Better together: Why the Ink Business Preferred and the Ink Business Cash are a great pair

March 31, 2020

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10 min read

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Some cards are better together. Doubling up may produce elevated redemption options, or the bonus categories on two cards may complement each other. Today, let's consider two business cards that work better together: the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card and the Ink Business Cash Credit Card.

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Comparing Ink Business Preferred Credit Card and Ink Business Cash

Benefit details	Ink Business Preferred	Ink Business Cash
Sign-up bonus	100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening	$750 cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Annual fee	$95	None
Earning rates	3x on the first $150,000 spent each account anniversary year on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines 1x on everything else	5% cash back at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year 1% cash back on everything else
Best redemption options	Transfer to partners at a 1:1 ratio (TPG estimate of 2 cents each) Chase travel portal (1.25 cents each) Cash back and gift cards (1 cent each)	Chase travel portal, cash back and gift cards (1 cent each)
Standout benefits	Employee cards at no additional cost Extended warranty protection, purchase protection and cellphone protection Trip cancellation/interruption insurance and auto rental collision damage waiver	Employee cards at no additional cost Extended warranty protection and purchase protection Auto rental collision damage waiver

Now let's dive into each card before moving on to what makes the duo such a power couple.

Ink Business Preferred Card

(Photo by John Gribben for The Points Guy)

Earning rates: The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card earns 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary year:

Travel
Shipping purchases
Internet, cable and phone services
Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year

Since TPG's valuations peg the value of Chase Ultimate Rewards points at two cents each, this means you'll earn an effective 6% return on the first $150,000 you spend in these categories. You'll also earn 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. The Ink Business Preferred Card's annual fee is $95.

Redemption options: When you redeem your points, you'll have a few options. You'll generally get the most value from transferring your points to select hotel and airline partners at a 1:1 ratio. However, if you prefer more straightforward redemptions, you can book travel through the Chase travel portal with your points for 1.25 cents each (or for 1.5 cents each if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and transfer your points to that card). You can also redeem your points for cash back or gift cards for 1 cent each.

Sign-up bonus: The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card currently offers an impressive sign-up bonus of 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first three months. Based on TPG's valuation of Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents each, this bonus is worth about $2,000.

Related reading:

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card review
5 reasons to get the Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card
One year of earning and burning with the Ink Business Preferred Card
Chase Ink Business Preferred vs. Capital One Spark Miles for Business
Chase Ink Preferred vs. Amex Business Platinum

Ink Business Cash Card

Earning rates: As its name suggests, the Ink Business Cash Card earns cash-back rewards. Specifically, you'll earn 5% cash back at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year. And you'll earn 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants on the first $25,000 in combined purchases each account anniversary year. You'll also earn 1% cash back on everything else.

Redemption options: The Ink Business Cash Card earns cash-back rewards that you can redeem for cash back, travel or gift cards at face value. However, if you have a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, such as the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer your cash-back rewards to that card and unlock more valuable redemption options.

Sign-up bonus: The Ink Business Cash Card currently offers a sign-up bonus of $750 cash back after you spend $7,500 on purchases in the first three months after account opening. However, if you have a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, this bonus can become 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points. And TPG's valuations peg the value of 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points at $1,500.

Related reading:

Why pair the cards

You may already have realized why the Ink Business Cash Card and the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card are a great pair, but let's break it down.

If you have the Ink Business Cash Card

You can add redemption options and boost your redemption rates with the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card in your wallet. This is because cash-back rewards earned by the Ink Business Cash Card can be converted to Chase Ultimate Rewards points when you have a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

By converting the cash-back rewards on your Ink Business Cash Card to Ultimate Rewards points on the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, you increase the rate at which you can redeem through the Chase travel portal from one cent per point to 1.25 cents per point. And you unlock 1:1 transfers to hotel and airline partners such as Hyatt and United.

However, the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card has a $95 annual fee. If your business doesn't spend much on the Ink Business Preferred's 3x categories, you may prefer to collect cash-back rewards on the Ink Business Cash Card (with no annual fee) until you're ready to redeem for a trip. Then you can open the Ink Business Preferred Card, transfer your cash-back rewards to your new card and transfer those points to partners or book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal at 1.25 cents per point instead of one cent per point.

If you have the Ink Business Preferred Card

If you already have the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, you can boost your Chase Ultimate Rewards earning rate without incurring any additional annual fees by adding the no-annual-fee Ink Business Cash Card to your wallet.

If your business doesn't spend money at office supply stores or on internet, cable and phone services and already earns more than a 4% return at gas stations and restaurants, the Ink Business Cash Card won't be particularly useful. However, most businesses that already have the Ink Business Preferred Card will find that adding the Ink Business Cash Card to their wallet will increase their earnings.

Other considerations

Multi-ethnic male and female business professionals discussing over computer in creative office (Photo by Luis Alvarez/GettyImages) — Each business is different and must consider different factors for their credit card strategy. (Photo by Luis Alvarez/GettyImages)

Add the Ink Business Unlimited too: Many businesses with ample non-bonus-category spending may find it useful to also add the no-annual-fee Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card to their wallet to earn 1.5% cash-back rewards on every purchase (which can become 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points when paired with a card that earns Ultimate Rewards points).

Add no-annual-fee personal cards too: Likewise, it may make sense to add no-annual-fee Ultimate Rewards consumer cards such as the Chase Freedom (No longer open to new applicants) and Chase Freedom Unlimited to your wallet once you have the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card. This is especially true if you'll use these cards for business expenses, or if you don't mind transferring rewards earned on your personal spending to your business card's Ultimate Rewards account.

The information for the Chase Freedom has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

When to forgo the Ink Business Preferred Card: If you already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you may choose to forgo the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card and simply collect rewards earned on your Ink Business Cash Card in your personal card's Ultimate Rewards account.

Consider Chase's 5/24 rule: One final consideration is where you stand under Chase's unofficial 5/24 rule. This rule means you generally won't be approved for most Chase-issued cards if you've opened five or more personal credit cards across all banks in the last 24 months. Although you're unlikely to be approved for most Chase-issued cards if you are over 5/24, Chase-issued business cards don't count toward your 5/24 count. As a result, it's generally best to open the Chase-issued business cards that you want first before moving on to other cards.

Related reading: What to do after you reach 5/24