The Chase Ink Business Cash is a $0 annual fee business card that earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 a year you spend at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services. As of September 23, 2026, Chase's card page advertises $750 in bonus cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. If your business pays a phone bill, an internet bill or buys supplies, this card earns more on those bills than a flat-rate card does, and it costs nothing to keep.
The catch is that the 5% and 2% categories are capped, and the card's real upside depends on whether you also hold a Chase card that can transfer points to airlines and hotels. Here's how the Ink Business Cash works, where it earns, and who should pick something else.
Quick summary
Best for: Small businesses and sole proprietors with steady telecom, internet or office supply spending. Standout benefit: 5% on the first $25,000 in combined office supply and internet, cable and phone purchases each account anniversary year, for a $0 annual fee. Biggest drawback: 1% on anything outside the bonus categories, and both bonus categories stop at $25,000 a year. Current offer: $750 bonus cash back after $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months after account opening (read on Chase's page September 23, 2026; Chase says offers can change over time).
What's the Ink Business Cash welcome offer right now?
Chase's page shows $750 cash back after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. After you qualify, Chase says to allow 6 to 8 weeks for the bonus to post.
Read the eligibility line before you apply. Chase says the bonus "may not be available to you if you have ever had this card or any other Chase for Business card without an annual fee." That second half matters: if you've ever held the no-fee Ink Business Unlimited, Chase may decline to pay this bonus too. Chase also says it may consider "factors pertinent to your business" when deciding bonus eligibility.
Balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like transactions and fees don't count toward the $6,000, per Chase's offer terms.
How the Ink Business Cash earns cash back
Here's the full structure, from Chase's card page and the Ink Business Cash rewards agreement, both read September 23, 2026:
- 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 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year, then 1%. The rewards agreement says the restaurant category includes takeout and eligible delivery services.
- 5% total cash back on Lyft rides booked through the Lyft app, through September 30, 2027.
- 1% cash back on all other purchases, with no limit.
Two details trip people up. First, the caps reset on your account anniversary, not on January 1. Second, the $25,000 cap is shared across each group. Office supplies and your phone bill draw from the same $25,000 bucket, and gas and restaurants draw from a separate one.
Chase decides categories by merchant code, which the merchant or its processor sets. The rewards agreement warns that a merchant that looks like it fits a category may not code that way, and that purchases through third-party payment accounts or mobile card readers may not qualify if they aren't processed in the category. If a big recurring bill runs through a payment app, check a statement before you count on 5%.
What 5% looks like in practice
Say your business pays $250 a month for internet and $150 a month for a phone plan. That's $4,800 a year of 5% spend, which earns $240 in cash back, well under the cap. If you do pass $25,000, everything above the cap drops to 1% until your next account anniversary.
How to redeem Ink Business Cash rewards
Chase tracks the cash back as points, and each $1 in cash back equals 100 points. The rewards agreement says points are worth one cent each when you redeem for cash, gift cards or travel through Chase Travel. You can take cash as a statement credit or a direct deposit, and Chase's page says there's no minimum to redeem.
Points don't expire while your account is open, per the agreement. Chase says you lose all points immediately if the account is closed for program misuse, fraud or other reasons in the agreement, so redeem or move points before any closure.
Moving Ink Business Cash points to a card that transfers
The card itself redeems at one cent a point. The value jump comes from pairing. The Ink Business Cash rewards agreement lets you move your points "to another Chase card with Ultimate Rewards belonging to you or one member of your household or owner of the company."
Chase's Ink Business Preferred page says that card lets you "transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to participating frequent travel programs," and lists airline partners including Air Canada Aeroplan, Flying Blue, Southwest Rapid Rewards and United MileagePlus. So an owner who holds both cards can earn 5% on the phone bill with the Ink Business Cash, move the points to the Ink Business Preferred, and transfer from there. One change to know: the same Chase page says that starting October 1, 2026, Ultimate Rewards points transfer to World of Hyatt at 4:3, so 1,000 points become 750 Hyatt points. We covered that change in our breakdown of the Chase to Hyatt transfer ratio.
Without a transfer card, treat the Ink Business Cash as a straight cash back card. That's still a good deal at $0 a year.
Ink Business Cash travel and purchase protections
Chase lists these on the card page, read September 23, 2026:
Auto rental coverage. Decline the rental company's collision insurance and pay with the card. Coverage is primary when you rent for business purposes and reimburses up to $60,000 for theft and collision damage on most vehicles with an MSRP of $125,000 or less. Our car rental guide compares this with Sapphire, Freedom, Amex and Capital One coverage, including the Ink guide's rule that personal rentals get secondary coverage.
