The Brex credit card has great rewards, useful spend-management tools, and instant payouts for Amazon sellers. It's available only to corporations and requires daily repayment for top rewards.
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Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Expert Contributor
| Total Rating | 4.8 |
|---|---|
| Rewards & Perks5.0 | |
| Rates & Fees5.0 | |
| Features5.0 | |
| Eligibility Requirements3.4 | |
| Customer Service4.0 | |
| User Reviews4.1 | |
Brex no longer accepts small or mid-sized businesses and is now only focused on venture-backed startups, mid-market companies, and eCommerce companies. To find an option that serves small and mid-sized businesses, check out our other corporate credit card reviews.
Table of Contents
Brex is a fintech company offering a full suite of financial services, including corporate credit cards, expense management software, bill payments, spend management, and select business banking services to corporate clients.*
As for the Brex credit card,** it delivers impressive rewards, with up to 8x points on certain purchase categories.
Note that Brex’s target audience is venture-backed startups and mid-market companies rather than smaller private businesses, who will be more likely to qualify for other top business credit cards on the market.
However, if you qualify, the Brex corporate card can help you streamline your finances while offering some very high rewards rates.
*Brex is a financial technology company, not a bank. The Brex business account consists of Checking, a commercial checking account provided by Column N.A., Member FDIC, and Treasury and Vault, cash management services provided by Brex Treasury LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC.
**The Brex Mastercard® Corporate Credit Card is issued by Emigrant Bank, Fifth Third Bank N.A., or Airwallex (Netherlands) B.V. The Brex Commercial Card is issued by Sutton Bank, pursuant to a license from Visa® U.S.A. Inc.
Like most of the best corporate credit cards, Brex works like a charge card rather than a traditional business credit card. That means you won’t be able to carry a balance from month to month.
Brex offers some eye-popping rewards, returning up to 8x on certain purchases. However, if you want to access that top rate, you’ll need to pay off your balance daily and make Brex your exclusive corporate card.
Along with the credit card, Brex now offers a complete finance-management platform that helps you and your employees make purchases, track expenses, and access smart budgeting tools. Herein, we’ll be covering Brex’s spend management tools, bill payment, employee cards, and business software integrations.
Brex also offers a linked cash management account that provides basic business banking services. A Brex business account (formerly called Brex Cash) offers unlimited deposits, payments, and transfers, as well as an attractive APY, without restricting access to funds. Our Brex business account review has further details.
| Rewards & Perks5.0 |
|---|
| Rewards Earning 5.0 |
| Rewards Redemption 5.0 |
Brex corporate cards come with some truly impressive points-earning potential in several spending categories. In fact, the rates are among the highest available in the crowded field of corporate cards, with no cap on earnings. Plus, Brex points never expire.
We’ll start with the standard rewards rate before exploring how to increase the rates you earn.
You can earn slightly higher rewards rates if you use Brex exclusively for corporate spending and qualify for the Brex Exclusive rewards program. It’s open to users in the following categories:
The Brex points you earn never expire, and they can be redeemed only by an account or card administrator. Points can be used for gift cards (Amazon or prepaid Mastercard) or travel accommodations booked through Brex Travel.
You can also transfer your points to partner airlines, receive a statement credit, or arrange to have crypto (Bitcoin or Ethereum) payments sent to an external wallet. If you use a Brex business account, you can redeem points for cash back into your account.
Furthermore, Brex customers can receive mental health benefits through Spring Health mental healthcare, organize team offsite meetings and events with Brex partners, or receive executive coaching in exchange for Brex points.
Brex points rewards are uncapped, and the multipliers are not cut off or reduced after you hit any spending or rewards limits.
All Brex customers can take advantage of exclusive signup offers from various partners worth $180,000+. Here are some examples:
Empower is a financial software platform within Brex that includes advanced budgeting tools, receipt integration, expense comment fields, customizable accounting fields, global currency support, and more.
Brex Empower is available to all Brex business accounts at no added cost.
