Chase Ink Business Unlimited card approval tips ($500 bonus!)

Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

The Ink Business Unlimited^SM Credit Card is a no-annual-fee card that earns 1.5% cash back (1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent) on all purchases. It has a $500 cash bonus (50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. 

If you’ve hit the pause button on collecting airline miles and hotel points in light of the current COVID-19 situation, this card is perfect for you. After all, you may be more preoccupied with paying the electricity bill than flying in business class seats. With this card, you can rake in cash back with the card’s generous welcome bonus and return on spending. You’ve also got the option to transfer your cash back to certain other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards and redeem them for travel (I’ll explain).

In other words, you can prepare for the worst by earning cash back and saving it for emergencies. Then, when the gears of the travel industry begins rotating again, you can take that unused cash back and turn it into thousands of dollars in free travel.

Even if your small business is brand new or doesn’t yet generate much income, you could still qualify for the card. You don’t have to be an executive at a large multi-million-dollar corporation to be eligible. If you do anything for-profit, like yard maintenance, selling items on eBay, or tutoring, you’re a good candidate to be approved.

We’ll go through some tips you can use to improve your chances of being approved for the Chase Ink Business Unlimited^SM Credit Card.

Improve your chances of approval for the Chase Ink Business Unlimited

With the Chase Ink Business Unlimited^SM Credit Card, you can earn a $500 intro bonus (50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. But depending on other Chase cards you have, this welcome bonus could be worth much more.

For example, if you redeem your points through the Chase travel portal, and you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, your points would be worth 50% more, or $750 in travel. You could also transfer points directly to any of Chase’s travel partners to receive potentially $1,000+ in value.

You won’t want to miss out on this valuable welcome bonus, so here are some tips to improve your chances of an approval!

Make sure you qualify as a business owner 

Because this is a business credit card, you’ll want to make sure you’re eligible as a business owner. Fortunately, this is easy — any activity that you do for-profit qualifies you as a business owner. New businesses that do not have much profit to show also qualify. And because you can apply as a sole proprietor with just your social security number, you don’t even need to have a formal business license.

Just remember – the most important thing is to be honest on the application.

If you are asked for proof of your business, many people from online forums have reported success with providing proof of an EIN. You can obtain an EIN through the IRS website for free.

Have a good credit score 

Generally speaking, the higher your credit score, the better your chances will be of being approved for this card. Based on reports online of other Chase business credit cards, you’ll have a good chance of approval with a score of 720 and above. I was even able to find a report of someone who was approved with a 660 credit score.

Be mindful of the Chase 5/24 application rule

Chase has some strict application rules, one of which is the 5/24 rule. You will not be approved for most of their cards if you have opened five or more credit cards from any bank (not counting Chase small business cards and certain other business cards) in the past 24 months.

Although this also includes any cards you have been added as an authorized user, many folks have reported success in calling Chase to disregard those accounts. You can use tools like myBankrate to check how many accounts you have opened in the past 24 months.

What to do if you’re not immediately approved

Based on many reports online, it’s not unusual for your application to go to pending status, in which case it’s best to wait and see what the final decision is before calling. A pending application status does not necessarily mean you were denied. In fact, there are numerous reports online that indicate many pending applications were eventually moved to approved status.

If you are denied, there’s still hope! You can call Chase and ask for a reconsideration. And you can focus on two factors:

• Your credit history
• Why you want the card.

If you are nervous for any reason, follow our credit card reconsideratione line tips.

Emphasize factors besides your credit score

Even if you have a good credit score, Chase ultimately has the final say and can take other factors into consideration, like the following:

• Payment history on all of your accounts
• Credit utilization on your existing cards
• Number of recent credit card applications

If you lead the call by mentioning these items in addition to your credit score, it can help make for a stronger case for a successful reconsideration call.

Explain why you want the card

You’ll want to avoid talking about things like the welcome bonus. Instead, focus on why you want the card. Perhaps you’re a new business owner and don’t want the hassle of tracking bonus spending categories.

And if you have an existing relationship with the bank already, like other credit cards or a checking or savings account, it wouldn’t hurt to mention you’ve been a loyal customer and would like to continue expanding your relationship with the bank.

Also consider the Chase Ink Business Preferred

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a more premium small business card that comes with an unbelievable 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That’s worth $1,000 in cash, or at least $1,250 in travel via the Chase Travel Portal. Read our Chase Ink Business Preferred review here. 

Keep in mind that you can have both of these cards, so if you’ve got one, you can still apply for the other — even if you still hold a Chase Ink card.

Bottom line

If you’re a business owner, you’ll want to consider applying for the Chase Ink Business Unlimited^SM Credit Card because of its valuable welcome bonus. And you don’t need to be an executive at a large corporation to qualify. Anything you do for-profit, like selling items on eBay or tutoring, will make you eligible for this business credit card.

A credit score of over 720 will give you the best chances of approval, but I was able to find a report of someone with a 660 credit score who was approved for the card. Ultimately, Chase has the final say and can look at factors besides just your credit score.

If you do not get approved for the card, you can call Chase for a reconsideration. You can explain why you want the card, and emphasize you’d like to continue growing your relationship with the bank.

Let us know if you have any approval tips below! And subscribe to our newsletter for more credit card guidance.