If you're a small business owner (or even just have a side hustle) and you're in the market for a new credit card, your search could begin and end with Chase Ink business cards. There are three to pick from, but one of the top choices – and potentially the most rewarding – is the *Ink Cash*.
It's a no-annual-fee business card, yet it still comes with a major bonus – and unlike many business card bonuses, this one doesn't require you to spend huge amounts of money. Here's what's at stake: *ink cash bonus*
While you can obviously get $750 in cash value out of that bonus, it's even better for someone with another business or personal Chase Ultimate Rewards earning cards like the *chase ink preferred* or the *chase sapphire preferred*. Since the bonus is issued in the form of Ultimate Rewards, having one of those other cards allows you to transfer the points to travel partners, unlocking even greater value.
Beyond that introductory bonus, you'll continue racking up rewards in a hurry. You'll get 5% cash back (or 5x Ultimate Rewards) for purchases at office supply stores – and on internet, phone, and cable charges (up to $25,000 in combined spending each account anniversary year). You can also earn 2% cash back (or 2x Ultimate Rewards) on restaurant and gas station purchases (up to $25,000 in combined spending each account anniversary year). All other purchases earn an unlimited 1% cash back (or 1x Ultimate Rewards) for every dollar spent.
Add in some travel and purchase protections – perks you don't often see on no-annual-fee cards – and it's easy to see why this card could make sense for so many small business owners. Let's take a closer look at this huge bonus offer and all the Chase Ink Business Cash Card has to offer.
Check out our roundup of all the best business card offers!
- Who Can Apply For a Business Card?
- Chase Ink Business Cash: Benefit Overview
- Chase Ink Business Cash: Welcome Offer
- Chase Ink Business Cash: Earning Rewards
- Chase Ink Business Cash: Redeeming Rewards
- Chase Ink Business Cash: Travel & Purchase Protections
- Which Cards Compete with the Chase Ink Business Cash?
Who Can Apply For a Business Card?
Don't let the fact that the Ink Cash is a business card scare you. You might easily be eligible for business cards without realizing it.
Do you have any income from freelance work – or plans to start freelance work? Do you occasionally sell stuff on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, or other platforms? Or have plans to do so in the future? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have what the banks would consider a small business!
At the end of the day, if you are selling any goods or services or contracting with a company to do so in an attempt to make a profit, you have a small business and thus are typically eligible to apply for a small business credit card. That makes it possible for many Americans to apply for a business credit card.
While running a big business would obviously qualify you to open a business credit card, you can also get approved for a small-business credit card like the Chase Ink Business Cash with a part-time side hustle, a freelance job, a gig economy job, or even by selling goods on online marketplaces like Etsy, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and more. In fact, many Americans have what the banks would consider a small business and don't even realize it.
Just keep in mind: You should never lie or attempt to mislead a bank when applying for a credit card. It's important to have a legitimate business, no matter how small it is.
Read more: You Might Be Eligible for Business Credit Cards & Not Know It
Chase Ink Business Cash: Benefit Overview
- Welcome Offer: *ink cash bonus*
- 10% Relationship Bonus: Chase Ink Cash cards opened between March 17 and Nov. 17 can get a 10% bonus on all rewards earned in the first year (though sign-up and referral bonus points don't count). But in order to be eligible for the one-time bonus, you also need to have a Chase Business Checking account open on your cardmember anniversary date.
- 5x points (5% cash back) on office supply purchases; internet, phone and cable service charges (up to $25,000 in combined spending each account anniversary year).
- 2x points (2% cash back) at restaurants and gas stations (up to $25,000 in combined spending each account anniversary year).
- 1x points (1% cash back) on all other eligible spending
- Primary rental car collision and damage waiver coverage
- Lost luggage insurance of up to $3,000 per person per trip
- Foreign Transaction Fee: 3% of the amount of each transaction in U.S. dollars
- Annual Fee: None
Learn more about the *Ink Cash*.
Chase Ink Business Cash: Welcome Offer
Business cards often come with bigger bonuses than what you'll find on a personal card … and they usually require an equally large chunk of spending. Thankfully, that's not the case here. Chase recently revamped the bonus offer on the Ink Cash – breaking it into two tiers and increasing the amount of time to meet the spending requirement – making this card's big bonus much more attainable for many small business owners.
