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They are unusually high welcome bonuses for no annual fee cards
The ability to earn a welcome bonus worth up to $900 in cash back is already rare among rewards credit cards, but the fact that you can earn it by using a no annual fee credit card is surprising.
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
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rewards
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 (then 1%); 2% cash back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year (then 1%); 1% cash back on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
Earn $900 bonus cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
0% for the first 12 months from the opening of the account on purchases; N/A for balance transfers
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fees
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
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Foreign Transaction Fee
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credit required
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
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rewards
Earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase for your business
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Welcome bonus
Earn $900 bonus cash back after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
0% for the first 12 months from the opening of the account on purchases; N/A for balance transfers
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fees
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
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Foreign Transaction Fee
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credit required
You earn Ultimate Rewards points, not cash
Although they are officially billed as cash-back cards, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card do not earn instant cash. Instead, they allow you to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points that you redeem for cash back at a rate of 1 cent a piece.
In other words, you’ll actually earn 90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points after spending $6,000 with the card in the first three months of account membership, which is worth $900 in cash back when you redeem the points.
Here’s why this is important: If you also have either the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card®, Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Ink Business Preferred® credit card, you have the ability to use your Ultimate Rewards® points for travel at a much higher rate than 1 to redeem. Cents each.
For example, you can travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or the Ink Business Preferred® credit card and 1.5 cents per point with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® book . Depending on which card you have, that’s an immediate increase of between 25% and 50% in value to your points. So, you’re 90,000 point bonus could actually be worth $1,125 or $1,350 in travel, depending on which Ultimate Rewards earning card you have.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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rewards
$50 annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit, 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3X points on dining, 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
18.99% – 25.99% variable on purchases and balance transfers
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Balance transfer fees
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
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Foreign Transaction Fee
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credit required
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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rewards
Earn 3X points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in select categories each account anniversary year (travel; mail order purchases; Internet, cable and phone services; and advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines), 1X point per $1 on all other purchases
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Welcome bonus
Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fees
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
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Foreign Transaction Fee
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credit required
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
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rewards
Earn 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you buy travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® right after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases each year. Earn 3X points on other rides and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases plus, 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
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Welcome bonus
Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fees
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Foreign Transaction Fee
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credit required
Qualifying for a small business card is easier than you think
The digital age has made it possible for just about anyone to become a sole proprietor with little effort. Just remember not to fudge the numbers when submitting your application to Chase. Even if you’re not making much (or any) money from your side gig, honesty is the best policy.
Bottom line
But the thing that makes signing up for one or both of these cards an absolute no-brainer is the enhanced welcome bonus of $900 in cash back — in other words, 90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points — after you spend the $6,000 within three months’ minimum expenses have been met. requirement. With the right strategy (and the right companion card), you can easily turn that into $1,800 in travel rewards—a one-time offer for a no-annual-fee card.
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Editor’s note: The opinions, analyses, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editors alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
