Guide to Chase Ink Business Cash & Unlimited

Categories: Credit Card GuidesBy Last Updated: March 22, 2024

New information added March 21, 2024! The Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card are some of the best business cards for earning points. That’s because these no-annual fee cards can convert into my favorite flexible rewards currency: Chase Ultimate Rewards®. If you convert a $750 bonus, you’d have 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points after converting them! Once you convert them, these points transfer to 11 airline partners and 3 hotel partners. Some of my favorites are Hyatt, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. You can check out 9 of my favorite ways to use Ultimate Rewards and my complete guide to Ultimate Rewards here.

The cards have a lot of similarities but a few simple differences. As of March 21, 2024, the Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a new welcome offer!

welcome offer

up to $750

Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend a total of $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.

Annual Fee:

$0

  • If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can transfer the Ink points to the Sapphire card to get all the airline and hotel transfer benefits!
  • Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services eacInh account anniversary year.

Chase Ink cards are our favorite option when we have larger expenses coming that help us to meet the higher minimum spend. The bonus for this card is listed as cash back. But if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can actually combine the “cash back” points with your Sapphire card. (If you have a Chase Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card you cannot combine the points.)

For many years, the bonus on this card offered $500 after you spent $3000 in 3 months. The offer changed to $750 after spending $7500 in 3 months during the pandemic. In fall 2022, the offer went to $900 after spending $6,000 in 3 months and ended in March 2023. From September 2023-January 2024, the $900 offer returned.

The tiered offer which gives you a total of 6 months to spend the $6000 needed to earn $750 debuted in March 2024.

welcome offer:

$750

Earn $750 (can be worth 75,000 points) after you spend $6,000 in 3 months

Annual Fee:

$0

  • If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can transfer the Ink points to the Sapphire card to get all the airline and hotel transfer benefits!
  • Earn unlimited 1.5% Cash Back rewards on every purchase

Chase Ink cards are our favorite option when we have larger expenses coming that help us to meet the higher minimum spend. The bonus for this card is listed as cash back.But if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can actually combine the “cash back” points with your Sapphire card. (If you have a Chase Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card you cannot combine the points.)

You can get a Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card . You can also get multiple if you have multiple businesses. Don’t forget to refer your spouse to this one!

For many years, the bonus on this card offered $500 after you spent $3000 in 3 months. The offer changed to $750 after spending $7500 in 3 months during the pandemic. In fall 2022, the offer went to $900 after spending $6,000 in 3 months. In fall 2023, we saw the $900 offer return from September to mid-January 2024.

Welcome Offers

The welcome offers on the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited cards will list an offer in cash back — like $750 cash back.

While the welcome offers are similar, they aren’t the same.

With the Ink Cash, you’ll have a longer amount of time to complete your spending to earn all $750 cash back — a total of six months. That’s because the offer is broken into two tiers: you’ll earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.

As part of a new Ink Cash welcome offer, you can also earn 10% Business Relationship Bonus. That means if you also have a Chase Business Checking account on your first card anniversary, you’ll earn a one-time 10% bonus of all eligible cash back earned in your first year. This is only for cash back earned from spending, not from the welcome offer. Note – this offer is only available for Ink Business Cash cards opened between March 17 and November 17, 2024.

Ink Unlimited earns a $750 welcome bonus after you spend $6000 in the first three months.

And don’t forget: pair your card(s) with a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card or Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, though, and you can transfer your points to any of Chase’s airline and hotel transfer partners. That $750 cash back will become 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® you can transfer 1:1 to airlines and hotels.

 

 

$0 Annual Fee

These cards both come with no annual fee.

 

 

Earning Categories

The earning categories are one of the other differences on these cards. For most people, you’ll earn more during your initial spend period with the Ink Unlimited — unless you are spending in a lot of bonus earning categories for the Ink Cash.

If you open a Business Checking account with Chase, and continue to spend on an Ink Cash throughout the year, you’ll earn more with the Ink Cash Relationship Bonus — but you won’t get those Relationship Bonus points till your first account anniversary.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card Earning

  • Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year.
  • Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.
  • Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases, with no limit on how much you can earn

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card Earning

  • Earn unlimited 1.5% Cash Back rewards on every purchase

 

 

Earning Multiple Bonuses on Ink Cards

First – you can open at least one of each of these Ink cards to earn even more Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Next, if you have multiple businesses, you can even open each card with both your EIN and your SSN. It is very reasonable to want to keep business expenses separate and Chase understands that.

 

 

What if I don’t have a business?

If you have any sort of side hustle, you probably qualify. We have heard from people in our Facebook group reporting $0 in business income on their application and still being approved. Learn more about applying for a business card without an actual business here.

 

 

Application Tips

If your partner has a referral link, apply through their referral link.

If you don’t have a referral link, I appreciate if you’d apply through one of our affiliate links. This helps us keep all my content free.

Find my affiliate links for both cards here.

See my tips for getting auto-approved on YouTubegetting auto-approved on YouTube.

How do I fill out the application?

Watch our YouTube video for a step-by-step on filling out on application for a Chase business card.

 

 

Do these cards earn cash back or points?

These card bonuses are listed in cash back. Technically though, they really earn a version of Chase Ultimate Rewards® that can be only be redeemed as cash back. But there is an important exception! Pair your Ink card(s) with a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, or Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, and you can transfer your points to any of Chase’s airline and hotel transfer partners.

 

 

What if I don’t have a Sapphire card yet?

Open one of the Chase Ink cards now and then you can open a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card, or Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card later. You don’t need to have a Sapphire card first.

If your spouse has a Sapphire card and you don’t — you can call Chase to move your Chase Ultimate Rewards® from your Ink card(s) to your spouse’s account so that you can get more value out of them! You can combine points across your household.

 

 

Which card should I open?

If you shop at office stores (Staples and/or Office Max/Office Depot), then you will get 5x at those stores with the Ink Cash card. This is also the best option if you want to spread your spend requirement out over six months!

If you don’t shop at office stores, the Ink Unlimited is a good choice, earning a flat 1.5 cents per point on most purchases.

 

 

I’m not sure I can hit the $6k spend requirement?

Check out our tips for meeting a high minimum spend. Or pick the Ink Cash card with the option to spend the $6000 over 6 months total.

 

 

Can I put personal expenses on a business card?

Putting personal expenses on a business card is common. Credit card issuers do not report your spending to the IRS, or anyone else, so there are no tax implications of putting personal spend on a business card. However, if you have actual business expenses, it’s your responsibility to track business expenses for tax purposes.

 

 

What benefits do these cards include?

In addition to a great welcome bonus, no annual fee, and the usual zero liability protection, the Chase Business Ink Cash® Credit Card and Chase Business Ink Unlimited® Credit Cards include:

  • Purchase Protection
  • Extended warranty protection
  • Travel and emergency assistance
  • Roadside dispatch

Note that these cards DO charge foreign transaction fees and DO NOT include travel insurance protections.

 

 

What can I do with Chase Ultimate Rewards®?

Need some inspiration for how you can use those Chase Ultimate Rewards®? Check out our post on our top 9 uses for Ultimate Rewards, and our Ultimate Rewards guide for more inspiration. Those points could be redeemed for travel to Europe, resorts in Hawaii, all-inclusive stays in the Caribbean, a family road trip, and so much more!

Other questions?

Did we miss your question? Leave a comment below or join our Miles & Points for Families Facebook group to post your question.

 

 

 

 

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Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

17 Comments
  1. Tom March 19, 2023 at 3:32 pm - Reply

    So these points can only be used for awards if they are transferred to a chase sapphire card? That is – they need to be transferred to ultimate reward points to be used?

    Thanks

    • Katie Holden April 4, 2023 at 6:27 am - Reply

      Unless you transfer them, they can only be redeemed for cash back.

  2. Cardiss March 20, 2023 at 5:22 pm - Reply

    Is there a charge for priority pass when using the sapphire reserve?

    • Katie Holden April 4, 2023 at 6:24 am - Reply

      No there will not be!

  3. Brunilda Veliu September 21, 2023 at 7:05 pm - Reply

    I already have the Ink Business unlimited card for one side hussle. Will I get the bonus if I open another one for another side job as sole prop with my SSN? It’s not very clear on their site.

    • Katie Holden October 4, 2023 at 11:36 am - Reply

      Yes, there are lots of data points showing this is possible.

  4. Nan Schaper September 21, 2023 at 11:12 pm - Reply

    So if my Chase Sapphire card is under my SSN and I open up a business card with the EIN #…. Can the points still be transferred to the Chase Sapphire? Or do I need to use my SSN on the business card application?

    • Katie Holden October 4, 2023 at 11:35 am - Reply

      You can still transfer to Sapphire — you always need a SSN on a Chase business application anyway even if you also use EIN

      • C January 16, 2024 at 8:22 am

        So I could still transfer points from business ink cards to my personal chase sapphire card?

      • Katie Holden February 6, 2024 at 5:30 pm

        Correct!

  5. Liz September 24, 2023 at 10:45 pm - Reply

    I already have these cards for 5 years now. Can I downgrade them to a different card and then apply for a new one? Close one, wait one month, then apply for a new card? Or just apply and get a second one?

    • Katie Holden October 4, 2023 at 11:31 am - Reply

      These cards don’t have downgrade options so you can either cancel and re-apply or just apply to get another one.

  6. Maryann January 11, 2024 at 2:32 pm - Reply

    I received my new business card with the following statement on the activation notice:
    Business Transactions Only
    This account is a business account, to be used only for business transactions. It is not intended for personal, family, or household purposes.

    Is this a new policy?

    • Katie Holden January 12, 2024 at 3:05 pm - Reply

      My understanding is that the language requiring you to put only business expenses only appeared after the CARD Act was passed which increased protection for consumer/personal cards but not business cards. So they added this term on the business application to protect themselves.

      In practice, many many people (myself included) put personal expenses on the cards with no issue. Many banks even have special offers for business cards that don’t have anything to do with business spending so I assume this is the norm.

      You can read more here https://katiestraveltricks.com/businesscards/#ib-toc-anchor-11

  7. craig smith January 16, 2024 at 5:51 pm - Reply

    Hi, we are new members…
    I just now spent $8k and have the chase business preferred card. We have the Sapphire Reserve card as well.
    We want to get the 40k referral to refer my wife and would also like to sign her up for a chase business card.
    Which do we do first?
    Thanks!!!
    Craig & Marilyn

    PS we have been doing credit card tricks for many years and it looks like have a couple strategies that you may not have implemented

    • Katie Holden February 6, 2024 at 5:29 pm - Reply

      You can do those at the same time! You can refer your wife and you will get 40k points and she can earn a bonus on any of the Ink cards

  8. Robin March 21, 2024 at 8:55 pm - Reply

    Hi! Thank you so much for this detailed info! I am curious about the statement, “you can open *at least* one of each of these Ink cards”. Does this mean you can open more than one of each? I would love to know more info about that. I tend to hold the max cards I can get and re-open as often as I can.

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