BILL Divvy Corporate Card review: Regular payoffs pay off

This card's top highlight is its rewards structure. As long as you pay off your balance frequently, you can earn robust rewards in several popular categories. The card’s valuable perks and minimal fees also make it an all-around attractive option for your small business.

Rewards: Generous bonus rates

The Divvy card's rewards program is unique: Rewards rates shift based on your payoff schedule. This could mean major rewards for small-business owners who can keep up with multiple payoffs each month.

By paying your bill in full every week, you can earn 7 points per dollar on restaurant spending, 5 points per dollar on hotels, 2 points per dollar on recurring software subscriptions and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases. These rates are hard to match, beating out what you’ll find on many of the best no-annual-fee business cards.

Even on cards with an annual fee, 7 points per dollar at restaurants is almost unheard-of. For example, The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card offers just 5 points per dollar on all purchases on the first $100,000 each calendar year (then 3x points thereafter) at a $195 annual fee. If you spend heavily on dining and hotels, you can easily stockpile a lot of rewards by sticking to a weekly payment schedule. 

The card also stands out by offering more than 1 point per dollar back on general purchases — rare among business rewards cards. Competing cards typically earn either a flat rewards rate of 1.5 or 2 points per dollar (with no bonus categories) or higher rates in bonus categories and a base rate of just 1 point per dollar. Offering 1.5 points per dollar on general purchases in addition to bonus categories makes the Divvy Corporate Card a solid standalone rewards option.

If you make semi-monthly payments instead of weekly payments, the rewards are still impressive. But only paying your Divvy Corporate Card off once per month won’t get you much rewards value, dropping your restaurant and hotel rewards rate to just 2X points. Several flat-rate business rewards cards earn 2 percent back on all purchases, not just on restaurant and hotel spending. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, for example, charges no annual fee, offers 2 points per dollar on up to $50,000 in purchases per year (1 point per dollar after that) and earns more valuable and flexible Membership Rewards points.

Overall, the Divvy Corporate Card offers terrific rewards potential if you can pay your bill weekly or semimonthly. But if you can only manage a monthly payment schedule, you may want to consider a card that offers simpler, more consistent rewards.

Rates and fees: Minimal fees and high credit limit potential

The Divvy Corporate card charges no annual fee, so you can earn rewards without wondering whether you’ll earn enough to offset a yearly cost. And since it's a charge card and requires you to pay your balance in full each month, there's no ongoing or penalty APR to worry about. 

On top of that, the card offers various potential credit lines based on the size of your business, with credit lines as high as $15 million.

However, keeping a balance on the card will incur hefty late fees and you may not be eligible to earn rewards. 

Perks: Valuable discounts and budget tracking tools

While lacking in premium perks like airport lounge access, the Divvy Corporate Card boasts a respectable list of business-centric perks and discounts. These practical benefits, like free resources to track and allocate employee spending, could be a big help when it comes to day-to-day business operations.

For instance, the card automatically integrates with Divvy expense management software, allowing you to quickly see purchases and set individual spending limits for each employee’s card. This makes it easy to create unique budgets based on each employee’s expenses and duties.

All employee cards come at no additional cost, and you can create an unlimited number of virtual cards for online use. You can even make a limited-time “burner” card that expires after a few days or unique virtual cards for specific recurring purchases, such as digital advertising or utilities.

If employees need extra funds, they can request them through the Divvy app and have their limit increased immediately upon approval. Employees can also submit for reimbursement right away by uploading their receipts through the Divvy mobile app.

Along with its ongoing rewards, the Divvy Corporate Card may offer other limited-time discounts, historically including credits for services like digital advertising, printing, ride sharing, food delivery and more. Additionally, you also don't have to stress about a hard credit check when you apply. Instead, Divvy will perform a soft inquiry of the business and the authorized signer’s credit, which has no impact on your credit score. And unlike nearly all other business credit cards, the Divvy Corporate Card does not require a personal guarantee; you won’t have to serve as a co-signer on the card account and be liable for the debts your small business incurs. 

You may be able to rack up the points with this card, but your redemption options are limited. Another business card might be a better option if you’re looking for more flexibility and first-year value.

Redemption: Limited value beyond travel

Your Divvy Corporate card redemption options remain the same no matter your payment schedule. While the list offers decent variety, it has some drawbacks. 

You can't transfer your points to partner airline or hotel loyalty programs, for example. Several travel-centric business cards from issuers like American Express and Chase let you transfer your rewards and potentially squeeze extra value out of them (though these cards typically charge an annual fee).

You’ll also have to wait until you've had the card for 12 months and accumulated at least 5,000 points before you can start redeeming your points. And missing a payment or not using your card at 30 percent of your credit line per month can mean that you lose your rewards points.

However, the card's biggest drawback is perhaps its limited redemption value. According to the issuer, your points could be worth as little as 0.49 apiece — less than half the standard 1-cent-per-point redemption value you’ll get on many rewards cards. You’ll fare best if you stick to travel redemptions, as Divvy points are worth:

• 1 cent per point when redeemed for travel directly with Divvy
• 0.52 cents per point when redeemed for cash back
• 0.51 cents per point when redeemed for gift cards
• 0.49 cents per point when redeemed for a statement credit

A 1-cent-per-point value for travel redemptions is solid, but the steep drop-off you’ll find for other redemptions is a clear downside. While many travel-centric rewards cards offer lower value for non-travel redemptions, 0.51 cents per point is especially low.

Even if you’re planning to redeem rewards for travel, competing business cards may offer greater rewards value. Not only do many business travel cards let you transfer rewards to airline or hotel loyalty programs to potentially boost the value of your rewards, but some, like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, offer a bonus rate when you redeem through the issuer’s travel portal.

Welcome offer: No bonus means limited short-term value

Unlike many business rewards cards, the Divvy Corporate card does not offer a sign-up bonus. Several competing cards — including many with no annual fee — give new cardholders a chance to earn hundreds or even thousands of dollars’ worth of cash back, points or miles when they meet a spending threshold within a set timeframe. 

While sign-up bonuses shouldn’t necessarily be the deciding factor when you’re evaluating rewards card options, the value they offer can’t be ignored.

If you can't make the most of the Divvy Corporate card's rewards by paying weekly or semimonthly, then you should consider a card with a simpler rewards program.

Since the Divvy Corporate card doesn’t allow you to carry a balance, it might be helpful to pair it with a business card that offers a 0 percent introductory APR if you plan on financing a large purchase.

If you don’t mind paying off your bill multiple times per month (ideally weekly), then the Divvy Corporate card could be a terrific way to earn rewards on some of your everyday business expenses. However, weekly bill payments may be too much for the average small-business owner to keep up with, in which case the Divvy Corporate Card’s rewards rates will likely fall flat.

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring business credit cards, including each card’s rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more.

We analyzed over 50 of the most popular business credit cards and scored each based on how its key features stacked up compared to those of other cards in its category.

Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score: