Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card vs. The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express: Which Is Right for You?

Both the Ink Business Preferred credit card and the Business Platinum Card from American Express offer extensive travel benefits and boosted rewards earnings. Here’s how they compare.

	Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card	Business Platinum Card from American Express
FinanceBuzz star ratings	4.8 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.8 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
FinanceBuzz value calculation2	Year one earnings: $1,611 Year two earnings: $486	Year one earnings: $2,062 Year two earnings: $562
Annual fee	$95	$695
Welcome bonus	Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening of account opening	Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
Earning rate	3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases	5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on Amextravel.com; 1.5X points on eligible purchases at U.S. suppliers of construction materials and hardware, U.S. retailers of electronic goods, U.S. providers of shipping, software and cloud systems, and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million per year, then 1X), and 1X points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases (purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus)
Redemption methods	Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for statement credits, travel, gift cards, and purchases through the Chase Travel portal. There is also a 25% redemption bonus on travel booked through the Chase travel portal. Rewards can also be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to a variety of airline and hotel programs.	Amex Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for statement credits, travel, gift cards, and purchases through the American Express portal. There is a 35% point rebate on first class and business class airfare when using Pay with Points. Rewards can also be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to a variety of airline and hotel programs.
Annual credits	None	Up to $400 statement credit for Dell purchases. Up to $200 Amex airline fee credit Up to $360 Indeed credit Up to $150 Adobe credit Up to $120 wireless telephone services credit Up to $199 Clear Plus credit Note that select benefits require enrollment
Travel perks	Rental car collision damage waiver Trip cancellation/interruption insurance	Priority Pass membership Access to American Express Global Lounge Collection and Delta Sky Club Fee credit of up to $120 every 4 years for Global Entry or up to $85 every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck (after applying for the five-year membership) Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite and Hilton Honors Gold status Fine Hotels & Resorts perks Collision damage waiver3 Trip cancellation/interruption insurance4 Trip delay insurance5 Baggage insurance6 Note that select benefits require enrollment
Foreign transaction fee	None	None
Credit needed	Excellent, Good	Excellent, Good
	Learn more	Learn more

When to go with the Ink Business Preferred

I’d recommend the Ink Business Preferred card from Chase if:

• You want a lower annual fee
• You want to stay in (or join) the Chase Ultimate Rewards universe
• You’re an infrequent traveler

Lower annual fee

The Chase Ink Business Preferred has an annual fee of $95, compared to the Amex Business Platinum annual fee of $695.

It’s relatively easy to offset the annual fee with the Chase Ink Business Preferred by earning rewards on your regular spending.

For example, if you spend $2,000 per month on your card, you could earn at least 24,000 Ultimate Rewards points, worth $240 in statement credits or $300 in travel booked through the Chase travel portal, thanks to the 25% bonus value. And that doesn’t account for the 3X rewards you can earn on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. With the Amex Business Platinum, you need to make bigger expenditures and travel much more to earn enough to offset the fee.

For more information, read our Chase Ink Business Preferred review.

Rewards value is typically higher

There are plenty of opportunities for flexible redemption whether you use the Chase Ink Business Preferred or the Amex Business Platinum. However, Chase offers wider access to enhanced travel rewards. With the Chase Ink Business Preferred, your rewards are worth 25% more for all types of travel booked through the Chase portal. The Amex Membership Rewards offers a bonus only on flight purchases.

Additionally, even without the travel bonus, Chase Ultimate Rewards are generally worth about 1 cent each. Amex Membership points are worth about 0.6 cents (less than 1 cent) without the flight bonus.

Chase and American Express have many of the same travel partners, including British Airways, Emirates, JetBlue, and Marriott. Both offer a ratio of 1:1 loyalty point transfers from the Chase or Amex programs to their airline and hotel partners. If you are looking to transfer points to a specific airline or hotel, check over the list of Amex transfer partners and the list of Chase transfer partners before you commit to one of these cards, as there are some differences. For instance, Delta is an Amex partner but not a Chase partner, and Southwest is a Chase partner but not an Amex partner.

Extra protection on purchases

While both cards offer trip interruption coverage, the Ink Business Preferred typically offers stronger protections, including:

Limitations apply.

When to go with the Amex Business Platinum

If your business has you traveling a lot, I might recommend the Amex Business Platinum, thanks to its luxury travel perks. It can also be a good choice if:

• You want status when you travel
• You can afford the hefty annual fee
• Your business spends a lot in the Platinum card’s reward categories

Let’s look at the details.

