Chase’s Four Proprietary Business Credit Cards Hit Record Highs: No Annual Fee Ink 100k, Ending Soon!

I received an email from Chase saying the all-time-high 100k bonus on Ink Unlimited will end on September 6, and I’m guessing Ink Cash is the same. If you need one, act fast!

• Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card

One-Paragraph Summary

Chase currently has four major UR business credit cards with strong welcome offers: Ink Cash, Ink Unlimited, and Ink Preferred are all offering 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points, while Sapphire Reserve Business is offering an all-time-high bonus of up to 200,000 points. Bottom line:

• If you can meet $30,000 in spending: prioritize Sapphire Reserve Business, since the 200,000-point bonus is the highest;
• For most regular users: choose between Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited, both with 100,000 points and no annual fee;
• If you spend a lot on office supplies, cell phone, and internet: choose Ink Cash;
• If you have a lot of uncategorized spending: choose Ink Unlimited;
• If you spend heavily on travel, advertising, shipping, and other business expenses: choose Ink Preferred;
• If you want a low-cost way to unlock UR transfers: keep Ink Preferred long term;
• If you travel often and want airport lounge access: choose Sapphire Reserve Business.

A key point: Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited now have new welcome-bonus restrictions. These two no-annual-fee business cards will likely only allow you to earn the bonus on one of them, so you can no longer assume you can apply for both and collect both bonuses as in the past.

• Sapphire Reserve Business 200,000 all-time high

Comparison of Chase’s Four Business Credit Cards

Credit Card	Current Welcome Bonus	Main Earning Rates	Annual Fee	Best For
Ink Business Cash	100,000 UR $8,000 spend in 4 months	Office supply stores, internet, cable, and phone 5x; gas and restaurants 2x	$0	Heavy office, cell phone, and internet bill spending
Ink Business Unlimited	100,000 UR $8,000 spend in 4 months	1.5x on all purchases, uncapped	$0	Lots of uncategorized spending
Ink Business Preferred	100,000 UR $8,000 spend in 3 months	Travel, shipping, internet and phone, online advertising 3x	$95	People who want to transfer points or have a lot of business-category spending
Sapphire Reserve Business	200,000 UR $30,000 spend in 6 months	Chase Travel 8x; direct bookings for airfare and hotels 4x; online advertising 3x	$795	High spenders, frequent travelers, and lounge users. Great for handling all kinds of reimbursements.

All four cards earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be combined within the same person’s Chase accounts. Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited, when held on their own, are mainly used like cash back cards; paired with Ink Preferred, Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Sapphire Reserve Business, the points can be transferred to airline miles and hotel points.

You can find the detailed reviews for each card below:

Which Card Has the Highest First-Year Value?

Using a valuation of 1.6 cents per UR point and counting only the welcome bonus, the easiest-to-use reimbursements, and the annual fee:

Credit Card	Welcome Bonus Value	Easily Used Reimbursements	Annual Fee	First-Year Base Net Value
Ink Cash	$1,600	—	$0	about $1,600
Ink Unlimited	$1,600	—	$0	about $1,600
Ink Preferred	$1,600	—	-$95	about $1,505
Sapphire Reserve Business	$3,200	$300 travel credit	-$795	about $2,705

Looking only at these four cards, Sapphire Reserve Business has the highest first-year value. The 200,000 UR bonus is worth about $3,200 at 1.6 cents per point, and even after subtracting the $795 annual fee, it still clearly beats the other three cards. So if you have to pick just one, the obvious choice is the 200,000 CSR Business.

And the calculation above does not even include the following benefits:

• Up to $500 in annual The Edit hotel credits, with up to $250 per stay and a minimum two-night stay required;
• Up to $250 in credits at select Chase Travel hotels through the end of 2026, with a minimum two-night stay required;
• Up to $200 in annual Google Workspace credits;
• Up to $400 in annual ZipRecruiter credits;
• Up to $120 in annual Lyft Credit;
• Up to $300 in annual DoorDash credits;
• Up to $100 in annual credits for select gift cards;
• Priority Pass and Chase Sapphire Lounge lounge access.

If you can already use these benefits, the first-year value is even higher. However, many of them are merchant-specific credits and cannot be valued at full cash price. Among them, the $100 gift card credit and the hotel credits are relatively easy to use. The others depend on your needs; The Edit is not very easy to use.

The downside of Sapphire Reserve Business is the need to spend $30,000 within 6 months. That works out to an average of $5,000 per month. If you have to manufacture spending to meet the requirement, or if that causes you to miss other credit card welcome bonuses, then it is not as good as it looks on the surface. For users who cannot comfortably spend $30,000, I would recommend prioritizing Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited instead. Both cards currently offer:

• 100,000 UR welcome bonus;
• $8,000 spend in 4 months;
• no annual fee;
• 0% intro APR for the first 12 months;
• can be kept long term for free.

