Best No Annual Fee Chase Business Card: Ink Cash Vs. Ink Unlimited

Link: Apply now for the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Chase’s portfolio of Ink & Sapphire business cards is among the best business credit cards you’ll find from any issuer. In particular, there are two great no annual fee options that are lucrative — the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (review) and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (review).

These cards complement the more “premium” Chase business cards. For example, there’s the $795 annual fee Sapphire Reserve for Business^SM (review), which has strong perks, and could be worth picking up. There’s also the $95 annual fee Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review), which I’d consider to be one of the most well-rounded business cards.

In this post, I’d like to compare the two no annual fee cards in the portfolio, and discuss which is the better option, if you’re trying to decide between them. These cards have excellent welcome offers, especially for no annual fee products.

Ink Cash & Ink Unlimited business card similarities

The Ink Business Cash Card and Ink Business Unlimited Card have a lot in common, including:

• Both cards have no annual fee
• Both cards offer excellent purchase protection, extended warranty protection, and rental car coverage for business rentals
• Both cards have points that can be pooled with those earned on premium Chase cards, including the Sapphire Reserve for Business^SM (review), Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review), Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review), and Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review)

Ink Cash & Ink Unlimited business card differences

The major difference between the Ink Business Cash Card and Ink Business Unlimited Card are the welcome bonuses and rewards structures. While the cards earn the same kinds of points, the bonuses and rewards structures differ.

The cards have the following welcome bonuses (which are for the same amount, but are just structured differently):

• The Ink Business Unlimited Card has a welcome bonus of 75,000 points after spending $6,000 within the first three months
• The Ink Business Cash Card has a welcome bonus of up to 75,000 points — earn 35,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first three months, and an additional 40,000 points after spending a total of $6,000 within the first six months

Then when it comes to rewards structures, the Ink Business Unlimited Card offers a flat 1.5x points on all purchases, making it one of the best cards for everyday spending.

Meanwhile the Ink Business Cash Card has some bonus categories, which certain cardmembers might find to be valuable, as the card offers:

• 5x points on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on office supply stores, internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines
• 2x points on the first $25,000 of combined purchases per cardmember year on restaurants and gas stations
• 1x points on all other purchases

As you can see, which card is better depends heavily on which types of purchases you spend the most on. If you spend a lot in categories that don’t otherwise earn bonus points, then earning 1.5x points per dollar spent is an excellent return.

If you spend a lot in categories that would otherwise qualify for one of the 2x or 5x points categories, then the Ink Cash is a fantastic choice.

To crunch the numbers a bit further, I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each (which I’ll explain in more detail below), so that means the return on these cards is potentially as follows:

• The Ink Business Unlimited offers ~2.55% of value on all spending
• The Ink Business Cash offers ~8.5% of value in the 5x points categories, 3.4% of value in the 2x points categories, and 1.7% of value on all other spending

Based on how much you value these points and how much you spend on the card per year, you can hopefully decide which makes the most sense for your business.

The no annual fee Chase Ink business card I’d choose

The beauty of Chase Ink cards is that you can apply for each of the Chase Ink cards, and even earn the bonuses on each card (even if you have a sole proprietorship). So you don’t have to decide between them, because many people (including me) have three or four of them. As a matter of fact, you can pick up the same card for multiple businesses, should you have more than one.

Personally, I’d pick up both of the cards, so that you can earn the welcome bonuses and take advantage of their unique advantages when it comes to spending. These are great no annual fee complements. Why earn just 2-5x points on bonus categories, or 1.5x points on everyday spending, when you can have both?

But if I could choose just one card, which would I choose? Personally, based on the long term value proposition, I’d probably lean toward the Ink Business Cash Card. That’s because the bonus points categories offered by the card are unique, and can’t be found on any other cards. Earning 5x points in select categories is potentially incredibly valuable. Meanwhile I’d only choose the Ink Business Unlimited Card if it’s the card I intended to use for everyday spending.

I’d say that while the Ink Business Unlimited offers an excellent return, it also has more substitutes among business cards that have a great return on everyday spending:

• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review) has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), and offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (after that 1x)
• The Capital One Venture X Business (review) has a $395 annual fee, and offers 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent
• The Capital One Spark Cash Plus (review) has a $150 annual fee, and offers a flat 2% cash back, with further bonuses for big spenders
• The Capital One Spark Miles for Business (review) has a $0 intro for first year; $95 after that, and offers 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent

As you can see, there are several great cards offering a solid return on spending.

Maximizing no annual fee Chase Ink business card points

Up until this point, I’ve referred to the rewards earned on these cards just as “points,” and that’s because there’s a trick to maximizing their value. Chase Ink Cash and Chase Ink Unlimited points can typically be redeemed for one cent each, so on the most basic level, these can be viewed as cash back cards.

This is where there’s a trick that can greatly increase the value of your Chase Ink Cash or Chase Ink Unlimited points. 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 Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, Sapphire Reserve Business Card, and Ink Business Preferred Card.

If you have the Chase Ink Cash or Chase Ink Unlimited in conjunction with one of those cards, you can then transfer all your points to one of the Ultimate Rewards airline or hotel partners, and that can get you way more than one cent of value per point. You can find all the transfer partners below.

Bottom line

Personally, I think there’s huge value in having all three Chase Ink cards — the Ink Business Unlimited, Ink Business Cash, and Ink Business Preferred. You can get all of them, and they beautifully complement one another. If you value lounge access and other perks, there’s also value to throwing the Sapphire Reserve Business into the mix.

However, if you only want to pick up one of the two no annual fee cards, I do think the Ink Cash offers bonus categories that are unique. I still think the Ink Unlimited is an excellent option for everyday spending. However, there are a few other cards out there that offer a similar return on spending, so the card isn’t as unique.

Which of the Chase Ink business cards do you think is most valuable?

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).