Recently, I signed up for the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card after finding I was targeted by Chase for a pre-approved offer. I was excited about this for a few reasons. First, this card gives you 50,000 points after you spend $3,000 within three months and I have plenty of business expenses that can help me earn this bonus. Second, this card offers 1.5% back on each dollar you spend, which makes it a good option for all our non-bonus spending anyway.

But I still plan to use our Chase Ink Business Preferred Card for the bulk of our business purchases, and that’s despite the fact we earned the bonus on this card years ago. Here’s why:

I earn 3x points in categories we spend the most in.

Because we have an online business, we spend a ton of money in the Ink Business Preferred bonus categories, which offer 3 points per $1 spent on up to $150,000 in combined spending each year. While these 3x categories include shipping, travel, and internet, cable, and phone services, we spend a ton of money in social media advertising, which also counts.

Obviously, it makes sense to max out our 3x categories before we consider putting any of our biggest expenses on our new Ink Business Unlimited Card.

I get cell phone protection coverage.

On top of our advertising purchases, another business expense we pay each month is our monthly cell phone bills, including international coverage. Not only do I pay this bill with my Ink Business Preferred card to earn 3x points, but I also do so because I get cell phone coverage.

The cell phone protection offered on this card is good for up to $600 in coverage per incident with a maximum of 3 claims per year, minus a $100 deductible. I already filed a claim once because my husband smashed the screen on his phone, and we saved money on the repair costs even after paying the deductible.

This card offers trip cancellation/interruption coverage.

Finally, the Ink Business Preferred offers trip cancellation/interruption insurance, which the Ink Business Unlimited Card does not. This coverage is good for up to $5,000 per trip for pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels, and it’s important to us since some of our flights each year are business-related.

As a side note, I prefer to pay for flights with my Chase Sapphire Reserve when I can since it offers trip cancellation/interruption insurance in amounts of “up to $10,000 per covered trip and a maximum limit of $20,000 per occurrence and a maximum benefit amount per 12-month period of $40,000,” according to Chase.

However, we strive to keep our personal and business purchases separate, which is the entire point of having a business credit card anyway.

The Bottom Line

If you’re considering a business credit card, make sure to pay attention to insurance benefits and protections you’re offered in addition to rewards. It’s possible you’ll find a card that offers more than meets the eye, but only if you read the fine print.

Which rewards credit card do you use for business purchases? Why?

 

[Image: Chase]

Source: frugal travel guy