16 Valuable Benefits of the Ink Business Preferred Card ($4,800+ in Value)

The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card has long been a favorite business credit card here at Upgraded Points. It has some of the best points-earning rates of all business credit cards, and since it earns Ultimate Rewards points, you have flexibility in how you redeem your points for travel.

Plus, the card has other interesting benefits, too, like free cell phone insurance, extended warranty on purchases, and even trip delay protection.

But while all of these benefits sound great on paper, how much are they really worth? And more importantly, how do they stack up against the card’s $95 annual fee?

In this piece we’ll discuss all of the Ink Business Preferred card‘s benefits and assign them a cash value, giving you a look at exactly how much value you’ll get from the card.

Note that the values assigned here are based on moderate travel and moderate business spending for 1 employee. If you travel frequently or have more employees added to your Ink Business Preferred card account, you can easily reap more value than what we’ve outlined here.

Earning Potential

As discussed earlier, the Ink Business Preferred card has a slew of travel and points-earning benefits. Here’s an outline of exactly how much these benefits are worth when you’re making business purchases and traveling for work.

1. An Enormous Welcome Bonus ($2,000+)

The Ink Business Preferred card offers a welcome bonus that simply can’t be ignored. The welcome bonus is so much greater than the annual fee — to be specific, 100,000 points is worth at least $1,250 when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel.

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Ink Business Preferred card is hard to beat, with a huge welcome bonus offer and 3x points per $1 on the first $150,000 in so many business categories.

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

The Ink Business Preferred card is hard to beat, with a huge welcome bonus offer and 3x points per $1 on the first $150,000 in so many business categories.

Welcome Offer

Earn 90k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

90,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,800

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.99% - 25.99% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card is a powerhouse for earning lots of points from your business purchases, especially for business owners that spend regularly on ads.

Plus the card offers flexible redemption options, including access to Chase airline and hotel transfer partners where you can achieve outsized value.

Business owners will also love the protections the card provides like excellent cell phone insurance, rental car insurance, purchase protection, and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on up to $150,000 in combined purchases on internet, cable and phone services, shipping expenses, travel, and ads purchased with search engines or social media sites
• Cell phone protection
• Purchase protection

Cons

• No elite travel benefits like airport lounge access

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Card Highlights

• Earn 90k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 cash back or $1,125 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠
• Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
• Round-the-clock monitoring for unusual credit card purchases
• With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
• Redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more - your points don't expire as long as your account is open
• Points are worth more when you redeem for travel through Chase Travel℠
• Purchase Protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 25.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

In addition, you can access Chase’s transfer partners and get even more value from your points. Since we value Chase points at 2 cents each, the welcome bonus is probably worth closer to $2,000, though it can actually be worth even more than $2,000 if you’re savvy with redeeming your points.

2. 3x Earning on Popular Business Purchases ($400)

One of the main draws to the Ink Business Preferred card is its 3x points-earning categories. When you use your Ink Business Preferred card for business purchases, you’ll earn 3x points on your first $150,000 in purchases (then 1x) in the following 4 categories:

• Travel — This broad category covers everything from plane tickets to train passes to Uber rides. Just note that this category doesn’t cover gasoline purchases, gift cards, or purchases of travel points and miles.
• Shipping Purchases — You’ll earn bonus points whenever you pay for shipping from DHL, USPS, FedEx, and other carriers. However, it doesn’t include shipping from third parties like Staples or Walgreens.
• Internet, Cable, and Phone Services — This covers your phone and internet bill, but not hardware purchases.
• Advertising Purchases With Social Media Sites and Search Engines — Think Facebook, Google, TikTok, Instagram, and Bing ads.

Earning 3x points in these categories can make for some serious points-earning power, especially if you can max out the $150,000 cap, netting you 450,000 Ultimate Rewards points. These bonus categories make the Ink Business Preferred card a top pick for the best cards for monthly bills for business owners.

However, make sure to examine your business’ spending habits to ensure that you can take advantage of these categories. If not, you may be better off with a different Chase Ink card or another business credit card.

We’ll value this benefit at $400 for the purpose of this article. We value Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents per point, so if you agree with our valuations, you’d have to spend just $6,667 in the card’s 3x categories (for 20,000 points) to get $400 worth of points. But depending on how much you spend, this benefit could be worth up to $9,000 if you’re able to max out the $150,000 spend cap.

Note that all purchases not included in these categories earn 1 point per dollar on all purchases. This also applies to purchases made within the 3x categories after you’ve reached the $150,000 limit.

