Summary
If you’re a small business owner looking to earn a generous rewards rate on company purchases, the Ink Business cards from Chase may be your answer.
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Chase currently features three Ink cards in its business card portfolio. The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a no-annual-fee, flat-rate card that offers $900 cash back when you spend $6,000 in the first three months. Similarly, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is also a no-annual-fee card that offers $900 after spending $6,000 in the first three months. However, instead of a flat rewards rate, the Ink Business Cash Card offers bonus rewards in popular business spending categories, such as phone services and office supply stores.
Rounding out the Ink Business suite is the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, known for its excellent sign-up bonus of 100,000 points if you spend $15,000 in the first three months. This credit card has a $95 annual fee and offers bonus rewards in popular spending categories.
Which card is better in the first year?
The Ink Business Unlimited and the Ink Business Cash cards are very similar — both offer a $900 sign-up bonus and neither charges an annual fee. The cards, however, have very different reward structures: The Ink Business Cash Card offers a cash back bonus of up to 5 percent on certain spending categories, while the Ink Business Unlimited Card offers a flat rate of 1.5 percent back on every purchase. The Ink Business Preferred Card, on the other hand, offers up to 3 points per dollar on popular business purchases.
In the table below, you can compare the three cards:
Comparing Chase Ink Business cards
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rewards rate |
|
|
|
| Sign-up bonus | $900 cash back when you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months | $900 cash back when you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months | 100,000 points when you spend $15,000 in the first 3 months |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 | $95 |
| Estimated earnings in first year ($48,000 annual spend) | $1,620 | $1,788 | $1,827 |
For a flat-rate cash back card, the Ink Business Unlimited Card earns decent rewards. However, the Ink Business Cash Card pulls ahead because of its cash back in a few bonus categories.
Of course, the biggest earner of them all is the Ink Business Preferred Card, partly due to its attractive sign-up bonus of 100,000 points. Additionally, this credit card makes points worth 1.25 cents each when they are used to book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
Who is eligible for the sign-up bonus?
The sign-up bonuses for the Chase Ink Business cards are only available to new cardholders who have not received a new cardmember bonus for the cards in the past 24 months. Of course, you also have to be a business owner. Additionally, you must have a credit score in the excellent range (at least 750).
While Chase doesn’t seem to have a hard limit on the number of cards you own, it may deny your application if you have too large of a credit limit across your other Chase cards. Another thing to consider is that Chase’s unofficial 5/24 rule can prevent you from being approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more credit cards with any issuer in the last 24 months.
Best ways to use 100,000 bonus points
Chase gives cardholders several different options for redeeming their Ultimate Rewards points. As you can see from the table below, a point is worth 1 cent when redeemed for statement credits, direct deposits and gift cards. However, as previously mentioned, you’ll get the most value from your points if you redeem your points for travel on the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal using the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card, which boosts each point by 25 percent.
Chase Ink Business Preferred card’s redemption options
| Redemption option | Point value | Value of 100,000-point sign-up bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Rewards travel portal (25 percent redemption bonus) | 1.25 cents | $1,250 |
| Statement credit | 1 cent | $1,000 |
| Direct deposit | 1 cent | $1,000 |
| Gift cards | 1 cent | $1,000 |
| Amazon.com purchases | 0.8 cent | $800 |
| Chase Pay purchases | 0.8 cent | $800 |
Additionally, with the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card, you can transfer your points at 1:1 value to one of Chase’s travel partners to get even higher values on your points.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Card’s transfer options
The following point values are from The Points Guy as of July 2022.
| Transfer option | Point value | Value of 100,000-point sign-up bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore Airlines | 1.3 cents | $1,300 |
| World of Hyatt | 1.7 cents | $1,700 |
| Iberia Plus | 1.5 cents | $1,500 |
| Southwest Airlines | 1.5 cents | $1,500 |
| JetBlue Airways | 1.3 cents | $1,300 |
| United Airlines | 1.21 cents | $1,210 |
| British Airways | 1.5 cents | $1,500 |
| Emirates Skywards | 1.2 cents | $1,200 |
| Air France/KLM | 1.2 cent | $1,200 |
| Aer Lingus | 1.5 cents | $1,500 |
| Aeroplan | 1.5 cents | $1,500 |
| Virgin Atlantic | 1.5 cents | $1,500 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.84 cents | $840 |
| IHG Rewards Club | 0.5 cents | $500 |
Should you apply now?
With the $900 and 100,000-point sign-up bonuses, now is a good time to apply for a Chase Ink Business card. The best card for you, though, depends on your business needs and what you’re looking for in a card.
For example, if you own a business and spend a lot of money on internet, cable, phone services and office supplies each year, the Ink Business Cash Card might be your best option. If you spend a large amount of money on business travel each year, you could stand to earn more rewards from the Ink Business Preferred Card. And if you’re interested in earning the same rate on every purchase and don’t want to keep track of spending categories, then the Ink Business Unlimited may be the right card for you.
Editorial Disclaimer
The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective assessment of our writers and is not driven by advertising dollars. It has not been provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners.
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