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

Business credit cards are an excellent tool to keep business and personal expenses separate. Two worthy contenders are the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card. Which card is best for you comes down to where your business spends the most money. We examine the benefits of both these cards so you can make the best choice.

Welcome Bonus

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers 100,000 bonus points when you spend $15,000 in the first 3 months of card membership. How much are these points worth? It depends on how you redeem them. If you redeem them for cash back, they're worth about 0.01 each. If you redeem them for travel in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, they could be worth about $1,250, and potentially even more if you transfer the points to one of Chase's travel partners.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card offers $750 bonus cash after you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months. This is very straightforward; cash is cash. Both cards have great welcome bonuses, with the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card being more flexible and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card potentially worth more. It depends on your needs.

Rewards

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card rewards you with 3x on shipping, social media advertisement, internet, and travel, among other things. These rewards are good for the first $150,000 spent in a year and all other purchases earn 1x per dollar spent. It's also worth noting that points on this card are worth 25% more when you use them to book travel through Chase.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card gets you 5% cash back on purchases at office supply stores, and on cable, internet, and phone services, up to $25,000 a year. You also get 2% cash back on purchases at gas stations and restaurants, and 1% cash back on everything else.

Which card is best for you comes down to where your business spends the most money. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a much higher cap, so it may work better for businesses that know they spend more than $25,000 a year on business expenses. Startups and smaller businesses may find the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card to be a better fit.

Here are the details for each card.

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

3x points

All eligible purchases

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.

1x points

On all other purchases

Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

5% cash back

Select Categories

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

2% cash back

Dining

Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.

2% cash back

Gas

Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.

1% cash back

On all other purchases

Rates and Fees

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has an annual fee of $95. The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has no annual fee. It also offers 0% APR on purchases for the first 12 months, whereas the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card does not have a 0% Intro APR offer. This is an easy win for the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, unless you plan to travel internationally. In that case, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a better choice because it doesn't have foreign transaction fees.

Who the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is Best For

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is an excellent card for business owners who travel a lot, especially if you travel internationally or have employees who do. This is an especially valuable card for businesses that spend a lot on shipping and social media advertising. And the welcome bonus is worth the most if you transfer the points to a Chase partner, such as an airline or a hotel.

Who the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is Best For

Businesses that are just starting out will appreciate the 0% APR introductory offer from the Ink Cash card, and they will also appreciate that this card has no annual fee. The rewards will come in handy, and you'll enjoy 5% cash back on office supplies, internet, cable and phone charges–a great savings for any small business.

Does it make sense to get both cards?

You could get both cards, but keep in mind to get both bonuses, you'll have to spend $21,000 in three months. Also, since both cards are issued by Chase, you will need to be aware of the 5/24 rule. This means that Chase will likely not approve anyone if they have opened five or more accounts in the past 24 months. To apply for a Chase business card, you need to be under the 5/24 rule, but once you are approved, the card is considered a business card and doesn't count toward future applications. Yes, it is confusing. To further complicate matters, Chase counts some business cards in the 5/24 rule and doesn't count others.

Another rule you need to be aware of is the 2/30 rule, which means you likely won't be approved for more than two Chase cards in the same month.

Approval Odds

The credit score data 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 Preferred® Credit Card

App Status	Date	Credit Score	Bureau	Credit Limit
Approved	01/02/2022	750	Equifax	$20,000
Approved	01/02/2022	757	Experian	$20,000
Approved	10/23/2020	748	Equifax	$21,000
Approved	10/23/2020	765	Experian	$21,000
Approved	05/10/2021	690	Experian	$10,000
Approved	03/23/2018	739	Experian	$25,000
Approved	04/25/2019	782	Experian	$9,000
Denied	08/27/2019	729	Experian	---

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

App Status	Date	Credit Score	Bureau	Credit Limit
Approved	03/14/2022	770	Not Provided	$5,000
Approved	12/01/2022	828	Experian	$3,000
Approved	10/23/2021	700	Experian	$4,000
Approved	11/29/2022	810	Equifax	$3,000
Approved	11/29/2022	820	Experian	$3,000
Approved	12/01/2022	741	Equifax	$3,000
Approved	12/01/2022	770	TransUnion	$3,000

You need excellent credit for either card. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card tends to offer higher credit limits, which makes sense since this is a card aimed at larger businesses.