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 offering a simple earning structure and solid travel and shopping protections.
Both are good options, 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 | Ink Business Premier | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $95 | $195 |
| Welcome offer | Earn 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 in the first three months of account opening. | Earn $1,000 cash back after spending $10,000 in the first three months of account opening. |
| Bonus categories |
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| Redemption options | Redeem for cash back, gift cards, PayPal, at Amazon checkout and 1.25 cents each to book travel through Chase Travel℠ or transfer at a 1:1 ratio to travel partners | Redeem for cash back, travel, gift cards, PayPal and at Amazon checkout |
| Card benefits |
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Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Premier welcome offer
With the Ink Business Preferred, you’ll earn 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
The welcome offer is worth $1,845 based on TPG’s March 2025 valuations.
New Ink Business Premier cardholders can earn $1,000 cash back after spending $10,000 in purchases within three months of account opening.
Winner: Ink Business Preferred. It has the upper hand as its welcome offer is worth almost double that of the Premier.
Related: The power of the Chase Trifecta
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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 $60,000 for most rental cars with an MSRP of $125,000 or less.
- 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 12-month period.
Both cards also lack foreign transaction fees, making them great for international purchases.
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. You’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases per account year in the following categories (then 1 point per dollar):
- Travel
- Shipping purchases
- Internet, cable and phone services
- Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
On all other purchases, you’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent. Since Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth 2.05 cents per point, based on TPG’s March 2025 valuations, 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:
- 2.5% 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 the Capital One Spark Cash Plus.
But if you often make large purchases 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 just have one card for everything, the Ink Business Premier is the winner. But the Ink Business Preferred will give you more redemption options, since it earns transferable rewards.
Redeeming and transferring rewards on the Ink Business Preferred vs. Ink Business Premier
Even though both cards are “Chase Ink” credit cards, their redemption options are 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 Chase Travel, where points are worth 1.25 cents each, or transfer them to one of Chase’s valuable transfer partners.
TPG credit cards editor Olivia Mittak loves using her Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt stays. She recently redeemed 12,000 points for a three-night stay at the Hyatt House Frankfurt Eschborn in Germany.
TPG estimates Chase Ultimate Rewards points to be worth 2.05 cents apiece as of March 2025 when you leverage these transfer partners, thanks to the number of options they open up. Points can also be redeemed for gift cards, through PayPal and at Amazon checkout.
With the Ink Business Premier, however, your redemption options are more limited. You’ll get consistent value out of each redemption method, however, which may be favorable for business owners without a lot of time on their hands. Ink Business Premier cardholders can redeem their rewards for cash back, gift cards, travel, at Amazon checkout and with PayPal.
Unfortunately, the rewards you earn on the Ink Business Premier can’t be transferred to Chase’s airline and hotel partners.
Winner: Ink Business Preferred. It has many more options and the rewards you earn 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.
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 rewards in your pocket so you can take a step away from work at some point and truly enjoy a vacation.
To learn more, read our full reviews of the Ink Business Preferred and Ink Business Premier.
Apply here: Ink Business Preferred
Apply here: Ink Business Premier
