Brex Card
No-personal-guarantee startup/corporate charge card with category points, virtual cards, and expense ops; pay in full daily or monthly
Capital One Venture X Business
Premium NPSL business charge card: unlimited 2X miles, portal 5X/10X, $300 travel credit + 10k anniversary miles, lounges, $395 fee
Costs & Pricing
| Metric | Brex Card | Capital One Venture X Business |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 published for the card. Software is separate: Essentials $0/user/mo; Premium $12/user/mo; Enterprise/Smart Card custom. Do not treat Premium as a card AF unless the company elects that plan. | $395 (ongoing; no first-year waiver published) |
| Employee card fee | $0; unlimited physical + virtual cards advertised | $0 for employee cards. Optional lounge access for additional cardholders is $125/year per person (up to 4). Cards without lounge access stay free. |
| Purchase APR | N/A — charge card, pay in full. Marketing “0%” is charge-card float (daily ~1 business day after clear, or ~30-day monthly statement), not an intro APR. | Marketing: 25.74% variable on the portion you elect to carry. Formal disclosure box does not print a purchase APR — it states the balance is due in full. No published Prime+ band. |
| Intro APR (purchases) | Not offered | Not offered |
| Foreign transaction fee | Marketing: no FTF. Official: FX rate markup of up to 3% on conversions (Mastercard wholesale, adjusted daily). Local-currency cards can avoid conversion on local spend. | $0 |
| Late payment fee | 2.99% of delinquent balance or $38, whichever is higher, assessed once per statement that is 30 days past due (Card Program Terms, Apr 7, 2026) | 2.99% of the unpaid portion of the minimum payment. Because the minimum equals the New Balance, a missed due date is expensive. |
Rewards & Value
| Metric | Brex Card | Capital One Venture X Business |
|---|---|---|
| Base earn rate | 1x on everything else under Exclusive (1 point per $1 USD spend with a U.S.-based merchant). All customers enrolled in Exclusive unless the contract says otherwise. No published category caps. Non-Exclusive / second-card path may be flat 1x — source conflict with 2026 reviews; confirm on the live contract. | Unlimited 2 miles per $1 on net purchases (no published category cap) |
| Welcome bonus | $1,000 USD statement credit after ≥$4,000 Qualifying Spend within 30 days of activation. Apply, be approved, and activate (first purchase) Sep 1–30, 2026 (legal offer revised Aug 10, 2026). Re-check Oct 1. Review sites still print 10,000 points after $3,000 in 3 months — not found as a current dated legal page. | Standard public offer (product page + disclosure 31812, 2026-09-03): 150,000 bonus miles after $30,000 spend within 3 months of rewards-membership enrollment. Posted within two billing cycles. Marketed as equal to $1,500 in travel at the 1¢ portal rate. |
| Redemption value | Brex Travel portal: 1 point = 1¢. Cash to Brex business account or statement credit: 1 point = 0.6¢ (admin must claim). Headline 7x rideshare is 4.2% cash only if Exclusive + cash path. Do not use 1¢ for cash. | 1¢ per mile for portal travel and Cover Your Travel Purchases (miles needed = dollars × 100). Issuer markets 10,000 anniversary miles as $100 toward travel. Cash via check/account credit and gift cards at rates that vary and can change — not automatic. |
| Transfer partners | Emirates Skywards, Avianca LifeMiles, Singapore KrisFlyer, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Aeromexico Club Premier, Cathay Asia Miles, Qantas Frequent Flyer at ~1,500:1,000. Crypto (BTC/ETH) appeared in older guides at 0.6¢ — not on the current official redeem page. | Capital One miles program (disclosure: may be eligible). Official 2026 list — 1:1 airlines: Aeromexico Rewards, Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue (Air France-KLM), Qantas, Qatar Privilege Club, Singapore KrisFlyer, TAP Miles&Go, Turkish Miles&Smiles, Virgin Red. 2:1.5: Emirates Skywards, EVA Air, Japan Airlines. 5:3: JetBlue TrueBlue. Hotels: Choice Privileges 1:1, Wyndham Rewards 1:1, I Prefer 1:2, Accor Live Limitless 2:1. Miles do not expire while the account is open; may be forfeited if closed. |
Credit & Eligibility
| Metric | Brex Card | Capital One Venture X Business |
|---|---|---|