3. 5x Points per Dollar on Lyft Purchases ($50)

Through September 30, 2027, all Ink Business Preferred cardholders will earn 5x on Lyft purchases, which is a huge return. For example, a $75 Lyft ride to the airport would earn 375 Ultimate Rewards points, which is worth $7.50 per our latest Ultimate Rewards valuation.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do anything special to earn these extra rewards points on your Lyft purchases. Just add your Ink Business Preferred card to your Lyft account and use it to pay for your Lyft rides. The points will automatically be added to your Ultimate Rewards balance at statement closing.

We value this perk at $50 per year because of its massive earning potential. However, the value you’ll actually receive depends on how much you spend on Lyft rides annually. Judging by our valuations, though, you’d have to spend around $500 on Lyft rides each year to get $50 in value from this perk.

Redemption Options

4. Up to 75% More Value When Redeeming for Paid Travel ($100)

The Ink Business Preferred card can redeem points through the Chase Travel portal at up to 1.75 cents per point with Points Boost offers. This is up to 75% more value than the Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card, so you may be able to redeem fewer points when booking travel.

Hot Tip: Tickets booked through the Chase Travel portal are considered paid tickets, so you can earn redeemable and elite qualifying miles on tickets you’ve booked through the portal. Just add your frequent flyer number and points will automatically be credited to your frequent flyer account after flying.

We value this benefit at $100. This is because you’ll generally get more value by redeeming points through one of Chase’s many transfer partners like United Airlines or Virgin Atlantic. Don’t worry – we’ll take a look at where you can transfer your Chase points in the next section. However, having the flexibility to book some travel with an up to 75% bonus and not having to deal with award availability or blackout dates makes this a nice perk.

5. Ability to Transfer Points to Airline Partners ($300)

Unlike other Ink Business cards, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points earned with your Ink Business Preferred card to Chase’s numerous transfer partners right out of the box. The extensive list of transfer partners includes airlines across all 3 major alliances as well as 3 major hotel loyalty programs, so you’ll have ultimate flexibility in how you use your points to travel.

See Chase’s list of transfer partners below:

Airline Transfer Partners

Hotel Transfer Partners

Taking advantage of these transfer partners will generally yield much better value than booking through the Chase Travel portal. This is because you can take advantage of each transfer partner’s redemption “sweet spots,” letting you book everything from lie-flat business class seats to Asia to round-trip economy tickets to Europe to Hyatt hotel suites for fewer points.

For example, one of our favorite Ultimate Rewards redemptions is transferring 120,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic to book a round-trip ANA first class ticket from the Midwest or East Coast of the U.S. to Tokyo. Booking a paid ticket from New York (JFK) to Tokyo-Haneda/Narita (HND/NRT) in ANA first class usually costs around $21,000 round-trip, giving you a value of 17.5 cents per point!

We value the Ink Business Preferred card’s ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Chase’s travel partners at $300. This is a conservative valuation, though, and you’ll get more value from the feature if you book high-end award tickets like the ANA example outlined above.

6. Combine Points From Other Chase Cash-back Cards ($150)

Have an Ink Business Unlimited card, Ink Business Cash card, or personal Chase Freedom Flex^® or Chase Freedom Unlimited^®? You can turn cash-back earned with those cards into Ultimate Rewards points with your Ink Business Preferred card.

To do this, just log into the Ultimate Rewards portal and select the Combine Points option. From this screen, you can transform cash-back into Ultimate Rewards points at a rate of 1 cent to 1 Ultimate Reward point, meaning that $100 of cash-back turns into 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

By our valuations, you’re nearly doubling the value of your cash-back when you transfer it to Ultimate Rewards points and redeem for travel.

Further, the Ink Business Unlimited card, Ink Business Cash card, Freedom Flex card, and Freedom Unlimited card have different points-earning rates than the Ink Business Preferred card.

For example, the Ink Business Cash card has a selection of 5% cash-back categories that differ from the Ink Business Preferred card, so you can earn even more Ultimate Rewards points by allocating your spend to the right Ink Business cards and transferring cash-back to the Ink Business Preferred card.

With this in mind, if you hold an Ink Business Unlimited card, Ink Business Cash card, Freedom Flex card, or Freedom Unlimited card, we value this perk conservatively at $150. Allocating your spending to the right Ink Business cards or personal Chase cards means you can earn even more Ultimate Rewards points, getting you closer to your next big redemption. However, if you don’t hold one of these cards, you can disregard this benefit and its valuation.

