Last month, Chase announced it would be releasing a new credit card for small businesses, and the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card is now available for applications.
The card is targeted toward business owners and is rather competitive with a similar card issued by American Express — Business Gold Rewards Card, which is a charge card, meaning the balance has to be paid off in full every month. We’re going to take a look at the cards’ similarities as well as their differences to determine which one offers more value.
Sign-Up Bonus
The initial sign-up bonus is typically among the top reasons of why customers choose one credit card over another. The Business Gold Rewards Card is offering 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 on the card within the first three months of membership.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred is offering 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on the card within three months. Although the threshold amount and the time frame for the bonus are the same on both cards, Chase offers a much higher bonus, hence takes this round.
Annual Fees
The cost of keeping a credit card long term is an important factor when deciding whether paying an annual fee is worth it. The Business Gold Rewards Card offers $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, after which the $175 fee kicks in.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Card has a $95 annual fee. It is possible to get this fee waived when applying at a Chase branch. However, finding a branch isn’t always an option in some towns, therefore Amex takes this round for at least the first two years of card membership. Chase wins over time, assuming customers keep the card for several years.
|
Ink Business PreferredSM Credit Card
Add to Favorites
|
$95 annual fee
|
Earn 80,000 bonus points. After you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Read Review » |
|
Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.
|
|||
|
|
Ink Business PreferredSM Credit Card |
|||||
| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
|
||||||
| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
Bonus Categories
The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express offers bonus points on several categories:
- airfare purchased directly from airlines
- advertising purchases in select media within U.S.
- purchases at U.S. gas stations
- U.S. shipping purchases
- computer hardware, software and cloud services from select U.S. providers
Amex offers 3x points on a bonus category of the customer’s choice and 2x points on purchases in the other four categories. The limit is set at $100,000 in combined purchases per year.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred Card offers a flat 3x points per dollar spent on travel, shipping, telecommunications (internet, cell phone and cable bills) and advertising on social media sites and search engines. The cap is set at $150,000 in combined purchases annually.
As you can see, the categories are similar, but the earning structures are different. Chase defines its travel bonus category as anything travel-related, and American Express limits travel purchases to airfare only. Also, Chase offers 3x points per dollar across the board, not just one of the categories, and sets a higher yearly limit. Without question, Chase wins this round.
|
The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN
Add to Favorites
|
$0 first year
$175 after first year |
50,000 Membership Rewards points After you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership Read Review » |
|
Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.
|
|||
|
|
The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN |
|||||
| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
|
||||||
| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
Transfer Partners
Membership Rewards points earned with the Business Gold Rewards Card can be transferred to an array of travel partners, including 17 airlines and three hotel programs. Ultimate Rewards points earned with the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card also can be transferred to multiple programs, including seven airlines and four hotels.
The fact that Amex works with more transfer partners offers plenty of options and increases the chances of booking award space exponentially. It’s true that quality trumps quantity, but the list of partners MR points transfer to is rather useful to many travelers: Delta Air Lines, Air Canada and Etihad Airways, to name a few, which presents an opportunity to book awards within every major alliance.
Ultimate Rewards transfer to United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Korean Air, among others, which also presents useful redemption opportunities in multiple alliances. A few airlines, such as Air France/KLM and Singapore Airlines partner with both Chase and American Express, so there’s a bit of an overlap. Of course, the value of transfer partners is different for all travelers, but the MR program has a slight edge.
Let’s not forget the opportunity to use points as cash to book revenue flights and rooms. Frugal travelers can book airfare and hotels through the Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal at a 25-percent discount because each point is worth 1.25 cents when redeemed through the portal.
Redeeming MR points for airfare offers 1 cent per point, but booking hotels or vacation packages offers an even lesser value per point. In this case, Chase Ink Business Ink Business Preferred Card has the edge.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred Card wins out in almost every aspect of holding a credit card. If you’re a small-business owner, the Chase card presents more value overall, from the sign-up bonus to the bonus categories and redemption opportunities.
As a business owner, which card would you prefer and why?