Ink Business Unlimited

Rewards by category

Our take

The Ink Business Unlimited is built for business spending that refuses to fit neat categories. It earns a flat 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points on every purchase, with no bonus categories to track and no annual fee to justify. If your expenses jump between supplies, software, contractors, and everything in between, a single dependable rate on all of it beats juggling category cards that only cover part of your spend.

The tradeoffs are easy to read. SwipeCaddy values Ultimate Rewards points at one cent each for ranking, so 1.5x translates to an effective 1.5% back — solid, not spectacular. There is no signup bonus, which means the card has to earn its keep purchase by purchase. And the 3% foreign transaction fee makes it the wrong choice for international spending; keep it in the drawer when business takes you abroad.

In a small business wallet, this card plays the floor. Let bonus-category cards take the spend they were built for, and route everything else — the uncategorized, the miscellaneous, the vendors no bonus card covers — through the flat 1.5x. Because it runs on Visa and carries no annual fee, holding it as the default costs nothing and quietly raises the minimum you earn on every dollar.

Store bonuses

• Lyft5x

Common questions

Does Ink Business Unlimited have an annual fee?

No — Ink Business Unlimited has no annual fee.

What rewards does Ink Business Unlimited earn on everything else?

1.5x on all other purchases, in Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Should I use the Ink Business Unlimited for purchases outside the US?

It runs on Visa, but a 3% foreign transaction fee applies, which is double the effective 1.5% you earn back. That math makes it a poor pick for purchases abroad or in foreign currencies. Keep it for US spending and route international charges through a card that does not add a foreign transaction fee.

Is the Ink Business Unlimited worth keeping without a signup bonus?

There is no signup bonus attached, so the card's case rests entirely on its ongoing flat 1.5x Ultimate Rewards earnings. Since it costs nothing to keep, holding it as your everyday default carries no downside, and it guarantees a steady return on business purchases that no bonus category would otherwise cover. Keep it working as your floor.

Related reading

• How we value points and miles (and why our numbers are lower than everyone else's)SwipeCaddy ranks cards by reward rate × a conservative cash value per point: 1¢ for cash back and transferable points (Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt), 1.1–1.3¢ for airline miles, 0.4–1.4¢ for hotel points, and 0.8–0.9¢ for store currencies. Optimistic transfer values are recorded for context but never ranked, because most people never achieve them.