Travel Protections

7. Trip Interruption and Cancellation Insurance ($100)

When you book travel with your Ink Business Preferred card, you’re automatically eligible to take advantage of several trip interruption and cancellation protections.

This insurance will reimburse you for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses if you become ill before a trip or are subject to several other eligible circumstances.

The Ink Business Preferred card reimburses up to $5,000 in these expenses annually. So if you book a $1,000 plane ticket and a $500 hotel stay and you catch the flu the day before departure, you’ll be reimbursed the full amount if you cancel your ticket and prepaid hotels.

We value this benefit modestly at $100. You’re unlikely to ever have to use it, but if you do, it can quickly become worth thousands of dollars depending on the type of travel you’ve booked.

8. Trip Delay Insurance ($200)

Flights booked with your Ink Business Preferred card are also covered against long delays and unplanned overnight stays. If your flight is delayed by 12+ hours or requires you to stay overnight and fly out the following morning, you can be reimbursed for up to $500 in reasonable expenses. This includes lodging, meals, transportation to your hotel, and other necessary expenses.

To take advantage of this benefit, you’ll need proof from the airline that your flight was delayed for 12+ hours. Then, call the number on the back of your card and speak to a claims specialist to start the claim process. Make sure to keep original receipts for all of your expenses as you’ll need to submit them for reimbursement.

We value this benefit at $200 for those who travel a moderate amount, however, those that travel often will likely get much more value. Just remember to book all of your flights with your Ink Business Preferred card so that you can take advantage of this benefit.

9. Baggage Insurance ($100)

Nothing’s worse than a lost bag, but Chase will help soften the blow by covering the value of the contents of your lost bag. Tickets booked with your Ink Business Preferred card are eligible for up to $3,000 in reimbursements, with a $500 sub-limit for jewelry, cameras, and other electronics.

We value this benefit at $100 as most people are unlikely to check a bag with thousands of dollars in valuables in it. However, the benefit can come in handy for covering expensive lost luggage, clothing, and other valuables.

10. Baggage Delay Protection ($100)

Further, Chase also protects you against baggage delays — in other words, when you make it to your destination before your checked bag does. In this case, Chase will reimburse you for toiletries, clothing, and a cell phone charger when your bag is delayed for more than 6 hours.

You must book your plane tickets with your Ink Business Preferred card to be eligible for this benefit. Further, you can claim up to $100 in reimbursements per day for up to 5 days of delays.

We value this benefit at $100, but frequent travelers that check their bags often may be able to get more value. As a general rule of thumb, though, don’t put something you can’t live without in your checked bag when traveling.

11. Travel Accident Insurance ($100)

The Ink Business Preferred card also includes travel accident insurance for travel booked with your card. This insurance pays out if you or an immediate family become severely injured during your travels. This includes things like dismemberment, loss of sight, loss of hearing, speech, or death due to a covered accident on a common carrier during your travels.

The Ink Business Preferred card includes 2 forms of travel accident insurance:

• Common Carrier Travel Accident Benefit [$500,000] — This protection covers you while you are a passenger on any common carrier (think airline, cruise ship, etc.) or at the airport or another transit facility immediately before or after your trip.
• 24-Hour Travel Accident Benefit [$100,000] — You’re covered as soon as you begin your trip, during your trip, and until you return for the injuries covered above.

Note that not all of the injuries listed will pay out the full amount of the benefit. Some injuries — for example, losing a thumb and index finger on the same hand — will only pay out a portion of the total benefit. Refer to your benefits guide for more info.

We value this benefit at $100 as you’re unlikely to ever have to use it. However, the benefit can provide peace of mind when traveling, especially during adventure travel and on other trips where you’re more susceptible to injury.

12. Rental Car Collision Damage Waiver ($150)

Rental cars booked with your Ink Business Preferred card are automatically given primary collision insurance.

This included insurance covers damage to the vehicle and theft of the vehicle. You’re insured up to the actual cash value of the car in these circumstances, and since the insurance is primary, you don’t need to contact your auto insurance if you incur damage to the vehicle.

There are a couple of things to be aware of with this insurance, though.

The first is that the included insurance does not cover liability, meaning that you’ll need to either claim on your auto insurance or insurance purchased from the rental car company. Further, you must waive the damage waiver offered by your rental car company to take advantage of Chase’s rental car insurance.

