Chase Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card Review

Best for:  Business owners looking to earn rewards for spending their budgets on travel, shipping, digital advertising and phone, internet and cable plans. 

The Ink Business Preferred from Chase is great for businesses that spend frequently on travel, digital advertising, shipping and internet, phone and cable services. It offers 3X rewards points in those spending categories up to $150,000, plus 1X points on everything else, which can allow you to rack up rewards quickly. 

If you spend $5,000 within three months of opening your account, you’ll also get a welcome bonus of 80,000 points, which you can redeem for cash back, gift cards, Apple products or travel. 

Additionally, when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you’ll actually get 25% more value from them. Your 80,000 point welcome bonus can be redeemed for $800 cash or $1,000 in travel — whatever will benefit your business more. 

The basics 

• APR: Variable APR between 17.49% and 22.49% on purchases and balance transfers.
• Annual fee: $95
• Reward rates: Earn triple the points in select categories up to $150,000, then 1X points. Categories include travel, shipping, cable and phone, internet and any advertising you purchase on social media and search engines. You’ll also earn unlimited 1X points on everything else.
• Intro offer: If you spend $5,000 on purchases within three months of getting the card, you’ll receive 80,000 bonus points, which you can redeem for $800 cash back or $1,000 in travel rewards. 

Standout features 

• 25% more travel rewards: When you redeem your points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you’ll get 25% more value from your points. If you redeem 80,000 points for travel, for example, they’ll be worth $1,000 instead of $800. This is great for those who travel frequently for business. 
• Extra travel perks: This card comes with travel perks like trip cancellation, interruption insurance and an auto rental damage waiver that protects you if you have a collision. Additionally, you won’t have to pay foreign transaction fees when you go abroad.
• Free employee cards: You can get additional cards for your employees at no extra cost. You’ll be able to earn rewards on everything your employees buy and set spending limits for each card. 
• Referral program: You’ll earn 20,000 points for each business that applies for the Ink Business Preferred through your referral link and gets approved. Through this program, you can earn an extra 100,000 bonus points every year. 

Best way to use this card 

The Ink Business Preferred card has an annual fee of $95, which may cancel out your rewards if you don’t spend enough. To make up for the annual fee, you’ll need to spend at least $3,200 in the bonus categories, or $9,600 on general business expenses each year.

To further maximize your rewards, you should focus your spending in the bonus categories, which include travel, cable, phone, internet and shipping purchases. Every purchase you make in these spending categories will earn you 3X points, up to $150,000, whereas general business expenses will only get you one point per dollar. 

You can also rack up extra rewards by spending $5,000 within 90 days of opening your account, which will earn you a large welcome bonus of 80,000 points that you can redeem for cash back, gift cards, Apple products or travel. 

Additionally, if you want to get the most value out of your rewards points, consider redeeming them for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Your points are worth 25% more on Chase’s travel portal, so those 80,000 bonus points will get you $1,000 to put toward your next business trip.

In a nutshell 

The Chase Ink Business Preferred card is ideal for companies that spend a big portion of their budgets on travel, shipping, digital advertising and phone, internet and cable plans. You’ll earn 3X rewards points for any purchases you make in those categories up to $150,000 per year, then 1X points. You’ll also get one point per dollar on everything else you buy, which is a big plus.

If you visit your clients frequently, you’ll appreciate the wide range of travel benefits that come with this card. You’ll get trip cancellation and travel interruption insurance, plus an auto rental damage waiver that will protect you if you have a car accident. Further, you won’t have to pay any foreign transaction fees on trips abroad, and you’ll be able to redeem all the points you rack up for 25% more in the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. 

All of these benefits and more come with an annual fee of just $95, which can be easily earned back thanks to the generous rewards rate that this card offers. You’ll only need to spend $3,200 in the bonus categories or $9,500 on general business expenses each year to recoup the annual fee and start fully benefiting from this card.