If you want to earn rewards on business spending with a credit card, you have quite a bit to think about. For example, are you willing to pay an annual fee to secure a better rewards rate? And do you prefer to earn flexible rewards or cash back?

Most importantly, what does your business spend the most on? After all, your rewards haul is often tied to the type of purchases your business makes.

The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card tends to check off a lot of boxes for small business owners, and it’s easy to see why. This business card comes with no annual fee, and you can earn a $750 cash bonus when you spend $6,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. Cardholders even get an introductory APR offer on purchases, and rewards are pretty flexible.

In the meantime, the Ink Business Cash Credit Card lets small business owners and entrepreneurs earn 5 percent back on common business-related spending (on up $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year). Read on to learn how this business credit card doles out cash back on purchases, how its earning structure compares to similar cards and how you can make the most of this offer.

Ink Business Cash rewards structure

  • Welcome bonus: $750 bonus cash when you spend $6,000 on purchases within three months of account opening
  • Rewards: 5 percent cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year; 2 percent back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year; 1 percent back on everything else
  • Annual fee: $0

While earning 5 percent cash back on certain business purchases is truly excellent, it’s important to note the $25,000 cap for each bonus category. If you spend more than $2,084 per month (on average) at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each year, you’ll max out the 5 percent category, after which you’ll only earn 1 percent back. The same is true for earning 2 percent back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.

For the most part, these limits make the Ink Business Cash Credit Card a better option for businesses with low-to-average regular expenses. Of course, you can also use the Ink Business Cash within its bonus categories until you meet the $25,000 spending threshold for each one. After that, you could switch to another business credit card that offers more than 1 percent back on those purchases.

How to maximize rewards earned with the Ink Business Cash

If you do decide the Ink Business Cash Credit Card is worth it, there are steps you can take to get the most of it. For example:

  • Make sure you always use your card in its bonus categories. At the very least, use this card until you reach the $25,000 combined spending threshold in both the 2 percent and 5 percent categories.
  • Get free cards for your employees. Getting free cards for employees can help you rack up rewards for every dollar your business spends. Employee cards also make it easy to track work-related purchases made by your team.
  • Pair it with another card that offers more than 1 percent back. You can also pair this Chase credit card with a flat-rate cash back card that offers more than 1 percent back on non-category purchases.
  • Have a plan to pay off purchases within 12 months. While the Ink Business Cash Credit Card offers a 0 percent intro APR on purchases for 12 months, the good times won’t last forever. Once the first year is up, your balance will begin accruing interest at the regular variable APR of 17.74 percent to 23.74 percent.
  • Take advantage of the perks you get. While Ink Business Cash benefits are not overly generous, you do get perks like primary auto rental coverage when you rent a car for business purposes, travel and emergency assistance services, roadside dispatch, purchase protection and extended warranties.
  • Research the card’s rewards program. While the Ink Business Cash Credit Card offers cash back instead of flexible travel points, you can still redeem your rewards for more than one option. In fact, cash back from this card can be redeemed for gift cards, experiences, statement credits, merchandise, travel through the Chase portal and more.

How does the Ink Business Cash compare to other Chase business cards?

The Ink Business Cash Credit Card offers an interesting rewards proposition for business owners, but other Chase credit cards for business might better suit your needs. At the end of the day, the best card for you depends on your spending habits, the type of rewards you want to earn and whether you’re comfortable paying an annual fee.

The chart below shows how the Ink Business Cash Credit Card stacks up to other popular Chase business cards.

Ink Business Cash Credit card Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Annual fee $0 $0 $95
Sign-up bonus $750 bonus cash back when you spend $6,000 within 3 months of account opening $750 bonus cash back when you spend $6,000 within 3 months of account opening 100,000 bonus points when you spend $15,000 within 3 months of account opening
Intro APR 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, followed by a variable APR of 17.74% to 23.74% 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, followed by a variable APR of 17.74% to 23.79% None
Rewards rate
  • 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year
  • 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year
  • 1% back on all other purchases

 
  • 1.5% cash back on all purchases
  • 3X points on up to $150,000 in combined spending on shipping, select online advertising, internet, cable and phone services and travel each year (then 1X points)
  • 1X points on all other purchases

 
Redemption options
  • Redeem rewards for cash back, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise and travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • Redeem rewards for cash back, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise and travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • Redeem rewards for cash back, statement credits, gift cards and merchandise
  • Also, get 25% more value when you redeem rewards for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards or transfer points to Chase airline and hotel partners

As you can see, the Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card opts out of bonus categories but gives you a higher rate of rewards (1.5 percent cash back) on all purchases instead. This card also lets you redeem your rewards for cash back, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise and travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Finally, the Ink Business Unlimited offers a 12-month 0 percent introductory APR on purchases (17.74 percent to 23.74 percent variable APR thereafter).

On the other hand, the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card doesn’t offer traditional cash back. Instead, this card offers Chase Ultimate Rewards points that are good for regular options like statement credits and gift cards as well as point transfers to Chase airline and hotel partners. You also get 25 percent more value when you use points from the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card to book travel through Chase. A $95 annual fee applies.

The bottom line

If you want to earn a ton of rewards on your business spending, the Ink Business Cash Credit Card can help you get there. You can earn bonus rewards (up to 5 percent back) in quite a few popular categories, and there’s no annual fee, to boot. The rewards alone are a good reason to love the Ink Business Cash, but the intro APR and cardholder perks are a nice touch, too.

Even so, you may want to look at other options on our list of the best small-business credit cards before you decide. Many credit cards for business offer rewards with no annual fee, including cards from issuers like Capital One and American Express.