Card Showdown: Capital One Venture X Business Card vs. Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

In the world of premium business credit cards that earn points or miles, the Capital One Venture X Business Card and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card from Chase are two of the best options out there. Both of these cards earn flexible rewards points or miles that can be redeemed in a variety of ways, from cash back to flight awards to merchandise. However, with both Capital One Miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can get the most value out of your rewards by redeeming them for flights through airline transfer partners.

So, if you’re interested in earning flexible credit card rewards on your business expenses that can be redeemed for outsized value through partner programs, then you’ll want to strongly consider adding either the Venture X Business Card or the Ink Business Preferred Card to your wallet. However, when it comes to deciding which of these two cards is right for you, there are a lot of factors to consider.

In general, the Venture X Business Card is a better option for small business owners who have higher expenses, are willing to pay a higher annual fee and whose businesses are more travel-focused. The Ink Business Preferred Card is better for small business owners who have lower expense levels, want to pay a lower annual fee and whose business have more general expenses (in categories like shipping, advertising and internet and phone services).

In this article, we’re going to compare all of the different aspects of both the Capital One Venture X Business Card and the Ink Business Preferred Card side-by-side to help you decide which of these cards is better for your business.

Requirements for a Business Credit Card

First and foremost, to qualify for either the Venture X Business Card or the Ink Business Preferred Card, you need to be a small business owner, and you need to have a credit score in the “excellent” range. If you don’t meet both of these requirements, you won’t be able to qualify for either one of these cards.

However, before you lose hope, you should know that the definition of a small business owner is fairly broad. And you may be considered a small business owner even if you don’t think you are. In fact, if you make money walking dogs, delivering food with apps like DoorDash or GrubHub, babysitting or streaming on Twitch, you could be considered a small business owner.

The most common types of small businesses are as follows:

• Partnerships
• Corporations
• Limited liability companies (LLCs)
• Sole proprietorships

If you’re the owner of a partnership, a corporation or an LLC, then you most likely consider yourself a business owner. However, if you have a sole proprietorship, you may be considered a small business owner by credit card issuers even if you don’t think of yourself as one.

The legal definition of a sole proprietorship includes:

• Gig economy workers (including gig-based delivery workers, gig-based ride-hailing service drivers, peer-to-peer car renters, transcribers, gig-based gardening workers, etc.)
• Freelancers and independent contractors (including freelance graphic designers, freelance consultants, bookkeepers, virtual assistants, plumbers, HVAC professionals, real estate agents, web developers, etc.)
• Self-employed business owners (including vacation rental managers, online merchants, public notaries, landscapers, babysitters, farmers, etc.)

Essentially, if you engage in almost any money-making activity outside of a formally organized business, you can still be considered a sole proprietorship and qualify for a business credit card. However, you will have to provide certain information about your business, such as your business address (which can be your home address) as well as your annual business income (which can be an estimate).

Once again, though, in addition to being a small business owner, you’ll need to have a credit score in the “excellent” range in order to qualify for either the Venture X Business or the Ink Business Preferred.

Side-By-Side Comparison

Let’s start by briefly looking at the features of both the Venture X Business and the Ink Business Preferred side-by-side. The following chart includes many of the relevant features of both cards, including annual fees, spending bonuses and other notable benefits:

Another major difference between these two credit cards is that the Capital One Venture X Business Card is a pay-in-full credit card and it doesn’t have a preset spending limit.

A pay-in-full credit card, as the name implies, is a card that requires you to pay your balance off completely every month. This means that the Venture X Business Card doesn’t charge an APR. However, if you fail to pay off your balance at the end of a month, you’ll be charged a fee equal to 2.99% of the outstanding balance and your account is considered past due until the balance is paid off completely.

This also means that the Venture X Business Card doesn’t have a preset spending limit like most other credit cards do. Instead, according to Capital One, this card “adapts to your needs based on spending behavior, payment, credit profile and other factors.” Essentially, this means that your spending limit will be automatically increased if Capital One’s algorithm deems you worthy of more credit or automatically decreased if Capital One’s algorithm identifies you as a credit risk.

