Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card Complete Guide

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This is an excellent card to pair with other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards. It has no annual fee, it offers 1.5 points per dollar on all spend, plus 5x on Lyft rides through September 2027, and even though it is advertised as a cash back card it actually earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Surprisingly this no-fee card offers a few valuable perks as well: auto rental coverage, 1 year extended warranty, and 120-day purchase protection.

Unfortunately, this card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so it’s not a good choice for spending outside the U.S.

Important Note: This card normally has a great option for carrying a balance. Terms apply.

Chase Ink Business Unlimited Application Tips

Should you apply?

Even though this is a business card, it’s a great choice for anyone interested in earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points. It offers an excellent combination of a great signup bonus, no annual fee, super-valuable points, and solid rewards for all spend. If you are eligible (see next section) and you don’t already have the similar Chase Freedom Unlimited®, you should consider this card.

Who this card isn’t right for: If you don’t already have (or plan to pair with) a premium Chase card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, the points are stuck at 1 cent each. There are stronger straight cashback options out there if you don’t need transferable points.

Are you eligible?

To get this card you must have a business, and you must be under 5/24 (more on 5/24 below).

Additionally, the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card are now part of the same card family. You may not be eligible for a new bonus if you’ve already received one from either card. The good news: The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is still considered a separate card so you could be eligible for two cards, the Ink Business Preferred AND either the Ink Business Cash OR the Ink Business Unlimited. Chase will typically show a pop-up before you submit your application, letting you know if you’re not eligible, so you can avoid a hard credit check.

Fortunately, even though Ink cards are subject to the 5/24 rule, they do not add to your 5/24 count. If you are under 5/24, it may make sense to go after an Ink card and possibly two if eligibility allows (at different times): Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card.

Applying for Business Credit Cards

To apply for a business credit card, you need to have a business. However, lots of people have businesses and do not know it. If you sell stuff on Craigslist or eBay, for example, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, coaching, writing, handyman services, owning a rental property, renting on Airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship unless you have officially registered your business.

When you apply for a business credit card as a sole proprietor, you can use your own name as your business name, use your own address and phone as the business’ address and phone, and your social security number as the business’ Tax ID / EIN. Alternatively, you can get a proper Tax ID / EIN from the IRS for free, in about a minute, through this website.

Can I put personal expenses on business cards? Most business credit card applications require you to use the card only for business purposes. Some consumer credit card protections also don’t apply to business cards. If you’re not comfortable with mixing personal and business spending, steer clear and keep them separate.

For step-by-step instructions on applying for a business card, go here.

Go here to learn more about you being eligible for business credit cards. 

Chase’s 5/24 Rule: With most Chase credit cards, Chase will not approve your application if you have opened 5 or more cards with any bank in the past 24 months.

To determine your 5/24 status, the easiest option is to track all of your cards for free with Travel Freely.

How to apply

You can find the current best signup offer and application link here: 

Chase Ink Business Unlimited

The first part of the application is about your business. If you already have a well-established business, then the answers should be straightforward. If you are just getting started with your business, below are examples of how to fill this out. These answers assume that you do not have any employees and you operate as a sole proprietorship (which is the most basic form of a business). Use your judgment to answer differently if the examples given don’t match your circumstances:

 Business Information

• Legal Name of Business: If you don’t already have a business name, I recommend using your own name as the business name.
• Business Name on Card: Again, this can be your own name if you don’t have a business name to use.
• Business Mailing Address: This can be your home address if you don’t have a separate business address.
• Type of business: Sole Proprietor
• Tax Identification Number: This can be your SSN, but I recommend creating an EIN for your business (you can get an EIN quickly and for free from the IRS here)
• Number of Employees: 0 (if just you, or the number of employees you have)
• Annual Business Revenue: 0 (or project an amount based on expected revenue)
• Years in Business: (number of years you’ve been operating the business with or without revenue)
• General industry, Category, Specific type: Pick whichever categories are closest to your business. For example, an aspiring author, artist, or musician might choose: “Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation” and “Independent Artists, Writers, Performers.”

Personal Information

This part of the application is about you, personally:

• Your title as Authorizing Officer: “Owner”
• Total gross annual income: Include all of your income, not just business income. This can include household income.
• The rest should be self-explanatory

Keep records of your answers In some cases Chase will ask to speak with you before approving your application. In those cases, they are likely to ask some of the same questions (annual business revenue, number of years in business, total gross income, etc.). Ideally, you’ll answer the same as you did on the application.

Check Application Status After submitting your application, you can check the status by calling the automated status line: (888) 338-2586

Reconsideration

If your application is denied, I recommend calling for reconsideration (1-888-270-2127). Many denials can be changed to approvals on a reconsideration call, so it’s worth a try.

