Choosing a business card is mostly a question about your own ledger: where the money goes, and whether you need to borrow while it goes there. The three structures below, cash back, transferable points and an interest-free window, answer three different versions of that question, and the right card follows from which one applies to you.
The short answer
Advertising or shipping goods: the Chase Ink Business Preferred, its 3x category earns the $95 fee back many times over.
Software, phone, internet, supplies: the Ink Business Cash, 5% and 2%, no fee, but mind the $25,000 shared cap.
Spending that fits no category: the Ink Business Unlimited (1.5%, no fee) under about $30,000 a year; the Spark Cash Plus (2%) above it.
The five cards in one table
| Card | Annual fee | Earning | Cap | 0% intro APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Ink Business Cash | $0 | 5% office supply stores, internet, cable and phone; 2% restaurants and gas; 1% elsewhere | $25,000 a year across the 5% and 2% tiers | 12 months on purchases |
| Chase Ink Business Unlimited | $0 | 1.5% on everything | None | 12 months on purchases |
| Capital One Spark Cash Plus | $150, refunded at $150,000 of spending | 2% on everything; 5% on hotels and rental cars through Capital One Business Travel | None | None, pay in full |
| Chase Ink Business Preferred | $95 | 3x on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone and social and search advertising | $150,000 a year | None |
| Amex Blue Business Plus | $0 | 2x Membership Rewards points | $50,000 a year, then 1x | 12 months on purchases |
Cash back: the simplest to value
Chase Ink Business Cash: $0 annual fee. 5% back at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services; 2% at restaurants and gas stations. Both rates apply to the first $25,000 of combined spending each anniversary year, then drop to 1%. 1% on everything else, uncapped. Welcome offer of $750 after $6,000 of purchases in three months, plus 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months.
The 5% categories look narrow until you notice what sits inside them: monthly phone and internet bills, and office supply stores, which stock gift cards for a long list of other merchants. The constraint is the shared cap, $25,000 across both tiers, so heavy restaurant spending eats the allowance you wanted for software and supplies. Fully used at 5%, the cap is worth $1,250 a year on a card with no fee.
Chase Ink Business Unlimited: $0 annual fee. A flat 1.5% on everything with no categories and no caps, the same $750 offer after $6,000 in three months, and the same 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. It exists to catch the spending that would otherwise earn 1%, which is why many businesses hold it alongside the Cash rather than instead of it.
Capital One Spark Cash Plus: $150 annual fee, refunded in full in any year you spend $150,000. Unlimited 2% on everything, 5% on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel, and a $2,000 welcome offer after $30,000 of purchases in three months.
The break-even against a free 1.5% card is worth doing once: 2% versus 1.5% is half a percentage point, and half a percentage point covers a $150 fee at $30,000 of annual spending. Below that, the no-fee Ink Unlimited pays more after fees. Above it, Spark pulls away and never stops. One important caveat: Spark Cash Plus is a pay-in-full product, not a revolving card, so it is the wrong choice if you need to carry a balance.
Points: higher ceiling, more work
Chase Ink Business Preferred: $95 annual fee. 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 each anniversary year, across travel, shipping, internet, cable and phone services, and advertising purchased with social media sites and search engines. 1 point elsewhere. Welcome offer of 100,000 points after $8,000 of purchases in three months.
The advertising category is the reason this card dominates for agencies, e-commerce sellers and anyone buying paid traffic. A business spending $5,000 a month on ads earns 180,000 points a year from that line alone. Because those points transfer to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, World of Hyatt in particular often returns well above two cents per Hyatt point, although since October 1, 2026 this card transfers to Hyatt at 4:3 rather than 1:1, the effective return can comfortably exceed any 2% cash back card. If you do not buy advertising or ship goods, the $95 buys you very little.
Amex Blue Business Plus: $0 annual fee. 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar on the first $50,000 of purchases each calendar year, then 1 point. Welcome offer of 15,000 points after $3,000 of eligible purchases in three months, and 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening, after which a variable rate published in the range of roughly 17% to 29% applies.
A $50,000 allowance at 2x on a card with no annual fee is unusual, and Membership Rewards can be transferred rather than cashed out. The trade-off is acceptance: Amex is accepted less widely than Visa or Mastercard, which matters most with small suppliers, trade accounts and anything international.
The honest caveat on all points cards: a point is worth what you redeem it for. If your realistic plan is to take the cash equivalent at one cent, a 2% cash back card is paying you more with less effort.
The 0% window, and the protections business cards do not have
Both no-fee Ink cards and Blue Business Plus offer 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. For a business buying equipment, inventory or a first production run, that is interest-free working capital on better terms than most lenders will offer at the same stage.
Two things to hold in mind. First, the cliff: whatever remains when the window closes starts accruing at the go-to variable rate, which on business cards routinely sits in the twenties. Decide the fixed monthly payment that clears the balance inside the window, $12,000 over 12 months is $1,000 a month, and treat it as a bill.
