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Published: Feb 11, 2022, 9:00am
The Chase Ink Business Premier* is a rewarding card for certain businesses that have high spend throughout the year and want to concentrate on earning cash back over travel rewards. Those businesses that are looking to transfer their reward points to airline and hotel programs and upgrade their travels, however, should look elsewhere.
With 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 2.5% cash back on every purchase of $5,000 or more, and 2% cash back on every other purchase, the Chase Ink Business Premier* has the potential to be a huge earner for many businesses with large monthly purchases.
The card offers a welcome offer of $1,000 cash back after spending $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That high bonus, coupled with the impressive earning structure for high spending businesses, makes this a solid card for those wanting to earn cash back.
Chase didn’t hold back on the other benefits of the Chase Ink Business Premier* either. It includes everything from no foreign transaction fees, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and primary auto rental collision damage waiver, to cell phone, extended warranty and purchase protections. Whether your employees need to travel for work or you need to pick up a few new tech items for the office, your business will be covered with the Chase Ink Business Premier*.
It’s not for everyone, though. Those familiar with Ultimate Rewards may have the intention of using the Chase Ink Business Premier*’s points as other Ultimate Rewards and transfer them to travel partners or combine them with accounts that have transfer power. Unfortunately, neither is possible with the Ink Premier. The points earned live in their own ecosystem and will not play well with your other Ultimate Rewards.
A welcome offer of $1,000 cash back after spending $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening is a great way to jump start your cash-back earning with the Chase Ink Business Premier Card.
In addition to that, a tiered cash-back system rewards businesses that make large transactions and book a lot of travel. With this card, you will earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 2.5% cash back on every purchase of $5,000 or more, and 2% cash back on every other purchase.
Cash back is earned and stored as Ultimate Rewards points with each point equating to one penny back. As long as you want to concentrate on earning only cash back, the Ink Business Premier is a solid card that provides easy to earn rewards for all of your business purchases.
Cash rewards earned through the Ink Business Premier Card are stored as Ultimate Rewards points that are converted at a ratio of 100 points for every dollar earned. Points can be redeemed in four different ways, though some are better than others.
Points can be used for cash back, to book travel through Ultimate Rewards, to shop with points at Amazon or PayPal, or to purchase gift cards and other products. When redeemed for cash back or for travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal, points will be worth one cent each.
Redeeming your points for products or services through Pay With Points, however, will reduce the redemption value to 0.8 cents per point. Due to the decrease in value for these purchases, it is a better deal to redeem your points for cash back and then make the purchase yourself. By doing so, you can earn points on your purchases as well.
It is also important to note that although the Ink Business Premier Card technically earns Ultimate Rewards Points, they are not the same as the Ultimate Rewards earned by some other Ink cards or the Sapphire family of cards. You will not be able to transfer points earned with the Ink Business Premier Card to airline or hotel partners. You will also not be allowed to combine these points into other card accounts that have the ability to transfer to airlines or hotels.
Since business spending can vary greatly, we are simply providing the rewards numbers for a single example business here. You can adjust the numbers to match the spending in each category for your specific business to see a more accurate rewards earning potential for your situation.
If we assume that a business has $100,000 in annual spending, with 20% of that total being travel purchases that can be made through the Ultimate Rewards portal and 30% of that total being other purchases that are at least $5,000 each, the business would have the following rewards potential:
When added together, this gives you a total of 275,000 points earned per year on your typical business spending in addition to the first year welcome bonus.
These points, worth $2,750 in cash back, will offset the annual fee of the Ink Business Premier Card many times over. You will need to calculate the potential rewards for your business to see if this card is a good option for you.
Interest Rates
Fees
Although both of these business cards are offered by Chase, there are significant differences in both the earning and redemption structures of the two cards.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, which comes with an annual fee of $95, earns 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
On the redemption side, the points earned are worth more with the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, as long as you want to redeem them for travel or select other categories. When booking with points through the Ultimate Rewards portal, points are worth 1.25 cents each. In addition, Ultimate Rewards points from this card can be transferred to any of Chase’s airline or hotel program partners. This can allow for much higher redemption values once transferred. Points can also be redeemed for 1.25 cents each in select categories through “Pay Yourself Back.”
