Ink Business Cash Card vs. Ink Business Unlimited Card [Detailed Comparison]

As a small business, it’s prudent to look for ways to operate efficiently and leverage any opportunity to bring more value to your bottom line.

A business rewards credit card can help you accomplish these objectives by keeping your business and personal expenses separate and letting you utilize cash-back, points, or miles to offset bottom-line costs.

If you’re looking for a Chase business credit card that compliments and supports your small business operation, the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card and the Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card are especially good choices since they may reward many of the business-related purchases you’re currently making.

But which one is best for your business? Let’s find out now.

Ink Business Cash Card vs. Ink Business Unlimited Card — Overview

Reasons You Need a Business Credit Card

A business credit card can help with organizing your purchases, tracking expenditures by employees, and even saving you money.

There are several reasons a prudent business owner needs a dedicated business credit card:

• Establish Business Credit — While the strength of your personal credit helps you secure your initial business credit card, as time goes on, your business will establish credit on its own. Business credit can be used to secure a loan or other financing.
• Keep Expenses Separate — One of the primary reasons to have a business credit card is to keep personal and business expenses separate.
• More Bonus Spending Categories — Business credit cards tend to have more business-related bonus spending categories such as shipping, office supplies, travel, and gas.
• Higher Credit Limits — Business credit cards tend to have higher limits than personal credit cards.
• Business-related Benefits — You’ll find more business organizational tools on business credit cards, such as programs that sync with accounting systems, annual statements, and employee credit cards.

Bottom Line: Business credit cards provide increased benefits, additional organizational tools, and more opportunities to earn rewards on business purchases than personal credit cards. 

Who Qualifies for a Business Credit Card?

You don’t have to run a large operation to qualify for a business credit card. You can apply for a business credit card even if you have a small side business, such as selling on eBay or umpiring baseball part-time.

Some states require you to have a business license, and it’s always good to register your business if it’s required. Having a DBA (Doing Business As) or an LLC (Limited Liability Company) can add credibility and help improve your chances of getting approved for a business credit card.

Access the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website for more information on registering your business name and determining if a state or federal license is required for you to operate.

The Value of a Welcome Bonus

Both of our featured cards offer a welcome bonus that can be earned after meeting initial minimum spending requirements.

While welcome bonuses may change, let’s take a look at what you can expect with each card:

These are cash-back cards, but the rewards are earned as Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed for 1 cent per point for cash-back or travel via the Chase travel portal. If you have a premium Chase credit card, you can transfer your points to that card and redeem them for up to 1.5 cents per point and utilize hotel and airline partners.

What These Chase Business Cards Have in Common

While either of these Chase business credit cards could make a positive contribution to your small business operation, one card may be better suited to the specific spending patterns of your business.

We’ll compare their differences in bonus earning categories and spending limits shortly, but first, let’s take a look at the cards’ similarities.

Both cards earn generous cash-back welcome bonuses for minimum initial spending in the first 3 months after card approval. You’ll also have ongoing earnings of valuable Ultimate Rewards Points that can be redeemed for cash-back, travel, merchandise, and more. Further, both cards are 2 of the best 0 apr business credit cards.

Neither card charges an annual fee, so that’s a positive — but both cards charge foreign transaction fees of 3%.

Both cards provide free employee cards, so you can monitor those expenses and earn rewards on every purchase your business makes.

With all the great attributes these cards have in common, it’s their earning differences that will determine which is the better business credit card for you.

Let’s compare rewards-earning categories on each of these cards and look at how the mix of your business expenses determines your earnings on each of these cards.

Bottom Line: The benefits of the Ink Business Cash card and the benefits of the Ink Business Unlimited card are similar in many ways, but their earning structure is the key to selecting the right business card for your specific business operation.

Comparing Bonus Spending Categories

At first glance, we see that the Ink Business Cash card has 5% and 2% cash-back categories (which are capped on the first $25,000 spent annually), compared to the Ink Business Unlimited card’s flat 1.5% on every purchase.

You might jump at the chance to earn 5% or 2% cash-back, but let’s dig deeper and see if that’s the right decision for the specific mix of your business spending.

If your business spends a lot on travel, advertising, and shipping, the Ink Business Unlimited card may be better suited to your business spending priorities.

Conversely, if your business spends a lot on office supplies, internet/cable/phone, gas, and restaurants, you could fare better with the Ink Business Cash card.

Remember that the Ink Business Cash card’s bonus earning is capped to the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases on 5% categories, as well as the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases on 2% categories.

Bottom Line: Bonus business spending categories can accelerate earnings, but only if you have significant spending in those categories. If most of your business spending is in the Ink Business Cash card 1% categories, for example, you may want to consider the Ink Business Unlimited card to earn 1.5% on every purchase. 

