How to apply for Chase Ink cards

Some of the best credit card welcome bonuses around also happen to come from some of the best point earning cards around: the Chase Ink Business cards. These include the Ink Business Preferred, Ink Business Cash, and the Ink Business Unlimited. You do have to have a business to apply, but you might be surprised by how many of the things you already do that legitimately count as businesses. This post explains why points earned from these cards are valuable, how to know if you have an eligible business, how to fill out a business card application, and tips for getting approved.

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If you prefer watching an online guide to applying for Chase Ink cards, check this out:

Multiple Ink Cards

Chase offers four different Chase Ink cards: Ink Business Preferred, Ink Business Cash, Ink Business Unlimited, and Ink Business Premier. Here’s a brief intro to each card:

Ink Business Cash: No annual fee; offers 5x categories on up to $25K spend per year; points are worth only a penny each, but can be moved to a premium card to make points more valuable. This is THE card for points enthusiasts thanks to its generous 5x categories.

Ink Business Unlimited: No annual fee; offers 1.5 points per dollar for all spend; points are worth only a penny each, but can be moved to a premium card to make points more valuable.

Ink Business Preferred: $95 annual fee; offers 3x categories (including travel) on up to $150K spend per year; points are worth 1.25 cents each towards travel booked through Chase; points can be transferred to airline and hotel programs for even better value.

Ink Business Premier: $195 annual fee; offers 2% back on all spend or 2.5% back on purchases of $5,000 or more. This one is really a straight cash back card: points cannot be moved to any other Chase card nor can points be transferred to airline or hotel programs.

Valuable Rewards

Even though the Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited cards are advertised as cash back cards, they actually earn Ultimate Rewards points. $750 in “cash back” is really 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed for $750 in cash back.

The Ink Business Preferred Card is great for its 3X categories. The Ink Business Cash is awesome for its 5X categories. And the Ink Business Unlimited is a good choice to use as your “everywhere else” card thanks to earning 1.5X everywhere.

The Ink Business Premier is unfortunately different from the rest. This one doesn’t allow moving points to transfer partners or to other Chase cards. As a result, it is only good as a cash back card. Details here: Ink Business Premier Review.

You must have a business (and you probably do)

Chase Ink cards are small business credit cards. You must have a business to apply. That said, almost everyone does something that can be legitimately considered a business. Legitimate businesses include selling things on eBay or at yard sales, being an aspiring musician or author, owning rental property, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. The list is endless.

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Watch out for 5/24

All of the Ink cards are subject to 5/24. This means that you probably won’t be approved if you’ve opened 5 or more cards across all banks within the past 24 months. Fortunately, the Ink cards do not add to your 5/24 count. That is, if you are approved, they will not hurt your chances of future approvals due to 5/24.

How to Apply

Application links can be found by following the “click here to learn how to apply” links within these pages:

• Ink Business Preferred
• Ink Business Cash
• Ink Business Unlimited
• Ink Business Premier (this is the oddball who’s points can’t be moved or transferred)

The first part of the application asks for personal info. Fill this out the same way you would fill out a consumer credit card application with your own name and home address, your income (not just your business income), etc. For the question about your business title, answer "owner." Next up is the business info section. 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: Here are example answers for the business part of the application:

• Legal business structure: Sole Proprietor
• Business legal name: If you don’t already have a business name, I recommend using your own name as the business name.
• Desired business name on card: Again, this can be your own name if you don’t have a business name to use.
• Does your business use another name? No
• Tax ID type: EIN (you can get an EIN quickly and for free from the IRS here) If you'd prefer to use your social security number as your tax ID, select SSN rather than EIN.
• Is your business's physical address the same as your personal address? Yes
• Number of employees: 0 (the instructions say to enter the number of employees you have, not including yourself)
• Business phone number: Your phone number
• Business established date: When did your business start? If you've been doing your business for years (selling stuff at yard sales, for example), it's fine to estimate the starting date.
• Annual business revenue: $0 (or project an amount based on expected revenue)
• Business category, Business type, Business sub-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."
• Estimated monthly spend: $3,000 (Use your judgement here. A higher number might lead to a larger credit line, but if it's too high it might negatively affect approval).

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 status by calling the automated status line: (888) 338-2586

How to improve your chances of success

The following tips may help with approval, but none are required:

1. Sign up for a Chase business checking account
2. Use an EIN instead of your SSN when entering your Business Tax ID on the application
3. Do not call if your application goes to pending
4. Call if your application is denied

Below you’ll find more info about each of the above suggestions:

Sign up for a Chase business checking account

Business checking accounts must be opened in-branch. At the end of the process, you are likely to receive pre-approved offers for business cards. Go for it. While pre-approval doesn’t ensure final approval, in this case it does make it very likely.

Make sure to be prepared with necessary documentation and identification. Chase has a checklist here for sole proprietorships. You’ll see that you may need an Assumed Name Certificate, often referred to as a DBA (Doing Business As). Usually, you can get the certificate by registering your business name with either your local or state government for a small fee.

Use an EIN instead of your SSN as the business Tax Identification Number

To apply for a business credit card, you’ll need a business Tax Identification Number. Sole Proprietors can use their own social security number as the business Tax ID or they can use their company’s EIN. While either will work, it can’t hurt to have an EIN and may help give your business more credibility. You can sign up for an EIN, for free, from the IRS: Apply-for-an-Employer-Identification-Number-(EIN)-Online.

Do not call if your application goes to pending

When applications go to pending, people frequently find that they get approved without calling. When people do call, they may get tough analysts who deny the application.

The approval process goes through up to 3 “gates”:

1. Instant Approval (this is rare with Ink cards)
2. Automatic Approval, sent by mail (may take several weeks)
3. Analyst Phone Approval

If you’re not instantly approved, then calling bypasses gate 2 and may reduce your overall chance of approval. Instead, I recommend waiting to get a letter in the mail. Hopefully it will say “congratulations”.

Of course, if Chase contacts you asking for more information, you absolutely should talk to them on the phone. In some cases they’ll simply need more information about you or your business before your application can go through the next review stage.

Call if you are denied (and call again)

If your application is outright denied (either instantly or by mail), then call Chase’s business reconsideration number, which is open Monday through Friday during business hours. There are many cases where analysts have overturned denials over the phone. Up-to-date reconsideration phone numbers can be found here.

The analyst will likely ask a lot of questions. Make sure your answers match your application. Also, if you have multiple Chase business cards, make sure to let the analyst know that you don’t need Chase to extend you more credit. Tell them that you are willing to move available credit from another card or to cancel another card if necessary. Be prepared to answer financial questions about your business. Be prepared to answer questions about why you want the card and how you expect to use it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying that you were attracted by the welcome bonus and by the 5X spend categories (for example).

If the analyst doesn’t approve your application, call again. Many people have had luck simply calling a few times until the reached an analyst willing to take a chance on their business.

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