Link: Apply now for the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card with 75,000 points ($750 cash back)
There are lots of businesses that leave rewards on the table by not using the most rewarding business credit cards. In this post I wanted to take an in-depth look at the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card — this is a credit card that I personally have, and it’s one that I love.
Of Chase’s excellent collection of Ink business cards — including the Cash, Preferred, and Unlimited — the Ink Cash is the card with the biggest bonus categories, and which can potentially earn you huge amounts of Ultimate Rewards points.
Much like with the Chase Ink Unlimited, there’s a trick to maximizing the rewards you earn on this card, though. The “Cash” part of the card’s name can be deceiving, since you’ll get the most value out of the card by not choosing to earn cash as your reward.
In this post:
Chase Ink Business Cash Basics For November 2024
There are so many great reasons to get the Chase Ink Business Cash, from the fact it has no annual fee, to its excellent welcome bonus, to the valuable purchase protection it offers. While some credit cards are straightforward, the Chase Ink Cash requires you to know what you’re doing. But if you do know what you’re doing, this card will prove hugely useful.
Chase Ink Cash Bonus: $750 Or 75,000 Points
At the moment, the Chase Ink Business Cash is offering a two-part welcome bonus of up to 75,000 bonus points (or $750 cash back):
- Earn 35,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 within the first three months
- Earn an additional 40,000 bonus points after spending a total of $6,000 within the first six months
On top of that, the card is offering a 10% Business Relationship Bonus if you have this card plus a Chase Business Checking account on your first card anniversary. You’ll earn that 10% bonus from all the points earned, except those from the welcome offer.
75,000 bonus points is an awesome offer for a no annual fee card. While that’s worth a minimum of $750 in travel, you can also potentially convert those rewards into full Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transfered to airline and hotel partners. Since I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, that’s like $1,275 worth of value. That doesn’t account for the 10% Business Relationship Bonus you can earn.
Are You Eligible For Chase Ink Cards?
Chase has multiple business credit cards in the “Ink” lineup, and you’re eligible for each of the cards, and can even earn the welcome bonuses on each of them. For example, I have three different Chase Ink cards.
Do be aware of the general rules when applying for Chase business credit cards, including the 5/24 rule. With Chase’s 5/24 rule you typically won’t be approved for a Chase card if you’ve opened five or more new card accounts in the past 24 months (business cards generally don’t count toward that limit).
Chase Ink Cash No Annual Fee
The Chase Ink Business Cash has no annual fee. This is a card that you can keep long term, and it won’t cost you anything.
0% Intro APR With Chase Ink Cash
The Chase Ink Business Cash offers 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months. You’ll want to pay that off within that time period, though, because after that the variable APR is 17.99% - 25.99%.
While this isn’t something I personally value, I know that it’s something a lot of businesses do appreciate, especially while growing.
Chase Ink Cash Rewards: Up To 5% Cash Back Or 5x Points
What really sets the Chase Ink Business Cash apart is the incredible points earning rates that the card offers. The Chase Ink Cash offers 2-5% cash back (or 2-5x points) in select bonus categories:
- 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
Those are potentially some really awesome bonus categories — there are plenty of businesses that spend a lot on things like internet, cable TV, mobile phones, office supplies, etc. Below I’ll get into more details on how you can earn either cash back or points with the Chase Ink Cash.
Chase Ink Cash Cardmember Year Definition
There’s an annual cap on Chase Ink Cash bonus categories, of $25,000 of combined purchases in the 5% and 2% categories.
For those of you not familiar with the cardmember year term, this is different than a calendar year. That means the Chase Ink Cash bonus cap resets on your account anniversary, which is 12 months from when you opened your card.
Chase Ink Cash 3% Foreign Transaction Fees
While the Chase Ink Cash Card is a top notch card for purchases within the United States, the card does have 3% foreign transaction fees, so I don’t recommend using this card for purchases abroad. If you’re looking for a similar card with no foreign transaction fees, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
Get More Value With The Chase Ink Business Cash
The Chase Ink Business Cash is marketed as offering cash back. As you can see, the card offers anywhere from 1-5% cash back, depending on the category that you’re spending money in. Earning 5% cash back on purchases is excellent, while earning 1% cash back isn’t nearly as exciting.
But if you value points similarly to how I do, there’s a way to increase the value of all of your rewards by 25-70%. This makes the bonus categories offered by the Chase Ink Cash particularly exceptional.
