19 year old new business owner looking to take advantage of credit card rewards

[awesomeguy25]

Hello everyone,

In May i started a business, I have generated over $150,000 AUD in revenue of so far. I am not a big personal spender and after production costs, business registration and other deductable purchases i made before the last financial year ended i am left with ~$55K right now. I don't need to borrow money at all, i'm just looking to generate points with my spending.

I have never had a credit card before as i don't like borrowing money so i have no credit history, but since i have a business where i am spending 10's of thousand dollars a month ($50K In August alone on my normal debit card), i want to take advantage of credit card frequent flyer point bonuses.

Ideally i want to get an amex as the benefits seem the most appealing to me, but i am unsure what amex i should apply for. The sign up fee does not necessarily matter to me as the annual fee for a platinum card ($1,750) would get me 200,000 bonus points if i spend $8,000 in my first 3 months (which is more than reasonable for my business). 200K points would cover multiple return flights to america which is something i am looking to do more next year and i just spent over $2000 for a single return trip to la which is already over the amex annual fee.

Another thing to note is that i am currently registered as a sole trader, will this affect my ability to get a business amex?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

For your first card, and seeing you have no debt data, credit card companies might deny your application.
Yes, you have the funds to pay the debt/s, but credit card companies also want a bit of risk taking, so to speak.
Its not impossible, but will be a hard road.
Also, having a lot of points, is meaningless, because airlines, will be more, how can I put it, pally with people who fly with them a lot, ie, have a high status, from flying.
QF has got something called Points Club, we call it PC, and needs a person to spend $250,000 on ground activities.
QF also have something called Business Rewards, but you must have an ABN, which I assume you have got already.
At a QF NB/PS, your chances of upgrades, esp on int flights, are lower in availability than those on a higher tier.
So, apply for that amex card, the fees will be quite high, if they decline it, I am not sure, maybe something from the banks.
Also, make an effort to fly some Aust dom flights with QF if you want your points in QFF/OW, or with VA if you want your points in VFF.
One return flight to the US with QF in Y, probably will land you half way to PS, but you need a lot more flights to get to SG, once at that, once QFF releases U seats, or reward seats, your chances of getting them, as an QFF SG will be better than someone with lower QFF status.
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200,000 QFF points, from card spend, in Y, yes, sounds a lot, but it also depends on what charges in taxes, fees, and levies, that you have to pay, usually in cash or card.
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Its not the mere fact, that you are a sole trader, that the card companies/company might deny your application, they also look at risk of default, but also, if your slate is too clean, that can also lead to a denial.
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Pay for something like getting a/your credit report from Equifax or D&B, just to see what they have on you.
If you have no info, that can also lead to a denial.

 

[Gremlin]

Congrats on the launch of what seems like it will be a successful business.

Getting access to credit can be notoriously difficult in the early stages of a start up. Have a chat to someone from your bank and/or amex about your options. Even if you're thinking about it from the perspective of accumulating points only, they're assessing you and your business from a credit risk perspective. Ask about their acceptance criteria and form a view yourself as to whether you will meet it.

Do NOT let them run an application for you unless you're confident you will meet the acceptance criteria since a rejection on your credit history can be a black marker on further credit applications. They won't care that if they reject you it will make it harder for you to get credit with another lender, but you do care about that.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Be also mindful that, even if you signup for AMEX under a business account, the card will be in your name and you need to have not held ANY Amex card in your own name (business or personal) for about 18months to get the signup bonuses. I found out about this the hard way when I signed up to the QBR Amex card...