Here's the current offer: *chase ink cash bonus*
But that's not all – if you apply before Nov. 17, 2024, you'll get a 10% business relationship bonus if you also have a Chase Business Checking account on your cardmember anniversary date. If you qualify for this one-time 10% bonus, Chase will give you an additional 10% of all cash back earned during your first year on spending – points earned through sign-up and referral bonuses aren't eligible. This means if you earned $1,000 cash back in your first year, you'd get an extra $100 after your account anniversary.
And best of all, the entire bonus comes in the form valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards. That means if you've got a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card like the *chase ink preferred* or the *chase sapphire preferred* you can get even more value out of your bonus by redeeming those points toward travel. If you've simply got the Chase Ink Cash, you can redeem the points for cash, statement credit, gift cards, and more.
It's hard to overstate just how lucrative this welcome bonus is … especially when you consider it's on a card with no annual fee.
Chase Ink Business Cash: Earning Rewards
You'll keep earning cash back (or points) on your most common business expenses thanks to the Ink Cash card's 5% and 2% bonus earning in select categories.
At a bare minimum, you can expect to earn 1% back on all business purchases, meaning every dollar you spend will be money back in your pocket – or better yet, each dollar you spend will add to your pile of Chase Ultimate Rewards. But you can do much better than 1% by shopping at the right places.
Earn 5% Cash Back (or 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards)
The best way to earn more cash back with the Chase Ink Business Cash Card is by using it at office supply stores – or on cable, internet, and phone services. That's because you'll earn 5% cash back (or 5x Ultimate Rewards) on the first $25,000 of combined purchases in these categories each cardmember year.
If you're wondering how much spending can really be done at an office supply store, keep in mind, I'm not talking about shopping at Dunder Mifflin here. Big box office supply stores like Office Depot and Staples sell everything from electronics to furniture to appliances – and yes, they have paper as well.
The point is that even if you think your business doesn't spend that much at office supply stores, it probably could. And earning 5% back on all those purchases might just be the incentive you need to make it your go-to.
Through the end of March 2025, you'll also earn 5% cash back on Lyft rides.
Thrifty Tip: Link your Lyft and Bilt Rewards accounts to earn an additional 2x Bilt points on top of the 5% cash back (or 5x Chase Ultimate Rewards) that you're earning with your Chase Ink Cash Card.
Earn 2% Cash Back (or 2x Chase Ultimate Rewards)
Office supply stores and telecommunications aren't the only places to earn extra cash back with the Ink Cash card though. You'll also earn 2% cash back (or 2x Ultimate Rewards) on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each cardmember year at restaurants and gas stations.
Earn 1% Cash Back (or 1x Chase Ultimate Rewards)
All non-bonus category spending – including purchases beyond the combined $25,000 cap each account anniversary year – earns an unlimited 1% cash back (or 1x Ultimate Rewards).
Chase Ink Business Cash: Redeeming Rewards
Since the Chase Ink Business Cash Card earns cash back, it might seem pretty obvious what you can do with your rewards: Redeem them for cash back!
You can do this by transferring rewards to a bank account or redeeming them against your card charges as a statement credit. Additionally, you can redeem your rewards for a variety of merchant gift cards instead of cash back.
But if you've got a Chase Ultimate Rewards card like the *chase sapphire preferred* or the *chase ink preferred*, your options for redeeming your rewards are even broader – and potentially more valuable.
That's because even though the Ink Cash technically earns rewards in the form of cash back, Chase actually issues them in the form of Ultimate Rewards points. And with one of those other Ultimate Rewards earning cards, you can combine all your points together and get far greater value by redeeming them for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal or transferring them to one of Chase's travel partners.
When combined with an Ultimate Rewards-earning cards, you'll get at least 1.25 cents per point towards travel – and if you've got the *chase sapphire reserve* you'll get a whopping 1.5 cents per point when using them in the Chase Travel portal. That means that if you hold both of these cards and earn the full $750 cash back bonus, it's worth $1,125 towards travel.
Read more: How to Combine Chase Personal and Business Accounts Online
Chase Ink Business Cash: Travel & Purchase Protections
No-annual-fee business cards don't typically come packed with the many (or any) of the benefits you'll find on their top-tier counterparts like the *venture x business* or *biz platinum*. But the Chase Ink Cash card gets you some valuable perks, too.
Primary Rental Car Coverage
With the Ink Business Cash you get primary rental car coverage when you use your card to pay for your rental. That means you can skip your own policy (or an add-on insurance plan) and head straight to Chase for help in the event something goes wrong.
So long as you use your card to book the car and decline the rental company's insurance policy, you'll be covered in the event of an accident or theft up to the cash value of the vehicle.