How Limits Can Affect Your Earnings

It’s a clear positive that the Ink Business Cash card has 5% and 2% earning categories, but each of these categories has a $25,000 limit per account year. Above that amount, you’ll only earn 1% cash-back.

The Ink Business Unlimited card offers unlimited 1.5% earnings.

A business that requires a lot of travel, gas, and restaurant spending may exceed the $25,000 annual limit on the 2% categories of the Ink Business Cash card, while they could earn 1.5% on every purchase with the Ink Business Unlimited card. You’ll also only earn 1% on the Ink Business Cash card for travel-related expenses.

Here’s an example of heavy spending in these categories that shows how earnings are affected by the mix:

Bottom Line: If your business has purchases that exceed bonus category spending limits, your earnings will start to diminish after you reach those limits. Estimate your expenses up front and do some quick calculations before selecting a business credit card to ensure it’s a good match for your mix of business spending. 

It’s Redemption Time — Which Card Has More Value Now?

Both the Ink Business Cash card and the Ink Business Unlimited card earn valuable Ultimate Rewards Points that can be used as cash-back or redeemed for travel, purchases on Amazon, gift cards, and statement credits.

Either card can deliver value to your bottom line by redeeming your points for cash-back at the rate of 1 cent per point. If earning rewards to use for travel is your priority, however, the best option is to pair one of these cards with a Chase premium card and receive up to 50% more value.

Let’s take a look at how the value of your Ultimate Rewards Points differs by card when redeeming for travel:

Hot Tip: Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned on the Ink Business Cash card and the Ink Business Unlimited card increase in value when transferred to the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. The points can then be redeemed for travel for up to 1.5 cents per point versus 1.0. Transferring your Ultimate Rewards points also allows you to then transfer points to airline or hotel travel partners for potential added value. 

Additional Benefits and Protections

Helping you organize your business expenses and earning rewards on your purchases are huge benefits of having a business credit card. But there are additional protections and card features that can be equally beneficial.

Travel Benefits/Protections

Travel benefits and protections on the Ink Business Cash card and Ink Business Unlimited card are identical and include the following:

• Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver — Pay with your card, decline the rental agency coverage, and you’ll receive primary coverage when renting a vehicle for business purposes in the U.S. and abroad. The coverage will pay up to the actual cash value of the vehicle. Most credit cards provide only secondary coverage, so having primary coverage is a real advantage.
• Lost Luggage Benefit — Report the loss of your luggage to the carrier first, then submit a claim for coverage of up to $3,000 for each insured person. Coverage is in excess of any remuneration received from the carrier.
• Travel and Emergency Assistance Services — If you have a problem away from home, you can call 24/7 for free legal, medical, travel, or emergency referral assistance. The cardholder is responsible for the cost of actual services.
• Baggage Delay Benefit — When baggage is delayed more than 6 hours, you may receive $100 per day for up to 3 days. This coverage is in excess of the remuneration received from the carrier.
• Roadside Dispatch — You’ll have access to roadside dispatch service 24/7. Available services include delivery of gas, towing, jumpstarting, tire changing, and lockout service. The cardholder is responsible for the cost of actual services.
• Travel Accident Insurance — Provides up to $500,000 for a covered loss due to a covered accident.

Shopping Protections

Extended Warranty — Receive an additional year of warranty coverage on U.S. manufacturer’s repair warranties of 3 years or less. You must charge some portion of the item’s purchase price to your card.

Purchase Protection — Your qualifying purchase made with your credit card receives 120 days of coverage against damage or theft, up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.

Final Thoughts

The Ink Business Cash card and Ink Business Unlimited card are similar cards when we compare redemption options, benefits, shopping protections, and business features.

Neither card charges an annual fee, and both cards charge foreign transaction fees. The real bottom-line difference in these business credit cards is the mix of bonus spending categories and limits on some of those categories. If your business spends a lot on travel, advertising, and shipping, the Ink Business Unlimited Card might deliver better earnings.

However, if your business spends a lot on office supplies, internet, cable, and phone services, restaurants, and gas (and doesn’t exceed $25,000 in each bonus earnings category), the Ink Business Cash card will be the better choice.

You can’t go wrong with either business credit card, and you may even want both of these cards to make sure you earn top rewards on every purchase.

Just 1 more recommendation: think about pairing these cards with a premium Chase credit card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or Chase Sapphire Reserve card to maximize the value of all those Ultimate Rewards Points you’ll be earning.

Before applying for any Chase credit card, you’ll want to review Chase’s 5/24 rule. This rule concerns how many credit cards (from any issuer) Chase allows you to have opened in the past 24 months before they will not approve you for a new credit card.