Compare Chase Business Cards: Which Ink card is right for your business?

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The MMS team loves earning valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points. They’re flexible rewards that give you cash back or savings on travel.

Many Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards earn points, and although we love them all, the Chase Ink business cards are extra special because they offer lucrative sign-up bonuses and have excellent bonus categories. Plus, each card is considered a different card product, so it’s possible to earn the welcome offers from each of them.

Chase issues three points-earning credit cards for small businesses:

• Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
• Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred card has the largest sign-up bonus of any card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are cash back cards and have extremely valuable offers and no annual fees.

Each has different points-earning capability and benefits. We will help you evaluate which card is the best choice for your small business.

Chase Ink cards — which one is right for you?

Before starting in the miles-and-points hobby, I had no idea how easy it was to qualify for a small-business credit card. If you have a for-profit venture (even a side hustle), chances are you’ll be eligible to take advantage of lucrative credit card offers for small businesses. You can even use your own name as your business name on your application.

For example, a couple of us on the MMS team resell items on sites like Amazon, eBay and Etsy. Meghan even has a home-building business. Airbnb hosts, graphic designers and store owners are also eligible. We have helped many friends and family members get cards for their small businesses.

You can apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor using your Social Security Number (SSN), which is what most of us on the MMS team use when applying for a business credit card. You’ll find our guide to completing a Chase business-card application here.

Let’s compare cards to see which is the best fit for your spending.

Welcome bonuses

All of the Chase Ink Business cards currently have huge sign-up bonuses (with minimum spending requirements):

• Chase Ink Business Preferred: Earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
• Chase Ink Business Cash: $750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited: $750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred definitely has the most enticing welcome bonus with 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after meeting minimum spending. In fact, this is the highest public sign-up bonus we have seen for a Chase card for small-business owners. Its spending requirement is a bit high, but many small businesses generate expenses that make this spending no problem.

The other two Chase Ink cards each offer the same sign-up bonus of $750 bonus cash back after meeting minimum spending, which is an incredible deal for cards with no annual fee.

Bonus spending categories

The big difference is in the bonus category. Think about where your business spends the most money and if your expenses are included in any of the following bonus categories:

• Chase Ink Business Preferred
  • 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year on travel, shipping purchases, internet/cable/phone services, and advertising purchases with social media sites or search engines
  • 1 Chase Ultimate Rewards point per dollar spent on everything else
• Chase Ink Business Cash
  • 5% cash back (5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar) on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary at office supply stores and cellphone/landline/internet/cable TV services
  • 2% cash back (2 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar) on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary at gas stations and restaurants
  • 1% cash back (1 Chase Ultimate Rewards point per dollar) on everything else
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited
  • 1.5% cash back (1.5 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar) on all purchases with no limits

By looking at spending categories, we see how these cards can complement each other. Each card has a category in which it excels, but the Chase Ink Business Unlimited is a great catch-all for spending in a category that doesn’t offer bonus points on the other cards.

Travel protection

The Chase Ink Business Preferred offers more travel protection than the other two cards. It is the only card of the bunch that offers trip delay insurance (after a minimum 12-hour delay or overnight stay up to a $500 maximum per ticket) and trip cancellation/interruption insurance (up to $5,000 per covered trip). Plus, you’ll receive primary auto rental insurance (CDW) when renting for business purposes, which can save you from paying for the in-house insurance offered by the rental agency (usually $15+ per day).

All three cards share these same travel protections:

• Primary car rental insurance: On rentals used for business purposes
• Lost luggage reimbursement: Up to $3,000 per person
• Travel accident insurance: Up to $500,000
• Baggage delay insurance: Minimum 6-hour delay; $100 maximum per day for three days (or up to five days with Ink Business Preferred)

The Chase Ink Business Preferred is the better card if you travel often because it offers the best travel protection. The other two still offer great coverage though, especially for no-annual-fee cards.

Cellphone protection

Currently, the only card of the three that offers cellphone protection is the Chase Ink Business Preferred. As long as you pay your cellphone bill with this card, you will get automatic cellphone insurance.

This includes up to $1,000 of protection against damage or theft, up to three times per 12-month period. There is a $100 deductible, but that still means up to $900 back toward a replacement phone.

Annual fees

There are no annual fees on either the Chase Ink Business Cash or the Chase Ink Business Unlimited.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred has an annual fee of $95 — but it comes with extra perks and benefits that make it worth keeping.

Foreign transaction fees

The Chase Ink Business Preferred has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a good card to use when you’re overseas. If you travel abroad frequently or pay business expenses to foreign vendors, this is the best card.

You will pay foreign transaction fees with the Chase Ink Business Cash and the Chase Ink Business Unlimited, which is typical of most no-annual-fee cards.

Common questions with the Chase Ink Business cards

Here are some of the most common questions about these cards:

Can you use points from the cash-back cards for travel?

The Chase Ink Business Unlimited and Chase Ink Business Cash are cash-back cards. However, the cash back is earned in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points (each point is worth 1 cent when redeemed for cash back or paid travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal).

If you have a Chase annual-fee travel credit card, like the Chase Ink Business Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you can combine your points and redeem them at a higher rate through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. You can even transfer them to Chase airline and hotel partners like United Airlines, Hyatt and Singapore Airlines.

Can you have multiple Ink business cards?

Yes, you can apply for and use all three of these cards for the same business. And you can combine the points you earn with points from any other Chase Ultimate Rewards points-earning cards.

If you have more than one business, you can get multiple of the same card. Read our post on getting more than one Ink Business Preferred.

Does the Chase 5/24 rule apply?

All of these cards are subject to the 5/24 rule but do not contribute toward the 5/24 count — meaning if you’ve opened five or more cards in the past 24 months (except Chase business cards and certain other business cards), you likely won’t be approved for any of the Chase Ink business cards.

However, getting these cards won’t contribute to your 5/24 count for other Chase cards. So they’re a good pick if you’re trying to stay below 5/24.

Bottom line

Chase offers three excellent small-business credit cards, all of which earn valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points:

• Chase Ink Business Preferred (our review)
• Chase Ink Business Cash (our review)
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited (our review)

Folks who travel often will benefit from the Chase Ink Business Preferred because of its increased travel protections, and the 3x points per dollar spent in travel after annual cap amount spent. This is also the only card of the three that offers cellphone protection and no foreign transaction fees. We love the huge 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points welcome bonus that comes after meeting minimum spending requirements (read our Chase Ink Business Preferred approval tips). The downside is its $95 annual fee.

The Chase Ink Business Cash and Chase Ink Business Unlimited cards are also excellent for small-business owners because they offer different bonus categories. Each has a $750 bonus cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That’s a fantastic deal for cards with no annual fee.

The card you choose will depend on your spending habits, but they’re all excellent options for small-business owners. Remember, you don’t have to pick one. If you already have a Chase Ink card, you’re still eligible to apply for other Chase cards.

Let me know which Chase Ink business card is your favorite!