Additionally, only cars rented for business receive primary collision insurance. If you rent a car for pleasure using your Ink Business Preferred card, you’ll only receive secondary coverage, meaning that Chase’s policy will only cover whatever your personal car insurance doesn’t cover. Consider a personal credit card that offers primary collision insurance if you often rent cars while traveling for fun.

We value this benefit at $150 because it only covers business rentals. However, if you end up in a wreck or with a stolen rental car on a business trip, you’ll undoubtedly get a ton of value from this benefit. Further, if you often purchase the damage/collision waiver from your rental company, this can save you money right off the bat.

Travel Benefits

13. No Foreign Transaction Fees ($100)

If you often travel abroad for work or pay invoices in foreign currencies, you’ll be happy to know that the Ink Business Preferred card does not charge foreign transaction fees. Many business credit cards charge up to a 3% fee per foreign transaction, turning a $1,000 charge into a $1,030 charge with no benefit to you. So depending on how often you make payments in another currency, this can save you some serious money.

We value this benefit conservatively at $100, but you can easily get more value if you make frequent business purchases abroad.

Shopping Protections

From smartphones to laptops to office supplies, you probably buy a lot of stuff for your business. And while earning points on these purchases is one thing, it’s essential that your credit card protects these items from damage and loss.

Thankfully, the Ink Business Preferred card does this, so we’ll run through all of its purchase protection benefits below.

14. Cell Phone Theft and Damage Protection ($600+)

One unique benefit offered by Ink Business Preferred cardholders is complimentary cell phone insurance. When you charge your (and your employees’) cell phone bills to your card, you’ll receive compensation if you break or damage your cell phone or if it’s stolen.

While lost cell phones are not covered, “involuntary and accidental parting” of a cell phone is. This means that while simply losing your cell phone isn’t covered by insurance, having a wave sweep your cell phone into the ocean during a beach vacation might be covered.

Chase will cover you up to $1,000 per claim, but you’re responsible for a $100 deductible, so your net payout is up to $900. You can make up to 3 claims per 12-month period, giving you up to $2,700 in reimbursements if you’re prone to breaking cell phones.

Hot Tip: Secondhand and pre-owned cell phones are not included with this benefit, so make sure to purchase a new cell phone if you want to be protected by Chase’s cell phone insurance.

If your phone costs more than $1,000, you’ll simply be paid the full $900 and be responsible for the rest of the cost of replacing a phone if your phone is stolen. Thankfully though, screen replacements and other common repairs are generally less than $900 for even the most expensive modern smartphones.

We value this benefit at $600 as most phone screen replacements cost between $300-$400, and you’re subject to a $100 deductible. This means that using this benefit just once will more than cover your $95 annual fee.

15. Purchase Protection on Nearly All Purchases ($200)

Purchase protection isn’t limited to cell phones, though. All purchases made with your Ink Business Preferred card — with some exceptions — are eligible for purchase protections for your first few months of ownership.

If something you purchase with your Ink Business Preferred card is damaged or stolen within 120 days of purchase, you may be eligible for reimbursement with the purchase protection benefit. Note that each claim has a $10,000 maximum, and you are allowed to claim up to $50,000 with this benefit per calendar year.

Purchase protection can come in handy if you lose a laptop while traveling, have property stolen from your office, or several other unfortunate circumstances. With that in mind, we value this benefit (and the peace of mind it provides) at $200.

16. Extended Warranty Protection ($200)

Finally, Chase will give you a complimentary extended warranty on all purchases you make with your Ink Business Preferred card. This benefit adds 1 year of coverage to products that have a manufacturer’s warranty of 3 years or less at no charge.

This benefit covers up to $10,000 per warranty claim with up to $50,000 in claims per account. Just note that your Ink Business Preferred card must be open and in good standing to claim this benefit.

This benefit can save you some serious money, especially if you need to fix things like computer equipment and cameras. So with that in mind, we value this benefit at $200.

Final Thoughts

The Ink Business Preferred card is one of the most valuable business credit cards on the market. Its slew of travel and purchase protections can save you lots of money when making work purchases and ensures that you won’t be completely liable for trip delays and other travel mishaps.

On top of this, its large welcome bonus, stellar points-earning categories, and ability to transfer points to travel partners mean that you can subsidize work travel (or take your dream vacation!) by simply making everyday business purchases with your Ink Business Preferred card.

We value the card’s suite of benefits at $2,850 when not including the welcome bonus, or upwards of $4,850 when including the bonus. This more than offsets the Ink Business Preferred card’s $95 annual fee, making it one of the best credit card deals for business owners.