Chase Ink Business Preferred Review: Best Business Travel Card?

The Chase Ink Business Preferred is one of the best business credit cards available for people who run any kind of business — including freelancers, LLCs, and self-employed individuals. It earns Chase Ultimate Rewards (the most flexible points currency), has a strong welcome bonus, and crucially, doesn’t affect your personal 5/24 count.

The Basics

Annual fee: $95
Card type: Business credit card
Points currency: Chase Ultimate Rewards

Welcome bonus: Typically 90,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $8,000 in the first 3 months
At 1.5-2¢/point, that’s $1,350-1,800 in travel value from the bonus alone.

Earning Rates

• 3x points on the first $150,000/year in combined purchases:
  • Travel (flights, hotels, rental cars, transit)
  • Shipping
  • Internet, cable, and phone services
  • Advertising purchases (social media, search engines)
• 1x points on all other purchases

The 3x on internet/phone/advertising is where this card stands out for small business owners. If you run any digital advertising (Facebook Ads, Google Ads), pay for software subscriptions, or ship products, those categories earn 3x points that most other cards don’t reward at all.

Why the 5/24 Bypass Matters

Chase’s 5/24 rule limits approval for personal Chase cards if you’ve opened 5+ cards in the past 24 months. Business cards don’t report to your personal credit bureau — so the Ink Business Preferred doesn’t add to your personal 5/24 count.

This means you can accumulate Chase Ultimate Rewards through business cards without using up your personal 5/24 slots for consumer cards (Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, etc.).

For someone building a Chase rewards stack, the typical order is:

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve (personal, uses a 5/24 slot)
2. Chase Ink Business Preferred (business, doesn’t affect 5/24)
3. Chase Ink Business Cash or Ink Business Unlimited (additional business cards)

Each Ink card brings its own welcome bonus (90,000-75,000 points) that combines into the same Ultimate Rewards pool as your Sapphire card.

Chase Ultimate Rewards: Why They’re Valuable

Ink Business Preferred points pool directly with any personal Chase Sapphire or Ink card. This matters because the transfer partners available depend on your card tier:

With an Ink Business Preferred alone, you can redeem points through Chase Travel at 1.25¢/point.

With a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred, the pooled points become transferable to:

• World of Hyatt (1:1) — best for hotel redemptions
• United MileagePlus (1:1)
• Southwest Rapid Rewards (1:1)
• British Airways Avios (1:1)
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue (1:1)
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer (1:1)
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (1:1)
• Marriott Bonvoy (1:1)
• IHG One Rewards (1:1)

This is why the Chase ecosystem is so powerful: Ink card earning + Sapphire card unlocks premium redemptions.

Who Qualifies for a Business Card?

Business credit cards don’t require a formal company registration. You qualify if you have any self-employment income, freelance work, consulting, selling goods online, or a side business. Your Social Security Number works as your business identifier.

When applying, use your actual business details. If you’re a sole proprietor, that’s a valid business type. Use your home address as the business address if you don’t have a separate office.

You don’t need high revenue. Many people are approved for business cards with modest side income.

Other Chase Ink Cards

Chase Ink Business Cash (no annual fee):

• 5% on office supplies, internet, cable, phone (first $25,000/year)
• 2% on gas and dining (first $25,000/year)
• 1% elsewhere
• Welcome bonus: typically $750 cash back (or 75,000 UR when paired with Sapphire)

Chase Ink Business Unlimited (no annual fee):

• 1.5% on everything (no categories)
• Welcome bonus: typically $750 cash back (or 75,000 UR when paired with Sapphire)

Together, the three Ink cards cover nearly every business expense category at elevated rates, all feeding into the same Ultimate Rewards pool:

• Ink Preferred: travel, shipping, internet/phone/advertising at 3x
• Ink Cash: office supplies, internet at 5x
• Ink Unlimited: catch-all at 1.5x

Many business owners hold 2-3 of these cards simultaneously for maximum category coverage.

Cell Phone Protection

The Ink Business Preferred includes cell phone damage and theft protection when you pay your monthly cell bill with the card. Up to $1,000 per claim, up to 3 claims per year, with a $100 deductible. For business owners who depend on their phone, this alone can be worth hundreds per year.

The Travel Protections

• Trip cancellation/interruption: Up to $5,000 per trip
• Primary rental car collision coverage: Full replacement coverage when renting for business, no need to file through personal auto insurance
• Baggage delay insurance: Up to $100/day for delayed bags
• Trip delay reimbursement: Up to $500 per ticket for delays of 12+ hours

Bottom Line

For any business owner in the Chase ecosystem — or anyone looking to build it — the Ink Business Preferred is a core card. The $95 annual fee is easily justified by the welcome bonus alone in year one, and the 3x categories cover a broad range of business spending.

The real power is accumulating 90,000+ Ultimate Rewards from a single application without touching your 5/24 count, then combining them with Sapphire points for premium travel redemptions.

Always verify current welcome bonus offers, earning rates, and card benefits directly with Chase before applying.