How to Qualify for a Business Travel Credit Card

Image: PHOTO: Earn extra travel rewards when you open a travel rewards credit card for your business. (photo via Pixabay)
Image: PHOTO: Earn extra travel rewards when you open a travel rewards credit card for your business. (photo via Pixabay)
Holly Johnson
by Holly Johnson
Last updated: 5:00 AM ET, Sun December 3, 2017

<p>While there are plenty of <a href="https://www.travelpulse.com/news/features/how-to-earn-travel-rewards-without-a-credit-card.html" target="_self">innovative ways to rack up more points and miles</a>, one of the easiest ways to score additional points in a hurry is with credit card signup bonuses. Many <a href="https://www.travelpulse.com/news/features/best-travel-credit-cards-for-a-cruise.html" target="_blank">travel credit cards</a> offer these bonuses as a way to entice new customers, and the initial rewards you can earn can easily be worth up to $1,000 per pop.</p><p>Unfortunately, there are only so many cards and so many signup bonuses.</p><p>Unless, of course, you have your own business.</p><p>If you're a business owner, you can easily sign up for twice the number of new travel credit cards than you can as an individual. You also get your pick of the best signup bonuses since many of the most <a href="https://www.travelpulse.com/news/features/which-business-credit-card-is-best-for-cash-back.html" target="_self">lucrative offers are targeted at businesses</a> in the first place.</p><p>

</p><p>But what do you need to qualify for a business credit card? Unfortunately, you do need to have some sort of business income and a legitimate business concept to qualify.</p><p>The good news is, lots of side hustles can help you qualify for a business credit card even if they don't seem like a real business. For example, you could qualify for a business credit card if you:</p><p>-Sell homemade items on Etsy.com</p><p>-Do freelance work on the side</p><p>-Own rental properties</p><p>-Do seasonal yard work</p><p>Really, nearly any business can qualify as long as it fits the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/trade-or-business-defined" target="_blank">IRS definition of a business</a>:</p><p>"The term trade or business generally includes any activity carried on for the production of income from selling goods or performing services. It is not limited to integrated aggregates of assets, activities, and goodwill that comprise businesses for purposes of certain other provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Activities of producing or distributing goods or performing services from which gross income is derived do not lose their identity as trades or businesses merely because they are carried on within a larger framework of other activities that may, or may not, be related to the organization's exempt purposes."</p><p><strong></b></p><p>Whatever card you choose, it's possible to apply and get approved even if your business doesn't have a tax ID number. If you have a Tax ID number, you should use it on your application when you apply.</p><p>If not, you can apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor using your Social Security number.</p>


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