The Chase Ink Credit Cards: Which is Best for Your Small Business?

Updated September 23, 2011: The Chase Ink Bold is offering a $625 bonus! Read on…

Though generally used to refer to the Chase Ink Classic credit card, the term “Chase Ink” actually applies to a suite of three different credit cards: the Ink Cash, the Ink (aka Classic) and the Ink Bold with Ultimate Rewards. The first two are quite similar and differ in a couple of small, subtle ways (that we’ll detail later), and we consider them to be the best business credit cards around. The Ink Bold, on the other hand, is not a credit card but a charge card, and is most useful for big spenders. Read on, and we’ll describe the benefits, disadvantages and ultimate usefulness of each of these cards.

The Ink Classic: 5% rewards on typical small-business buys

The Chase Ink Classic is one of the best small business credit cards after its makeover in June. The Ink Classic used to be the Ink Cash’s scrawny little brother with its mediocre rewards rate, but the revamped Ink is pretty impressive. We liked the Ink Cash before, but we’re even more pleased with the Ink’s signup bonus and jacked up rewards rate. It privileges small-business spending and has a generous bonus:

• 5% rewards on office supplies and telecom/cable services (up to $25k in spending annually)
• 2% rewards on gas and lodging (up to $25k annually)
• 1% unlimited on all other purchases
• 25,000-point signup bonus, worth at least $250
• 2 free Priority Pass lounge passes & ongoing discounted access, valued at $99 (first year only)
• Up to 10x points at the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall (more on this later)

Ongoing rewards: Because you can earn such good rewards on typical business purchases, if you use the Chase Ink right, your rewards rate can top 3%. For example, if you max out in both bonus cateogries (ie, spend $25k each on supplies/cable/telecom and gas/lodging) plus an additional $10k, your rewards rate is effectively 3.1%. That’s well above the Capital One Venture for Business’ 2% rate, which is widely lauded as one of the best. So if you’re spending in the right categories, you can easily beat out the Venture.

Signup bonus: The Chase Ink also upped its signup bonus: 15,000 points, paid out after your first purchase, and an additional 10,000 points for spending $5k in the first 3 months, for a total of 25,000 points You also receive two free passes to Priority Pass airport lounges, valued at $99. Lastly, you receive a promotional period of no interest on balance transfers or purchases for the first 6 months.

The Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall: One major draw of the Chase cards is that they get you access to Chase’s online mall. This is an online storefront that links to partner retailers. If you click through to the retailers from the mall, you earn extra rewards. For example, you earn 5 points/$1 at the Holiday Inn, 4 at Hotels.com, 5 at OfficeDepot.com and 3 at OfficeMax.com. These can add up to substantial savings, particularly if you’d be shopping there anyway.

The 0% intro APR combined with the bonus rewards on office supplies make the Ink an ideal card for those just starting their business, who need to raid Office Depot to stock their new space and will possibly need some time to finance said Office Depot run. And in the long run, because of the high rewards rate and no annual fee, you can continue using the Ink without worry.

The Ink Cash: for those who let the party come to them

While the Chase Ink Cash takes after the Ink Classic in a number of ways, there are three major differences:

• It pays out in cash back, not points
• It earns 2% back in gas and dining, not gas and lodging
• It doesn’t give you airport lounge access

Cash back might well be a draw to you: it’s simple, easy to redeem and easy to understand. You can, of course, redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for cash, it’s just not done automatically. So we’ll consider the cash vs. points battle to be a draw.

Whether you prefer to earn rewards on dining out or on lodging depends heavily on your business. If your job requires you to travel, it’s no question: the Classic is the better choice. If you entertain clients on your home turf, however, the Cash better fits your spending profile.

It’s the last difference that puts the Ink Cash at a disadvantage when compared to the Classic. The Priority Pass lounge access gets you 2 free passes and cheap access for the rest of the year, but the Ink Cash has no such benefit. It’s designed for those who aren’t big travelers, rather than those who often fly for business.

The Ink Bold: For big spenders only

Updated September 23, 2011: The Chase Ink Bold is now offering a killer signup bonus. If you spend $5,000 in your first 3 months, you’ll receive 50,000 Ultimate Rewards Points worth $500 cash back or $625 if you redeem for travel through the Chase booking service. This new bonus offer has significantly raised the Ink Bold in our estimation.

If you’re going to be spending a lot on your card, the Ink Bold might be the best option for you. Like the other Ink cards, it comes with access to the Ultimate Rewards Mall, which can get you some significant savings, as well as Priority Pass access. There are some major differences between the Bold and the Classic/Cash:

• The Ink Bold is a charge card, whereas the others are credit cards. With a charge card, you pay your balance in full each month. This means that you don’t have a preset spending limit, giving you more flexibility in your spending. However, should you carry a balance, you’ll face up to $39 in late fees.
• It comes with a $95 annual fee, waived in the first year, while the other two have no fee.
• Its rewards structure can be more complicated, but it potentially yields higher returns.

Signup bonus: 25,000 Bonus Points after your first purchase, worth $250 50,000 Ultimate Rewards Points, worth $625 of travel or $500 cash back, if you spend $5k in 3 months.

Ongoing rewards: This is where it gets complicated. You earn 1 point per $1 spent on all purchases – effectively 1%. But if you hit certain spending thresholds, you can earn bonus points:

• $25k-$49,999 annually: 7,500 points
• $50k-$99,999 annually: 22,500 points (cumulative)
• $100k+ annually: 47,500 points

Here’s a breakdown of how much you’d earn with the card if you put a certain amount on it. The first year’s rewards include the signup bonus but exclude the annual fee (since it’s waived the first year), while the ongoing rewards rate includes the annual fee but ignores the signup bonus.

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%

Notice that your rewards rate dips sharply just below the bonus thresholds – if you spend $49,999, your ongoing rewards rate is below the industry standard, but if you spend just one more dollar, it increases by 34%. You get the best one-time rewards rate if you spend less (that makes sense, because the 50k-point bonus has a bigger impact relative to spending) but the best ongoing rate if you spend $100,000+. Chase lets you redeem your points for travel to get a 25% bump in your points’ value, which means that the maximum ongoing rate is only 1.38% maximum - that’s making a lot of assumptions (that you’re a big spender, that you use all your rewards to book through Chase…), and every dollar you spend over $100,000 decreases your rewards rate, since you don’t get any future bonuses.

Plus, if you’re spending that much, you may prefer the straight-up 2% rewards of the Capital One Venture Business, which has a lower annual fee ($59, waived the first year) and a much simpler and potentially more generous ongoing rewards structure. If you spend $100,000 on the Venture, your rewards rate inclusive of the annual fee is a much-higher 1.94%. The difference is more pronounced if you spend less: rack up $24,999 in a year, your ongoing rate is 1.76% with the Venture and less than half that with the Bold. Keep in mind, too, that the Bold’s a charge card, so if you’re looking to your card for working capital, stick with one of the other Ink cards. Finally,