Brex Cash Frequently Asked Questions

For payroll, does this mean that the money must come OUT of Brex account or INTO it?

What’s next? Brex Week in Review or Brex Reader Success Stories?

Wouldn’t it be better to spread Brex native advertising over a period of time to make them look organic?

Yes. It’s your website. And yes, you put in a comments section for comments. Looking forward to OMAT’s very own Brexit.

I really only had one question. The terms for the 20K bonus say either run payroll with Brex or deposit sales revenue to your Brex account. For the latter, they say PayPal is a valid processor. So...will any inbound PayPal transfer trigger the bonus?

How long do you have to keep the brex cash account open? Can I open up brex account, get the 110K points, and then close the brex account after 1 month? Or is there some minimum amount of time the account needs to be opened so the bonus doesn’t get clawed back?

Here's the part I don't get...

"You link your business banking account to your Brex Cash account, and then you can transfer funds so that you can do everything from payroll to bill pay through there."

So... do I even need the business banking account? Couldn't I just do everything through the Brex account and cancel my Chase biz account? What am I missing?

Thanks!

Any idea if paying taxes online with Brex card is charged as a credit card (1.9%) vs ran as a debit card transaction, thus creating a potentially lucrative manuf spend pathway?

"On the surface this offer might sound too good to be true"
It's not a good deal at all. Consider that there are just a handful of airline partners to transfer to. No hotel partners. No credit card partners. We all know that credit card points are more flexible than airline or hotel. And the cash or gift card redemption isn't good. $1/100 points....

Thanks, AK. Brilliant post and echoes my own feelings. We just need a few stories commenting on mask usage to make the cycle complete.

One Brex At a Time

I set up a small business and incorporated it this past September. I haven't filed any taxes (for this particular business) yet since the deadline is April. Will that be a problem?

@ Lukas -- Out. You have to link your Brex Cash account via ACH to one of the listed payroll processors, or link business income via a payment processor.

@ AK @ Indy @ iamhere -- Let's see, we're hosting an exclusive (and limited-time) offer that allows OMAAT readers who manage/run businesses to easily earn at least $1100 cash-back – or get even more value by transferring to one of several airline partners – with negligible opportunity cost and an extremely low spend threshold. Is there a legitimate reason why we shouldn't be answering questions people have about the offer?

@ Vlad -- I don't know if "any" will, because it specifies "business income", and there are a few different ways PayPal categorizes transfers, you know? But others have reported getting the bonus as soon as they had a PayPal payment process and ACH sweep to Brex.

@ Alex -- If you used the Card, it would be a credit card transaction, and would earn 1x points. I don't know that it's a lucrative way to pay taxes compared to a card that offers more than 1x points on non-bonused spend. https://onemileatatime.com/pay-taxes-credit-cards/ for examples

@ Matt -- If the business is in good standing with your locality, I don't see how that would matter. Some businesses with limited activity have needed to provide documentation manually, so you might not get approved instantly, but the lack of tax filings alone shouldn't be disqualifying.

@Tiffany - Apologies if I'm wrong, but I don't think you guys have answered the question that a few people have posed about how long the account needs to stay open before you can close it without them trying to claw back the points/miles.

Tiffany can you pls answer my q?

Thanks

@ Cam @Adam3438 -- Sorry, we don't know! We've asked, but it's also...a no fee account with no minimum balance requirements, that reports good standing to corporate credit bureaus, so leaving it open might not be the worst thing regardless?

@ Michael -- Apologies, I missed it. You have to link a business banking account to start with (Brex does some of their verification through Plaid), but otherwise no, you don't have to keep your other business checking account open. We likely won't.

We own a legit small business; have owned it for 20 years. We have a website and an EIN. I was turned down today. "Your application did not pass our internal screening process."

Tiffany,

I signed up with the OMAAT link last week when another article came out. However, after signing in, I go to Rewards and then Bonus Points. I only see 20K points to deposit sales revenue or run payroll and 10K points if I spend $3K. I do not see the 80K point bonus. Do you have any idea why? Is there anything I'm doing wrong?

@Carol

I had the same problem with Brex. A real business with real income and real staff...but we don't meet their "screening" process.

@ Lorraine -- Nope, you did everything just right! The 80k points are a separate promotion, and are posted separately once you've met the $1k spend.

Tiffany,

I received my BREX card today. I will spend $1K and watch for the 80K bonus. Thank you!!

@ Carol @ sdfjuin -- Thank you for the data point, this counters most of the other data points we've gotten. Are you sure during the application process you selected the Brex Cash product, rather than the Brex Card product, since both are presented? The Brex Cash has no minimum bank account balance, while the Brex Card has a $50K minimum (I'm not sure if that makes a difference).

If you were indeed denied for Brex Cash and not Brex Card, may I ask at what point that happened? Was it instant, or were you informed after the fact that you didn't qualify?

@Ben, I definitely chose the Brex Cash product. I was denied roughly 3 hours later.

@sdfjuin, at least I'm in good company.

