Chase Business Credit Cards

If you’re looking for the right credit card for your business, Chase is likely one of the first credit card issuers that have surfaced in your search. Even though compared to some competitors—like American Express, for example—the main suite of Chase business credit cards, called the Chase Ink business cards, is relatively small, they are nevertheless considered some of the top business credit card options on the market. Plus, in addition to the Ink cards, Chase also offers a variety of co-branded cards, designed specifically for business owners interested in travel rewards.

Chase Business Credit Cards: Our Review

• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card
• United℠ Business Card
• United℠ Club Business Card

If you’re looking for a straightforward, well-rounded card known as one of the best cash back business credit cards out there, the Chase Ink Business Unlimited is going to be your top option.

The Ink Business Unlimited earns an unlimited 1.5% cash back on every dollar you spend, no matter where you spend or what you purchase. Plus, if you spend $6,000 within your first three months after opening an account, this Chase business credit card offers a welcome bonus of $900 cash back. You’ll be able to redeem your cash back rewards in the form of a statement credit or electronic deposit, as well as gift cards, travel, and products from eligible retailers.

Additionally, the Chase Ink Unlimited offers a 0% intro APR period of 12 months that will apply to purchases—meaning you’ll be able to carry a balance on your card during this time, interest-free. After the 12-months are up, however, a variable APR will set in depending on the market Prime Rate and your creditworthiness.

Moreover, this Chase business card has no annual fee, allows you to get free employee cards, and includes fraud protection, purchase protection, and personalized account alerts.

Ultimately, if you want a flat-rate rewards business credit card where you don’t have to worry about tiers, categories, or limits, the Ink Unlimited is going to be one of your best Chase small business credit card options.

On the other hand, if you want the opportunity to earn even more cash back depending on where you spend, the Ink Business Cash might be the best Chase business credit card for you.

With the Ink Business Cash, you can earn:

• 5% cash back for every dollar you spend at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services (up to $25,000 annually)
• 2% cash back for every dollar you spend at gas stations and restaurants (up to $25,000 annually)
• 1% cash back for every dollar you spend on other purchases, with no limit on how much you can earn

In addition, just like the Ink Business Unlimited, this Chase business credit card offers a $900 signup bonus after you spend $6,000 on purchases within your first three months with the card. Plus, once again, you’ll be able to redeem your rewards for cash—in the form of a statement credit or electronic deposit—as well as for gift cards, travel, and more through Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Moreover, the Ink Business Cash also offers one of the longest 0% intro APR periods on the market, allowing you to carry a balance interest-free on purchases for 12 months. You’ll want to keep in mind, however, that the 0% APR offer for this Chase business card only applies as long as you make your minimum monthly payments on time. And of course, after the 12 months are up, your APR will set in at a rate that will vary with the market Prime Rate and your creditworthiness.

Even with all of these benefits, there is no annual fee with the Ink Business Cash—plus, like the Ink Unlimited, you’ll also have access to free employee cards, purchase protections, and personalized account alerts with this Chase business card.

Finally, the last Chase business credit card within the Ink suite is the Ink Business Preferred, which offers one of the most impressive welcome bonuses on the market.

With the Ink Preferred, you have the opportunity to earn 100,000 rewards points once you spend $15,000 within your first three months with the card, worth $1,250 toward travel—just one of the reasons that this is one of the best business credit cards for travel out there.

On top of this sizable welcome bonus, this Chase small business credit card offers notable ongoing rewards as well.

For every dollar you spend using the Chase Ink Preferred, you’ll earn:

•  3x rewards points (up to $150,000) spent on
  • Travel (from airfare to hotels to taxis to trains)
  • Shipping purchases
  • Search engine and social media advertising purchases
  • Cable, phone, and internet service purchases
• 1x rewards points on all other purchases, with no limit on the amount you can earn

You’ll be able to redeem your rewards points for travel, cash back, gift cards, and more—plus, your rewards won’t expire for the life of your account. Moreover, if you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, they’ll be worth 25% more.

On top of these rewards, the Ink Preferred includes employee cards at no additional cost, account and purchase protection, and is the only one of the Chase Ink business credit cards with no foreign transaction fees. This being said, however, you will be subject to an annual fee of $95 with the Ink Preferred.

