Chase Ink Business Preferred Vs Ink Business Premier: Credit Card Showdown

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

With so many business credit cards on the market, it can be difficult to determine which is best for your company’s needs.

Cutting through it all, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is one of our favorites. In the same family, the Ink Business Premier® Credit Card is a cash-back option launched in December 2021.

Both are solid options, but there is a clear winner for most business owners, so let’s break it down.

Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Premier comparison

Let’s start with a quick overview of each card’s highlights.

Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Premier welcome offer

With the Ink Business Preferred, you’ll earn 100,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 in the first three months.

The Ink Business Premier is also offering 100,000 Ultimate Reward bonus points ($1,000 cash back) after you spend $10,000 in purchases within the same three-month time frame.

This cash back is earned in the form of Ultimate Rewards points. But unlike those from the Ink Business Preferred, you cannot transfer these to the program’s airline and hotel partners, nor can you transfer them to your Ultimate Rewards account linked to another card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card so that they become transferable (though you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points from your other card accounts into the one linked to your Ink Business Premier).

Instead, these points are always worth just 1 cent apiece, whether you redeem them for cash back or things like statement credits, gift cards and travel through the Chase portal. So, this welcome offer is worth $1,000 no matter how you use it.

Winner: Ink Business Preferred. It has the upper hand since its points are worth more when redeemed for travel.

Related: The power of the Chase Trifecta

Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Premier benefits

Both cards offer the exact same benefits when it comes to purchase and travel protection. With both cards, you’ll receive:

• Purchase protection: If an eligible item is damaged or stolen within the first 120 days after purchase, you’re covered up to $10,000 per claim ($50,000 per account).
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: If you must cancel or cut a trip short because of a covered issue (such as illness or severe weather), you’re eligible for up to $5,000 of coverage per person for prepaid, nonrefundable travel expenses, which provides great peace of mind when unexpected problems arise. Coverage is limited to $10,000 per trip.

• Primary car rental coverage: If you use either card for the entire rental cost and are traveling for business purposes, you’re covered for theft and damage in the U.S. and most countries worldwide. Remember that this doesn’t offer any liability coverage, but you are covered up to the actual cash value of the vehicle you’re renting.
• Extended warranty protection: Purchases with a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty of three years or less will get coverage for an extra year. This can be extremely helpful when an item stops working shortly after its scheduled warranty ends.
• Cellphone protection: If you pay your monthly cellphone bill with your card and your cellphone is stolen or damaged, you can receive up to $1,000 per claim, with a $100 deductible — for up to three claims per year.

Winner: Tie. Both cards offer the exact same benefits.

Earning rewards on the Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Premier

The Ink Business Preferred offers more bonus categories than the Ink Business Premier so that you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases per account year in the following categories:

• Travel
• Shipping purchases
• Internet, cable and phone services
• Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines

On all other purchases, or after you spend $150,000 combined in the above bonus categories, you’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent. Since Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth 2.05 cents per point, based on TPG’s valuation, you’re earning a 6.15% return on your category bonus purchases and a 2.05% return on all other purchases.

The Ink Business Premier offers both interesting bonus categories and strong everyday earnings. With this card, you’ll accrue:

• 5% total cash back on travel purchased through the Chase portal
• 2.5% total cash back on every purchase of $5,000 or more
• 2% cash back on every purchase

Earning at least 2% cash back on every purchase is strong but not unique. Many other cash-back cards offer the same return, such as the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees), which earns 1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay that purchase off, and Capital One Spark Cash Plus. But if you often make large purchases — those over $5,000 — then earning that extra half percent in cash back can save you a lot of money in the end.

Winner: Tie. If you’re looking to simplify your business expenses and to just have one card for everything, the Ink Business Premier is the winner. But the Ink Business Preferred will give you more options if you prefer to earn travel rewards.

Redeeming rewards on the Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Premier

Even though both cards are “Chase Ink” credit cards, the redemption options are very different.

With the Ink Business Preferred, in addition to redeeming your points for cash — where 1 point is worth 1 cent — you can also use them toward travel in two different forms. You can either redeem points toward travel reservations through the Chase travel portal, where points are worth 1.25 cents each, or transfer them to one of Chase’s valuable transfer partners.

TPG estimates Chase Ultimate Rewards points to be worth 2.05 cents apiece when you leverage these transfer partners, thanks to the number of options they open up.

With the Ink Business Premier, however, the points you earn are worth 1 cent each, with no option to redeem your rewards toward travel at a higher rate. Whether you redeem them for cash back or for other options through Chase Ultimate Rewards, like gift cards or travel, you still get 1 cent per point.

Winner: Ink Business Preferred. It has many more options and your points earned are worth significantly more.

Related: Maximizing Chase Ultimate Rewards

Should I get the Ink Business Preferred or Ink Business Premier?

The short answer — it depends. If you don’t have a premium Chase Ultimate Rewards card that allows you to redeem points toward travel, then the Ink Business Preferred is a great choice. But if your spending categories are much more varied (or don’t include those increased bonus categories) and you prefer to earn cash back, you’ll be better off with the Ink Business Premier.

Bottom line

For a mid-tier credit card, both are strong choices for business credit cards, in their own way. The two cards offer great ways to earn points or cash back, while also offering benefits that will help protect you in a time of need. And for a relatively low annual fee, you’ll never have to worry about statement credits or extra perks to help “offset” the fee.

Also, if you already have the Ink Business Preferred card, that doesn’t prevent you from applying for the Ink Business Premier. Combining the benefits of both can truly allow your business to earn a plethora of points and cash back, giving you more money and points in your pocket so you can take a step away from work at some point and truly enjoy a vacation.

Read our full reviews of the Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Premier.

Apply here: Ink Business Preferred

Apply here: Ink Business Premier