The Ink Business Preferred Card, on the other hand, functions like a traditional credit card. This means that you’re not required to pay your balance off in full each month. However, like most credit cards, you’ll be charged an APR on any remaining balance on your card at the end of the billing period.

The Ink Business Preferred Card does have a preset spending limit. The minimum initial spending limit for this card is $5,000. However, based on your creditworthiness, you could start out with a much higher initial spending limit. And, by requesting a credit limit increase from Chase, you could have your limit raised even more. But, of course, Chase also reserves the right to decrease your limit at any time if you’re using your card irresponsibly.

Welcome Bonuses

Another major consideration when deciding between the Venture X Business and Ink Business Preferred is the welcome offer available with each of these cards. In general, these bonuses offer a large sum of points to new cardholders who spend a certain amount of money on their card in a certain period of time after opening an account .

When the Venture X Business Card was first released on Sept. 12, 2023, it offered a massive welcome bonus of 150,000 miles. However, cardholders were required to spend $30,000 in the first three months after account opening in order to earn this bonus. See the current welcome offer available with the Venture X Business Card below.

The Ink Business Preferred Card has historically offered welcome bonuses between 80,000 points and 100,000 points. However, the spending requirements to earn those welcome bonuses have typically been far lower than the spending requirements to earn the Venture X Business Card’s welcome offer. See the current welcome offer available with the Ink Business Preferred Card below.

Earning a welcome bonus with either card is a great way to rack up a lot of rewards quickly. So, before you sign up for either one of these credit cards, we recommend that you make sure you’ll be able to meet the spending requirements to earn the welcome offer.

The Venture X Business Card’s welcome bonus is usually more difficult to earn but also more lucrative, making it a better option for small business owners with higher expense levels. The Ink Business Preferred Card’s welcome bonus is usually easier to earn but less valuable, making it a better option for small business owners with lower expense levels.

Annual Fees

The Venture X Business Card and the Ink Business Preferred Card have quite a large disparity when it comes to their annual fees, which can be a major point of consideration for many consumers.

The Venture X Business Card has an annual fee of $395. This is on the higher end for business credit cards and is considerably higher than the annual fee charged by the Ink Business Preferred. However, compared to certain other premium business credit cards on the market (such as the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (rates & fees), which has an annual fee of $695), the Venture X Business Card’s annual fee is fairly reasonable. You can also easily offset this annual fee year after year if you take advantage of all of this card’s bonuses and benefits.

The Ink Business Preferred Card charges an annual fee of $95, making it a better option for small business owners who don’t want to pay a lot of cash upfront every year for an annual fee. The Business Preferred Card also offers pretty impressive spending bonuses compared to other business credit cards in the $95-annual-fee range.

Spending Bonuses

The spending bonuses offered by the Capital One Venture X Business Card are heavily focused on travel spending through the Capital One Travel portal. Here are the current spending bonuses offered by this card:

• 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked directly through Capital One Travel
• 5X miles on flights booked directly through Capital One Travel
• 2X miles on every other purchase

As you can see, if your business spends a lot of money on travel, you can rack up a ton of Capital One Miles by signing up for the Venture X Business Card and booking your travel through the Capital One Travel portal.

Plus, this card offers baseline earnings of 2X miles on all purchases, which means you’ll still be earning decent rewards even when you aren’t making Capital One Travel purchases.

The Ink Business Preferred Card’s spending bonuses are more geared toward general business expenses and aren’t as travel-focused as those offered by the Venture X Business Card. Here are the current spending bonuses offered by this card:

• 5X points on Lyft rides (through March 2025)
• 3X points on the first $150,000 in combined spending per year in the following categories:
  • Shipping purchases
  • Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
  • Internet, cable and phone services
  • Travel
• 1X point on every other purchase

As previously stated, the spending bonuses offered by the Ink Business Preferred are more geared towards businesses that spend money in a variety of common categories (compared to the Venture X Business Card, which rewards businesses that spend primarily on travel).

