If you’re on the hunt for the best funding and cash flow options for your business, traditional banks may not be your best bet right now. Lately, we’ve been writing about some of the most popular, alternative corporate card offers. When researching the top credit cards for startups, Ramp (a fairly new player in the game) ended up near the top of the list. While we weren’t surprised, that’s when we realized we should take a closer look and share our findings.
This is what we’ll cover here:
- What is a Ramp Card?
- How Can Ramp Help You Save?
- Will You Qualify for a Ramp Corporate Credit Card?
- How Does the Ramp Card Stack Up Next to Competitors?
- Conclusion
Read on to learn more.
What is a Ramp Card?
A Ramp card is a corporate credit card designed to help businesses save money. By offering a free corporate card with rewards.
Ramp, aka Ramp Financials, aka Ramp Business Corporation, was co-founded in 2019 by Eric Glyman, Gene Lee, and Karim Atiyeh. All three co-founders main current C-level management positions at the company.
While the company hasn’t been around as long as some of its competitors, the leadership team has notable experience in the financial industry. CEO, Eric Glyman, and CTO, Karim Atiyeh, also co-founded Paribus, where current CPO, Gene Lee, was a software engineer. Paribus was acquired by Capital One, where the trio stayed on staff until they launched Ramp.
How Can Ramp Help You Save?
In my opinion, Ramp rewards rank up there with the Brex card and other corporate credit cards. Here’s a summary of what you get if you go with Ramp for your business.
Unlimited Staff Cards With Smart Spending Limits
Do you want to enable multiple staff members to use your credit, but not sure how you can limit spending appropriately? If so, Ramp has you covered. If you qualify for the corporate credit card offer, you can take advantage of as many staff cards as you need. Plus, you can set spending limits on each card.
Not only can you set limits, but the card’s algorithm identifies opportunities for savings. For example, you may be paying for duplicate subscriptions, missing cash back, or have a lower pricing plan available through one of your software vendors — Ramp will analyze spending and alert you to opportunities like this, which is a unique and invaluable perk.
Zero Fees & 1.5% Cash Back on Spending
First, let’s look at the fees you don’t have to pay:
- Foreign transaction fees.
- Late fees.
- Interest fees.
- Annual fees.
- Costs per card.
Take a look at your current credit cards and figure up how much you’re paying for the above fees and think about whether it’s time to make the switch. Other coporate credit cards like Brex and Divvy offer zero fees; they also offer cash back. So, it’s smart to weigh your options.
Now, in the case of Ramp, the cash back is 1.5% on everything. So, if you spend $500K per year, you’ll earn $7.5K in cash back alone. While this may not sound as impressive as 7X points on certain spending like the competition, Ramp’s offer opens your company to earn on any type of spending instead of specific costs like restaurants or software.
$175K in Ramp Partner Rewards
If you utilize offers from any of Ramp’s partners, you need to consider how much you can save by using their card to pay for services and subscriptions. Cardholders who leverage all offers can save up to $175K. While that’s not necessarily likely, you can save hundreds and even thousands with specific vendors.
For example, if you use your Ramp card to pay for AWS, you can get preferred access to credits. You’ll also be able to take advantage of $150 in Google Ads, 25% off your first year of Pulley equity management, and a 2.5% discount on Plastiq bill pay.
Some more impressive offers are $15K and $30K credits with Triplebyte software engineering and Datadog cloud monitoring respectively. If you’re using either of these services, that alone might make choosing a Ramp card more than worthwhile.
Will You Qualify for a Ramp Corporate Credit Card?
Ramp card requirements aren’t super transparent. But, we do know that there are no credit checks or founder guarantees. So, you don’t have much to lose by applying to find out.
From what I can tell, Ramp underwriting seems to be based on the following factors:
- How many employees your business has
- Your company’s average monthly card spending
- Whether or not you have over $250K in your business account
I can almost guarantee that if you do not have at least $250K in your business account at this time, then you won’t qualify for the card. In this case, another card might be a better fit.
Recommended Reading:
- What are the Best Business Credit Cards for Startups?
- 3 Best Credit Unions for Small Business Banking
- The Best Business Credit Cards
How Does the Ramp Card Stack Up Next to Competitors?
Before you make a decision on whether or not to apply, it’s a good idea to take a peek at Ramp side-by-side with its top competitors. So, here’s what we know.
The benefits you get with Ramp are competitive with other similar corporate cards from Stripe, Brex, and Divvy.
Conclusion
If you can qualify for a Ramp card, the only reason you might not want to would be to go with a competing corporate card. Otherwise, this is a fantastic offer. Now, if you can’t yet qualify, but want to learn how to get up to $100K in business credit within as few as 30 days, you’re probably a good candidate for our credit courses and coaching. Join Business Credit Workshop today to start learning.