Ink Business Preferred vs Ink Business Cash | Compare Chase Ink

The Chase Ink Business credit card family includes the Chase Ink Business Preferred, the Chase Ink Business Cash, and the Chase Ink Business Unlimited.

Today let’s compare two of the most valuable business credit cards – the Chase Ink Business Preferred and the Chase Ink Business Cash card.

Business credit cards offer some of the best welcome bonuses out there after meeting the required minimum spend. Both cards, the Ink Cash and Ink Preferred, are part of the Chase Ultimate Rewards ecosystem and earn Ultimate Rewards for the welcome offer and for ongoing spending.

The Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Cash cards have many similarities. If you’re wondering if the Chase Ink Preferred metal or the Chase Ink Cash are metal, the answer is no for both. They are both plastic.

The two cards also have many important differences – in this article we’ll compare the Ink Preferred and Ink Cash to help you find out which Chase business card is best for you.

The difference between a business credit card and a personal card

Before we compare the Ink Preferred vs Ink Cash cards, it’s best to talk about what the difference is between a business card and a personal card.

With personal credit cards there are no special requirements. However, if you’re wondering can I get Chase Ink card without a business, the answer is that business credit cards do require you to have a valid business.

But as we talked about when we reviewed the best business credit cards for veterans and military, you may have a business even if you don’t think that you have one.

If you are wondering how do you qualify for Chase Ink business preferred, then if you do any kind of side hustle (think giving flight lessons, selling things on eBay, driving for Uber, etc), then you have a business and qualify for the Chase Ink card.

I explained in my article on “Can you get a business credit card without a business?” that you don't need an LLC, EIN, or incorporated business to open a business credit card. A Social Security Number and a sole proprietorship is enough.

What is the Chase Ink card?

One question that many people ask is “What is the Chase Ink card?” There are currently 3 different kinds of Chase Ink cards available:

• Chase Ink Business Preferred
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited
• Chase Ink Business Cash

There also used to be the Chase Ink Business Plus and the Chase Ink Business Bold cards, which some people still have. Unfortunately, the Plus and Bold versions of the Chase Ink cards are no longer available for new applicants. In this article, we will be comparing the Chase Ink Business Cash vs Chase Ink Business Preferred cards.

Chase Ink Business Preferred Review

First off, let’s talk about the Chase Ink Business Preferred for military servicemembers. The Chase Ink Business Preferred card currently has a welcome offer of earn 120,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,200 cash back or $1,500 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠

120,000 UR points can be cashed out for $1200 cash, used to purchase travel worth up to $1500, or transferred to a Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR review) for $1800 in travel!

The Ink Business Preferred also offers the following benefits:

• 3x points on spending on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services
• 3x points on any online advertising purchases
• It also offers up to $600 coverage against theft or damage when you pay your cell phone bill with your Chase Ink Business Preferred. There is a $100 deductible on this benefit but it is still significantly better than the phone protection plans offered by the major cell phone carriers.
• No foreign transaction fees when making purchases overseas.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred does come with a $95 annual fee that is not waived the first year. Although Chase does waive their annual fees for military servicemembers on their personal cards, they do still charge annual fees on their Chase business cards such as the Chase Ink Business Preferred for veterans.

Chase Ink Business Cash review

Now let’s talk about the Chase Ink Business Cash for military veteran small business owners, as an alternative to the Chase Ink Business Preferred card.

Currently the Chase Ink Business cash card is offering a welcome offer $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening. Chase typically markets the welcome offer on the Chase Ink Business Cash as $350, but it is delivered as 35,000 Ultimate Rewards.

If you only have the Chase Ink Business Cash card then your Ultimate Rewards can only be redeemed for 1 cent per point, but if you have a premium Chase card such as the Chase Ink Business Preferred, Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve cards, you can combine your Ultimate Rewards and potentially redeem them for 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point, or even transfer them to Chase’s airline or hotel partners to get even more value.

You can learn more about Chase Sapphire Preferred military benefits, Chase Sapphire Reserve military benefits, and compare the Chase Sapphire Reserve vs the Chase Sapphire Preferred military benefits here.

Here are some of the benefits of the Chase Ink Business Cash card for veterans:

• 5% Cash back at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services. This is up to the first $25,000 spent.
• 2% Cash back at gas stations and restaurants, again, up to the first $25,000 spent in these categories

And unlike the Chase Ink Business Preferred card, the Chase Ink Cash card comes with NO annual fee.

Which Chase Ink card is best for veterans?

If you’re wondering which Chase Ink card is best for military servicemembers or veterans, there are many different factors to consider. One thing to consider is your specific spending habits. Take a look at the different bonus categories for the Chase Ink Business Preferred vs Chase Ink Cash card. 

Another thing to think about is the welcome offer on the Chase Ink Business Cash card vs Chase Ink Business Preferred cards. The welcome offer on the Chase Ink Business Preferred card (100,000 Ultimate Rewards) is higher than the $7500 (750,000 Ultimate Rewards) offered by the Chase Ink Business Cash card, and in my view is well worth the $95 annual fee.

Can you downgrade the Chase Ink Business Preferred?

If you do end up applying for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card for the 120,000 Ultimate Rewards welcome offer, then you will pay the $95 annual fee when you apply for the card. When your cardmember anniversary comes around in another 12 months, you might wonder if you can downgrade the Chase Ink Business Preferred?

You absolutely can downgrade your Chase Ink Business Preferred card to a no annual fee Chase Ink Business Cash card after a year and get the best of both worlds.

The same thing applies in reverse. If you have applied for the Chase Ink Cash card and are wondering how do I increase my Chase Ink Cash card, you can upgrade it to the Chase Ink Business Preferred card if you prefer those bonus categories.

If you find yourself in that situation though, my recommendation would be to first apply for a new Chase Ink Business Preferred card and only then close your Chase Ink Cash card, if you are are no longer getting value from it.

If you simply upgrade your Chase Ink Cash card to a Chase Ink Preferred card, you will miss out on the welcome offer for the Ink Preferred which is currently 120,000 Ultimate Rewards – worth at least $1,500 towards travel.

I hope that this comparison of the Chase Ink Business Preferred vs Chase Ink Business Cash cards has helped you figure out which card might be best for you.

Let us know in the comments which card you applied for and if you have any questions about your eligibility for business credit cards.