All in all, though, if you’re looking for a robust, tiered-rewards business credit card geared toward travel—and especially if you think you’ll qualify for the welcome bonus—the Chase Ink Business Preferred may be worth the annual fee.

If you think your business can benefit from rewards that are more specific than those offered within the Ink suite, Chase has a few additional business credit card options.

First, for frequent fliers of Southwest, there’s the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business credit card.

With this Southwest business airline credit card you can earn:

• 3 Rapid Rewards Points for every dollar you spend at:
  • Southwest including flight, inflight, Southwest gift cards, and Southwest vacation packages
• 2 Rapid Rewards Points for every dollar you spend on:
  • Southwest hotel partner purchases
  • Southwest rental car partner purchases
  • Local transit and commuting, including rideshare
• 1 Rapid Rewards Point for every dollar you spend elsewhere

Additionally, you’ll earn 6,000 bonus points after each cardmember anniversary with this Chase business card. Moreover, if you spend $3,000 during your first three months with the card, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 60,000 Rapid Rewards Points. Plus, if you add any free employee cards to your account, any purchases made with these cards will earn rewards as well.

You’ll be able to redeem your points for Southwest travel at a variable rate that normally rounds in around 1.5 cents per point. This being said, however, you’ll be able to redeem your points for travel with no blackout dates, no seat restrictions, and you’ll also have access to “Travel with Transfarency“—meaning $0 change fee, $0 for your first and second checked bags, and no hidden fees.

This Southwest Chase business card also offers travel and purchase protections, no foreign transaction fees, and contactless payment capabilities. To access all of these business credit card perks, though, you’ll need to pay an annual fee of $99.

With this in mind, then, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card is likely going to be the best Chase business credit card for you only if you travel frequently with Southwest and can truly benefit from these retailer-specific rewards.

To increase your earning potential for rewards with Southwest, you might consider the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Performance business credit card.

So, what’s different between the Southwest Performance vs. the Premier?

First, the Performance comes with a higher welcome bonus and a higher spending threshold to reach that offer.

This being said, you can earn 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.  What’s more, the Southwest Performance will offer 9,000 bonus points every cardmember anniversary, compared to only 6,000 with the Premier card.

Additionally, the ongoing business credit card rewards program is even more impressive with the Southwest Performance card as well.

This Chase business credit card offers:

• 4x points per dollar on Southwest purchases
• 3x points per dollar at Southwest hotel and rental car partners
• 2x points per dollar spent on social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable and phone services
• 2x points per dollar spent on local transit and commuting, including rideshare
• 1x point per dollar spent on all other purchases

Moreover, like the Southwest Premier, you’ll have access to free employee cards which will also earn rewards for their spending.

Plus, beyond these rewards, this Chase business card includes some impressive travel benefits, including:

• Four upgraded boardings per year
• Inflight WiFi
• Global Entry or TSA Precheck fee credit up to $100 every four years
• Travel insurance and protections

Also, like the Premier, the Southwest Performance has no foreign transaction fees, contactless pay, and purchase protection. However, at $199 per year, the annual fee of this Chase business credit card is twice as much as the Premier card.

Therefore, the Southwest Performance card is wholly designed for Southwest loyalists—and those who want to earn more for their credit card spending in specific categories like social media and internet services. This being said then, if you are a business owner who fits this description, it’s very likely that this is the best Chase business credit card for you.

If you don’t travel frequently with Southwest, but instead fly United, you might consider the United Business card as your top Chase business credit card option.

With the United card, you’ll earn:

• 2 miles per $1 spent on local transit and commuting – including taxis, mass transit, tolls, and ride share services
• 2 miles per dollar spent on United purchases
• 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases from restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores
• 1 mile per dollar spent everywhere else

Other benefits include:

• 5,000 bonus miles each anniversary when you have new United Business Card and a personal United card
• 25% back of United inflight purchases (includes Wi-Fi, food and beverages)
• A welcome bonus: Earn 75,000 miles by spending $5,000 in the first three months after opening your account

Moreover, this Chase business card also allows you to get employee cards at no additional cost—each of which will earn miles from purchases. You’ll be able to redeem the miles you earn for trips on United flights, with no blackout dates. You’ll also be able to use your miles for travel on United partner airlines, for flight upgrades, hotel stays, car rentals, merchandise, gift cards, and more.

