Amazing news for those who love to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards!
Too many business owners are sitting on a debit card or using a low-value business credit card. This is because they don’t know any better. It’s time to get rewarded for your spending. Don’t miss out! Start with $750-$1,000 in cash or $1,800+ in free travel with Chase Ink Business Credit Cards. These three cards are some of the top-ranked cards on Travel Freely. Spend 5-10 minutes to open up a new business card and start racking up the free money.
Update 3/21/24: Exciting news for those with lower monthly spending. There’s a new offer on the Chase Ink Business Cash® that is much easier on the spending requirements and cuts the monthly spending required in half. Here’s a breakdown of this offer.
Don’t be fooled by other cards with large sign-up bonuses. Not all points are equal. Points from Chase business cards are the best points in the eyes of most Travel Freely users. They are highly valued compared to other programs. We value them at 1.8 cents per point. Why? Because of their value when transferred to travel partners like Southwest, United, Hyatt, or Marriott.
Looking for instructions on how to apply for a business credit card? Click here to skip down below for step-by-step instructions.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® – 75,000 points or $750 cash (Learn More)
Great offer for a no annual fee card! A no-brainer, great business card. Your choice to receive 1.5% cash back or 1.5x points.
An all-around great cash-back Chase business card with no annual fee. It’s very simple. You earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases using your Chase Ink Business Unlimited. Furthermore, it is great if you need to carry a balance for the first 12 months. This can be a great standalone card among the Chase Business Ink cards. However, it is also an excellent companion card to the Chase Ink Business Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Sapphire Preferred! Like the Chase Ink Business Cash, you or a household member must have one of these cards in order to access Chase’s transfer partners. Learn more about this card with our Chase Ink Business Unlimited Complete Guide.
- Earn 1.5X rewards on everything
- Great for carrying a balance. Terms apply.
- No Annual Fee
- Note: This card is marketed as cash back, but you actually earn points that are then able to be redeemed for Travel, Gift Cards, Cash, etc.
Chase Ink Business Cash® – 75,000 points or $750 cash (Learn More)
Great signup bonus for a business card with no annual fee, now with an extended timeline for hitting the spend requirement. Great for carrying a balance. 5x earning categories, and if paired with a premier Chase credit card (one that carries an annual fee), your points are worth even more.
Out of the three Chase business cards, this card has an incredible signup bonus for a no-fee card and even better, it now has a multi-tiered offer where you have 6 months to meet the spending requirement of $6,000. This new offer stretches out your required spending to an average of $1,000 monthly over 6 months. Previously, and still for its cousin equivalent, the requirement was $6,000 in 3 months, or $2,000 monthly. It’s an excellent companion to the Chase Ink Business Preferred, personal Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred. Why? In order to access Chase’s transfer partners, you or a household member must hold one of these three cards. In addition, this card earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards like the personal Sapphire cards. Learn more about this card with our Chase Ink Business Cash Complete Guide.
- Earn 5X rewards (on first $25k spent) for phone, TV, internet, and office supply stores.
- Get 2X rewards on gas and restaurants
- Great for carrying a balance. Terms apply.
- No Annual Fee
- Note: This card is marketed as cash back, but you actually earn points that are then able to be redeemed for Travel, Gift Cards, Cash, etc.
Chase Ink Business Preferred® – 100,000 Points (Learn More)
The Chase Ink Business Preferred card is the best card among the Chase business cards. This card has a great sign-up bonus and 3X categories. It’s hard to beat this Chase Ink card. Especially when you’re looking for an all-around business card that has flexible redemption options. Also, it can be combined with your personal Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Learn more about this card with our Chase Ink Business Preferred Complete Guide.
- Earns 3X rewards on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year)
- Points worth 25% more when redeemed for travel
- Cell phone protection against theft or damage
- No foreign transaction fees
| Card | Sign-up Bonus | Spending Required | Annual Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ink Preferred | 100,000 | $8,000 in first 3 months | $95 |
| Ink Cash | Up to 75,000 | Earn the first tier bonus (35,000 points) after spending $3,000 in first 3 months, plus earn the second tier bonus (40,000 points) after spending $6,000 total in first 6 months | $0 |
| Ink Unlimited | 75,000 | $6,000 in first 3 months | $0 |
How to Apply
Click through below to move forward with a certain card. It is also important to know whether you are eligible to apply or not.
Tell Chase about your business
The first part of the application is about your business. Your answers should be straightforward if you already have a well-established business. But if you are just starting, below are some examples of how to fill this out, assuming that you do not have any employees. Then, you operate as a sole proprietorship (which is the most basic form of a business) if you do not have a Tax ID. If the examples given don’t match your circumstances, use your judgment to answer differently :
Business Information
- Legal Name of Business: Use your name as the business name if you don’t have a business name.
- Business Name on Card: Again, use your name as the business name if you don’t have a business name.
- Business Mailing Address: Your home address can be used if you don’t have a separate business address.
