Chase has a lineup. Not just the personal stuff you scroll past on social media, but the Ink Business family. They earn cash or Chase Ultimate Rewards. Usually with hefty sign-up bonuses.
You don’t need a corporate HQ. Freelance writer? Check. Etsy seller? Check. Side hustler selling vintage lamps from your garage? Check. You just need a DBA or an LLC in many cases. But even sole proprietors often qualify.
It separates your finances. It boosts rewards. It keeps your credit profile clean for personal loans later.
Here’s how the four current Ink Business cards actually work.
The Short List
Chase offers four main players. They share some safety nets like extended warranty, purchase protection, baggage delay insurance, and primary rental car insurance. That last one is gold if you rent for business.
But the reward structures diverge sharply.
Three cards pay cash back: The Ink Business Cash, Unlimited, and Premier. One pays points: The Ink Business Preferred.
Why does this matter? Points are flexible. Cash is fixed.
If you hold other Chase cards like the Freedom Flex, Freedom Unlimited, or the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve, you can pool points from the Preferred with them. You can also move cash rewards from the Cash and Unlimited into a Sapphire account to turn them into points.
The Ink Business Premier stands alone. You can’t transfer those points elsewhere. It’s a walled garden.
There is also the Sapphire Reserve for Business. It costs $795 a year. It’s premium travel stuff. Not part of the Ink family technically, but related enough to matter for point transfers.
Ink Business Cash Credit Card
Welcome bonus: $750 cash back if you spend $6,000 in three months.
Annual fee: $0.
Rates: 5% on office supplies, internet, cable, phone (first $25k per account anniversary). 5% on Lyft until late 2027. 2% at gas stations and restaurants (first $25k). 1% elsewhere.
Who wants this? Small office owners. People who buy lots of toner and pay hefty utility bills. It pairs well with the Preferred because it covers the gas and food expenses the Preferred ignores.
No annual fee. Simple. If you pair it with a premium Chase travel card, that cash turns into transferable points. Suddenly you have flight options again.
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
Welcome bonus: 100,00 points after $8,000 spend in three months. (Value roughly $2,050 based on mid-2026 TPG data.)
Annual fee: $95.
Rates: 3 points on travel, advertising on search engines and social media, shipping, and phone/internet (first $150k per year). 1 point everywhere else. Also 5 points on Lyft through 2027.
This is the engine of the ecosystem. It’s the only Ink card that natively earns fully transferable points to airlines and hotels. The $95 fee feels cheap if you value travel points at even $0.015 each. The spending cap for bonus categories is high, $150, so serious businesses can maximize this.
It fills the gaps for freelancers. Established businesses use it for heavy advertising spends on Google or Meta.
Ink Business Premier Credit Card
Welcome bonus: $1,000 cash after $10,00 spend in three months.
Annual fee: $195.
Rates: 2.5% on purchases of $5k or more. 5% on travel booked via Chase. 5% on Lyft. 2% on everything else eligible.
Niche. Expensive fee for what you get. The rewards stay locked as cash back, gift cards, or statement credits. You can’t transfer these points to a hotel partner.
Why would anyone choose this? Large purchase volume. That 2.5% back on orders over $5,000 is lucrative. If you are buying inventory or equipment regularly, the fee pays for itself quickly. You just have to not care about points transferability.
It has no preset spending limit, which is useful for big-ticket items.
Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card
Welcome bonus: $750 cash after $6k spend in three months.
Annual fee: $0.
Rates: 5% on Lyft (through 2027). 1.5% on all purchases. No caps.
Lazy spending? Perfect. High tracking fatigue? Get this. You get 1.5% back whether you buy a pen or a pallet of widgets.
Great for side hustles where expenses don’t fit neat boxes. It works as a backup to your primary cards too. Use your other Ink cards for their 3x or 5x categories. Put the rest here. It never fails to give you something.
Like the Cash, these points can be converted to transferable Ultimate Rewards if you hold a premium Sapphire card.
Which One Do You Pick?
It depends on what you buy.
Office supplies and phone bills? Cash.
Travel and ads? Preferred.
Big wholesale orders? Premier.
Everything else without fuss? Unlimited.
Consider the hidden costs. The Cash and Unlimited charge 3% foreign transaction fees. The Preferred and Premier do not. If your business involves overseas suppliers or clients, the foreign fees add up fast. The Preferred is likely cheaper even if you don’t value travel perks highly.
Phone insurance matters. The Preferred and Premier offer this. Smartphones cost thousands now. Dropping your iPhone in the toilet saves the annual fee on the spot.
Why hold two? Why not?
You can have multiple Ink cards. The strategy looks like this:
– Cash for office supplies, internet, restaurants.
– Preferred for travel, shipping, digital ads.
– Unlimited for everything that slips through the cracks.
Then you merge the earnings from the Cash and Unlimited into the Preferred account. One big pile of flexible points.
Application rules exist. Chase is strict about timing. Generally, one new personal card and one new business card per 90 days. Watch the 5/24 rule too. If you opened five credit cards from any issuer in the last 24 months, Chase might reject you. Note: Ink business cards do not count toward that 5/24 total after approval. That is a loophole many exploit.
If denied instantly? Call. Talk to a person. Provide documents. It’s worth the twenty minutes on the phone for a $750 sign-up bonus.
There isn’t a single best card. Just the one that matches your spending habits. Maybe you switch yearly as your business changes. That’s the game. Play it smart. 📈
