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The Chase Ink Business Preferred® card offers a great rewards program and welcome bonus for growing businesses. However, the cash back, free employee cards, and sign-on offer come at a cost, as the card requires a $95 annual fee and has relatively high APR.
Quick Review
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® card is a great choice for small business owners and freelancers in the midst of expanding their operations. The Chase Ink Business Preferred® offers features and benefits tailored to business expenses, including a rewards program and common-fee waivers.
This card’s 19.74%–24.74% (variable) APR on purchases and balance transfers and high 29.99% penalty APR aren’t ideal, and while the $95 annual fee is low compared to some competitors, it’s still a yearly cost that can be avoided with other cards. However, many small business owners or sole proprietors may consider that a reasonable tradeoff for this card’s stellar rewards program.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® card offers 1 point per dollar on everyday purchases and 3 points per dollar for purchases on travel, online advertising, shipping, and internet/cable/phone services.
Those categories are well-suited to the common expenses of small businesses—a drop shipping business, for example, could rack up points pretty quickly—and the 100,000 in welcome bonus points you can earn if you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases in your first three months is a very appealing offer.
Points are also worth 25% more when redeemed as travel rewards and can be transferred at full value to participating airline and hotel rewards programs, making this an excellent travel card for business owners on the move.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® also offers various forms of insurance, including cell phone protection and trip cancellation insurance, which are useful benefits for business travel and daily operations.
Because the Chase Ink Business Preferred® card has such a robust rewards program and relatively low annual fee, we consider it one of the best credit cards for freelancers and small-business owners.
Chase Ink Business Preferred® Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Credit card issuer: Chase Bank
- Annual fee: $95
- Regular APR: 16.99%–22.99% (variable)
- Grace period: 20 days after end of billing cycle
- Minimum credit limit: $5,000
Additional Information
- No foreign transaction fees
- Free employee cards
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance reimburses you for certain prepaid expenses if you are affected by covered perils
- Roadside dispatch provides on-call assistance with car trouble
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
- Cell phone protection covers you if your phone is stolen or damaged
- Purchase protection up to $10,000 per claim on select purchases
- Extended warranties on eligible purchases
Chase Ink Business Preferred® Feature Breakdown
Fees
- Annual fee: $95
- Balance transfer fee: $5 or 5% of transfer amount (whichever is greater)
- Cash advance fee: $15 or 5% of transfer amount (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Late payment fee: $40
Notably, this card doesn’t charge the usual Chase 3% foreign transaction fee, making it a great card for anyone who travels abroad for work or makes frequent purchases with international vendors.
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 19.74%–24.74% (variable)
- Balance transfer APR: 19.74%–24.74% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 26.49% (variable)
- Penalty APR: 29.99%
- Minimum interest charge: None
Rewards
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® offers a credit card points program, including a welcome offer of 100,000 rewards points if you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within your first three months of card ownership.
You can also earn an additional 20,000 points (up to 100,000/year) for each business you refer that gets approved for their own Chase Ink Business Preferred® card.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® card earns you 1 point per dollar on eligible purchases, and 3 points for each $1 of the first $15,000 spent per year in the following categories:
- Shipping
- Social media and search engine advertising
- Travel
- Internet, cable, and phone services
Your combined spending in these categories goes towards the $15,000 threshold. Points can be redeemed as cash back, gift cards, travel rewards booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, or redeemed at checkout with select merchants, including the Apple® Ultimate Rewards Store.
When it comes to cash back, 1 point is equivalent to one cent (that 100,000 intro offer would equal $1,000). Points redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards® for car rentals, hotels, flights, and cruises are worth $0.125 per point. Chase Ultimate Rewards® points can also be transferred at full value to the following travel rewards programs:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards®
- Flying Blue (Air France-KLM)
- Iberia Plus
- IHG® Rewards Club
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Marriott Bonvoy®
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus®
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- World of Hyatt
Your Chase Ink Business Preferred® card rewards points won’t expire, but can be lost if your account is closed for any reason or if your account status changes.
Cash Advance
When you take out cash advances with the Chase Ink Business Preferred® card, you’ll be charged a cash advance fee of $15 or 5% of your advance amount (whichever is greater) and a variable 26.49% APR will be applied.
Balance Transfers
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® card allows balance transfers. All balance transfers come with a balance transfer fee of $5 or 5% of the amount transferred (whichever is greater) and a 19.74%–24.74% (variable) APR.
Balance transfers must meet the following requirements:
- Total amount transferred plus fees and interest charges must not exceed your available credit or $15,000 (whichever is lesser).
- Transfer must be for business-related expenses.
- Transfer must not be from another account or loan issued by Chase or one of its affiliates.
Balance transfers may be denied if they exceed your approved amount, or a lower amount may be transferred instead. Balance transfers may take up to three weeks to be processed.
If you need to consolidate credit card debt for your business, consider seeking another card. As this one has relatively high APR and no introductory offers, you’re better off with a 0% APR credit card for balance transfers.
Credit Limit
If you’re approved for the Chase Ink Business Preferred® card, you’ll receive a credit limit of at least $5,000, although you may be able to get a credit limit increase from Chase after a certain amount of time. You may be asked to provide additional information for credit lines over $25,000.
