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| Card Details and Application Link |
|---|
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card 100K points ⓘ Affiliate 100K after $8K spend in 3 months$95 Annual Fee Click here to learn how to apply This is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer Recent better offer: 80K after $5K spend. Many preferred the 80K offer due to the much lower spend requirement FM Mini Review: Great card for welcome bonus and 3X categories. Also consider the annual fee-free Ink Business Cash for its 5X categories, and the fee-free Ink Business Unlimited to earn 1.5X everywhere. Earning rate: 3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year) ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 Card Info: Visa Signature Business issued by Chase. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: ✦ Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel ✦ Transfer points to airline & hotel partners ✦ Cell phone protection against theft or damage See also: Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide |
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is an extremely rewarding business card. It regularly has one of the best introductory bonuses around and it earns valuable Chase points. The card’s 3X categories make it possible to earn huge rewards through spend as well. This is also a surprisingly good travel rewards card (which is unusual for a business card): It offers 3X rewards for all travel spend, no foreign transaction fees, primary car rental collision waiver, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and cell phone protection (for when your phone is damaged or stolen).
Chase Ink Business Preferred Application Tips
Should you apply?
Even though this is a business card, it’s a great choice for anyone interested in earning Chase points. The introductory bonus for this card regularly tops our “Best of the Best” list. Even if you’re not particularly interested in this card long-term, it’s a great card to get for the welcome bonus. You can later product change it to the no-annual-fee Ink Business Cash (for its 5X categories) or the no-annual-fee Ink Business Unlimited (1.5X everywhere).
If you are eligible (see next section), the intro bonus on this card makes it a fantastic choice.
Are you eligible?
To get this card you must have a business, and you must be under 5/24 (more on 5/24 below).
With a single business it's possible to apply for each Chase Ink card and to earn a welcome bonus for each: Ink Business Preferred, Ink Business Cash, Ink Business Unlimited, and Ink Business Premier.
Similarly, if you have more than one business, it’s possible to get the same Chase Ink card and welcome bonus for each business you own. This is true even though the application terms state otherwise: “I understand that any new cardmember bonus offers for this product are not available to either current or previous cardmembers of this product who received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the last 24 months.” Despite those terms, it's very common for people to successfully apply for more than one of the same Ink card across multiple businesses.
Even better, experience has proven that it is possible to successfully apply for the same Ink card for a single business multiple times even if you still have the older Ink card open. As long as your application is approved, you should qualify for the welcome bonus.
Similarly, if you have more than one business, it’s possible to get the same Chase Ink card and welcome bonus for each business you own. This is true even though the application terms state otherwise: “I understand that any new cardmember bonus offers for this product are not available to either current or previous cardmembers of this product who received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the last 24 months.” Despite those terms, it's very common for people to successfully apply for more than one of the same Ink card across multiple businesses.
Even better, experience has proven that it is possible to successfully apply for the same Ink card for a single business multiple times even if you still have the older Ink card open. As long as your application is approved, you should qualify for the welcome bonus.
| Applying for Business Credit Cards Yes, you have a business: In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it's common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale, or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort. When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business' address and phone, and your social security number as the business' Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website. Is it OK to use business cards for personal expenses? Anecdotally, almost everyone I know uses business cards for personal expenses. That said, the terms in most business card applications state that you should use the card only for business use. Also, some consumer credit card protections do not apply to business cards. My advice: don't use the card for personal expenses if you're not comfortable doing so. |
| Chase's 5/24 Rule: With most Chase credit cards, Chase will not approve your application if you have opened 5 or more cards with any bank in the past 24 months. To determine your 5/24 status, see: 3 Easy Ways to Count Your 5/24 Status. The easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely. |
How to apply
You can find the current best welcome offer and application link at the top of this page: Chase Ink Business Preferred.
