Brex vs American Express business cards for startups

Last updated October 2026

Brex

Brex was built for startups from the ground up, and the product reflects that focus at every level. There is no personal guarantee, no personal credit check, and no requirement that a founder put their own credit history on the line. Credit limits are tied to the company's bank balance and revenue rather than a founder's personal FICO score, which means startups routinely see limits 10 to 20 times higher than what a traditional card would offer. For a company with $50K or more in the bank, Brex will typically extend a meaningful credit line on day one.

The rewards structure favors the spending patterns of early-stage companies. Brex earns 7x on rideshare, 4x on travel, 3x on restaurants, 2x on software subscriptions, and 1x on everything else. Those multipliers do not rotate and are not capped at a spending threshold, which keeps things simple when the finance team is one person wearing four hats.

Where Brex separates itself from traditional charge cards is the built-in expense management platform. Receipt capture, approval workflows, budget controls, and accounting integrations all come standard. Startups using Brex do not need to bolt on Expensify, Ramp, or any other third-party tool to manage employee spending. The platform handles it natively, which saves both money and setup time.

Brex also offers a partner perks program that is directly relevant to startups. Discounts on AWS, Anthropic, GitHub, and Slack credits can add up to meaningful savings in the first year or two of a company's life. These are not theoretical benefits: a startup spending $10K/month on cloud infrastructure will notice the difference.

In April 2026, Capital One completed its acquisition of Brex. The long-term implications of that deal are still unfolding, but Brex continues to operate its product independently, and the core card and expense management features remain unchanged.

Pricing is straightforward. The Essentials plan costs nothing. Premium runs $12 per user per month and unlocks more advanced controls. Enterprise pricing is custom. There is a practical minimum of roughly $50K in a connected bank account to qualify for the card, which effectively gates Brex to funded startups or bootstrapped companies with real revenue.

American Express business cards

American Express offers two primary business cards worth considering: the Business Gold Card and the Business Platinum Card. Both require a personal guarantee, meaning a founder's personal credit is on the hook if the company defaults. That is the single biggest structural difference between Amex and Brex, and it is the reason many early-stage founders rule out Amex from the start.

Amex Business Gold

The Business Gold Card carries a $375 annual fee and earns 4x Membership Rewards points on the two categories where a business spends the most each billing cycle, up to $150,000 per year in combined purchases. The eligible categories include advertising, dining, gas stations, electronics retailers, transit, and wireless telephone services. Flights booked directly earn 3x, and everything else earns 1x.

This rotating top-category structure can be powerful if a startup's spending naturally clusters in two areas. A company spending heavily on Google Ads and team meals, for example, would earn 4x on both without any manual category selection. The system identifies the top two categories automatically each month.

The card also includes up to $240 per year in statement credits spread across FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply retailers. These credits offset some of the annual fee, though they require spending at specific merchants to realize the value.

The Business Gold Card does not include airport lounge access, which limits its appeal for teams that travel frequently.

Amex Business Platinum

The Business Platinum Card is the premium option at $895 per year. It earns 5x on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, 2x on purchases of $5,000 or more (useful for large vendor payments), and 1x on everything else.

The real draw of the Platinum card is its credit and travel perks bundle, which totals roughly $2,000 in annual value. This includes airline fee credits, hotel credits, CLEAR membership, Dell Technologies credits, Indeed hiring credits, and more. A founder who travels regularly and uses even half of these credits can offset the annual fee several times over.

Lounge access is the Platinum card's signature benefit. Cardholders get into Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), and Priority Pass lounges worldwide. The card also comes with complimentary Hilton Gold and Marriott Gold elite status, which means room upgrades and late checkout at thousands of hotels.

For a startup with a founder or executive team that travels heavily, the Amex Business Platinum can deliver outsized value. The math works best when annual travel spending exceeds $30,000 and the cardholder uses the lounge access and hotel status regularly.

How to choose

The decision between Brex and Amex business cards comes down to three questions: how much personal risk a founder is willing to take, what the company's spending profile looks like, and whether travel perks matter.

If the startup is venture-backed and the founder wants to keep personal credit completely separate from business obligations, Brex is the clear choice. No personal guarantee means no personal liability, no hard credit inquiry, and no impact on the founder's ability to get a mortgage or other personal financing. For most seed and Series A companies, this alone is reason enough to choose Brex.

