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If you’re a business owner who regularly travels, you’ll want a credit card that can help make those travels more convenient — like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
It offers a stellar rewards program, bonus spending categories, and the ability to transfer points to travel partners for free flights and hotel stays.
It also comes with several insurance and travel perks and a low annual fee — it’s no wonder we rank this as one of the best business rewards cards available!
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Rewards Rate
- 3x points on every dollar spent on shipping, advertising with social media and search engines, internet, cable, phone, and travel — up to the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in these categories
- 5x total points on Lyft rides through 9/30/27
- 1x per dollar spent everywhere else
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Overview of the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is Chase’s premier business travel rewards card, with a generous welcome bonus, points on business and travel categories, and one of the most flexible rewards programs available.
The annual fee is lower than some competitors' cards, and the perks are more than worth the annual cost.
Chase also has one of the best rewards programs out there, allowing you to use your points for cashback, gift cards, and travel purchases.
You can also transfer points to partner hotels and airlines, such as Hyatt, Marriott, and Southwest Airlines, for even more value.
Pros
- Strong earning rate on typical business spending
- Flexible rewards
- Transfer partners to maximize redemptions
- Multiple insurance benefits
Cons
- Annual fee
- No lounge access
Redeeming Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards® are flexible points that can be used in a variety of ways.
Chase Travel℠
Through Chase Travel℠, you can book flights, rental cars, hotels, and even a cruise with your points.
Plus, Chase offers a feature called Points Boost for the Ink Business Preferred. With Points Boost, your points are worth up to 1.5x on hotels and flights with select airlines through Chase Travel℠, and up to 1.75x on premium cabin tickets on select airlines.
However, for all other Chase Travel℠ redemptions, your Ink Business Preferred points are only worth 1 cent each.
Cashback
Chase Ultimate Rewards® can be used for statement credits, essentially paying off a portion of your credit card balance.
Cashback options are redeemed at a rate of $0.01 per point, which is a decent redemption — but there are much better options if you use your rewards for travel.
Transfer partners
Chase partners with 13 hotel and airline loyalty programs and allows you to transfer your rewards directly to them. This can be one of the best values for your points if done correctly.
Here are the partners currently available:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Canada
- Air France KLM
- British Airways
- Hyatt
- Iberia
- IHG Hotels & Resorts
- JetBlue
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Singapore Airlines
- Southwest
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
Many partners have valuable loyalty programs that can save you hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars on flights and hotel stays. This can boost your redemption rate to $0.03 to $0.04 per point (or more).
Note that transferring points is only one way, meaning you can’t transfer back into Chase Ultimate Rewards® once the transfer is initiated.
Make sure you plan your trip and the points needed before making a transfer.
Gift cards
The Ultimate Rewards® portal allows you to use your points to purchase a wide selection of gift cards.
The redemption rate is a reasonable $0.01 per point, but you can often find specials on certain cards that give you an even better redemption rate.
Additional Benefits
In addition to bonus points and rewards, the Ink Business Preferred offers the following:
- Cellphone protection: Get reimbursed for cellphone repair or replacement up to $1,000 per claim (up to three claims per 12-month period, $100 deductible per claim).
- Purchase protection: Chase’s purchase protection covers theft, damage, or involuntary and accidental loss within 120 days from the date of purchase (up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account).
- Extended warranty: Get extended warranty coverage on purchases, extending manufacturer warranties an additional year.
- Travel protection: This card offers trip delay, trip cancellation, baggage delay, lost baggage, and primary auto coverage insurance (when renting for business purposes).
- Roadside assistance: Roadside assistance is included, covering up to five miles of towing, tire changes, fuel delivery, and more.
Who Should Get the Ink Business Preferred®?
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a great option for small business owners who want travel rewards for a low annual fee.
Business owners who spend heavily on the bonus categories, such as travel, internet, cable, phone, shipping, or online advertising, can get immense value.
Who Shouldn’t Get the Ink Business Preferred®?
Frequent travelers who want lounge access and other perks won’t like this card, since the Ink Business Preferred does not offer premium travel benefits, such as lounge access, credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, or instant status upgrades.
While casual travelers will like the card for its basic travel benefits and protections, it can’t compete with cards like The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, which offers status at hotels and car rental services, lounge access across the world, and hundreds in travel credits per year.
Alternatives to the Ink Business Preferred®
For no annual fee
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
Rewards Rate
- 5% cashback on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year
- 5% total cashback on Lyft rides through 9/30/27
- 2% on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year
- 1% on everything else (unlimited)
Welcome Offer
Earn $750 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
Annual Fee
$0
The Ink Business Preferred is a solid option, but it’s actually only one of four business rewards cards that Chase offers. One of the most popular is the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card.
As a cashback credit card, you can earn rewards at office supply stores and other business categories. Oh, and there’s no annual fee!
Hint: If you get both the Ink Preferred and Ink Cash, you can transfer Ink Cash cashback rewards to your Ink Preferred card and they are automatically converted to Ultimate Rewards®. This makes your cashback from the Ink Cash much more powerful.
For premium perks (but a premium fee)
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Rewards Rate
- 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com
- 2x points on purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more, up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year (purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus)
- 1x points on other eligible purchases
Welcome Offer
Elevated Welcome Offer: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee
$895 (rates and fees)
Both Chase and American Express offer flexible rewards points that can be used for cashback, travel rewards, gift cards, or transferred to travel partners. But The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a much more premium card.
It offers hundreds of dollars in business and travel credits each year, and far more travel perks (lounge access, Global Entry credits,* status, and more). However, it also has a much higher annual fee.
For higher cashback rates
Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Rewards Rate
- 5% cashback on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One's travel booking site
- 2% on all other purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn a one-time cash bonus of $2,000 once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months. Earn an additional $2,000 cash bonus for every $500K spent during the first year. You can earn this bonus multiple times over the course of year 1!
Annual Fee
$150 (waived if you spend $150,000 that year)
The Capital One Spark Cash Plus has a higher cashback rate on business expenses, plus a much higher rate on travel. However, it also comes with a slightly higher fee than the Ink Business Preferred.
It’s a charge card rather than a traditional credit card, which means there’s no preset spending limit — but you’re charged a fee if you don’t pay it off in full each month. While this could be good if you frequently have high-cost expenses, it could also be dangerous if you regularly carry a balance.
Bottom Line: Should You Get the Ink Business Preferred®?
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a solid credit card for small business owners.
It has a low annual fee but still comes with a strong rewards rate and extra benefits like travel insurance and purchase protection.
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* Receive either up to a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or a credit of up to $85 for TSA PreCheck after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. Only one credit will be given in a 4 year period for Global Entry or in a 4.5 year period for TSA PreCheck, depending on whichever application fee is charged to your eligible American Express® Card first.
Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
