Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card Review: Big Bonus, Valuable 3X Categories

If you’re a small business owner who’s looking to get rewarded for your company-related spending and occasional travel, you can squeeze a lot out of the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card. Along with offering valuable rewards on business expenses — including shipping, search engine and social media advertising, travel and internet, cable and phone services — you can earn a huge influx of rewards from the card’s sign-up bonus. Plus, rewards are worth more when you redeem them for travel through Chase’s travel portal.

On the downside, the card has a $95 annual fee, and you’ll have to spend quite a bit to earn its sign-up bonus. If you’re not confident you could hit the spending threshold for the sign-up bonus, you may be better off with the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card, which comes with a $0 annual fee and easier-to-earn sign-up bonus. The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card also lacks premium travel perks like lounge access that come with business travel credit cards.

• Annual fee: $95
• Sign-up bonus: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Rewards: Earn 3 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. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases-with no limit to the amount you can earn.
• APR on purchases: 20.24% - 26.24% Variable
• APR on balance transfers: 20.24% - 26.24% Variable
• Balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
• Other benefits: Employee cards at no additional cost; trip cancellation or interruption insurance; extended warranty protection; purchase protections; auto rental collision damage waiver
• Credit needed: Excellent

• Large sign-up bonus

  The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card offers one of the largest sign-up bonuses available. As a new cardholder, you’ll earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. This is in addition to the points you earn for your spending as you meet the required spending threshold.

  We estimate that you can get 2 cents per point in value, or more, by transferring points to outside loyalty programs. This means you can potentially get more than $1,800 in value from the sign-up bonus.

  → Learn how much Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth

  If you’ve opened too many cards recently, you may be declined this offer. Chase credit cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule — an unpublished policy which dictates that Chase doesn’t approve accounts if the applicant has opened five or more credit cards within the last 24 months. If you’re unsure of when you opened your credit cards, you can find out easily and for free with LendingTree Spring.

• Rewards in popular business spending and travel

  With the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card, you’ll earn 3 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. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases-with no limit to the amount you can earn.

  This is a solid rate and if the majority of your purchases fall within these categories, this might be the card for you. However, if your spending varies from month to month, the American Express^® Business Gold Card gives a slightly higher rate on your top two eligible spending categories each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each quarter (then 1X points thereafter). The Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card has a similar rewards program where you earn elevated rewards, in a narrow category of business expenses, with an annual cap.

  Businesses with purchases that don’t fall within the typical “business” category may be better served with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Spark Miles for Business which give a high flat rate rewards on all purchases, with select categories earning a higher rewards rate.

• Valuable rewards redemption options

  The Chase Ultimate Rewards® program is one of the most flexible reward programs and the points you earn from Chase cards are extremely valuable when redeemed strategically.

  When you redeem your Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card points for cash or gift cards, they’re worth 1 cent each but they become more valuable when you redeem them for airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, activities or cruises through Chase Travel℠.

  This means, if you max out the annual $150,000 spend cap on eligible shipping and advertising purchases, you’ll get $4,500 in rewards value if you redeem those points for cash or gift cards. If you redeem those points for travel through Chase’s travel portal, they’ll be worth $5,625.

  You can combine rewards from multiple Chase cards so you can pool your points and watch them accumulate faster. If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® (see rates & fees) and transfer your points to that card, the value increases to up to 2 cents per point.

• Transfer points 1:1 to more than 10 travel programs

  The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is just one of three Chase cards that allow you to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to more than a dozen airline and hotel partners.

  You can transfer your Ultimate Rewards points at a rate of 1:1 to airline and hotel loyalty programs, including British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards®, JetBlue TrueBlue, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®, United MileagePlus® and Marriott Bonvoy™.

  This means that rather than a value of 1.25 cents per point, you may be able to find deals that make your points worth 2 cents or more.

  You can use Ultimate Rewards to access even more travel programs, since airlines like United are part of the Star Alliance. For example, you can use United miles to book award flights on airlines like Lufthansa or Eva Air. Your reward points will go further If you’re able to score deeply discounted tickets on normally expensive routes.

  → Learn more about Chase’s transfer partners

• Useful purchase protections

  Like many of the Chase Ultimate Rewards® credit cards, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card offers some of the best travel and purchase protections around, including primary rental car insurance when renting for business trips and trip cancellation and interruption insurance if your travel plans go awry.

  Among the benefits included with the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card are:

  • Trip cancellation and interruption insurance that reimburses up to $5,000 per covered traveler and $10,000 per covered trip.
  • Auto rental coverage when you pay with your Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card and decline the rental company’s collision insurance. You’ll have primary coverage when renting for business purposes and provide coverage up to $60,000 for theft and collision damage for qualifying rental vehicles.
  • Roadside assistance in the event of an emergency.
  • Cellphone protection of up to $1,000 per claim when you pay your monthly bill with your card.
  • Purchase protection for 120 days on eligible new purchases. This covers damage or theft of up to $10,000 per item.
  • Extended warranty protection gives you an additional year of coverage on the manufacturer’s U.S. warranty of three years or less.

• Annual fee

  With the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card, you’ll be responsible for paying a $95 annual fee.

  However, the value you can get from the card’s sign-up bonus more than covers that amount during the first year of card membership.

