Whether your credit card has an annual fee of $1 or $1,000, it’s worth evaluating the fee each time you pay it to see if you can justify the expense for the next year.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a low annual fee of $95, but is it worth considering that this card isn’t free to have?
Let’s look at the perks and benefits offered by Ink Business Preferred to see if the annual fee is worth it in year two and beyond.
Welcome bonus
With Chase, you can use your points for 1.25 cents each to book travel when you have Ink Business Preferred. The same rate is available for redeeming points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card but just shy of the 1.5 cents-per-point value available on these redemptions with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. The Sapphire Preferred also allows you to redeem points as statement credit at a rate of 1 cent each.
However, you can get better value from your points than 1.25 cents each. Using Chase’s 14 airline and hotel transfer partners allows you to use your points on hotel stays and flights. You can find more value here.
Related: How to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value
Cellphone security
If you pay your monthly wireless bill with you With Inc. Business Preferred, you can enjoy cellphone protection against theft or loss — without paying for coverage through your wireless provider. This applies to you and any employees listed on the wireless bill.
With this benefit, phones associated with a wireless account are covered up to $1,000 per claim. Each claim has a $100 deductible with a maximum of three claims in a 12-month period.
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Related: How to Submit a Cellphone Insurance Claim for Inc Business Preferred
Purchase security
Inc. Business Preferred’s protection covers new purchases for up to 120 days against loss or theft. This benefit can cover the cost of repairing or replacing your item and has a per-claim limit of $10,000 and a per-account limit of $50,000. However, there are exceptions such as animals, live plants and motorized vehicles. Additionally, the card’s extended warranty protection adds an extra year to the manufacturer’s warranty of three years or less.
While you hopefully won’t need to use this protection and get monetary value out of it, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your large business purchases are protected.
Related: Best Credit Cards for Purchase Protection
Travel security
While traveling, you can take with you trip cancellation and interruption insurance, roadside dispatch and auto rental collision damage waiver protection. Royal occupation preferred.
Say your trip is canceled or cut short by covered circumstances like illness and severe weather. In that case, you may be reimbursed up to $5,000 per person and up to $10,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours and hotels.
If you have an emergency while on the road, you can call Chase’s dispatch service to get the help you need. This benefit can help in situations like lockout, dead battery or flat tire. However, only the connection is an inclusion benefit. Service charges will be charged to your card when you use these services.
Additionally, when renting a car, you can opt out of the rental company’s collision insurance and get collision damage waiver coverage if you pay for the full rental cost with your Inc. Business Preferred. This benefit can cover the cost of repairing or replacing your rental vehicle.
Just like card purchase protection, you may not get financial value from these travel protections every year, but you can travel with less worry knowing you’re covered if something goes wrong.
This Benefit guidance Provides complete details of these benefits including limitations and exclusions.
Related: 5 Reasons to Get the Chase Inc. Business Preferred Credit Card
Other benefits
You’ll earn 3 points per dollar on your first $150,000 in account anniversary purchases in each of these categories: travel, shipping purchases, Internet services, cable services, phone services, and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines. You’ll earn 1 point per dollar on these purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases after you pass the $150,000 spending limit.
If your business has significant expenses in this category, it can earn up to 450,000 points annually after maxing out the $150,000 limit. TPG values these points at $9,225.
It’s worth evaluating these earning categories to see how well they work for your business. You should also consider how well these categories work for you when holding a personal credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards points, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
A unique benefit of the Ink Business Preferred is that, unlike Chase’s other business credit cards, it gives you direct access to Chase’s transfer partners. Those with no-annual-fee cards like the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (as well as personal credit cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited®) don’t have access to Chase’s transfer partners and need a premium card like the Ink Business Preferred. or an individual card such as the Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card to redeem points this way.
This means that, in addition to earning points, this card can also help you maximize the value of your rewards from other Chase cards.
Having a Chase card that earns Ultimate Rewards points and has an annual fee is essential to have a wide range of options for using your points — this card meets this requirement.
Related: How to maximize your rewards-earnings with Ink Business Preferred
Bottom line
However, if you already have a card that enables these transfers and the bonus-earning categories don’t work for your business, the annual fee on the Ink Business Preferred may not be worth it.
To learn more about the card, read our full review of the Ink Business Preferred.
Apply at: Inc. Business Preferred Credit Card