The
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is one of the best travel rewards credit cards for business, offering a ton of value at a pretty low cost. Chase Ink Preferred is especially rewarding right now because new cardholders can earn $1,250 in travel by spending
$8,000 within three months of opening an account. More specifically, Ink Preferred's sign-up bonus gets you
100,000 points, redeemable for either $1.25K in travel accommodations booked through Chase Travel℠ or $1K cash back. That bonus alone covers the cost of the Ink Business Preferred Card's
$95 annual fee for at least 10 years.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred Card’s perks aren't all front-loaded, though. Ink Preferred also gives
1 - 3 points / $1 in rewards on purchases, for example. Employee cards with customizable spending limits are free, too. Plus, if your travels take you abroad, you won’t have to worry about paying a foreign transaction fee with Chase Ink Preferred.
Below, you can find a summary of the most important info to consider before deciding whether or not to apply for the Chase Ink Preferred Card.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Review Highlights: - Large initial bonus. The Chase Ink Business Preferred Card offers you 100,000 points for spending $8,000 within three months of account opening. The $1,250 in travel that you can redeem them for also represents the most upfront value available from any card. So, if you can meet the initial spending threshold and have no qualms about booking your rewards travel through Chase, getting the Ink Business Preferred Card is a great choice.
- Very good ongoing rewards. You will earn 3 points / $1 on your first $150,000 in purchases across a wide range of bonus categories each year. That means you’ll be getting at least 3% back on bonus-category purchases, given that Ink Preferred points are worth at least a penny apiece (1.25 cents when redeemed for travel through Chase). In other words, you can earn up to $5,625 in bonus-category rewards each year, depending on how much you spend and how you redeem.
- Lots of bonus categories. The Ink Preferred Card’s bonus categories, eligible for 3X points, are: travel, shipping, cable and phone service, internet service, and advertising purchased through social media sites and search engines.
- Standard base rewards rate. Non-bonus category purchases yield just 1 point / $1 spent. That equates to merely 1% - 1.25% back. Considering that the average cash rewards card offers 1.15% back on all purchases, you may want to use Chase Ink Preferred solely for bonus-category spending.
- Reasonable annual fee. You shouldn’t fret too much over the Chase Ink Preferred Card’s $95 annual fee. For one thing, its initial bonus effectively covers the cost of annual fees for at least 10 years. What’s more, you only need to make $2,534 in bonus-category purchases each year to break even, assuming you redeem your earnings for travel. Nevertheless, you should still take this fixed cost into account when comparing Ink Preferred to other offers.
- No foreign fee. If your business travel takes you abroad or your company works with internationally based suppliers, you’ll be pleased to know that Chase Ink Preferred does not apply a surcharge to purchases processed outside the U.S. This will save you 97% on all such purchases compared to the average credit card.
- Good personal credit is what counts. Credit card companies base business-card approval primarily on an applicant’s personal credit history. It tends to be a lot longer than that of a business, after all. And you’re going to be held personally liable for unpaid balances anyway. So make sure to check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub before you apply, to confirm you have a good shot at Chase Ink Preferred approval.
- Far from ideal for financing. Chase Ink Preferred is designed to be paid in full each month. No, it’s not a charge card. Rather, it doesn’t offer 0% intro rates and has a regular APR that’s likely to be well above average for a card that requires good credit for approval.
Even more importantly, business credit cards don’t enjoy the same user protections as consumer cards. That means issuers can increase the interest rate on a business credit card balance at any time, while they have to wait until a balance is at least 60 days delinquent with a consumer card. So if you don’t plan to pay your bill in full every month, we recommend getting a general-consumer 0% credit card instead.
WalletHub’s report on the most small business-friendly credit card companies will give you a pretty good idea of Ink Preferred’s place in the market.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.