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- Earn $1,000 bonus cash back after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Earn unlimited 2.5% total cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more and unlimited 2% cash back on all other business purchases.
- Travel Benefits: Unlimited 5% total cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, No Foreign Transaction Fees and Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance.
- The only business credit card with 2.5% cash back on every purchase of $5,000 or more.
- For businesses who prefer to pay their balance in full each month, Ink Business Premier gives access to increased spending power, rich rewards, and premium benefits.
- Pay off eligible purchases over time with interest up to assigned Flex for Business limit. All other purchases must be paid in full each month.
- Purchase with confidence with built-in protections like Fraud Protection, Zero Liability Protection, Purchase Protection, Cell Phone Protection, and Extended Warranty Protection.
- There's no additional cost for employee cards. Monitor spend with digital tools like purchase alerts, set spending limits, reporting, and more.
- Member FDIC
- 5% cash back on travel purchases through the Chase travel portal
- 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more
- 2% cash back on all other purchases
Chase announced the launch of its Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card in December of 2021. At the time, the card was only available to those with a Business Relationship Manager. Now, the card is now publicly available.
The card does not work like a typical credit card, and its earnings are a little different than other Chase small business cards. However, the card has huge earning potential and a solid package of benefits. Here's a look at how this card can fit into your rewards strategy.
The Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card
The Ink Premier is a pay-in-full card. That means you'll need to pay your full balance each month. The card also has a Flex for Business feature, in which businesses can pay certain charges over time (with interest). In this vein, it functions similarly to the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express — which requires payment in full each month, except for charges where you use Pay Over Time.
The Ink Premier charges a $195 annual fee with no fees for employee cards. It's also Chase's first metal business card, for those that care about that.
Welcome Offer
Chase is launching the Ink Premier with a massive welcome offer: Earn $1,000 bonus cash back after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
This bonus amounts to a huge 10% return on your first $10k in spending. Moreover, you will have the additional earnings from your spending to earn this bonus, meaning you could have a minimum of $1,200 — for 12% return — after the introductory period and earning this generous welcome bonus.
Annual Fee
The Ink Premier has a $195 annual fee. This is the highest annual fee of any Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning business card at this time and is just $4 shy of tying the highest business card fee Chase offers. Chase charges no fees for additional employee cards.
Earning Structure
The Ink Premier has uncapped earning potential, which is its main selling point for businesses looking to earn without limits. You can earn cash back as follows:
- 5% cash back on travel purchases through the Chase travel portal.
- 2.5% cash back on purchases of $5,000 or more.
- 2% cash back on all other purchases.
Note that all of these categories are uncapped. This means that you are not subject to earning limits in any of the categories.
Redemption Options
The Ink Premier is a cash back card. While the earnings are delivered as “Chase Ultimate Rewards points”, these are not the same points that we are used to.
For reference, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card provides 20 different ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards. Meanwhile, no-annual-fee cards like the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card earn Ultimate Rewards that need to be ‘unlocked' by having a premium card from Chase. If you do, your cashback earnings can be redeemed as Ultimate Rewards after combining points. Then, those points can be transferred to travel partners.
However, earnings from the Ink Premier function differently. These rewards cannot be transferred to travel partners, no matter what other Chase cards you may have. Instead, the earnings can be redeemed as statement credits (cash back) or used for purchases in the Chase portal on things like gift cards or travel purchases.
You'll also be able to use your earnings to Shop With Points at Amazon. However, while most cards have a 1¢ per point value when redeeming for checkout at Amazon, the Ink Premier points will only be worth 0.8¢ each.
When redeeming your earnings, there is no minimum. You can redeem as many or as few of your available rewards as you desire.
For those who focus their earnings and rewards primarily on flexible points that can be transferred to travel partners, this lack of transferrable points can be a deal-breaker. However, there's more to this card that could still make it attractive to businesses looking for unlimited earnings.
Card Benefits
The Ink Premier also has a full suite of card benefits and protections:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Baggage delay insurance
- Auto rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Fraud protection and zero liability protection
- Purchase protection
- Extended warranty protection
- Travel and emergency assistance services
- Roadside dispatch
- Cell phone protection for theft and damage
Note that the cell phone protection is limited to a maximum of $1,000 per claim, 3 claims per year, and a $100 deductible per claim.