Benefits
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® card offers the following additional benefits:
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: If your trip is canceled or interrupted by sudden illness, severe weather events, or other covered perils, you’ll be reimbursed up to $5,000 per person (for a total of $10,000 per trip) for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses, such as hotel reservations, tours, and fares.
- Roadside dispatch: Get roadside assistance, such as towing, locksmith services, or gas delivery, for a fee.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: If you decline your auto rental company’s collision insurance and charge the rental to your Chase Ink Business Preferred® card, Chase will provide reimbursement for theft and collision for most vehicles up to their actual cash value.
- Cell phone protection: Reimbursement of up to $1,000 per claim for theft or damage of cell phones whose bills you pay with your Chase Ink Business Preferred® card, including employee phones. You can file a maximum of 3 claims per year with a $100 deductible.
- Purchase protection: Protection against damage and theft of new purchases made with your card for 120 days, reimbursing up to $10,000 per claim and a total of $50,000 for your account.
- Extended warranty protection: Extends eligible warranties on U.S.-manufactured purchases by an additional year for warranties of three years or less.
- Accounting integration: You can integrate your Chase Ink Business Preferred® card with certain accounting software.
Application and Approval
You can apply for the Chase Ink Business Preferred® card through their online application. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, except in Alabama in Nebraska, where applicants must be at least 19 years old.
When applying, you’ll be asked to provide some personal information as well as information about your business, such as your number of employees and monthly expenses and revenue.
Should You Get the Chase Ink Business Preferred®?
FinanceJar verdict
The Chase Ink Business Preferred® card’s specialized rewards program makes it an all-around good card for owners of small-to-mid-sized businesses and contractors. The extra points earned on shipping and online advertising expenses make this card especially useful for certain kinds of businesses—but if the $95 annual fee isn’t feasible or most of your business expenses lie in other categories, consider a different card.
Who is this card for?
- Small business owners: Earning 3x the points on shipping and search engine/social media marketing costs makes it easy for small businesses to rack up points and quickly get a lot of value out of this card. The 120 days of purchase protection for up to $10,000 per claim can also provide some peace of mind to business owners who worry about losses caused by defective or stolen inventory.
- Business travelers: The combination of no foreign transaction fees, 25% more value per point when redeemed on travel rewards, and the ability to transfer points at full value to other rewards programs makes the Chase Ink Business Preferred® card uniquely suited to frequent business travelers.
Comparable Cards
Here’s a look at how the Chase Ink Business Preferred® card measures up against similar cards.
Chase Ink Business Preferred® vs. American Express Business Platinum Card®
Though it’s often compared to the Chase Ink Business Preferred® card, the American Express Business Platinum Card® is a travel card better suited to much larger businesses.
While the regular APR is comparable, the $695 annual fee is only reasonable if you run a large operation. An additional annual fee of $175 is charged for your first three employee cards, and another $175 per card after that, making this card far too expensive for most small business owners.
In exchange for its high annual fees, this card offers a 1% rewards rate on all eligible purchases and 5% on flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel. A long list of special benefits, like car rental deals, cell phone protection, and travel and shopping-related rewards credits sweeten the deal for frequent travelers.
However, the American Express Business Platinum Card® is definitely more of a travel card than a day-to-day business rewards card, and with the highest fee of all currently available American Express business cards, it may not be the best choice.
Chase Ink Business Preferred® vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Sole proprietors and freelancers may be better served by a personal credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card, which offers a similar 19.74%–26.74% (variable) standard APR and $95 annual fee with a rewards program tailored for everyday use.
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card, you can earn rewards points in the following categories:
- 5x points on travel reservations made through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 3x on dining, delivery, and takeout
- 3x points on groceries ordered online from eligible retailers (notably excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 3x points on eligible streaming services
- 2x travel on travel purchases, including purchases that qualify for 5x points
- 1x points on all other purchases
On top of that extensive points system, its rewards program also features the following perks:
- Earn 60,000 bonus points by spending $4,000 on eligible purchases in your first 3 months
- Earn annual bonus points equal to 10% of your total spending
- Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel rewards
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits per year by booking hotels through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
With such a strong rewards program, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card is a great choice for contractors and sole proprietors who travel for work but spend more on personal expenses than business expenses. However, it is a personal credit card, so won’t effectively build your business credit that way the Chase Ink Business Preferred® will.
Chase Ink Business Preferred® vs. American Express Business Gold Card
With an annual fee of $295 and a 17.99%–25.99% (variable) standard APR (the lowest of the cards compared here), the American Express Business Gold Card is a good alternative for owners of mid-to-large-sized businesses.
Cardholders earn 4 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined annual purchases in your two most-used of the following categories:
- Flights booked with airlines directly
- U.S. advertising purchases for radio, TV, and online advertising
- U.S. purchases of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions made directly from eligible providers
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. dining purchases, including takeout/delivery
- U.S. shipping purchases
Purchases beyond the $150,000 threshold earn you 1 point per dollar, and you’ll also earn 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
If you enroll in the Membership Rewards program, you can earn additional points by booking travel reservations through American Express Travel—and if you enroll in the American Express Membership Rewards program, you can transfer points to various airline or hotel rewards programs (but not always at the same value).
The more extensive range of categories makes the American Express Business Gold Card a better choice for owners of larger businesses who can afford the higher annual fee and make use of the extra points on multimedia advertising and technology purchases.
