Amex Blue Business Plus vs Chase Ink Business Preferred: Which Is Better?
A $0-fee flat-rate points card versus a $95 card that stacks real bonus categories with genuine travel insurance. Six rounds. Real numbers. One honest scorecard.
The verdict
Chase Ink Business Preferred takes it, 5–1 on rounds.
Free isn't automatically better — Chase Ink Business Preferred's $95 fee buys real bonus-category earning and genuine travel protections that a flat-rate, no-fee card was never built to offer.
Choose Amex Blue Business Plus if…
- • Your spending is broad and unpredictable and you want zero fee
- • You spend internationally and want to avoid a foreign transaction fee elsewhere
Choose Chase Ink Business Preferred if…
- • Your business spends on travel, shipping, telecom, or digital ads
- • You want real primary rental insurance and cell phone protection
Round by round
- Round 1Annual Fee vs ValueChase Ink Business Preferred winsAmex Blue Business Plus6/10
$0/yr
No annual fee, no categories, no coupon-book math
- Genuinely free
- No insurance-grade travel protections included
Source: Amex Blue Business Plus dossier
Chase Ink Business Preferred7/10$95/yr
NerdWallet rates it 4.7/5; fee offsets against real rental & phone insurance value
- Fee buys real insurance products, not just points
- Not actually free
Source: Chase Ink Business Preferred dossier
This round goes to Amex Blue Business Plus.
- Round 2Welcome BonusChase Ink Business Preferred winsAmex Blue Business Plus5/10
15,000-50,000 pts
$3,000 spend for standard offer; ~$225-$750 estimated value
- Lower spend bar to earn it — just $3,000 vs Ink Preferred's $8,000
- Real value depends on which offer and redemption path you get
Source: Amex Blue Business Plus dossier
Chase Ink Business Preferred9/10"One of the best sign-up bonuses"
- Guaranteed public offer, worth $1,250+ toward travel
- Requires $8,000 in spend within 3 months to earn it
This round goes to Chase Ink Business Preferred.
- Round 3Everyday & Bonus-Category Rewards RateChase Ink Business Preferred winsAmex Blue Business Plus6/10
2x flat
No categories to track, but never exceeds 2x on any purchase
- Works identically no matter how you spend
- Never exceeds 2x, even on categories that could earn 3x elsewhere
Source: Amex Blue Business Plus dossier
Chase Ink Business Preferred8/103x, then 1x
3x on travel, shipping, telecom, and digital ads up to $150K/yr combined
- Higher rate and a 3x larger cap than Plus
- Non-bonus spend earns just 1x — 'underwhelming' per WalletHub once the cap is maxed
Source: Chase Ink Business Preferred dossier
So this round goes to Chase Ink Business Preferred.
- Round 4Points Value & RedemptionAmex Blue Business Plus winsAmex Blue Business Plus7/10
1.5-2¢/pt avg
20+ transfer partners, rare access for a $0-fee card
- Wider transfer network than Chase's 14 partners
- Base cash-out is only ~1¢/point if you don't transfer
Source: Amex Blue Business Plus dossier
Chase Ink Business Preferred6/101¢/pt baseline
14 transfer partners, sweet-spot redemptions ~2¢/pt+
- Points poolable with other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards
- Baseline cash-out cut from 1.25¢ to 1¢ in June 2025
Source: Chase Ink Business Preferred dossier
So this round goes to Amex Blue Business Plus.
- Round 5Perks & ProtectionsChase Ink Business Preferred winsAmex Blue Business Plus5/10
General terms
Purchase protection, extended warranty, Expanded Buying Power, Amex Offers
- Includes Expanded Buying Power and Amex Offers merchant discounts
- No itemized insurance products like rental or cell phone coverage
Source: Amex Blue Business Plus dossier
Chase Ink Business Preferred9/10$60K rental / $1K phone
Primary rental car insurance, cell phone protection, trip cancellation/delay coverage
- Only Ink card (besides Premier) with primary rental insurance
- No airport lounge access or annual travel credit, unlike premium travel cards
Source: Chase Ink Business Preferred dossier
So this round goes to Chase Ink Business Preferred, on the protections.
- Round 6Foreign Transaction Fees & Who It FitsChase Ink Business Preferred winsAmex Blue Business Plus4/10
2.7% FX fee
Real cost added to any international purchase
- Fits broad, unpredictable spending patterns with zero fee
- Poor fit for any international spending
Source: Amex Blue Business Plus dossier
Chase Ink Business Preferred8/10$0 FX fee
No foreign transaction fee; accessible at generally 690+ credit
- Fits a broad range of travel, shipping, and ad-spend businesses
- No 0% intro APR offer, unlike some competitors
Source: Chase Ink Business Preferred dossier
This round goes to Chase Ink Business Preferred.
Which one is for you?
Business with recurring travel, shipping, telecom, or ad spend
→ Chase Ink Business Preferred · 3x on those categories up to a $150K/yr combined cap
Business with broad, unpredictable spending wanting zero fee
→ Amex Blue Business Plus · Flat 2X on everything, $0 annual fee, no categories to track
Business that rents cars or wants real travel insurance
→ Chase Ink Business Preferred · Primary rental insurance up to $60K, cell phone and trip protection
Business that spends internationally
→ Chase Ink Business Preferred · No foreign transaction fee, versus Plus's 2.7%
Side by side
- Higher headline earn rate than Chase for a $0 fee
- Much lower spend requirement ($3,000 vs $8,000)
- Out-earns Chase's flat rate below the $50K cap
- No bonus-category bookkeeping required
- Fee pays for itself fast for a business with meaningful 3x-category spend
- Same $8,000/3-month spend bar as Ink Unlimited, bigger payout
- Worth at least $1,250 toward travel booked through Chase Travel
- Double the rate on travel, shipping, telecom, and ad spend
- 2x rate caps at $50,000/year
- Smaller guaranteed bonus value than Chase's $1,000 cash
- Drops to 1x above $50,000/year in combined spend
- High-volume spenders lose ground to Chase past $50K/year
- A real annual cost, unlike Ink Unlimited
- Just 1x outside those 4 categories
- Baseline cash-out cut from 1.25¢ to 1¢ in June 2025
- No 0% intro APR offer at all