Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Review

If you currently operate a small business, then choosing the right business credit card is an important decision. Depending on your expenses, a business credit card could save you thousands of dollars through its rewards and bonuses.

Having a business credit card is also great for separating your business expenses from your personal expenses, which could save you a massive headache during tax season.

Additionally, many of these cards come with added perks that can save you money, make traveling more comfortable for you and your employees and more.

However, if you want to get premium perks, you typically have to pay a premium annual fee of hundreds of dollars per year. So, if you’re looking for a card with an annual fee of under $100 that still includes excellent bonuses and benefits, then the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card may be the right card for your wallet.

The Ink Business Preferred is similar to the mid-tier card in Chase’s lineup of personal credit cards: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Like the Sapphire Preferred, the Ink Business Preferred charges a modest annual fee of $95. Both of these cards also earn rewards in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points. And if you have either the Sapphire Preferred or the Ink Business Preferred, those points are worth 25% when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠.

However, the Ink Business Preferred also differs from its consumer counterpart in many ways. For one, its spending bonuses are geared toward rewarding spending in common business expense categories, such as shipping, advertising, travel and more.

This article will explain everything you need to know about the Ink Business Preferred Card from Chase. We’ll also recommend a few other business credit cards that you may want to consider.

Overview of the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred Card is a business credit card from Chase that charges an annual fee of $95. This card is available only to small-business owners with credit scores in the “excellent” range. The definition of a business owner used by credit card issuers like Chase is fairly loose. We’ll discuss this more in depth in a later section of this article.

This credit card offers a welcome bonus (which is subject to change), spending bonuses and other benefits, all of which can help you save money and earn rewards.

Welcome Offer

Like most other credit cards for excellent credit, the Chase Ink Business Preferred offers a welcome bonus for new cardmembers who spend a certain amount of money on their card within a certain time period after account opening.

This welcome bonus is subject to change over time. So, before you apply for the Ink Business Preferred (or any other credit card), make sure you check the most updated welcome bonus for that card.

Here’s the current welcome offer for the Ink Business Preferred:

If you plan on applying for this card, you should make absolutely sure that you’ll be able to earn the welcome bonus. These welcome offers are a great way to rack up a large balance of Chase points quickly and are often large enough to purchase several flights or hotel stays.

Spending Bonuses

The Ink Business Preferred Card also rewards members for everyday spending. You’ll earn at least 1X Chase Ultimate Rewards point for every dollar you spend. However, you can earn even more points when you spend in certain categories.

Here are the spending bonuses offered by the Ink Business Preferred:

• 5X points on Lyft rides (through March 2025)
• 3X points on the first $150,000 in combined spending per cardmember 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 all other purchases

These are excellent spending bonuses as they offer elevated rewards in common expense categories for most businesses. You can earn 3X Chase points on up to $150,000 in combined spending per anniversary year on shipping, advertising through social media and search engines, internet, cable and phone services, and travel.

If you were to spend the full $150,000 per year in these categories, this spending bonus alone would earn you 450,000 Chase points, which is worth a minimum of $4,500 (and could be worth considerably more when redeemed through Chase’s transfer partners).

Also, for a limited time, the Ink Business Preferred Card is offering 5X points on Lyft rides (through March 2025). This bonus could also earn you a ton of points if you or your employees use ride-hailing services often.

Other Benefits

In addition to its welcome bonus and spending bonuses, the Ink Business Preferred offers value through its other benefits. These benefits include things like purchase protection, travel insurance and more.

Here’s a complete list of the other benefits offered by the Ink Business Preferred:

• 25% value boost when redeeming points for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance up to $5,000 per person and up to $10,000 per trip
• Trip delay insurance up to $500 per person
• Auto rental collision damage waiver up to the actual cash value of the vehicle
• Roadside dispatch
• Cell phone protection up to $1,000 per claim (maximum of three claims per 12-month period, $100 deductible applies)
• Purchase protection for 120 days up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per account
• Extended warranty of one additional year on top of the manufacturer’s warranty (only manufacturer’s warranty is three years or less)
• Ability to add free employee cards to your account
• No foreign transaction fees

Probably the most valuable out of all of these perks is the 25% value boost for points redeemed through the Chase Travel℠ portal.

For example, if you were trying to book a flight that cost $1,000 and you didn’t have the Ink Business Preferred (or the Chase Sapphire Preferred, which offers the same benefit), it would cost you 100,000 Chase points. However, with the 25% value boost from the Ink Business Preferred, you could book the same flight for just 80,000 points.

There’s no limit to how many times you can use this 25% value boost, which means this benefit could result in hundreds of dollars in savings per year and thousands over your lifetime.

The other benefits offered by the Ink Business Preferred, such as trip cancellation/interruption insurance, auto collision damage waiver, purchase protection and extended warranty, are fairly standard among premium credit cards. However, it’s important to be familiar with these benefits because they could end up saving you thousands of dollars in certain situations.

For instance, if you pay for a business rental car using your Ink Business Preferred Card, you can decline the rental company’s insurance policy and still be covered by the card’s auto rental collision damage waiver, which could save you a lot of money on insurance and even more money if you get in an accident.

