The Chase Ink Business Preferred® Card is currently offering one of its most valuable sign-up bonuses to date, and more people can take advantage than might realize it.

With its new bonus, the Ink Business Preferred is worth a fresh look not only for traditional small-business owners, but also independent freelancers, side hustlers, creators and more. Even if you don’t think of yourself as a “business owner,” you may be able to qualify for the card and enjoy terrific short- and long-term value.

Here’s everything you should know about the card and its current bonus, as well as who it might make sense for.

One of the card’s most valuable bonuses to date

The Ink Business Preferred card is currently offering 120,000 points after you spend $8,000 in your first three months. That’s a valuable offer for a card with a $95 annual fee. In fact, it’s enough to offset the card’s annual fee for over a decade (a minimum of 12 years if you redeem for travel or cash back).

Assuming a standard redemption value of 1 cent per point, this bonus is worth a minimum of $1,200 in travel or cash back, but it could be worth even more if you redeem your points through the Chase Travel℠ Portal or transfer to certain airline and hotel partners.

Points are worth 1.25 cents each when you redeem via Chase Travel℠, and according to our points and miles valuations they could be worth around 2 cents each with the right transfer partner. Assuming a 2-cent-per-point redemption value, this offer can be worth around $2,400 with some of Chase’s travel partners. That’s before you even consider the rewards you’d earn via card spending or the value of the card’s perks.

This welcome offer is twice as valuable as the offer available with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase’s comparable consumer card (which offers 60,000 points after a $4,000 spend in your first three months). It’s also much more valuable than the American Express® Business Gold Card, welcome offer (100,000 points after you spend $15,000 in the first three months, worth $2,000 in travel by our estimates), even though that card charges an annual fee of $375 .

To earn 120,000 points without this bonus, you would need to spend $40,000 in a 3X rewards category or $120,000 on general purchases. This bonus allows you to earn that for just $8,000 in spending within your first three months.

Ink Business Preferred sign-up bonus history

The Ink Business Preferred card’s new offer not only carries more value than most of the card’s previous offers, but also a lower spending requirement, giving you a higher return for your spending. This makes now a great time to apply for a new business credit card or open your first account.

The Points Guy’s Ink Business Preferred bonus history shows that this card’s bonus offer has typically fluctuated between 80,000 and 100,000 points. However, between April 2020 and June 2023 (when the card offered a 100,000-point bonus), earning the bonus required $15,000 in spending. Based on a 1.25-cent-per-point redemption value via Chase Travel℠, this bonus would be worth $1,250. That’s a return on spending of just over 8 percent.

The card’s current offer is 20,000 points higher and carries the lowest spending requirement it has had since March 2020 — nearly half its typical $15,000 spending requirement. Based on a 1-cent-per-point redemption value, the new bonus is worth $1,200 — a 15 percent return for your spending. With the right travel transfer partner, your points could be worth even more — around 2 cents per point based on our valuations, which would give you a 30 percent return on spend with this bonus.

Approximate date Offer details Estimated value* Potential return for spending
*Estimated using Chase’s minimum travel and cash back redemption value (1 cent per point) and Bankrate’s Ultimate Rewards valuation (2 cents per point), which considers redemption value via partner airlines and hotels. 
July 2024 to now 120,000 bonus points for spending $8,000 in your first three months $1,200 to around $2,400 30 percent
June 2023 to July 2024 100,000 bonus points for spending $15,000 in your first three months $1,000 to around $2,000 13 percent
April 2020 to June 2023 100,000 bonus points for spending $15,000 in your first three months $1,000 to around $2,000 13 percent
January 2020 to March 2020 80,000 bonus points for spending $5,000 in your first three months $800 to around $1,600 32 percent

Who the Chase Ink Business Preferred is right for

Pursuing a side hustle, entrepreneurship or creative endeavor as a way to make money means you’re eligible for a business card — even if you don’t run a traditional business. For this card in particular, you’ll just want to make sure you can afford its annual fee and spend $8,000 in your first three months without straining your wallet to earn the bonus.

Freelancers on-the-go

The Ink Business Preferred may land a spot on our list of the best cards for freelancers with this updated offer.

While not every freelancer will benefit from the card’s mix of business bonus categories, some of which center more on selling goods than providing services, you should be able to squeeze plenty of value out of more popular categories like travel and internet, cable and phone services. Indeed, its generous travel rewards rate makes it a great option as a primary travel card.

Plus, if you aren’t happy with the card, you can request a product change to the Ink Business Unlimited® Card, which charges no annual fee and offers a flat cash back rate, potentially making it an even more flexible option for freelancers and the self-employed.

Side hustlers

Many side hustles are a great fit for the Ink Business Preferred card’s bonus categories, especially if you sell goods online via your own website or sites like eBay, Etsy and Amazon. Businesses like these typically carry plenty of shipping, internet service and advertising costs, making it easy to capitalize on most of the card’s bonus categories.

While the card’s bonus spending requirement is a big ask for small side hustles, it might also be the incentive you need to invest more into your business. If you can manage an average of $2,700 in spending in each of your first three months to meet the spending requirement, you can earn $1,200 in cash back or around $2,400 in travel value. Just be sure to avoid carrying a balance, as the card carriers no intro APR and interest charges will eat into your rewards earnings.

Creators

Photographers, writers, painters, digital artists, content creators, musicians and other creatives could all benefit from this card. While you may not be used to thinking of your art as a business, it has value, and creating it typically comes at some cost. If you earn even a little bit of income from selling your work, you may be able to qualify for a business credit card.

A business card like the Chase Ink Business Preferred would allow you to earn rewards, which could cut down your costs and help you create even more work. While it’s hard to find business cards that earn rewards on art supplies, equipment, film or other tools, the Ink Business Preferred card could offer long-term value by earning rewards on practical expenses like internet services and shipping, traveling to shows and more.

Plus, that’s to say nothing of the short-term value that comes with the card’s sign-up bonus.

Recently applied? Request a bonus match

Even if you recently opened an Ink Business Preferred card account, you may be able to earn the card’s newer, higher bonus. Several users on Reddit in the r/CreditCards community say they’ve had success requesting a bonus match via Chase’s secure messaging portal.

My 100k bonus was matched to 120k. I was approved for the [Chase Ink Business Preferred] on 18 May with the 100k SUB. On 19 June, with about 1k left to meet the spend, I requested a bonus match by secure message in the Chase app and was told less than 24 hrs later that they would be “happy to match the offer” for me.

— Reddit user Cogar_Cronan

While some users report getting a bonus match for approvals processed as far back as May 18, 2024, one user commented that their request related to a card application opened on May 17 was denied.

While there’s no guarantee you can get the bonus this way, it never hurts to ask.

Bottom line: A great time to apply

In the hands of the right small-business owner, the Ink Business Preferred card will offer a great head start on earning rewards — better than many consumer cards that carry the same annual fee. Even if you don’t own a traditional small business, the card’s ongoing rewards could hold tremendous value.

Thanks to its new bonus, now could be a great time to apply if you’ve been holding off.

The Ink Business Preferred card’s new offer is easily one of the best credit card bonuses currently available, so even if the card’s ongoing rewards categories don’t align with your regular spending, its short-term value is high enough to make it a solid pick for just about any small-business owner.