@ Carol -- Thanks for the info, so strange. And I know it's silly, but you used a business email rather than a personal email? Trying to think of what else could have caused a denial, because people are pretty consistently being approved here. This isn't quite as tough to be approved for as a business credit card, in my experience.

@Ben, it's a personal email. We've never bothered with business ones. Folks got used to our personal ones when we started the business and we never transitioned.

I have a registered llc but not a business checking account.

Can I link my personal checking account? Would that still work?

Same as @Carol, I've been in business twenty years this April with the same small LLC and have two business bank accounts plus a corporate credit card. Most of my work is paid by government contracts. They also say my business "failed their internal screening process." (shrug) I guess they're not looking for small, established, non-tech industry businesses?

3 of us with legitimate well established businesses have been denied the card. I'm curious if people with comparable businesses have been approved.

@ Ben -- No auto approval here either, and I have my own company with employees. We'll see....

@ Tiffany -- Are you saying that to get the 20k payroll bonus, you must be running your payroll via Gusto, TriNet, Justworks, Intuit QB Payroll, Rippling, or Zenefits? Withdrawing the funds for payroll run via ADP or Paychex (the two largest payroll processors in the US) wouldn't work?

@Indy @AK
I feel your pain! I keep reading People magazine and each time I thoroughly read an article about Lady Gaga, I make sure I write to the publisher and tell them how I don’t like them forcing me to read about Lady Gaga! It’s the worst! Thanks so much for what you do by clicking on the posted stories that you despise and then commenting on how much you despise them. It seems like a thankless job, but... well, it is. No thanks deserved!

@ Ben -- Not sure if you previously mentioned needing a website. My business has one, but it is parked for future use. Great. Now, I am sure we will be declined. I did use our business email address, although I don't see how one could necessarily distinguish between a personal and business email address anymore that they could distinguish between a personal and business phone number. Is there some sort of reconsideration process?

What is the timeframe for the 80k for $1k spend?

Same here, s-corp having been run for over 13 years , denied. I wasn't even offered the option to choose the product. Got denied. So daft, as I would really like to use their product

@ Z o -- Sorry to hear that, and thanks for the data point, given how few denials there have been overall. If I may ask:
-- Were you instantly denied, or at what point did that happen?
-- Did you enter a website and/or a business email address?
-- Did the mailing address you enter match what's on file with your registered business?

Denied after a couple of days review. Entered both website and business email address, and it matches what I have on file. When I clicked through your link I was not given the option of product btw

Have an LLC established 15 years and is my main business entity, have business email, but no website (been under construction for a while). Approved instantly last week.

@Ben My denial was almost instant -- maybe 30 minutes after completing the application. I used the exact company name and mailing address that I've had since at least 2006. Same as on my D&B profile, EIN, etc. The business is in Hawaii though, so maybe they don't offer accounts here? The state has unusually strict banking laws, which also prohibits us from having a Transferwise account. Nevertheless, a comparable account at Bank Novo was approved instantly and has the main feature that I had hoped for from this Brex account: free int'l/domestic wire transfers and ACH out (but not points). Oh well...

So... what is up with the hedgehog?

Few things. Been 9 days since approval and still can’t deposit funds, says something about a verification process. Is this normal?
I use Quickbooks online and there payroll service add on, wondering if that’s Intuit Payroll or is that something different?
I pay rent via ACH from my business(set up on landlord side), I assume I can earn Brex points as well. I’m not charge for the transfer so it’s all gravy, right? I assume the same for payroll...?

I applied three days ago and was instantly approved. I own a company, with a website, business email and a phone number. I do not have a payroll, I simply collect the profits at the end of the year. Will I still be eligible for the 80k points since I used the link above for the account opening?

I applied for this card on Jan 29 and still haven't gotten approved. Is there a way to contact the company?

@ Sue -- They are processing applications, they just have a large influx, so they may be taking a bit longer.

@ Eitan S. -- Yes, the 80k bonus is for using the OMAAT link and spending $1k. The payroll bonus is extra, but you can also get those points by linking PayPal or another payment processor, so maybe that would work for you?

@ JeffS -- It seems that is normal for some businesses where there isn't enough information about incorporation status for Brex to determine what it needs to know about your business formation automatically. They are working through these manually, so keep an eye out for requests for more info.

You earn points when you use the linked Brex Mastercard, but you don't earn points for ACH transactions in the Cash account.

@ Andrew -- If your company is properly formed (e.g., not a Sole Prop), and not in a restricted industry (e.g. gambling, weed, etc.), then do you mind forwarding that email to me and I'll escalate it to Brex? We should at least be able to get you an explanation.

@ z o -- If your company is properly formed (e.g., not a Sole Prop), and not in a restricted industry (e.g. gambling, weed, etc.), then do you mind forwarding that rejection email to me and I’ll escalate it to Brex? We should at least be able to get you an explanation.

Self-funded companies that aren't in tech are automatically getting pushed to the Cash product now, so that's likely why you weren't given a chance to choose a product.

