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At any given time, my wife and I have dozens of credit card accounts open. But only a handful of these cards can earn a place in my everyday wallet. For everyday spending, I carry the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. For dining, we keep the no-longer-available Citi Prestige® Card. But our primary travel payment card is the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
Here's why I use this scrappy $95-annual-fee credit card (instead of its more expensive competitors) as my everyday travel card — and why now is a great time for you to consider adding this card to your wallet.
- 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
Page Contents
Ink Preferred Earning Rates
In addition to the 100,000-point sign-up bonus, the Ink Preferred offers a solid 3X earning rate across four categories:
3x points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year.
After hitting the $150,000 annual cap, you'll earn a single point per $1 spent afterward. Depending on your spending patterns, some of those bonus categories are going to be more useful than others. Since I travel the world full-time, I'm laser-focused on that 3X travel earning rate.
Earning 3X transferrable points on general travel on a $95 annual fee is hard to beat. Yes, other travel credit cards offer a higher earning rate when you book paid travel through the bank's own travel portal. However, the Ink Preferred is handy for those everyday travel purchases you can't book through the travel portal. That includes:
- Taxes and fees on award flights
- Airlines not bookable through portals, such as Southwest, Red Way, and Northern Pacific
- Travel-related providers, such as Point.me subscriptions
- Cruises, such as the repositioning Carnival cruise I recently booked
- Metros, trams, and rideshares, including 5X earnings on Lyft
- Trains and train passes like the Japan Rail Pass I recently bought
- Miscellaneous travel costs like parking meters and city taxes on hotel stays
- Other travel purchases when you aren't sure they will trigger a higher earning rate on another card, such as Marriott Homes & Villas and Small Luxury Hotels
How You Can Use Your Ink Preferred Points
The Ink Preferred earns fully transferrable Ultimate Rewards points. That means the points you earn can be transferred to 14 transfer partners — including Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, World of Hyatt, and Air Canada Aeroplan. And you can combine Chase points earned on no-annual-fee Freedom and Ink cards with the Ink Preferred to turn those earnings into fully transferrable points as well.
“Worst case,” you can redeem the points earned through the Ink Preferred — or transferred in from no-annual-fee Ink or Freedom cards — to purchase travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal at 1.25 cents per point. That means the 100,000-point bonus is worth at least $1,250 toward travel purchases.
Travel & Shopping Protections
In addition to the 3X earning rate, I use the Ink Preferred to pay for flights and award flight taxes/fees because of its extensive travel protections. These include:
- Trip delay reimbursement: Up to $500 per ticket on delays of 12+ hours or overnight
- Baggage delay insurance: Up to $100 per day for 5 days on delays of 6+ hours
- Lost luggage reimbursement: Up to $3,000 per passenger
- Trip cancellation / interruption insurance: Up to $5,000 per person and $10,000 per trip
- Auto rental Collision Damage Waiver (CDW): Primary when “renting outside your country of residence,” if you do not have automobile insurance, or when renting for business purposes within the U.S.
- Travel accident insurance: Up to $500,000 for accidental death or dismemberment
- Roadside dispatch
- Travel and emergency assistance
- No foreign transaction fees
Like most credit cards, the Ink Preferred has a chip for tap-to-pay transactions. But you also can request a PIN from Chase to use the card as a chip-and-pin credit card. That makes the Ink Preferred clutch for international payment terminals that require a PIN to complete the transaction, such as train kiosks in Europe and unattended parking garages in several countries.
Comparing the Ink Preferred to Other Travel Cards
Now that we've gotten an overview of the benefits of the Ink Preferred, let's compare it to other top travel credit cards that earn 3X on general travel to see how it stacks up.
Ink Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Most travelers probably think about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® when thinking about a Chase credit card that earns 3X on general travel. And indeed, the Sapphire Reserve offers this and many other bonus spending categories:
- 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
However, the Sapphire Reserve charges a $550 annual fee. For some travelers, that fee is worth it to get additional perks like Priority Pass Select membership, TSA PreCheck/Global Entry/NEXUS application fee credits, and a 50% bonus on point redemptions through the Chase Travel Portal, as well as up to $300 in travel credits each year.
For those that already have access to these perks through other premium travel cards, the $95 annual fee Ink Preferred is going to be a much cheaper option for earning 3X points on general travel (up to the $150,000 annual limit).
Plus, while it's more attainable, the Sapphire Reserve‘s sign-up bonus of 60,000 points isn't nearly as lucrative.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more
- Member FDIC
- 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
Ink Preferred vs. American Express® Green Card
Another card that offers 3X on general travel is the American Express® Green Card. It earns 3X Membership Rewards® points on all eligible travel, plus 3X Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide.
For a reasonable $150 annual fee , the Amex Green Card also offers solid travel perks, including:
- $189 CLEAR Plus credit: Receive up to $189 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express® Green Card.
- $100 LoungeBuddy credit: No airport lounge membership? No problem! Purchase lounge access through the LoungeBuddy app using this and receive up to $100 in statement credits annually.
- Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
The Amex Green Card also offers travel protections like trip delay insurance, lost baggage insurance, and car rental loss and damage insurance. However, the terms are generally more restrictive and provide lower protections than the Ink Preferred.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on travel
- 3x Membership Rewards® at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on transit including trains, buses, ferries, subway, and more
- 1x Membership Rewards® on other purchases
Ink Preferred vs. Citi Premier® Card
Last but not least, let's compare the Ink Preferred to the Citi Premier® Card. For a $95 annual fee, cardholders earn 3X points per $1 spent on airfare and hotels and at gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets.
That means it falls short of the 3X points on all travel (up to the $150,000 annual limit) offered by the Ink Preferred. However, the Citi Premier‘s 3X bonus category also includes gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets. That makes it a more well-rounded spending card for many consumers and small businesses.
Just keep in mind that Citi cut many of the travel protections on the Citi Premier. So, you'll need to find other ways to protect your travels — whether that's through travel insurance or booking transportation using another card.
- 60,000 point signup bonus worth $800 towards airfare through the ThankYou Travel Center, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 3X points per $1 on airfare and hotels and at gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets
- Annual Hotel Benefit: Save $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through ThankYou.com
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, hotels, and at gas stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
But, isn't the Ink Preferred a business card?
Indeed, the Ink Preferred is a small business credit card. That means you'll need to have a small business to qualify to open the card. With that said, you may be surprised by who's eligible to get a small business credit card. If you do freelance or gig work, sell items online, or monetize your hobbies, you may be eligible to get a small business card.
While we're talking about restrictions, also keep in mind that the Ink Preferred is restricted by the Chase 5/24 rule. If you've opened five or more personal credit cards in the past 24 months, Chase will likely deny your application.
Related: How to Check Your Chase 5/24 Status for Free
Why Now’s a Great Time To Get the Ink Preferred
For quite some time now, the Ink Preferred has offered a 100,000-point sign-up bonus. However, for almost as long, the spending requirements to earn that bonus have been out of reach for many travelers.
That changed in late June 2023 when Chase nearly halved the spending requirement. Now, you'll earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
No doubt, this is still a hefty spending requirement, requiring around $2,700 per month in spending. However, it's much more attainable than the previous spending threshold of $5,000 per month. By utilizing our tips to meet spending requirements — such as using your credit card to pay taxes — you may be able to reach this spending requirement that you previously thought was unattainable.
Bottom Line
For years, I've used the Ink Preferred as my primary travel payment card, thanks to its 3X earning rate on general travel and excellent travel protections. Now that Chase has nearly halved the spending requirements to earn the 100,000-point sign-up bonus, this card is much more appealing for those who don't already have it.
- 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
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