I've been reading this board for a little while, and I can't find a thing about corporate credit cards. I'm not talking about credit for one's own business, but a credit card issued to an employee of a large corporation. Does anyone have knowledge or experience of the relative difficulty of being approved, and/or whether this kind of account would report to CRA's for one's individual credit history? Thanks in advance!
I don't believe corporate cards report to your personal credit history. I've had a corporate American Express for years through my job and I have never seen it on my credit report. I do recall giving them the OK to run my credit, so they do check your credit before approving you for a corporate card. Also I know sometimes my company pays the Amex bill late (sometimes past 90 days) just because it takes so long for approvals to work their way up the chain of command. I would think if the card was being reported to the employees' credit report the company would have stricter policies regarding paying the bill on time so as to not negatively affect the employee. Just my guess, it just doesn't make sense that a corp. card is reported to the employee.
Thanks. I received my card today and they made it clear that they would only report in the case of delinquency.
This is the case with all business oriented cards. A word of forewarning however, is that if someone is "responsible" for repayment you'd be wise to keep an eye on it. Otherwise, you may be hit on your personal report with a late notation which in turn could lead one of your creditors to invoke a univeral default provision within your contract with them.
Developing a Corporate Credit Card Policy A business may have a corporate credit card account and provide employees with individual cards to be used for business expenses. When employers hand out credit cards, they are responsible for their cards' use and safekeeping while they are in the employees' possession. The purpose of having a corporate credit card policy is to establish the procedure and protocol for the use of such cards. Who is responsible for a corporate credit card - the employee who uses the card, or the employer who applies for it? It depends on the terms of the corporate credit card agreement with the issuer. In general, the primary cardholder (the one who actually applied for the card) is considered fully liable for all charges on the account, including those made by any authorized users, regardless of any other existing verbal or written agreement between the primary cardholder and the authorized user. However, if both are equally responsible as per the terms of the corporate credit card agreement, the employer has a duty to clearly inform the employee of such responsibilities and obligations. corporate credit card policy establishes the procedure and protocol for the use of corporate cards. Employees must understand the liability and accountability issues surrounding their use. Policies around the use of credit cards have to be shown to be fair and equitable. There may be wording in the employee's employment contract specifying liability to the company for excessive or improper charges. Some other issues that the policy should address are as follows: Indicate the scope and purpose of the policy - the authorized use of a corporate credit card account. Explain how the corporate card system works, and the benefits to the company and the employee. Indicate who is eligible to possess a corporate credit card, and which employees are eligible to receive a card Ensure that the eligible employee understands that he or she is required to sign an agreement with the company with respect to the use of a corporate credit card before he or she receives the card. Prepare and draft an agreement to be signed by both parties for each eligible employee.
If I may add my $0.02: I am a newbie, but I have had experience with an Amex corporate card. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was reported delinquent while waiting for a reimbursement. In retrospect, I could surely have avoided this, but I complacently allowed the process to ding my credit. I contacted Amex last month, and they agreed to remove the tradeline in its entirety since I was not 180 days past due. I am waiting for 30 days to elapse since that conversation, (per the advice I got on this board - thanks!) and I will see if it has indeed been removed. If it is still there, I will follow up with Amex, ask for the agreement in writing, and wait some more. If that doesn't work, I will have to dispute the tradeline with the CRAs and wait some more. The moral of the story, I suppose, is even though you have received assurances, etc., do stay on top of the payment/reimbursement process, and contact Amex customer service as soon as you anticipate a delay in payment.
