The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers great rewards for small business owners. With bonus points on travel, shipping, advertising, and communication services, plus valuable travel protections, it’s a solid choice for companies looking to maximize their everyday spending.
This credit card review will cover everything you need to know about this card to determine if you should add this card or a different card to your wallet. Let’s dive right in.
Welcome Bonus of Ink Preferred
The Ink Business Preferred currently offers the following welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full
However, it’s important to note that the card falls under Chase’s 5/24 rule. If you’ve opened five or more new personal credit card accounts across all issuers in the past 24 months, your application will likely face automatic rejection, regardless of your credit score.
Earning Points with Ink Preferred
The Ink Business Preferred offers several nice bonus categories that can be lucrative to small business owners, including: The 3x bonus points are limited to the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases every account anniversary year. After reaching the $150,000 cap in these bonus categories, your earning rate drops to 1 point per dollar spent.
If your business has substantial expenses in any of the 3x categories, you can quickly earn a significant stash of Ultimate Rewards points. The $150,000 cap on bonus category spending is quite generous and resets each account anniversary year, allowing most small to medium sized businesses to maximize their bonus category earnings year after year without worrying about hitting the limit too quickly.
Annual Fee of Ink Preferred
The Ink Business Preferred carries a $95 annual fee, which aligns with industry standards for a business card offering this level of rewards and benefits. For most businesses, the card’s bonus categories, sign-up bonus, and additional perks will more than offset this moderate fee, providing a net positive value. To illustrate, earning just 4,750 points annually (worth about $95 based on a 2.0 cent per point valuation) will cover the annual fee cost. This equates to spending $1,584 across the 3x bonus categories, an easily attainable target for many businesses. In fact, many businesses will earn far more than this in rewards each year, making the annual fee a minor investment for a substantial return. The key is to ensure your business spending aligns well with the card’s bonus categories and benefits to extract the maximum value possible.
Benefits of Ink Preferred
The Ink Business Preferred offers the following benefits to cardholders: Trip Delay Insurance: When your trip is significantly delayed due to covered reasons like equipment failures or severe weather, this protection reimburses you for reasonable expenses including lodging, meals, toiletries, and medication. The coverage activates when you pay for travel with your card and extends to family members on the same itinerary, though you’ll need to seek reimbursement from the travel carrier first. Cell Phone Protection: When you use your card to pay your monthly phone bill, you’ll receive valuable coverage against damage or theft of your device. Primary Rental Car Insurance: When you rent a car and pay with this card, you’ll receive comprehensive coverage including damage and theft protection. Simply decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver and charge the entire rental to your card to activate coverage. This insurance covers damage, theft, and valid loss-of-use charges worldwide. Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: This protection reimburses you for non-refundable, prepaid travel expenses if you need to cancel before departure or cut your trip short due to covered situations like severe illness or weather events. Coverage activates when you pay for your trip with the card, but it’s important to note that reimbursement only applies for specific covered reasons rather than any cancellation. Extended Warranty Protection: Your purchases gain an extra year of warranty protection when bought with this card, extending manufacturer warranties of three years or less without the inflated prices of store warranty plans. 120-Day Purchase Protection: Get 120 days of protection against damage, theft, and even loss of your purchases – one of the longest windows available. This premium coverage automatically applies when you pay with your card. No Foreign Transaction Fees: You’ll save money on every purchase while traveling internationally since this card doesn’t add the typical 3% surcharge that many other cards impose.
Redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
The Ultimate Rewards points you earn with the Ink Business Preferred are among the most valuable and flexible rewards currencies available, providing many redemption options to suit your needs and preferences. One of the simplest ways to redeem points is through the Chase Travel℠ portal, where each point is worth 1.25 cents towards travel purchases like flights, hotels, rental cars, and cruises. This option provides a straightforward way to get solid value from your points without having to worry about blackout dates, availability restrictions, or complex award charts. Plus, unlike traditional airline and hotel award bookings, you will earn points and miles on the flights and stays booked through the portal. However, you can get more value by transferring points to Chase’s airline and hotel partners (listed below) can unlock even greater value. Points transfer to partners at a 1 to 1 ratio, such as United, Hyatt, Air Canada, and Air France. By strategically booking high-value award redemptions, you can often realize significantly more than 1.25 cents per point in value. If you prefer simpler redemptions, you can also cash in your points for statement credits, direct deposits, gift cards, or purchases at Amazon or Apple, typically at a rate of 1 cent per point.
Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
Aer Lingus
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France/KLM
British Airways
Emirates
Hyatt Hotels
Iberia
IHG Hotels
JetBlue
Marriott
Singapore
Southwest
United
Virgin Atlantic
Pros and Cons of Chase Ink Preferred
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of this card:
Pros:
3x Bonus Categories: The card’s bonus categories align well with common business expenses and offer a high 3x earning rate. You will be able to quickly accumulate points on their largest and most frequent expenses.
Comprehensive Travel and Purchase Protections: For a card with a modest annual fee, the Ink Business Preferred offers an extensive suite of protections. Benefits like primary rental car insurance, trip cancellation coverage, cell phone protection, and purchase protection can save businesses hundreds or thousands each year.
High-Value Rewards Currency: Chase Ultimate Rewards are some of the most valuable points around, thanks to the 25% travel redemption bonus and the program’s excellent transfer partners. Businesses that leverage these options can extract significant value.
Additional Employee Cards at No Extra Cost: The ability to obtain employee cards for free, with all rewards pooled into a single account, makes it easy for businesses to maximize their rewards quickly. Many other cards charge for additional cards.
Cons:
Bonus Category Cap: The $150,000 annual cap on bonus category spending may be restrictive for larger businesses with very high expenses in those categories. After reaching the cap, you’ll only earn one point per dollar in those categories.
Lacks Some Premium Travel Benefits: While the travel protections are excellent, the Ink Business Preferred doesn’t offer some of the premium travel benefits that some road warriors may value, such as airport lounge access, airline fee credits, or a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee credit.
No Introductory 0% APR Offer: Unlike some other business credit cards, the Ink Business Preferred doesn’t offer an introductory 0% APR on purchases. Businesses looking to finance a large purchase over time may need to consider a different card.
Alternatives to the Ink Business Preferred
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review) offers a strong 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in purchases annually, making it an excellent no-annual-fee (rates & fees) option for small business owners. This card provides good value for everyday spending and access to Amex’s 20+ transfer partners, though it does have foreign transaction fees. Welcome Bonus: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Earning Points: 2 American Express Membership Rewards points per dollar on the first $50,000 spent on the card annually (then 1 point per dollar). Card Benefits: Extended Warranty, Purchase Protection, Expanded Buying Power, and 0% Intro APR for 12 months on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, after that a reg_apr,reg_apr_type APR applies. Transfer Partners: Aer Lingus, AeroMexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, ANA, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Choice Privileges, Delta, Emirates, Etihad, Air France – KLM Flying Blue, Hawaiian Airlines, Hilton, Iberia, JetBlue, Marriott, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore KrisFlyer, and Virgin Atlantic.
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (review) offers a straightforward 1.5% cash back on all business purchases with no bonus categories to track and no annual fee. This card shines brightest when paired with premium Chase cards, allowing you to transform your rewards into valuable Ultimate Rewards points for transfers to travel partners. Welcome Bonus: bonus_miles_full Earn Rewards: Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases. Card Benefits: Primary rental car insurance, purchase protection, extended warranty, and 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases, after that a reg_apr,reg_apr_type APR applies.
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
The Capital One Spark Miles for Business (review) simplifies rewards earning with double miles on everything you buy. This straightforward business card lets you transfer miles to travel partners or redeem directly for travel purchases, making it a practical choice for business owners who want travel flexibility without complex bonus categories. Welcome Bonus: Earn a 50,000 miles bonus when you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months. Earn Rewards: 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars for bookings via Capital One’s travel booking site; 2x miles on all other eligible purchases. Card Benefits: Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, primary rental car insurance, extended warranty, purchase protection, and no foreign transaction fees. Transfer Partners: Accor (2 to 1), Aeromexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Choice Privileges, Emirates, Etihad, Finnair, I Prefer Hotels (1 to 2), Japan Airlines(2 to 1.5), JetBlue (5 to 3), Qantas, Qatar, Singapore KrisFlyer, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Red, and Wyndham Rewards.
Is the Ink Business Preferred Worth It?
The Ink Business Preferred is a solid choice for small business owners looking to maximize their rewards. You’ll appreciate its generous welcome bonus, which can provide significant value when redeemed for travel.
The card’s 3x points on categories like travel, shipping, and advertising align well with many business expenses, potentially allowing you to rack up points quickly.
While the $95 annual fee isn’t waived the first year, the card’s benefits, including cell phone protection and travel insurance, can easily offset this cost for many users.
Learn How to Apply: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business Plus® Credit Card from American Express, please click here. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
