The True Story of What You Can Do with a Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card, and What You Can’t

It can be a bear to figure out which credit cards are worth your time to apply and for and which ones are not.  If you like to play the loyalty points and balance transfer game, it can be equally as daunting to figure out which combinations of cards work best for your needs.  The Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card is great for many purposes.  It isn’t for everyone though.

To understand if this card is right for you, and how it compares to other cards out there, keep reading.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card New Customer Perks

Many cards offer a new customer bonus.  The Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card is no different.  Currently the offer to new cardholders is a one-time $500 cash back bonus or 50,000 bonus points.  That is, if you enroll in their rewards program and spend $3,000 in the first three months.  They also offer a $0 rewards fee annually.

Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card Cash Back and Points

The Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card offers 1.5% cash back on every $1 spent.  In addition, you can earn 1 point per $1 and 1,000 bonus points if you spend $1,000 or more in any month.  There are no required spending categories or caps.

Users can redeem points for gift cards, merchandise, airline tickets and more.  In addition, you can earn a 10% credit by redeeming points online.

Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card Interest Rates

This card offers a 0% introductory rate for first nine months.  After that, Interest rates are prime + 7.99% to Prime + 17.99% on purchases.  Cash advance rates are prime + 20.74%.

Which Businesses Benefit Most from the Business Platinum Credit Card?

Not all cards work well for all businesses.  This card works best for those that meet the following characteristics:

• Businesses with annual sales up to $2 million
• Those wanting the ability to choose between cash back or points
• Businesses that need an easy way to manage business expenses
• Those needing to add employee cards. The Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card allows up to 99 employee cards with no additional fee.

Other Benefits of the Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card

In addition to those already mentioned, this card also boasts the following.

• Cash management tools
• Spending reports available online
• Online banking and bill payment options

How Does the Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card Compare to Other Cards?

It really just depends on what you need and what you qualify for.  Here are some other options for comparison purposes.

Discover it® Cash Back

You can earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter. Gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, Amazon.com, or wholesale clubs all qualify. There is a quarterly maximum each time you activate however. On top of that, automatically get unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

You will earn an unlimited dollar-for-dollar match of all the cash back you have earned at the end of your initial year, automatically.

For this card, your APR will be 14.99% to 23.99% based on creditworthiness and the market rate, which is based on the Prime Rate. Find out more about this card here.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card

This is another Wells Fargo card that may work better for you if the Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card is not an option.  It charges a $25 yearly fee per card (up to 10 employee cards).  In addition, it requires a minimum-security deposit of $500 (up to $25,000). It’s designed to help cardholders build or rebuild their credit.

If 1.5% per dollar in purchases with no limits or earn one point for every dollar in purchases sounds like something that would work for your business, this is the card for you. Additionally, you earn 1,000 bonus points for every month your company makes $1,000 in purchases on the card.

You will also have access to free FICO scores every month. It’s important to note that there are no foreign transaction fees, and it is possible to upgrade to unsecured credit.  They will review your account regularly to see if you are eligible for an upgrade to an unsecured card.  Approval is not guaranteed and depends on factors including how you manage this and your other accounts.

APR is the current prime rate plus 11.90%. There is no introductory APR period and no sign-up bonus. Since this is a secured card meant for building credit, it is not a good option for balance transfers.  Find out more about this option here.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

If you travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great option.  They offer two points for every dollar on dining and travel.  Other purchases will earn you one point per dollar.  Trade the points in for the regular parade of cash back, gift cards, or travel.

Other benefits include trip cancellation insurance, travel, and emergency assistance services. They also include an auto rental collision damage waiver, purchase protection, and extended warranty protection.

When you spend $4,000 in the initial 3 months from account opening, you will get 50,000 bonus points. These points are worth $625 if you redeem them for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

There is no 0% introductory APR on purchases or balance transfers. The card’s standard APR is 17.74 — 24.74% variable. Also, there is an annual fee of $0 introductory for the first year. After that it is $95.  Find out more or apply here.

Ink Business Preferred ℠ Credit Card

With this card, cardholders earn 3 points for every dollar spent on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone and qualifying advertising. The cap on this is $150,000 each year.  All other purchases earn an unlimited one point per dollar spent.

In addition, you get 80,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. There is an annual fee of $95.  However, you can add employee credit cards at no additional cost.