@ Carol -- Do you mind forwarding me that denial email please? We've got an escalation pathway for these rejections that "don't make sense", so hopefully we can at least get you more information, and ideally a reconsideration.

Did all the things necessary for the bonus 80k. All completed last Thursday. Currently showing I earned 30k points for the spend. I applied through the link and have a screen shot of the 80k offer but haven’t received 80k yet. I know DPs say it should be on a Tuesday that they post but not for me.

@ Noname1 -- Just be a bit patient, I promise the points should post. It's not necessarily 12:01AM on Tuesdays. It could be later in the day, it may even be tomorrow, or it may be next Tuesday. Compared to most points currencies, Brex points post *very* fast.

Wow, how much is Brex paying to flog this thing? I decided it was a good match for my $100k/year LLC and applied over a week ago. Still "awaiting review," and support was utterly unhelpful.

We need to make major capital investments now and Brex's customer service agents are telling us to, "maybe in another week or so you'll have an answer."

Perhaps Brex should shift some of the marketing budget going to points bloggers to making their service less of an operational disaster that locks up customer funds for (now approaching weeks) on end...

Applied 2 weeks ago, still no answer. Legit business (property developer) but my website doesn't match the name of the business and I work from home and just moved, so my addresses dont match. I'm sure I will be denied but the transfer partners are so obscure I'm not sure I care.

@tiffany happy to send you rejection email : what address should I send it to?

So I'm going out on a line here. But the sheer number of "Brex" posts over the past month, and the on top of it responses here (unusual) from those involved with the posts, are making me very suspicious of this being far more than just an endorsement. That there is much more involved in the financial arrangements between OMAAT, a miles and travel blog, to this venture. It smells of Suzanne Somers touting her ab workout machine on infomercials. It stinks.

It's very clear that a lot of people are throwing their money into this pot. I wish you the best. And maybe it's legit and fruitful. And Ben and everyone deserves a chance to make a mint on a great idea. But I am yet to really see why this is so exciting to deserve a post every damn week. Really? It smells more of a guy who gained a lot of followers and got lured into an agreement with a start up, and now is blindly leading people to some touted great return on their effort to join. It's getting almost cultish.

I miss the old days of OMAAT. Because Suzanne Somers was much more interesting as a kitsch sitcom star.

@Stuart: exactly.

This blog relies to some degree on our trust of Ben.

When Ben (and his team) endorse this product from their perspective as small business owners, that was frankly part of my reason for giving my social security number and other information to this startup that I had otherwise never heard of.

The actual user experience with Brex is abysmal and this was a giant waste of time.

How does one link a Venmo account to Brex?

@Stuart Agreed. This is very TPG of OMAAT to be doing. Especially ironic because of the (well deserved) shade Ben sends their way. I wish this would end!

What does “at program banks” mean in this sentence: “All Brex Cash deposits at program banks are FDIC-insured up to $250,000.”

Applied on 2/1 and still pending. 🙁

OMAAT seems to actually be acting as Brex customer service. Promising when points will post? Asking for copies of rejection letters? Escalation pathway?

It would be nice for the true nature of the relationship to be a bit more transparent, or are there NDAs involved?

Why such critical reception of this offer by some readers? I haven't applied but would like to soon. Having a new entity that isn't a gigantic bank (that received free money from the fed or a bailout) underwriting my business card while getting a fairly large bonus sounds like a win to me. Who cares what OMAAT is getting, that's business. Thank you Ben and I look forward to more of these types of offers in the future.

@Stuart, et al: why are you so concerned about the details of the r'ship between Ben & Brex ("Brenx"?) ? if you/we assume that there is a financial one, so what? You're neither obliged to read these posts (I mean, it takes, what, 0.5ns to skip the header in your RSS feed) nor to click through and apply for Brex should you not wish to. Furthermore, what, you don't think there is any financial r'ship anywhere else on this (or other blogs)? I mean, if you want to go through life with blinkers on and pretend that everything is virtuous and selfless then have it. Just don't think that because something isn't selfless that it isn't beneficial either: that is disingenuous at best, and, well, *expletive insult* at worst.

I understand why you may not find it exciting, but that doesn't mean others (such as myself) won't jump at an easy chance to make 100K+ points for little effort. Having used Brex now for over a week, once past the learning curve, I can honestly say I like it and will be recommending it to other friends who have SMEs

@ Stuart -- First of all, I think it's easy enough to skip posts about Brex if you're not interested. The headline makes it clear what the post is about, and I don't expect every post to appeal to everyone.

Why so much content about Brex at once? Because this is (as far as we know) a very limited time offer of a brand new product. And yes, we also have an exclusive, which means we're doing a lot of the research here. People have a lot of questions about this product, understandably. This wasn't simply a function of upping an old post -- we learn more from Brex every day based on the questions that they answer for us. In this case I pushed up this post because we got specific answers about what's causing people to be rejected, and what's causing approvals to not be instant. As far as I'm concerned that's useful, as it's something a lot of people have been wondering about.

