Chase Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Unlimited: Credit Card Comparison
The business credit card The market is flooded with great options. Deciding which one best suits your business needs can be difficult.
Chase There are four small business cards in Squid family. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a popular TPG with a $95 annual fee, a variety of benefits, and the potential to earn extremely valuable money. Chase Ultimate Rewards Points can be transferred to travel partners.
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is a no annual fee cash back card with an unlimited flat cash back rate of 1.5%.
Let’s take a look at both cards and dig deeper to see which one is better suited for your business.
Compare Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Unlimited
| Preferred Business Ink | Unlimited Ink Business | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $95 | $0 |
| Welcome Welcome | Earn 120,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. | Get $750 cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. |
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| Redemption |
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| Card benefits |
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Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Unlimited Welcome Offer
With Preferred Business InkNew applicants will earn 120,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months after opening an account.
Based on TPG August 2024 valuationThis welcome offer is worth $2,460.
The Unlimited Ink Business offers new applicants $750 after they spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening an account. If you have an Ultimate Rewards card, you can use your cash back rewards as points and transfer them to one of Chase Transfer Partner.
It is important to note that both of these cards are subject to Chase’s 5/24 Rule.
Winner: Ink Business Preferred Card. This card’s welcome offer is nearly three times that of the Ink Business Unlimited card, and the bonus can be transferred without needing another card.
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Related: The Power of the Chase Trifecta: Sapphire Reserve, Ink Preferred, and Freedom Unlimited
Benefits of Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Unlimited
Both cards offer similar benefits when it comes to travel and shopping protection.
- Primary Car Rental Insurance: If you use either card for the entire cost of your rental and business travel, you’ll be covered for theft and damage in the United States and most countries around the world. Keep in mind that this doesn’t provide liability coverage, but you will be covered up to the actual cash value of the car you’re renting.
- Purchase Protection:This policy covers new purchases for up to 120 days if damaged or stolen, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
- Extended Warranty:This extends the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by one year for eligible products covered by a three-year or less warranty.
- Employee card: Get more free cards for your employees.
The Preferred Business Ink There are some more notable benefits not included in the Unlimited Ink Business. Include:
- Mobile phone protection:If you pay your monthly cell phone bill with a card and your cell phone is stolen or damaged, you can receive up to $1,000 per claim, with a $100 deductible — for up to three claims per year.
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: If you have to cancel or cut short your trip due to a covered issue (like illness or severe weather), you’re eligible for up to $5,000 per person in prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses, giving you peace of mind if the unexpected happens. Coverage is capped at $10,000 per trip.
It’s important to note that Ink Business Unlimited charges a 3% foreign transaction fee while Ink Business Preferred does not charge a foreign transaction fee, so if you travel internationally frequently this is something to keep in mind.
Winner: Ink Business Preferred Card. This card beats the Ink Business Unlimited by including cell phone protection and trip cancellation/interruption insurance and has no foreign transaction fees.
Related: How to meet the minimum spend for Ink Business Preferred: $8,000 in 3 months
Earn rewards on Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Unlimited
The Preferred Business Ink Offer more bonus categories Unlimited Ink BusinessAs a cardholder, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar spent on Lyft rides through March 2025. You’ll also earn 3 points per dollar on combined purchases up to $150,000 per account year on:
- Tourism
- Purchase shipping
- Internet, cable and phone services
- Advertising purchases are made through social networking sites and search engines.
For all other purchases or after you spend a total of $150,000 in the above bonus categories, you will earn 1 point per dollar spent.
Since Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth 2.05 cents per point, based on TPG’s valuations, you’ll earn 6.15% back on category bonus purchases and 2.05% back on all other purchases.
For Ink Business Unlimited, cardholders enjoy 5% cash back on Lyft rides through March 2025 and a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no spending limit.
Winner: Ink Business Preferred Card. This card allows you to earn bonus rewards in more categories.
Related: How to Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Maximum Value
Redeem rewards on Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Unlimited
While both cards fall under the Ink family, their redemption options are very different.
With Preferred Business InkYou can redeem your points in three ways. You can redeem your points for cash, where your points are worth 1 cent each. You can also use them for travel in two different ways.
You can redeem points for travel through the Chase travel portal, where each point is worth 1.25 cents, or transfer points to one of Chase’s 14 valuable air and hotel transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio.
With Unlimited Ink BusinessYou can redeem your points for cash, gift cards, or travel through Chase Travel.
Let’s say you want to take advantage of Chase’s money transfer partners. In that case, you’d have to Combine your rewards from Ink Business Unlimited to a full Ultimate Rewards card like the Ink Business Preferred, Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Winner: Ink Business Preferred Card. Both cards can redeem rewards for cash or travel through Chase Travel, but the Ink Business Preferred card doesn’t require you to carry another card to access Chase’s travel partners.
Related: Why I Chose the Ink Business Preferred Over the Chase Sapphire Reserve
Should I buy Ink Business Preferred or Ink Business Unlimited?
If you spend a lot of money on bonus categories like advertising or shipping and want to use Chase’s money transfer partners, Preferred Business Ink is a great option to help you maximize your rewards earning potential. If you want to set up a card and don’t want to worry about bonus categories, I recommend Unlimited Ink Business instead of unlimited cashback.
The last line
Both cards are great options; it depends on your business needs. Both offer a variety of travel and purchase protections as well as the ability to earn valuable rewards points or cash back, so your business should have no problem using either card.
Choose Ink Business Preferred if you want to maximize your earnings with bonus categories or Ink Business Unlimited if you want a simpler approach with a fixed cashback rate.
To learn more, read our full review of Preferred Business Ink and Unlimited Ink Business.
Apply here: Preferred Business Ink
Apply here: Unlimited Ink Business
Related: Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Ink Business Preferred: Which Ultimate Rewards Card Is Better for You?
