Brex 30 Card review: Elevated rewards for frequent payments

The Brex 30 Card is a charge card geared toward business owners who have the cash flow to pay off their credit card balance each month. With the potential for a high credit limit and no hidden fees, this card is also for big business spenders who want to maximize rewards without paying extra for the privilege.

Some account holders can also qualify for Brex Exclusive, a rewards status that helps you earn the highest potential rewards for each dollar spent. This status is for business owners who make the Brex 30 Card the exclusive corporate card for their business.

That said, the Brex card bonus categories may not work for every business owner. If you are hoping to maximize rewards on all your business spending, you may want to consider other cards that have more generalized earning rates in popular categories or all-around flat-rate rewards.

Quick highlights

• Rewards rate: Up to 8X points for payments made daily, and up to 7X points on eligible purchases with monthly payments
• Welcome offer: Earn 50,000 points —10,000 points when you spend your first $1,000 on your Brex card, another 10,000 points when you spend $3,000 within three months of account opening and 20,000 more points when you link payroll to your Brex account
• Annual fee: $0
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
• Regular APR: N/A

Current welcome offer

The Brex 30 Card gives new customers the chance to earn 50,000 points – 10,000 points when you spend your first $1,000 on your Brex card, another 10,000 points when you spend $3,000 within three months of account opening and 20,000 more points when you link payroll to your Brex account.

This bonus offer is not only complicated, but it’s truly inferior when you compare it to other business cards and requires some extra commitment on your behalf to integrate your business with Brex. Some other business credit cards with no annual fee offer bonuses worth $750 in cash within the first three months. If you aren’t too keen on travel redemptions like those offered with Brex, then the cash offered in a welcome bonus is much more likely to appeal to you.

Rewards rate

The Brex 30 Card even offers up to 8X points per dollar spent on certain purchases, so it can be fruitful for business owners who spend a lot in those bonus categories. That said, individuals will need to choose whether they want to pay their card off daily (through a connected Brex Cash account) or monthly, and the highest rewards rates go to those who make daily payments. It’s a unique offer in the credit card landscape that rewards reliable cardholders and encourages good financial habits – like paying your balance and keeping it at $0.

How you earn

Customers with a Brex Cash account that make daily payments on their card earn the most in rewards:

• 8X on rideshare purchases
• 5X on travel booked through Brex Travel
• 4X on restaurants
• 3X on eligible Apple purchases through the Brex Rewards Portal
• 1.5X on ads
• 1X on other purchases

Interestingly, Brex also says that companies that identify as Tech or Life Sciences can earn rewards tailored to their industry. For example, tech companies, in addition to 3X on eligible Apple purchases through the Brex Rewards Portal can also earn 3X on recurring software purchases. Additionally, life sciences companies earn 8X on conference tickets and 2X on lab supplies.

These are some standout rewards offerings that certainly carry value for businesses that fall into these categories, but overall the card at its standard rewards rates isn’t much less rewarding. If you pay your credit card bill monthly instead of daily you’ll typically earn 1X points less in all categories. This is true for companies in any industry, as well as for those in the tech and life sciences industries.

Generally speaking, cardholders who pay their bill monthly will earn:

• 7X on rideshares
• 4X on Brex Travel
• 3X on restaurants
• 2X on recurring software
• 1X on other purchases

Unfortunately, at either rewards rate, the Brex 30 card doesn’t compare well to some of the best point-earning business cards out there.

How to redeem

The Brex 30 Card offers quite a few ways to redeem your rewards, including for flights and hotels booked through Brex Travel, gift cards, a statement credit or cash back into a Brex Cash account. You can also turn your rewards into Bitcoin or Ethereum through a Brex partner known as TravelBank.

Brex even has some airline partners, all of which let you transfer your Brex points to airline miles at a rate of 1:1. Brex airline partners include the following:

• Aeromexico
• Air France / Flying Blue
• Asia Miles
• Avianca
• Emirates
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines

While a 1:1 rate is nice, there are better transfer rates available on travel-oriented cards. These cards typically also come with more expansive transfer airline lists. If travel is your focus, a card specifically designed for maximum travel rewards and convenience will certainly outpace the Brex 30. However, as a business card, coupled with its other rewards, features and benefits, Brex has brought a decent competitor to the travel cards landscape in the form of a business charge card.

The Brex 30 Card is pretty light on perks, which is one of its major downsides. For example, other business cards come with benefits like travel insurance, annual statement credits or global airport lounge access. However, because the card has no annual fee, this is to be expected. As for what it does offer, the card comes with some discounts on software and services that can amount to some healthy savings if you’re already using them or plan to integrate them into your business operations.