It's totally fine if you don't find this product interesting. What I can tell you is that a lot of people do, and we know that based on the number of pageviews we've seen for Brex posts, and the number of approvals. That doesn't surprise me one bit, because it's an incredible offer. This is bigger than any credit card sign-up bonus I ever recall seeing, there are no fees, and this is actually a solid product, in my opinion.

If I just wrote about this once and then in a couple of weeks this offer ends and reverts to the 30K offer, I can guarantee a lot of people would be kicking themselves and saying "man, I wish I had taken advantage of that."

@ Eric -- I'm sure Brex would love your feedback, so could you share how the user experience is abysmal?

@ Carl WV -- This is a brand new product and we have an exclusive on the offer. Most people are applying through our links, given the offer. Just as any company would have some kinks to work out at launch, this is no different. It's valuable for Brex to get feedback from new members, and we're just passing that along...

We similarly pass on things for other partners, it's just that in this case there's a much greater volume, given that it's a new product.

You do you, Ben. As I said, I hope for you and all involved that this is a lucrative win. Nevertheless, it all smells a bit sleazy to me. Par for the course of the "blogging" world today as it migrates from the realm of real and genuine insight into more "Influency" content that monetizes the reader's experience. Kinda like dietitians with blogs touting their favorite laxative teas. Yes, I appreciate the links to offers you provide and your insight into how good or bad they are. However, nothing has ever reached the level of "touting" we are seeing here with Brex. You would think it's the second coming of Jesus. And that's where I get suspicious of the whole thing.

You are right, I can just look away, like when passing a car wreck. But for many of us that have supported your blog with click throughs to offers, etc we did so as there was a trust that you were not an "Influencer" pushing one product that offered you an exclusive tie in. It felt as if there was separation and the reviews/links were genuine. That's the point and why I have a hard time just ignoring this one article. For me, and I must imagine others, it makes me question many of the articles and suggestions forthcoming. It would be a bit like the late Anthony Bourdain hawking Ginsu knives on Parts Unknown.

Yep, your "blog." I am just giving you my feedback as a long time reader. Do with it and me as you wish.

I've been really disappointed with Brex's customer service (or lack thereof). I opened an account for an S-Corp and it has now been over a week and it is still pending, despite going through all of the verification steps. I have tried to use the chat function several times but it goes nowhere and the requests for an email remain unanswered.

@ Stuart -- I don't particularly appreciate you suggesting the blogging world is sleazy and comparing me to an "influencer," but you do you. I've been doing this for 13 years (seven days a week), this is my passion, and I also haven't posted on Instagram in nearly a year, so I'm not sure that's a fair comparison. 😉 But if you'd like to say that, it's your prerogative.

Sure, content on the blog may be a little weird right now, but perhaps you could also appreciate why that is? This is a travel blog, in an era where travel is limited, and where any discussions of travel immediately come with shaming. Do you not understand the challenge that presents? Would you like me to shut down my business? You've spent a lot of time in the comments section talking about all the challenges your business has faced due to coronavirus, yet you don't seem to by appreciative of the challenges other businesses may be facing.

But I stand by how I feel about Brex -- this is a very limited time and amazing offer. You're absolutely right, I've covered this more in a shorter period than just about anything else. But that's because of how limited time this is, and how good of an offer it is. I truly believe this is the most exciting offer we've seen in a long time, especially when you consider there haven't been that many amazing deals during the pandemic.

I hear you, though -- I get that the amount of content might be overwhelming, and I get it may not interest you. But I also hope you'll stick around and see that I'll keep doing my best with this site, both during and after the pandemic.

@Ben, lolz, what exactly do we find to be an abysmal user experience about Brex?

Brex homepage: "Brex is like a bank account—without the...waiting."

Your actual readers (customers): Brex is more worthless than a pet rock. Accounts are dead in the water. No customer service. No functionality let alone rewards.

How do you not see the disconnect here?

@ Eric -- Can you answer my question? Has your account not been approved (which seems to be the case based on your previous comment), or have you actually been approved, are using the product, and don't like it? It's correct that some readers are having issues, but to paint with a broad brush and expect that this is a widespread problem simply isn't accurate.

I think my question above got lost in the fray but I really am curious about the safety and security of money that is transferred from a banking account into a Brex account. The FDIC statements are a bit vague. I understand people being concerned about customer service and the slowness of Brex approving new accounts and what methods they are using. But I really hope some clarity can be given on the security issue -- if money is transferred from an actual FDIC banking account to a brex cash account and is sitting there and we learn that this was more like a gift card venture or Brex's investors decide that they gave out too much 110k offers and has regrets, what is our recourse? Of all the faq questions that can be asked, this one kind of seems like the most important.

@Ben, along with the many other folks as above, no, have not been fully approved yet, but I have initial access to the dashboard. When I signed up, it seemed like I had been fully approved and could link to other checking accounts, but there was an inconspicuous message at the top about "still processing your information," at the top.

