Chase Ink Business Preferred Versus Ink Cash

Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers. Both the Chase Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Cash Credit Card offer great perks and earn Chase Ultimate Rewards, my favorite kind of points.

But if you’re trying to decide which card is right for you, it isn’t as simple as comparing sign-up bonuses and annual fees!

I’ll explain the differences (and similarities!) between these cards.  And help you decide which card makes sense for you!

Chase Ink Business Preferred Versus Ink Cash

Link:   How to Submit a Chase Small Business Card Application

You might be torn between the new Chase Ink Business Preferred and the Ink Cash, two Chase small business cards.

There are similarities between them, but also big differences.  Like the (much!) bigger sign-up bonus on the Ink Business Preferred.  Or the fact that the Ink Cash has no annual fee.

Both earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points…my favorite kind of points!  And both have good sign-up bonuses and perks.  Here are my tips on how to fill-out a Chase small business card application.

So which is better?  Let’s look at each card.

Chase Ink Business Preferred

Link:   Chase Ink Business Preferred

Link:   My Review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred

With the Chase Ink Business Preferred card, you’ll earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

You’ll also get:

• 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards points for every $1 you spend on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites, and search engines (up to a maximum of $150,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year)
• 1X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on all other purchases
• Up to $600 in cell phone insurance when you pay your cell phone bill with the card
• 25% bonus when you redeem points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal
• Primary auto rental insurance (CDW) when renting for business purposes, plus purchase and extended warranty protection

The card has a $95 annual fee, which is waived for the first year when you apply in-branch (annual fee no longer waived as of March 12, 2017).

Note:   I let you know the Chase Ink Business Preferred may increase to 100,000 points on a limited, targeted basis as a test within the next ~5 months. 

You can read my review of this offer here.

Chase Ink Cash

Link:   Ink Cash® Business Credit Card

Link:   My Review of the Chase Ink Cash

You’ll earn 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from opening your Chase Ink Cash card.

With this card, you’ll also get:

• 5% cash back (5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points) on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services each account anniversary year
• 2% cash back (2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points) on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year
• 1% cash back (1X Chase Ultimate Rewards point) on all other purchases
• NO annual fee

Here’s my review of this offer.

You can use the sign-up bonus for $300 cash back or toward a trip through Chase’s travel portal.  Or, you can get Big Travel by transferring points to hotel and airline partners if you also have one of these cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Chase Sapphire Reserve
• Chase Ink Business Preferred
• Chase Ink Plus (no longer available)
• Chase Ink Bold (no longer available)

Here are questions to ask yourself when considering the Chase Ink Business Preferred vs Ink Cash.

What Are an Extra 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Worth?

With the sign-up bonus from the Chase Ink Business Preferred card, you’ll earn an extra 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points compared to the Chase Ink Cash (80,000 points vs. 30,000 points).

That’s a LOT of extra points!

50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points is worth:

• $625 towards flights through the Chase Travel Portal (or more if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve!)
• 2 round-trip coach tickets within the mainland US or Canada on United Airlines (25,000 United Airlines miles X 2)
• A round-trip coach flight to Hawaii from anywhere in North America on United Airlines (using 35,000 Singapore Airlines miles)
• 2 award nights at a luxury Category 6 Hyatt hotel, like the Andaz 5th Avenue in New York City
• $500 cash back

What Are Your Personal Travel Goals?

Would you rather get Big Travel or earn cash back?

You can redeem the Chase Ultimate Rewards points you earn from the Ink Business Preferred card for Big Travel by transferring them to Chase’s great travel partners.

But with the Ink Cash, your points are only good towards cash back.  Unless you have another Chase card, like the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve.

What Are Your Spending Habits?

It’s worth considering your spending habits when comparing these cards, because, for example, the Chase Ink Cash card earns bonus points on purchases at office supply stores.  The Chase Ink Business Preferred does NOT.  And lots of small business owners spend a decent amount in that category!

But let’s say your business spends a lot on travel.  In that case, the Ink Business Preferred card is a better option.  Because it earns 3X bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points for travel expenses.  And the Ink Cash card doesn’t earn ANY bonus points for travel.

Do You Mind an Annual Fee?

If you don’t have a Chase branch nearby or would rather apply for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card online, the $95 annual fee is NOT waived the first year.  I think the Chase Ink Business Preferred IS worth the annual fee because of the higher sign-up bonus.

But do what you’re comfortable with!

If you don’t think the annual fee on the Chase Ink Business Preferred is worth it for your situation, then the Chase Ink Cash card is a better choice for you.

That said, if you can get the annual fee on the Chase Ink Business Preferred waived the first year by applying in branch, it’s the better choice.  Because you can keep it for ~10 months to see if you like it, without a fee.

Can You Meet the Minimum Spending Requirements?

The Chase Ink Business Preferred card’s minimum spending requirement is nearly double ($5,000 versus $3,000) that of the Chase Ink Cash card.  So that’s something to consider when deciding between the two cards.

If you want the bigger sign-up bonus from the Chase Ink Business Preferred card but are worried about meeting the minimum spending requirements, check out my 40+ tips to easily meet minimum spending requirements.

Also, adding an authorized user could help.   Because that person’s spending counts towards earning the bonus.

Can You Get Both Cards?

Yes!  You can get both cards as long as you’re not impacted by Chase’s 5/24 rule.  Because the Chase Ink Cash and Ink Business Preferred are considered different card products.

Just remember, with Chase’s stricter approval rules, if you’ve opened ~5 or more credit cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months (excluding certain business cards), it’s unlikely you’ll be approved for MOST Chase cards.

Bottom Line

For most folks, the Chase Ink Business Preferred card is better than the Ink Cash.  Because you’ll earn 50,000 MORE Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the sign-up bonus from the Ink Business Preferred card!

That’s a big deal, because that’s enough for 2 round-trip coach tickets within the mainland US or Canada on United Airlines or a round-trip coach flight to Hawaii from anywhere in North America on United Airlines, for example.

That said, you might be more comfortable starting out with the no-annual-fee Ink Cash.  And you can still get the Ink Business Preferred later, because these two cards are considered different card products.