Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Review
The Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card is appealing with its straightforward rewards program and generous cash back potential, but you should dig a little deeper before deciding if this card is right for you.
Is Ink Business Premier worth it?
Chase Ink Premier is valuable for businesses who spend at least $5,000 in a single transaction and swipe their card frequently: Once you hit the $5,000 threshold, you'll have access to a 2.5% cash back rewards tier, meaning you'll get $125 back for every $5,000 in transactions.
This business travel card is also worthwhile if you travel regularly and prefer to book through Chase Travel℠ to get the highest rewards level and 5% cash back.
But because this is a charge card that you have to pay off every month, if you tend to carry a balance, you could easily sacrifice any accumulated perks in the face of mounting interest charges.
Ink Business Premier: Highlights
Annual fee: The annual fee is $195. Rewards: The card's flat-rate rewards plan offers 2.5% cash back on purchases over $5,000 and an unlimited 2% cash back on other business-related purchases. Chase Travel purchases offer the highest rewards rate at 5% total cash back. Welcome offer: Earn a $1,000 cash back bonus after you spend $10,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Key benefits: The flat-rate rewards plan is easy to understand, and the added perks, like purchase and travel protection, are attractive. Cons: The card must be paid off in full each month, and cardholders who make small purchases won't accumulate cash back bonuses quickly.
Pros and Cons
Who is Ink Business Premier Best for?
The Chase Business Premier Credit Card is a great choice for professionals who make lots of big-ticket purchases. The card's rewards system is easy to understand, and it doesn't deal with cumbersome spending categories like many other rewards cards.
Cardholders should prefer, or at least be happy, to make most of their travel bookings through Chase Travel, and ideally, cardholders should also have other cards to accumulate points on lower-value purchases like dining out or basic office supplies.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Rewards
Since you're not actually building credit or expanding your spending horizons with the Chase Ink Premier card, the biggest draw is the rewards — and there are lots of them.
Earn rewards
The rewards are simple and come in the form of cash back, points and miles.
5% cash back on all purchases made through Chase Travel℠. 2.5% cash back on purchases totaling $5,000 or more. 2% cash back on all other eligible business purchases.
Redeeming rewards
Ink Premier offers cash back rewards in the form of Ultimate Rewards points, which can be received and redeemed in a few different ways.
Let's take a look:
Statement Credits: Your monthly cash back rewards can be added directly to your account as a statement credit. Direct Deposit: You can choose to redeem your cash rewards as a direct deposit to your linked bank account instead of as a statement credit. Shop with Chase (Shop with Points): Use your Ultimate Rewards points to purchase goods and services at 0.8 cents per point. Redeem Points for Cash Back: Your Ultimate Rewards points are worth more when you redeem them for cash (1 cent per point) than when you use them directly on Shop Through Chase purchases. Use Points on Amazon: When you link your Chase Ultimate Rewards account to Amazon.com, you can instantly redeem your points when you check out on the Amazon website or in the retail giant's branded apps. Gift Cards: Points earned with your Chase Premier credit card can also be redeemed for gift cards at 0.8 cents per point.
Welcome Offer
The Ink Business Premier Credit Card offers an attractive welcome offer to new cardholders: Earn $1,000 cash back after you spend $10,000 within the first three months of opening your account.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Benefits
While rewards are a big part of the Chase Bank Premier credit card, there are other perks available that make this card a solid choice for enterprising professionals.
Travel Rewards
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance: Ink Premier offers limited coverage for non-refundable trip expenses if a trip is shortened or completely canceled due to qualifying events such as severe weather or illness. Rental Car Collision Damage Waiver: Cardholders receive major rental car collision damage coverage for business-related rentals. Trip Delay Reimbursement: If your trip is delayed for more than 12 hours or overnight, you may be eligible for reimbursement for major expenses such as meals, toiletries, lodging and essential medicines. Reimbursement is up to $500 per ticket per trip. Baggage Delay Insurance: You may be reimbursed for items purchased due to the delayed arrival of your baggage, including essential items such as clothing and toiletries. Travel and Emergency Assistance Services: Access important services such as legal and travel assistance to help you overcome obstacles while traveling. Note that while these services may be provided by your card issuer, the actual cost of the services is usually paid for by the cardholder. Roadside Dispatch Services: If you run out of gas or get a flat tire, take advantage of our convenient road dispatch services to get you back on the road.
Business Benefits
Free employee cards: Provide your employees with their own card tied to their account at no extra cost Track employee spending: Use the card's digital tools to monitor employee spending and set spending limits if needed Account alerts: You can set up notifications when purchases are made using either the main card or employee card.
Shopping Benefits
Extended Warranty Protection: Extends original covered purchases for an additional year. Applies only to eligible warranties up to 3 years. Purchase Protection: Protects your purchases from theft and damage with additional protection including up to $10,000 per purchase and up to $50,000 total per account. Fraud Protection: Chase monitors for fraud around the clock and administrators can contact you by text, phone or email if fraudulent use is suspected. Zero Liability Protection: Cardholders are not held liable for unauthorized purchases made with their card without permission. Cell Phone Protection: All employees listed on their cell phone bill are covered for theft and damage through their Ink Premier card. Claims are limited to $1,000 per occurrence and subject to a $100 deductible. Limited to three claims per account per year.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Fine Print
Let's take a look at the basics of Ink Business Premier.
Fee
Annual fee: $195 Foreign transaction fee: None Late fee: $40 or 2% of minimum payment, whichever is greater Cash advance fee: $15 or 5% of total transaction amount, whichever is greater
Interest level
Regular APR: 19.49% – 27.49% Variable APR (only applicable as part of Chase's Flex for Business feature) Cash Advance APR: N/A Introductory APR Offer: N/A
Credit Limit
The Ink Business Premier card's credit limit starts at $10,000, but particularly creditworthy applicants — those with high credit scores and high incomes — can start with a higher limit.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Cons
Chase Ink Business Premier has a lot of benefits, especially for those interested in a simple rewards program, but it does have some drawbacks worth noting before you start applying.
Points cannot be transferred to hotel or airline partners
Some cards, and many of Chase's own cards, allow consumers to transfer rewards to other cards or approved hotel and airline partners. Ink Premier offers no such perks, instead focusing on cash-back rewards and a secondary points-based rewards system that is low-value and very limited.
High annual fee
The Chase Ink Business Premier has an annual fee of $195. That's lower than the fees some competitors charge, but it still comes to about $200 that you'll need to offset with rewards to justify the cost. Instead, a card with no annual fee might be a better choice.
You must pay your balance in full each month
Because the Ink Business Premier Credit Card is a charge card, you must repay the full amount due each month, and any late payments will incur a penalty of $40 or 2% of the minimum payment due.
However, there's a bit of a loophole here: You can take advantage of Chase's Flex for Business feature to pay off your balance over time, but any outstanding amounts will be subject to a variable APR interest rate ranging from 19.49% to 27.49%.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card Comparison
As we take a closer look at the Chase Ink Premier card, we'll see how it stacks up against other popular options.
Comparing Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
There's a lot of overlap between the Chase Ink Business Premier and Ink Business Unlimited® credit cards, but the Premier card has a better rewards plan, offering 2% to 5% cash back on eligible purchases compared to just 1.5% cash back on the Ink Business Unlimited.
Premier also has a higher welcome bonus, but you have to spend more to get it. Compared to Ink Business, Premier also has some additional benefits, such as shopping rewards and protection, travel insurance, etc. As for the annual fee, Ink Business Unlimited has none at all, while Ink Premier costs $195.
▶︎ Read more: Ink Business Unlimited Review
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card vs. American Express® Business Gold Card
The American Express® Business Gold Card immediately strikes you as it has a hefty annual fee of $375 (see rates and fees), while the Chase Inc. Business Premier has a steep annual fee of $195.
But Amex Business Gold offers plenty of perks, including Amex Early Access and Preferred Access, exclusive member experiences, travel insurance, and more. Its points system is more complicated than Ink's percentage-based cash back rewards, but it gives you more flexibility to earn the most points in your highest-spending categories.
The redemption procedures are also significantly different: Ink Premier primarily deals in cash back and also allows for lower-value points redemptions via Chase Travel, but Amex gives you a ton of options, including redeeming points for Amex Travel bookings, transferring points to travel partners, and exchanging points for statement credits and gift cards.
▶︎ Read more: AMEX Business Gold Card Review
Should I get the Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card?
If you make large business-related purchases frequently or plan to do so in the future, you should consider applying for the Ink Business Premier card.
This cashback card offers a great 2% return on general and small purchases, increasing to 2.5% on purchases over $5,000, meaning the more you spend on business-related expenses, the bigger your cashback bonus will be.
If you use Chase Travel to book your trip, you should also consider the Ink Business Premier. This card offers a notable 5% rewards rate, and for some people, this card works best in conjunction with other rewards cards.
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