I've transferred substantial money in, but now it seems that capital that we need to make investments in our business is stuck in Brex "partial account," limbo without clear guidance from Brex on how to get it back out.

To borrow some of the phrases from your write up, this is not exactly, the, "no minimum deposit," "instant," etc. described in the write up.

Also, customer service is worthless, constantly referring to, "a team that I don't have the ability to reach out to directly," etc. rather than the empowered, knowledgeable customer service that is the mark of effective organizations.

If you're going to "pivot," the blog from travel to advising on small business tools, it would be helpful if those tools weren't dumpster fires.

In reading OMAAT responses to readers' post something hit me more than it had in the past. Many of the blogs here are done for passion and the bloggers have other jobs. They may receive some income from their blog, but not enough for them to consider it their business to such a degree. Some don't even have income relationships with credit card links, and in the past such relationships seemed to be frowned upon.

Others, like OMAAT have become businesses that provide good livelihoods for the blogger, and even employees. They may have to push things in a ways others don't. It's not to say they don't still have the passion, but that can't help from changing things. Maybe that's the dream of many bloggers.

I'm not saying what is good or bad - it just is. We can just hope that bloggers need for the blogs income doesn't color their views and recommendations too much (or give too much the appearance of it). This may be the "sleaziness" some have referred to.

Everybody can choose the blogs, and types of blogs, they wish to frequent, and just accept each blog is doing what they find they must. Wow - that's the longest comment I've every done, but if it was too long your were free to skip it.

You said..."You’ve spent a lot of time in the comments section talking about all the challenges your business has faced due to coronavirus, yet you don’t seem to be appreciative of the challenges other businesses may be facing."

I say....Sure, but there is one difference. I did not sell out to those challenges. I pushed through it. I adapted to an extent - but I never gave in to becoming anything less than what we were before.

So, perhaps be more creative. Rehash old memories. Explore ideas. Inspire. Paul Theroux didn't always need actual travel experiences to write. He still creates stories and essays perfectly well from his front porch at home.

I am very well aware that this is your livelihood. But if you choose to cheapen it to the level of "influencers" these days, you will lose far more than this year has beget. You will lose the credibility you spent 13 years building.

Maybe Brex will turn out to be the greatest thing ever achieved in the miles game (though miles these days are pretty overrated given devaluations etc). I hope for your sake it does. The danger though is that by turning this blog into a non stop endorsement every week you have now become married to Brex. You own it. Even though you don't. And how are we to judge any other offers that come along from you? Is it sincere? Or is it an exclusive as part of a handshake deal? I always believed your sincerity before. I trusted your reviews.

This leaves me to wonder.

Blog? Or the Truman Show?

@Carl WV — Viewing this from Lucky’s perspective I would guess he is having a hard time understanding anyone would care. He is offering people the opportunity to earn $1100 in value without even a hard pull. Yes, maybe he is getting something out of this but those who get denied are no worse off other than wasting a few minutes and those who get approved get good value for doing very little. So I am sure he sees it as a win win.

The part that is just a tiny bit tone deaf to me, and I know I may be overstating it, is that it seems Lucky may be misperceiving something some of us are trying to communicate. This is not a credit card bonus offered by Chase, where nobody is worried that the operator is a Ponzi scheme or that the hedge fund behind it or whatever won’t just pull up it’s tent and move along making it difficult to get money back. This company is unknown to most of us. The reason we are considering giving our EINs and transferring cash to it is because a travel blogger we have come to trust over many years is vouching for it. That is what Brex is buying here with this promo. At least in part. Lucky’s credibility.

Maybe some of this is mostly blogger hate and this endless repeated and tiresome suggestion that if bloggers post affiliate links or otherwise look to generate revenue you are the points guy all of the sudden. But I think some of it genuinely is concern. There is some skepticism here. Brex is taking 10 days to approve applications just because someone didn’t use the right email and this company that seeming aspires to handle multi millions of dollars in customer business transactions can’t answer emails and needs so much time to manually review applications that Lucky has to repeatedly update his faqs? I don’t think it is unreasonable in that kind of environment that people are ruminating about Lucky’s incentives in trying to decide what value to place on his essentially lending his name to Brex for this 80k promo.

I was approved for the card on January 26 and received an email on February 6 the account was closed. I already had my payroll checks directed to them and they do not respond to my email requests.

Account Closure E-mail today. For context: I have had my Company for the past 17 years (a corporation); with multiple W-2 employees (still a small business), business accounts at Chase and Cap One; and zero manufactured spend of any type. And all I had done so far was Link to my Chase Business Account and funded about $1400 into the Brex account. Guess I will count myself as lucky if I can just get that money i put in back. Good luck to everyone 🙂
@Lucky: If this happens to others as well, you might want to really give them a piece of your mind; I know you genuinely meant well for your readers.

Hi Lucky - I hope you and Ford are doing well. I wanted to add to the list of "warning" messages about Brex and provide you with another data point. I set up a Brex account for my law firm. It's much smaller than it used to be, but it's still a legitimate business that has been in existence for more than 10 years. I've moved a small amount of money over to Brex, wanting to try it out before committing full-tilt to an unknown entity for our business needs. So far I've earned the 20,000 payroll/sales bonus points and spent $200.

