SVB Innovator Card Review 2025

• SVB Innovator Card Introduction
• Quick Facts
• What Is the SVB Innovator Card Best For?
• SVB Innovator Card Rewards
• SVB Innovator Card Benefits
• Fine Print
• How the SVB Innovator Card Stacks Up
• Is the SVB Innovator Card for You?
• Methodology

The SVB Innovator Card* is a good option for anyone looking for a scalable business card without personal liability. You can potentially access higher credit limits than other competitor cards, which is helpful for any business with significant upfront expenses. Since it’s a charge card, you’ll just need to be sure you can pay off those large expenses immediately, as you don’t have the option to carry a balance from month to month.

There are a lot of attractive perks that business owners could utilize, like access to the SVB Travel & Expense Management Platform. This platform allows you to issue unlimited employee cards with custom policies based on several factors, including user, use case, budget, time frame and more. If you’re focused on efficiency, you can automate everything from card issuance to accounting. You can also utilize mobile expense reporting, which can be helpful during work trips.

Cardholders earn a flat rate of 2 points per dollar on purchases, and those points can then be redeemed through statement credits, travel or purchases through top merchants like Apple and Expedia. There is a noticeable lack of insurance coverage associated with the card, which might give pause for a business with employees who frequently travel for work. Several competitor cards offer discounts with major business merchants like QuickBooks or AWS, but the SVB Innovator Card does not. However, this could still be a worthwhile consideration for current SVB clients.

• $0 annual fee
• Earn unlimited 2 points per dollar on purchases
• New cardholders can earn 3 points per dollar on all purchases for the first six months from account opening or up to $1 million spend and 3,000,000 points earned, offer expires 7/31/2025
• Must pay off your balance in full each month
• Higher credit limits with no personal liability
• Robust spend controls through the SVB Travel and Expense Management Platform

For a business that can pay off its balance in full each month, the SVB Innovator Card* presents strong value in terms of credit limits and lack of personal liability. It topped our list of the best business cards without a personal guarantee requirement and was included in our list of best cash-back business credit cards.

Earning Rewards

Cardholders of the SVB Innovator Card* can earn 2 points per dollar on purchases.

The welcome offer is different from a traditional offer. Instead, you will earn elevated rewards during the offer period. Currently, new cardholders can earn 3 points per dollar on all purchases for the first six months from account opening or up to $1 million spend and 3,000,000 points earned, offer expires 7/31/2025. If you have a lot of business expenses, this can be a savvy way to accumulate a stock of points quickly.

Redeeming Rewards

You can redeem rewards in several ways, including statement credits to your account or travel purchases. Note that points will expire three years after the last day of the month they were earned, so be sure to keep track of your rewards to avoid losing them. To redeem, simply log in to your account to view your redemption options. You can also use rewards to shop with popular merchants. Use your earnings to purchase equipment for your employees from Apple or book flights, hotels or rental cars with Expedia.

Rewards Potential

To determine the rewards potential of the SVB Innovator Card*, we calculated what a sole proprietor or small business might spend each year. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies to determine annual expenses. Based on the data, we calculated the following rewards potential for a small business with the following spending scenarios:

SVB Innovator Card* Rewards Potential

Category	Earning Rate	Estimated Annual Spend	Estimated Annual Earnings
All Eligible Purchases	2X	$39,337	78,674
			Total: 78,674 Points

See More See Less

In addition to the annual earnings, cardholders can increase their earning potential by concentrating their spending on the welcome bonus: 3 points per dollar on all purchases for the first six months from account opening or up to $1 million spend and 3,000,000 points earned, offer expires 7/31/2025.

• Free access to the SVB Travel & Expense Management Platform. You can automate workflows, control employee spending and get access to more helpful business tools.
• No personal liability. If you fail to pay off your balance, SVB can’t go after your personal assets.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: N/A
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Fees

• Annual fee: $0
• Balance transfer fee: N/A
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: 0%

SVB Innovator Card* vs. Brex Card*

The Brex Card* is a direct competitor to the SVB Innovator Card*, mainly targeting the same market. It doesn’t require a personal guarantee and offers dynamic credit limits in response to your cash flow. You’ll earn 7 points per dollar on rideshare, 4 points per dollar on travel booked through Brex Travel, 3 points per dollar on restaurants, 2 points per dollar on recurring software and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Note that you only earn points on purchases with U.S. merchants.

The Brex Card* comes with many business benefits and discounts on business services, such as $5,000 in AWS credits, 30% off your first 12 months of QuickBooks, up to 50% off UPS shipping and 25% off 12 months of Slack paid plans among others.

If you qualify for the Brex Card*, you’ll appreciate the robust business features and earning potential that are atypical for a corporate card without an annual fee. You’ll likely need to be flush with cash to qualify, but even venture-backed LLCs with low cash reserves could qualify, so getting approved might be possible for your business.

SVB Innovator Card* vs. Ramp Business Card

Like the SVB Innovator Card* and the Brex Card*, the Ramp Business Card is a corporate card that doesn’t require a personal credit check and offers a flexible credit limit based on revenue or dollars raised. It’s a charge card, but it allows for a 30-day payback.

Ramp takes automation to the next level and streamlines your finance operations with apps like QuickBooks, Stripe and Slack. You’re eligible for up to $350,000 in partner rewards, which includes everything from a three-month free trial to Asana to $2,500 in OpenAI API credits.

The value of the Ramp card is in the opportunity to save time and money. Ramp analyzes your spending to identify areas where you can spend less while automating accounting to help improve efficiency. Although the SVB Innovator Card* offers standard earnings on spending, the Ramp Business Card might be a better fit if you value savings over rewards.

SVB Innovator Card* vs. Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

If you’d rather have a traditional business card that offers an extended intro APR period, look no further than the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card. This card is better for low spenders—you can earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year and 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.

You can take advantage of a 0% introductory APR on purchases for 12 months, then a standard APR of 17.49% to 25.49% variable applies for purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies. This can be very helpful if you have any sizable upfront business expenses that you need extra time to pay off. Even if you don’t start out with a credit limit as high as you’d like, you’ll be evaluated for an increase every six months. With no annual fee, it costs nothing to hold and is basically all upside.

When it comes to redemptions, the Chase Ink Business Cash offers a solid cash-back rate, or it can be paired with the $95 annual fee Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card for increased value through Chase Travel℠. Ultimate Rewards® points from the Ink Business Preferred can be transferred to airline and hotel partners at a ratio of 1:1.

The SVB Innovator Card* and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card are both solid cards but fulfill very different purposes. If you don’t mind a charge card, the SVB option could provide a lot of value for your business. If not, this is one of the best Chase business cards to consider.

If a charge card isn’t bothersome, the SVB Innovator Card* could be a stellar option for your next business card. It’s ideal for heavy spenders and start-up businesses without an established credit history. It grows as your business grows without requiring a personal guarantee.

That said, no card is perfect, so if you’re seeking an option to make payments on large purchases over time or want to earn a transferable point currency, you should look elsewhere.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual rewards
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

We give greater weight to the card features we believe cardholders will use most frequently. These factors combine to generate a star rating for each card.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on how Forbes Advisor rates credit cards.