Chase Ink Business Unlimited Perks

Travel Protection

• Auto Rental Coverage: Chase offers primary auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver) when renting for business purposes. Here’s the description directly from Chase: “Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary when renting for business purposes and provides reimbursement up to $60,000 for theft and collision damage for most rental vehicles with an MSRP of $125,000 or less.”
• Baggage Delay Insurance: “Reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over 6 hours by passenger carrier up to $100 a day for up to 5 days.”
• Travel Accident Insurance: “When you pay for your air, bus, train or cruise transportation with your card, you are eligible to receive accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $500,000.”

Purchase Protection

Extended Warranty: “Extends the time period of U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.”

Damage and Theft Protection: “Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account.”

Chase Ink Business Unlimited Earn Points

Signup Bonus

The signup bonus for this card is advertised as cash back, but the rewards are actually delivered as Ultimate Rewards points. Here’s the current signup offer: 

Bonus Spend

This one is pretty simple: Earn 5 points per dollar on Lyft rides through September 2027, and 1.5 points per dollar on everything else.

Chase Ink Business Unlimited Redeem Points

Cash Back

Cardholders can redeem points for 1 cent each either as statement credits or as cash back. Cash back can be taken as a statement credit or via check or ACH transfer.

Travel

Or, points are worth more when paired with premium cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and redeemed for travel in the Chase Travel℠ portal using Points Boost or when transferred to partners. 

The trick is to move the points from your no-annual-fee Ultimate Rewards card to a premium Chase Ultimate Reward card before using points to book travel. When redeemed in this way, we value Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each. Chase allows you to freely move points to another card you own or to a card owned by a household member or business partner. They call this “combining points”. Our comprehensive Chase Ultimate Rewards Guide will help you through this.

Redeem points for travel: Up to 2 cents per point

This option requires that someone in your household has the ultra-premium Chase Sapphire Reserve card. First move (combine) points from your no-fee card to the Sapphire Reserve account. Next, log into Chase under the Sapphire Reserve account, and go to the Chase Travel℠ portal to book your travel. A $500 flight would usually cost 50,000 points if you used points attached to the no-fee card, but with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it could potentially cost only 25,000 points when booking with Points Boost. 

Redeem points for travel: Up to 1.75 cents per point

This option requires that someone in your household has a premium Ultimate Rewards card: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card or Chase Ink Business Preferred. First move (combine) points from your no-fee card to one of these premium cards. Next, log into Chase under the account that now has the points, and go to the Chase Travel Portal to book your travel. A $500 flight would usually cost 50,000 points if you used points attached to a no-fee Ultimate Rewards card, but with the Chase Sapphire Preferred it could potentially cost only 33,333 points when booking with Points Boost.

Note that not all flights and hotel offer a Points Boost.

Details about booking travel through Chase

You can use the Chase Travel portal to book airfare, hotels, cruises, activities, and car rentals, although Points Boost is only applicable for eligible airfare and hotel bookings. Airfare purchased through the portal still earns airline miles and elite qualifying miles. Book your flights at a cheap price with Chase Ultimate Rewards. Hotels booked this way do not earn hotel rewards. Worse, hotels booked through the portal often won’t offer you elite benefits even if you have status. 

Travel protections apply

When you pay with points for travel, Chase’s automatic travel protections do apply. So, you can be covered for things like car rentals, trip delays, trip cancellation & interruption, lost luggage, etc. The coverage you receive will be based on which card’s rewards were used to book the trip. For example, if you have both a Chase Sapphire Preferred and a Sapphire Reserve, you would want to move your Ultimate Rewards points from the Preferred to the Reserve and then use the Reserve points to book your trip. You will get both better value when using Points Boost and better travel protection.

Transfer points

The best use of Ultimate Rewards points, in my opinion, is to transfer points to airline and hotel partners in order to book high-value awards. Your best bet is usually to wait until you find a great flight or night award before transferring points. Points transfer at a ratio of 1:1 as shown in the list of transfer partners below. Keep in mind that while transfers are instantly posted to most loyalty programs, transfers to Singapore Krisflyer and Marriott Bonvoy are not instant.

Move points to premium or ultra-premium card first

You cannot transfer points directly from a no-fee Chase Ultimate Rewards card to airline and hotel partners, but you can move points first to a premium card (Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred, for example) or ultra-premium card (Sapphire Reserve) and then transfer the points to airline or hotel partners. Points can be transferred to the loyalty accounts of the primary cardholder or any authorized user on the account. Points can also be transferred to the loyalty account of a joint business owner, but they do need to be an authorized user on the associated business account.

