Review: Chase Ink Business Cash® Has a Stellar New Account Bonus
One of the biggest reasons to have a small-business credit card is keep your personal and corporate expenses separate. But nearly as compelling is the opportunity to earn valuable rewards on business purchases.
One popular strategy to maximize rewards is to receive bonus points on your most frequent purchases. The Chase Ink Business Cash® credit card offers you several chances to earn bonus points, as well as one of the most generous new account bonuses ever offered for a credit card with no annual fee.
Key Terms
- New Account Bonus: Earn $750 bonus cash back after spending $7,500 within three months of account opening.
- Rewards: 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. You also earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
- Introductory financing: 12 months of 0% APR financing on new purchases.
- Annual Fee: $0
How This Card Works
Once you’re approved for this card, you have three months to spend the $7,500 required to earn the $750 cash back bonus. This card also offers you 5% cash back at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone service (on your first $25,000 spent each account anniversary year), and 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (also limited to $25,000 spent each account anniversary year). You can also earn 1% cash back on all other purchases with no limits, and the card features 12 months of 0% APR financing on new purchases. .
What many cardholders don’t realize is that all of this cash back comes in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards points which can also be redeemed for gift cards, merchandise and travel reservations. If you also have a Chase card that offers Ultimate Rewards® points and has an annual fee, such as the Ink Preferred, Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve, then you can transfer those points into those accounts, where they can be transferred to airline miles or hotel points.
The Chase Ink Business Cash® also includes many valuable travel benefits and shopping protection benefits. Your purchases are covered for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account. You also receive Extended Warranty Protection that adds one year to the manufacturer’s warranty of three years or less. And when traveling, you receive Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Travel and Emergency Assistance Services and Roadside Dispatch. There’s no annual fee for this card.
Advantages
Earning $750 in cash back when you open a new account and meet the minimum spending requirement is a great offer. But in the long term, you may earn even more rewards by using the 5% cash back offer for purchases from office supply stores and for many telecommunications services such as Internet, telephone and cable television. Even the 2% back at gas and restaurants is a great offer. And the 12 months of 0% APR financing on new purchases can be a valuable way for your company to finance purchases without incurring interest.
But to really take advantage of this card, you should also have another small-business Chase card like the Ink Business Preferred, or a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve. Although these cards have an annual fee, you can transfer your reward points to these accounts, and then exchange them for airline miles or hotel points. When you redeem those points and miles for expensive travel reservations, you can often get much more value for your rewards than you would if you redeemed them for cash back.
Other advantages include this card’s travel insurance and shopping protection benefits, as well as the fact that it has no annual fee.
Disadvantages
While the welcome bonus is extremely generous, you still have to spend $7,500 within three months of account opening in order to receive it. This can be easy for many small business owners, but others will find this large minimum spending requirement to be more than they usually spend. And by itself, this card doesn’t offer the ability to transfer your rewards to airline miles or hotel points, which is only a feature of Chase cards that have an annual fee. Finally, this card also has a 3% foreign transaction fee, which few reward credit cards have anymore.
Alternatives
Chase Ink Business Preferred®. This card is offering new applicants a massive 100,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on new purchases within three months of account opening, but it doesn’t have a promotional financing offer. Ink Business Preferred also features 3x points on travel and purchases from other select business categories. This card also offers you 25% more value when redeeming your points for travel, and you can transfer points to airline and hotel programs. This card does have a $95 annual fee.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® credit card. Like the Ink Business Cash, the Ink Business Unlimited card has no annual fee and currently offers new applicants a fantastic welcome bonus. You can earn $750 in bonus cash back after spending $7,500 on your card within three months of account opening. But instead of earning bonus cash back, with limits, this card simply offers you 1.5% cash back with no limits to how much you can earn. There’s no annual fee with this card.
Blue Business Cash™ Card from American Express. This relatively simple card delivers strong value by offering 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1% on all other eligible purchase. It has no cash back welcome bonus, but it does offer 12 months of 0% introductory APR financing on new purchases for new accounts. There’s no annual fee for this card.
Bottom Line
While it’s always nice to receive a large new account bonus, it’s even better when your credit card continues to offer tremendous bonuses for many of your most frequent small business purchases. By offering both of these features, and charging no annual fee, the Chase Ink Business Cash® becomes a card worth considering.
More from MONEY:
You May Like