Purchase protection. Eligible new purchases are covered for 120 days against damage or theft, up to $10,000 per item. For New York residents, Chase says the period is 90 days.
Extended warranty protection. Adds one year to an eligible manufacturer's U.S. warranty of three years or less.
Travel and emergency assistance and roadside assistance. These are referral and dispatch services. Chase notes you pay for the goods, services or roadside fees themselves.
Employee cards come at no additional cost, and you can set a spending limit for each one. Chase also says cardmembers are automatically checked for a credit line increase every 6 months or sooner.
Intro APR, Instacart+ and other perks
Intro APR. 0% on purchases for 12 months from account opening, then a variable APR of 16.74% to 24.74%, per Chase's card page.
Instacart+. A complimentary three-month Instacart+ membership, activated between May 1, 2025 and December 31, 2027. Once active, you get a $20 Instacart credit each month in your Instacart Business Account. After the free period, the membership auto renews at $99 a year unless you cancel, so set a reminder.
Referrals. If you already hold a Chase for Business card, Chase pays 40,000 bonus points for each business you refer that gets approved, up to 200,000 points a year.
Foreign transaction fee. Check the foreign transaction fee in Chase's pricing and terms before you use the card abroad.
Ink Business Cash pros and cons
Pros
- $0 annual fee, per Chase's card page.
- 5% on office supplies and internet, cable and phone services, up to $25,000 a year combined.
- Points can move to a Chase Ultimate Rewards card you hold, which opens transfers if that card offers them.
- Primary auto rental coverage when renting for business.
Cons
- 1% on everything outside the categories.
- Bonus may be off-limits if you've ever held any no-fee Chase for Business card.
- Merchant coding and payment apps can knock a purchase out of the 5% category.
How the Ink Business Cash compares
Ink Business Unlimited. Same $0 fee, same $750 bonus after $6,000 in 3 months and same 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases, per Chase's page read September 23, 2026. It earns a flat 1.5% on everything. Pick it if your spending doesn't cluster in telecom or office supplies. Note Chase's eligibility language: holding one no-fee Ink can cost you the other's bonus. Our Ink Business Unlimited review has the full breakdown.
Ink Business Preferred. A $95 annual fee, 3X points on the first $150,000 a year in shipping, social media and search engine advertising, internet, cable and phone services, and travel, and a current offer of 100,000 bonus points after $8,000 in 3 months, per Chase's page. It's the card that transfers to airline and hotel partners. You can hold both: the Ink Business Cash for the 5% bills and the Preferred for transfers. See our Ink Business Preferred review.
American Express Blue Business Cash. Amex's page, read September 23, 2026, lists 2% cash back on the first $50,000 of eligible purchases per calendar year, then 1%. That beats the Ink Business Cash on uncategorized spending, while the Ink Business Cash wins on telecom and office supply bills.
Who should get the Ink Business Cash?
The Ink Business Cash fits a business with recurring internet, cable and phone bills or regular office supply purchases, and it fits best for an owner who already holds, or plans to get, a Chase card that transfers Ultimate Rewards points. It also works as a $0 card for primary rental car coverage on business trips.
It's a weaker fit if most of your spending is uncategorized, where a flat-rate card earns more per dollar.
If you're working out how business and personal cards fit together, our guide to points and miles for business owners walks through which programs pair with which cards. You can also compare the full lineup on our business credit cards hub.
Final verdict
If your business pays for internet, phone service or office supplies and you can spend $6,000 in the first 3 months, apply for the Ink Business Cash. The 5% categories pay on bills you already have, and the card costs $0 to keep. If you hold an Ink Business Preferred or plan to, the case gets stronger, because you can move the points to that card and transfer them.
If most of your spending falls outside those categories, take a flat-rate card like the Ink Business Unlimited instead. If you've held any no-fee Chase for Business card before, read Chase's bonus eligibility line first, since the $750 may not be available to you.
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Sources
- Chase, Ink Business Cash card page and offer details (read 2026-09-23)
- Chase, Ink Business Cash with Ultimate Rewards Program Agreement (read 2026-09-23)
- Chase, Ink Business Cash pricing and terms (read 2026-09-23)
- Chase, Ink Business Preferred card page (read 2026-09-23)
- Chase, Ink Business Unlimited card page (read 2026-09-23)
- American Express, Blue Business Cash card page (read 2026-09-23)
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