How To Convert Cash Into Ultimate Rewards Points
The Chase Ink Business Cash is marketed as being a cash back card, though in reality the card earns points. As mentioned above, you can earn 1.5x points per dollar spent, and then you can ordinarily redeem each point for one cent cash back. That’s how Chase arrived at the valuation of 1-5% cash back with this card.
Fortunately there’s a trick to greatly increasing the value of your Chase Ink Cash rewards. If you have the Ink Business Cash 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 (review)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review)
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review)
If you have the Chase Ink Cash in conjunction with one of those cards, suddenly your points are much more valuable, and can be redeemed as follows through the Chase Travel portal:
- If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, points can be redeemed for 1.25 cents each toward a travel purchase
- If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, points can be redeemed for 1.5 cents each toward a travel purchase
That increases the value of your rewards by 25-50% right there, and you can potentially get even more value out of your points by transferring them to one of the Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners, which include the following:
Airline Partners | Hotel Partners |
|---|---|
IHG One Rewards | |
United MileagePlus | |
Transferring points between Chase cards is easy and can be done online.
Chase Ink Business Cash Card Benefits
The Chase Ink Business Cash offers an incredible welcome bonus and generous rewards structure, especially for a no annual fee card. On top of that, there are some other perks that are potentially quite valuable.
Chase Ink Cash Rental Car Coverage
The Chase Ink Business Cash offers primary auto rental collision damage waiver (CDW) coverage. This is valid when renting globally for business purposes, and you just have to decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. See this post for more details on the Ink Business Cash CDW benefit.
Chase Ink Cash Extended Warranty Protection
The Ink Business Cash offers an extended warranty protection program, where you can extend the time period of the United States manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less. See this post for more details on the Ink Business Cash extended warranty protection.
Is The Chase Ink Business Cash Right For You?
The Chase Ink Business Cash is one of the most rewarding business credit cards out there. The key is that I wouldn’t recommend using this as your primary business credit card for everyday spending. Rather use this as a complement to your overall card portfolio.
The 5x points categories on the Chase Ink Cash are really spectacular, so use those as much as possible. In conjunction with Ultimate Rewards, I value the 5x points at a return of 8.5%.
The other thing that’s amazing about the Chase Ink Business Cash is the welcome bonus — earning $750 cash back or 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points for a no annual fee card is simply incredible.
Complement The Chase Ink Cash With Other Ink Cards
In many ways the best complements to the Ink Business Cash are the two other Chase Ink cards that can earn points — the Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Unlimited:
- You can earn the welcome bonuses on all three cards
- The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (review) also has no annual fee, and offers 1.5x points on all purchases, so it’s the best Ink Card for everyday, non-bonused spending
- The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review) has a $95 annual fee, and offers 3x points on the first $150,000 spent each cardmember year on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines, and it’s probably the single best business credit card out there, in my opinion
One smart strategy could be to use the Chase Ink Cash for the 2-5x points bonus categories, and then use Chase the Ink Unlimited for the 1.5x points on non-bonused spending.
Bottom Line
The Chase Ink Business Cash is an incredible business credit card. It has no annual fee, some phenomenal bonus categories, valuable perks like rental car protection, and a fantastic welcome bonus of up to 75,000 points plus a 10% relationship bonus. If you’re eligible for the card then I’d highly recommend applying, especially if you spend a lot in the bonus categories that the card offers.
If you’re looking for a card that’s really well-rounded for your everyday business spending, consider the Chase Ink Business Unlimited, which offers 1.5x points on all purchases. Lastly, the Chase Ink Business Preferred is one of the most well-rounded business credit cards out there, in my opinion.
Actually, the anniversary date for the ink cash cards begins the day after the anniversary of your first statement after you opened the card. Per Chase terms: "When it comes to the anniversary year, annual means the year beginning with the account open date through the first statement after the anniversary of your account open date, and each twelve billing cycles thereafter." I learned this after not getting bonus points on certain purchase last year...
Actually, the anniversary date for the ink cash cards begins the day after the anniversary of your first statement after you opened the card. Per Chase terms: "When it comes to the anniversary year, annual means the year beginning with the account open date through the first statement after the anniversary of your account open date, and each twelve billing cycles thereafter." I learned this after not getting bonus points on certain purchase last year when I thought I would, believing incorrectly that the anniversary date was the card opening date. Not the clearest language, but I saved the letter I received when I asked why the extra points didn't post.