| Personal guarantee | Not required in Brex marketing. Card Program Terms assign liability to the Company. Confirm the live issuer agreement at approval (Emigrant vs Fifth Third vs other). | Required in practice / exact clause not on the public product page. Capital One educational copy treats PGs as typical on business cards; secondary sources (Nav, Ramp) state Cap One business cards require a PG. |
| Credit check | Brex states SSN is for identity verification and is not used to underwrite or pull personal credit. No advertised personal hard pull. | Application collects SSN/ITIN, rent/mortgage, personal contact. Hard pull is the Cap One / industry norm; pre-approval tool is marketed as no-impact. Whose credit: authorizing signatory; beneficial owners/controllers also collected. |
| Employee cards | One employee card (physical or virtual) per user plus unlimited purchasing/virtual cards. Spend limits, merchant locks, policies, Apple/Google/Samsung Pay. Company liable. Auto-reissue on expiry. | Free; public copy does not numerically cap count. Roles: authorized user vs account manager (more admin rights). Custom spend limits, real-time posting, lock/unlock. Primary remains liable. No complimentary lounge access for additional cardholders unless $125/year add-on (up to 4). |
| Product type | Corporate / commercial charge card plus spend-management platform (pay-in-full daily or monthly; not revolving; no published purchase APR) | Hybrid business charge card with no preset spending limit (NPSL). Official terms: all charges due in full; minimum payment equals New Balance. Marketing allows carrying a portion at 25.74% variable APR (Pay Over Time). Not a traditional revolving line. |
Pros & Cons
Brex Card
Pros
- No personal guarantee and no advertised personal credit pull; company is the obligor
- $0 card annual fee and unlimited employee/virtual cards on Essentials
- Exclusive category points with no published earn cap; Brex Travel portal at 1¢/pt
- Native expense controls, virtual/vendor cards, and accounting integrations
- Local-currency cards in 50+ countries (plan-dependent); business-bureau reporting without personal-credit reporting (per Brex)
Cons
- Charge card: no revolving APR, no 0% working-capital window; late fee 2.99% or $38 after 30 days past due, plus possible 10% workout fee
- Sole props ineligible; funded startups commonly ~$50k cash; commercial revenue floors are messy
- “No FTF” marketing vs up to 3% FX markup
- Cash redemption 0.6¢/pt; airline transfers 1,500:1,000; Exclusive/contract multipliers are easy to misread
- Dynamic limits can fall with cash; Capital One ownership may change terms
Capital One Venture X Business
Pros
- Unlimited 2X miles with no category tracking, plus 5X/10X in Capital One Business Travel and 15+ transfer partners
- $300 portal credit + 10,000 anniversary miles offset most of the $395 fee if the credit is used (fee nets about −$5 at 1¢/mile before lounge value)
- NPSL purchasing power with Confirm Purchasing Power; $0 FTF
- Free employee and virtual cards; Accounts Payable included (no platform fee)
- Primary lounge stack (Cap One + Priority Pass) with two free PP guests — better PP guest policy than personal Venture X after Feb 2026
Cons
- $395 fee and a $300 credit that only works inside Capital One Business Travel
- Welcome spend hurdle is $30,000 in 3 months; prior Capital One Business customers may get $0 bonus
- Pay-in-full design; late fee is 2.99% of the unpaid New Balance
- Carry APR 25.74% if you use the residual-balance option — poor working-capital tool
- Portal-only hotel/air bonuses; insurance/cell-phone/rental-CDW details are network-dependent and not in a public benefits PDF
Verdict
Brex Card
Brex is a charge-card ops platform owned by Capital One as of April 7, 2026 — not Spark, not Ramp’s Visa SKU, and not a revolving bank card. Pick it for no-PG underwriting and policy tooling. Do not assume 1¢ cash, a guaranteed 7x, or true $0 FX. Sole props, revolvers, and simple 1.5–2% cash shoppers should use a traditional PG card or Ramp if the cash bar fits. The Sep 2026 $1,000 / $4,000 / 30-day credit expires Sep 30 — re-check Oct 1.
Capital One Venture X Business
Venture X Business is the miles/lounge sibling of Spark Cash Plus — same NPSL charge-card chassis, not consumer Venture X and not Venture Business. Fee math works if the $300 portal credit is used; skip it if you will not book in Capital One Business Travel, cannot hit $30k/3 months, need 0% float, or want no-PG underwriting. Confirm the live welcome tile (150k standard vs 400k targeted) and the issued Visa vs Mastercard benefits guide.