Brex is a free business cash management account that is currently offering new users a $250 Amazon gift card if you sign up using a referral link and meet certain requirements. To earn the $250 Amazon gift card, you have to do the following:Â
- Open a Brex Cash account using a referral link (here is my Brex Cash referral link).
- Once you open your Brex Cash account, spend $1,000 on the Brex Card that comes with your Brex Cash account.Â
- After you meet this spend requirement, Brex will send you a $250 Amazon gift card.
While Brex is not technically a bank account, for all practical purposes, it acts like a bank account and has the same features and protections as any other bank. Your Brex Cash account comes with a routing number and account number that you can use to link your account to other bank accounts. The funds in your Brex Cash account are also held in FDIC-insured partner banks, so your money is safe and FDIC insured.
What makes Brex particularly good is that opening a Brex Cash account and getting the included Brex Card does not result in a hard credit pull or impact your credit in any way. This makes Brex a great way to earn a signup bonus on a credit card without having to worry about adding a new account to your credit report or otherwise impacting your credit.
In this post, I’m going to go over what Brex is, why it’s worth getting the Brex Card, and walk you through the step-by-step directions on how to earn your $250 Brex referral bonus.
What Is Brex?Â
Brex is a business cash management account that bills itself as an alternative to traditional business checking accounts. It’s important to note that while Brex looks and acts like a bank account, it is technically not a bank account. This would normally be concerning, but Brex partners with FDIC-insured banks to hold your funds, which means any money in your Brex Cash account is safe and FDIC insured.
When you open a Brex Cash account, you’ll also receive a Brex Card. This card is a secured credit card that is tied to the balance in your Brex Cash account. Since it’s secured to the balance in your Brex Cash account, the Brex Card really acts more like a debit card than it does a credit card.
Here’s how the Brex Card works. First, the credit limit on your Brex Card is 80% of the balance in your Brex Cash account. Thus, if you have $1,000 in your Brex Cash account, the credit limit on your Brex Card will be $800.
Second, any balance on your Brex Card is paid daily from your Brex Cash account. In other words, if you spend $100 on your Brex Card, Brex will pull $100 out of your Brex Cash account and pay off the balance on your card. This essentially makes the Brex Card act like a debit card – anytime you spend money on your Brex Card, that same amount will get pulled from your Brex Cash account.
Third, getting the Brex Card does not result in a hard credit pull or have any impact on your credit history. Indeed, the account will never appear on your credit report. This is a huge plus because it means you can open a Brex account and earn your signup bonus with no downside. I opened my Brex account while I was in the middle of applying for a mortgage. It had no impact on my mortgage application and gave me a card signup bonus at a time when I otherwise couldn’t apply for new cards.
Finally, the Brex Card offers points when you spend on the card, similar to any rewards credit card. You can redeem your Brex points at 1 cent per point or you can transfer them to certain travel partners.
There is one important limitation that you need to know about Brex. The account is a business account and Brex will only approve you if you apply with an LLC, LLP, S-Corp, or C-Corp. Sole proprietors are not eligible for this account.
Brex Card Referral Bonus Step By Step DirectionsÂ
Here are the steps to follow if you want to open a Brex account and earn your $250 sign-up bonus.Â
1. Open A Brex Cash Account Using A Referral Link. The first thing to do is open a Brex Cash account using someone’s referral link. Here is my referral link if you would like to support this blog (I’ll receive a referral bonus if you use my link).Â
The signup process is very quick and should only take you a few minutes to complete. It can take a little time to approve your account after you submit your information. My Brex account was approved within a few days when I applied. It was the same for my wife when she applied for her Brex account.Â
On the first screen, you’ll see an option for entering a referral code. You can leave this field blank. I’d recommend you screenshot the initial offer page just in case there are any issues.Â
Later in the application, you’ll have a choice to apply for the Brex Cash, Brex Card, or Brex Cash and Card. The Brex Cash account comes with the Brex Card and is the easiest account to open, so that is the account I recommend you open.Â
Remember that Brex will only approve your account if you are applying with an LLC, LLP, S-Corp, or C-Corp. You’ll also need to have a business email address to apply for your account. My wife has an S-Corp for her business and I have an LLC for mine, so that’s how both of us were able to open this account.Â
2. Once Your Account Is Open, Fund Your Cash Account With Some Money. After you open your Brex Cash account, Brex will send you your Brex Card in the mail. You’ll also get a virtual card that you can use to make purchases immediately if you don’t want to wait for the card.Â
To use the card, you’ll need to fund your Brex Cash account. Your Brex Card has a credit limit that is 80% of the balance in your Cash account. So, if you want to spend $1,000 to earn your signup bonus, you’ll need to fund your Brex Cash account with $1,250. Â
3. Spend $1,000 On Your Brex Card. This is straightforward. After you fund your Brex Cash account, you’ll be able to use your Brex Card to make purchases. Whenever you spend any money on the Brex Card, Brex will pull that same amount from your Brex Cash account. Think of it like a debit card – whenever you spend money on your card, that same amount gets pulled from your Cash account.
