Which Business Credit Cards Pull Equifax?

• Chase - typically initiates an Equifax pull and records a hard inquiry for Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Unlimited applications.
• American Express - often triggers an Equifax pull (as a hard inquiry) on business cards that require a personal guarantee, such as the Business Gold Card.
• Capital One - generally conducts an Equifax pull and logs a hard inquiry for Spark Cash, Spark Miles, and most other Spark business cards.
• Citi - commonly uses an Equifax pull (a hard inquiry) for the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select and related Citi business cards.
• Bank of America - frequently performs an Equifax pull and registers a hard inquiry on its Business Advantage and Business Unlimited cards.

Unlike Chase, Amex, and Capital One which often generate an Equifax pull, the following business cards usually trigger a hard inquiry with Experian or TransUnion.

• Bank of America Business Advantage®  -  typically pulls Experian
• CitiBusiness®  -  commonly uses TransUnion for the hard inquiry
• Discover it Business  -  generally contacts Experian
• U.S. Bank Business Cash™  -  often pulls TransUnion
• Wells Fargo Business Platinum  -  frequently queries Experian

You confirm which bureau a card pulled by reviewing your credit report and asking the issuer directly.

1. Pull your latest personal credit report from each bureau (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). The hard inquiry line shows the creditor and date, but not the reporting bureau.
2. Note the creditor name and match it to the card you applied for. If the inquiry appears after you submitted an application, you know that card triggered the pull.
3. Call the card's customer service or email the underwriting department. Ask, 'Which credit bureau did you use for my recent hard inquiry?' Most issuers will confirm the bureau (e.g., 'We pulled your Equifax file').
4. If the issuer uses a soft‑pull pre‑qualification tool, request the soft‑pull report. It often lists the bureau used for the subsequent hard pull.
5. Keep a log of the inquiry date, creditor, and confirmed bureau for future reference and to compare with the next card you consider.

These steps let you verify whether a card pulled an Equifax file, even though the report itself doesn't label the bureau.

The Equifax pull shows up on your personal credit report within one to three business days after you submit a business‑card application, and it appears as a hard inquiry labeled with the issuer (for example, 'Chase Ink Business'). Any pre‑qualification check you performed earlier would have been a soft pull, but the actual application triggers the hard inquiry that lenders can see.

That hard inquiry remains on your Equifax report for 24 months, though scoring models usually stop counting it after the first 12 months. It automatically drops off the report roughly two years from the date it first appeared, which is why the timing matters for the upcoming discussion on how an Equifax pull affects your personal credit score.

An Equifax pull generates a hard inquiry that can shave a few points off your personal credit score.

• Most scores drop 5‑10 points after a single hard inquiry.
• The inquiry stays on your credit report for 12 months and is visible to lenders for 24 months.
• Multiple inquiries within a short window may be treated as rate shopping, which can magnify the impact.
• Hard inquiries do not change your credit utilization or payment‑history factors, so the effect is limited to the inquiry component of scoring models.

Because the dip is modest and short‑lived, many applicants use pre‑qualification tools to avoid a hard pull before applying for a business card that would otherwise trigger an Equifax inquiry.

Use the soft‑pull pre‑qualification tools that Chase, American Express, Capital One and other major issuers provide; these screens check your credit without triggering an Equifax pull. For example, Chase QuickCheck pre‑qualification returns an instant odds estimate based on a soft inquiry.

Visit the issuer's pre‑qual page, enter basic business and personal details, and receive a list of cards you're likely to qualify for. NerdWallet's pre‑qualification comparison also runs only soft pulls, letting you compare multiple offers without harming your score. If you already have a business card, many portals let you request a pre‑qual code for new products directly from your account dashboard.

Remember, pre‑qualification is not a guarantee - final approval still requires a hard Equifax pull, especially when a personal guarantee is involved (see the next section on guarantee triggers). Use the soft check first, then decide whether the potential hard inquiry is worth the risk.

Providing a personal guarantee almost always forces the issuer to run a Equifax pull on your SSN, because the guarantee ties your personal credit to the business account. The moment you sign the guarantee - whether on a Chase Ink, American Express Business Gold, or Capital One Spark application - the bank treats it like a standard personal credit card request and submits a hard inquiry to Equifax, which appears on your personal credit report.

That hard inquiry can dent your score by a few points, especially if you already have many recent pulls. It also stays on the report for two years, though its impact fades after the first 12 months. If you pre‑qualified earlier using a soft check, the guarantee still triggers the hard Equifax pull at approval, so the only way to avoid it is to apply for cards that rely solely on business credit or that explicitly use Experian or TransUnion.

The only business cards that generally avoid an Equifax pull use business‑only underwriting rather than a personal guarantee.

Cards that typically skip a hard inquiry on Equifax include:

• Brex Card - evaluates cash balance and spend velocity, no personal credit check (Brex corporate card details)
• Ramp Corporate Card - bases limits on company financials, no personal credit report (Ramp corporate card overview)
• Stripe Corporate Card - uses processing volume and business health, bypasses personal bureaus (Stripe corporate card info)
• Divvy Card (now part of Ramp) - allocates spend limits from business cash flow, no Equifax inquiry (Divvy card explanation)

These issuers rely on bank statements, revenue data, and payment processor history, so they do not trigger a hard inquiry on any consumer bureau, including Equifax.

If you need a card that truly stays out of your personal credit file, focus on these business‑only products and verify that the application explicitly states 'no personal credit check.'

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• Tech‑seed founder, age 29, in Austin applied for a U.S. Bank Business Platinum after reading that the card sometimes uses Equifax. The application generated a hard inquiry on his Equifax report, dropped after 12 months, and the card was approved with a $10 k limit.
• E‑commerce startup CEO, female, New York submitted an online pre‑qualification for a Brex Corporate Card. When she entered her personal SSN for the personal guarantee, Brex pulled her Equifax file, showed a hard inquiry, and later denied the card due to a low score.
• Biotech co‑founder, California, used a Regional Credit Union Business Visa that advertises 'Equifax‑based underwriting.' The card request produced a hard inquiry on Equifax; the credit union approved the card but reduced the credit line after the inquiry lowered the founder's score.
• SaaS startup CTO, Chicago, tried to add a Capital One Spark Cash Select as a supplemental card. Although Capital One usually checks Experian, for this applicant the system fell back to Equifax, resulting in a hard inquiry that temporarily dented his personal score.
• Marketplace founder, Miami, applied for a CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Card after being told it could pull any bureau. The online form triggered an Equifax pull, showing a hard inquiry that remained for two years because the issuer did not report a removal request.

An incorrect Equifax pull can be erased in a day or two by disputing it directly with Equifax and notifying the card issuer.

First, pull your credit report, locate the unauthorized hard inquiry, and note the date, amount, and issuer (for example, a Chase business card). Next, open a dispute on the Equifax dispute page, attach a screenshot of the inquiry, and state that you never authorized the request. Include the issuer's reference number if you have it.

While the dispute is processing (usually 15 business days), call the issuer's fraud or customer‑service line - Chase Business, Amex Business, etc. - and ask them to withdraw the pull. Provide the same details you gave Equifax; most banks will delete the inquiry on their end once they confirm the error.

When you receive the dispute‑resolution letter, verify that the inquiry no longer appears on your report. If it remains, follow up with both Equifax and the issuer, citing the resolution letter and the FTC's guidance on credit‑report errors. Once removed, the hard inquiry will no longer affect your personal credit score, and future business‑card applications will reflect a cleaner history.