The ability to earn 3X points on shipping purchases, advertising with social media and search engines, internet, cable and phone services and travel on up to $150,000 in combined spending is fantastic for most businesses as these are four of the most common business expense categories.

Plus, for businesses whose employees commute to and from work using ride-sharing services, the ability to earn 5X points on Lyft rides (through March 2025) could help you rack up a lot of Chase Ultimate Rewards points quickly.

All in all, for businesses that spend a lot of money on travel and are willing to book that travel through the Capital One Travel portal, the Venture X Business Card’s spending bonuses are probably more appealing. For businesses that spread their expenses across several, more general categories, the Ink Business Preferred probably offers better spending bonuses.

Redeeming Rewards

In comparing the Venture X Business Card and the Ink Business Preferred Card, it’s important to consider which of these cards earns more valuable rewards (since the Venture X Business earns Capital One Miles and the Ink Business Preferred earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points).

With both programs, the best way to maximize the value of your rewards is to transfer them to airline partners and redeem them for flights. When it comes to airline partners, Capital One Rewards has the advantage over Chase Ultimate Rewards, because Capital One has 15 airline transfer partners whereas Chase has only 11. The following chart includes the airline transfer partners of both programs:

It’s also worth noting that, although Aer Lingus AerClub and Iberia Plus aren’t listed as transfer partners for Capital One Rewards, Capital One cardholders can transfer points to Aer Lingus AerClub and Iberia Plus indirectly. British Airways (which is a transfer partner of both Capital One and Chase) shares the Avios rewards currency with Aer Lingus, Iberia and Qatar Airways, and Avios can be transferred freely between all of these programs. So, by transferring miles to British Airways Executive Club, you can then freely transfer them to Aer Lingus, Iberia and Qatar Airways.

So, in terms of which of these programs has the most options for airline transfer partners, Capital One is the clear winner. However, note that United Airlines MileagePlus is a transfer partner of Chase but not a transfer partner of Capital One, which may tip the scales in Chase’s favor for some U.S.-based travelers.

Another important consideration is that Ink Business Preferred cardmembers’ Chase points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. On the other hand, for Venture X Business cardholders, Capital One Miles are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal. So, if you don’t plan on transferring your rewards to airline partners but rather redeeming them directly through your credit card issuer’s travel portal, then the Ink Business Preferred card offers the more valuable rewards.

Card Benefits

When it comes to the benefits that come with each of these cards, the Venture X Business Card is clearly superior. The Venture X Business card includes premium perks like statement credits for travel purchases, airport lounge access, access to exclusive hotels and experience credits and reimbursements for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. By comparison, the Ink Business Preferred offers almost none of these types of perks, which is to be expected from a card that has a $95 annual fee.

In the following sections, we’ll look at the benefits that each of these cards offers.

Capital One Venture X Business Card Benefits

As a card that charges a $395 annual fee, the Venture X Business Card includes several premium perks that can be seriously valuable and can help you quickly offset that annual fee.

$300 Annual Travel Credit

One of the best benefits included with the Venture X Business Card is the $300 in annual statement credits you get toward purchases made through the Capital One Travel portal. These credits can be applied to flight, hotel or rental car purchases and will be automatically applied whenever you make a purchase through the Capital One Travel portal.

You’ll also still earn either 10X miles (for hotels and rental cars) or 5X miles (for flights) on Capital One Travel purchases to which this credit is applied.

10,000-Mile Anniversary Bonus

Venture X Business cardholders are rewarded with 10,000 Capital One Miles every cardmember anniversary. When redeemed through Capital One, this bonus can be worth as much as $100. However, by transferring these miles to airline partners, you could get significantly more value than that out of them.