The problem is that you can no longer simply apply for both cards. Chase’s current official terms say that if the applicant has previously held this card, or has held another no-annual-fee Chase for Business credit card, they may not be eligible for the new-card bonus. As a result, Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited very likely share bonus eligibility. If you can only choose one, I personally lean toward Ink Cash. Even though everyday spending only earns 1x, it offers useful 5x UR categories, which makes it clearly more valuable over the long run. Of course, you can also apply and then do a product change in the second year to the card you need more.

Which Card Is Best to Keep Long Term?

If we ignore the welcome bonus and look only at day-to-day use:

• Best 5x card: Ink Cash;
• Best uncategorized spending card: Ink Unlimited;
• Lowest-cost transfer card: Ink Preferred;
• Best premium travel benefits card: Sapphire Reserve Business.

In terms of long-term holding costs:

Credit Card	Fixed Annual Cost	Reason to Keep Long Term
Ink Cash	$0	5x on office supplies, internet, and phone
Ink Unlimited	$0	1.5x on all purchases
Ink Preferred	$95	Unlocks point transfers and 3x on business categories
Sapphire Reserve Business	$795, about $495 after subtracting the $300 travel credit	Lounge access, premium hotel credits, and travel rewards

Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited have no annual fee, so once you apply, there’s basically no reason to close them. Ink Preferred has only a $95 annual fee, and as long as you need transfer partners or spend a meaningful amount in the 3x categories, it’s also easy to keep. Sapphire Reserve Business, on the other hand, requires you to reassess the value of the benefits every year. If you applied just for the 200,000-point signup bonus and then realized in year two that the credits were not very useful, you could consider closing it or asking whether it can be converted to another business card (there is currently no lower-annual-fee Sapphire Business option, so in most cases you’d just close it).

Which of the three Ink cards should you choose?

Note that Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited cannot transfer UR to airline miles or hotel points on their own. If you need to transfer points, you can upgrade to Ink Preferred when the time comes, or just hold Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve.

When Ink Cash makes sense

• You have a lot of monthly phone, internet, TV, or landline bills;
• You often spend at office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot;
• You’re willing to buy third-party gift cards through office supply stores;
• Your annual spend in the 5x categories does not exceed $25,000;
• You already have other credit cards covering general spending.

Ink Cash earns 5x UR on the first $25,000 in combined spend each account anniversary year at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services. At a valuation of 1.6 cents per UR point, 5x is worth about an 8% return. Even if you value UR at just 1 cent each, that still works out to 5% cash back. If you can max out the $25,000 cap, you can earn up to 125,000 UR per year, which is 100,000 more points than a regular 1x credit card.

When Ink Unlimited makes sense

• Your business spending is fairly spread out, with no obvious bonus categories;
• You need to buy inventory, equipment, or pay supplier invoices;
• Your single purchases or annual general spend are relatively large;
• You don’t want to study spending categories and would rather use one card for everything.

Ink Unlimited earns a flat 1.5x UR on all purchases, with no annual cap. At 1.6 cents per UR point, that’s worth about a 2.4% return.

If you have $100,000 a year in business spend that does not earn bonus rewards in other categories:

• Ink Cash general spend: 100,000 UR;
• Ink Unlimited: 150,000 UR;
• Ink Unlimited earns 50,000 more UR per year.

So Ink Cash is better for maximizing specific categories, while Ink Unlimited is better for large amounts of general spend.

Who is Ink Preferred for?

Ink Preferred is not meant to be a mindless swipe card; it’s a low-annual-fee UR transfer card and a card for business-category spending.

Each account anniversary year, the first $150,000 in combined spend in the following categories earns 3x UR:

• Travel;
• Shipping;
• Internet, cable, and phone services;
• Social media and search engine advertising.

If you run an e-commerce business, a website, ad campaigns, or travel frequently, these categories are very useful. At a 1.6-cent valuation, 3x is worth about a 4.8% return.

The more important value of Ink Preferred is that, for just $95 per year, you can transfer the points earned by Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited to these partners:

• World of Hyatt;
• United MileagePlus;
• Air Canada Aeroplan;
• British Airways Avios;
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue;
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and others.

If you don’t have Chase Sapphire Preferred or another premium Chase card that supports transfers, Ink Preferred is usually the cheapest way to unlock UR transfers.

If you already have CSP, CSR, or Sapphire Reserve Business, the transfer feature is redundant. In that case, whether it’s worth keeping Ink Preferred long term mainly depends on whether the 3x categories for travel, advertising, and shipping can justify the $95 annual fee.

Who is Sapphire Reserve Business for?

Sapphire Reserve Business is more like a premium travel card than a general-purpose business spend card.

Main earning rates include:

• Travel booked through Chase Travel: 8x;
• Direct bookings with airlines and hotels: 4x;
• Social media and search engine advertising: 3x;
• Other purchases: 1x.

