Earn up to 100,000 bonus points with the Chase Ink Business cards

Chase currently features three Ink cards in its business card portfolio. The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a no-annual-fee, flat-rate card that offers $750 cash back when you spend $7,500 in the first three months. Similarly, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is a no-annual-fee card that offers $750 after $7,500 in spending in the first three months. Instead of a flat rewards rate, though, the Cash card offers bonus rewards in popular business spending categories, such as phone services.

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, which charges $95 annually, also offers bonus rewards in popular spending categories, along with a 100,000-point sign-up bonus after spending $15,000 in the first three months of card membership.

Which card is better in the first year?

The Ink Business Unlimited and the Ink Business Cash cards are very similar – both offer a $750 sign-up bonus and neither charges an annual fee. The cards, however, have very different rewards structures: The Ink Business Cash card offers a cash back bonus of up to 5% on certain spending categories, while the Ink Business Unlimited card offers a flat rate of 1.5% back on every purchase. The Ink Business Preferred card, on the other hand, offers a 100,000-point sign-up bonus and up to 3 points per dollar on popular business purchases.

See how the three cards compare in the table below:

Comparing Chase Ink cards

	Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card	Ink Business Cash® Credit Card	Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Rewards rate	1.5% cash back on every purchase	5% cash back on internet, cable and phone services and at office supply stores ($25,000 in purchases per year) 2% cash back on gas and dining ($25,000 in purchases per year) 1% cash back on other purchases	3 points per dollar on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary (on the first $150,000 in combined purchases) 1 point per dollar on other purchases
Sign-up bonus	$750 cash back when you spend $7,500 in the first 3 months	$750 cash back when you spend $7,500 in the first 3 months	100,000 points when you spend $15,000 in the first 3 months
Annual fee	$0	$0	$95
Estimated earnings in first year ($48,000 spend)	$1,470	$1,456	$1,829

As you can see, the average small business owner who spends $48,000 annually can earn virtually the same amount of cash back from the Ink Business Unlimited and Ink Business Cash cards in the first year.

However, the Ink Business Preferred card, thanks to its substantial sign-up bonus, offers the best rewards value in the first year, even with its $95 fee subtracted from the earnings. But keep in mind that the spend threshold required to receive the Preferred card’s sign-up bonus is twice than what’s required by the Unlimited and Cash cards.

Who is eligible for the sign-up bonus?

The sign-up bonuses for the Chase Ink cards are only available to new cardholders who have not received a new cardmember bonus for the cards in the past 24 months. Of course, you must be a business owner. You also must have a credit score in the excellent range (at least 750).

While Chase doesn’t seem to have a hard limit on the number of cards you own, it may deny your application if you have too large of a credit limit across your other Chase cards. Additionally, Chase’s unofficial 5/24 rule can prevent you from being approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more credit cards with any issuer in the last 24 months.

Best ways to use 100,000 bonus points

Chase gives cardholders several different options for redeeming their Ultimate Rewards points. As you can see from the table below, a point is worth 1 cent when redeemed for statement credits, direct deposits and gift cards. However, to get the most value from your points, you should redeem your points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, which boosts each point by 25% for Chase Ink Business Preferred cardholders.

Chase Ink Business Preferred card’s redemption options

Additionally, you can transfer your points at 1:1 value to one of Chase’s many travel partners to get even higher values on your points.

Chase Ink Business Preferred card’s transfer options

Should you apply now?

With the $750 and 100,000-point sign-up bonuses, now is a good time to apply for a Chase Ink Business card. The card you choose, though, depends on your business needs and what you’re looking for in a card.

For example, if you are a business owner who spends a large amount of money on internet, cable, phone services and office supplies each year, the Ink Business Cash card may be your best bet. On the other hand, those who spend a large amount on business travel each year can stand to earn more rewards from the Ink Business Preferred card. But if you’re interested in earning the same rate on every purchase and don’t want to keep track of spending categories, the Ink Business Unlimited may be the right card for you.