When it comes to Chase’s Ink Business credit cards, the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card typically garners the most attention. However, there’s a lot to like about its no-annual-fee sibling, the Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card. With a fixed-rate rewards structure and generous sign-up bonus, small-business owners should seriously consider adding this card to their wallets.
That’s especially true while the Ink Unlimited is offering its best-ever sign-up bonus. If this card has piqued your interest, let’s walk through the details of the Ink Business Unlimited to see whether it might be a great addition to your wallet.
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Quick overview of the Ink Business Unlimited
The Ink Business Unlimited is Chase’s basic business credit card, offering an easy way to earn rewards on everyday business expenses. Here are a few of the card’s standout benefits:
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There’s a best-ever welcome bonus available right now: Earn a $900 bonus after you make $6,000 in purchases within the first three months after account opening. That’s a good return for a business credit card without an annual fee. Even better, the bonus can double in value if you pair this card with one in the Ultimate Rewards program, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Ink Business Preferred (more on that below).
It offers solid rewards on everyday business spending: You’ll earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all spending, so you can use this card on spending not covered by the bonus categories of your other business credit cards.
It complements the other Ink Business credit cards: The Ink Business Unlimited fits nicely among two of three of Chase’s existing business credit cards — the Ink Business Cash Credit Card and the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card. These three cards don’t offer overlapping rewards (with the exception of the Ink Cash and Ink Preferred both offering rewards on internet, cable and phone services), meaning you can combine all three to maximize rewards across most business spending.
It can help you finance large business purchases: The card offers a 0% introductory annual percentage rate for 12 months on new purchases, which can help new and growing businesses finance larger expenses. Make sure you pay off the balance before the introductory period ends, or you’ll end up paying a 16.24%-22.24% variable APR (knocking out the value of any rewards you would earn with the card).
It’s free to keep in your wallet. There’s no annual fee, so you don’t have to figure out how much spending you need to put on this card to justify holding it.
For more details, check our full review of the Ink Business Unlimited.
Who should get the Ink Business Unlimited?
There are many business owners who could benefit from using the Ink Business Unlimited. Consider adding this card to your wallet if:
You don’t already have a business card for everyday spending
Look at your existing business credit cards. They likely reward only 1 point per dollar or 1% cash back on non-bonus spending. That’s where the Ink Business Unlimited comes in. Use the card to fill in that gap and boost your rewards-earning potential on everything from paying taxes to shopping for your business at a hardware store. The goal of a robust rewards credit card portfolio is to earn more than 1 point per dollar (or 1% back) on every purchase. Having a card dedicated to everyday expenses that do not fall into common categories on other cards can earn you hundreds of dollars in additional rewards every year.
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You have other Ink Business or Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning cards
The rewards structure on the Ink Business Unlimited is especially valuable if you hold other Chase cards, particularly other Ink Business cards or those that fall within the Ultimate Rewards program.
With the Ink Business Cash, you’ll earn 5% back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services each account anniversary year. Then the Ink Business Preferred can be your go-to card for travel and advertising. It earns 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases for travel, shipping, internet services, cable services, phone services and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year.
However, the real value of holding the Ink Business Cash or the Ink Business Unlimited comes for those with the Ink Business Preferred, the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
That’s because holding at least one of the latter three cards allows you to convert the Business Unlimited’s cash back into fully transferable (and thus more valuable) Ultimate Rewards points.
Related: How to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points between accounts
For those who have the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred, you can redeem your Ultimate Rewards points for 1.25 cents apiece in the Chase travel portal. If you have the Sapphire Reserve, you can redeem your points at 1.5 cents each in the travel portal. However, you can expand that even more by transferring your points to one of the program’s valuable transfer partners. Doing this could increase the value of points to 2 cents each or more, according to TPG’s most recent valuations. That makes the effective return on Business Unlimited spending an impressive 3% on all purchases.
Unfortunately, the New Business Card! Ink Business Premier℠ Credit Card does not allow cash back earned to be converted into Ultimate Rewards points, so it doesn’t complement the other Ink cards very well.
You are a freelancer or have a side hustle
Although you need to have some sort of business to qualify for a small-business credit card, you don’t have to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or have a registered LLC to apply. Freelance writers or photographers, online Etsy or eBay sellers, those who teach music or coach a sport on the side and just about every side hustle in between can benefit from a business credit card — especially one that comes with no annual fee.
If you’re only spending a couple of hundred dollars a month on an array of business expenses, a card that offers specific bonus categories and comes with an annual fee may not make the most sense. The Ink Business Unlimited offers a flat 1.5% cash back on everything without charging a fee, which makes it perfect for any sole proprietor or business owner with lower spending habits — especially if you have the Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve as your personal rewards card.
Related reading: You might be eligible for a business credit card without realizing it
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Who shouldn’t get the Ink Business Unlimited?
There are many reasons to apply for the Ink Business Unlimited, but that doesn’t make it the best option for everyone. You should consider other small-business card options if:
You have another fixed-rate business credit card
If you already have a card that offers rewards on everyday expenses (such as one of Capital One’s Spark business cards), holding the Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card may not make sense. Having multiple fixed-rate cards can be redundant while unnecessarily splitting your potential rewards across multiple accounts. That makes it hard to rack up enough rewards for a worthwhile redemption, especially for a small business. Of course, if you currently have a card earning fixed-rate points or cash back and it’s not from Chase, switching your everyday expenses to the Business Unlimited in order to earn Chase’s points instead of what you were earning previously is still something to consider.
Related reading: The best no-annual-fee business credit cards
You’re looking for a card that offers bonus categories
As mentioned earlier, this is a fixed-rate card. Although it offers hard-to-beat rewards on spending that doesn’t fall into other cards’ bonus categories, its rewards are fairly weak when it comes to travel and office supply spending. If you need a new credit card and you don’t already have one that offers top-of-the-line bonus categories for the areas in which your business spends frequently, you should pass on the Ink Business Unlimited. This should be a complementary card — not one you choose for all of your business expenses.
Related: The best business credit cards
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Your other cards earn Amex Membership Rewards
It’s important to diversify your points portfolio across both business and personal accounts. However, if you are someone who only has American Express cards, there’s an Amex option that helps you maximize points within the Amex ecosystem in the same way as pairing the Business Unlimited with other cards in the Chase ecosystem.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar on the first $50,000 in spending each calendar year with no category restrictions (then 1 point per dollar thereafter). Those points can be pooled with rewards earned with other business cards (like The Business Platinum Card® from American Express or the American Express® Business Gold Card). However, you’ll also be able to combine them with your personal Membership Rewards points. So, if most of your existing cards are earning Amex Membership Rewards points, it makes more sense to use the Blue Business Plus for your everyday expenses to maximize the Membership Rewards program.
Related: The power of the Amex trifecta: Platinum, Gold and Blue Business Plus
While the Blue Business Plus doesn’t offer the same lucrative welcome bonus as the Ink Business Unlimited, the long-term value of being able to pool your rewards across your other cards could prove to be worth the welcome bonus sacrifice.
Interested in the Amex Blue Business Plus? Check out our full credit card review.
Bottom line
The Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card is an important part of the Chase Ink family of cards, thanks to its earning rate on everyday purchases. The quality welcome bonus (currently the best we’ve ever seen on the card) and the lack of an annual fee make this card even more attractive. It should make a good addition to the wallets of many business owners, but it’s not the perfect card and won’t be the right fit for everyone. Make sure you have other rewards credit cards in hand — particularly ones that offer generous bonus points on your common spending categories — before picking up an Ink Business Unlimited.
Related: 10 considerations for your small business credit card strategy
Also, keep in mind that Chase will typically deny your application for many of its popular credit cards — including the Ink Business Unlimited — if you’ve opened five or more new credit cards in the last 24 months from any issuer. This is unofficially called the 5/24 rule, and it also includes accounts on which you’re an authorized user, though you can sometimes call and ask for authorized user accounts to not be included in Chase’s consideration. While most business credit cards don’t add to your 5/24 status, you do need to be under 5/24 to be approved for Chase’s business credit cards.
Official application link: Earn $900 in bonus cash back with the Ink Business Unlimited card after spending $6,000 on the card within three months from account opening
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Mike Cetera and Ryan Smith.
