Chase Ink Business Premier Benefits Guide

Nastasic/Getty Images: Illustration by Issiah Davis/Bankrate

Chase features an impressive array of business card options, but the Ink Business Premier® Credit Card should especially pique the interest of business owners who love earning cash back. The benefits of the Ink Business Premier include an incredible welcome bonus and solid earning rates, though the card does come with a $195 annual fee.

Unlike the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, the Ink Business Premier is marketed to business owners who are interested in earning cash back and aren’t especially interested in travel. While the cash back accumulates as Chase Ultimate Rewards points you can redeem through the Chase Travel portal, you can’t transfer those points to Chase’s airline and hotel partners with this card. You won’t get any value boost when you redeem points for travel through the Chase Travel portal, either.

Still, there are a few card perks worth talking about on the Premier — here’s the rundown.

Chase Ink Business Premier card benefits

There’s a lot to love when it comes to this card’s benefits. Here’s a breakdown of the most important ones:

Welcome bonus

The Chase Ink Business Premier comes with a welcome bonus of $1,000 in cash back after spending $10,000 in purchases in the first three months of account opening. You’ll receive the welcome bonus as 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you can then redeem for cash back.

Depending on your business, this could be an easy spending requirement to reach. But if you’re a sole proprietor who doesn’t tend to spend that much on your business each month, this card’s welcome bonus could be a stretch.

Rewards rates

The Ink Business Premier’s rewards rates are straightforward and generous. You can earn:

• 5 percent cash back on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal
• 2.5 percent cash back on purchases over $5,000
• 2 percent cash back on all other eligible purchases

Redeeming rewards

You can redeem points for cash, gift cards or travel through the Chase portal, or pay with points for Apple purchases. However, redeeming points through third-party vendors usually provides a poor value — less than one cent per point. We recommend that you cash out your points at a 1 cent per 1 point value whenever possible.

Flex for Business

The Ink Business Premier is technically a charge card that you’re supposed to pay in full every billing cycle. However, this card comes with Flex for Business, a feature that allows you to pay off eligible purchases over time, with interest. This can function as a safety net for your business when you can’t complete a payment in full.

Travel benefits

Although the Ink Business Premier isn’t geared toward frequent travelers, it comes with a range of travel insurance plans and benefits, including:

• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: If your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $5,000 per covered traveler and $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
• Auto rental collision damage waivers: To access, you’ll need to decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary when renting for business purposes and provides reimbursement up to $60,000 for theft and collision damage for most rental vehicles with an MSRP of $125,000 or less.
• Travel and emergency assistance services
• Roadside dispatch services
• No foreign transaction fees.

Shopping and travel protection benefits

Other perks of the Ink Business Premier include a suite of protection benefits, some of which are standard, such as:

• Purchase protection: Covers your eligible new purchases for 120 days from the date of purchase against damage or theft up to $10,000 per item.
• Fraud protection
• Zero liability protection
• Extended warranty protection

Other benefits are more unique, like cellphone protection. With this benefit, you (and any employees on your monthly cellphone bill) will be protected against covered damage or theft for up to $1,000 per claim (with a maximum of three claims in a 12-month period and a $100 deductible per claim).

Maximizing the Chase Ink Business Premier

To get the most value out of this card, follow these tips:

• Obtain the welcome offer. While you’re working on meeting the $10,000 spending requirement for the welcome bonus, your best bet is to make two purchases of at least $5,000 each within the first three months. Since you’ll get 2.5 percent cash back for every purchase of $5,000 or more, spending the first $10,000 this way will help you earn $250 in cash back as well as the $1,000 welcome bonus. That more than covers your $195 annual fee for the first year.
• When booking travel, go to the Chase portal first. Check the Chase Travel portal first to see whether it offers competitive travel prices. If you’re able to book travel through the portal, you’ll get an unlimited 5 percent cash back.
• Use where you don’t get bigger rewards elsewhere. At a 2 percent reward rate on all eligible purchases, the Ink Business Premier makes a great choice for filling in the reward gaps. If you don’t have a card that earns a larger reward rate in a given category, use this card to maximize your earned rewards.

The bottom line

Small business owners who are primarily interested in cash back may like the simplicity of the Chase Ink Business Premier, along with its high welcome bonus and good-to-excellent earning rates.

However, if you want to transfer points to airline or hotel partners, you might want to opt for the Ink Business Preferred instead. This card comes with an equally impressive welcome bonus and good earning rates. It also offers a 25 percent boost on points redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel portal, as well as the ability to transfer points to Chase’s hotel and airline loyalty partners — all for a lower annual fee of $95.

Still not sure whether this is the right card to add to your portfolio? Check out our most recent picks for the best business credit cards to help you compare your options.