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They’re abnormally high welcome bonuses for no-annual-fee cards
The ability to earn a welcome bonus worth up to $900 in cash back is already rare among rewards credit cards, but the fact that you’ll be earning it by using a no-annual-fee credit card is staggering.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
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Rewards
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 (then 1%); 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year (then 1%); 1% cash back on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
Earn $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
0% for the first 12 months from account opening on purchases; N/A for balance transfers
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
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Rewards
Earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business
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Welcome bonus
Earn $900 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
0% for the first 12 months from account opening on purchases; N/A for balance transfers
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
You’ll earn Ultimate Rewards points, not cash
Although they’re officially billed as cash-back cards, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card don’t directly earn cash. Instead, they allow you to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, which you can redeem for cash back at a rate of 1 cent apiece.
In other words, you’ll actually earn 90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points after spending $6,000 with the card within the first three months of account membership, which is worth $900 in cash back once you redeem the points.
Here’s why that matters: If you also have either the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card®, Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you have the ability to redeem your Ultimate Rewards® points for travel at a much higher rate than 1 cent each.
For example, you can book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and 1.5 cents per point with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Depending on which card you have, that’s an immediate increase of between 25% and 50% in value for your points. So, you’re 90,000-point bonus could actually be worth $1,125 or $1,350 toward travel, depending on which Ultimate-Rewards-earning card you have.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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Rewards
$50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3X points on dining, 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
19.74% – 26.74% variable on purchases and balance transfers
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Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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Rewards
Earn 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in select categories each account anniversary year (travel; shipping purchases; internet, cable and phone services; and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines), 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
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Rewards
Earn 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3X points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases plus, 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
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Welcome bonus
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fee
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
Qualifying for a small business card is easier than you think
Opening a small business card isn’t as prohibitive as it may sound. While you’re only eligible if you have a for-profit venture, you don’t need a multimillion-dollar operation to qualify as a small business — whether you’re a DoorDash delivery or Uber driver, a pet sitter, a freelance writer, an Etsy store owner or even if you sell just a few items on Ebay, you’re a small business owner, simple as that.
The digital age has enabled just about anyone to become a sole proprietor with little effort. Just remember not to fudge the numbers when submitting your application to Chase. Even if you haven’t made much (or any) money from your side gig, honesty is the best policy.
Bottom line
Welcome bonus aside, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card are solid no-annual-fee credit cards — read more in our comparison here — with each offering respectable returns on spending; you’ll receive a handful of valuable benefits, such as primary rental car insurance; and they’ve each got a generous 0% intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months of account opening (after, 16.99% – 22.99%, variable).
But the thing that makes signing up for one or both of these cards an absolute no-brainer is the increased welcome bonus of $900 in cash back — in other words, 90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points — after meeting the $6,000 within three months minimum-spending requirement. With the right strategy (and the right companion card), you could easily turn that into $1,800 worth of travel rewards — an unprecedented offer for a no-annual-fee card.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