Unlimited Complimentary Access to Partner Lounge Network

As a Venture X Business cardholder, you’ll receive unlimited complimentary access to Capital one’s Partner Lounge Network for yourself and up to two guests. This includes all Priority Pass airport lounges (more than 1,300 worldwide), Plaza Premium airport lounges (more than 100 worldwide) and Capital One Lounges.

You must enroll in Priority Pass and Plaza Premium separately (free of charge) in order to gain access to these lounges.

One great thing about this perk is that the Venture X Business Card also allows you to add up to 99 authorized users on your account for free. And each one of these authorized users can also access Capital One’s full Partner Lounge Network (enrollment required for Priority Pass and Plaza Premium).

$120 Application Fee Reimbursement for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry

Like many premium travel credit cards, the Venture X Business Card includes a reimbursement credit for the application fee for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. The membership term for both of these programs is five years, and this credit is available every four years.

$100 Experience Credit at Premium Collection Properties

In late 2022, Capital One unveiled the Premium Collection, a portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts that can only be booked through the Capital One Travel portal by Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders. This collection comprises private island retreats, penthouses in major cities and high-end private villas.

Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders are also entitled to certain benefits when staying at Premium Collection properties, including the following:

• 10X miles per dollar
• Daily breakfast for two
• Free Wi-Fi
• Additional premium perks upon arrival, such as early check-in, late checkout, space-available room upgrades and more
• On-site experience credit worth up to $100 to use on dining, spa and other activities

Many of the experiences that are eligible for the $100 credit are subject to availability. So, if you plan on staying at a Premium Collection property and you want to use this credit, make sure that you book your preferred experience as soon as possible.

To make a Premium Collection booking, you can go to the Capital One Travel website and click the “Premium Stays” tab near the top of the page (which only appears if you’re a Venture X or Venture X Business cardholder).

Add Authorized Users for Free

The Capital One Venture X Business Card allows you to add up to 99 authorized users to your account for free. Each one of these authorized users will receive their own physical Venture X Business card and be able to earn 2X miles on purchases they make with that card. However, authorized users aren’t allowed to make Capital One Travel purchases (and, thus, can’t earn 5X miles on flights or 10X miles on hotels and rental cars).

If you need to add more than 99 authorized users to your account (if you have a large organization with many employees), you can do so by contacting Capital One’s Spark Business team.

Each authorized user can access over a thousand airport lounges through the Partner Lounge Network (enrollment required for Priority Pass and Plaza Premium).

No Foreign Transaction Fees

The Capital One Venture X Business Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees on transactions made outside of the United States. That means that you can use your card anywhere in the world where Visa cards are accepted without incurring any additional fees.

$0 Fraud Liability

All Capital One credit cards, including the Venture X Business card, include $0 fraud liability, which protects you from being responsible for any fraudulent purchases made on your account.

If Capital One detects any fraudulent activity on your account, they’ll notify you via text, call and email. Then, if you verify that the purchase was fraudulent, Capital One will refund you 100%.

Visa Infinite Benefits

On top of all of the Capital One benefits listed above, the Venture X Business Card also includes the entire suite of Visa Infinite benefits. These include the following:

• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Travel and emergency assistance services
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Worldwide automatic common carrier travel accident insurance
• Lost luggage reimbursement

If you plan on signing up for the Venture X Business card, it’s worth reading through the Visa Infinite benefits as they could save you a lot of money in certain scenarios.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Benefits

As the Ink Business Preferred Card is a lower-tier credit card with a $95 annual fee, it doesn’t include premium perks like the Venture X Business Card. Instead, the Ink Business Preferred has more basic benefits that are included with most credit cards.

25% Value Boost When Redeeming Points for Travel Through Chase Ultimate Rewards

Ink Business Preferred cardholders receive a 25% value boost when redeeming Chase points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. That means that each Chase point is worth 1.25 cents when redeemed through the portal.

If you have another Chase credit card, you can transfer any points earned with that card to your Ink Business Preferred Card account, making those points worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal as well.

However, we recommend transferring points to airline partners, as they are often worth far more than 1.25 cents apiece when redeeming that way.

