Compare the Features and Benefits of Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and
The Platinum Card® from American Express

For most small business owners, it makes sense to have all three Chase Ink credit cards: this card, the Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, the Chase Ink Preferred®, and the Chase Ink Unlimited®.

They all complement each other perfectly. Once you have a the Chase Ink Preferred®, which allows you to transfer points to Chase’s great lineup of airline and hotel partners like World of Hyatt, you will want to get the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited to maximize your total earnings on bonus categories – since all points can be combined to your Ink Preferred.

The Ink Cash is a truly amazing card when it comes to bonus multipliers on select business categories. With 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year plus 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year, you have tremendous bonus category multipliers on a no annual fee card.

But the most important thing to know is that although this card says you are earning cash back, that is only if you don’t also have a Chase Ink Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card.

Either way, you are earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points. But without one of the above cards, you can only redeem your points for 1 cent per point. Once you do have a Chase Ink Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in your arsenal, though, you’ll be able to move your points from your Ink Cash to any of those three cards, where you can either transfer to airline and hotel partner programs or redeem through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal where your points are worth 1.25 – 1.5 cents each, depending on which card you have. The Ink Preferred and Sapphire Preferred offer 1.25 cents a point while the much higher annual fee Sapphire Reserve gives you 1.5 cents per point when booking travel in the Ultimate Rewards portal.

Even if you don’t “combo” your Ink Cash, those 5% and 2% bonus categories are exceptionally strong for business spending on a business credit card with no annual fees. And that large signup bonus doesn’t hurt either!

Overall, the Chase Ink Cash is one of my very favorite cards. I charge my cable, internet, and phone to the card and use it often at office supply stores, which sell a wide array of goods. I also use it for gas stations and dining as I like racking up Chase Ultimate Rewards points at a 2X bonus rate.

But keep in mind that it is at its most powerful when paired with a Chase Ink Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card. To show you the difference, you know cash back means each point is worth a penny. But when you have it paired with one of these other cards to unlock points transfers, we value those points at 1.75 cents a piece – due to the flexibility of transfer partners and the potential redemptions those programs offer. So pairing your card boosts the rewards value, in our humble opinion, by 75%.

When using our spend calculator on this card, you’ll notice that we ask if you have a Chase Ink Preferred®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card and, if you do, we’ll increase the value of rewards on this card from 1 cent to 1.75 cents accordingly.

Please note: you must be under 5/24 (more on the Chase 5/24 rule) to apply for this card and you cannot apply for more than one Chase Business card in any 30 day period. You can apply for a maximum of two Chase cards within 30 days, with only, at most, 1 of them being a business card.

This card is also mentioned in the article Business Credit Cards That Don’t Report to Personal Credit Bureaus.

In many ways, the American Express Platinum card is the crème de la crème of premium travel rewards credit cards. There are not only a laundry list of embedded perks — from hotel and rental car elite statuses to complimentary access to airport lounges through the Global Lounge Collection — but this card also can provide serious value in the form of statement credits with partner merchants. You can see the full list of benefits above.

Truth be told, it may require some work to fully maximize the card’s many perks but it shouldn’t be difficult to recoup at least some, if not all, of the card’s $695 annual fee (Rates and Fees).

An overhaul of the Platinum in 2021 showed Amex wanted to expand this card well beyond travel. While it’s unlikely the Platinum will ever fully shed its decades-long roots in the travel sphere, Amex also hopes to play a role at the top of your wallet whether you are at home or away.

Of course, on the travel front, the card still earns 5X on airfare purchased directly with the airlines or through the Amex Travel portal (on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year), 5X on prepaid hotels, provides the most access to lounges of any card issuer, and has built-in travel protections and elite-status perks. This is on top of all the other relatively-recent lifestyle benefit additions — from Uber credits, Equinox credits, preferred restaurant reservations with Resy, and much, much more.

A few notes you need to know:

Amex now has language restricting you from getting the bonus on this Card if you have or have had this card OR have had this Card, the Platinum Card^® from American Express Exclusively for Charles Schwab, the Platinum Card^® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley or previous versions of these Cards.

Additional Platinum cards are $195 each.

If you want an Authorized User card with none of the benefits, that is still available as the “Companion Platinum Card.” They will simply be able to make charges that post to your account.

Bottom Line:

While the Platinum is a solid choice for most cardholders looking to level up their travel experience, consider other options from both Chase and Capital One including the $550-per-year Chase Sapphire Reserve and $395-per-year Capital One Venture X credit card.

Rates and Fees for the The Platinum Card® from American Express