The first part of the application asks for personal info. Fill this out the same way you would fill out a consumer credit card application with your own name and home address, your income (not just your business income), etc. For the question about your business title, answer "owner." Next up is the business info section. If you already have a well established business, then the answers should be straightforward. If you are just getting started with your business, below are examples of how to fill this out. These answers assume that you do not have any employees and you operate as a sole proprietorship (which is the most basic form of a business). Use your judgment to answer differently if the examples given don’t match your circumstances:
Here are example answers for the business part of the application:
Check Application Status
After submitting your application, you can check status by calling the automated status line: (888) 338-2586
Here are example answers for the business part of the application:
- Legal business structure: Sole Proprietor
- Business legal name: If you don’t already have a business name, I recommend using your own name as the business name.
- Desired business name on card: Again, this can be your own name if you don’t have a business name to use.
- Does your business use another name? No
- Tax ID type: EIN (you can get an EIN quickly and for free from the IRS here) If you'd prefer to use your social security number as your tax ID, select SSN rather than EIN.
- Is your business's physical address the same as your personal address? Yes
- Number of employees: 0 (the instructions say to enter the number of employees you have, not including yourself)
- Business phone number: Your phone number
- Business established date: When did your business start? If you've been doing your business for years (selling stuff at yard sales, for example), it's fine to estimate the starting date.
- Annual business revenue: $0 (or project an amount based on expected revenue)
- Business category, Business type, Business sub-type: Pick whichever categories are closest to your business. For example, an aspiring author, artist, or musician might choose: "Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation" and "Independent Artists, Writers, Performers."
- Estimated monthly spend: $3,000 (Use your judgement here. A higher number might lead to a larger credit line, but if it's too high it might negatively affect approval).
Check Application Status
After submitting your application, you can check status by calling the automated status line: (888) 338-2586Reconsideration
If your application is denied, I recommend calling for reconsideration (1-888-270-2127). It’s surprising how often denials can be changed to approvals just by asking.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Perks
The Ink Business Preferred Guide to Benefits can be found here.
Premium Ultimate Rewards
Since this is a premium card, the following rewards are available:
- Redeem Points for 25% More Value: Points are worth 1.25 cents each when used to book travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
- Transfer Points to Partners: Points can be transferred one to one to a number of airline and hotel loyalty programs.
Travel Protections
- Auto Rental: Chase offers primary auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver) when renting for business purposes. Here’s the description directly from Chase: “Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary when renting for business purposes and provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most cars in the U.S. and abroad.”
- Trip Cancellation / Interruption: “If your trip is cancelled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $5,000 per trip for your pre-paid non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.same page link to benefits”
- Trip Delay: If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket.
- Lost Luggage: Reimburses for costs incurred to repair or replace checked or carry-on bags and property within if loss or damage occurs during a covered trip. Coverage is up to $3,000 per person per trip (or up to $500 for jewelry, watches, cameras, video recorders, and other electronic equipment).
- Baggage Delay: “Reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over 6 hours by passenger carrier up to $100 a day for 5 days.”
- Travel Accident Insurance: When you pay for your air, bus, train or cruise transportation with your card, you are eligible to receive accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $500,000
Cell Phone Protection
If you (and/or your employees) pay monthly cell phone bills with this card, you (and they) will be covered for theft or damage. Limits: $600 per claim. Max 3 claims per 12 months. $100 deductible per claim.
Purchase Protection
Extended Warranty: “Extends the time period of U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.”
Damage and Theft Protection: “Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.”
Chase Ink Business Preferred Earn Points
Introductory Bonus
This card earns super-valuable points. Here’s the current intro offer:
| Card Offer |
|---|
100K points ⓘ Affiliate 100K after $8K spend in 3 months$95 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 80K after $5K spend. Many preferred the 80K offer due to the much lower spend requirement |
Refer Friends
Referring friends is often a good way to earn extra points with Chase products, but referral offers come and go over time. When referral offers are available, Chase sends emails to eligible cardholders with the offer details. Cardholders can also look for Chase friend referral offers here.
