Chase Ink Unlimited vs Chase Ink Cash

In A Nutshell: Flat Rate vs Bonus Category

Both the Chase Ink Unlimited and the Chase Ink Cash are small business credit cards from Chase. They have the same reward program and the main difference is how you earn reward points. The Chase Ink Inlimited is a flat rate rewards card where you can earn 1.5% points/cash back for every dollar that you spend on the card. The Chase Ink Cash is a bonus category rewards where you can earn 5% cash back on select business categories, 2% at gas stations and restaurants and 1% on other regular purchases.

Let's dive deeper into both of these cards and compare them.

Key Differences - Cash Back Formula

The key difference between the Chase Ink Unlimited and Ink Cash is that they have different cash back formulas.

Chase Ink Unlimited - Flat Rate Cash Back

• 1.5% cash back on all purchases on the card

Chase Ink Cash - Bonus Category Cash Back

• 5% cash back on first $25,000 spent on combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each anniversary year


• 2% cash back on first $25,000 spent on combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants


• Earn unlimited 1% cash back on other regular purchases

Similarities

Other than the cash back formulas, the Chase Ink Unlimited and Ink Cash are similar in almost every other aspect.

• Annual Fee - Both cards have no annual fee


• Foreign Transaction Fee - Both cards charge 3% for any foreign transactions


• Based on Chase Ultimate Reward Points - Both cards are based on the Chase Ultimate Rewards. The points you earn on both cards can be redeemed for cash back, statement credits, gift cards.
  
  Ultimate reward points can also be used to book travel on the Ultimate Rewards Portal. However, both the Chase Ink Unlimited and Ink Cash points cannot be transferred to airline partners.


• Can combine with other Chase cards with ability to transfer points to airline and hotel partners - As just mentioned, the Ultimate Reward points earned from both the Chase Ink Unlimited and Chase Ink Cash cannot be used to transfer points to airline and hotel partners. However, you can get another Chase card that allows you to do so (like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Ink Preferred) and combine points into the same account. This will then allow you to transfer points to airline and hotel partners.


• Other Common Benefits - Both cards have the following benefits: Primary Car Rental Insurance, purchase protection and extended warrantly.

Which is Better? Ink Unlimited or Ink Cash?

The answer to the question of which of these card is better is that they are both good cash back credit cards but simply different. One earns cash back via flat rate and the othe does so via bonus categories. In fact, I would say that both cards are actually complimentary.

If you have a small business, having both cards helps you to maximize your cash back earnings. The way to do this is to charge your office purchases and telecomunication expenses to the Chase Ink Cash to earn 5% cash back and expenses like gasoline and restaurants also to earn 2% cash back. Then you should use the Chase Ink Unlimited to charge othe regular expenses that are not on the bonus category list.

If you want to be able to transfer points to airline partners, you can combine either of these cards with the Chase Ink Preferred or consumer cards like the Chase Saphhire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve. By combining these points in one account, the points you earn on the Ink Unlimited and Ink Cash can then be transferred to Ultimate Rewards Airline and Hotel Partners.