Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Review
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card is tempting due to its straightforward rewards program and the potential for lots of cash back. But before you decide whether this card is right for you, we need to dig a little deeper.
Is Ink Business Premier worth it?
Chase Ink Premier is worth it for businesses who spend at least $5,000 per transaction and swipe their cards frequently. That $5,000 threshold is what gets you access to the 2.5% cashback rewards tier, meaning each $5,000 transaction gets you $125 back.
This business travel card is also worthwhile if you travel regularly and prefer to book through Chase Travel℠, opening up the highest rewards tier and 5% cash back.
But this is a charge card that you must pay off every month, so if you tend to carry a balance, you could easily sacrifice any accumulated rewards in the face of mounting interest.
Ink Business Premier: Highlights
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Annual fee: There’s an annual fee of $195.
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Reward rate: This card’s flat-rate rewards scheme offers 2.5% cash back on purchases of at least $5,000, plus unlimited 2% cash back on all other business-related buys. Chase Travel purchases offer the best rewards rate at 5% total cash back.
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Welcome offer: Earn a $1,000 cashback bonus once you charge at least $10,000 in purchases within three months of opening your account.
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Key perks: The flat-rate rewards scheme is easy to follow, and additional perks, such as purchase and travel protections, are attractive as well.
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Drawbacks: The card must be paid off in full every month, and cardholders making smaller purchases won’t rack up cashback bonuses very quickly.
Pros and cons
Who is Ink Business Premier best for?
The Chase Business Premier credit card is best for professionals who buy a lot of big-ticket items. This card has a rewards scheme that’s easy to understand and doesn’t deal with pesky expenditure categories that many other rewards cards have.
Cardholders should be loyal to, or at least happy to, use Chase Travel for most of their travel bookings. Ideally, cardholders will have other cards for racking up rewards on lower-ticket purchases like dinners out and basic office supplies.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Rewards
Because you’re not truly building credit or expanding your spending bandwidth using the Chase Ink Premier card, the primary attraction is rewards — and lots of them.
Earning rewards
Rewards are straightforward and delivered in the form of cash back, points or miles:
- 5% cash back on all purchases made through Chase Travel℠.
- 2.5% cash back for purchases totaling at least $5,000.
- 2% cash back on all other qualifying business buys.
Redeeming rewards
Ink Premier offers cash-back rewards as Ultimate Rewards points, which you can accept and redeem in several ways.
Let’s take a look:
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Statement credits: Your monthly cashback rewards can be added straight to your account as statement credits.
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Direct deposits: You may choose to redeem your cash rewards as a direct deposit to your linked bank account instead of as a statement credit.
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Shop Through Chase (shop with points): Use your Ultimate Rewards points to purchase products or services at a rate of 0.8 cents per point.
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Redeem points for cash back: Ultimate Rewards points have more value (1 cent per point) if you redeem them for cash versus spending them directly on Shop Through Chase purchases.
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Spend Points on Amazon: Link your Chase Ultimate Rewards account to Amazon.com and redeem points instantly when you check out on the Amazon website or via the retail giant’s branded app.
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Gift cards: Points earned via your Chase Premier credit card may also be redeemed for gift cards at the rate of 0.8 cents per point.
Welcome offer
The Ink Business Premier credit card rewards new cardholders with a tempting welcome offer. Spend $10,000 within the first three months of opening your account and earn $1,000 in cash back.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Benefits
Rewards are a big part of the Chase Bank Premier credit card, but there are other benefits on deck that help make this card a solid option for enterprising professionals.
Travel benefits
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Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: Ink Premier offers limited coverage for non-refundable travel expenses if your trip is cut short or canceled altogether due to a qualifying event, such as severe weather or illness.
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Auto rental collision damage waivers: Cardholders receive primary auto rental collision damage coverage for business-related rentals.
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Trip delay reimbursement: If your trip is delayed by at least 12 hours or overnight, you may be eligible for reimbursement for key expenses like meals, toiletries, lodging and essential medication. Reimbursement maxes out at $500 per ticket, per trip.
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Baggage delay insurance: You may be reimbursed for items purchased due to delayed arrival of your baggage, including essential items such as clothes and toiletries.
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Travel and emergency assistance services: Access vital services, including legal and travel assistance, to help overcome hurdles while you’re on the road. Note that these services may be facilitated by the card issuer, but the costs of the actual services are typically payable by the cardholder.
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Roadside dispatch services: Leverage handy road dispatch service to help get you going again in the event of an empty gas tank or flat tire.
Business benefits
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Free employee cards: Give your employees their own cards attached to your account for no extra charge.