Bonus Spend
| Card Info Name and Earning Rate (no offer) |
|---|
Earning rate: 3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year) ✦ 5X Lyft through March 2025 |
The Ink Business Preferred card offers 3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year). Note that the no-annual-fee Chase Ink Business Cash card offers 5X for internet, cable, and phone charges. If you have both of these business cards, it definitely makes sense to charge internet and cable to the Ink Business Cash card. Which card to use for your cell phone bill is a bit trickier since the Ink Business Preferred offers 3X plus cell phone protection whereas the Ink Business Cash offers 5X without cell phone protection.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Redeem Points
Cash Back
Cardholders can redeem points for 1 cent each either as statement credits or as cash back. Cash back can be taken as a statement credit or via check or ACH transfer.
Travel
Redeem points for travel: 1.5 cents per point
This option requires that someone in your household has the ultra-premium Chase Sapphire Reserve card. First move (combine) points from your other card to the Sapphire Reserve account. Next, log into Chase under the Sapphire Reserve account, and go to the Chase Travel(SM) portal to book your travel. A $500 flight would cost 40,000 points if you used points attached to a premium card (Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred), but with the Chase Sapphire Reserve it would cost only 33,333 points.Redeem points for travel: 1.25 cents per point
This option is directly available to anyone with one of these premium cards: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Business Preferred, or the no-longer-available Ink Plus. If you have points with other Chase cards, move them first to your premium card. Next, log into Chase under the premium account, and go to the Chase portal to book your travel. A $500 flight would cost 50,000 points if you used points attached to a no annual fee card, but with your premium card it would cost only 40,000 points.Details about booking travel through Chase
You can use the Chase portal to book airfare, hotels, cruises, activities, and car rentals. Airfare purchased through the portal still earns airline miles and elite qualifying miles. Hotels booked this way do not earn hotel rewards. Worse, hotels booked through the portal often won't offer you elite benefits even if you have status.Travel protections apply
When you pay with points for travel, Chase's automatic travel protections do apply. So, you can be covered for things like car rentals, trip delays, trip cancellation & interruption, lost luggage, etc. The coverage you receive will be based on which card's rewards were used to book the trip. For example, if you have both a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Sapphire Reserve, you would want to move your points from the Preferred to the Reserve and then use the Reserve points to book your trip. You will get both better value (1.5 cents per point) and better travel protections. See: Sapphire Reserve Travel Insurance.Transfer points
The best use of Chase points, in my opinion, is to transfer points to airline and hotel partners in order to book high value awards. Your best bet is usually to wait until you find a great flight or night award before transferring points. Points transfer at a ratio of 1:1 as shown in the list of transfer partners below. Keep in mind that while transfers are instantly posted to most loyalty programs, transfers to Singapore Krisflyer and Marriott Bonvoy are not instant.
