Two Chase Ink Cards Hit Record Bonuses: $1,000 Cash Back

Two Chase business credit cards have reached their highest welcome bonuses on record. The Ink Business Unlimited and Ink Business Cash are both offering $1,000 in bonus cash back after spending $8,000 on purchases within four months from account opening. For small-business owners and sole proprietors evaluating business cards, these elevated offers merit attention, particularly when paired with other Chase rewards products to unlock additional value. Neither card carries an annual fee, removing a barrier many small businesses face when adopting new payment tools.

Record bonuses on two no-annual-fee cards

Ink Business Unlimited at peak offer

The Ink Business Unlimited carries a welcome bonus of $1,000 cash back after $8,000 in purchases within four months of opening your account. This represents the highest welcome offer Chase has extended on this card to date. The Ink Business Unlimited earns a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no bonus categories or spending caps. For business owners whose spending does not concentrate in specific categories—such as those making equipment purchases, professional services payments, or general operating expenses—the flat structure simplifies tracking and maximizes returns across the board. This approach works particularly well for service providers, consultants, and sole proprietors who pay bills across a variety of merchants without clustering in traditional bonus categories.

Ink Business Cash matches record levels

The Ink Business Cash also offers $1,000 in bonus cash back after $8,000 in purchases within four months, marking its highest welcome bonus as well. This card’s appeal lies in bonus categories rather than a flat rate: office supply stores, internet services, cable and phone services earn elevated rewards. These categories align closely with common small-business expenses, making the bonus category structure particularly valuable for administrative overhead. Small-business owners who regularly purchase supplies, maintain subscriptions, or manage telecommunications can accumulate up to 450,000 points per year through bonus-category spending alone. For businesses whose operations concentrate on these expenses—particularly service providers managing multiple office locations or equipment-heavy operations—the category alignment can translate into substantial annual rewards.

Ink Business Preferred: 100,000 points in strong demand

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The Ink Business Preferred offers a different structure: 100,000 bonus points after $8,000 in spending within three months from account opening. According to TPG’s August 2026 valuations, this 100,000-point welcome bonus carries a value of $2,050 when redeemed through Chase’s transfer partners—airline and hotel programs that typically provide the highest per-point redemption rates. The same 100,000 points yield up to $1,750 through Chase Travel (depending on specific bookings) or $1,000 if redeemed directly as cash back. This welcome bonus ranks among the strongest Chase has offered on this card in recent years, making any period when the card carries at least 100,000 points an opportune time to apply. Business owners with significant spending in bonus categories can leverage the card for both the initial welcome bonus and ongoing earning at elevated rates.

Ink Business Premier holds steady at standard offer

The Ink Business Premier follows a different path. Its welcome bonus remains $1,000 in bonus cash back after $10,000 in purchases within three months from account opening. This offer has held constant since the card’s launch in late 2021, with no elevated promotions observed since then. The Ink Business Premier requires cardholders to pay their balance in full each month, as it does not permit revolving balances. This pay-in-full requirement appeals to small-business owners who can match their cash flow to their monthly spending and wish to avoid monthly interest charges entirely. The card’s cash back cannot be converted into Chase Ultimate Rewards points—a key distinction from the Unlimited and Cash variants—meaning the $1,000 welcome bonus and ongoing rewards remain in cash form only.

Converting cash back into premium redemptions

For cardholders holding either the Ink Business Unlimited or Ink Business Cash, combining either card with a premium Chase rewards card opens a path to higher value. When you hold a premium card such as the Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred, cash back earned on the Unlimited or Cash can be transferred into Chase Ultimate Rewards points. This conversion transforms the 1.5% cash back on the Ink Business Unlimited into 1.5 points per dollar spent—which TPG values at 3.1% return based on August 2026 point valuations. For the Ink Business Cash, bonus-category cash back converts into bonus-category points at the same rate, dramatically amplifying the value of high-spend categories like office supplies or communications services. The transfer partner network includes major airlines and hotel brands, which typically offer cents-per-point redemption rates well above the 1 cent per point baseline of direct cash redemption.

Why transfer partners deliver superior value

Transfer partners represent Chase’s highest-value redemption channel for Ultimate Rewards points. A business owner accumulating points across multiple Chase cards and then transferring those points to an airline like United or to a hotel chain like Hyatt gains access to redemption rates often ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 cents per point or higher, depending on award availability and timing. This stands in contrast to cash redemption, which fixes value at exactly 1 cent per point. For the Preferred card’s 100,000-point welcome bonus, the difference is substantial: $2,050 via transfer partners versus $1,000 as direct cash back. The same mathematics applies to the Unlimited and Cash cards when their cash-back rewards are converted to points through a premium card and subsequently transferred to partners.

Eligibility and the 5/24 rule

Chase’s Ink cards require a legitimate business to apply, but the definition remains broad. Freelancers, sole proprietors, and those operating side businesses may all qualify. You do not need employees or a registered corporation. Business credit cards themselves do not count toward Chase’s well-known 5/24 rule, which limits applicants who have opened five or more personal credit cards from any bank within the past 24 months. However, you must remain under this 5/24 threshold to be approved for any Chase card—business or personal. Additionally, Chase enforces a rule specific to Ink cards: if you previously held the Ink Business Preferred, you cannot earn its welcome bonus again, though you remain eligible for welcome offers on different Ink cards such as the Unlimited or Cash. A prior Ink Business Unlimited does not disqualify you from the Ink Business Cash bonus, and vice versa.

Timing the application

The spending requirements on these cards—$8,000 to $10,000 within three to four months—are substantial but achievable for active small businesses. If you have a major capital purchase, seasonal inventory restocking, or quarterly tax payment looming, timing an application around these events maximizes the probability of meeting the threshold without manufactured spending. The record bonuses on the Unlimited and Cash, combined with the Preferred’s strong 100,000-point offer, represent an opportune window for small-business owners evaluating new cards or considering consolidation of business spending onto a single platform.