How does a company credit card affect your credit rating?

[Yossarian]

All employees where I work are being issued a Mastercard to be used for business purposes. I am responsible for paying the card off myself every month. Of course I am reimbursed by the company for purchases I make. The card is guaranteed by the company, meaning that if I charged a lot, quit, then skipped town, the company would pay it off then come after me.

How does this affect my personal credit rating? I assume that because I theoretically have more available credit it's a bad thing.

 

[imported_Papi]

You will be in debt with your company. Its that simple, kiko!

 

[StageLeft]

It won't affect it one bit AFAIK. It's not your card; it's theirs.

 

[Cerebus451]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
It won't affect it one bit AFAIK. It's not your card; it's theirs.

That isn't necessarily true. Often times those cards are issued to the employee, and they are the employee's responsibility. The corporation only backs the card insofar as ensuring the credit check is passed so the card can be issued. I believe the card will still show on his credit report. It depends on how the card is issued. At the company I work for, the corporate cards are solely the responsibility of the employee that holds the card, and if it goes unpaid it is the employee's credit rating that gets trashed.

 

[vi edit]

If you are responsible for paying it, I would believe you are the one that will get good/bad credit from using it.

 

[RossMAN]

Was your name and/or social security number on the MasterCard credit card application?

Or have you signed any documents for your company regarding the credit card or expenses?

 

[slycat]

this brings me to another simple question...sorry, don't mean to hijack your post..

I assume the more u use a CC the more it improves your credit. But lets say u have 3 CC but u don't
use them...does that affect anything?...like being approved for and getting a CC..does that do anything
to your credit?...what about cancelling CCs?

 

[Crab cake]

You qualify for a corporate card with your own credit history. That's how it is with my company. The statements are sent directly to you. You are responsible for the charges. Even though the card is mine, my company can cancel the card without my permission or knowledge.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: slycat
this brings me to another simple question...sorry, don't mean to hijack your post..

I assume the more u use a CC the more it improves your credit. But lets say u have 3 CC but u don't
use them...does that affect anything?...like being approved for and getting a CC..does that do anything
to your credit?...what about cancelling CCs?

As long as you do not have excessive credit inquiries or any late payments, it's better to have open cc's with 0 balance than it is to have no open cc's.

What bank or finance company is going to lend you $25k for a new car or $250k for a new home if you cannot prove that you have responsibly borrowed/repaid credit in the past?

This does NOT mean you should go all out crazy and apply for 2-3 more cc's. It's ideal to have a cc open for at least 2 years, so if you have a cc which is relatively new (under 12 months) and you never use then I would close that. It's good to have 2-3 cc's open, maybe 2 cc's, one car loan and one student loan.

Of course every credit situation is unique and hundreds of variables can impact a credit score in the slightest.

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
Was your name and/or social security number on the MasterCard credit card application?

Or have you signed any documents for your company regarding the credit card or expenses?

I haven't seen the application nor will I, I assume. I haven't signed anything.