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

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5

4.2

Apply now

on Chase's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Earn $750 bonus cash back

Earn $750 bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Rewards rate

1.5%

Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5

4.3

Apply now

on Chase's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Earn up to $750 bonus cash back

Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening.

Rewards rate

1% - 5%

Earn 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. Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year. Earn 1% cash back on all other card purchases with no limit to the amount you can earn.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

Capital One Spark Cash Select

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5

4.1

See Rates & Fees

Apply now

on Capital One's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

$500 cash back

$500 cash back once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening

Rewards rate

1.5% - 5%

Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back for your business on every purchase, everywhere — with no limits or category restrictions.

Recommended Credit Score

Excellent (740 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

• Ink Business Unlimited vs. Ink Business Cash Credit Card

  You may want to consider the Ink Business Cash card instead if you spend heavily at office supply stores or on internet and phone services. You’ll earn 5X Ultimate Rewards on those purchases, as well as 2X at gas stations and restaurants on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year. The Business Cash card offers the same perks and intro APR offer on purchases as Ink Business Unlimited. However, a higher rewards rate in these popular business categories could earn you significantly more cash back than flat-rate rewards if a solid share of your spending falls within the Ink Business Cash card’s categories.

• Ink Business Unlimited vs. Capital One Spark Cash Select

  The Capital One Spark Cash Select is a solid alternative to the Ink Business Unlimited if you want a comparable rewards rate and a sign-up bonus with the same spending requirement. You can earn a $500 bonus when you spend $4,500 within the first three months of account opening. The Capital One Spark Cash Select also has the edge for travelers since it earns 5 percent cash back on hotels and rental cars through Capital One Travel, and it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees (See Rates & Fees).

  Unfortunately, this version of the Capital One Spark Cash Select doesn’t offer an intro APR on purchases like the Ink Business Unlimited does. If you like the Capital One Spark Cash Select’s travel-oriented features but need an intro APR offer, the Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit could be a better fit.

• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

  Coupling your Ink Business Unlimited with the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card opens the door to travel redemption opportunities that can increase your points’ value. Pooling your points with the Ink Business Preferred means your points will get a 25 percent boost to 1.25 cents each toward travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Finding the right Chase transfer partner could bump them up even further, according to Bankrate’s latest valuation.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred

  While not a business card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred can still be a beneficial pairing thanks to the Chase trifecta, which gives Chase cardholders the ability to pool points between cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns big with 3X points on dining, select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs) and 5X on travel booked through Chase Travel℠. You’ll also get the same 25 percent boost as the Ink Business Preferred. 

  You can use a tiered-bonus cash back card to maximize rewards in specific high-spend categories and then use the Ink Business Unlimited to earn a little extra on all purchases outside those categories.

• Small-business beginners

  The Ink Business Unlimited card can be a very useful tool if you’re a  business owner just starting out. With flat-rate rewards and an intro APR offer, you’re given a lot of flexibility for earning rewards while you figure out your expenses. 

• Chase cardholders

  You’re a step ahead if you’re a business owner with another Chase card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards. With the Chase trifecta, you can combine points from other Chase cards to ensure you’re always earning maximum redemption value. This can be a great reinvestment strategy for redeeming a nest egg of points for cash back or covering the cost of an upcoming business trip.

• Rewards value

  The best business cards offer rewards in key business spending categories, so a primary factor in a business card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

  To estimate a business card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average small-business owner’s spending habits. In other words, we assess whether the card earns rewards at a high rate in the most popular business spending categories. 

  We researched 10 key business spending categories including dining, gas, office supplies, travel, telecommunications, insurance and more to get a sense of the average small-business owner’s spending habits. We assumed an average annual spend of around $40,000 per year based on Bankrate survey data. 

  Using this data, we are able to assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

  This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your business purchases — as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

  With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other business cards, factoring in the card’s annual fee.

  The better these values, the higher its score will be, making it more worthy of inclusion in our list and increasing its potential ranking.

• Fees and intro APR

  We also score business cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

  To start, each business card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other business cards. This is because an intro APR on new purchases or balance transfers can be a lifesaver if you need to pay down debt, finance a large business purchase or free up cash flow. 

  While intro APRs are not uncommon on business cards, they aren’t a given, so cards that offer this sort of payment flexibility will score higher in our card rating system.

  Even more important to both a card’s score and its inclusion in our list, however, is how its annual fee influences its overall value. We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. 

  Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value. However, if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score and a spot in our list even if it carries a high annual fee. 

  With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against those of other cards in the category when you subtract annual fees.

• Flexibility

  We rate each business card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards. 

  Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on only a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you opt for some redemption options over others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to travel partners. 

• Perks

  We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. Top-tier perks include benefits like airport lounge access, travel credits, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs.

  We give extra weight to perks especially useful or valuable for small-business owners, like being able to qualify with no personal guarantee, digital advertising credits, free employee cards and accounting perks.

• What credit score do you need to get the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card?

  To qualify for Chase’s Ink business cards, you must have good to excellent credit, which is defined as a FICO credit score of 670 or above. Although these are business cards, Chase will use your personal credit score when considering your application.

• What's the credit limit on the Chase Ink Business Unlimited credit card?

  As with all Visa Signature Business cards, the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card has a minimum $5,000 credit limit — but you may qualify for a higher limit depending on your creditworthiness.

• Does the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card count towards the 5/24 rule?

  No, the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card and other Chase business cards do not count toward the Chase 5/24 rule — but you must be under the 5/24 rule when you apply to qualify for the card.

What cardholders think

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

4.3

36 ratings

In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers.

83% of customers recommend this card

Score breakdown

5 stars

47%

4 stars

36%

3 stars

14%

2 stars

3%

1 star

0%

Score by category

Overall 4.3 / 5

Extra perks 4.0 / 5

Meets financial needs 4.3 / 5

Privacy and security 4.3 / 5

Customer service 4.1 / 5

Online portal or mobile app 4.3 / 5

In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.