Ink Business Cash® Credit Card vs Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card: Which Card Is Better?

There are many business cards out on the market. Some are more complicated than others with high annual fees, credits, and offers to keep track of.

If you are looking for cards with no annual fees with (potentially) significant travel benefits, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card could be the card for you.

What is the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card card?

This card is a great choice for those looking for a card with an excellent earning structure, the potential to turn cash back into travel points and a strong welcome bonus:

• Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
• Earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases
• 5% total cash back on Lyft rides through Sept. 30, 2027
• 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases

I find this to be a great card to have with your business as you can save a lot on interest payments with 0% introductory APR for the first 12 months on purchases.

And the 1.5% cash back on all purchases. You can use this card at office supply stores, Costco, Home Depot, your local restaurant and get rewards for all of it. This doesn’t mean that the 1.5% return is the best return. But it's simple and straightforward.

The 5% cash back on Lyft rides is a nice bonus as well if you frequent rideshare apps. Can save you quite a bit of money over time.

One of the best and most important parts of getting the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is that it will not count toward your 5/24. Business cards like the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card only show up on your personal credit report if you are particularly errant with your payments.

What is the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card card?

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is a favorite business card for me as it offers bonus earnings for common business categories and the potential to turn cashback into very valuable travel points.

It boasts a no annual fee with a solid welcome offer and an impressive earning structure:

• Earn $350 cash back after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open and an additional $400 after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.
• 5% cash back at on your category choice of office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year
• 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants
• 1% cash back on all other purchases
• 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases

Important to note that the 5% and 2% cash back returns to 1% cash back after $25,000 in spending in combined purchases yearly.

This card is intriguing as you can get more bang for your buck with the 5% cash back categories. For instance, you could get 5% back at a store like Staples for all your business needs if you choose office supply stores as your earning category.

The 2% at gas stations and restaurants makes for a decent earning rate for everyday spend on gas and food.

And don’t forget the 0% introductory APR for 12 months which can help with avoiding big interest payments. Like the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, it will not show up on your 5/24.

How Can You Turn Cashback Earnings To Points/Miles?

Both the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card have cashback earn that is accumulated as Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Each dollar in cashback is equivalent to 100 points. And with the right credit card combinations, you can transfer these points to Chase’s travel partners.

I have the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card alongside the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. This combo allows me to convert the cashback I earn on this card into Chase points which then means I can transfer these points to Chase’s travel partners. Some of my favorite travel partners include World of Hyatt, Aeroplan and True Blue.

• World of Hyatt: You can generally get 1.5-2 cents per point (CPP) valuation on your Chase points after you transfer them. One of my best hotel stays was when I booked a night at The Pell in Newport, Rhode Island for 12,000 points. This hotel usually costs upwards of $230 a night. A valuation of at least 1.9 cents per point!
• True Blue: You can get around 1.3 CPP valuation with True Blue points. I like True Blue with JetBlue as JetBlue has a lot of redemptions near where I live in Massachusetts. Very nice for flights to New York or Florida.
• Aeroplan: This has to be my favorite Chase travel partner. It's Chase’s best travel partner because of the type of redemptions you can get. I recently used Chase points I accumulated on my Ink Business Cash® Credit Card from its welcome bonus to book a business class flight from New York to Paris for just 47,000 Chase points (equivalent to $475 in cashback). The flight cost 60,000 Aeroplan points but there was a 30% transfer bonus from Chase. This flight would have cost $1,500 dollars or more if I booked with cash. A great way to use your points to get incredible value.

If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, you can turn your cashback into transferable points to score some high value redemptions with Chase’s travel partners. If you do not have any of these higher end Chase cards, you will not be able to convert the cashback you earn into redeemable points.

Which Card Is Better? The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card Credit Card Or The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card?

Both cards have excellent benefits. It just depends on what you are looking for with your business card.

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is the card for you if you don’t mind doing a little extra work to get some extra benefits. All you have to do is choose the category you would like to earn 5% back in and you are on your way. It can be great if you want to earn cash back on a category on something your company spends a lot on like internet services. And get some piece of mind knowing that you will earn 2% back on company dinners and trips to the gas station.

Now, if your business spends pretty evenly over a wide variety of categories and you don’t want to stress over choosing a category, then the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card is the card for you and your business. The 1.5% cash back on ALL purchases will serve as a strong flat rate for all your business expenses. Its simple and straightforward and you can feel good knowing that your card and all your authorized users are getting more than 1% cash back on all purchases (at 1.5%).

Both cards offer 0% APR for 12 months to help avoid big interest payments. The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card have foreign transaction fees so best to avoid both cards if you or your employees travel abroad for your business.

I’d say that the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card is the better card as the 5% cash back covers categories that most businesses would regularly spend on. For example, cable and phone services seem essential in this day and age. You will earn 3.5% more cash back on purchases on cable and phone services than the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. This would more than offset the 0.5% more cashback that you would earn on the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card versus the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card.

Now an underrated strategy here if you don’t mind carrying multiple cards for your business is to get both cards! You could get 5% cashback on the category of your choice with the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and 1.5% cash back with all other purchases with the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. And don't forget about using the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card for gas stations and restaurants. An all around win for your business if you don’t mind carrying a couple cards along with your employees carrying those cards as authorized users.

I will say that no matter what path you choose, you know that you are earning cash back on both cards that can be transferred to Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Both cards can save you money on your next business trip on flights & hotels.