This afternoon, I received an email from Brex that my account is under review and has been temporarily suspended. The review process can take up to 5 business days. There is no way to access the money we've transferred to Brex, as the account is completely frozen.

Needless to say, this is concerning. Based on experiences like that of JBTx and some others, I'm worried that Brex may not be living up to the things they promised you (and in turn, your loyal readers) in order to get you to endorse & promote them. Time will tell, I suppose, but I wanted to share my experience and concerns with you sooner rather than later.

All my best. ~Craig

@ JBTx -- Thanks for sharing your experience (and being constructive and nice about it). Only a very small percentage of people seem to be having issues, though obviously that doesn't sound good, and since this is a new product we value the feedback so that we can pass it on.

Any other details you can provide -- what was the reason given for your account being closed, anything else about your business history, and anything about the way you applied that you think could have triggered this? Have you opened a lot of business checking accounts in the past? Or no clue whatsoever what would trigger this?

I only ask because we've had very few reports of account closures like this, and for the few that have happened, some more details on past behavior with accounts made it clear what might have caused something (like "I opened 20 business checking accounts last year, and this is the first time I've had any sort of issue").

@Ben: Appreciate the follow-up and you take pride in curating what you put out for your readers and I love that. So Zero new business checking accounts in the last 2+ years (1 new Biz. Checking account at Chase about 4 years ago). Only account activity was moving over $1100 from Chase Business, plus another $300 from Chase and then moving some money from my Paypal Business account - about $220. That's it.

Their account closing e-mail was vague on specifics:
"Unfortunately, we’re unable to continue offering your company an account with Brex. As a result, [Business Name here] Brex account has been closed.
You will continue to have read-only access to your account.
Complete your account closure in your dashboard, including downloading your records and claiming any funds currently in your account.
This decision is final. If you have any questions, please consult Brex’s Platform Agreement."
____________________________

Really not the end of the world but figured you would want to know. Life goes on or as I say, first world problems 🙂

@ Craig -- Thanks for sharing your feedback, and for reading. I'm not sure what would cause the account to be under review, though hopefully your situation is indeed settled within the stated timeframe and you can go back to using Brex (and hopefully be happy with the product).

I also wanted to expand this comment perhaps to readers more generally and note a few things:
-- There have been a *lot* of approvals for Brex Cash accounts, and a vast majority of them have gone off without a hitch; as you'd expect, almost all people who aren't having any issues aren't posting here, while those who are having some issues and concerns are, which is totally reasonable, and we appreciate it (though we'd also welcome comments along the lines of "hey, I applied, I got my account, and this is awesome," just so people can see that) 😉
-- Brex has been overwhelmed with the number of applications, and while Brex is well established in the VC/tech space with Brex Card, this is still a fairly new product and market for Brex
-- Brex has been incredibly receptive to feedback, and has shown great commitment to resolving account issues as much as possible
-- Because of the volume of applications that Brex has received, sometimes non-instant approvals have taken a bit longer to process, though these processes seem to be improving by the day
-- This doesn't apply to this comment (or the previous one), but some of the complaints we've seen from people who have been rejected are situations where someone set up an LLC yesterday, or has engaged in behavior that makes it pretty obvious why Brex wouldn't approve an account

@ JBTx -- Do you mind maybe forwarding the email to Tiffany (her first name -at- onemileatatime.com) with a brief explanation of what happened, and we can bring this up with our contacts at Brex? Obviously we aren't involved in their decision making and approval process, but maybe it would allow us to get some more context on what is leading to account closures (since this is really rare), or who knows, maybe this was some sort of an error.

@Lucky - Thanks for the reply and additional info. Fingers crossed. I'll let you know the results of the Brex review.

I'll also answer the same questions you posed to JBTx - No new biz checking accounts for the firm in the past 7-8 years. Funding was $1,000 from the firm biz checking account at Chase, and another $300 from the firm's PayPal biz account is in progress. We have used the account for a single purchase of a $200 restaurant gift card from Fluz on 2/9/21 - done to make sure the account worked correctly before making any payments where it would be problematic if the payment failed, plus out of curiosity to see if it would code as 4x (it did). Also, for what it's worth, on 2/5/21 (after reading these FAQs saying it was ok), I applied and was approved for a Brex account for a second LLC (also a legitimate, albeit small, business that has existed has several years). That account has not been impacted yet (knock on wood).

And yes, I'm a loyal OMAAT reader. I appreciate all of your work, and I of all people have an appreciation of the amount of time and effort it takes to deliver quality content like yours.

Done! Thanks Ben.

@Ben, I don't think I've ever been as disappointed by the behavior of this blog than at this point.

Innumerable readers have left comments regarding the abject failure of this company to provide the promised service, and worse locking up funds and not communicating.

Your response has been largely dissembling and somewhat whiny ("the tone about the company that I've recommended locking up funds without communication has been a little harsh,") although personally I don't see much in the way of personal insults above.