It is easy to see that this may be the better card for lower spending businesses and for those with most of their purchases in the bonus categories, especially if you are looking to redeem for travel instead of cash back.
With an annual fee of $295, the American Express® Business Gold Card (terms apply, see rates and fees) is positioned as a bit more of a premium card than the Chase Ink Business Premier.
The American Express® Business Gold Card earns 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on the 2 select categories where a business spends the most each month. 1 point per dollar is earned for other purchases. The 4 point per dollar earning rate applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from the 2 eligible categories each calendar year. The variety of categories, which are chosen automatically based on your spending, mean that you have the best chance of maximizing your earnings in a given month, especially if your expenses vary.
When it comes to redeeming points, the American Express® Business Gold Card card has the Chase Ink Business Premier* beat for those who prefer to redeem for travel. First, you have the ability to transfer the points you earn to any of their over 20 airline or hotel partners for potential outsized value. Second, if you want a simpler redemption, you can book using points through American Express Travel and if you book a flight on your one selected airline or you book a flight in either business or first class on any airline, you get 25% of your points back. Those who want to redeem for cash back should know that Membership Rewards points can only be redeemed for 0.6 cents each for cash back.
This card is lucrative if you have the ability to maximize the spending in some of the six categories that earn additional points per dollar, but again, the bonused spend is limited. If your business spends a lot more than the cap, or if you want to redeem your rewards for cash back, then the unlimited earnings of the Ink Business Premier may be a better fit.
If you are interested in earning flat-rate cash-back rewards for your business without paying an annual fee, then the American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (terms apply, see rates and fees) should be on your radar. You can earn 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%.
This card is best for businesses that have lower overall spend and don’t spend a lot on travel or make large regular purchases over $5,000. For everyday spend outside of those two categories, this card earns points on par with the Chase Ink Business Premier*, without the annual fee. The benefits are significantly more limited, but the card does include extended warranty, purchase protection and secondary car rental loss and damage insurance.
Redeeming rewards with the Blue Business Cash is limited to statement credits, but the process couldn’t be easier. Your cash back will automatically be credited within two statements after the statement with the purchases on it. All you have to do is pay your bills on time. The rest is done for you.
Finally, in case your business needs a little extra time to pay off a large purchase, the Blue Business Cash comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a 13.24% – 21.24% variable APR applies on purchases and balance transfers. Balance transfers must be completed within 60 days of account opening and a fee of $5 or 3%, whichever is greater applies. That can really help a small business get off the ground or purchase some much needed equipment that would otherwise have had to be paid in full.
The Chase Ink Business Premier* is a solid choice for businesses that want to earn straight cash back instead of travel rewards and it has a compelling set of benefits for a reasonable annual fee.
This card will be ideal for businesses that have higher levels of spend and that will either outspend the category multiplier limits on other competitive cards or have most of their spending in categories that are not bonused on other cards. With 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 2.5% cash back on every purchase of $5,000 or more, and 2% cash back on every other purchase, there is potential for impressive rewards for high spending businesses.
If some of your spending is in the limited categories on other cards, this may be a useful card to pair with one of those as well. Use this card to continue earning increased rewards once you’ve reached the multiplier limits on your other card and for any non-category spending that you do.
The Chase Ink Business Premier Card may not be the right choice for smaller businesses with limited spend, but for those larger high-spending businesses, this could be an ideal card to add to your portfolio.
To view rates and fees for American Express® Business Gold Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card please visit this page.
Jeffrey Brownson first started reading about traveling for less by using miles and points back in 2009. Since that time, he’s been to over 50 countries and become an industry expert in airline and hotel loyalty programs, credit cards, and travel. Whether exploring with his family, a group of friends, or on his own, Jeff always makes sure to absorb the local culture, taste as many new cuisines as possible, and visit a few small breweries when he’s away from his home in the Washington, DC area.
Dia Adams is a noted family travel expert and a real-life Mom of two teens in the DC Metro area. She has visited over 45 countries and lived in Thailand, China, and Ireland (where her son was born). Her kids have over 20 stamps in their own passports. Her passion lies in showing families how to travel more while keeping their savings and sanity. Her guidebook, Disney World Hacks, is a bestseller on Amazon.