Review Summary: Although the Chase Ink Business Cash is marketed as a cashback card for small business owners, savvy award travel enthusiasts have long realized that its generous cashback rewards can actually be combined with points from other Chase cards that offer Ultimate Rewards points.
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How the Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card Works
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How to Earn Rewards
This card starts off by offering you $500 in bonus cashback (as 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points) after you use it to spend $3,000 in new purchases within the first three months of account opening. You earn 5% cash back/5x points on your first $25,000 spent each year in combined purchases at office supplies stores and on internet, cable and telephone services.
It also offers you 2% cash back/2x points on your first $25,000 spent each year in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants, and 1% cashback on all other purchases with no limit on the amount you can earn.
How to Redeem Rewards
You can redeem your points for one cent each as cashback, but I wouldn’t.
Instead, you should combine your rewards with those earned from your other Chase travel rewards cards, like the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve and Ink Business Preferred cards. Then, you’ll be able to transfer your rewards to airline miles and hotel points, where they can be worth a lot more than one cent each.
My favorite options include Southwest Airlines points, which are worth about 1.5 cents each, as well as United miles and Hyatt points, which can often be worth as much as several cents each. Sapphire Preferred cardholders can redeem points for 1.25 cents each toward travel reservations booked through Chase. Sapphire Reserve cardholders realize an outstanding 1.5 cents per point.
Additional Cardholder Benefits
This card offers you 12 months of 0% APR financing on new purchases before the standard interest rate applies. Other benefits include purchase protection and extended warranty coverage, as well as an auto rental collision damage waiver.
Alternatives to the Chase Ink Business Cash
While this card is a great offer, there are other strong alternatives:
- Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card: This card works much like the Ink Business Cash, but it offers 1.5x rewards on all purchases with no limits. Like the Ink Business Cash, you can combine these rewards with the points you earn from other Chase cards, enabling you to transfer them to airline miles and hotel points.
- Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business®: This small business card offers you double miles on all purchases, and miles are worth one cent each as statement credits toward travel reservations. You can also transfer your miles to more than 10 different airline frequent flyer programs, most at a 1.5 to 1 ratio. There’s a $95 annual fee for this card that’s waived the first year.
- Business Advantage Cash Rewards Mastercard® Credit Card from Bank of America: This card offers you 3% cashback on your choice of one of the following six categories: gas stations (default), office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom & wireless, computer services or business consulting services. You also receive 2% cashback on dining and unlimited 1% cashback on all other purchases. There’s no annual fee for this card.
RELATED: The Best Credit Cards for Small Business Owners
Can I Qualify for a Small Business Credit Card?
It might surprise you to learn that you don’t need to be incorporated to qualify for a small business credit card. Anyone can apply as an unincorporated sole proprietor, which just means that you work by yourself and you haven’t filed any paperwork to incorporate.
Instead of using an Employer Identification Number (EIN), you can just use your Social Security Number (SSN) to apply for the card. For your company name, you can use any name that you do business under, including your own name.
Most small business credit cards still rely on your personal credit and your personal guarantee of repayment. And as with any credit card, you should always use your small business cards responsibly. For more information, see Clark’s Philosophy on Credit Cards.
Final Thought
With this card, I find myself going out of my way to make purchases from office supply stores instead of other retailers just to earn the amazing 5x rewards. And by setting up my mobile phone and internet service accounts to charge this card, I earn thousands of additional points each year that I use for award travel. When you consider how quickly you can earn rewards at 5x per dollar, you’ll see how the Ink Business Cash card can be an indispensable tool.
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