Second, and less widely known: business credit cards are generally not covered by several of the consumer protections in the CARD Act. Rules that limit how a consumer card’s rate can be raised on an existing balance, and that require payments above the minimum to be applied to the highest-rate balance first, do not apply in the same way. Some issuers voluntarily extend similar practices; none are obliged to. That makes carrying a long-term balance on a business card riskier than on a consumer card, independent of the headline rate.
Watch out
Business cards skip several CARD Act protections that consumer cards have: the issuer can raise the rate on a balance you already carry, and extra payments need not go to your highest-rate debt first. Treat the 0% window as a hard deadline, whatever is left when it closes starts accruing in the low-to-mid 20s.
The details that decide it in practice
- Employee cards are usually free on the cards above, with per-card spending limits and separate reporting, which is often worth more operationally than a percentage point of cashback.
- Personal credit reporting. Most major issuers do not report business card balances to the personal bureaus, so a large business balance does not inflate your personal utilization. Capital One has historically been the exception and does report. Confirm before applying if this matters to you.
- Chase’s approval guideline. The unwritten rule often described as 5/24 counts personal cards opened in the past 24 months and can block an Ink application. Ink cards do not usually appear on your personal report once opened, so they generally do not add to the count, but it still applies on the way in.
- Accounting exports. All of these support downloads into the usual bookkeeping software. The difference is in receipt capture and per-employee controls, which is a workflow question rather than a rewards one.
- The personal guarantee. Every card here requires one, and your personal credit is the main input in the decision.
How we chose these cards
Three structures, not one ranking. Cash back, transferable points and a 0% window answer different business needs, so each card is judged against the job it does. Fees tested against a free alternative. The $150 and $95 cards are measured against a no-fee 1.5% card, which is where the $30,000 break-even for Spark Cash Plus comes from. Points at a cent unless transferred, with transfer values flagged as variable, including the Ink Business Preferred’s move to a 4:3 Hyatt ratio on October 1, 2026. Business-specific risks included: the personal guarantee, personal credit reporting, and the consumer protections that business cards do not carry. Issuer terms only. No issuer pays CardRankr, and we earn nothing if you apply.
Matching the card to the business
- You buy paid advertising or ship physical goods: Ink Business Preferred. The $95 is recovered many times over by the 3x category.
- Your costs are software, phone, internet and office supplies: Ink Business Cash, and watch the $25,000 shared cap.
- Your spending does not fall into categories: Ink Business Unlimited at 1.5% below roughly $30,000 a year, Spark Cash Plus at 2% above it if you pay in full each month.
- You want transferable points with no annual fee: Blue Business Plus, if your suppliers take Amex.
- You need to finance a purchase: any of the three 0% cards, with a repayment schedule set before you spend.
If your business is new or pre-revenue, start with our guide to business cards for startups, which covers how issuers assess a company with no trading history. For financing specifically, see the 0% APR cards, and for personal spending the cash back round-up and no-annual-fee picks.
Quick answers
Do I need an LLC or an EIN to get a business card?
No. Sole proprietors, including freelancers and side businesses, can usually apply with their own Social Security number and their legal name as the business name. Issuers still ask for business revenue and how long you have been trading, so state both accurately.
Will a business card affect my personal credit?
The application usually means a hard inquiry on your personal report, and you sign a personal guarantee. After that, most major issuers do not report business card balances to your personal file unless the account goes seriously delinquent; Capital One has historically reported some business cards, so ask before applying.
Are business credit cards covered by the CARD Act?
Largely not. Credit extended mainly for business purposes is exempt from most Truth in Lending rules, including the CARD Act limits on raising rates on existing balances. Some issuers apply similar practices voluntarily, but they are not obliged to.
Does the Ink Business Preferred still transfer to Hyatt at 1:1?
No. Since October 1, 2026 it transfers to World of Hyatt at 4:3, so 1,000 points become 750 Hyatt points. Chase’s other airline and hotel partners were not changed.
Match it to how you spend
Most businesses are best served by two no-fee cards: one with the bonus categories that match their largest recurring costs, one flat-rate card for everything else. Pay the $95 only if you buy advertising or ship goods, and pay the $150 only if you spend more than about $30,000 a year and settle in full. The 0% window is the most undervalued feature on the list and the one with the sharpest edge.
Welcome offers, caps, APR ranges and reporting practices change without notice, and approval is never guaranteed. Confirm every figure with the issuer before applying.
Official terms and sources
- Compare Chase Ink business cards — Chase
- A guide to Chase Ink rewards categories — Chase
- Spark Cash Plus: card terms — Capital One
- Business credit cards, including Blue Business Plus — American Express
- Regulation Z, § 1026.3: exempt transactions — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau