The Ink Business Preferred®Credit Card has been around for a few years now and still remains to be my favorite of all the Chase Ultimate Reward earning credit cards. Not only does it come with a new 120,000 point sign up bonus, it also comes with some great benefits that can save you money, even though you aren’t traveling and are instead trapped at home. While this card is slightly harder to get due to it being a business card (but by no means impossible), it is one I would definitely consider adding to your wallet.
Key Link:
Ink Business Preferred Credit Card: Earn 120,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. $95 annual fee.
1. 120,000 Point Offer! A $2,400 Valuation in My Books!
This card currently has the highest available offer out of all of the Chase Ultimate Reward cards. With the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, you’ll earn 120,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on the card within the first three months.
The points earned with the card are worth 1.25 cents each when booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. That means the 120,000 point sign up bonus is worth a MINIMUM of $1,250 towards travel. Or, these points can also be transferred to loyalty partners where you could potentially receive a higher value based on how you redeem your points. Some popular transfer partners include Hyatt, United, British Airways, Singapore Air, etc. I personally value my Chase Ultimate Reward points at a minimum of 2 cents per point, so I value this sign up offer at $2,400.
Alternatively, if right now is not the right time to be accruing points in miles in your household, you can cash in the 120,000 points for $1,200. That is cash right back into your pocket. So even though you might think of this as a travel credit card, the welcome bonus currently remains the highest offer out there if you are simply looking for cash back.
2. Amazing Cell Phone Protection Insurance
This card is one of the few credit card that carries cell phone protection. As long as you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, you are covered. This means if your phone is damaged or stolen, you will be reimbursed the cost of replacing the phone or getting it fixed. You are allowed to file a claim three times per year rolling 12 months and will be reimbursed up to $1,000 each time, minus a $100 deductible. Not only are you covered, so is everyone else on your bill. While there are some other cards that also offer cell phone protection, those cards do not allow you to file as many claims per year.
Related: Ink Business Preferred cell phone coverage
I personally have taken advantage of this benefit one too many times now. With two young kids, my phone seems to break more times than I’d like to admit. Also, both my dad and my sister have used this benefit as we are on a family plan and I am the account owner. When my phone broke the umpteenth time, I was able to purchase the exact same phone and received a check in the mail for the cost of the new phone, minus the $100 deductible. Submitting the claim was an easy process and the check came within a few weeks. I was actually surprised at how seamless the process was. Even though most individuals are stuck at home right now, many of my cell phone incidents have been in the comfort of my home, so being protected during this time is still a necessity.
Related: Getting amazing value from the Ink Business Preferred card with cell phone protection
3. Earn 3x Points on Travel
Both the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve will give you 3x points on all travel purchases (although the Ink Business Preferred is capped at the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year, then 1X points), which is more then any of the other Chase Ultimate Reward earning cards. But, the annual fee for the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is significantly less than the fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve. With the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card (along with many other Chase credit cards), you receive travel insurance in case your flight is delayed or cancelled causing you to spend more money on an extra hotel or food costs. You also receive baggage protection in case your bags are delayed. Not only that, if you need to cancel your trip due to a sickness or other covered reasons, if you paid with your Chase card you are covered. That is not the case with most American Express credit cards. So for those reasons, I 100% ALWAYS pay with a Chase card that carries these benefits. Just note that this type of insurance does not include pandemics, like we are currently seeing with Coronavirus.
Even though you might not be traveling now, you might be planning travel for 6-12 months out. Having a card that protects you is still important.
Related: No. 1 credit card for those starting out on the points and miles world
4. It Does Not Count Against Your “5/24” Number
Since this is a business card it will NOT count against the number of cards that fall within the Chase “5/24” rule when looking to apply for another card. That is one great perk when applying for a Chase business credit card and means that you should apply for this card (or another Chase business card) PRIOR to applying for a Chase personal credit card.
Related: Most business credit cards do not count against the “5/24” rule
5. You are Earning Ultimate Reward Points
Ultimate Reward points are one of my favorite point currencies. While I like diversifying my points into many programs to ensure I am able to snag the best flight or hotel option, if you are looking to really put all your efforts into one program, Chase Ultimate Reward points have a strong value and can be extremely flexible. You can either use the points through their travel portal where all points equal 1.25 cents per point (with this particular card), or you can transfer your points to a partner program at a 1:1 ratio.
The partner loyalty programs include: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Emirates, Flying Blue, Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United, Virgin Atlantic, IHG, Marriott, Hyatt
On the hotel front, my favorite partner is Hyatt since their points are worth more than the others giving you a better valuation. For example, you can stay at the Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica (a Hyatt property) for only 25,000 Hyatt points per night (during a standard date) — thus requiring only 25,000 Ultimate Reward points. Rates at this property can easily be over $600 a night, meaning each Ultimate Reward point is worth well over 2 cents per point!
For the airlines, I’d say United, British Airways, Iberia, Singapore Airlines, and Air France/KLM will give you the best valuation — especially since they have a ton of partners for everyones needs.
Overall…
The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is by far one of my favorite credit cards which will always hold a spot in my wallet. The sign up bonus is great to incentivize you to apply for the card and the cell phone protection is worth it on a yearly basis and has made my $95 annual fee well worth it in my household!
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. As always, thank you for supporting the blog and enjoy traveling on a deal!
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Chase has really really tightened their requirements for getting a business card. It’s not nearly as easy as it was before all these HUGE changes in the points and miles world.
” personally have taken advantage of this benefit one too many times now. With two young kids, my phone seems to break more times than I’d like to admit.”
Let’s hope you aren’t one of those that oppose health insurance for everyone. Always many of those jerks in this world, all insurance for me, none for you.