- Type of business: Sole Proprietor
- Tax Identification Number: This can be your SSN, but you can also create an EIN for your business (found here)
- Business category/type/subtype: Pick whichever categories are closest to your business
- Number of Employees: 0 (you do not count yourself)
- Annual Business Revenue: 0 (or project an amount based on monthly revenue to date)
- Years in Business: (number of years you’ve been operating the business with or without revenue)
Personal Information
This part of the application is all about you personally:
- Authorizing Officer: Owner
- Gross annual income: Include all of your income and not just business income
- The rest should be self-explanatory
Video walkthrough on how to apply
How to improve your chances of success
The following tips can help with approval, but none are guaranteed:
- Use an EIN instead of your SSN when entering your Business Tax ID on the application
- Do not call if your application goes to pending
- Call if your application is denied
Do not call if your application goes to pending
When applications go to pending, people frequently find that they get approved without calling. But when people do call, they often get tough analysts who deny the application.
The approval process goes through up to 3 “gates”:
- Instant Approval (this is rare with Ink business cards)
- Automatic Approval, sent by mail (may take several weeks)
- Analyst Phone Approval
If you’re not instantly approved, then calling bypasses gate 2. Doing this may reduce your overall chance of approval. So I recommend waiting to get a letter in the mail. Hopefully, it will say “congratulations”.
Of course, if Chase contacts you asking for more information, then you absolutely should talk to them on the phone. In some cases, they may simply need more information about you or your business before your application can go through the next review stage.
Call if you are denied (and call again)
If your application is outright denied (either instantly or by mail), then call Chase’s business reconsideration number, which is open Monday through Friday during business hours. There are many cases where analysts have overturned denials over the phone. If denied, call reconsideration at 1-888-270-2127 for business cards.
The analyst will likely ask a lot of questions. Make sure your answers match your application. Also, if you have multiple Chase business cards, make sure to let the analyst know that you don’t need Chase to extend you more credit. Tell them that you are willing to move available credit from another card or cancel another card if necessary. Be prepared to answer financial questions about your business, why you want the card, and how you expect to use it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying that you were attracted by the signup bonus and by the 5X spend categories (for example).
If the analyst doesn’t approve your application, call again. Many people have had luck simply calling a few times until they reached an analyst willing to take a chance on their business.
Any questions? Feel free to ask in the comments below or email us at letstalk at travelfreely.com.
Get to Know Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are valuable and flexible. At the simplest level, you can redeem points for cash or merchandise, but only at one cent per point. The best value is to use the points for travel. You can use points to book travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal, where points are worth 1.25 cents each with premium cards (Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, for example) or 1.5 cents each with the ultra-premium Sapphire Reserve card.
Ultimate Rewards points associated with a premium or ultra-premium card can also be transferable to an airline or hotel program. If your points are associated with a no-fee “cash back” Ultimate Rewards card, then you will want to move those points to a premium or ultra-premium card before redeeming them in order to maximize value.
The most popular Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners are Southwest, United, Hyatt, and Marriott. Points transfer 1:1.
Best Strategies by Business Type
Large businesses or owners of multiple businesses
It may be worth having two of these cards if your business spends a lot of money in certain categories. For example, you would obviously want the Ink Business Preferred for the large sign-up bonus and great ongoing benefits like 3x categories with monthly spending. Then, you could pair it with the Ink Business Cash and utilize the 5x categories for specific monthly spending. In addition, you would connect your accounts and transfer those Ink Cash points to the Ink Preferred portal to get an extra 25% in the Chase Travel portal.
Owners of multiple businesses
You can get more than one of these cards if you have multiple EINs or a spouse who can apply for an additional card using her SSN. You may also want to take a look at your monthly spending and see if you could benefit by having separate business cards for each business. Travel Freely Member Rob has 6 LLCs and got six Ink Preferred cards one year! Tip: Use Travel Freely to automate your card management.
Very small or side business owners
Yes, you have a business. It’s common for people to have businesses without realizing it. If you sell items at a yard sale, or on eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning a rental property, renting on Airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you form a corporation of some sort.
The best option for a small business may be the Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited because of the lower spending requirement to hit a bonus (and no annual fee).
Sole Proprietors
When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business address and phone, and your social security number as the business Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.
Great offer for a no annual fee card! A no-brainer, great business card. Your choice to receive 1.5% cash back or 1.5x points.
Great signup bonus for a business card with no annual fee, now with an extended timeline for hitting the spend requirement. Great for carrying a balance. 5x earning categories, and if paired with a premier Chase credit card (one that carries an annual fee), your points are worth even more.
Common Questions:
Can I put personal spending on business cards?
This is fairly common. While it’s good practice to separate business and personal spending, and banks may dissuade you from doing this, it isn’t illegal, and many people do this.
What are the rules for getting more than one of these cards?
These Chase business cards are all treated as separate cards. You can only apply and get approved for more than one. Keep in mind Chase only allows you to apply and be approved for 2 cards (2 personal, 2 business, or 1 personal + 1 business) per 30 days. Also, people have reported issues when trying to apply for two cards on the same day. So it’s better to space out the applications by a few days.
If I have a personal Chase card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, can I transfer the points I earn on my business card to my personal card?
Absolutely. You can transfer points to other Chase accounts you have or those who are household members or authorized users. Here’s a walkthrough on how to Chase merge points.
Do these cards count towards 5/24?
You know that the Chase 5/24 rule is important when you are getting into travel rewards. So you must be under 5/24 to be approved. However, compared to personal cards, these Chase cards do NOT count towards your 5/24 count.
Any questions? Feel free to ask in the comments below or email us at letstalk at travelfreely.com.
