Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card Review

This card is for business owners seeking a no-annual-fee card with a high rate of rewards on common business expenses such as office supplies, telecommunications, dining out, and gas. With the right kind of spending, you could earn several thousand dollars in cash back the first year alone. 

Chase Ink Business Cash could also be a good fit if you already have another Chase Ultimate Rewards travel card. Transferring points earned with this card to one of those cards would give you a variety of more valuable ways to use points for travel that you don’t have with this card on its own.

• Sizable bonus for new cardholders: Compared to other no-annual-fee business credit cards, this has one of the highest new-cardholder bonuses at $500. Right now comparable cards only offer you $200 or $300 for spending a similar amount shortly after opening an account. 
• Superior rewards earning rate on business purchases: You’ll earn one of the highest cash-back earning rates we’ve seen for a cash-back business card: 5% at office supply stores, and on internet, cable, and phone services (up to $25,000 spent annually). This card offers a decent cash-back earning rate on gas stations and restaurant purchases, too. 
• Competitive 0% purchase APR offer: If you need to make a large purchase for your business and pay it off over time, the Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card can save you interest charges for a full year. Compared to other no-annual-fee business cards offering no-interest purchase deals, 12 months is on the longer end of the spectrum.

• Earning caps limit your rewards: This card’s top-earning categories limit cash-back rewards to just the first $25,000 on eligible purchases each year. After you hit the spending caps, you’ll only earn 1% on all those common business expenses, gas, and dining out. This can really hinder how much cash back you can earn—especially if your business spends a lot in these areas. 
• Rewards can’t be directly transferred to partner loyalty programs: While you can use points to book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal with this card, you can’t transfer your points to Chase airline and hotel partners unless you first transfer them to another Chase travel card connected to the bank rewards program. Point transfers can often boost the value of your rewards so this is inconvenient if that redemption interests you. 
• Foreign transaction fee: There are more than a dozen similar business cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees, or charge less. If you travel internationally for business or need to purchase from international vendors often, using this card comes with an added cost.

The Chase Ink Business Credit Card’s bonus for new cardholders is generous compared to other similar card offers. You can earn 50,000 points worth $500 by spending $3,000 on your card within three months of account opening. That’s $200-$300 more than what other similar business cards are offering right now. 

This card offers a few different reward earning rates, depending on what you spend. The categories can make a lot of sense if your business spending aligns with its bonus categories, too. First, you’ll earn 5% back on up to $25,000 in combined spending at office supply stores and on cable, internet, and phone service purchases each year. You’ll also earn 2% back on up to $25,000 in combined spending at restaurants and gas stations each year, and 1% back on everything else. Note that the cash back will be issued in the form of Ultimate Rewards points.

If you max out both of the top-earning categories, you’ll earn $1,750 of cash back plus the $500 new cardholder bonus, for a total of $2,250 cash back. And that’s not factoring in any other purchases that earn 1% back. 

However, this card might not be as useful if you don’t have business lunches, buy gas to meet clients or your connectivity doesn’t add up to much. Only 1% back on other expenses is less than a card offering 1.5% back on all purchases.

As a comparison, a simple card such as the Ink Business Unlimited offers 1.5% back on all purchases with no annual spending limits. With an annual spend of $50,000 across the same categories, that card only provides $750 back the first year, plus a comparable $500 bonus, for a total of $1,250. So managing the Ink Business Cash spending categories can really pay off in the end.

You will track, manage, and redeem your cash back via Chase’s Ultimate Rewards service online. You can redeem your rewards for cash back, or for gift cards, products, and services, or for travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards program. You can redeem for any amount, at any time. Points won’t expire as long as your account is open, either.

Besides meeting the required spending to earn the sign-up bonus within the three months. use the card for all your business purchases, especially those that fall into the 5% and 2% bonus-point spending categories. When it comes to using rewards earned with this card, redeeming them for cash back is the easiest way to recoup business costs and makes points worth a solid 1 cent each.

We also recommend pairing this card with a Chase Ultimate Rewards travel credit card (such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred). Chase will let you transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to the other card account, which will then give you extra value when you redeem points through the Chase travel portal.  

Once points are in one of those other card accounts, you can transfer your rewards to partner airlines and hotels. By pairing the Chase Ink Business Cash with one of the Chase travel cards, you keep the easy ways to earn extra points on business purchases with this card, plus gain some better travel redemption options and flexibility. 

This card offers several cardholder benefits, one of which the editors of The Balance consider “excellent.”

• Primary rental car collision insurance: Pay for a rental car with this card to get primary insurance coverage, which kicks in before your own insurance policy does in the event of accident or theft. It’s good for up to the actual cash value of the vehicle, with some limitations.

• Extended warranties
• Insurance for stolen or damaged purchases
• Travel and emergency hotline

Chase earned a rating of “about average” in J.D. Power’s 2019 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study.

Chase offers around-the-clock customer service help you can access over the phone, through secure online messaging, or even Twitter. If you sign up for Chase’s Credit Journey program, you’ll have access to a free VantageScore credit score, as well as some credit monitoring tools.

Chase offers the industry-standard security features you would expect from a major credit card issuer such as 24/7 fraud alerts, $0 liability for fraudulent purchases, and online login encryption and authentication.  

Reminding us that this card is best for small-business owners who do not travel often, the Chase Ink Business Cash card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee for purchases made abroad. This card also charges a 5% fee for each balance transfer, which is higher than the standard 3% fee many other business cards charge. Other fees are aligned with industry standards.