Amex Business Gold vs. Ink Business Preferred

The American Express® Business Gold Card and the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card are two business credit cards that both offer an outstanding welcome offer and solid ongoing earning rates. Both cards earn valuable transferable points (Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards), and with both cards you’re earning bonus points in categories commonly used by small businesses. Both cards offer you the ability to redeem points for travel with a bonus, transfer to hotel and airline travel partners or redeem for statement credits. Deciding which of these two cards is right for you will depend on your own spending and redeeming preferences, as well as which other cards you might already have.

Amex Business Gold vs. Chase’s Ink Business Preferred

If you’re looking to compare the Amex Business Gold card and the Chase Ink Business Preferred, here is a look at how they stack up in a few key categories:

Card name	Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	American Express® Business Gold Card
Rewards rate	3 points per dollar on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone services and advertising purchases, up to $150,000 in combined purchases yearly 1 point per dollar on all other purchases	4 points per dollar on the two categories your business spends the most in each billing cycle, for the first $150,000 in purchases yearly 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
Welcome bonus	100,000 points if you spend $15,000 in first three months	70,000 points if you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months
Annual fee	$95	$295
Transfer partners	Transfer points to one of Chase’s 13 hotel and airline transfer partners	Transfer points to one of American Express’ 22 hotel and airline transfer partners

Earning points

Both the American Express Business Gold Card and the Chase Ink Business Preferred card earn valuable transferable points. The Business Gold Card earns American Express Membership Rewards points, while the Chase Ink Business Preferred card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Both of these proprietary rewards currencies are valuable because they have many different ways that you can redeem them, which helps make them less prone to devaluation.

Regular rewards

The Chase Ink Business Preferred earns 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar in the following categories:

• Shipping purchases
• Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
• Internet, cable and phone services

Travel

You’ll earn 1 Ultimate Rewards point per dollar spent on all other purchases. The bonus categories are limited to the first $150,000 in combined spending. Any purchases after you reach that cap will earn only 1 point per dollar.

The Amex Business Gold Card also offers bonus categories. The Business Gold, however, offers a unique way of choosing bonus categories. Instead of set ongoing bonus categories, you’ll earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar ($150,000 annual purchase cap, with 1X points thereafter) in the two categories you spend the most on each month from the following list of categories:

• Airfare purchases directly from airlines
• U.S. purchases on online, TV and radio advertising
• U.S. purchases on computer hardware, software and cloud systems from select technology providers
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• U.S. purchases on shipping

You don’t have to select your bonus categories – instead, you’ll automatically get the 4X bonus on the two categories in which you have the most spending during each billing cycle. All other purchases, including spending over the $150,000 annual limit, earns 1 point per dollar.

Welcome bonus

Both cards have attractive welcome bonus offers as well. The Chase Ink Business Preferred is currently offering 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months. The American Express Business Gold Card is currently offering a welcome bonus of 70,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first three months.

Redeeming points

These two small-business credit cards share some similarities in how you can redeem points, but also differ in a few key areas. Both allow you to transfer your points to their hotel and airline transfer partners. Chase and American Express have different lists of transfer partners (though there is some overlap), but in both cases the process to transfer points is similar. Both cards also allow you to combine your points with points earned from other cards in the same rewards system for no additional cost.

Both American Express and Chase also allow you to book travel and pay with your points. With the American Express Business Gold Card, you can redeem points at a value of 1 cent per point for airfare on all airlines, with a 25% bonus for premium cabin redemptions or redemptions for one specific airline that you select (up to 250,000 points back per calendar year). You can also use your points to pay for hotels and other travel, but you’ll get less than 1 cent per point in value, so this is not a recommended redemption.

With the Chase Ink Business Preferred, you can redeem your points for any type of travel (such as airfare, hotel and car rental) at a value of 1.25 cents per point through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards portal. This is a much more attractive option than redeeming with American Express Membership Rewards points. Plus, if you also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you can combine your Ultimate Rewards points and redeem them for 1.5 cents per point.

Both cards also offer the ability to redeem points for cash or statement credits. With the Ink Business Preferred, you’ll get a value of 1 cent per point. With the Business Gold Card, you’ll get 0.6 cents per point. In both cases, this is not the best use of your points.

Annual fee

Both of these small-business credit cards have an annual fee. The Chase Ink Business Preferred card has an annual fee of $95 per year. The American Express Business Gold Card has a higher fee, coming in at $295 per year.

Employee cards

Because these are both business credit cards, you have the option to add employee cards. With the Chase Ink, you can add employee cards for no additional cost; with the Amex Business Gold, the card has a $50 flat fee to add employee cards. As the primary account holder, you are responsible for any spending done by employees, and any spending done on those employee cards will earn rewards to the primary account.

Other perks and benefits

These cards also offer a variety of other perks and benefits that can be useful.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred card includes these benefits:

• Purchase protection for up to 120 days against damage or theft, for up to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per account
• Primary car rental insurance
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance for covered situations, with up to $5,000 per person and $10,000 per trip for eligible prepaid, nonrefundable travel expenses
• Fraud protection
• No foreign transaction fees

The American Express Business Gold Card includes these perks:

• Purchase protection for up to 90 days for up to $1,000 per occurrence and up to $50,000 per account per calendar year
• Lost baggage insurance for up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage
• Account management support and ability to connect to QuickBooks
• No foreign transaction fees

American Express Business Gold Card: Best for redeeming points through transfers to travel partners

Earning Membership Rewards points with the American Express Business Gold Card is a great way to redeem for travel with American Express’ travel partners. American Express provides a wide range of travel partners, and this can be a great option for using your Membership Rewards. Redeeming Membership Rewards points for flying in premium cabins is an exceptional use of your points. Other redemption options, though, are not as attractive as similar options with the Ink Business Preferred.

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: Best for those who desire flexibility in redemptions

The Chase Ink Business Preferred card is a great card for those who are looking for flexibility with point redemption. You can always redeem your points for 1 cent for statement credits. For travel, you can transfer at 1:1 point value to partner travel programs, and you’ll get a 25% bonus for redemptions for any form of travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, as opposed to only airfare with the Business Gold Card. Additionally, don’t forget that the Ink Business Preferred card also has a higher initial bonus offer and a lower annual fee.

For even more information on how to use your points effectively, you can also check out our ideas for maximizing your Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Ink business credit cards.

Bottom line

The Chase Ink Business Preferred card and American Express Business Gold Card are two business credit cards with attractive earning options and welcome offers. Earning American Express Membership Rewards points is great if you’re looking to transfer them to airline and hotel transfer partners. The Ink Business Preferred has a lower annual fee and is a better fit for more flexibility in travel redemptions, especially if you also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card to pair with for the best redemption value.