4. After You Spend $1,000, Brex Will Send You Your $250 Amazon Gift Card. Once you spend $1,000, you’ll earn your $250 Amazon gift card. I’m not actually sure how long it takes for you to receive the gift card after you hit the spend requirement, but I imagine it’s pretty quick. After you hit the spend requirement, you can also withdraw any remaining funds that you have in your Brex account (assuming you don’t plan to use Brex beyond earning the signup bonus).
CaveatsÂ
Brex is an easy account to use because it has no fees. But there are some important caveats to consider before you open this account. These include the following:
You Need An LLC, LLP, S-Corp, or C-Corp To Open A Brex Account. The limiting factor for most people will be the fact that Brex will only approve you if you have one of these business entities. In effect, you can only open a Brex account if you have a real business with a separate legal business entity.
I will note that when I applied, Brex did not ask me for any documentation to prove that I have an LLC. That said, I would not recommend applying without actually having your business set up as one of these legal entities. My guess is that you’ll either get rejected if you try to apply without one of these types of businesses or your account will be closed before you can earn the bonus.Â
The short of it – only apply for the Brex account if you have a real, legal business entity.
The Bonus Could Potentially Be Higher. Right now, Brex is offering new users a $250 signup bonus. However, back when I applied for this account, Brex offered 110,000 Brex points which effectively was worth $1,100. This was a limited-time offer that was only available for a month via a link from the travel website, One Mile at a Time.
This 110,000 point offer was one of the best offers ever for any card or bank account. I highly doubt that this offer ever comes back, especially given that the 110,000 Brex points offer was only available for a month and you could only get it via the referral link from one specific website. In my opinion, that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will probably never come back.
Still, the fact that Brex once offered such a large bonus for this account is something that you will have to consider if you are thinking of signing up for this account. Is it better to wait for this bonus to possibly return or is it better to get the bonus while it’s there? I think it’s more likely that the bonus goes down over time. I assume that Brex is currently using venture capital funding to pay out these referrals and I have to imagine that the marketing budget for these referrals will run out eventually.
Final ThoughtsÂ
The Brex Card is an easy $250 bonus that I think anyone with a qualifying business entity should get. I’m not likely to use this account long-term, but opening it simply to get the bonus is well worth it to me. This is a particularly easy signup bonus to earn too since there are no fees and opening the account has no impact on your credit report.Â
If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below. I’ll do my best to answer them.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks and 1 stock of Tesla or Google) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 3 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Webull (12 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 12 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with $100 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Chime ($150) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- SoFi Money ($275) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $250 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Upgrade ($150) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $150 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $150 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($100) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $100 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Netspend ($40 + 5% Interest Savings Account) – Netspend is a company that provides 5% interest savings accounts. If you sign up using my referral link, you’ll get a $40 signup bonus once you make your first deposit into your Netspend account of $40 or more. That means you get a 5% interest savings account and a free $40 to start! Make sure to check out my in-depth guide on how to set up these accounts.
- Digital Federal Credit Union ($20) – Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a free, nationwide credit union that I recommend to readers for two reasons. First, DCU has a $20 referral bonus if you open a free DCU checking account with a referral link. Second, DCU has a saving account that gives you 6.17% interest on your first $1,000. Check out my in-depth post on how to set this account up.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $250 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.25% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
It seems, Brex doesn’t accept sole owners of DBAs? Appreciate your response. Kind regards, A.
Yeah, Brex recently switched up their business model to only accept tech startups with several million in funding. They’re trying to be the bank for the next Uber, DoorDash, etc. So regular businesses (even if you own a factory or something), won’t qualify for them anymore.
they didn’t honour it for me because they asked for an email address for the person who referred me.
Kevin@financialpanther.com
Hey brex is asking for an email address to be eligible. Can you put your email address in the post or pm it?
Email is Kevin@financialpanther.com
Is this still working or not?
Yes its still working
Hi, I’ve signed up using your referral code and made a payment of over $1,000 and didn’t receive the referral bonus. Please e-mail me about what you see on your end, if there is a mistake we can fix it with support.
What’s a cheap way to open a LLC, LLP, S-Corp, or C-Corp?
LLCs aren’t very expensive to file, but likely not worth doing for this type of bonus. If it was more, I’d consider it. For now, I’d only do this if you already have an LLC.
Off topic, if you decide to write an article to do a CBA on daycare expense, I and many people would be interested