The Chase Ink Bold, a business credit card designed to reward big spenders, just announced that it’s offering an appropriately big bonus: 50,000 Ultimate Rewards Points, worth $500 cash back but $625 if you use them to book travel through the Chase travel service. The bonus is yours (or, more accurately, your business’) if you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months. The rest of the Ink Bold offer is the same: 1% back on all purchases, plus up to 47,500 bonus points a year if you make certain spending thresholds.
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What’s so special about the Chase Ink Bold?
There’s an entire suite of Chase Ink cards: the Classic, Cash and Bold. The Classic and Cash are almost undifferentiated, except that lodging is one of the Classic’s bonus categories and dining is one of the Cash’s, and the former gives Ultimate Rewards while the other (naturally) gives cash back. But there’s a pretty sizeable difference between the Bold and the other two.
Charge vs. credit: The Ink Bold is a charge card, meaning you have to pay your balance in full every month or get slammed with late fees of up to $39. There’s no interest rate, because there’s (presumably) no debt.
Annual fee vs. no fee: The Ink Classic and Ink Cash don’t have annual fees. On the other hand, the Ink Bold has a $95 annual fee (waived the first year).
Category rewards vs. spending thresholds: The Classic and Cash have familiar rewards systems: 5% cash back on office supplies and cable and telecom services (up to $25k in purchases a year), 2% back on gas and lodging/dining respectively (also up to $25k) and an unlimited 1% elsewhere. Simple enough: you spend more on swivel chairs, you get more rewards. The key here is that you earn the same rewards rate whether you’ve spent $15 that year or $15,000.
The Bold has a completely different strategy. You earn a flat 1% back, but beyond that, you get a bonus based on how much you spend.
- $25k-$49,999 a year: 7,500 points
- $50k-$99,999 a year: 22,500 points (cumulative)
- $100k+ a year: 47,500 points
Here’s a breakdown of your effective rewards rate in the first year (including signup bonus, with no annual fee) and ongoing (including annual fee):
| Annual Spending | Rewards Excluding Bonus | First Year Rewards Rate | Ongoing Rewards Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $24,999 | 24,999 | 3.75% | 0.61% |
| $25,000 | 32,500 | 4.14% | 0.91% |
| $49,999 | 57,499 | 2.69% | 0.96% |
| $50,000 | 72,500 | 3.06% | 1.26% |
| $99,999 | 122,499 | 2.16% | 1.13% |
| $100,000 | 147,500 | 2.47% | 1.38% |
In the short run, the Ink Bold’s bonus is pretty amazing. Don’t question $625. But if you’re planning on keeping it for years and years, meh.
What’s best for my business?
The 50,000-point bonus certainly helps the Ink Bold’s case. Initially, we weren’t too hot on it, because the rewards rate was pretty low unless you spend quite a bit of money. However, getting at least $500 upfront definitely raises the card in our estimation. It boils down to a few things:
Will you carry a balance? If so, no charge card for you. You’ll pay quite a bit in fees. It’s a world of not worth it. If you’re looking to your card to provide working capital, the other Chase Ink cards will be much better suited to your business.
How much will you spend? If you fall just under a bonus threshold (say, $19k, $45k or $97k a year) you’ll get a pretty mediocre rewards rate. If you’ve just made one of the higher cutoffs, you’ll see a decent return. But for low spenders or those who think they’ll fall just short, the Capital One Venture Business or the other Chase Ink cards will probably offer better value. The Venture Business gives a flat 2% rewards rate on all purchases, and its $59 annual fee is waived in the first year.
How long will you have the card? The bonus is great, but the Bold depreciates quickly. In Year One, the Bold’s 50k-point signup bonus clearly and soundly trumps the Venture’s 25k-mile bonus. But compare the ongoing rewards rates of the Bold vs. the Venture Business, including annual fees but excluding signup bonuses:
| Annual Spending | First Year | Ongoing | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venture | Ink Bold | Venture | Ink Bold | |
| $24,999 | 3.00% | 3.75% | 1.76% | 0.61% |
| $25,000 | 3.00% | 4.14% | 1.76% | 0.91% |
| $49,999 | 2.50% | 2.69% | 1.88% | 0.96% |
| $50,000 | 2.50% | 3.06% | 1.88% | 1.26% |
| $99,999 | 2.25% | 2.16% | 1.94% | 1.13% |
| $100,000 | 2.25% | 2.47% | 1.94% | 1.38% |
As you can see, the Ink Bold is (almost) always better in Year One, but its value is substantially lower in subsequent years. Plus, this is assuming that you use all your points for travel through Chase, giving all your points an extra 25% of their value. This table is comparing the maximum value of the Ink Bold against the more-or-less-guaranteed value of the Venture Business. In the long run and for those business that don’t spend all that much, the Venture Business’ flat 2% rate wins out.
Check out our full list of small business credit cards for the best deals!