• No introductory APR on purchases

  If you’re hoping to finance a large business purchase, such as office furniture or travel, and pay it off over time, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card isn’t your best option.

  Instead, you may want to consider a business credit card that offers an intro APR on purchases for a year or longer, like the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card.

• No lounge access or travel statement credits

  If you’re looking for lucrative travel benefits that some travel credit cards offer, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card may not be the best one for you.

  For frequent business travel, consider getting a business credit card with your preferred airlines. American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all offer credit cards that have benefits tailored to their customers.

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card vs. Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card

If you’d prefer to earn cash back rewards from a business credit card that doesn’t charge an annual fee, the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card may be a better fit.

The $0-annual-fee card lets you 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.

You’ll also earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening. While this is a less valuable sign-up bonus than that of the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card, keep in mind that the spend requirement to earn the bonus is also lower.

In addition, if you plan to carry a balance from month to month, the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card lets you do so without incurring interest charges for a year. The card comes with a 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 12 months. Once the promotional period ends, a 17.49% - 25.49% Variable APR applies.

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

With a huge sign-up bonus, high rewards rate on travel purchases and a $300 annual travel credit for travel booked through Capital One’s travel booking site, the Capital One Venture X Business is even more valuable than the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card. Other travel perks include a credit (up to $120) for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, airport lounge access and the ability to transfer rewards to Capital One’s hotel and airline partners.

Note that it has a hefty annual fee of $395, but you can make up for most of the annual fee if you take advantage of the $300 travel credit. It also has a large spending requirement to earn the sign-up bonus, and you do have to pay your card off in full every month. However, if you’re a business owner with a big budget, you’ll find that it’s one of the best values for a business travel card.

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card vs. American Express^® Business Gold Card

The American Express^® Business Gold Card is a premium business credit card that lets you earn a higher rate of rewards in your top two spending categories each month, a generous welcome offer and monthly statement credits. With strategic use, the hefty $375 annual fee (see rates & fees) can be offset by maxing out the elevated rewards each year and using it for travel through the Membership Rewards portal. Additional purchase protections, extended warranty protection¹ and car rental insurance² adds to the value of this card.

This card may not be for you if you won’t be able to meet the high spending requirement to earn the welcome offer. And if your purchases don’t match up with the categories that receive elevated rewards, then the cost may not be worth the potential rewards. But if you spend heavily in its spending categories — especially restaurants and U.S. supermarkets — you’ll find it more rewarding than the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card.

For a reasonable $95 annual fee, the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is an excellent small business credit card. The card offers a large sign-up bonus and valuable rewards — which can help offset the cost of your business expenses.

But if you prefer a $0-annual-fee credit card that offers cash back at office supply stores, gas stations, restaurants and more, the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card may be a better choice. Plus, since this card offers a long intro APR on purchases, it would be helpful if you plan to carry a balance on your card from month to month.

Before applying for a business credit card, be sure that you meet the card’s qualifications. Most businesses including small businesses, corporations, sole proprietorships, partnerships and LLCs are eligible. When you apply for the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card, you’ll need to supply your business structure, legal name, number of employees, tax ID, contact info, business financial data (including estimated monthly expenses and annual revenue) and business classification.

Here are a few tips to help you as you apply for the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card:

1. Be under the Chase 5/24 rule. Online anecdotes suggest that business cards do not count toward the unwritten “five credit cards in 24 months” — which means, opening this card shouldn’t affect your chances of qualifying for other Chase cards. However, the 5/24 rule does apply to qualifying for this card. You should make sure you haven’t opened more than five cards in the past 24 months before you apply.
2. Wait at least 30 days before applying if you recently got a Chase credit card. Current cardholders suggest waiting at least 30 days between applications for credit cards.
3. Maintain a good to excellent credit score. While some cardholders say that the lowest credit score you can have for an approval is 680, Chase recommends this card for applicants with excellent credit. If you need to raise your credit score, consider some tactics to help raise your credit score fast like requesting a credit line increase on an existing card or disputing credit report errors.
4. Pay down your credit card balances. Ideally, you should be using as little credit as possible when applying for a new credit card, especially if it’s a Chase card. If you’re carrying a balance on a card, pay down as much of it as you can to lower your credit utilization ratio.
5. Update your address on bank accounts if you’ve recently moved. You may have to call the Chase reconsideration line and then send in proof of address if the address on your application doesn’t match what appears in your credit file.

If you aren’t approved for the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card on your first application, you can ask for reconsideration. You can wait for them to contact you by mail or you can reach out to them through their reconsideration number: 888-609-7805.

We use calculations to estimate the value of each card for the average cardholder, based on LendingTree and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

• Average value over two years (80% of rating): We calculate the value of rewards and perks for the average cardholder using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and an annual spend of $20,000, minus the annual fee. This value includes the card’s sign-up bonus, annual bonus (including free night certificates) and travel perks like lounge access and travel credits. We look at the average rewards earned over two years to balance out a card’s ongoing value with its first-year value.
• Flexibility of rewards (15% of rating): We consider how easy the rewards are to use, looking at factors like expiration dates, minimum thresholds to redeem, blackout dates and the availability of flexible redemption options like travel statement credits and cash back.
• Other features (5% of rating): We also compare a card’s benefits, such as purchase protections, travel protections and elite status benefits against benefits from other cards.