Ink Business Cash® Credit Card vs. Ink Business Premier® Credit Card

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Businesses looking to open a rewards credit card have a lot of options. Although the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Premier® Credit Card are both issued by Chase, they have some distinct differences. We compare them so you can decide which one suits your business best.

Welcome Offer

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers: 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.

The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card offers one of the highest cash back bonuses around:  Earn $1,000 bonus cash back after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Both cards have excellent cash back offers, but you do have to spend more to get the bonus for the Ink Business Premier® Credit Card. Also keep in mind that this card is a charge card, which means you have to pay your balance in full every month. That could mean that the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card card is a better deal if you usually carry a balance.

Cash Back Rewards

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 you spend in combined purchases at office supply stores, and on phone, internet and cable. You also earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 you spend on combined purchases at gas stations and at restaurants and then 1% cash back on everything else.

The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card earns you unlimited 2.5% cash back on purchases over $5,000 or more and 2% and all other purchases. If you spend a lot on expensive equipment or supplies, this card is a great deal.

Here are the details for each card.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card 

Rewards: 

Ink Business Premier® Credit Card 

Rewards: 

Either card could be a great fit for you, depending on how you spend money and what you spend it on. Small businesses that don’t spend a lot at once might be better served by the Ink Business Cash card, whereas businesses with large expenses might find the Ink Business Premier card to be a good fit.

Rates and Fees

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers a 0% introductory rate on purchases for the first 12 months. After that, your rate will be a 18.49% - 24.49% variable, depending on creditworthiness.

Ink Business Premier® Credit Card does not offer an introductory rate. Again, this is a pay-in-full card, although some large expenses can qualify to be paid over time. The Flex for Business variable APR: 19.49% - 27.49%.

For annual fees, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is the clear winner: its annual fee is $0. The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card has a much heftier annual fee of $195. This is offset by the bonus, but keep in mind you only get the signup bonus for the first year. Consider whether the rewards are worth the higher fee.

On the other hand, if you travel internationally for business, the Ink Business Premier® Credit Card does not charge foreign transaction fees, whereas the Business Cash card charges 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase Ultimate Rewards are coveted because they get you valuable rewards on travel, gift cards, or cash back. They are most valuable when you transfer your points to Chase Ultimate Reward travel partners. If you transfer the points to travel partners, they’re worth about 25% to 50% more than if you use them for any other option. You can also redeem them through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. If you have more than one Chase credit card, sometimes you can combine your rewards points and save big on airfare and hotels. However, there is a big caveat here.

Although Ink Business Premier® Credit Card technically earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can not transfer the points to travel partners or combine them with points from other Chase cards. This limits how valuable the points are and makes them far less flexible than most Chase Ultimate Reward points.

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards that you can transfer or combine with other cards. For example, you can transfer your points to the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and get 25% more value for your points when you use them to purchase travel through Chase. Or, get 50% more value for your points when you transfer them to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and your points to purchase travel through Chase.

So, in this case, the Ink Business Cash card has more valuable rewards for travel than the Premier, even though the Premier doesn’t have foreign transaction fees.

Who the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is Best For

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card card earns solid rewards and has a generous bonus, all for no annual fee. This is a great card for small businesses that don’t anticipate spending more than $25,000 in combined purchases per year (although you earn 1% after that, with no limits on the amount you can earn). You do earn Chase Ultimate Rewards, so even though this card does charge foreign transaction fees, the points you earn might be worth it. If you travel internationally, you should take a card with no foreign transaction fees. It is also worth noting that the three credit cards we mentioned above that offer bonus value for redeeming points for travel in the Chase portal have no foreign transaction fees.

Who the Ink Business Premier® Credit Card is Best For

Ink Business Premier® Credit Card will appeal to business owners who have high monthly expenses. One great feature of this card is that employee cards are available at no additional charge. If you have employees with expenses, you can issue them a credit card and easily keep track of employee expenses. And you also earn the rewards your employees charge to the cards.

This card also offers nice benefits, including cell phone protection, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and auto collision damage waiver. If you have employees that travel for work, this could be a great card for your business.

Does it make sense to get both cards?

Probably not. For one thing, these cards will appeal to businesses with different needs. The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card card is aimed at small businesses with moderate monthly expenses, whereas the Ink Business Premier® Credit Card is a great fit for a larger business with high monthly expenses and multiple employees.

Also, Chase has a well-known guideline called the 5/24 rule, which means you likely won’t be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more credit cards in the past 24 months. This includes any credit card, not just Chase cards. Business credit cards may not count against your limit, but you’ll still need to be under 5/24 to get approved for a new business credit card. Generally, you can’t apply for too many Chase cards within 24 months, so choose carefully.

Approval Odds

The credit score data provided for some of the cards listed below comes from publicly available information in a number of forums. The accuracy of the information cannot be verified. Keep in mind that credit card issuers consider more than an applicant’s credit score and that underwriting standards change over time.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

Ink Business Premier® Credit Card

The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card has only been available since October, so there aren’t a lot of data points available yet. We notice that the Premier approves higher limits than the Business Cash card, which is consistent with what size businesses these cards are best suited for.