This card is a fit for:

• People who can naturally meet the $30,000 minimum spend;
• Those who spend a lot on airfare and hotels each year;
• Anyone who wants Priority Pass and Chase Sapphire Lounge access;
• Those who can use the $300 travel credit and The Edit hotel credit;
• Businesses that already use Google Workspace, ZipRecruiter, or DoorDash.

It is not a good fit if:

• You have a lot of uncategorized spend, because this card only earns 1x;
• You already have the personal Sapphire Reserve, since many travel benefits would overlap;
• You don’t stay at The Edit hotels or use the designated business services;
• You don’t like managing credits monthly or semiannually;
• You need to carry a balance long term, since Sapphire Reserve Business is mainly a Pay in Full product.

If you keep it long term, don’t just look at Chase’s advertised “$3,000+ in value per year.” For most people, the benefit that is easiest to value near cash is usually only the $300 travel credit. After using the $300 travel credit, the effective annual fee is still about $495. The remaining cost has to be offset by lounge access, The Edit hotel credits, DoorDash, Lyft, or business-service credits.

Recommended card combinations

Low-cost combo: Ink Cash + Ink Preferred

• Ink Cash handles office supply, phone, and internet 5x;
• Ink Preferred handles travel, advertising, and shipping 3x;
• Ink Preferred handles transferring all UR to airline and hotel partners;
• Total annual fee is only $95.

This is the combination I recommend most for most people. It has low cost, fairly complete category coverage, and full use of the UR transfer system.

Set-it-and-forget-it combo: Ink Unlimited + Ink Preferred

• Ink Preferred handles the 3x business categories;
• Ink Unlimited handles all other 1.5x spending;
• Total annual fee is also only $95.

Best for users who don’t spend at office supply stores but do have a lot of general business spend.

Premium travel combo: Ink Cash or Unlimited + Sapphire Reserve Business

• Sapphire Reserve Business handles airfare, hotels, and travel benefits;
• Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited handles the other spending that Reserve only earns 1x on;
• Pool all points into the Reserve Business account to transfer them or use Points Boost.

This setup is ideal for business owners who travel frequently and can use lounge access and hotel credits.

Chase business card application strategy

Can you apply for multiple Chase business cards?

These four cards are different products, so you can hold them at the same time. Holding one does not automatically prevent you from applying for another. But bonus eligibility must be evaluated separately:

• Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited: the two no-annual-fee Chase business cards share stricter bonus restrictions, so you will likely only be eligible for one of the bonuses;
• Ink Preferred: the terms mainly restrict users who have previously held Ink Preferred itself;
• Sapphire Reserve Business: the terms mainly restrict users who have previously held Sapphire Reserve Business itself;
• Final signup bonus eligibility depends on the qualification message shown on the application page.

Chase business credit cards are still generally affected by the 5/24 rule, meaning you usually need to be below 5/24 when applying. However, approved Chase business cards usually do not appear on your personal credit report, so they generally do not continue increasing your 5/24 count.

My suggested application order

If you can meet $30,000 in spend

1. Prioritize Sapphire Reserve Business with its record-high 200,000-point bonus;
2. After meeting the spend, choose either Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited to apply for;
3. Then, based on your transfer needs and spending categories, consider Ink Preferred.

The 200,000-point bonus on Sapphire Reserve Business is the largest and is a limited-time all-time high. If you already have enough business spending, it should be your top priority.

For small business owners or side hustlers

1. First choose one of Ink Cash or Ink Unlimited;
2. Then apply for Ink Preferred to earn a second 100,000-point bonus and unlock point transfers;
3. If you later have large spending and travel needs, then consider Sapphire Reserve Business.

Taken together, this path can earn 200,000 UR from the first two cards, with a minimum total annual fee of only $95, and it only requires completing two separate $8,000 spending requirements, making it much more suitable for the average user than going straight for $30,000.

Summary

There is no absolute “best” among these four cards; it mainly depends on your spending capacity and everyday spending categories.

If you can naturally meet $30,000 in spending, the 200,000-point bonus on Sapphire Reserve Business is unquestionably the most worthwhile to apply for right now. Even without counting complicated reimbursements, the first-year value is clearly higher than the other three cards.

If you can only meet around $8,000 in spending, Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited are both excellent no-annual-fee choices. These two cards are now very likely sharing welcome offer eligibility, so choose carefully between them: pick Ink Cash if you spend more on office supplies and phone/internet services, or Ink Unlimited for general uncategorized spending.

Ink Preferred is the middle card best suited for long-term keeping. For an annual fee of $95, it unlocks UR transfers while earning 3x on travel, shipping, advertising, and telecommunications services, making it especially good as a companion to a no-annual-fee Ink card.

Application links

• Chase Ink Business Cash credit card
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card
• Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve Business credit card