenue when determining your credit limit. Personal credit cards only consider personal income.
Higher limits let you tap into extra capital as needed. This can be especially useful if your business has fluctuating operating costs. For instance, say you have to stock up on inventory for the holiday season or buy supplies in bulk.
You can get a business card with no revenue. But it will likely limit the size of your line of credit.
For example, limits for the Capital One Spark Cash Select start at just $2,000. A personal card may match or surpass that number.
Some issuers automatically raise limits after a few months of consistent use. You can also request an increase.
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2. Business credit cards may have more targeted rewards categories
Like consumer cards, many business credit cards have flat-rate cash back on all purchases. Most business owners should have one of these cards. They usually have no annual fee.
Some cards pay higher rewards rates on certain bonus categories. Both personal and business cards may reward gas, travel and dining. But business credit cards offer higher rates on things like office supplies and online advertising.
Some personal and business cards have rewards caps. They’re usually higher for business cards since businesses generally have more spending power.
For instance, the Chase Ink Cash pays 5% cash back on your first $25,000 in combined spending at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services. Then, the rewards rate drops to 1 %.
Compare that to the Chase Freedom Flex , which offers 5% cash back on certain bonus categories too — but caps spending at just $1,500 per quarter, or $6,000 per year.
Neither of those cards charges an annual fee. More premium cards, with higher annual fees, generally have higher caps. Consider the Chase Ink Business Preferred , a business card with a $ 95 annual fee. It offers 3X points on your first $150,000 in spending on shipping, online advertising, Internet and phone services and travel.
3. Business credit cards can help build your business credit score
Personal credit cards typically report card activity to the three major consumer credit bureaus. Changes to your credit limit, credit usage and payment history (positive or negative) can impact your personal credit score.
Small-business credit cards primarily report to business credit bureaus. This affects your business credit score . Like your personal credit score, your business credit score represents how risky it is to lend your business money.
A strong business credit score can help bolster your application for business loans and other financing.
Your personal credit score is part of business credit card applications. When you apply, the issuer will make a hard inquiry on your credit. That may result in a small, temporary hit to your personal credit score.
Business card issuers sometimes report negative activity to consumer credit bureaus. That means late payments and serious delinquencies can lower your personal and business credit scores.
Capital One may share more than that. Multiple Capital One business credit cards report all usage to consumer and commercial bureaus. Only the Capital One Spark Cash Plus and Capital One Venture X Business do not. Those will still show up if you miss payments, though.
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4. Business credit cards may offer spending controls
Keeping your personal and business finances separate is a must. First, it makes bookkeeping much simpler. Second, depending on your business structure , it may help shield your personal assets if your company faces legal trouble.
Small-business credit cards also make tracking and managing your business expenses easier. For example, most business credit cards offer free employee cards with customizable spending limits .
Some companies, like U.S. Bank, go well beyond that. It gives business owners a full dashboard that captures receipts, categorizes spending and exports information to your accounting software.
Personal credit cards are designed with one person or household in mind. So they have little need to offer those kinds of features.
5. Business cards tend to offer shorter 0% intro APR periods
Lots of personal credit cards offer Introductory 0% APR periods. And they often last 15 months or longer.
That’s not the case with small-business credit cards. A handful have introductory 0% APR terms . But they tend to be shorter — usually 12 months or fewer.
They also generally apply to new purchases only. Right now, the U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Visa® Business Card is our only top business credit card with an intro APR on balance transfers .
6. Business credit cards have fewer consumer protections
Consumer protection laws, such as the Credit Card Act of 2009 , generally don’t apply to small-business credit cards.
For instance, on a small-business card, your APR could potentially change overnight. You could be charged exorbitant late fees for small infractions.
What business and personal credit cards have in common
Most require a personal credit check. Credit card issuers want to make sure you’ll pay back the money you borrow, whether you’re doing it for personal or business spending.
You’re personally on the hook for repayment. With personal credit cards, that’s probably clear. But business credit cards usually require a personal guarantee — a promise that you’ll repay what you borrow even if your business can’t.
Both can technically be used for business expenses. There’s no law against using a personal credit card for business spending . (Issuers may include in their terms and conditions that you can’t use a business card for personal expenses, though.) Whichever you choose, make sure you use the card assigned to your business only for business purchases.