On top of this substantial ongoing rewards program, the United Explorer card also includes impressive travel perks such as:

• Priority boarding
• Free first checked bag

And like the Southwest business credit cards above, this card has no foreign transaction fees, includes purchase protections, and offers contactless pay. Note that there is an annual fee of $99 on this United business card, though it is waived for the first year.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for a high-earning and perk-heavy business credit card specific to flying United, this Chase business card is going to be the best option for you.

Finally, if you’re a frequent flier with United, but want more perks than are offered with the United Business Card, you might consider the United Club Business Card.

With the United Club Business Card, you’ll have the opportunity to earn:

• 2x miles per $1 spent on United purchases
• 1.5x miles per $1 spent on all other purchases

Although the Chase United Club Business Card doesn’t earn 2x miles in everyday spending categories—as the regular United Business Card does—it does offer a higher ongoing reward rate for your spending on all other purchases. Moreover, on top of many of the same travel-specific benefits included with the United Business Card, the United Club Card also offers:

• First and second checked bags free for you and one traveling companion
• Premier Access travel service for you and all companions traveling on the same reservation
• Complimentary Premier Upgrades on United flights when available
• Ability to enroll in the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program at the President’s Circle tier

Plus, this Chase United card gives you the opportunity to earn 50,000 bonus miles if you spend $3,000 in purchases within three months of opening your account.

All of this being said, as the name of the card implies, the United Club Business Card also grants you access to United Club locations, as well as access to participating Star Alliance affiliated lounges worldwide. This Club membership is worth about $650 per year and is perhaps one of the biggest differences between the two Chase-United co-branded business credit cards.

With this in mind, however, the United Club Business Card has a steep annual fee—$450—meaning this luxury business credit card will likely only be the best option for your business if you can earn enough United-specific rewards to outweigh this fee.

Ultimately, it’s possible that any of these Chase business credit cards could be the right fit for your business. This being said, however, compared to other options on the market, here are some reasons why you might choose a Chase business card over a card from another issuer:

• You want access to the ongoing rewards programs of the Chase Ink suite.
• You want to access various cardholder protections, like travel and purchase protection.
• You want the opportunity to earn top-of-the-line welcome bonuses.
• You’re looking for a travel card specific to Southwest or United.
• You have a Chase business checking or savings account and want to keep all of your business financial products in one place.

On the other hand, a Chase small business credit card may not be right for every business owner. Therefore, you might continue to explore your options if:

• You’d prefer access to cards with less complicated rewards programs.
• You’re looking for a business credit card with a 0% intro APR for balance transfers.
• You’re looking for travel rewards from another airline, or another retailer altogether.
• You’d prefer a travel rewards card with no annual fee.
• You have average or poor personal credit and need a secured business credit card.

At the end of the day, considering all of the cash back, travel rewards, and cardholder protections associated with Chase business credit cards, it’s no surprise that these cards are often recommended as a top option for small business owners. This being said, however, if you are thinking that a Chase card could be the right fit for your business, you might be left wondering: “Which Chase business credit card is best?”

There is no objective answer to this question—the best Chase business card will depend on your business and what you want and need in a business credit card. For example, if you know you don’t want to pay an annual fee or spend time managing rewards categories, the Chase Ink Unlimited is going to be your best option. On the other hand, if you want to earn points geared more toward travel, but not restricted to one airline, the Chase Ink Preferred is going to be your best bet.

Ultimately, as you compare the different Chase small business credit cards, you’ll want to consider features such as annual fee, 0% intro APR period, foreign transaction fees, type of rewards, rewards structure, welcome bonuses, additional perks—and anything else that’s particularly important to your business. By thinking about all of these features and what exactly you’re looking for, you’ll be able to narrow down your options to a Chase business credit card that will best fulfill your needs.

However, it’s also possible that through this process you find that there isn’t a Chase business card that quite meets what you’re looking for. In this case, you’ll want to continue to use the qualifications you’ve established as you explore cards from various other issuers—and finally, choose the right credit card for your business.