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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
News
Corporate Card Brex Launches ‘Brex Exclusive’ Rewards Program
Richard Kerr is a veteran naval officer and founder of the Award Travel 101 Facebook community. He’s one of the foremost experts in points and miles strategy, featured in Forbes, US News, Money Magazine, Kiplinger Personal Finance and presented at #SXSW 2017. Richard has visited over 45 countries, lived in England and Japan, and spends his spare time dissecting loyalty program award charts to maximize the value of points and miles. Richard holds a BBA in International Business and has his wife and two small children in tow for his travels as often as possible.
October 30, 2018 • 7 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
A corporate charge card designed for startups offers a streamlined application process, no personal liability and integration with accounting tools.
The new rewards program provides competitive multipliers at select merchants and uncapped earning potential, especially for ride shares, travel and software services.
Sign-up incentives focus on credits and discounts with startup-focused partners rather than traditional cash or points bonuses.
The product is best suited for early-stage companies prioritizing cash-back and operational efficiency over travel rewards flexibility.
What to consider
Eligibility requires linking a business bank account and using an EIN, with approval based on company financials rather than personal credit.
To access the highest reward rates, the card must be used exclusively for business expenses; otherwise, only base rewards apply.
Some offers mentioned in the article are no longer available.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed comparison of how this card's rewards and features stack up against other business products, including transferable points options.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Apply for the Brex Corporate Card for Startups through our official application link by March 31, 2020, to earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 with Brex and start taking advantage of Brex's new partnership with JetBlue. Read our story for more information on the new transfer partners along with a special sign-up bonus, and find more info on the card's World Elite Mastercard benefits here.
Brex is a corporate charge card accepted worldwide on the Mastercard network, and it's designed to make startups' and early-stage companies' lives easier. The card links to your business' corporate bank account and underwrites your credit limit based on your company's cash assets — and there's no personal liability. Built-in features include receipt capture and the ability to link your accounting software to Brex.
Today, the unique charge card is announcing a new rewards program. The aptly named Brex Exclusive program offers customers up to 7 points per dollar spent along with discounts and credit at participating vendors.
Brex Basics
Brex is a charge card underwritten on business credit using an EIN (employer identification number) during the application process. Brex advertises instant sign-up, with no personal guarantees, credit checks or security deposits required.
For the application process, you must link your business bank account to Brex, and it analyzes your business data in order to make an approval decision and set your spend limit. If you are approved, you will be given a virtual card instantly to begin using, with the physical card showing up 3-5 business days later. There is a list of prohibited and restricted activities, such as gambling, that cannot use Brex.
Your Brex account must remain linked to a business bank account where automatic payments for the balance in full are made at the end of every 30-day statement period. There is no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee, and your first five cards for yourself and four employees are also included at no fee. You can set spending limits on employee cards, a nice feature many business cards are neglecting.
Brex Exclusive Rewards
Starting today, businesses that use Brex exclusively as their corporate card qualify for the new Brex Exclusive Rewards. Here is the new program's basic earning and redemption structure:
Sign-Up Bonus
Brex is not offering a traditional sign-up bonus of cash or bonus points, but is offering deals and credit at startup-specific partners. Here is a sampling of what is available to cardholders:
Amazon Web Services — $5,000 in AWS credits to be used over a year. The offer is only available to startups that have previously received fewer than $5,000 AWS credits through AWS, a VC accelerator, or other AWS-partnered organization.
Salesforce — $375 off an annual Salesforce subscription with a 25% subscription discount.
WeWork — 15% discount off of the list price for any new WeWork desk or office space for up to 6 months across all US locations (average of $5,000 in value for a typical office space)
Earn Points
7x on ride shares and taxis
4x on travel booked through the Brex travel portal
3x on restaurants
2x on recurring software/SAAS — Brex created this category which is apparently only trackable with Brex technology
1x on all other spend
All bonus categories are uncapped, with no limit on the amount of rewards you can earn. If you don't use Brex exclusively, you'll earn 1x on all purchases.
Get 7x on ride shares and taxis. (Photo by Fabien Bazanegue/Unsplash)
Redeem Points
Points are worth a flat 1 cent each no matter how you use them and can be redeemed as a statement credit against a transaction made with your card or toward new travel booked through the Brex travel portal.
We asked Brex how they would know if it was being used exclusively by a business and received the following statement:
"Brex uses its existing customer base and third-party data to establish an expected spending profile for a given company, and review accounts periodically based on anticipated spending patterns found in similarly positioned companies. We also rely on features of the Brex platform including higher company limits, user controls, instant card issuance, and embedded expense management to drive exclusivity."
Based on that response, I don't foresee anyone being excluded from the new rewards program, even if you are using another card, but I wouldn't push it. The hope is you experience Brex and the new rewards program which lure you into making Brex exclusive in your business.
How Competitive Is Brex Exclusive Rewards?
Brex has a taken a different angle on the typical business card rewards program. The sign-up bonus of merchant credits and discounts will be attractive to a very specific type of company — specifically, startups and other early-stage businesses — and can yield potentially large value for these users.
The bonus spend categories are competitive, but are they the best? Brex argues in its comparative analysis that because a typical customer is a corporation, points are unlikely to be transferred or redeemed for other travel services. That means it values other transferable points currencies (Amex, Chase) at the same 1 cent per point as its own Brex currency. Of course, TPG's valuations peg these transferable points much higher than that, but Brex says its customer base of startups is more interested in getting value back to the business than transferring points to travel partners. If you use your card primarily for cash-back, as Brex suggests many of its customers do, Brex has a solid offer.
The multipliers Brex offers are competitive — 7% cash back on ride shares and taxis is the best I've seen, even when accounting for the value of transferable currencies. 3% back on travel and restaurants and 2% back on software and SaaS is also competitive, but not the best. There are other transferable points-earning cards whose value come out on top in terms of multipliers and bonus categories. You could come out ahead with the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card if you have Platinum Honors status in Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program. You'll earn a minimum of 2.625% cash back on all spend and 3.5% cash back on dining and travel.
Meanwhile, the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card from Chase offers 3x points on travel, shipping, internet, cable and phone as well as social media advertising and search engines, on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases each year. While not a direct cross over in what Brex offers, it is pretty close. With Chase points worth (much) more than 1 cent apiece when you transfer to partners or book travel directly through Chase for 1.25 cents each, you'll most likely come out ahead with the Ink Preferred if you're a customer that uses points in that way. But again, Brex touts its lack of a cap on its 7%, 3% and 3% multipliers, and argues that travel redemptions aren't the top priority for its target customer base — so if you are a startup that cares more about cash-back, you may be better off with Brex.
Photo by Rawpixel/Unsplash
Bottom Line
There's a specific type of business — a startup or early-stage company — that could and should benefit from what Brex offers. If you struggle with expense reports and accounting and need to make that area more efficient, Brex has the tools to take some stress off your plate. And the underwriting model, with no personal liability, could be ideal for young businesses. The good news is you'll now also benefit from a competitive rewards program and have cash back in your pocket at the end of each month.
If you can benefit from some of the lucrative partner offers, it should make your decision easy. If you're a more traditional business and not a technology startup and want to maximize your rewards for travel, though, there are better products to choose for your corporate card.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
