Ask The Consumerists: Small Business Credit Cards

We’ve heard from many, many readers who are Advanta cardholders since bringing the impending account freeze to their attention before the company did. Some people are just annoyed. Others don’t know what to do to keep their businesses afloat.

Tom, the owner of a hotel, wrote to us:

Rec’d Advanta’s ltr only this morning (5/26/09). We (immediately) stopped using the card and are simply rolling with cash or business checks. This will be temporarily inconvenient. Our big problem is that many of our recurring monthly & annual bills are pd by Advanta & charged to our card acct. This stop will be a pain because we must track down those vendors…. cancel the Advanta number……… and start with a new acct number from a new account, an account WHICH WE DO NOT YET HAVE. So……… fun & games for the next week. BUT……. how many of our services will be cut off for lack of payment because we slipped up & didn’t update our credit card info with them??????? We’ll find out.

Donna, in the meantime, depends on her Advanta card and doesn’t know what to do without her Advanta card, and isn’t quite sure where to turn.

I am an author / freelance writer with an Advanta Small Business credit card which supports book signings, book festivals, and book development expenses. I had no idea my small business account with Advanta was being closed until I read your article.

Advanta has been an excellent tool for me as a low-budget author because it has allowed me to easily separate my business expenses from my personal budget. I am concerned about where I will find a comparable tool to support my business, my livelihood, and my life. Any suggestions?

Any suggestions for Donna, and the many other Advanta customers suddenly left without a credit card?

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