Chase Ink Business Cash Card Review

Written by Dayana Yochim
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Andrea Coombes

March 12, 2024

For office-bound businesses, the 5% cashback rate on supplies, internet, cable and phone services is mwah 🤌. (Earning 2% on gas and restaurants … also cool.) Have another Chase card with Ultimate Rewards? The ability to combine rewards can pay off even more.

For a no-annual-fee business credit card, the 5% cashback rate the Chase Ink Business Cash card pays out on common business purchases is a rarity. When we say “common business purchases,” we’re talking about office supplies, internet, and cable and phone services. The next highest rewards tier is 2% cash back on spending at gas stations and restaurants. Still, businesspeople with big budgets beware: The elevated rates apply to up to $25,000 per 5% and 2% category spending per account year. Once you hit those limits, you’ll earn just 1%.

If a 1.5% no-spending-cap cashback card in the Chase family sounds more to your liking, see our thoughts on the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card.

The basics: Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year. Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year, and 1% cash back on all other purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn. New cardmember offers: $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening; 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from account opening.

Chase Ink Business Cash Card pros and cons

Chase Ink Business Cash Card cashback rewards spending categories

The following table shows the cashback rewards rate per $1 spent in the six most common spending categories. The “Bonus Rate” refers to the amount you can earn in excess of the card’s standard rewards rate.

Some cashback cards limit the spending amount eligible for the bonus rate (aka the “Spend Cap”). Once you hit that cap (e.g., $1,500 spending in a particular category during a defined time period), the rewards rate on future purchases in that category reverts to the lower “Default Rate.”

What we like

Color us impressed with the 5% cashback rate on business purchases (specifically office supplies, internet, and cable and phone services).

The 2% cashback rate that applies to gas station and restaurant purchases is another nice touch. (Here’s how Chase classifies various merchants for rewards purposes.)

The $900 sign-up bonus for new cardmembers for putting $6,000 on the card in the first three months is equivalent to earning 15% cash back. You’d have to spend $18,000 to earn that much at the top 5% cashback rate.

The other new cardmember perk — 12 interest-free months on new purchases — comes in handy if you have any big purchases on the horizon. (Minimum payments are still required and your variable APR kicks in after the year is over.)

Reward redemption options with the Chase Ink Business Cash card range from straight-up cash back (as a statement credit or direct deposit, no minimums) to gift cards, travel and merch via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

Here’s your shot to increase the value of your rewards. If you are the registered owner of the company, you can combine points with your other eligible Chase cards that have Ultimate Rewards for a bigger payday.

You’re also allowed to transfer points to the account of a member of your household if they have a Chase card with Ultimate Rewards.

Additional employee cards are free, as with most business cards, and you can set individual spending limits on each card. Remember, every time an authorized user swipes (or taps or whatever) means more rewards.

The Ink Business Cash card comes with fraud protection, extended warranty protection, trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance, travel and emergency assistance, roadside dispatch, and auto rental collision coverage in the U.S. and abroad.

Chase will hook you up with as many as 100,000 bonus points per year if you refer other business owners who are subsequently approved for Ink Business cards.

What we don't like

While the 5% rewards rate is great, keep in mind that qualified spending categories are limited to office supplies and connectivity bills. Purchases like shipping, travel and advertising earn a measly 1% cash back. So consider whether the rewards align with your business spending.

We expected some caveats with a no-annual-fee card offering a higher-than-average 5% rewards rate. And we found ‘em! We’ll use the next few bullet points to spell them out.

The 5% and 2% cashback rates are in play on just the first $25,000 spent in each respective category each year (not calendar year, but account anniversary year).

For example, once you spend $25,000 on restaurants/gas, subsequent purchases in that category earn a paltry 1% until your next account anniversary rolls around.

For strategic purchases, consider pairing the Ink Business Cash card with another more generous rewards credit card to use when the 1% default rewards rate would apply.

Prepare to pony up for balance transfers. There’s no interest-free grace period, and even if you have a large credit line, Chase limits transfers to $15,000 (including fees and interest charges) or the amount of your available credit, whichever is lower.

You’ll also pay a pretty high fee for the privilege — 5% (or $5, whichever is greater) of the amount of each transfer, which is one of the highest we’ve seen. On a $10,000 balance transfer, that comes to $500 in fees even before you pay a dime in interest.

Speaking of fees, cash advances are also subject to a higher-than-average 5% ($15 minimum) transaction fee and a variable APR that hovers around 25%.

And then there’s the 3% foreign transaction fee. If you work with international vendors or travel overseas, the extra cost can add up. The only Ink Business credit card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee is the Ink Business Preferred card. But it charges a $95 annual fee. Tradeoffs, right?

The bottom line

Is the Chase Ink Business Cash Card the best rewards card for your wallet? The answer depends entirely on your spending patterns. Let the numbers speak for themselves: Use the investor.com Cashback Credit Card Calculator to see which credit card pays back the highest rewards based on how much you spend each month.

Chase Ink Business Cash Card fine print

Chase Ink Business Cash card terms, conditions and pricing, plus all the rewards earning and redemption info — including how to combine and transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points — spelled out in detail.

Does the Chase Ink Business Cash Card charge an annual fee?

No, there is no annual fee for the Chase Ink Business Cash Card.

Does the Chase Ink Business Cash Card offer a welcome bonus?

Yes, the Chase Ink Business Cash Card has a welcome bonus of $900.

How much cash back can I earn with the Chase Ink Business Cash Card?

The average business that spends $2580 per month will earn $835.92 in cash back per year using the Chase Ink Business Cash Card. For comparison, the average annual rewards payout from the business credit cards in the investor.com database is $483.97, and $464.40 is the median.

These calculations are based on average consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the reward payout rates from the providers we track. Of course, you’re so much more than an average data point (aka “consumer unit,” in BLS parlance). The amount you can earn in cashback rewards using the Chase Ink Business Cash Card depends entirely on your unique spending habits.

Find out exactly how much you’ll rake in with the Chase Ink Business Cash Card by tailoring the spending inputs in the calculator above.

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Methodology

The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.

To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:

• Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
• Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
• Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
• Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
• Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.

What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)

About the Editorial Team

Dayana Yochim

Dayana Yochim has been writing (articles, books, podcasts, stirring speeches) about personal finance and investing for more than two decades, focusing on bringing clarity and the occasional comedic aside to what is often a murky, humorless topic. She’s written for NerdWallet, The Motley Fool, HerMoney.com, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Newsweek and others, and been a guest expert on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, NPR and wherever they’ll hand her a mic.

Carolyn Kimball

Carolyn Kimball is Managing Editor for Reink Media Group and the lead editor for content on investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.

Andrea Coombes

Andrea Coombes has 20+ years of experience helping people reach their financial goals. Her personal finance articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, and other publications, and she's shared her expertise on CBS, NPR, "Marketplace," and more. She's been a financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, and is working on becoming a Certified Financial Planner. She knows that owning pets isn't necessarily the best financial decision; her dog and two cats would argue this point.