Ink Business Preferred Vs. American Express Business Gold Card: A Complete Comparison

If you operate a small business and aren't collecting points and miles with a business credit card, you're missing out on important rewards that can be used for airfare, hotels, gift certificates, and more. American Express Business Gold Card and Ink Business Preferred Credit Card are today's most lucrative business credit cards.

It's hardly surprising that Chase and American Express, two of the finest banks for personal credit cards, also offer two of the greatest travel rewards cards for business owners. They are powerful in raising reward points on some of the most common business purchases.

Both financial institutions reward new cardholders with bonus points for joining up and making the minimum purchase amount. There's more to credit cards than just a big sign-up bonus and the chance to rack up points over time.

Chase Ink Preferred Credit Card

The Chase Ink Preferred card offers a greater rewards rate on common business spending, making it attractive to company owners. If you use your credit card for travel and certain business categories, you'll receive three points for every dollar spent on those categories and one point for every dollar spent on everything else.

Spend $8,000 on purchases during the first three months of opening a Chase Ink Business Preferred account, and you'll receive a substantial welcome incentive of 100,000 points. No matter where your travels take you, you'll be covered no matter what comes your way with perks like primary car rental insurance for business trips, roadside dispatch, travel, and emergency assistance services, and trip cancellation/interruption insurance, all for a flat $95 yearly fee.

Moreover, the business owner's phone is covered, and every employee's phone is paid for using the card. However, no promotional 0% APR period exists for new purchases or balance transfers.

American Express Business Gold Card

Alternative options provide a comparable rewards structure without the substantial annual fee. But, the American Business Card strives very hard to be a useful companion for businesses whose spending patterns might fluctuate dramatically from month to month.

The card will automatically earn bonus points in the two areas (from a list of six) where your monthly spending is the highest. In contrast to cards that need more active administration, opting in or selecting your categories is unnecessary.

But if you compare it to other options, the yearly charge of $295 is very high. And if your spending doesn't align with the six categories qualified for those added benefits, you're better off with a different alternative.

Get four times as many Membership Rewards points for every dollar spent on the two categories below that account for your company's monthly expenses. Spending up to $150,000 annually in these two areas will earn 4X rewards. A dollar spent on anything else is worth one point.

Ink Business Preferred Vs. American Express Business Gold Card

Welcome Bonuses

Equally appealing, both cards come with generous sign-up bonuses. After spending $15,000 on purchases during the first three months with the Chase Ink Business Preferred, you will receive 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points. If you sign up for and spend $10,000 on the American Express Business Gold Card during the first three months, you'll receive 70,000 Membership Rewards points as a welcome bonus.

Getting Points

Chase Ink Business Preferred and the American Express Business Gold Card provide substantial transferrable points. Unlike the Chase Ink Business Preferred card, which earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the Business Gold Card only earns American Express Membership Rewards points. Each of these unique reward currencies retains its value because of the numerous ways it may be exchanged for goods and services.

Travel Rewards

You will get a single Ultimate Rewards point for each dollar spent on all other purchases. The aggregate expenditure threshold for the bonus categories is $150,000. After reaching the limit, you'll receive 1 point for every $1 spent. Bonus categories are available with the American Express Business Gold Card. However, Business Gold has a special feature allowing you to pick your bonus categories.

Annual Fee

There is a $95 annual charge for the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card. It is not waived for the first year, so you'll pay it from day one. Requesting extra credit cards for approved users like a spouse or an employee is free of charge.

The Ink Business Preferred also lets you place spending caps on employee cards to prevent employees from running up enormous tabs without your awareness. The Business Gold Card has a $295 yearly cost. It's more expensive than Ink Business Preferred, but you can get free extra staff cards if needed.

Employee Cards

These credit cards can have additional employee cards added because they are used for business. In contrast to the Amex Gold Business Card, which charges a fixed price of $50 to add staff cards, Chase Ink does not impose any fees for doing so. Spending by workers on their cards will generate points for the principal account, for which you are liable as the primary account holder.

Point Redemption

The point redemption processes for these two cards for small businesses are similar, yet there are important differences. Both programs let you exchange points towards stays at affiliated hotels and flights on partner airlines. While the lists of transfer partners for Chase and American Express are different (with some overlap), the method for transferring points is the same. You can transfer points across cards within the same rewards system at no extra cost with either card.

Conclusion:

You won't go wrong with either of these business credit cards in your pocket, but given the choice between the two, most companies will benefit more from the Chase Ink Preferred and its cheaper annual fee.

One may argue that the American Express Business Gold is preferable if a company's spending falls into one of the areas that earn four times as many Membership Rewards points. Then again, perhaps you don't have to decide and can obtain both cards if your company makes substantial purchases.