Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card vs. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Welcome Bonus
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers 100,000 bonus points when you spend $15,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. How much these points are worth depends on how you redeem them: if you redeem them for cash, they're worth $1,000. If you redeem them for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, they're worth up to $1,250.
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card offers a $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 in the first 3 months.
The spend on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is quite a bit higher, but if you're planning to use the points to travel (and were going to spend the money anyway), this is a great bonus. If you aren't planning to use the points for travel, then the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is the way to go.
Cash Back Rewards
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card earns 3 points per dollar spent (up to $150,000) on combined purchases on travel, shipping, and a host of other common business expenses.
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is much more straightforward: you earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase. No categories to keep track of, and no opt-ins required.
Here are the details of each card.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Rewards:
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Rewards:
Rates and Fees
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card offers a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months. After that, your rate will be 17.74% - 23.74% variable, depending on your creditworthiness. If you need to make a large purchase for your business, this is the card to get. And there's no annual fee.
At this time, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is not offering an introductory 0% APR rate. Your rate will be 20.49% - 25.49% variable, depending on creditworthiness. The annual fee on this card is $95, which is still reasonable. And if you plan to travel internationally, this card has no foreign transaction fee. That, plus the 25% bonus you get when you redeem your points for travel through Chase's Ultimate Rewards makes this the perfect traveling companion.
Who the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is Best For
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a fantastic card for small business owners looking for straightforward rewards, a 0% introductory rate, and no annual fee. And there's a generous signup bonus as well. There are plenty of business credit cards out there, but most of them have an annual fee or not as generous of a bonus. If your business is just getting off the ground, this is the card for you.
Who the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is Best For
If you travel for business, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a great choice. First, it's hard to say no to a bonus worth 25% more if you redeem it through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more generous bonus. The annual fee is reasonable, and there are no foreign transaction fees. The rewards you earn on business expenses such as shipping and advertising purchases just sweeten the pot.
Does it make sense to get both cards?
Since Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has no annual fee and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a pretty reasonable annual fee of $95, and both are great business cards, it's tempting to apply for both. However, you need to be aware of Chase's approval process.
First, Chase may not approve you for more than one business card in an 30-day period. So, if you are interested in applying for both, wait at least a month, but probably two or three before applying for the second card. Also, Chase tends to be a conservative lender and will only extend so much credit to you, regardless of how many cards you open.
That said, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card and the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card do complement each other nicely, plus you get more Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The Unlimited's 3x points on certain business categories like shipping, advertising, and office supply stores can be paired with the Preferred's 1.5% cash back on everything else.
Also keep in mind that to get both bonuses, you'd have to spend $21,000. If you were going to spend the money anyway, that could be a good deal, but if you start indulging your penchant for expensive whiskey just to get the bonus, then it's not.
Approval Odds
The credit score data provided for some of the cards listed below comes from publicly available information in several 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 Unlimited® Credit Card
| App Status | Date | Credit Score | Bureau | Credit Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | 03/24/2022 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 02/01/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 03/12/2020 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 06/11/2022 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 06/11/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 07/13/2021 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 07/13/2021 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 04/27/2021 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 10/07/2020 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 04/01/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 04/01/2022 | Experian | ||
| Denied | 04/20/2020 | Experian |
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
| App Status | Date | Credit Score | Bureau | Credit Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | 01/02/2022 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 01/02/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 10/23/2020 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 10/23/2020 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 05/10/2021 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 03/23/2018 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 04/25/2019 | Experian | ||
| Denied | 08/27/2019 | Experian |
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card seems to offer higher credit limits, for the most part. The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has the one outlier approval of $50,000, but most of the approvals are in the $5,000 to $10,000 range. The Ink Preferred has an average approval credit limit of about $18,000.