Brex users also gain access to a variety of tools, which we’ll cover in-depth in the Brex Features section below. In addition to corporate cards, Brex supports bill payment, accounting, and spend management. These tools and features are one of Brex’s calling cards and deliver significant value to Brex cardholders.
| Rates & Fees5.0 |
|---|
| Annual Fee 5.0 |
| Other Fees 5.0 |
We’re giving Brex a perfect score in this category. A standard Brex account is free to use, with no annual or account fees, global ACH or wire transfer fees, fees for employee cards, or foreign transaction fees.
| Fee | Cost |
|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $0 |
| Account Fee | $0 |
| Global ACH Fee | $0 |
| Wire Transfer Fee | $0 |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | $0 |
| Additional Cards Fee | $0 |
Along with its free plan, Brex now offers two paid service tiers.
For $12/user/month, Brex Premium offers everything you get with a free account along with the following:
Brex also offers Brex Enterprise, which has quote-based pricing. Brex Enterprise offers with following exclusive features:
| Eligibility Requirements3.4 |
|---|
| Business Requirements 3.0 |
| Personal Guarantee 5.0 |
Brex’s eligibility requirements are a bit complicated and worth unpacking. Brex has recently sharpened its focus on equity-backed tech startups and no longer serves smaller businesses.
| Requirement | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Business Type | Corporations, LLPs, LLCs |
| Minimum Annual Income | At least $1 million+ (waived if you have 50+ employees or equity investment) |
| Cash Requirement | $50K minimum for monthly (not daily) repayments |
| Credit Score | N/A |
| Location | Businesses incorporated in the US |
| Personal Guarantee |
For starters, you’ll need US incorporation documentation, business registration, EIN, and billing address. If you live outside the US but do business here (or plan to), you may be eligible if you have a valid international residential address.
All businesses that want to use Brex must have a US bank account or apply to use a Brex business banking account. Be aware that Brex has a list of prohibited activities and businesses.
Successful applicants will meet at least one (not all) of the following criteria:
Tech startups that are on track to meet those requirements may be accepted if they are referred by a current Brex customer or partner. Because of this complexity, be aware that Brex can take up to 15 business days to review your application and reach a decision.
What’s more, Brex is available only to C-corp, S-corp, LLC, or LLP corporations. As Brex underwrites with Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) and not Social Security numbers, consumers and other unregistered businesses are not eligible. Sole proprietorships are not eligible even if they have a valid EIN.
Although Brex requires its clients to operate in the US, provide services and products to US customers, or employ/contract with or have plans to employ/contract with US personnel, Brex now offers support and incentives to foreign-based companies interested in becoming incorporated in the US. The support comes via a partnership with Firstbase and delivers Brex Rewards points.
According to Brex, when assessing your company for eligibility, “Brex analyzes a company’s business model, source of funds, spending patterns, and other areas that may pose a higher risk to Brex and our partners.”
Those making daily payments will have a credit limit calculated at 100% of their Brex account balance, with connected bank accounts not entering the consideration.
You can apply to make monthly repayments rather than daily repayments.
However, to qualify, you’ll need to meet additional requirements:
Two final notes on eligibility for the Brex credit card: Brex does not check your personal credit score when you apply for an account, and it won’t require that you sign a personal guarantee.
| Features5.0 |
|---|
| Business Perks 5.0 |
| Extra Benefits 5.0 |
Brex is a full financial stack that aims to deliver an all-in-one solution for startups and growing businesses. Brex’s feature set is built around its corporate card and cash management account products. These tools enable businesses to track where and how employees are spending money more easily.
| Brex Features | Summary | |
|---|---|---|
| Cards | Issue physical and virtual Brex to your employees at no cost | |
| Card Controls | Tailor employee cards with custom limits for each subscription, vendor, and employee | |
| Card Benefits | The Brex card comes with the World Elite Mastercard benefits package | |
| Transfers & Deposits | Add funds via ACH, wire transfer, and mobile check deposit; no cash deposit | |
| Spend Tracking | Track spending in real-time | |
| Bill Payment | Automated bill pay via email forwarding | |
| Mobile App | Deposit checks, approve payments, and manage cards on both iOS and Android devices | |
| Savings | Brex doesn’t have a savings account, but it offers access to a government money market mutual fund via a Brex business account | |
| Access To Credit | Venture debt program for startups | |
| Merchant Services | Integrations with Amazon, PayPal, Shopify, Square, and Stripe |
Let’s take a deeper look at some additional features Brex bundles in:
Finally, you can add money to your Brex business account via a number of different methods. Let’s take a look at the typical processing times for each method:
| Incoming Payment Method | Processing Time |
|---|---|
| ACH | 3-5 business days |
| International ACH | 7-10 business days |
| Domestic Wire | 1-2 business days |
| International Wire | 3-5 business days |
| Check Deposit | 5-7 business days |
Brex is a corporate card and so much more. Especially if you use Brex Empower, you will have access to what’s essentially a complete financial services provider. Here are some functions you won’t want to miss.
