KEY LINKS:
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 Unlimited 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.
card_name Review
The first card to look at is the Chase Ink Unlimited. The Ink Unlimited has a very simple earning structure. You’ll get 1.5 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on the card (marketed as 1.5% cash back). 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 Unlimited and get 25% or 50% extra value.
- bonus_miles_full
- 1.5X Ultimate Rewards points on all purchases
- intro_apr_rate,intro_apr_duration. Regular APR is reg_apr,reg_apr_type
- 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 Unlimited review
card_name 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.
- bonus_miles_full
- 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)
- $annual_fees
Read our full Chase Ink Preferred review
Chase Ink Business Preferred® vs. Chase Ink Business Unlimited® – Which Is Better?
The Ink Preferred and Ink Unlimited 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 Unlimited, 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 Unlimited 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 Unlimited 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 Unlimited. Personally, I have both the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited (along with the Sapphire Preferred).
What about you? Do you have any of these Chase Ink cards? Which one do you think is best?
Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
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 
Recent Comments