Ink Cash Vs. Ink Unlimited: How I’d Choose Between Chase’s No Annual Fee Business Cards

Chase offers two no annual fee cards in its excellent collection of Ink business cards: the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. On paper the two look nearly identical, with the same annual fee (none), the same welcome bonus, and the same trick for turning cash back into Ultimate Rewards points. The real difference is how each card earns rewards, and that’s where the choice gets interesting.

I personally have both cards, and in my wallet they aren’t competitors so much as two halves of the same strategy. Still, if I were starting from scratch and could only pick one, the decision would come down to a few specific questions about where my spending actually goes. Deciding between the two is also more relevant than in the past, given that nowadays you can typically only earn the welcome bonus on one card or the other, and that’s definitely a major motivator in applying for cards.

The Ink Cash wins if your business spends meaningfully on internet, phone services, cable, or office supplies, since 5x points earning on a no annual fee card is unmatched. The Ink Unlimited wins if your spending is spread across lots of categories, since 1.5x points on everything beats the Ink Cash’s 1x points base rate. Personally, the Ink Cash gets my monthly phone bill and office supply spending, while I don’t spend much on the Ink Unlimited, but that’s not to say it doesn’t make sense for others.

In this post, I’d like to walk through the math behind that, plus talk about an eligibility wrinkle you should understand before applying for either card.

Links: Learn more about the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, each with a $1,000 welcome bonus

What the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited have in common

Before getting to the differences, it’s worth being clear about how much the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited share in common, because it’s most of the value proposition.

The same $1,000 welcome bonus (100,000 points)

Both cards currently offer an identical welcome bonus, whereby you can earn $1,000 bonus cash back after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first four months from account opening. These are best-ever offers on the card — I’m not just saying that they match the best offers we’ve seen in the past, but they actually exceed them.

Getting a bonus this huge on a no annual fee card is quite literally unheard of. While the welcome bonuses are marketed as offering cash back, in conjunction with the right cards, these can be turned into full Ultimate Rewards points, and I value those at 1.7 cents each. So I’d consider each of these cards to have a bonus worth a staggering $1,700. That’s unbelievable for a no annual fee card.

No annual fee on either card

Getting a no annual fee card that’s super rewarding is rare, especially when you consider the value of the welcome bonus. That applies equally to both cards here. The Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are cards that you can keep long term, and they won’t cost you anything.

The same cash back to points trick

Both the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are marketed as cash back cards, and the “cash” framing doesn’t tell the full story. In reality, the cards earn points, and each point can ordinarily be redeemed for one cent cash back. That’s how Chase arrives at the cash back valuations for both cards.

Fortunately there’s a trick to greatly increasing the value of those rewards. If you have either card in conjunction with another card that earns “premium” Ultimate Rewards points, then you can do significantly better. These cards include the following:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more)
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (learn more)
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more)
• Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more)

If you have one of those cards, suddenly your points are much more valuable. Not only can they potentially be redeemed at an advantageous rate through Chase Travel℠ using the Points Boost feature, but they can also be transfefred to one of the Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners, which include the below.

I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me that increases the value of the points earned on these cards by 70%. Transferring points between Chase cards is easy and can be done online.

3% foreign transaction fees on both cards

Both the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are useful for purchases within the United States, but have 3% foreign transaction fees, so I don’t recommend using either card for purchases abroad. If you’re looking for a similar card with no foreign transaction fees, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

How the Ink Cash earns: capped 5x and 2x points categories

What really sets the Ink Business Cash apart is the incredible points earning rates that the card offers:

• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 5% cash back (or 5x points) on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on office supply stores, internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines
• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 2% cash back (or 2x points) on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on restaurants and gas stations
• The Ink Business Cash Card offers 1% cash back (or 1x points) on all other purchases

Note that the caps are per cardmember year, which is different than a calendar year. The bonus cap resets on your account anniversary, which is 12 months from when you opened your card.

In conjunction with a card that unlocks the full value of Ultimate Rewards points, I value the 5x points categories at a return of 8.5%. To put the cap in dollar terms, if you max out $25,000 of spending at 5x points, that’s 125,000 points, worth $2,125 at my 1.7 cent valuation. Every year. On a card with no annual fee. There’s no other no fee business card that comes close in these categories.

The trade-off is the base rate: outside the bonus categories, you’re earning 1x points, which isn’t competitive. For more details on the card, see my full review of the Ink Business Cash.

How the Ink Unlimited earns: 1.5x points on everything

The Ink Business Unlimited offers 1.5x points on all business purchases, with no limits. This is a straightforward rewards structure, so there’s no need to focus on bonus categories.

On the surface, unlimited 1.5% cash back isn’t actually that good, since there are other cards that earn 2% cash back. The trick is converting that into 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent. I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so suddenly you’re going from a return of 1.5% to a return of 2.55%, by my valuation. If you’re earning 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent, I consider this to be the best Chase business card for everyday spending.

In dollar terms, $50,000 of unbonused spending at 1.5x earns 75,000 points, worth $1,275 at my valuation. The same spending on the Ink Cash at 1x earns 50,000 points, worth $850. That gap is the whole argument for the Ink Unlimited. For more details, see my full review of the Ink Business Unlimited.

