Best Employee Expense Cards

Comparison table

Corporate expense cards

Ramp

A corporate charge card paid in full each statement. You need $25,000+ in cash in any U.S. business bank account; there's no minimum revenue or time in business. Corporations, LLCs, LPs and nonprofits qualify — not sole proprietors. No personal credit check, no personal guarantee, and it never reports to your personal credit. Foreign-currency purchases carry a 3% conversion fee.

Brex

Brex lets you choose daily payment (limit equals your cash balance) or monthly payment (limit based on cash flow). Eligibility is steep: for example, venture-backed startups with a $50,000+ cash balance or commercial businesses with $1 million+ in annual revenue. It needs an EIN and U.S. address and accepts C corps, S corps, LLCs and LLPs. An SSN may be requested for identity verification only. Watch for an FX markup of up to 3%.

BILL Divvy

The most accessible of the group on paper: BILL publishes no minimum revenue, time in business or credit score. It does a soft personal inquiry only, requires no personal guarantee, and reports to SBFE business credit only. Credit lines range from $1,000 to $15 million. You can choose daily, weekly or monthly billing, and reward rates depend on that choice. Points have a 12-month holding period and a 5,000-point redemption minimum.

Mercury IO

Mercury's card is tied to its business banking. New customers pay daily; 30-day terms open up once you hold $15,000+ at Mercury. Since October 2025 you can link external bank accounts to raise your limit. It pays an unlimited 1.5% and reports to Experian, Equifax and D&B business files only.

Traditional cards with employee cards

Bank business cards are the only option here for sole proprietors and businesses without large cash balances:

• Chase Ink Business Unlimited and Ink Business Preferred: employee cards at no additional cost. Unlimited lets you set individual spending limits.
• Amex Blue Business Cash: up to 99 employee cards at no fee, with per-card limits and merchant-category restrictions.
• Amex Blue Business Plus: no annual fee for additional employee cards.
• Capital One Spark Cash Select: free employee cards that earn 1.5%.
• Amex Business Platinum: $400 per additional Business Platinum card for accounts opened on or after September 18, 2025, up to 99 cards; Employee Business Expense cards have no annual fee.

The trade-off: you're personally liable for every employee's charges, and you won't get the receipt matching and approval workflows built into expense platforms.

Controls worth having

Whatever you choose, look for these before handing cards to staff:

• Per-card spending limits. Offered on the Ink Business Unlimited and Amex Blue Business Cash, and standard on expense platforms.
• Merchant-category restrictions. The Amex Blue Business Cash lets you block categories on employee cards.
• Billing frequency. Divvy and Brex let you pay daily, which keeps balances low but ties limits to your cash.
• Software cost. Ramp's base software is free, with Ramp Plus at $15 per user per month for more features.

How to choose

• Sole proprietor? Use a bank card. Ramp and Brex exclude you. See cards for LLCs and sole proprietors.
• Registered entity with $25,000+ in the bank? Ramp is free at the base tier and removes the personal guarantee.
• Need business credit history? Divvy (SBFE) and Mercury IO (Experian, Equifax, D&B) report to business bureaus. See the business credit guide.
• Want rewards first? A bank card like the Ink Business Preferred or Amex Business Gold often earns more.

Fees and eligibility change, so check each provider's site before you sign up. For more on liability, read no-personal-guarantee cards, and for the full lineup see the best business credit cards.

Frequently Asked Questions