Benefits you get with the Brex 30 Card include the following:

Integration with bookkeeping software

The Brex 30 Card integrates with QuickBooks, Xero and other bookkeeping software in order to help you track your business expenses and cash flow. This can help you save time and resources, putting more minutes in your pocket to work on what’s important

Expense tracking and bill pay

The Brex 30 Card also has built-in expense tracking tools that help you monitor each individual employee’s spending. A bill pay feature lets you track business invoices and payments in one place without any transaction fees. Additionally, you can issue unlimited virtual cards for free to your employees, a convenient feature for you and them because you can open and close these cards as needed in a timely manner.

Special partner discounts

Brex customers can also qualify for special perks from partners, including the following:

• 40 percent off your first 12 months with QuickBooks
• 50 percent off shipping with UPS
• 50 percent discount off 12-month plans from Gusto
• 25 percent off eligible 12-month plans from Slack
• Up to $150 in credit toward Google Ads
• 50 percent off business credit monitoring from Experian

Brex points are worth the standard rate of one cent each when redeemed for options like statement credits or travel through Brex. However, you may be able to get more value for your rewards if you transfer your points to partner airlines and make high-value redemptions from there. This is a nice feature that can certainly help you stretch your points a bit further.

The Brex 30 Card is a charge card, so it doesn’t have an APR you can compare to other cards. However, this card’s lack of fees is a major bonus. The Brex 30 Card comes with no annual fee, no fee for employee cards, no foreign transaction fees and no hidden fees.

Before you sign up for the Brex 30 Card, it’s smart to compare it to other options on the market today. Consider the following alternative business credit cards before you make your decision.

Brex 30 Card vs. Ramp Corporate Card

The Ramp Corporate Card is similar to the Brex 30 Card in the fact it’s a charge card. Also note that the Ramp Corporate Card offers similar integration and expense tracking tools, and that business owners can apply with no credit check and no personal guarantee. This corporate card doesn’t charge fees of any kind, and you earn a flat 1.5 percent back on each dollar your business spends. A card like this might appeal to business cardholders who spend across a broad range of categories and want to earn the same flat rate on everything they purchase. Although charge cards like these have some savvy features, the benefits they carry typically fall short of those on traditional credit cards.

Brex 30 Card vs. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

If you want the chance to carry a balance when cash is tight, consider the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card instead. Not only can you carry a balance when you need to, but this card offers 0 percent intro APR on purchases for 12 months (18.49 percent to 24.49 percent variable APR thereafter). You can also earn a generous welcome bonus of $900 cash back after spending $6,000 within the first three months of account opening. Paired with the card’s flat rate of 1.5 percent cash back for each dollar you spend, this is one of the most rewarding business cards available right now.

Best cards to pair with this card

If you decide to get the Brex 30 Card but you want to pair it with another card, you should look for a card that offers more than 1X points on non-bonus spending with the option to carry a balance or a flat-rate cash back card. The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a good choice with its 1.5 percent cash back, generous welcome offer you can earn and the fact you get an intro APR offer on purchases for the first year.

It’s a great idea to think about a gap in your potential rewards earned with the Brex 30 and try to fill that with a traditional credit card. This way you retain the option to carry a balance on larger expenses and make sure that you’re earning as much back as you can on every purchase. Plus, another credit card will increase your overall credit limit, in turn giving you more purchasing power.

The Brex 30 Card has a complicated rewards structure that may or may not make sense for you and your company. Sure, the rewards rate is high in several categories, but your business has to make fairly specific purchases all year to maximize your points. For example, you only earn bonus points on travel when you book through the Brex Travel portal. Plus, the highest rewards rate is for rideshares, which you may not even use that often.

Also note that the Brex 30 Card requires you to pay your balance in full every month at the maximum, which means you can’t rely on this line of credit when your business is suffering from a cash flow issue. All things considered, the Brex 30 Card is best for cash flow positive businesses that spend a lot in the card’s bonus categories already. For businesses that spend more variably, however, a credit card with a more nuanced rewards structure might be the better option.

The Brex 30 Card is actually offered in two different forms — a business card that is paid off daily through an attached Brex Cash account or a business card users can pay off monthly. Where paying your card off daily through a connected business bank account qualifies you for the highest rewards rate, the business card option you pay off monthly comes with the potential for higher limits.

Whatever payment frequency you choose, rewards aren’t the only factor in the cards landscape. Consider the main pros and cons of this card before you apply because you might see that a traditional credit card with the option to carry a balance is a better fit for you.