Move points to premium or ultra-premium card first
You cannot transfer points directly from a no-annual-fee Chase card to airline or hotel partners, but you can move points first to a premium card (Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, for example) or ultra-premium card (Sapphire Reserve) and then transfer the points to airline or hotel partners. Points can be transferred to the loyalty accounts of the primary cardholder or any authorized user on the account. Points can also be transferred to the loyalty account of a joint business owner, but they do need to be an authorized user on the associated business account.Transfer Partners
| Rewards Program | Best Uses |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Avios | Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus (Avios.com) rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Redeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know. |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | Monthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel. |
| British Airways Avios | While flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| Emirates Skywards | The best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be steep. See: Emirates Sweet Spot Awards - First class from 30K miles round trip. |
| Hyatt | Use for Hyatt free nights, free suite nights, lounge upgrades, or suite upgrades. Hyatt points are often worth at least 2 cents each, but they’re sometimes worth far more. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. |
| Iberia Avios | On their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| IHG | IHG dynamically prices their awards and sometimes offer very good value. IHG Premier and IHG Premier Business cards offer the fourth night free on award stays. |
| JetBlue | JetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards. |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 5th Night Free awards. Opportunities to get outsized value exist but can be hard to find. |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | Qatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios. |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Use to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines). |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | Award flights are fully refundable. Point values vary due to certain taxes not being charged on awards, but tend to average around 1.5 cents per point. |
| United MileagePlus | United offers free award changes and free cancelations. Like Avianca and Aeroplan, United never charges fuel surcharges for awards. Unfortunately, United charges many more miles for international first class awards. Good uses of miles include United's Excursionist Perk awards and (sometimes) dynamically priced United economy awards. |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Virgin Atlantic offers a few great sweet spot awards including US to Europe on Delta One business class for 50K points one-way. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight). |
Other ways to redeem points
Through the Chase portal you can redeem points for cash back, gift cards, merchandise, or experiences. With this approach you'll usually get 1 cent per point value. One exception is that Chase occasionally offers gift cards at a discount so you may be able to get better than 1 cent per point value during a gift card sale.
You can also use points to pay some merchants directly (Amazon.com, for example or via Chase Pay). Don't do this. These options offer very poor value. Further, they may compromise the security of your account (i.e. if someone hacks into your Amazon account, they might spend your points - causing you a headache in getting your points reinstated).
You can also use points to pay some merchants directly (Amazon.com, for example or via Chase Pay). Don't do this. These options offer very poor value. Further, they may compromise the security of your account (i.e. if someone hacks into your Amazon account, they might spend your points - causing you a headache in getting your points reinstated).
Chase Ink Business Preferred Manage Points
Combine Points Across Cards
If you are the primary account holder with multiple cards, you can freely combine Chase points back and forth between your accounts. Your points can then be redeemed according to the card to which you move them. For example, if you have the no-fee Ink Business Cash card and the ultra-premium Sapphire Reserve card, you can earn 5X points per dollar on office supply purchases (or on gift cards purchased at office supply stores) with the Ink Card and then move those points to your Sapphire Reserve account to redeem them for 1.5 cents per point towards travel.
If you intend to cancel a card that earns Chase points, you should first combine your points with a card you intend to keep active. Once you cancel, you will forfeit any unused points in that account (See: My 90,000 Points mistake). A product change should not affect your balance, but some people prefer moving points before a product change as well just to be safe.
If you intend to cancel a card that earns Chase points, you should first combine your points with a card you intend to keep active. Once you cancel, you will forfeit any unused points in that account (See: My 90,000 Points mistake). A product change should not affect your balance, but some people prefer moving points before a product change as well just to be safe.
Share Points Across Cardholders
Chase allows customers to transfer Chase points to any other account in that customer's name or to one additional household member or joint business owner (for free). You do need to call Chase the first time you transfer points to a different person's account, but once that's been done once, you can transfer more points online in the future.
Why this is valuable:
Why this is valuable:
- You earn points with the card offering the best return on purchases and then use points with the card offering the best redemption rate.
- Only one member of your household needs to maintain a premium card for transferring to partners or booking travel (though note that the primary cardholder can only transfer points to partner loyalty programs in the name of the primary cardholder or authorized users).
How to Keep Points Alive
Thankfully, it is very easy to keep Chase points alive: simply keep the points in an open account and they will not expire. Note that if you close a card that earns Chase points, you will lose any points associated with that card. You should first combine points to move points away from the card you intend to close and to another card that will remain open as per the sharing section above before canceling. See: My 90,000 point mistake. See also: A checklist for cancelling credit cards.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Lifecycle
How to meet minimum spend requirements
Once you are approved for a Chase card, you have three months to meet the required spend in order to get the welcome bonus. Technically, you’re not supposed to use business credit cards for personal purchases, but it is quite common to do so. If you feel comfortable with it, use the new card for all of your usual spend.
