Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card review: Best for unlimited 1.5% cash back on business purchases?

The Ink Business Unlimited is a good option for business owners who have small and varied expenses. With unlimited 1.5 percent cash back on all purchases, you won’t have to track bonus categories or spending caps to maximize your rewards. It also comes with a solid welcome offer, a rare intro APR offer on purchases and solid redemption options to round out the card.  

It also has no annual fee to worry about, so small-business owners can enjoy their rewards as they earn them. While you may want to eventually upgrade to a card that offers higher rewards rates, this card is a great starting point.

Welcome offer: A great offer for a no-annual-fee card 

The Ink Business Unlimited card’s latest sign-up bonus gives you a chance to earn $750 in cash back by spending $6,000 on purchases within your first three months. This can be a great payoff, especially if you have large purchases or upgrades planned for your business.

That’s a $150 drop from the card’s previous offer, but for a business card with no annual fee, this is still an amazing welcome bonus. Although the spending requirement may be higher than similar cards’ requirements, the payoff is larger. 

Intro APR for purchases: A rare offer for a business card 

This card comes with a 0 percent intro APR offer of 12 months on purchases. This is a great addition as most business cards, even those with an annual fee, often don’t come with any intro APR offers. If they do offer an intro APR it usually lands between six and nine months, which means the Ink Business Unlimited pulls ahead on all fronts.

Paired with the welcome offer, this offer becomes even more valuable. It gives business owners time to earn and fully pay off the $6,000 required for the welcome bonus with no interests. Plus, the ongoing APR rate of 18.24 percent to 24.24 percent is slightly lower than other business cards. 

Redemption: Various ways to reap rewards

One of the key perks of the Ink Business Unlimited as an Ultimate Rewards card is that if you pair it with a premium Ultimate Rewards card, you can pool all your rewards into a single account and enjoy a higher point value. Or, if you have a premium personal travel card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can boost the value of your points by up to 25 or 50 percent, respectively, when you redeem for travel through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards portal.

Since you technically earn Ultimate Rewards with the Ink Business Unlimited, you have a nice mix of redemptions to choose from. Options include travel, gift cards and purchases through the Apple Ultimate Rewards Store, Shop Through Chase and select online merchants (like Amazon.com and PayPal) using Shop with Points. 

If you opt for cash back, you can claim your rewards as a statement credit or have cash back directly deposited into your qualifying U.S. checking or savings account. There’s also no minimum point threshold you need to reach before you can redeem your rewards — you can cash them out in any amount, at any time. Your rewards won’t expire while your account is open and in good standing, so you can also save your points until the time is right. 

While earning rewards can be very easy with the Ink Business Unlimited card, in other ways, it can hold a business owner back. The 1.5 percent rewards rate is lower than most competing cards and beyond a few features, it has limited overall value due to the lack of additional perks. If you run an established business with planned, recurring expenses or are looking for a card for a corporation, better card options may be on the market. 

Cash back rate: Falls short of competing cards

Whenever you use your card to make a qualifying purchase, you earn flat-rate cash back at 1.5 percent. So, if you spend $12,000 in your first year, you will get a total of 18,000 points, worth up to $180.

Since you earn cash back at the same rate on nearly every purchase, this card is ideal for small-business owners who put simplicity and ease-of-use at the top of their credit card requirements list. However, people who spend heavily on common business categories like internet, phone services and travel may miss out on more rewards with the Ink Business Unlimited. Additionally, business cards like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offer a higher flat rate on rewards.

Perks: Limited to basic Visa benefits  

The Ink Business Unlimited features a lineup of benefits that can help your business run more smoothly. This card offers travel protections including 24/7 pay-per-use roadside emergency service and primary rental car insurance that reimburses you for up to the cost of the vehicle for theft or collision (if you decline the rental company’s insurance). There’s also purchase protections, account alerts and free employee cards with which you can set individual limits.

However, these features often become standard on no-annual-fee business cards, and the Ink Business Unlimited doesn’t include any uniquely valuable perks. It limits the card’s long-term value, especially if business needs grow.