Add Authorized Users for Free

Ink Business Preferred members have the option to add authorized users to their account for free. These authorized users will receive their own physical Ink Business Preferred Card and be able to use their card just like you unless you set individual spending limits for them, which you can do through your Chase account.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

The Ink Business Preferred Card, like all other Chase credit cards, doesn’t charge a fee for transactions made outside of the United States. That means that you can use your Ink Business Preferred Card anywhere in the world where Visa cards are accepted and not incur any additional fees.

Zero Liability Fraud Protection

Chase protects Ink Business Preferred cardholders from being responsible for fraud with its zero liability fraud protection policy. If Chase suspects that fraudulent charges have been made on your account, they’ll contact you and ask you to verify whether you authorized the charge or not. If you identify a charge as fraudulent, you won’t be responsible for paying it whatsoever.

Visa Signature Business Benefits

In addition to the Chase benefits listed above, Ink Business Preferred cardholders are entitled to the entire suite of Visa Signature Business benefits, including the following:

• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Travel and emergency assistance services
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Baggage delay reimbursement

If you’re a current or future Ink Business Preferred cardholder, you should definitely get familiar with your Visa Signature Business benefits, as they can be highly valuable.

Which Card Is Right for You?

When deciding between these two cards, it really comes down to your business’s expense levels, expense categories and ability to pay an annual fee.

Your business’s expense levels determine whether or not you’ll be able to earn the welcome bonus on either of these cards. The Venture X Business Card’s welcome bonus typically has a much higher spending requirement, meaning your business will have to have higher expense levels, but is also considerably larger than that offered by the Ink Business Preferred Card’s welcome bonus. The Ink Business Preferred Card’s welcome bonus, however, is easier to earn, making it more accessible for businesses with lower expense levels.

Either way, welcome bonuses are a great way to rack up a lot of points or miles quickly. So, if you’re planning to sign up for either one of these cards, you’ll want to make sure that you can earn the welcome bonus.

The next things to consider in deciding between these two cards are your business’s expense categories. The Venture X Business Card’s spending bonuses are heavily geared toward businesses that spend a lot of money on travel (and are willing to book that travel through Capital One’s portal). So, if you don’t spend much money on travel annually, then the Venture X Business Card may not be the best card for you.

The Ink Business Card’s spending bonuses are geared toward businesses with more general expenses, including shipping purchases, advertising with social media and search engines, internet, cable and phone services and travel. If your business tends to spend a lot of money in these categories annually, then the Ink Business Preferred Card might be a solid option for you.

It’s also important to consider whether you’re willing to pay a higher annual fee or not. The Venture X Business charges $300 more annually than the Ink Business Preferred. And, for some businesses, this could be less-than-ideal or even impossible.

Finally, the Venture X Business Card’s premium perks are worth consideration. The ability to get airport access for yourself and up to two guests (as well as for any of your employees that are authorized users) can be extremely valuable. And receiving 10,000 Capital One Miles annually means that you’ll essentially be getting $100 (or potentially more if redeemed through transfer partners) in rewards every year.

You should consider whether or not you’d use the additional perks offered by the Venture X Business Card and determine whether the value you’d extract from these perks would make it worthwhile to pay the extra $300 in annual fees.

The Bottom Line

The Capital One Venture X Business Card and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card from Chase are two of the best miles/points-earning business credit cards available in the U.S. today. However, these two cards are only available to small business owners with “excellent” credit scores.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a business owner, you may be able to qualify for one of these cards. Business credit cards are available to many kinds of sole proprietors, including gig economy workers, freelancers, independent contractors and self-employed business owners.

These two cards are geared toward fairly different demographics. The Venture X Business Card is geared toward bigger spenders that tend to travel a lot, whereas the Ink Business Preferred Card is tailored toward smaller businesses with more general expenses.

So, before you sign up for one of these two cards, make sure that you’re familiar with the features of each card, and determine which card is best for your business.