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Track employee spending: Use the card’s digital tools to monitor employee spending and set spending limits, as needed.
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Account alerts: Set notifications to alert you when a purchase is made using your main card or an employee card.
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Extended warranty protection: Extend the original warranty eligible purchases by an additional year — only applicable for qualifying warranties of up to three years.
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Purchase protection: Safeguard purchases from theft or damage with extra protection that includes up to $10,000 per purchase, up to $50,000 total per account.
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Fraud protection: Chase monitors for fraudulent activity round-the-clock, with administrators accessible via text, phone and email if you suspect unauthorized use.
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Zero liability protection: Cardholders are not liable for unapproved purchases made by someone using their card without their permission.
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Cell phone protection: All employees listed on your cell phone bill receive theft and damage coverage via your Ink Premier card. Claims are limited to $1,000 each and are subject to a $100 deductible, with a cap of no more than three claims per account per year.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: The fine print
Let’s take a look at the basics of Ink Business Premier.
Fees
- Annual fee: $195
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Late payment fee: $40 or 2% of the minimum payment due, whichever amount is greater
- Cash advance fee: $15 or 5% of the total transaction amount, whichever amount is greater
Interest rates
- Regular APR: 19.49% - 27.49% variable APR (only applicable as part of Chase’s Flex for Business feature)
- Cash advance APR: N/A
- Intro APR offer: N/A
Credit limit
Credit limits for the Ink Business Premier card start at $10,000, but particularly creditworthy applicants, those with high credit scores and lofty income, could start out with even higher limits.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card: Drawbacks
Chase Ink Business Premier has a lot going for it, especially if you’re into straightforward rewards programs, but there are some drawbacks worth noting before you start filling out your application.
Can’t transfer points to hotel or airline partners
Some cards — and many of Chase’s own offerings — allow consumers to transfer rewards to other cards or approved hotel and airline partners. Ink Premier offers no such perk, focusing instead on cashback rewards and a low-value, very limited secondary point-based rewards system.
High annual fee
Chase Ink Business Premier has an annual fee of $195. While that’s still lower than the annual fee charged by some competitors, it’s still almost $200 you’ll need to offset with rewards to justify the expense. Instead, a no-annual-fee card may be a better choice.
Must pay your balance in full every month
Because the Ink Business Premier credit card is a charge card, you’re expected to pay off the total amount owed each month. Late payments are subject to a penalty of $40 or 2% of the minimum payment due.
However, there is 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 the amount owed will be subject to an interest rate of 19.49% to 27.49% variable APR.
How Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card compares
As you explore the ins and outs of the Chase Ink Premier card, see how it stacks up against some other prominent options.
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card vs. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
The Chase Ink Business Premier and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card have a lot of overlap, but the Premier card has a better rewards scheme, with 2%-5% cash back on eligible purchases versus just 1.5% cash back with Ink Business Unlimited.
Premier also has a higher welcome bonus, although you’ll need to spend more to get it. Compared to the Ink Business, Premier also offers a few extra perks, including shopping benefits and protections and travel insurance. As for annual fees, Ink Business Unlimited skips them altogether, while Ink Premier charges $195.
▶︎ Read more: Ink Business Unlimited review
Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card vs. American Express® Business Gold Card
Right off the bat, the American Express® Business Gold Card raises eyebrows with a weighty annual fee of $375 (see rates and fees) versus just $195 annually with Chase Ink Business Premier.
However, the Amex Business Gold offers a lot in return, including Amex Early and Preferred Access, member-only experiences and travel protections. Its point system is more complicated than Ink’s percentage-based cashback rewards, but you have the flexibility to earn the most on your highest spend categories.
Redemption procedures are also drastically different. With Ink Premier, you mostly deal cash back, plus the possibility of low-value point redemption via Chase Travel. But Amex gives you tons of options, including redeeming points for Amex Travel bookings, transferring points to travel partners or trading points for statement credits or gift cards.
▶︎ Read more: Amex Business Gold Card review
Should you get an Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card?
If you frequently make large business-related purchases or plan to do so in the future, you should consider applying for the Ink Business Premier card.
This cash-back card offers a decent rewards rate of 2% for general/lower-total purchases, which increases to 2.5% for purchases of $5,000 or more. In other words, the more you spend on business-related expenses, the bigger your cash-back bonuses will be.
You might also consider Ink Business Premier if you’re willing to use Chase Travel to make your travel bookings, as the rewards rate there is a noteworthy 5%. For some people, this card may be best used in tandem with several other rewards cards.