One drawback is there is no introductory APR. Find out more and apply for this card here.

Discover it® Student Cash Back

Be sure to look at the Discover it® Student Cash Back card. It has no yearly fee and offers a six-month introductory period of 0% APR on purchases. After six months, there is an APR of 14.99 — 23.99% variable on all purchases.

One exceptional feature is that this card offers an incentive for students to maintain good grades.  Those with a GPA of 3.0 or higher each year will get up $20 statement credit.  This is good for up to 5 years.

Since it is developed with students in mind, this card is great for building personal credit. Of course, this is different than business credit.  However, for new credit users, FICO scores will be important also. This credit card offers an outstanding way to raise FICO while also getting rewards.

You can earn 5% cash back at different places each quarter like grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants or Amazon.com up to the quarterly maximum. After that, the card offers unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases.  Also, all cash back rewards are matched 100% the first year.

Drawbacks include a cash advance fee of either $10 or 5% of the amount of every cash advance, whichever is more. Even though they waive the first late payment fee, a fee of up to $37 applies on all other late payments. There is also a returned payment fee of up to $37.  Find out more here.

Hilton Honors American Express Ascend Card

This one earns hotel rewards points, so it is best if you spend a lot of time in hotels. Get up to 12 points per dollar of eligible purchases at participating Hilton hotels or resorts.

In addition, you automatically get Hilton Honors Gold status. That means room upgrades when available, and a 5th night free when you book a rewards stay of 5 nights or more.

This credit card has a variable purchase APR of 17.74 — 26.74%.   Also, there is an annual fee of $95.

Special offers include a 125,000-point welcome after making $2,000 in eligible purchases within 3 months after opening the account.  Additionally, earn a free weekend night award after making $15,000 in eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

If you spend $40,000 on eligible purchases with the card within a calendar year, you can earn Hilton Honors Diamond status through the end of the next calendar year. This status includes all the benefits of Gold status. Find out more here.

Where Do You Start?

This is just a sample of what is out there and I am certain you can already see how hard the choice can be.  While some narrowing down is easy, based on things such as spending habits and eligibility, other factors are not so cut and dry.

The first thing you should consider is what is actually available to you.  Which cards are you eligible for based on your business income and credit?  If you currently are not eligible for the cards you want, you can do a couple of things.

The easiest is to start building your business credit.  If you don’t already have business credit, now is the time to make that happen. If you haven’t done the following already, they need to be handled first.

• Incorporate as either a Corporation, S-corp, or LLC.
• Get an EIN.
• Get a D-U-N-S number.
• Make sure your business has its own phone number, address, and fax number separate from your personal ones.
• Open a separate business bank account.

How Do You Build Business Credit?

After you do these things, you can begin to open tradelines with starter vendors in the vendor credit tier.  These are vendors that will give you net terms on invoices, and then they will report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies (CRAs).  Find out more about the vendor credit tier and some great starter vendors here.

After there are enough of these vendors reporting on-time payments, your business credit score will be strong enough to start applying for credit cards in your business name.  Start with the retail credit tier.  These are store specific cards, such as a Staples credit card or a Best Buy card.  When you apply, use your business name and contact information along with your EIN.  Do not use your name, SSN, or contact information for anything other than identity verification.

As you get more of these cards and use them wisely, you will be able to apply for fleet cards that you can use to manage fuel and auto maintenance expenses.  Those would be from companies like Fuelman and Shell.

Lastly, you can apply for cards in the cash credit tier, which is where the Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card falls. Other general, non-store associated cards fall into this category as well.

Is the Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card Best for Your Business?

It depends on what you are looking for and what you are eligible for.  If the rewards with the Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card fit your spending habits, and if you are eligible, then yes, this card may be right for you.

It can help to choose a few of the best cards that you may qualify for, and make a list of their pros and cons.  Maybe the rewards are perfect for you, but there is an annual fee.  Try to evaluate your spending to determine if the rewards will make the annual fee worth it.  Will you earn more than the annual fee in cash back or points?

If you need to do some work on your business credit before you are eligible for approval, there are other options.  Do some research, and in the meantime follow the steps outlined above to get your business credit score up to par.

It really is a balancing act between what you need rewards wise and what you actually qualify for.  Take some time to evaluate these things, do some research, and find the card that will work best for your business.  It may be the Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card, but it may be something else entirely.