If Brex wants to provide good customer service, perhaps they should clear out their email inbox rather than making us rely on a travel blogger to try to get access to their funds or at least communication from the company about when we can get our money back?

If you want to provide some real transparency here, how much is Brex paying you per referral? I think at this point we have to presume that you have substantial financial motivation to paper over the operational disaster that this fin-tech startup is proving.

@Ben, in case it wasn't clear, integrity at this point would be putting a warning banner at the top of this post:

"Although this deal appears compelling, many of my readers have reported substantial customer service issues with the company including delayed review processes and frozen accounts. At this point, I would recommend funding these accounts only with money that your company could safely operate for a substantial point of time while these issues are addressed.

My communication with Brex finds that they have been overwhelmed by the volume..."

Such a warning would like reduce the referral throughput.

Guess we'll have to see how you play it...

Update to my comment above - Brex also notified me that the account for my other LLC is now temporarily suspended and under review. Funds are frozen.

The Brex account for this LLC was funded with $1,000 transferred from its biz checking account at Chase. No purchases have been made on the Brex account for this LLC. I also linked the Brex account to a PayPal account and there were some minimal charges & reversal for verification purposes. The LLC and its biz checking account are both about 7 years old.

I will continue to update with results of the reviews and any other meaningful developments.

I would assume that the $1k spend has to go through the credit card, correct? In other words, using the bill pay feature to pay off the balance on another credit card would not count towards the minimum spend, correct? Usually that wouldnt work, I know, but this is apparently a different kind of thing altogether, so just checking.

@Ben:

Update: I sent the e-mail to Tiffany at OMAAT (as you requested above) and I'm shocked to say, it seems like my account is back in good standing. I am impressed and appreciate you doing this. If only Chase provided customer service like this 🙂

So thank you for responding and appreciate whatever it was that you did behind the scenes that led to this outcome of my Brex account being back in good standing.

@ JTBx -- Yay, happy to hear! Thanks for the update.

@ Tyler -- That's correct, that $1K needs to be spent with the Brex Card (which you get when you're approved), so simply using the bill pay service wouldn't qualify for the bonus.

@Ben thank you very much for the reply. I’ve seen many of the above comments now though, and it gives me a lot of cause for concern. I only signed up for an account because of the free international transfers and Bill pay first, the points second. So I’m going to proceed very, very cautiously, one step at a time. How does Brex payroll work? Do I have to leave money sitting in the Brex account, or can I just connect it to my business checking, so that when the direct deposit comes through, will it just go straight through Brex to my personal checking? I’ve had a corporation for almost 10 years in my name, but always paid myself without automated direct deposit. I’ve had to adjust recently though because of the pandemic, so i’m looking for alternatives. Thanks in advance!

No horse in this race but after reading through THIS month's comments, this quote from Lucky stands out:

"Brex has been incredibly receptive to feedback, and has shown great commitment to resolving account issues as much as possible"

From what I can infer, that's not the case. At. All.

Perhaps they've been "incredibly receptive" to feedback from Tiffany but there's a disturbing number of negative comments regarding BREX actually being reachable, let alone receptive or transparent or competent.

If you're doing this for the 110k "points" and are willing to ride the roller coaster, have at it.

But what small business owner would trust their payroll processing to BREX? What small business owner would want to contact Tiffany to reach their bank? Which isn't even a bank??

@ GringoLoco -- As the person who has been doing the contacting, it might be helpful for me to clarify a bit.

I've been asking questions at a systemic level, using data points from readers as examples, and getting high-level answers or resolutions that impact a range of folks. This isn't about facilitating individual account management, which I agree would be awful. And it's honestly refreshing to have an institution that is willing to discuss and address potential process issues, versus the complete black hole of "we can't speak to underwriting or internal processes" that is common.

That being said, yes, they are onboarding thousands of additional businesses right now, and the front-line chat team was clearly not staffed for the deluge of interest they're seeing. Which while not great, is a common problem for a range of companies. And that's why Ben has been updating the FAQ so frequently -- it's better for everyone if he can share "yes, businesses without a large digital presence require a manual review, and there is a long queue right now, so if your account is pending that is probably why" then for a few hundred businesses to call/chat to ask about their application status, when the answer is universally "it is pending a decision from underwriting, we'll contact you soon."

So, like when the CSR launched and customer service staff couldn't answer questions about bonus eligibility or approval timelines, and then Chase ran out of card material it's a bumpy start. But for whatever it's worth, other than the approval delays, the issues do seem to be coming from a minority of users (we're talking maybe 2% of recently-applied-for accounts), and the folks who have and are using the account are getting their points, and seem to be content with the various cash management functions. And we've been processing payroll (which is just an ACH link to our usual provider, like it was with Chase) through Brex since October.

@ Tyler -- To answer the payroll question, Brex works like any other cash management account, and so they aren't going to pull money into Brex from another institution unless you authorize it. You could still do your direct deposit strategy, but you'll need to fund Brex with business income (or a transfer from your business account) first.