| Customer Service4.0 |
|---|
| Support Options 5.0 |
| Support Quality 3.0 |
After studying various review websites for user experiences, we can say that Brex generally has well-received customer service. In fact, several users suggest that Brex’s customer service is better than that of traditional banks.
| Brex Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
Users appreciate Brex for having customer service that is quick, friendly, and helpful. A typical comment about Brex customer service is, “They listen to what you say” and even make adjustments to products and features.
Brex is responsive across its social media channels, including Twitter/X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
| User Reviews4.1 |
|---|
| User Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 4.2 |
Brex scores highly across user reviews. Brex receives an average of 4.7/5 stars (based on 1,400+ reviews) on G2 and 4.4/5 stars (based on 130+ reviews) on Capterra.
Brex apps perform very well, with an average of 4.4/5 stars (based on 1,500+ reviews) on the Google Play Store and 4.9/5 stars (based on 6,600 reviews) on the Apple App Store.
The Brex card operates on the Visa card network and is issued by partner banks. That means customers will have access to all the security features available from the bank and the Visa network, including zero liability and ID theft protection to help minimize fraud.
Brex also protects users with fraud monitoring and protection; secure browsing, authorization, and authentication; data privacy; and full PCI-DSS certifications where available. These factors mean that Brex should be generally safe to work with.
Brex is a solid corporate card with above-average rewards, free cards for employees, valuable partner perks, and strong tools for expense tracking and spending controls. But is Brex the best corporate card for your business?
To help you answer that question, let’s see how Brex stacks up against a couple of other strong contenders, Ramp and BILL.
| Brex | BILL Spend & Expense | Ramp | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rewards Rate | 1x - 8x rewards points | 1x - 7x rewards points | up to 1.5% cash back on all purchases |
| Annual Fee | $0 for a basic account | $0 | $0 |
| Business Type | C-corp, S-corp, LLC, & LLP | Sole proprietors, corporations, & LLCs | Corporations & LLCs |
| Minimum Bank Balance | Investment, revenue, or business size requirements apply | $20,000 | $25,000 |
| Credit Score | N/A | Good to Excellent | N/A |
| Personal Guarantee |
The table above gives you an overview. Open the links below for more information about some key comparisons.
| Brex Review | |
|---|---|
| Business Size | Corporations, LLCs, & LLPs only |
| Rewards Rate | 1x - 8x |
| Choose If You Need |
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Between its cash management account and its corporate card, Brex offers solid expense tracking and receipt matching tools, ultimately helping businesses understand where and how money is spent. You can also earn rewards at rates that dwarf those of most business credit cards.
Whether Brex is worth it to your business will depend on individual factors. That said, Brex is a great option for qualifying corporations, LLCs, and LLPs seeking a corporate card, a cash management account, or both.
New businesses that don’t yet meet Brex’s eligibility benchmarks might instead consider the best business credit cards for startups to finance business purchases.
Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing business credit cards and corporate cards since 2018. Our writers have evaluated over sixty different business card products. In each corporate card review, we evaluate rewards and perks, rates and fees, features, eligibility requirements, customer service, and user reviews. Read more about how we rate corporate cards.
Note: We use a different credit card rating methodology to evaluate traditional business credit cards, as they often differ from corporate cards in benefits, qualifications, and use cases.
When comparing corporate cards, we consider many data points, including the specifics of cash back and spending rewards, the presence of annual fees, the breadth and flexibility of reward redemption options, revenue and time in business qualifications, credit score requirements, and extra perks. Our lists of the best corporate cards include only those we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points and often share qualities such as widespread availability, low fees, competitive rewards, and reasonable revenue, cash-on-hand, and time in business requirements.
We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure the corporate cards included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Brex |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Brex for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Brex |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Brex for yourself.
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Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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Our team of experts spends hours on every review so that we can find the best companies to recommend to our readers. Brex made the cut.
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