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In a nutshell
The card_name is an elite rewards credit card that is perfect for a small business owner who would like to discount business or personal travel expenses.
The Buyline roundup: Ideal for business owners with travel aspirations
The card_name is a workhorse midrange small business credit card that gives you a considerable bang for a annual_fees annual fee. Perks like valuable travel insurance, a high return rate and automatic cell phone protection can easily offset that price tag.
Plus, the card currently offers a welcome bonus worth, at the very least, $1,000 in cash. In other words, Chase is willing to cut you a thousand-dollar check just to try the card out. That’s how confident the bank is that you’ll like it.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Regular APR
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Credit score needed
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Bonus rewards full
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Cardholders earn 3x points per dollar on up to $150,000 in combined purchases for shipping company, social media and search engine advertising, travel, and eligible telecommunications purchases. You’ll get 1x per dollar everywhere else.
Reward points are worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards, or you can transfer to airline and hotel partners for potentially more value. In addition to no foreign transaction fees, the card offers cell phone protection and valuable purchase and travel coverages. While there’s a $95 annual fee, it’s easy to see how you can earn much more in rewards and benefits.
Pros:
- Large welcome bonus.
- Solid return rate.
- Excellent cell phone insurance.
Cons:
- annual_fees annual fee.
- No intro APR offer.
- Travel insurance is only valid for business purposes.
Who is the Ink Business Preferred for?
The card_name is exclusively for business owners. If you don’t have a business, you won’t qualify for the card. That said, eligible businesses can include things like driving for Lyft, freelancing through Fiverr or any other side hustle you operate to make money in addition to your full-time job. You don’t need a thriving enterprise to be considered a business.
The card_name is also meant for those with the goal of travel. The rewards it earns, as well as several of its ongoing benefits, are crafted for a travel-focused lifestyle. If you don’t book airfare, hotel stays or rental cars a few times each year whether for work or play you’re likely better off opening a cash back credit card.
Ink Business Preferred features
Enormous welcome bonus
The card_name consistently has one of the most valuable sign-up bonuses of any credit card on the market. bonus_miles_full.
This six-figure intro offer is worth $1,000 when you redeem it for a direct deposit into your bank account. But you can squeeze significantly more value from your points — much more, in fact — if you know a few simple tricks. We’ll cover those in a minute.
High return rate
Because the card_name is a small business credit card, its bonus categories are focused on common business expenses. You’ll earn an impressive 3 points per dollar for the following purchases (up to $150,000 in spending per calendar year):
- Shipping purchases.
- Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines.
- Internet, cable and phone services.
- Travel.
Also, through March 2025, the card earns 5 points per dollar on Lyft rides. You’ll get 1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases.
Book free travel with valuable rewards points
The card_name earns Chase Ultimate Rewards®, which are some of the most valuable travel currencies in existence. You’ve got two ways to redeem these points for free travel.
The first, and most straightforward, is to “buy” travel through the Chase Travel Portal (Chase’s online travel agency) with Ink Business Preferred points at a rate of 1.25 cents per 100 points. Using the card’s 100,000-point bonus in this way would net you $1,250 in travel.
The alternative (and slightly less convenient) method is to transfer your points to participating airline and hotel transfer partners. Chase partners with brands like World of Hyatt, United Airlines’ MileagePlus, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, Flying Blue (the loyalty program of Air France and KLM), Air Canada Aeroplan and many more, which gives you the opportunity to receive far more value from your rewards.
For example, you could:
- Transfer 100,000 points to Southwest for ~$1,400 in free Southwest flights.
- Transfer 80,000 points to Flying Blue for two round-trip Economy flights to Paris on Air France (a $2,000+ value).
- Transfer 85,000 points to United Airlines for a nonstop lie-flat business class seat from San Francisco to Tahiti (a $5,000+ value)
- Transfer 100,000 points to Hyatt for four nights at the luxury Hana-Maui Resort (a $2,000+ value).
As you can see, transferring your points unlocks the biggest upside. Hands-down, this is the highest value proposition.