If your usual spend isn’t enough, consider using the Plastiq bill pay service to use your card to pay bills that can’t usually be paid by credit card (rent, mortgage, contractors, etc.). Click here to find many more options for increasing credit card spend.
If your usual spend isn’t enough, consider using the Plastiq bill pay service to use your card to pay bills that can’t usually be paid by credit card (rent, mortgage, contractors, etc.). Click here to find many more options for increasing credit card spend.
Keep, cancel, or product change?
Is this card worth keeping in the long run? If you get a lot of value from the card’s 3X send categories, then it probably is worth it. Otherwise, consider product changing to the no-annual-fee Ink Business Cash (for its 5X categories), of the no-annual-fee Ink Business Unlimited (to earn 1.5X for all spend).
Given that it’s possible to switch to an annual fee-free card, there’s little reason to outright cancel this one. If you decide to cancel anyway, make sure to first redeem any remaining points or move them to another card.
Related Cards
Business Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
Consumer Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
Has anyone had experience with purchase protection on this card? I bought a pair of light pants and spilled some stuff on them that doesn’t come out even with dry cleaning… The pants were around 300 euros and it happened within a month of purchase. However, apparently you need to file a claim with your homeowner/renter’s insurance first (for soiled pants?!), jump through lots of hoops and then ship them the item at your own expense. Any data points or experiences/advice would be appreciated
I was thinking of product changing my ink Preferred (had for many years) to the ink cash and then applying for the new signup bonus. Is there anything I have to do to make sure I don’t lose my UR points? Once I product change I will have 2 ink cash and 1 ink unlimited so I am not sure if they will allow me to retain my UR points. Thank you.
Myself (P1) opened this card (for the 2nd time–first time was a couple years ago and I product changed to no fee ink card). my AF is due in a month. P2 opened this card earlier this year (also her 2nd one–first time also a couple years ago and product changed). we’re sitting on a good stash of UR points (some in mine, some in hers with ability to move back and forth). Is it worth it for me to renew my card and pay the AF? I have no other premiere card in order to redeem my UR as miles if I downgrade this card. Of course I can just move my points to P2 account and have her redeem my UR putting it into her mileage accounts or I can open myself an AU account under her current Ink so I can redeem UR points under my mileage accounts. She will be in the same situation next Jan 2023 when her AF is due. obviously we’ll need to keep one premiere account open to redeem miles somehow.
BTW, what do you do when you churn these cards and keep downgrading to the NF Ink cards? I already have several “duplicate” Ink NF Business cards that are redundant. just keep them open? Keep one of each class of Ink card open and close the duplicates?
Just not sure if closing my account then opening an AU account under my wifes biz ink (which I presume doesn’t count toward 5/24 since it’s business) would set off some flags with chase as gaming the system. Not sure if it’s better to just take the $95 hit to keep the card open. I’m just finishing up doing my Chase Aeroplan and will likely need to renew that card next year with another $95 AF because I’m not sure I can use up those certs within the next year before the AF hits.
I filed for a Chase business card, and it is in some process as they ask me some clarification.
However, the automatic response number (888) 338-2586 is not aware of any application under my SSN.
Is that “normal”?
Sorry for the late reply. No, that’s not normal. Did you ever get a resolution?
Using “1” as the “number of employees” for a card where you sign up as yourself (presumably as a Sole Proprietorship) is almost certainly not correct. An employee means you have a EIN, pay wages, pay FICA, and all those other things which are independent of whether or not it is the owner or not. So if you own the company AND you are an employee of that company (those things are NOT dependent on each other) then put 1, else put 0.
You might not technically be an employee based on IRS terminology, but the point of that question is to ask how many people work at your business. If it’s just you, then the answer is 1
Hi! I have the old Ink Business Plus card (5x at office supply stores). Can I apply for the Ink Business Preferred card and get the 100k bonus w/o cancelling my Ink Business Plus? Thank you!
Yep!