Brex doesn't run payroll directly, but you can link to a variety of payroll processing providers. As an example, we run everything through Gusto (and have for six or seven years now), which both automates payroll and handles the bulk of State and Federal payroll filings, so now Gusto just debits Brex versus debiting Chase.

definitely an easy bunch of points, thanks! I was wondering, as you have contacts with Brex, if you could find out if they plan on expanding the airlines that can be redeemed with. right now they are ok, but would love to see airlines such as JAL, Turkish and others

All fairly simple except for the whole PayPal linking. I just opened a PP account under my business name but it's not clear how to link it properly to Brex and send money so the 20k bonus is triggered. Could anyone go through step by step instructions?

Do I always have to keep 20% reserves all the time? If I transfer $1000, I can use $800 on my card, can I use rest 200 in bill payment?

I would also know how to link PayPal. When I go to link it I get a message saying I don’t have any eligible accounts. Well ... my account is a business account and matches all the info on my Brex account, had money in it and funds in it from e-commerce. If that’s not an eligible account then what is?? Very confused.

A step by step on this would be great. Thank you.

@Michael, @ Aly : https://bit.ly/3udDSp5 is a perfect guide

I did google it. Thank you for your unproductive comment.

Hey Ben, I applied, I got my account, and this is awesome. I'll share my experience with others over on my site shortly too.

Another set of data points:

Applied 3 Feb.
Approved today, 23 Feb.
I have an LLC, which I soft-launched last year.
I have commercial office space, mailing address, and email.
I do not (yet) have a web site.

Hello

I also got approved for the Brex account and have a valid business checking account with AZLO, which has started shutting down with final closing date of 31-March-2021. I tried to link AZLO which it did but unable to move any funds from there. Then I tried to link my Paypal business account and I got the message that I dont have any eligible accounts to link. I was wondering why ? So now I am stuck as to how to proceed.

If I use the cash account part of BREX, to pay my bills or my other credit cards, will that spend count towards the $1k and $3K? Or do I actually have to use the "Card" that comes with the CASH account? Thanks!

Just like Mike's question above, I too would like to know about the remaining 20% of the reserve. If I decided to close the account, would I get it back right away?

@ Mike @ Samuel Kim -- Yep. The Mastercard limit is 80% of whatever you have in the Cash account each day (presumably in case you write in a tip or something), but there's no reason you can't withdraw or make an ACH transfer for the full Cash balance.

@ TNguyen -- Rewards points are earned by using the Mastercard for purchases/transactions, not through the banking features.

@Tiffany, any idea how long it takes for the 80,000 bonus points to post?
I linked my PayPal account (2/26/21), and funded the checking acc with $4000 (3/1/21), and then spent $3200 on the credit card (3/2/21). So far I have received the 10,000 pts and 20,000pts but not the 80,000 bonus points for using the OMAAT link.

@Tiffany, I forgot to add that I used the digital credit card number produced as I have not yet received the physical Brex credit card. Any idea how long it takes for the physical card to arrive?

Can you connect the Brex transactions to Quicken? I tried to sign in with Radius bank and that did not work and Brex is not listed in Quicken.

Hey fellow points geeks

I’m having the same issue. Be careful here, it sounds like Brex is pulling back on honoring their offer. I spoke to them on a chat right after signing up when they confirmed I would be eligible for the 80k bonus, but they needed some more documentation relating to my LLC so I sent it in and got activated.

Fast forward many weeks later after I crossed $1k the 80k points didn’t post, and now after I got in touch with support suddenly they are saying that my signup is only for 30k, and I Need to send them “proof” so I sent them multiple screenshots of me discussing the bonus and various emails I got promoting it, but they still keep giving me the runaround, clearly they are doing this on purpose.

I waited many many weeks, it doesn't seem like any bonus is coming.

Also there is another bonus not posting too. I Connected stripe revenue deposited but 2 weeks later nothing, neither bonus posted.

Be careful out there with this offer ya'll!

Fred

Got denied as well. Not really sure why... Looking through some of the possible red flags in the comments... we shouldn't have raised any.

Too bad. I've been looking to get away from the stone-age banks and BlueVine just paused account openings. Nothing else that fits the bill for us... back to Chase I guess‍♂️

Ben,
I appreciate your blog and enjoy the content. The Brex deal is fabulous and the points offering is outstanding. I really the product as well. Keep up the crazy and interesting content. It is valuable!

What's up with Brex promising 100k with PayPal link and not delivering? What says you, Lucky? You're the point man who vouched for them. What's up?

Try Revolut Business - it does pretty much everything that Brex does minus the points stuff (at least not yet). Been using it for my business & its pretty seamless - especially valuable if you do business globally.

Hi Tiffany, I was recently denied as well with no explanation given. My business is an LLC in good standing with both the IRS & the state of Colorado, is in a non-restricted category, and has an email, website, and phone number. If you still have this escalation pathway available I would be happy to forward my information on to you!