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The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is one of the best small-business cards on the market, thanks to a solid lineup of benefits, 3X earning on select business categories, and a fantastic rewards program. If travel is your goal, the Ink Preferred can help you turn your business spending into huge savings on your next trip.
Moreover, the card offers several benefits for a modest $95 annual fee, and it sweetened the pot with a recent reduction in the spending required to earn its valuable welcome bonus — without reducing the points offered in the bonus. We don't see that very often.
Let's take a look at everything this card has to offer to see if it's a good fit for your small business.
- Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
- Round-the-clock monitoring for unusual credit card purchases
- With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
- Redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more - your points don't expire as long as your account is open
- Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Purchase Protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Member FDIC
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
Ink Preferred Pros
- Impressive sign-up bonus with a reduced spending requirement
- Can combine points from many other cards earning Ultimate Rewards
- Many benefits for a modest annual fee
- Access to Chase's transfer partners without needing another card
Ink Preferred Cons
- The spending requirement for the welcome offer may be too much for some businesses
- Caps on bonus earnings
- 1X earning on non-bonus spending
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Welcome Offer
The Ink Preferred offers an impressive 100,000-point signup bonus after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Incredibly, that's the same bonus this that previously requiring $15,000 in spending, so this new offer is clearly better.
Earning a minimum of one point per dollar spent to reach the signup bonus, cardmembers will receive 108,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which are worth $1,350 towards travel rewards when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. This amount goes up if your spending is in one of the elevated categories. And the value of your rewards can go up if redeeming with one of Chase's travel partners (more on that below), but know that AwardWallet users typically redeem Chase points at 1.97¢ each.
When you earn points with the Ink Preferred, they can be combined with points earned across the entire family of Ultimate Rewards-earning cards.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Benefits
The benefits received for the $95 annual fee on the Ink Preferred are second to none.
Auto rental collision damage waiver (CDW)
The auto rental CDW covers up to the cash value of most rental vehicles for damage caused by a collision or theft. This coverage is primary coverage when renting for business purposes, meaning you do not need to file a claim with any other insurer before claiming under the card benefit. The coverage is secondary for personal rentals. You must decline the rental company’s insurance and pay for the full cost of the rental on your Ink Preferred for coverage to be in effect.
Trip interruption / cancellation insurance
The Ink Preferred covers up to $5,000 in pre-paid or non-refundable travel expenses if a trip is canceled or cut short f0r a covered reason. The policy covers the cardholder, immediate family members, and also persons employed by the company for which the Ink Preferred account is issued. This means you can claim this benefit when employee trips go awry. It also covers trips purchased using Ultimate Rewards points from the account, which will be reimbursed at one cent per point.
Related: 21 Credit Card Benefits Every Traveler Should Know About
Trip delay reimbursement
Receive up to $500 for each purchased ticket if your trip is delayed by a covered hazard for more than 12 hours or overnight. This can provide reimbursement for expenses like lodging or meals, and the benefit is in effect as long as you paid for at least part of the trip with your card.
Baggage delay reimbursement
This perk reimburses up to $100 per day, for a maximum of five days, for the purchase of essential items such as clothing, toiletries, and charging cables for cell phones if your flight is delayed by more than six hours for a covered reason.
Cell phone protection
One of the standalone benefits of the Ink Preferred, which is rare on small business credit cards, is cell phone protection. Pay the full cell phone bill each month with your Ink Preferred, and the phone is covered for theft, damage, and loss up to $1,000 per claim and up to three claims in a 12-month period. Employee phones purchased with this card are also included in the coverage, but there's a deductible of $100 per claim.
Purchase protection
This benefit covers new items against fire and theft, up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per account. Purchase protection applies to purchases made within the past 120 days.
Extended warranty
Purchase an item with your Ink Preferred and get an extra year on U.S. manufacturers' warranties of three years or less.
Ink Preferred Earning Rates
The Ink Preferred provides powerful earnings for small businesses that spend in the allocated bonus categories, though it's worth noting that there are limits to these earnings. You'll earn as follows:
- 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
- 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
Earning 3x on up to $150k of spending will appeal to most businesses. And earning 3x on travel puts this card on part with heavyweight travel cards like the Sapphire Reserve — though without that card's $550 annual fee.
Plus, the bonus points for online advertising, shipping, and internet/phone services make the Ink Preferred perfect for any business operating online, Amazon/eBay store owners, and any business that utilizes online advertising. However, businesses that spend more than $150k annually in these bonus categories may be disappointed to learn that they'll earn just a single point per $1 spent after passing the $150k threshold.
