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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.
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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.
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- 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)
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Read our full Chase Ink Preferred review
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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.
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- 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 card_name), 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
- card_name – bonus_miles_full annual_fees – read our full review here
- card_name – bonus_miles_full annual_fees – 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).
What about you? Do you have either of these Chase Ink cards? Which one do you think is best?
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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