Some credit cards stay in your wallet because they’re exciting. Others stay because they quietly do a lot of heavy lifting. The Chase Ink Business Cash falls squarely into the second category for me.
If you’ve been collecting Chase Ultimate Rewards points for a while, you already know they can be incredibly valuable.
You can use them for travel, transfer them to partners like Hyatt and United, or combine them with a premium Chase card to get even more value. That’s why I’m always looking for easy ways to keep my balance topped off.
And that’s exactly why I still keep the Chase Ink Business Cash Card.
It’s not the flashiest card I have, and it’s certainly not the one with the biggest annual fee or the longest list of premium perks. In fact, it has no annual fee at all. But year after year, it continues to earn a place in my wallet because it does one thing really well: it helps me earn a lot of Ultimate Rewards points on expenses I’d be paying anyway.
Chase Ink Business Cash
Why This Card Still Earns a Spot in My Wallet
Some cards are easy to justify because they come with lounge access, hotel credits, or other premium travel perks. The Ink Business Cash is different.
I keep it because it’s useful.
This is one of those cards that quietly does a lot of work in the background. If you have business expenses that line up with its bonus categories, it can be one of the easiest ways to build up more Ultimate Rewards points without changing much about how you already spend.
That’s especially true if you’re paying for things like internet service, phone bills, or office supplies. Those aren’t exciting purchases, but they’re the kind of recurring expenses where earning extra points can really add up over time.
This Is a Business Card, So That Matters
Before going any further, it’s worth pointing out that this is a business credit card. That means you do need to have a legitimate business to apply.
Now, I’m not going to tell anyone to apply for a business card if they don’t actually have a business. That’s something I won’t do here on Your Mileage May Vary.
But if you have a real side hustle or small business, whether that’s freelancing, reselling, consulting, or something else, this can absolutely be a card worth considering. Just be honest on your application about the type and size of your business.
The Current Welcome Offer Helps, Too
Even though the reason I keep the Chase Ink Business Cash long term has more to do with its bonus categories than its welcome offer, the signup bonus is still a nice incentive if you’re applying for the card for the first time.
Right now, the card comes with a welcome offer to earn $750 bonus cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening.
That’s not the main reason I’ve kept the card year after year, but it does make it easier to justify adding it in the first place—especially for a card with no annual fee.
The Real Reason I Keep It: The Bonus Categories
The Chase Ink Business Cash earns rewards in categories that can be surprisingly useful for small businesses.
- 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent each account anniversary year at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services
- 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent each account anniversary year at gas stations and restaurants
- 1% cash back on everything else
On its own, that’s already a strong no-annual-fee card. But the real value shows up when you remember that Chase issues those rewards as Ultimate Rewards.
So while the Ink Cash is marketed as a cash back card, the rewards become much more valuable if you also have a card like the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred.
Why Ultimate Rewards Make This Card More Valuable
If this card only earned plain cash back, it would still be good. But that’s not really why I keep it.
I keep it because those rewards can become transferable Ultimate Rewards points when combined with the right Chase card.
That opens up much better options:
- You can redeem points through Chase Travel
- You can transfer points to partners like Hyatt, United, and Singapore Airlines
- You can potentially get far more value than a simple cash back redemption
That’s where the Ink Business Cash really starts to make sense in a broader Chase setup. It’s not just a no-annual-fee card with a couple of bonus categories. It’s a points-earning tool that feeds a much more valuable ecosystem.
And if you transfer points to Hyatt, you can sometimes get excellent value. That’s how we booked stays like the Grand Hyatt Kauai.
And the Hyatt Centric Key West.
If you’re juggling multiple Chase cards, it’s worth understanding how to combine your points into the account that gives you the most flexibility. I wrote more about that here: how and why you should pool your Chase points into the most valuable account.
Other Things Worth Knowing
No Annual Fee
This is a big part of the card’s appeal. Since there’s no annual fee, I never really have to ask whether the card is “worth keeping” in the same way I do with premium cards. As long as I’m getting value from the bonus categories, it’s easy to justify hanging on to it.
Foreign Transaction Fees
This is not the card I’d use abroad, since it charges a 3% foreign transaction fee. If you’re making purchases outside the U.S., you’ll want a different card for that. Here’s a guide to avoiding those extra fees.
Rental Car Coverage
A nice extra is the primary auto rental collision damage waiver, although it applies when the rental is for business purposes. That’s a valuable benefit to have on a no-annual-fee card.
Purchase And Travel Protections
The card also includes several protections that add to its overall value, including coverage for:
- Baggage delays and lost luggage
- Damage or theft of eligible purchases
- Extended warranty protection
Who This Card Makes Sense For
I don’t think this is a card everyone needs. But if you have a small business, or even just a legitimate side business with recurring expenses in the right categories, it can be a really useful card to keep long-term.
It also works especially well if you’re trying to build out a Chase setup and already have a premium Ultimate Rewards card that lets you transfer points to partners.
And since business cards like this generally don’t add to your 5/24 count after approval, it can fit nicely into a broader strategy if you’re trying to be selective about which personal cards you open.
Final Thoughts
The Chase Ink Business Cash Card is not the most exciting card I have, but that’s part of why I still keep it.
It’s simple. It has no annual fee. And it earns strong rewards in categories that can be surprisingly useful for everyday business spending.
More importantly, it helps me earn more Ultimate Rewards points without doing anything complicated. And when those points can be transferred to partners like Hyatt and United, that makes this card far more valuable than it might first appear.
It may not be the flashiest card in my wallet, but it’s still one of the most useful.
If you use my referral link, I may earn Ultimate Rewards points if you’re approved, so thanks if you choose to use it: Apply here.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