How corporate cards compare to other credit cards
Corporate credit cards are issued to companies, not to individual business owners. They differ from both business and personal credit cards.
Unlike personal and business cards, corporate card issuers check your business financials instead of your personal credit to determine your eligibility. You usually don’t have to sign a personal guarantee, either.
But corporate cards aren’t a fit for smaller businesses. You’ll need a business entity and strong financials — potentially venture capital funding or millions of dollars in annual revenue — to qualify.
About the authors
Claire Tsosie is a managing editor for NerdWallet’s travel team. Her work has been featured by Forbes, USA Today and The Associated Press. See full bio.
Rosalie Murphy is a small-business writer at NerdWallet and an MBA candidate. See full bio.
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Credit Card vs. Debit Card: Which Is Safer Online?
With credit card fraud, the card issuer’s money is at stake. With debit card fraud, your money has been stolen.
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Updated May 31, 2023 7:54 p.m. PDT · 2 min read
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Kevin Cash
If you typically use a debit card for online purchases, you may want to reconsider. If your card information is hacked and purchases are made without your permission, you’ll quickly find out that debit and credit cards are treated quite differently.
The key difference: With a credit card, the card issuer must fight to get its money back. With a debit card, you must fight to get your money back.
How fraud is handled
If card information has been stolen and potentially fraudulent transactions have been made, two laws protect your rights. For credit cards, the primary law is the Fair Credit Billing Act, or FCBA. For debit card transactions, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) applies. While these laws offer some similar protections, knowing the differences is key to understanding why it’s safer to use one type of plastic than the other.
Debit card fraud
According to the EFTA, your potential liability for fraudulent debit card transactions is virtually unlimited. You have up to 60 days to report a lost or stolen card under the EFTA. After that, you simply lose whatever money was taken, even funds siphoned from linked accounts. The exact liability limits under the EFTA are:
Lost or stolen card reported before unauthorized transactions: zero liability.
Lost or stolen card reported within two days: $50 liability limit.
Lost or stolen card reported within 60 days: $500 liability limit.
After 60 days: no protection.
It’s important to note that if your card is not physically lost or stolen, you have 60 days to report fraudulent transactions with zero liability. If only your card number is stolen, the 60 days start from the date of the statement on which a fraudulent transaction appears.
Credit card fraud
Under the FCBA, your maximum liability for fraudulent credit card transactions is $50. If you report your card lost or stolen before any fraudulent transactions occur, your liability is zero. Many credit cards promise zero liability for all fraudulent transactions.
“I’ve had my credit card information stolen and used fraudulently a number of times,” says Tucker Spillane, a 24-year-old credit analyst from New York. “Fortunately, my issuer almost always picks up on it right away . usually because the activity is considered abnormal from my typical spending habits. And they provide their own fraud coverage anyway. I’ve never had to pay a dime.”
The real difference between a debit card and a credit card when it comes to fraud is in how you get your money back. When a fraudulent transaction occurs on your credit card, you have lost no money. You can report the fraud, get a credit on your statement, and the issue will never affect your bank account.
With a debit card, your bank account balance is affected from the moment the fraudulent transaction takes place. If the transactions are significant, you could experience a domino effect of financial headaches. Fraudulent charges can tie up funds so that legitimate charges are declined or cause overdrafts.
If you don’t have a credit card.
Although credit cards are a safer bet for spending online, it’s possible that you do not have access to one. In this case, there are still ways to protect yourself from fraud.
Maintaining a low balance in the account linked to the debit card you use for online purchases can help limit the size of fraudulent withdrawals should they occur. This won’t necessarily prevent someone from accessing your account, but it may limit the damage done.
You may also want to disable any form of overdraft protection (should you have it) on the account used for purchases. Many banks offer this service (usually on a checking account), which automatically withdraws from a savings account should the checking account be overdrawn. In the case of fraud, this essentially means the crook has access to two accounts instead of one. If you do have overdraft protection in place, be sure to consult your bank on how and when it applies.
Another way to limit your liability is to use a prepaid debit card. If someone does gain access to the account, they’ll have access only to what you have loaded onto the card.
The bottom line
From a legal perspective, credit cards generally provide more protection against fraudulent activity. But, there are ways to mimic some of these protections with a debit or prepaid card. Deciding which is best for you will help protect your money whether you’re spending online or swiping in store.
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