Both the Ink Business Preferred credit card and the Business Platinum Card from American Express offer extensive travel benefits and boosted rewards earnings. Here’s how they compare.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card |
Business Platinum Card from American Express |
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FinanceBuzz star ratings | ||
FinanceBuzz value calculation2 | Year one earnings: $1,611
Year two earnings: $486 |
Year one earnings: $2,062
Year two earnings: $562 |
Annual fee | $95 | $695 |
Welcome bonus | Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening of account opening | Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of account opening |
Earning rate | 3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases | 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on Amextravel.com; 1.5X points on eligible purchases at U.S. suppliers of construction materials and hardware, U.S. retailers of electronic goods, U.S. providers of shipping, software and cloud systems, and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million per year, then 1X), and 1X points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases (purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus) |
Redemption methods | Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for statement credits, travel, gift cards, and purchases through the Chase Travel portal. There is also a 25% redemption bonus on travel booked through the Chase travel portal. Rewards can also be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to a variety of airline and hotel programs. |
Amex Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for statement credits, travel, gift cards, and purchases through the American Express portal. There is a 35% point rebate on first class and business class airfare when using Pay with Points. Rewards can also be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to a variety of airline and hotel programs. |
Annual credits |
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Travel perks |
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Foreign transaction fee | None | None |
Credit needed | Excellent, Good | Excellent, Good |
Learn more | Learn more |
When to go with the Ink Business Preferred
I’d recommend the Ink Business Preferred card from Chase if:
- You want a lower annual fee
- You want to stay in (or join) the Chase Ultimate Rewards universe
- You’re an infrequent traveler
Lower annual fee
The Chase Ink Business Preferred has an annual fee of $95, compared to the Amex Business Platinum annual fee of $695.
It’s relatively easy to offset the annual fee with the Chase Ink Business Preferred by earning rewards on your regular spending.
For example, if you spend $2,000 per month on your card, you could earn at least 24,000 Ultimate Rewards points, worth $240 in statement credits or $300 in travel booked through the Chase travel portal, thanks to the 25% bonus value. And that doesn’t account for the 3X rewards you can earn on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. With the Amex Business Platinum, you need to make bigger expenditures and travel much more to earn enough to offset the fee.
For more information, read our Chase Ink Business Preferred review.
Rewards value is typically higher
There are plenty of opportunities for flexible redemption whether you use the Chase Ink Business Preferred or the Amex Business Platinum. However, Chase offers wider access to enhanced travel rewards. With the Chase Ink Business Preferred, your rewards are worth 25% more for all types of travel booked through the Chase portal. The Amex Membership Rewards offers a bonus only on flight purchases.
Additionally, even without the travel bonus, Chase Ultimate Rewards are generally worth about 1 cent each. Amex Membership points are worth about 0.6 cents (less than 1 cent) without the flight bonus.
Chase and American Express have many of the same travel partners, including British Airways, Emirates, JetBlue, and Marriott. Both offer a ratio of 1:1 loyalty point transfers from the Chase or Amex programs to their airline and hotel partners. If you are looking to transfer points to a specific airline or hotel, check over the list of Amex transfer partners and the list of Chase transfer partners before you commit to one of these cards, as there are some differences. For instance, Delta is an Amex partner but not a Chase partner, and Southwest is a Chase partner but not an Amex partner.
Extra protection on purchases
While both cards offer trip interruption coverage, the Ink Business Preferred typically offers stronger protections, including:
Ink Business Preferred | Amex Business Platinum | |
Cell phone protection | Up to $1,000 per claim, max 3 claims per 12 months | Up to $800 per claim, max 2 claims per 12 months |
Purchase protection | Up to $10,000 per claim, for 120 days | Up to $10,000 per claim, for 90 days |
Extended warranty protection | One additional year on warranties of 3 years or less | Up to one additional year on warranties of five years or less |
Auto rental collision damage waiver | Primary coverage when you decline the rental company’s insurance and pay with your card | Secondary coverage when you decline the rental company’s insurance and pay with your card |
Limitations apply.
When to go with the Amex Business Platinum
If your business has you traveling a lot, I might recommend the Amex Business Platinum, thanks to its luxury travel perks. It can also be a good choice if:
- You want status when you travel
- You can afford the hefty annual fee
- Your business spends a lot in the Platinum card’s reward categories
Let’s look at the details.