Comparing to Other Business Cards
Where does the Ink Premier stack up against other small business cards? Comparing it can help us see where it shines and where other cards perform better. Here are some other cards you might consider and important details about them.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
This is the premier small business card and also has a ‘pay in full' billing style. It comes with a huge slate of perks, points that can be transferred to travel partners (without the need for another card), and a massive annual fee of $695.
The Business Platinum Card also rewards you for big purchases: 1.5X points on purchases over $5,000 but limited to the first $2 million of these and other 1.5X earning purchases in a year. You earn 5X points on hotels and flights booked on AmexTravel.com and 1X on all other eligible purchases. You can read our full review here.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
This is a favorite of many because it earns Membership Rewards that you can transfer to travel partners with $0 annual fee or needing any other card. It earns 2X points on all purchases — but only up to the first $50,000 of spending in a year. After that, you earn 1X on all purchases.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
This is another cash back card from Chase and also earns Ultimate Rewards. However, these cashback earnings can be ‘unlocked' to transfer to a travel partner if you have a premium card from Chase. Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year. Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other card purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn. There's $0 annual fee on the card.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus
A card known for periodically offering massive welcome offers that amount to an 8% return on spending, the spending required to earn this bonus is significant. The card has a $150 annual fee and earns unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases. With a combination of cards that earn cash back and miles, you can convert these cash back earnings into transferable points.
However, if your business regularly makes large purchases (above $5,000), that should push you toward the Ink Premier instead of the Spark Cash Plus.
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
This cash back card from Chase earns an unlimited 1.5% return on spending and has $0 annual fee. The cashback comes as Ultimate Rewards that can be ‘unlocked' in the ways mentioned above. Thus, they can be redeemed with travel partners, and your earnings are uncapped at a flat 1.5% on all purchases.
If you're debating between the Ink Unlimited and the Ink Premier, consider the different in annual fees. You'll need to spend at least $9,750 on the card to earn $195 in cash back (9,750 x 2%) to offset the annual fee each year. However, your spending needs to be more than $39,000 to make up for the difference in annual fees and earning rates:
- Ink Premier: $39,000 x 2% = $780 – $195 annual fee = $585
- Ink Unlimited: $39,000 x 1.5% = $585
Who Should Get the Chase Ink Premier?
This card offers unlimited earning potential for businesses with high spending volumes. Rather than limits on earnings that reduce to 1X after a certain threshold, this is an interesting card for businesses that spend a lot, don't want to deal with earning caps, and are able to pay bills quickly (because of the ‘pay in full' approach).
Additionally, if your business tends to make large purchases, the 2.5% back on purchases of $5,000+ is a nice feature, as is 5% earning for travel purchases in Chase's travel portal. If your business needs to book business travel, this is an excellent way to get rewarded for the purchase.
On the flip side, make sure you understand the limitations of how you can use your earnings from the Ink Premier. Since these earnings cannot be converted to transferrable points, make sure you know that and are happy with it before applying.
Bottom line: this card is for businesses with lots of spending who don't want to deal with earning limits and are happy to earn straight cash back. This removes the time and energy required to track the earning thresholds or understand how to best redeem miles & points.
Application Rules
The Ink Premier is issued by Chase, and you can read more about the bank's application rules here. The card should be subject to the 5/24 rule. We have seen people be approved after applying through their Business Relationship Manager. However, this is not a guarantee.
As this is a new card, there are no restrictions on the welcome offer in the vein of “if you had this card in the past…” Additionally, there are no restrictions on applying for this card while having another Chase small business card.
Lastly, Chase has a rule that you cannot be approved for more than 2 cards in a 30-day period, while the bank typically only approves a business card application once every 90 days.
Final Thoughts
The massive welcome offer and uncapped earning potential will likely draw a lot of attention to the Ink Premier.
However, the restrictions on how you redeem your cash back earnings may turn off people who are interested in transferring points to travel partners. If you're focused on cash back, the card offers numerous benefits that should outweigh its $195 annual fee. Businesses that don't want to deal with complicated rewards structures should love the simplicity and the uncapped earnings here.
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Um, no! I’ll take an Amex Business card over this one. Not even sure how many small businesses would be interested in this card. If this is Chase’s foray into business CCs to try to compete with Amex? Again, can’t see the point. Ink Premier seems to be premier in Chase’s mind, but I am not sure many businesses see this is as a competitive product.