The Ink Business Preferred also includes cell phone protection up to $1,000 per claim (with a $100 deductible). This benefit covers the cost of replacing or repairing your cell phone if it gets damaged or stolen so long as you pay your cell phone bill with your Ink Business Preferred Card. So, if you have a habit of breaking cell phones, this perk could save you lots of money.

Chase Transfer Partners

Through its welcome offer and spending bonuses, the Ink Business Preferred Card can help you rack up Chase points quickly. As previously mentioned, when you redeem these points for travel through the travel portal, they’re worth 1.25 cents apiece. However, by transferring your points to Chase’s partner loyalty programs instead, you can find redemptions that offer value far exceeding 1.25 cents per point.

Below is a list of Chase’s transfer partners:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Iberia Plus
• IHG One Rewards
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• World of Hyatt

All of these transfer partners offer a 1:1 transfer ratio. So, for instance, if you were to transfer 20,000 Chase points to any of the programs listed above, you’d receive 20,000 points or miles in that program’s currency.

It’s worth noting that some of these transfer partners tend to offer far more value than others. Some of Chase’s transfer partners that offer the most value on average are Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and World of Hyatt.

As an example, you could transfer 15,000 Chase points to the World of Hyatt program and receive 15,000 Hyatt points. That would be enough points to book the following stay in a king bed (plus sofa bed) room at the Hyatt Place Knoxville / Downtown in Tennessee.

If you were to book the same dates in the same room with cash through the Hyatt website, it would cost you $306.

By using your Chase points in this way, you’d be getting slightly over 2 cents per point in value from this redemption. In many cases, you can find even more value than this through the World of Hyatt program and certain airline transfer partners.

So, if you’re willing to deal with transferring your Chase points to partner travel loyalty programs, you can increase the purchasing power of your rewards significantly.

Who Can Qualify for a Business Credit Card?

As mentioned above, business credit cards are available only to people who are considered business owners. However, the definition of a business owner used by Chase and other credit card issuers is fairly inclusive. In almost all cases, if you engage in any sort of legal money-making activity for yourself, whether or not you have employees, you can be approved for a business credit card.

Of course, if you operate a formal business organization such as a limited-liability company (LLC), limited-liability partnership (LLP), corporation or partnership, you can qualify for a business credit card. However, the following types of businesses can also qualify for a business credit card:

• Self-employed business owners
• Freelancers and independent contractors
• Gig economy workers

If one of those categories above applies to your job or side hustle, you should have no problem getting approved for a business credit card. Here are some examples of businesses that can qualify you for a business credit card (in most cases):

• Babysitting
• Online selling (on platforms such as eBay, Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace)
• Twitch streaming
• Social media
• Dog walking
• Housecleaning
• Lawn care
• Driving for a ride-booking service (on platforms such as Uber and Lyft)
• Food delivery driving (on platforms such as DoorDash and Uber Eats)
• Vacation rental hosting (on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo)
• Farming

As you can see, there are quite a few different types of businesses that can qualify for a business credit card.

However, when applying for your business credit card, you may be asked to provide some business information that you might not have. For instance, if you don’t have a business name, you can simply write your own name. If you don’t have a business address, you can put your home address. And if you don’t have an EIN (Employer Identification Number), you can add your Social Security number.

Other Cards to Consider

Although the Chase Ink Business Preferred is an excellent business credit card, it’s not the only option out there in terms of business credit cards with low annual fees. Before you open any business credit card, you should thoroughly research all of the options to ensure that you’re getting the best card for your small business.

If you don’t foresee yourself redeeming Chase points for travel (whether through the Chase Travel℠ portal or through transfer partners), then perhaps you’d rather have a business credit card that earns cash back directly.

In that case, we recommend looking into the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card from Chase. This card doesn’t charge an annual fee, offers many of the same benefits that the Ink Business Preferred does and has excellent spending bonuses in key business categories like office supply stores, internet, phone and cable services, gas stations and restaurants. Note that this card charges foreign transaction fees when traveling abroad.

Another card worth considering is the Capital One Spark Miles for Business Card. This credit card has no annual fee for the first year and then a $95 annual fee every year after that. Spending bonuses include 5X miles on hotels, rental cars and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and a flat rate of 2X miles on all other purchases. On top of that, this card offers a reimbursement credit for the application fee for either TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry (which can be worth up to $120) every four years.

So, once again, before you open a business credit card, make sure to familiarize yourself with all of the options so that you can make the best possible choice.

The Bottom Line

The Ink Business Preferred Card is definitely one of the best business credit cards with an annual fee of under $100. This card offers a large welcome bonus, excellent spending bonuses in common business expense categories, benefits such as purchase protection and travel insurance, access to Chase’s full list of transfer partners and more.

If you really want to maximize the value of the points that you earn from your Ink Business Preferred Card, transferring them to partner travel loyalty programs (in particular, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and World of Hyatt) and redeeming them for outsized value is the best way to do so.

However, before you commit to the Ink Business Preferred Card, you should thoroughly research the other business credit cards available on the market today. Still, with such a strong value proposition, you may very well end up coming back to the Ink Business Preferred.