Chase Ink Business Preferred review

Best for

The Ink Business Preferred is the right card for established small businesses that already spend more than $30,000 a year on some combination of shipping, online or social-media advertising, travel and internet/phone/cable. Owners who already hold a personal Sapphire Preferred or Reserve get an outsized benefit because Ultimate Rewards points pool across cards and unlock premium transfer redemptions like Hyatt award nights at 1.7+ cents per point.

Not for

If your business spend is mostly office supplies, gas or general purchases, the bonus categories don't help and you'll do better with a flat-rate card like the Capital One Spark Cash Plus or the no-fee Chase Ink Business Unlimited. It's also not the right pick for anyone who's opened five or more personal cards in the past 24 months — Chase will almost certainly auto-decline under the 5/24 rule.

Rewards math: the four categories carry the card

Run a $90,000 annual business spend through the card with $25,000 on shipping, $20,000 on Facebook and Google ads, $10,000 on travel, $5,000 on telecom and $30,000 in 1x spend, and you earn 210,000 points before the welcome offer. Through Chase Travel at 1.25 cents per point that's about $2,625; transferred to Hyatt for award nights, savvy owners regularly net $3,500 or more in real travel value. Net of the $95 fee, the card pays back $25 to $35 for every $1 in fees in the first year alone.

Personal guarantee — what you're signing

Like nearly every small-business card on the market, the Ink Business Preferred requires a personal guarantee. That means if your LLC, S-corp or sole proprietorship can't pay the balance, Chase can come after you personally — your salary, your bank accounts and, in most states, non-protected assets. It also means activity reports to your personal credit file in delinquency scenarios, even though on-time business spend doesn't typically show up on your personal report. If you're not comfortable putting your personal credit on the line for the company's expenses, no rewards card is the right tool. Corporate cards from Brex or Ramp underwrite to the business itself but require six-figure cash balances. We are not a card issuer; final approval, terms and rate decisions are made by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

How to apply

Chase will ask for the business's legal name, EIN (or your SSN if you're a sole proprietor), annual revenue, years in operation and the owner's personal income and SSN for the credit pull. Sole props apply with just an SSN — you don't need to be incorporated. Decisions are usually instant; if Chase needs more documentation it'll ask for tax returns or a recent business bank statement. The variable APR is 21.49–26.49%, with no introductory 0% period.

Ink Business Preferred vs. closest competitor

The closest cross-shop is the Amex Business Gold, which earns 4x in your top two spend categories from a curated list and offers Pay Over Time flexibility. Amex Business Gold wins for owners with concentrated spend in advertising plus another category and a $375 fee they can absorb. The Ink Preferred wins on transfer-partner quality (Hyatt, United, Southwest) and on a much lower annual fee. For owners who don't want the 1x ceiling on uncategorized spend, pair the Ink Preferred with the no-fee Chase Ink Business Unlimited for flat 1.5x everywhere else.