A business credit card is a revolving line of credit issued to a business entity for business purchases. It reports to business credit bureaus (and sometimes personal bureaus), earns rewards on business spending categories, and keeps business and personal expenses separate. Most small-business cards also require a personal guarantee.
Business credit cards function similarly to personal cards: a revolving credit limit, a minimum monthly payment, and interest charges on carried balances (typically expressed as APR). They differ in several important ways: issuers often report to business credit bureaus (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, Equifax Business), helping build a [[business-credit-score]] separate from personal credit. Rewards programs are often optimized for business spending categories — office supplies, travel, telecom, advertising, and shipping. Small-business cards almost universally require a [[personal-guarantee]], meaning the owner is personally liable for unpaid balances even though the card is issued to the business. This is distinct from corporate cards, which some large companies obtain without personal guarantees through the business's own creditworthiness. The CFPB notes that business credit cards are generally not covered by the full consumer protections of the CARD Act of 2009 (https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-business-credit-card-en-57/). Business card issuers can change rates with less notice than consumer cards, and fee structures may differ. Keeping [[credit-utilization]] low on business cards matters for both business and personal credit scores if the card reports to both.
It depends on the issuer. Some business cards report to personal bureaus as well as business bureaus (especially if the personal guarantee triggers a delinquency). Application inquiries are almost always a hard pull on the owner's personal credit. Check the card's reporting policy before applying.
Generally no. The CARD Act's strongest consumer protections — 45-day notice before rate increases, no retroactive rate hikes on existing balances — typically do not apply to business credit cards. The CFPB has documented this gap (consumerfinance.gov). Read the cardholder agreement carefully.