My husband and I have Ink Business Plus cards for years, now I just started my own business, wonder if I can qualify for this sign up bonus if I use my business to apply for this Ink Business Preferred card. Any thoughts?
Yes, you can do that.
[…] Ink Business Preferred […]
[…] my case, we have long paid our cell phone bill with my wife’s Chase Ink Business Preferred card. That card only offers 3x points for our cell phone bill (my no-longer-available Ink Plus card […]
[…] Plus card has the highest value of all personal cards, while only the 100,000 point offer on the Chase Ink Business Preferred card has a higher first year value on any […]
Hi Nick. Do you remember when it went up to 100,000 for $15K spend and/or have any idea when it might change (based on history)? MS is not strong where I live and $15K is probably above me. Wondering if I should wait for a reduced spend offer or apply for the $500 cashback on the Ink Business Unlimited (already have Ink Cash and Ink Business Plus). Thanks, and happy new baby!!
Stepping in to answer for Nick. Thanks about the new baby 🙂
I’m not sure when the offer changed, but I don’t think it matters. The current offer seems to be the new normal for the IBP. They might do a better offer at some point in the future, but I wouldn’t necessarily expect it to happen. I’d go for the Unlimited if I were you.
[…] to move points to airline and hotel partners. That said, many would be better off with either the Chase Ink Business Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve, both of which would serve the same function. The Sapphire Reserve […]
The terms state: “Chase cardmembers who currently have or have had a Chase credit card in any Rewards Program associated with this offer, may not be eligible for a second Chase credit card in the same Rewards Program. Chase cardmembers currently receiving promotional pricing, or Chase cardmembers with a history of only using their current or prior Chase card for promotional pricing offers, are not eligible for a second Chase credit card with promotional pricing.”
Does that mean that anyone who has, or has ever had, an Ultimate Rewards card “may not be eligible”?
Your guess is as good as mine as to what those terms mean (or were intended to mean). They certainly don’t enforce any limit like that. My best guess is that they’re simply leaving the door open to allow them to withhold bonuses from people that they believe are opening cards over and over just for the bonuses. I’ve never heard of them enforcing this though.
Thank you for the reply.
Approaching My 1 year anniv ($95 AF) with the ink business preferred. Plan on downgrading/product changing. Any recommendations on a fee free card I should product change to? I also just opened up a sapphire preferred personal card. For my UR that are currently tied to my business ink card, do I need to “transfer” those to the sapphire preferred card, or will they “transfer” to whatever card I product change my ink business card to? When I spoke to chase, they said I can product change my ink business card to : “business unlimited card” or “business cash card”. it wasn’t clear to me which is better. I presume any signup bonus associated with either of these cards I will NOT receive if I do a product change
Yup, those are your options and both earn Ultimate Rewards points and no you don’t need to move your points before downgrading — you’ll keep those points and be able to move them to your Sapphire Preferred the same as you do today. You can find details of both cards under the “related cards” section right here on this page, but to summarize:
Chase Ink Business Cash = 5x office supply stores and cell / landline / cable on up to $25K in purchases per year. 2x gas and restaurants.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited = 1.5x everywhere (basically the same thing as the Freedom Unlimited card, though there were some enhancements to the Freedom Unlimited announced today that will now make that card better than the business version).
As to which is better, there isn’t a clear answer. Both are excellent no-fee cards. If you spend a lot at office supply stores, the Chase Ink Cash card is a clear winner (This is what makes those fee-free Visa Gift Card deals at Staples and Office Max so popular — this week you can buy up to five $200 cards per day with no activation fee. That’s $1K in spend that produces 5K Ultimate Rewards points). That bonus category is capped at $25K in spend per year, but that’s potentially 125K points per year at 5x. I’d also say to go with an Ink Cash if you already have a Freedom Unlimited since the Freedom Unlimited offers the same 1.5x everywhere and will soon offer additional bonus categories.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a Freedom Unlimited and don’t intend to open one, and if you’re not interested in the 5x earning at office supply stores, getting the 1.5x everywhere on the Ink Business Unlimited would make for a good “everywhere else” option.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks Nick. I assume the signup bonuses offered on both those cards (50K after $3K spend in 3 months) will NOT be eligible to individuals who are product changing.