Redeeming Points With the Ink Preferred
You can redeem points from your Ink Preferred card for 1.25¢ each when booking travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Additionally, you can redeem them at 1¢ apiece for gift cards or cash back via a statement credit.
Alternatively, you can spend your Ultimate Rewards points directly on Amazon for gifts, essentials, or luxury items delivered straight to your door. This typically isn't the best value for your points, unless you get a targeted offer to save up to 50% off Amazon by using just a few points.
The best way to maximize the value of Ultimate Rewards earned with your Ink Preferred card is by transferring points to Chase’s Ultimate Rewards travel partners. This includes three hotel and 11 airline partners.
Data points from AwardWallet users show they tend to redeem Chase points at 1.97¢ each when utilizing Chase's transfer partners. Check out our comprehensive breakdown of transfer partners, plus 20 ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value.
Application Restrictions
Stating the obvious here: You need a business to open a business card. Luckily, it doesn't take much to qualify. Learn more about qualifying for a business card with your Etsy store, reselling on eBay, or just a side hustle with freelance work. Applicants with good to excellent credit stand a good chance of approval for this card. Further, you can hold this card, and receive the sign-up bonus, while also being a cardholder for other Ink Business cards.
As with all Chase cards, you will not be approved if you've opened five or more personal cards from any bank in the last 24 months. Business cards do not count against this number; however, you must be under 5/24 to get approved for a business card. Learn more about Chase's unwritten 5/24 rule.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Cards That Compete With the Ink Preferred
- If you want a lower minimum spending requirement on a Chase card, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a great option. It has a solid sign-up bonus of $900 after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll also earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and you can combine this with rewards from other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards to turn your earnings into transferable points, assuming you have eligible cards. For more details, check out our full review of the Ink Unlimited card.
- If you want a no-annual-fee card, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is a simple, straightforward card without an annual fee (Rates & Fees) or bonus categories to track. You'll earn 2x points earned on the first $50,000 of purchases each year, then 1x. You can find more details in our full review of the Blue Business Plus card.
- If you want higher earning power, the American Express® Business Gold Card offers 4x points earned on your top two spending categories, up to $150,000 per year (then 1x). These categories include airfare, restaurants, technology providers, media advertising, gas stations, and shipping, so you may wind up earning more on this card with a similar spending cap. Learn more in our full review of the Amex Business Gold card.
For additional details, check out our comparison of the Chase Ink Business cards.
Related: Top Small Business Card Offers
Final Thoughts
We've had plenty of time since Chase launched the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card to tease out all its secrets, and this is an outstanding business card that offers high earning power, good benefits, a modest annual fee, and a better-than-ever welcome bonus. One of its best perks is cell phone protection for business accounts.
With an annual fee of just $95 and the ability to earn up to 450,000 points from bonus categories each year, many people see the Ink Preferred as the standard against which other business cards are judged.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
My wife recently applied for this card for her business and was denied. Apparently they didn’t like the fact that two months ago she got the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Is there a timeframe we should adhere to when applying for new cards in the Chase family?
give this post a read: https://awardwallet.com/blog/understanding-rewards-credit-card-application-rules-restrictions/
I am a small business owner with a federal tax ID, but to make the initial $5000 to get the bonus, I would have to charge personal as well as business expenses to the card. Would that be something Chase would have an issue with?
Business cards are designed to be used for business expenses only, and if you read through your terms and conditions you’ll see language stating something similar. Any questions about using the card and receiving the associated bonuses should be directed to Chase.
That said, I know many small business owners that use their personal cards for business expenses and vice-versa, without issue.
Nice write-up; this card is definitely going on the to-get list!
I want this card SOOOOO bad for the cell phone protection and obviously the bonus points. Its too bad that 5/24 is in full effect with this card and its too bad that Chase is so stingy when extending business credit. I wish they would extend business credit as easily as Amex does, my online application for the SPG Business card took 2 seconds to fill out and was approved automatically. With that being said, I’ve had luck with in-branch pre-approvals at Chase banks so hopefully a pre-approval will be enough. And if that doesn’t work a little tax history from my business should help too. If all else fails, well I already have the CSR, CFU, and CF so I’m already pretty well stacked in the UR world.
This card sounds like a great product. What is defined as advertising purchases?
Rob, the terms state “advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines” — which would include the big guys, specifically Google and Facebook.