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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Guides
Is the Ink Business Preferred worth the annual fee?
Ryan is a former TPG credit cards writer who has been around points and miles for several years and has published content at Miles to Memories, AwardWallet and The Points Guy. His wife joins him on many of his trips, and they enjoy snowboarding, diving, and seeing animals in the wild. When not traveling, Ryan is probably answering questions from his family about how he travels so much and whether this points & miles stuff is illegal.
Chris Nelson is a credit cards writer for TPG. He specializes in budget travel, hotels, earning elite status through minimal spending and redeeming points for maximum value.
also contributed to this story
July 15, 2024 • 7 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
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Quick summary
The article evaluates whether a modest annual fee for a popular business rewards card is justified based on its benefits and protections.
Key features include cellphone protection, shopping protections, and travel insurance, which can provide peace of mind for business owners.
The card allows access to valuable airline and hotel transfer partners, potentially increasing the value of accumulated points.
Bonus categories for earning rewards are tailored to common business expenses, making it appealing for businesses with significant spending in these areas.
What to consider
Some benefits, such as cellphone protection and travel insurance, have specific coverage limits and exclusions, including deductibles and claim caps.
Access to transfer partners for maximizing point value requires holding a premium card with an annual fee; lower-tier cards do not offer this feature.
The offer may no longer be available.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of how the card's perks compare to other business and personal rewards cards, and guidance on maximizing value based on your business needs.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Whether your credit card’s annual fee is $1 or $1,000, it’s worth evaluating that fee every time you have to pay it to see whether you can justify the cost for the year ahead.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees) has a low $95 annual fee, but is it worth it considering that keeping this card isn’t free?
Let’s look at the perks and benefits offered by the Ink Business Preferred to see whether the annual fee is worth it in year two and beyond.
Welcome bonus
Right now, new applicants for the Ink Business Preferred will earn 100,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. TPG's July 2024 valuations peg Ultimate Rewards points at 2.05 cents apiece, making this bonus worth $2,050.
With Chase, you can use your points at a rate of up to 1.75 cents apiece to book travel when you have the Ink Business Preferred. That's the same rate available for using points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) but shy of the up to 2 cents-per-point value available on this redemption with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees). This is dependent on the specific redemption per card (see your rewards program agreement for full details). The Sapphire Preferred also allows you to redeem points at 1 cent apiece as a statement credit.
If you pay your monthly wireless bill with your Ink Business Preferred, you can enjoy cellphone protection against theft or damage — without having to pay for coverage through your wireless provider. This applies to you and any employees listed on the wireless bill.
ROB LEWINE/GETTY IMAGES
With this benefit, phones associated with the wireless account are covered up to $1,000 per claim. Each claim is subject to a $100 deductible, with a maximum of three claims in a 12-month period.
The Ink Business Preferred offers two types of shopping protections: purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
WESTEND61/GETTY IMAGES
The Ink Business Preferred’s protection covers new purchases for up to 120 days against damage or theft. This benefit can cover the cost to repair or replace your item and has a per-claim limit of $10,000 and a per-account limit of $50,000. There are exclusions, however, such as animals, living plants and motorized vehicles. Additionally, the card’s extended warranty protection adds an additional year to manufacturers’ warranties of three years or less.
While you hopefully won’t need to use these protections and get monetary value from them, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your large business purchases are protected.
When traveling, you can take advantage of trip cancellation and interruption insurance, roadside dispatch, and auto rental collision damage waiver protections with your Ink Business Preferred.
Say your trip is canceled or cut short by a covered situation, such as sickness and severe weather. In that case, you can be reimbursed up to $5,000 per person and $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, nonrefundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
DONALD IAIN SMITH/GETTY IMAGES
If you have an emergency while on the road, you can call Chase’s dispatch service to get the help you need. This benefit can help in situations like lockouts, dead batteries or flat tires. However, only the connection is an included benefit. Service fees will be billed to your card when you use these services.
Additionally, when renting a car, you can decline the rental company’s collision insurance and receive collision damage waiver coverage if you pay for the full rental cost with your Ink Business Preferred. This benefit can cover the cost of repairing or replacing your rental vehicle.
Similar to the card’s purchase protections, you may not get financial value from these travel protections each year, but you can travel with less worry knowing you’re covered if something goes wrong.
The benefits guide provides full details of these benefits, including limits and exclusions.
You’ll earn 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 of purchases each account anniversary across these categories: travel, shipping purchases, internet services, cable services, phone services and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines. You’ll earn 1 point per dollar on these purchases after passing the $150,000 spending limit and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
If your business has significant spending in these categories, it could yield 450,000 points annually after maximizing the $150,000 limit. TPG values these points at $9,225.
It’s worth evaluating these earning categories to see how well they work for your business. You should also consider how well these categories work for you while also holding personal credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
A standout benefit of the Ink Business Preferred is that, unlike other business credit cards from Chase, it gives you direct access to Chase’s transfer partners. Those who hold no-annual-fee cards like the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (see rates and fees) (as well as personal credit cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited®) (see rates and fees) don’t have access to Chase’s transfer partners and require a premium card like the Ink Business Preferred or personal cards like the Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card to redeem points in this way.
This means that, besides earning points, this card can also help you maximize the value of your rewards from other Chase cards.
Holding a Chase card that earns Ultimate Rewards points and has an annual fee is necessary to have the widest range of options for using your points — this card satisfies this requirement.
For a $95 annual fee on the Ink Business Preferred, you’ll gain access to shopping and travel protections, cellphone insurance and bonus categories that make sense for many businesses. You’ll also be able to transfer your points to more than a dozen hotel and airline partners, enabling outsize redemption values on award travel.
However, if you already have a card that enables these transfers and the bonus-earning categories don’t work for your business, then the annual fee on the Ink Business Preferred may not be worth it.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