Luxury travel benefits

For travel perks, the Amex Business Platinum wins out. Unlike the Chase Ink Business Preferred, the Amex card offers:

• A $199 statement credit for Clear Plus membership
• A statement credit for your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee
• Up to a $200 statement credit for incidental airline fees on one pre-selected airline
• Lounge access with the Global Lounge Collection
• Complimentary Gold status with Hilton Honors and Gold Elite status with Marriott Bonvoy
• Premium rental car privileges

Certain benefits require enrollment.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred has plenty of benefits, but it comes with none of these additional travel perks and credits. If you’re a frequent traveler, and you use your Amex card to book that travel for the enhanced rewards earning, the Amex Business Platinum card can be well worth the fee.

For more information, read our Amex Business Platinum review.

Statement credits can make up for the annual fee

Another way the Amex Business Platinum annual fee might be worth it is thanks to the card’s many statement credits for business spending, including:

• Up to $400 back (up to $200 semi-annually) on U.S. purchases at Dell Technologies
• Up to $360 back (up to $90 quarterly) on purchases with Indeed
• Up to $150 back on eligible Adobe business subscriptions
• Up to $120 back (up to $10 monthly) on eligible purchases at U.S. wireless companies

If you use every statement credit available to you, that’s $1,030 in credits. Enrollment may be required.

Earning potential

You can earn 5X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels on Amextravel.com. Additionally, when you make a large purchase of at least $5,000 in an eligible category, you’ll get 50% more bonus points (up to $2 million in spending). Finally, you get 35% of your points back when you use Membership Rewards Pay with Points to book your flights through Amex Travel.

However, although Amex Business Platinum offers a higher earning potential, the Chase Ink Business Preferred does offer more diverse opportunities to earn, with 3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases.

A closer look at both welcome bonuses

The welcome bonus for each card is as follows:

• Chase Ink Business Preferred: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Amex Business Platinum: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months.

When you break down the math, both bonuses are similar. When redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal, the 90,000-point welcome bonus is worth $900 cash back or $1,125 toward travel. The Amex Business Platinum bonus is worth at least $900 for certain redemptions (such as statement credits) but could be worth much more if used for business-fare flights or transferred to travel partners.

Which card should you choose?

When choosing between the Chase Ink Business Preferred vs. Amex Business Platinum, it’s important to pay attention to where you’re at with your business and what your specific needs are — especially considering the huge difference in the annual fees.

For example, if you travel frequently, and you know you’re going to make big purchases with your card, the travel benefits of the Amex Business Platinum make sense. You know you’ll get 50% more points on eligible purchases of at least $5,000. If you travel often, you can benefit from status with the Marriott and Hilton programs, as well as get value from the airline and security credits, though some of these benefits require enrollment.

On the other hand, if you have low to moderate spending needs, and you know that most of your spending will be aimed at online advertising and services, the Chase Ink Business Preferred makes more sense. It has a much lower annual fee, and it offers rewards on regular business purchases. Plus, the extra cell phone protection coverage is a nice perk with the Chase Ink Business Preferred.

FAQs

Bottom line

There are plenty of small business credit cards out there, and they all have different perks and rewards. Carefully consider your needs when weighing your options between the Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card vs. The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express to see what makes the most sense for you. Consider which of these best business credit cards is likely to give you the best value based on your business spending habits and needs.

Premium Business Rewards

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

4.8

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

Apply Now

See rates and fees | Terms Apply

Current Offer

Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$695

Rewards Rate

5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on Amextravel.com; 1.5X points on eligible purchases at U.S. suppliers of construction materials and hardware, U.S. retailers of electronic goods, U.S. providers of shipping, software and cloud systems, and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million per year, then 1X), and 1X points per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases (purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus)

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Option to pay a portion of eligible charges over time, rather than in full monthly
• Seamlessly connects to QuickBooks® for easy reporting
• Includes cell phone insurance up to $800 per claim for damage or theft¹

Drawbacks

• High annual fee that isn’t worth it if you don’t travel frequently
• High spend requirement to earn the welcome bonus

Card Details

• Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
• 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases.
• Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
• Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. See how you can unlock over $1,000 annually in credits on select purchases with the Business Platinum Card®, here.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to the Card.
• $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card®.
• The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 03/2023.
• $695 Annual Fee.
• Terms Apply.

Hot Welcome Bonus

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

4.8

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Ink Business Preferred^® Credit Card

Apply Now

Current Offer

Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

Annual Fee

$95

Rewards Rate

3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year; and 1X points per $1 on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Generous welcome offer
• High rewards rate on common business expenses
• Flexible Ultimate Rewards points
• No foreign transaction fees
• Cell phone, purchase, and travel protections

Drawbacks

• Annual fee of $95
• $150,000 annual cap on bonus category spending
• No intro APR offer

Card Details

• Earn 90k bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 cash back or $1,125 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠
• Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
• Round-the-clock monitoring for unusual credit card purchases
• With Zero Liability you won't be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information.
• Redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more - your points don't expire as long as your account is open
• Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Travel℠
• Purchase Protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.
• Member FDIC