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Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card review: Earn cash back or points
Wells Fargo is well-known as a bank that's friendly to small businesses, and it offers business cards for companies at all operating levels. The Business Platinum card is available to business owners who already have a banking relationship with the financial institution and would like to integrate a credit line for added cash flow.
The card comes with no annual fee and the ability to earn rewards on business spending. Our Business Platinum card review weighs the card's main features to help you determine whether it's worth a spot in your wallet.
- Cash Back option: Earn 1.5% cash back on qualifying purchases
- Reward Points option: Earn 1 point on every $1 spent and receive 1,000 bonus points every billing cycle when you spend at least $1,000 on qualifying purchases
- Cash Back option: Earn 1.5% cash back on qualifying purchases
- Reward Points option: Earn 1 point on every $1 spent and receive 1,000 bonus points every billing cycle when you spend at least $1,000 on qualifying purchases
Unless your small business is well-established with credit lines from select stores or vendors, it's probably difficult to get a credit card that's secured solely using your company's financials. Wells Fargo allows business banking customers with good personal credit the opportunity to apply for the Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card.
Pros
- No annual, employee card or foreign transaction fees
- Your choice of cashback or points
- Get 10% more points during online redemption
- A lucrative bonus of $300 or 30,000 points
- Automatic cashback redemptions transferred to your bank account or applied as statement credits
Cons
- Reports late payments or high spending to your personal credit file
- It does not help build your business credit
- Only no fee for the first 99 employee cards
- Only available to Wells Fargo business banking customers
The Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card
How do you qualify for the Business Platinum card?
Before you can even apply, you'll need to have a Wells Fargo business bank account. If you don't have one already, you could open one first by visiting your local branch or signing up online.
Once your company has a banking relationship with Wells Fargo, you'll need to show you have a legally established business. Some examples of allowable businesses can be one in the early stages of a sole-proprietorship, a gig worker doing deliveries part-time, or an incorporated company. Regardless of the company's structure, you'll need to provide a tax identification number and personal information on all the business partners involved.
How do you apply for the Business Platinum card?
Wells Fargo welcomes you to apply at a local branch or online. Before you get started, make sure you have an existing Wells Fargo business banking account and the following information:
The legal business name, phone, and address
Date the business was established
Business tax identification number
Your Social Security number
Your date of birth
Wells Fargo business bank account information
Business ownership type
Number of business owners with 25% ownership or greater
Household income amount for all business owners listed
Your company's gross annual revenue
Wells Fargo will pull your personal credit report to make a decision and report your payment and usage history to the consumer credit bureaus. Any card-related activity could affect your personal credit score, even if it's business-related. For example, maxing out the card's limit or making late payments could negatively impact your personal credit score.
How does the Business Platinum card work?
If you're approved for the card, Wells Fargo will send you a card in the mail. The bank does not issue credit cards directly from the bank branch. Depending on the type of rewards program you choose, you'll start earning points that can be redeemed for travel and merchandise or cash back rewards that you can receive back as cash or credit card statement credits.
If you didn't request employee cards during the application process, you can order them at any time by contacting Wells Fargo at 1-800-225-5935. You can provide employees with card account access in four ways:
Assign view-only access to your online account for up to 25 users
If they already have online access, they can request access through the Wells Fargo portal in "Account Settings" by adding an account
Call 1-800-956-4442 to request access to their card account
Employees without a Wells Fargo account can visit a branch location to request online access
What security measures does the Business Platinum card have?
Wells Fargo provides several security features. Mastercard Identity Check may require you to enter a texted one-time passcode for select purchases. You can set up alerts based on a number of transactions and/or amounts.
For employees who will be traveling internationally, Wells Fargo suggests they call 1-800-642-4720 in advance to set a travel alert to prevent Wells Fargo from freezing purchases made overseas.
Will the Business Platinum card help you rebuild your credit?
Wells Fargo reports your business usage to the consumer credit bureaus, which could help you boost your credit score. However, you'll need to have a good credit score to get approved for the card, making it difficult to use the card to rebuild credit if you have a fair to average score.
Does Wells Fargo have business credit cards for poor credit?
If you have below-average credit, the Wells Fargo Secured Business credit card may be an ideal alternative. It doesn't rely on your personal credit as a guarantee; you'll need to pay a security deposit that will become your card's credit limit instead. Best of all, your usage and payment history will be reported to the Small Business Financial Exchange to help you build your company's credit.
Bottom line
Having the Wells Fargo Business Platinum credit card dedicated solely for your company spending has its advantages. You'll be able to give staff their own credit cards and assign employees account access to manage the card and run spending reports. Best of all, you can earn cashback or points on your purchases.