Ink Cash vs. Ink Unlimited: Where each card wins

Since the bonuses, fees, and points ecosystem are identical, the comparison really comes down to running your own spending through each card’s earning structure:

• Internet, cable, phone services, and office supplies (up to $25,000 per cardmember year): the Ink Cash earns 5x points and the Ink Unlimited earns 1.5x points. If you max that out (not that most people will), that’s 125,000 points versus 37,500 points, or $2,125 versus $637.50 at my valuation. This isn’t close.
• Restaurants and gas stations (up to $25,000 per cardmember year): the Ink Cash earns 2x points and the Ink Unlimited earns 1.5x points. The Ink Cash wins, though by a smaller margin.
• Everything else: the Ink Unlimited earns 1.5x points and the Ink Cash earns 1x points. For a business with spending that doesn’t fit neatly into bonus categories, this is where the Unlimited comes out way ahead.
• Purchases abroad: neither card is good, given the 3% foreign transaction fees on both cards.

The welcome bonus eligibility wrinkle

Here’s the part that might impact your strategy if you’re thinking about eventually getting both the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited. If you look at the offer terms for either card, you’ll see the following rules:

The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you have ever had this card or any other Chase for Business card without an annual fee. We may also consider factors pertinent to your business in determining your bonus eligibility.

As you can see, officially this means that you may not be eligible for the Ink Cash bonus if you have another no annual fee Chase business card, like the Ink Unlimited, and vice versa. However, you are eligible if you have any other Chase business card, including the Ink Preferred or Sapphire Reserve Business.

Now, it’s worth noting the word “may” in the terms, which is to say that you could be eligible if you’ve had the other card in the past, but it’s no guarantee. Generally if you’re not eligible for a bonus, you’ll receive a warning during the application process.

So my assumption would generally be that you have to choose between the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited when it comes to earning the bonuses (though you can always apply for one of the cards and just forgo the bonus).

If you want to be approved for a Chase Ink card, there are some general restrictions to be aware of:

• These cards are subjected to Chase’s “5/24 rule,” meaning you typically won’t be approved if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months (many business card applications don’t count toward that limit); that being said, there are increasingly data points that this is no longer enforced, so it seems to be a case of “your mileage may vary”
• You can apply for either card if you have a corporation or a sole proprietorship; many people don’t realize that a sole proprietorship makes you eligible for a business card
• While there’s no hard limit to how many Chase credit cards you can have, there is often a limit to how much total credit Chase will extend you
• Generally, I recommend only applying for one Chase business card every 30 days at most

Benefits: nearly identical protections

If you’re hoping the perks will break the tie between the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited, they won’t. The two cards carry essentially the same protections, which are unusually good for no annual fee cards.

Rental car coverage

Both cards offer an auto rental collision damage waiver. Per the current guide to benefits, here’s how the coverage works:

• In the United States, coverage is primary when the vehicle is rented for business purposes; for personal rentals, coverage is secondary to your other insurance (and acts as primary if you have no personal auto insurance or other coverage)
• Outside the United States, where the benefit is available, coverage is primary

To take advantage of this, decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Prior to renting, you should check with the benefits administrator (call the number on the back of your card) to verify your coverage. There aren’t many no annual fee cards offering rental car coverage, so I think that’s pretty remarkable.

Purchase and travel protections

Beyond rental coverage, both cards offer the following protections:

• Purchase protection for up to 120 days against damage or theft
• Extended warranty protection, extending eligible United States manufacturer’s warranties of three years or less by an additional year
• Baggage delay insurance, reimbursing emergency purchases of essential personal items (think toiletries, a change of clothes, chargers) when checked baggage is delayed more than six hours, at up to $100 per day for up to three days

Note that neither card offers trip cancellation or interruption coverage, so don’t count on these cards for that. You’ll want to read the cardmember agreement for exact terms, but these benefits have the potential to be extremely valuable.

How I’d choose: one card, both, or neither

With all of that on the table, let me share the framework I’d actually use for deciding between the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited.

Get the Ink Cash if…

• Your business has real spending on internet, phone services, cable, or office supplies; even a modest monthly phone and internet bill at 5x points adds up fast
• You already have a card for everyday spending and want a card with strong bonus categories to add to the mix

Get the Ink Unlimited if…

• Your spending is spread out, without a dominant category, and you want one card that earns respectably on everything
• You want the simplest possible setup: one card, 1.5x points, no caps to track

Get both if…

If your spending covers both profiles, the cards complement each other perfectly. Use the bonus categories on the Ink Cash, and put everything else on the Ink Unlimited, while building up your points balance. That’s exactly how I’d use them.

The one caveat is the bonus eligibility language above, which may limit you to earning one of the two welcome bonuses, so choose your first card based on which earning structure matters more to you.

Skip both if…

If most of your business spending happens abroad, the 3% foreign transaction fees rule both cards out. Instead, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.

If you’d rather earn transferable points without buying into the Chase ecosystem, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (learn more) has no annual fee (Rates & Fees) and offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent each calendar year (and 1x points after that). Personally I have that card as well.

For pure cash back, it’s tough to go wrong with The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (learn more), which has no annual fee (Rates & Fees) and offers 2% cash back on the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year, 1% thereafter.

Bottom line

The Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited are two of the most rewarding no annual fee business cards out there, and the choice between them is really a question about your spending. The Ink Cash is all about the bonus categories, with 5x points categories that I value at an 8.5% return. The Ink Unlimited is more about everyday spending, earning what I value as a 2.55% return on everything.

Both currently offer massive, best-ever $1,000 welcome bonuses, both convert into full Ultimate Rewards points alongside a premium Chase card, and both are cards you can keep forever at no cost.

I have both cards, though admittedly I picked them up at a time when you could earn the bonus on both. While you can still apply for both cards nowadays, you can generally only earn the bonus on one card. If you’re picking just one card, look at your spending patterns, and decide which card will be more rewarding for your profile.

Do you have the Ink Business Cash, the Ink Business Unlimited, or both? What has your experience been?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (Rates & Fees).