Revenued Business Card review: A fit for business owners with subpar credit?

The Revenued Business Card + Flex Line could be a great way for business owners — especially those with limited or damaged personal credit — to access more funds than they’d be offered with a traditional credit card credit limit. Even better, the card has a quick and easy application process that allows cardholders to access these funds sooner than other cards.

Welcome offer: Attainable and useful

The Revenued Business card currently offers a sign-up bonus of $500 after you make $5,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months. This isn’t the best welcome offer available for business owners, but it is easily one of the best you could hope for if you have a limited credit history or low score. 

Cards that require good to excellent credit can come with welcome offers valued at $1,000 or more. Spending requirements for these cards can be as high as $50,000 in six months, making the Revenued card’s spending requirement much more attainable. Plus, if you’re assigned a 1.1 factor rate on your Flex Line funds, this bonus alone would offset your finance charges on $5,000 in purchases.

If you split your spending evenly over the 3-month qualification period, you’ll need to spend around $1,667 per month to earn the welcome offer, which should be reasonable for most business owners. However, you’ll need to pay finance charges for the funds you use, so be sure to assess your cash flow before you apply to ensure you’ll have the funds you need to meet the repayment requirements. 

Rewards rate: Much better than most flat-rate cards

The Revenued Business Card earns an unlimited flat rate of 3 percent back on all purchases. That’s one of the best flat rewards rates available on a card in this category and even beats the rate you’ll get on many cards that charge annual fees or require good to excellent credit. 

If you don’t spend heavily in major business card bonus categories like office supplies, travel or gas, the Revenued Business Card could be a solid all-purpose rewards option. It could also make sense as a supplemental rewards card if you already earn more than 3 percent cash back in some categories and want to maximize your earnings on general purchases. 

Benefits: Quick application process and no hard inquiry

Once your Revenued Business Card + Flex Line application is reviewed, you’ll get an approval decision within an hour. You also aren’t required to move forward with opening an account until you see your spending limit and factor rate. This makes it much easier to weigh your options in a complex business funding market. 

Since your funding decision is based on revenue and cash flow — not your credit score — the Revenued Business Card + Flex Line is a great fit for cardholders with a limited or less-than-ideal credit history.

The Revenued application also does not require a hard credit inquiry, which keeps your credit score from temporarily dropping when you apply, as it would if you applied for a typical business card. This is a strong benefit if you already have fair or average credit and want to protect or build your score. 

Credit limit: Spending limit increases with your revenue

How much funding you’re eligible for is based on your current business savings, income, cash flow and debt, so your spending line evolves with them. This means as your business grows, so too will your Flex Line.

This is a great perk for business owners who are seeing rapid growth and continuously need more funding for their operations, but may not qualify for a large business loan or credit limit on a traditional credit card.

One of this card’s best traits is its low entry barrier when it comes to your credit score — a big perk if you have fair credit or limited credit history and need access to business funding. However, beyond this convenience, there are few perks on this card.

Rates:  Flex Line too expensive to use

There’s no annual fee for this card, making it an accessible option for business owners who don’t have a lump sum of cash to tie up in fees. The Revenued Business Card also doesn’t come with an APR, so you won’t have to worry about compounding interest charges. 

You could be placed in a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly repayment plan. These plans vary from one business to the next, but as underwriters review your application, they will determine your repayment period at the same time they determine your factor rate and Flex Line limit.

However, to use your Flex Line, you’ll have to pay finance charges based on your factor rate, and funds are automatically deducted from your account based on your rate and payback term. You’ll also face fees if you don’t have enough money in your account and your payment bounces ($35 for each day it’s assessed). 

A factor rate is different from an interest rate and is presented to cardholders as a decimal rather than a percentage. Rates typically range between 1.1 and 1.5, which is essentially a 10 percent to 50 percent charge for access to funds. For example, if you make a $5,000 purchase with a factor rate of 1.1, then you’ll owe $5,000, plus $500 in finance charges.

To determine your spending line and factor rate, the Revenued Business Card + Flex Line issuer, Sutton Bank, will analyze your cash flow, past transactions and annual revenue. This rate only applies to funds you use, so if you have a spending limit of $5,000 but only use $1,000, you’ll only face finance charges on the $1,000 you used. 

The following tables show how much interest you’d face if you paid off a $1,000 balance on a credit card (based on Bankrate’s credit card payoff calculator, with an APR around the national average) and how this compares to the finance charges you’d face after making a $1,000 purchase with the Revenued Business Card + Flex Line given different payback terms.

Interest charges on $1,000 credit card balance (19 percent APR):

Finance charges on $1,000 Revenued Card + Flex Line purchase:

As you can see, traditional credit card interest charges may prove less expensive than the Flex Line finance charges if you only need to carry a balance short term. Meanwhile, factor rate-based finance charges could save you money if you need to stretch repayment out over several months.

Which financing method works better for you will depend on the type of business you have and how successful it is. You could be placed in a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly repayment plan. These plans vary from one business to the next, but as underwriters review your application, they will determine your repayment period at the same time they determine your factor rate and Flex Line limit.

Benefits: Scarce for a business card

While the Revenued Business Card has great benefits for beginners, the long-term value is limited. Most of the card’s benefits are centered around the application and the Flex Line feature along with the standard online dashboard and 24/7 customer service. 

For business owners builidng their credit, this could be enough. However, for business owners who are looking for a card that includes better benefits, this card can be severly lacking. If you have good to execellent credit, it may be better to look at cards that offer business product discounts or travel credits. 

Redemption: Only direct deposit available

Cash rewards earned from card spending are added to your Available Rewards balance in your card account and are available for a direct deposit if you have a rewards balance of $10 or more.

Unlike some other cash back cards, the Revenued Business card doesn’t offer redemption options like travel, gift cards or online shopping. While this may be inconvenient, this makes using your rewards a simple process. Once you redeem your Available Rewards, your cash back is transferred to the business bank account associated with your Revenued card account.

It’s hard to compare the Revenued Business Card + Flex Line to traditional cards because of its unique funding and payback structure, but it shares a few features of traditional business cards, including its rewards program. 

If you’re looking for a new business card and you have fair or average credit, the Revenued Business Card + Flex Line may be one of your only options. But if you’re close to a good credit score, consider these alternatives:

It might be a good idea to pair this card with a no-annual-fee card if you’re working on your personal credit score. While the Revenued Business card can help you access funding with a damaged or limited credit history, it’s not the most practical long-term credit-building option since you can’t avoid finance charges. A no-annual-fee card may prove less expensive and more efficient at building credit over time.

If you have a decent credit score and never carry a balance on your credit cards, you’ll likely want to skip the Revenued Business Card + Flex Line. The finance charges you’ll pay with the Revenued Business Card + Flex Line factor rate can be substantial depending on the rate you qualify for and how much of your funding you use. Plus, the fact that you’re locked into paying these charges regardless of when you pay off purchases is unfortunate. With a traditional credit card, you can skip interest charges simply by paying off your balance each billing cycle.

However, if you have a fair credit score or no credit history and can’t qualify for traditional business cards or a low-interest business loan, then the Revenued combo may be your best option for funding for your business. Or, if you plan to carry a balance long-term, a factor rate might actually be an advantage for you because it’s a fixed rate and finance charges don’t compound like interest as long as you meet your repayment terms.

*The information about the Bank of America® Business Advantage Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured credit card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.