Luxury travel benefits
For travel perks, the Amex Business Platinum wins out. Unlike the Chase Ink Business Preferred, the Amex card offers:
- A $199 statement credit for Clear Plus membership
- A statement credit for your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee
- Up to a $200 statement credit for incidental airline fees on one pre-selected airline
- Lounge access with the Global Lounge Collection
- Complimentary Gold status with Hilton Honors and Gold Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy
- Premium rental car privileges
Certain benefits require enrollment.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred has plenty of benefits, but it comes with none of these additional travel perks and credits. If you’re a frequent traveler, and you use your Amex card to book that travel for the enhanced rewards earning, the Amex Business Platinum card can be well worth the fee.
For more information, read our Amex Business Platinum review.
Statement credits can make up for the annual fee
Another way the Amex Business Platinum annual fee might be worth it is thanks to the card’s many statement credits for business spending, including:
- Up to $400 back (up to $200 semi-annually) on U.S. purchases at Dell Technologies
- Up to $360 back (up to $90 quarterly) on purchases with Indeed
- Up to $150 back on eligible Adobe business subscriptions
- Up to $120 back (up to $10 monthly) on eligible purchases at U.S. wireless companies
If you use every statement credit available to you, that’s $1,030 in credits. Enrollment may be required.
Earning potential
You can earn 5X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels on Amextravel.com. Additionally, when you make a large purchase of at least $5,000 in an eligible category, you’ll get 50% more bonus points (up to $2 million in spending). Finally, you get 35% of your points back when you use Membership Rewards Pay with Points to book your flights through Amex Travel.
However, although Amex Business Platinum offers a higher earning potential, the Chase Ink Business Preferred does offer more diverse opportunities to earn, with 3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases.
A closer look at both welcome bonuses
The welcome bonus for each card is as follows:
- Chase Ink Business Preferred: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Amex Business Platinum: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months.
When you break down the math, both bonuses are similar. When redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal, the 90,000-point welcome bonus is worth $900 cash back or $1,125 toward travel. The Amex Business Platinum bonus is worth at least $900 for certain redemptions (such as statement credits) but could be worth much more if used for business-fare flights or transferred to travel partners.
Which card should you choose?
When choosing between the Chase Ink Business Preferred vs. Amex Business Platinum, it’s important to pay attention to where you’re at with your business and what your specific needs are — especially considering the huge difference in the annual fees.
For example, if you travel frequently, and you know you’re going to make big purchases with your card, the travel benefits of the Amex Business Platinum make sense. You know you’ll get 50% more points on eligible purchases of at least $5,000. If you travel often, you can benefit from status with the Marriott and Hilton programs, as well as get value from the airline and security credits, though some of these benefits require enrollment.
On the other hand, if you have low to moderate spending needs, and you know that most of your spending will be aimed at online advertising and services, the Chase Ink Business Preferred makes more sense. It has a much lower annual fee, and it offers rewards on regular business purchases. Plus, the extra cell phone protection coverage is a nice perk with the Chase Ink Business Preferred.
FAQs
Can I have more than one business credit card?
Yes, you can have more than one business card. However, it’s a good idea to follow best practices and use your business cards only for business expenses.
How many Chase business cards can I have?
There’s no hard limit on how many Chase business cards you can have, but you might have a hard time getting approved if you’ve applied for a Chase business card in the past 30 days. Plus, you also have to consider the Chase 5/24 rule, which is an unofficial rule reflecting Chase’s policy of not approving anyone who has opened five new credit card accounts in the previous 24 months.
Do business cards count toward the 5/24 rule?
The Chase 5/24 rule is an unofficial rule indicating that if you’ve already opened five cards in the past 24 months, you’ll likely be denied when applying for a Chase card. Although a Chase business card might not count toward the 5/24 rule when you’re applying for a personal card, your personal cards can impact whether you get a business card. Put more simply, if you’ve applied for five cards in the last two years, you have an increased likelihood of not being approved for a Chase business card.
Does an American Express business card report to my personal credit?
Whether your business credit card reports to personal credit bureaus depends on the issuer. In the case of American Express, your business card is usually reported only if your account isn’t in good standing. If you’re doing things right, your Amex Business Platinum is unlikely to show up on your personal credit report or impact your personal credit score. However, if you start missing payments and your account is no longer in good standing, Amex could start reporting to your personal credit history.
Bottom line
There are plenty of small business credit cards out there, and they all have different perks and rewards. Carefully consider your needs when weighing your options between the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card vs. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express to see what makes the most sense for you. Consider which of these best business credit cards is likely to give you the best value based on your business spending habits and needs.