If expense management matters, and it should for any team larger than two people, Brex has a significant advantage. The built-in receipt capture, approval workflows, and budget controls eliminate the need for a separate expense management subscription. Amex cards require pairing with a third-party tool to get comparable functionality, which adds cost and complexity.

Amex becomes compelling in two specific scenarios. First, if a startup's spending heavily clusters in Amex Business Gold's bonus categories (advertising and dining are common for startups), the 4x earning rate on up to $150K per year can outperform Brex's rewards in raw point value. Second, if a founder or executive travels frequently, the Amex Business Platinum's lounge access, hotel status, and travel credits deliver tangible quality-of-life improvements that Brex does not match.

Many startups end up using both. Brex serves as the primary corporate card for the team, handling day-to-day expenses, software subscriptions, and employee spending. An Amex Business Platinum sits in the founder's wallet for travel and large purchases. This combination captures the best of both products without forcing a compromise.

One practical consideration: Amex is not accepted everywhere. The Mastercard network that Brex runs on has broader merchant acceptance, particularly internationally and at smaller vendors. For startups that work with contractors, vendors, or suppliers who do not accept Amex, this can be a deciding factor.

The credit limit question also matters. Brex ties limits to the company's bank balance and can extend 10 to 20 times what a traditional card offers. A startup with $500K in the bank might get a $100K or higher limit from Brex, while Amex would base its limit on the founder's personal credit history and the company's revenue. For fast-growing startups that need to make large purchases (cloud infrastructure, inventory, ad spend), Brex's higher limits can be operationally important.

FAQs

Does Brex require a personal guarantee?

No. Brex does not require a personal guarantee or a personal credit check. Credit decisions are based on the company's bank balance and financial health. This is one of the primary reasons startups choose Brex over traditional business credit cards.

Does American Express Business Gold require a personal guarantee?

Yes. Both the Amex Business Gold and Business Platinum cards require a personal guarantee. The founder or cardholder is personally liable for the balance if the business cannot pay.

What bank balance do you need to qualify for Brex?

Brex generally requires around $50,000 in a connected business bank account to qualify. The exact threshold can vary, and companies with strong revenue may qualify with less. Brex evaluates the company's overall financial health rather than applying a hard cutoff.

Can you use Brex and Amex together?

Yes, and many startups do. A common setup is using Brex as the primary corporate card for the team (taking advantage of built-in expense management) while keeping an Amex Business Platinum for the founder's travel and large purchases.

Which card has better rewards for software subscriptions?

Brex earns 2x on software subscriptions with no cap. Amex Business Gold may categorize some software purchases under its 4x bonus categories, but this depends on how the merchant is classified and only applies if software falls into one of the top two spending categories that month. For predictable software rewards, Brex is more reliable.

Does Brex offer airport lounge access?

No. Brex does not include airport lounge access with any of its plans. If lounge access is important, the Amex Business Platinum card provides access to Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, and Priority Pass lounges.

What happened with the Capital One acquisition of Brex?

Capital One completed its acquisition of Brex in April 2026. Brex continues to operate its product independently, and the core card, expense management, and rewards features remain unchanged for existing and new customers.

Is Brex a credit card or a charge card?

Brex is a corporate charge card, meaning the balance must be paid in full each statement period. There is no option to carry a balance and pay interest. Amex Business Gold and Platinum are also charge cards with the same pay-in-full requirement, though Amex offers a Pay Over Time feature on eligible purchases.

Which card is better for advertising spend?

If advertising (Google Ads, Meta Ads, etc.) is one of the company's top two spending categories, the Amex Business Gold card earns 4x on that spend, up to $150,000 per year. Brex earns 1x on advertising unless it falls under a bonus category. For heavy ad spenders, Amex Business Gold can offer significantly better rewards in this specific category.

Can a pre-revenue startup get Brex?

Yes, as long as the company has sufficient funds in a connected bank account (roughly $50K or more). Brex does not require revenue to qualify. Many pre-revenue startups that have raised a seed round use Brex as their first corporate card. Amex business cards, by contrast, typically require some business history or revenue, and the personal guarantee means the founder's credit history matters.

See also

• Brex vs Ramp

• Mercury vs Brex

• Best business credit card for startups

• Best fintech for small business

• Best tools for startup founders