Transfer Partners

Rewards Program	Best Use
Aer Lingus	Fuel surcharges tend to be lower with Aer Lingus than with other Avios partners. You can move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.
Air Canada Aeroplan	Air Canada’s Aeroplan Program connects you to over 40 airlines. Redeem your points to book flights on Star Alliance partners and other global airlines, such as Etihad.
Air France KLM Flying Blue	Monthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards.
British Airways Avios	While flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Great value can be had in redeeming BA points for short-distance flights. Iberia offers very low award prices on its own flights. Round trip partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well. Fuel surcharges are often lower than when booking through British Airways. Aer Lingus shares the “Avios” currency with British Airways and Iberia. In most cases, it is best to move points to one of those programs in order to book awards for less.
Hyatt	Use for Hyatt free nights or points + cash nights. Hyatt points are often worth at least 1.7 cents each towards free nights, but they’re sometimes worth far more. One hidden bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees.
Iberia Avios	On their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It’s possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar.
IHG	IHG dynamically prices their awards and sometimes offers very good value. IHG Premier and IHG Premier Business cards offer the fourth night free on award stays.
JetBlue	JetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket  The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one or both cards.
Marriott Bonvoy	5th Night Free awards
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	Use to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members) or for Star Alliance awards. Low change fees and no close-in booking fees make this a very good program for booking United Airlines flights.
Southwest Rapid Rewards	Award flights are fully refundable. Point values vary due to certain taxes not being charged on awards but tend to average around 1.3 cents per point.
United MileagePlus	Even though Singapore Airlines miles have a number of advantages over United miles for booking Star Alliance flights, United has advantages too. For one, it is possible to book most Star Alliance awards online at United.com. Additionally, United awards sometimes cost fewer miles with United than with Singapore (especially premium awards on United’s own flights). And, most importantly, United never charges fuel surcharges for awards. In some cases, United is far cheaper than Singapore Airlines for this reason alone.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	Virgin Atlantic miles can be usefully thought of as a way to get a discount off Virgin Atlantic flights (high fuel surcharges make the flights far from free), but there are some better uses. Use miles to upgrade paid flights or to fly partner airlines. A fantastic use is to fly ANA in business or first class thanks to Virgin’s generous ANA partner award chart. Or, if you can find saver level Delta awards for nonstop international travel, you can often book through Virgin Atlantic far cheaper than with Delta directly.
Wyndham Rewards	Wyndham often allows booking multi-room suites for the same price as a standard room. It’s sometimes possible to get great value from points in that way. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees.

Other ways to redeem points

Through the Ultimate Rewards portal, you can redeem points for cash back, gift cards, merchandise, or experiences. With this approach, you’ll usually get 1 cent per point value. One exception is that Chase occasionally offers gift cards at a discount so you may be able to get better than 1 cent per point value during a gift card sale. You can also use points to pay some merchants directly (Amazon.com, for example, or via Chase Pay). We don’t recommend this. These options offer very poor value, and they may compromise the security of your account.

Chase Ink Business Unlimited Manage Points

Combine Points Across Cards

If you are the primary account holder with multiple cards, you can freely combine Ultimate Rewards back and forth between your accounts. Your points can then be redeemed according to the card to which you move them. For example, if you have earn points on the no-fee Ink Business Cash card and have the ultra-premium Sapphire Reserve card, you can move those points from your Ink Cash to your Sapphire Reserve account to redeem them for more value towards travel (up to 2 cents per point) when using the Points Boost feature in the Chase Travel portal or transferring them to partners. If you intend to cancel a Chase Ultimate Rewards card, you should first combine your points with a card you intend to keep active. Once you cancel, you will forfeit any unused points in that account. A product change should not affect your balance, but some people prefer moving points before a product change as well just to be safe.

Share Points Across Cardholders

Chase allows customers to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to any other account in that customer’s name or to one additional household member or joint business owner (for free).

Why this is valuable:

You earn points with the card offering the best return on purchases and then use points with the card offering the best redemption rate.

• Only one member of your household needs to maintain a premium card for transferring to partners or booking travel (though note that the primary cardholder can only transfer points to partner loyalty programs in the name of the primary cardholder or authorized users).

How to Keep Points Alive

Thankfully, it is very easy to keep Chase Ultimate Rewards points alive: simply keep the points in an open Ultimate Rewards account and they will not expire. Note that if you close an Ultimate Rewards card, you will lose any points associated with that card. You should first combine points to move points away from the card you intend to close and to another card that will remain open as per the sharing section above before canceling.

Chase Ink Business Unlimited Lifecycle

How to meet minimum spend requirements

Once you are approved for a Chase card, you have three months to meet the required spend in order to get the signup bonus. Technically, you’re not supposed to use business credit cards for personal purchases, but it is quite common to do so. If you feel comfortable with it, use the new card for all of your usual spend. If your usual spend isn’t enough, consider using the Plastiq bill pay service to use your card to pay bills that can’t usually be paid by credit card (rent, mortgage, contractors, etc.).

Keep, cancel, or product change?

Is this card worth keeping in the long run? Yes! It has no annual fee and it offers 1.5 points per dollar on all spend, plus 5x on Lyft rides through September 2027. What’s not to like? If you decide to cancel anyway, make sure to first redeem any remaining points or move them to another Ultimate Rewards card.

Related Cards

Ultimate Rewards Business Cards

Ultimate Rewards Consumer Cards

Note: This article was inspired by Frequent Miler. Content used with permission. 

 

• Category: Complete Card Guides, Small Business
• Tag: Card-1220, Card-192, Card-39, Card-49, Card-50, Card-7, Card-8, Card-91, Chase Ultimate Rewards, indiv-card