The Real Difference Between a Personal and Business Credit Card

Not all credit cards are created equal. If you're a small business owner, you're missing out if you don't have a business credit card.

Credit cards. Teerasak Ladnongkhun/Shutterstock

By Jared Hecht

If you’re a business owner, there are dozens of reasons to have a credit card. For one thing, they are a great way to keep track of all your business expenses in one place. They also offer opportunities to earn points or rewards on purchases you would make anyway. Not to mention, they can be an excellent option for financing your business, especially if you are in the startup phase and can’t yet qualify for a small business loan.

But one thing many business owners get wrong is putting all their business expenses on a personal credit card. While business and personal credit cards may function the same way (in terms of how you use them), there are some key differences that set them apart. Here are the most important differences between a personal and business credit card—and why the latter should definitely be in the back pocket of every business owner.

Higher Credit Limits on Business Credit Cards

You read that right: you can typically get a much higher limit with a business credit card than with a personal one. This is because businesses, in almost all industries, have more expenses than an individual person ever would. They also have more capital coming in than individual people, so it makes sense that they’d have more spending power.