That's why Chase's rental car coverage is so valuable. It means you can decline the car rental's add-on policy and still be covered. And you get it not just in the U.S., but most international rentals are covered as well.
Just note that this is not liability insurance. It will not cover medical bills, damage to another vehicle, or damage to property.
Related reading: The 4 Best Credit Cards with Travel Insurance
Roadside Dispatch
The Ink Cash Card also comes with a roadside assistance benefit that can help you in the event of car trouble. This benefit covers everything from towing to unlocking your vehicle to jumpstarting your car if the battery dies.
Here's what's covered:
- Towing: Get your vehicle towed up to five miles – anything over five miles is an additional charge.
- Tire changing: In order to use this service you must have a good, inflated spare.
- Jump starting: If your battery is dead and your car won't start, you can get a jump from a local tow service.
- Lockout service: If you lock your keys in your car, a locksmith will come out to help you regain entry to your vehicle. This benefit does not provide key replacement in the event your keys are lost.
- Fuel delivery: You'll get up to five gallons of gas delivered to you in the event your vehicle runs dry (cost of fuel is not included).
- Winching: If your car runs off the road, you can get winched back – up to 100 feet of a paved or county-maintained road.
With this roadside dispatch benefit, you're covered at a flat fee of $79.95 per event, as of publication. And there's no limit on how many times you can use it.
Read more: Car Broke Down? Your Travel Credit Card Might Have Roadside Assistance
Purchase Protection
Ink Cash cardholders also get purchase protection for items that are damaged or stolen within the first 120 days after making a purchase. You'll get up to $10,000 per claim, and up to $50,000 per card account per calendar year.
Items from laptops to office supplies and everything in between are protected with this benefit.
Which Cards Compete with the Chase Ink Business Cash?
The Chase Ink Business Cash Card is a great no-annual-fee option for business owners looking to earn more rewards on their business spending. But it has some competition.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited
Like any good sibling rivalry, the Chase Ink Cash card finds itself competing for attention with the other no-annual-fee Ink Card in the family: The *Ink Unlimited*.
The Chase Ink Unlimited comes with a $900 bonus (or 90,000 Ultimate Rewards points) for spending $6,000 in the first three months. While that total bonus amount might look familiar, the amount of time you get to reach it is only three months – half of the Ink Cash's two-tiered spending requirement.
But depending on where you spend your money, you can earn even more points with Ink Unlimited's straightforward – and uncapped – 1.5% cash back rewards on all business purchases.
Additionally, the Ink Unlimited provides the exact same redemption options and benefits as the Ink Cash.
Be sure to read our comparison of Ink Cash vs Ink Unlimited for full details!
Amex Blue Business Plus
*blue biz plus* is one of the best no-annual-fee (see rates & fees) cards on the market, making it an excellent addition to any business owner's wallet.
New applicants can currently earn 15,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases on the card within the first three months. And while that pales in comparison to the offer on either of the Ink cards, that smaller bonus is still competitive for a card without an annual fee.
Beyond the initial welcome offer, you can pile up additional points in a hurry by earning a generous 2x Membership Rewards points per dollar on your everyday business spending (up to $50,000 in spending per year, then 1x). And unlike other banks, American Express doesn't require you to have yet another card in order to unlock the full value of those points and send them to Amex transfer partners – making this card the perfect one-and-done solution.
For all the details check out our full review of the Amex Blue Business Plus!
Capital One Spark 1.5% Cash Select
The *cap one spark 1.5% cash select card* is another strong no-annual-fee card that makes sense for a lot of business owners.
The current welcome offer allows new applicants to earn a $500 cash bonus after spending $4,500 on purchases in the first three months.
For your everyday business spending, you'll earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere – with no limits or category restrictions. Plus, you can earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
While this card technically earns cash back, you can combine your cash back and miles if you've got a Capital One Venture Miles-earning card like the *venture x business*, unlocking the ability to move miles to Capital One's long list of transfer partners. That gives Spark Cash Select cardholders an avenue to squeeze outsized value from their rewards.
Bottom Line
The *Ink Cash* comes with an up to $750 (or 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points) bonus: *ink cash bonus* All those rewards without an annual fee!
Beyond the initial welcome offer, the card has many lucrative spending categories that make earning rewards a breeze for most small business owners. With travel and purchase protections not often seen on similar cards, there's a lot to love about this no-annual-fee business card.
Learn more about the *Ink Cash*.