The Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Ink Business Preferred are easily two of the hottest cards offered by Chase. They come with great perks like high sign-up bonuses and great bonus categories. But there are some key differences between the two cards.
In this article, I’ll take a look at the Sapphire Preferred vs Ink Business Preferred and go into detail about all of the different highlights of each card so you’ll know which one is better for you.
I’ll also take a look at some alternatives like the Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ink Cash, and even some predecessors like the Ink Plus.
Personal vs business credit card
Right off the bat you should know that the Ink Business Preferred is a business credit card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a personal credit card.
While the Ink Business Preferred is a business credit card, you don’t have to own a traditional business to sign-up. For example, if you do some sort of re-selling on the side you might be able to sign up as a sole proprietorship.
If you’re interested in getting a business credit card you can find some tips and tricks for getting one here.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Sign-up bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred
- 60,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months
Ink Business Preferred
- 80,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
The Chase Ink Preferred is known for having one of the highest sign-up bonuses out of any credit card.
With that many points, you’ll have a lot of potential for taking some great trips as you’ll be able to transfer those points out to the Chase travel partners below at a 1:1 ratio.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Airlines
- Aer Lingus
- British Airways Executive Club
- Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
- Iberia Airways
- JetBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
I’ve had the privilege to experience some very memorable flights on several of these partners.
Some of the experiences that stick out are:
- First Class on the new Singapore Airlines A380
- Upper Class on the Virgin Atlantic 787
- First Class on the British Airways 747
There are also some fantastic hotels to choose from.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Hotels
- World of Hyatt
- IHG Rewards Club
- Marriott Rewards
- The Ritz-Carlton Rewards
Bonus spending
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 2X on dining and travel.
Those aren’t bad earning categories but keep in mind that the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3X on both of those categories and can offer much more lucrative earnings.
Ink Business Preferred
The Chase Ink Preferred is the successor of the Chase Ink Plus which earned:
Earn 5 points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at:
- Office supply stores
- Internet, cable and phone services
and also 2 points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year at:
- Gas stations
- Hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel
Chase discontinued the Chase Ink Plus but replaced with a revamped (and some might say more modern) business card. While some were in love with the 5X offered by the Ink Plus, many are now in love with the bonus categories of the Ink Preferred.
The Chase Ink Preferred earns 3X on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on:
- Travel
- Shipping purchases
- Internet, cable and phone services
- Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
The $150,000 cap on the 3X rewards is pretty high so if your business regularly spends a lot on shipping and advertising you can make a killing on rewards.
But for someone just looking to earn points for dining outings and occasional travel, the Sapphire Preferred could be much more rewarding.
Cell phone insurance
The Ink Business Preferred comes with special cell phone insurance.
The Chase Ink Preferred cell phone protection will protect you against damage, theft, or involuntary and accidental parting of your cell phone when you use your Chase Ink Preferred to pay your phone bill.
The protection requires a $100 deductible per claim and allows a maximum of 3 claims per 12 month period. You will receive no more than the purchase price less your $100 deductible. The maximum coverage limit is $600 per claim and $1,800 dollars per 12 month period.
The Sapphire Preferred does not have a comparable benefit so this is something unique to the Ink Preferred.
Read more about the protection here.
Primary rental car insurance
Both of these cards come with primary rental car insurance which can save you a lot by allowing you to avoid filing any kind of claim with your insurance provider.
The big distinction here is that the Ink Business Preferred’s coverage only kicks in when your travels are for business.
So if you don’t travel for business then that’s not going to do you much good and you’d be better served by the rental car protections of the Sapphire Preferred.
Annual Fee
Chase Sapphire Preferred
- $95 annual fee
Ink Business Preferred
- $95 annual fee
It is possible to get the Ink Business Preferred annual fee waived sometimes, such as when you apply in-branch. However, that annual fee is not waived for the general public offer.
The higher sign-up bonus of 80,000 points helps to offset that annual fee but it’s still a pretty big difference for the first year value proposition of these cards.
If you’re not interested in paying an annual fee you might look at the Chase Ink Cash. The Ink Cash is a no annual fee credit card that is the little brother of the Ink Preferred and comes with following perks:
- 50,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening
- 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and balance transfers
- 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.
Tip: Use the free app WalletFlo to help you travel the world for free by finding the best travel credit cards and promotions!
Chase application rules
Both of these cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 rule and because of that you will be denied for these cards if you’ve opened up 5 or more accounts within the past two years.
There are exceptions to this rule, though.
In addition, there are some other Chase application rules you might want to read up on to make sure that you’re not violating any of these rules.
Chase Refer a Friend
Both of these participate in the Chase Refer a Friend program (read more about that program here).
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred referral allows you to earn 10,000 Ultimate Rewards per approval up to a maximum of 50,000 points per calendar year.
Ink Business Preferred
The Chase Ink Preferred referral allows you to earn 20,000 Ultimate Rewards per approval up to a maximum of 100,000 points per calendar year. This is one of the best referral bonuses out there.
That Ink Preferred referral is very high and if you have other friends or family members that you think could use the Business Preferred then don’t forget to factor in all of the value that you can get from this program since that can make a huge difference when choosing the best card for you.
Chase Shopping Portal
Both of these cards have access to the Chase Shopping Portal.
The Chase Shopping Portal is a special website open only to Chase cardmembers that allows you to earn additional bonus Ultimate Rewards when making purchases at various online retailers.
It’s a fantastic way to increase your earnings and rack up points — you can learn more about this portal here.
Chase Travel Portal
Both of these cards allow you to book travel through the Chase Travel Portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point which is pretty good. It’s not as lucrative as the 1.5 cents per point you get with the Sapphire Reserve, but it’s still nothing to scoff at.
Find out more about the Chase Travel Portal here.
Approval odds
Both of these credit cards are going to require you to have good to excellent credit scores. And beyond that, you’ll want to have established credit history spanning at least a couple of years before applying.
I wouldn’t apply for either one of these cards if I was brand-new to credit cards and lacked a credit profile.
If you want to read more about approval odds for the Sapphire Preferred you can do that here.
Final word
Both of these are extremely solid credit cards.
I’d probably go with the Ink Business Preferred if I had a business to apply for it. That’s because it has such a higher sign-up bonus and some fantastic bonus categories like 3X on travel and advertising.
But if I didn’t have a business, the Sapphire Preferred would still be a very strong contender.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
