Ink Business Preferred Review
The small-business version of the Sapphire Preferred, with a bigger welcome bonus and a broader 3x category.
Welcome bonus
100,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards structure
- 3xtravel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising on social media and search engines (on first $150,000 in combined purchases per year)
- 1xeverything else
Perks & benefits
- 25% more value when redeeming through Chase Travel℠
- 1:1 point transfer to 14 airline and hotel partners (same as Sapphire family)
- Primary rental car coverage on business-related rentals
- Cell phone protection (up to $1,000 per claim) when you pay your phone bill with the card
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
- Purchase protection and extended warranty
- No foreign transaction fees
Who this card is for
- Small business owners with $2,000+/month in advertising or shipping spend
- Sole proprietors and freelancers (LLC not required to apply)
- Anyone consolidating business phone/internet expenses onto one card
- Points-and-miles collectors who want a second Ultimate Rewards earner
Pros & cons
Pros
- 90K welcome bonus is one of the largest in the small-business card market
- 3x on advertising and shipping is category-leading for e-commerce and marketing spend
- Sapphire-tier transfer partners at a business-card annual fee
- Chase business cards do NOT count against 5/24 personal-card limit
Cons
- $95 annual fee is not waived first year
- 3x categories cap at $150K combined spend per year
- Business documentation may be requested during application review
- No first-year fee waiver like some competitor cards
Our take
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is the highest-value small-business travel card, period. The 100K welcome bonus alone is worth $2,000+ when transferred to airline partners — over 20 years of the $95 annual fee. And unlike personal Chase cards, business cards do not count against the 5/24 rule, which means points-and-miles users can add this without eating into their personal-card slots.
The 3x category is the sleeper feature. Most cards give you 3x on 'travel'; the Ink Preferred gives you 3x on travel PLUS advertising (Meta, Google), shipping (UPS, FedEx), phone, internet, and cable. If you run any kind of small business with digital advertising spend, you are looking at 3x on categories no personal card touches. E-commerce operators with $10K/month in Meta ads earn 360K points a year on advertising alone — that is $7,000+ in travel value.
You do not need an LLC or S-corp to apply. Chase accepts sole proprietors (freelancers, consultants, side-hustle operators) with just your name and Social Security number in the business fields. For anyone with even modest self-employment income, this card is the highest-ROI first business card on the market.