Travel insurance
The card_name comes with a few handy travel protections that can save you many hundreds of dollars during a single trip. The only catch is that you must be traveling for business purposes.
With Trip Delay Reimbursement, you’ll get up to $500 per purchased ticket for flight delays of more than 12 hours (or require an overnight stay). You can use this for food, hotel stays, transportation and other reasonable expenses. And the card’s Baggage Delay insurance compensates you for luggage delayed six hours or more during your trip. You’ll get $100 per day, up to a maximum of five days, for reasonable expenses such as toiletries, clothing and a phone charger.
Additionally, the card_name comes with primary rental car insurance (again, when renting for business purposes, otherwise it’s secondary). This means you don’t have to pay for the expensive rental agency’s insurance policy, which can easily cost more than $10 per day.
The fine print
The card_name has a list of other benefits that can further justify its annual_fees annual fee:
- No foreign transaction fees: Some cards charge a fee to process purchases outside the U.S. (often around 3%). You won’t incur those with this card, making it a great payment option when traveling overseas.
- Cell phone insurance: When you pay your cell phone bill with this card, you’ll receive up to $600 of insurance (with a $100 deductible) toward damage or theft. You can make up to three claims per 12-month period.
- Roadside dispatch: Similar to AAA, you’ll get access to a hotline for assistance when you’ve got a flat tire, lock your keys in your car, require towing, etc. You must pay for most services, but it’s nice to know you’ve got help when you need it.
- Purchase protection: Eligible purchases are covered against damage and theft (up to $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per account) for up to 120 days after you buy them.
- Extended warranty protection: Eligible U.S. manufacturer’s warranties of three years or less will be extended by one year.
You’ll also get free employee cards, which come with some of the above benefits.
Additional hidden benefits
A stunning yet unsung benefit of the card_name is its ability to turn the “cash back” that other Chase credit cards earn into transferable travel rewards. If you’ve got cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠, card_name or card_name, opening the Ink Business Preferred unlocks the ability to transfer that boring cash to airlines and hotels, which greatly increases its potential value.
Where the Ink Business Preferred doesn’t measure up
The card_name is no doubt optimized for a large number of businesses. If you spend a lot on shipping, online advertising, internet/cable/phone services and travel, you could quite easily rack up a six-figure point balance each year.
If these spending categories aren’t meaningful expenses for your business, you’ll earn a paltry number of points with this card. You’d likely be better off spending with a card that offers a fixed return rate (again, like the Ink Business Unlimited).
Additionally, the card’s cell phone insurance is subject to a big deductible. There are other credit cards on the market that offer the same phone insurance which only require a $25 deductible (instead of $100 with the Ink Business Preferred).
Alternatives to the Ink Business Preferred
The AP Buyline roundup
The card_name has a lot of great qualities, not the least of which is its perplexingly large welcome bonus — one of the most valuable of any credit card.
This card is an excellent option for business owners who travel for work or personal reasons. Whether you’re looking to reduce your business travel expenses or cross off some personal bucket list items, the card’s rewards are a hyper-powerful tool to achieve your goals.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Is Chase Ink a good business credit card?
The Chase Ink lineup is arguably the most powerful family of small business credit cards on the market thanks to their strong benefits and diverse earning rates. Opening the Ink Business Preferred with a no annual fee Ink option can turn you into a points power-earner.
What is the credit limit for Chase Ink Business Preferred?
The credit limit you receive with the Ink Business Preferred will depend on your credit score. The minimum credit limit for Visa Signature cards (like the Ink Business Preferred) is $5,000 — but those with excellent credit may receive tens of thousands of dollars upon account approval.
How hard is it to get a Chase Ink Business Cash card?
To get the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, you’ll need at least a “good” credit score. FICO defines this as a score of 670 or above.
Related:
Is it easy to get approved for a Chase business credit card?
It’s not particularly difficult to get approved for a Chase business credit card — but you may not be instantly approved when applying. Chase has been known to occasionally follow up for documents proving that you operate a business before approval.
