Chase Ink Business Preferred® vs. Chase Ink Business Cash® – which is better?

KEY LINKS:

• Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card – Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening. $0 annual fee
• Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card – Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $95 annual fee.

Chase has several different small business credit cards, and they are some of the best credit cards out there. Today I thought it might make sense to compare the Chase Ink Business Preferred vs. the Chase Ink Business Cash to see which of these two cards might be the best. Deciding what might be best will depend on your specific situation, but there are a few rules of thumb that you might want to consider.

Both of these are considered business credit cards, but you may have a business even if you don’t think you do. And I would say that if you are ignoring the small business cards and only applying for personal credit cards, you are doing yourself a disservice by passing up on half of the available credit card bonus offers.

Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Review

The Chase Ink Preferred comes with a $95 annual fee and is considered one of Chase’s premium travel cards. It generally comes with a higher initial welcome bonus but it also usually has a higher spending requirement.

• Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• 3X points on shipping and advertising purchases, Internet, cable and phone services and travel (on the first $150,000 of purchases, then 1X)
• Redeem points for 1.25 cents per point through the Chase travel portal (25% bonus)
• Ability to transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to Chase travel partners including United Airlines, Hyatt Hotels and Southwest Airlines
• Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Insurance
• Primary Car Rental Damage Insurance when traveling for business (so you can decline the car rental company’s insurance)
• Cell Phone protection (if you pay your bill with the card)
• $95 annual fee

Read our full Chase Ink Preferred review

Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card Review

The next card to look at is the no-fee Chase Ink Cash. You’ll get 5X at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services, and 2x at gas stations and restaurants. So depending on your spending patterns, you may find that you’ll come out ahead with the Ink Cash instead of the Ink Preferred, especially when considering the annual fee on the Ink Preferred. You can also consider having both cards – that way you can use each card where it gets the best category bonus.

One thing to note with the Ink Cash is that if you don’t have a premium Chase card (like the Sapphire Reserve or Ink Preferred), then your points are worth just 1 cent per point. But if you do have a premium card, you can transfer your Chase points that you earn with the Ink Cash and get 25% or 50% extra value.

• Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening
• 5X at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services (up to $25,000 per year combined)
• 2X at gas stations and restaurants (up to $25,000 per year combined)
• Primary Car Rental Damage Insurance when traveling for business (so you can decline the car rental company’s insurance)
• No annual fee

Read our full Chase Ink Cash review

Chase Ink Business Preferred® vs. Chase Ink Business Cash® – Which Is Better?

The Ink Preferred and Ink Cash cards work in two different ways. The Ink Preferred card is considered a “premium” card by Chase, which means that it gives you the opportunity to transfer points to hotel and airline partners as well as redeem your points for 1.25 cents per point through the Chase travel portal. If you only have the Ink Cash, your points are only worth 1 cent per point and you can’t redeem it with travel partners.

There is a lot of value in having at least one premium Chase card (to unlock the ability to transfer to hotel and airline travel partners). So if you don’t have another premium Chase card (like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card), you might consider getting the Ink Preferred. If you already have a premium Chase card and don’t want to pay another annual fee, then the Ink Cash might be a better choice. Personally, I think there is value in getting both cards.

Other Chase Ink Cards To Consider

There are 2 other Chase Ink cards that you might want to consider consider

• Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card – Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $0 annual fee. Read our full review here
• Ink Business Premier® Credit Card – Earn $1,000 bonus cash back after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $195 annual fee. Read our full review here.

The Bottom Line

Deciding whether the Chase Ink Preferred or Chase Ink Cash is best for you will depend on your particular spending patterns. Of course $8,000 or $10,000 spending in only 3 months is quite a bit, so if you don’t feel like you can make that, the Ink Preferred may not be a great option for you. Even $6,000 in 3 months could be challenging for some people. If you can make the spending targets, I would consider the Ink Preferred if you don’t have another premium Chase credit card. Other than that, I would probably get the Ink Cash. Personally, I have both the Ink Cash and Ink Preferred (along with the Sapphire Preferred).

• Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card – Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening. $0 annual fee
• Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card – Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $95 annual fee

What about you? Do you have either of these Chase Ink cards? Which one do you think is best?

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