Assuming NO, then will I never be eligible for those signup bonuses because I’m already a holder of that card? Or does a product change not register in chase system as having previously applied. (e.g. do i need to eventually cancel and then wait 12-24 mos before applying to get the signup bonus in the future)?
1) Correct that you get no new cardmember bonus when you’re product changing. You need to apply to get the new account offer.
2) You’re confusing Chase and Amex. Amex has the lifetime rule. Chase personal cards typically lock you out of a bonus for 24 months after receiving a new cardmember bonus (not 24 months from having the card – 24 months from getting the bonus). The same rule doesn’t apply on the business side. It is possible to apply new for an Ink card that you currently have, especially if you have a second business.
See this post for more: https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-sign-up-for-chase-ink-cards/
If I miss out on the sign up bonus, then I wonder whether it’s worth it to product change at all, or just cancel the ink card? I’m at 3/24 now so have room for a couple more cards. Chase UR seems like a good flexible currency for the airlines I like and since I already have the ink business preferred and the sapphire preferred, seems like getting both the cards(Ink business cash, ink business unlimited) to round out my 5/24 would be a good choice and net me 50k+50k UR points (the sapphire reserve isn’t worth the $550 AF to me).
question is, how hard is it now to get a business card with chase? my spouse tried for the ink business preferred a couple a mos ago and was denied (despite having been approved for the same card 2ya). If my chances are slim, then I can product change to one of these cards and apply for a consumer UR card, which at this time seems like the Freedom Unlimited is the best bet (albeit a “low” offer of 20k UR (vs the 50k for the above biz cards).
Very hard to get a Chase business card in the current environment.
I’d product change it and either get one of the Freedom cards (keep in mind that the Freedom Unlimited offers 5x at grocery stores on up to $12K in the first year, so the total bonus is worth more than just the 20K after $500 spend if you intend to use the card on groceries).
The long-term play would be to open another Chase Ink Business Preferred if you can swing the spending requirement ($15K) given that the welcome bonus on that is 100K vs 50K on the other two Ink cards.
Downgrading won’t lock you out of anything. I wouldn’t cancel.
To clarify, I’d product change the Ink Business Preferred to a Chase Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited and then either apply for a Freedom Unlimited or the soon-to-launch Freedom Flex and then look to apply for a new Chase Ink Business Preferred if the world returns to normalish in six or nine months.
Thanks Nick. Appreciate your fast replies and your wealth of knowledge! Especially since I know you’re up late.
[…] husband picked up the $95 per year Chase Ink Business Preferred card early this year. This card consistently offers one of the best welcome bonuses around, but its […]
Hi there… I have been a fan for many years. I think it is important to point out that Chase has become a lot more strict with their Ink approvals. I have been a long time customer of Chase and I applied for an Ink Preferred card and was declined because I put sales of only $25k and 1 year in business. The reconsideration line would not budge, and they kept saying the reason was due to lack of business history and insufficient sales. This was a sole prop application and my 15 history with Chase is impeccable to go along with my 828 credit score. I only have 2 apps over past 2 years so 5/24 rule a non issue.. Obviously this was disappointing.
I then spoke to my friend who is a banker at Chase and he said he would’ve been shocked if I got an approval since they are becoming way more strict now with Ink cards. He said that with the pandemic and uncertainty of small businesses they are cracking down a lot. Just thought you should know… Thanks!
Thanks Edward. You’re absolutely right. We wrote about this back in April: https://frequentmiler.com/chase-tightening-up-on-business-cards/
We’ll add this info to our credit card display to make it known to those who missed that article.