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Chase Ink Business Preferred vs Amex Business Gold

Quick answer

Chase Ink Business Preferred wins for most small businesses with its lower annual fee and flexible travel redemptions. Amex Business Gold fights back with higher earn rates in your top spend categories — if you spend big enough to justify the premium.

Our pick

Chase Ink Business Preferred

High-value travel rewards without the eye-watering fee

4.4★

Amex Business Gold

Supercharged rewards that chase your heaviest spend

3.6★

Annual Fee

$95

$375

Welcome Bonus

90,000 Chase points (≈$1,125–$1,800 in travel)

~100,000 Amex MR points (value varies, often lower CPP)

Top Earn Rate

3x on travel, shipping, ads, phone/internet (up to $150k/yr)

4x on top 2 eligible spend categories (up to $150k/yr combined)

Base Earn Rate

1x on everything else

Points Currency

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Amex Membership Rewards

Transfer Partners

14 airlines & hotels (United, Hyatt, Southwest, etc.)

20+ airlines & hotels (Delta, Marriott, British Airways, etc.)

Point Redemption via Portal

1.25 cents/pt via Chase Travel

1 cent/pt via Amex Travel (or ~1.54 via Pay with Points on flights)

Cell Phone Protection

Up to $1,000/claim ($100 deductible, 3 claims/yr)

Not included

Purchase Protection

120 days, up to $10,000/claim

90 days, up to $1,000/claim

Trip Cancellation/Interruption

Up to $5,000/trip

Not included

Employee Cards

Free additional cards

Foreign Transaction Fee

None

Chase Ink Business Preferred

Ease of Use★★★★½

Earning Rates★★★½☆

Annual Fee vs Value★★★★½

Sign-up Bonus Value★★★★★

Redemption Flexibility★★★★½

Travel & Purchase Protections★★★★½

Amex Business Gold

Ease of Use★★★½☆

Earning Rates★★★★½

Annual Fee vs Value★★★☆☆

Sign-up Bonus Value★★★½☆

Redemption Flexibility★★★½☆

Travel & Purchase Protections★★★½☆

Worth knowing

Ink Business Preferred's 90k bonus is one of the highest flat offers in the small-business card market.
Amex Business Gold's 4x auto-adjusts monthly to your top 2 categories — great for businesses with shifting spend patterns.
Chase points are widely considered ~25% more valuable than Amex MR points due to the 1.25x portal boost and Hyatt transfers.
Amex Business Gold's $375 fee means you need to earn ~$280 more in rewards than Ink just to break even annually.
Ink Business Preferred covers cell phones for your whole phone bill — a sleeper perk worth up to $1,000/year.

Amex Business Gold raised its annual fee from $295 to $375 in 2024 — paying $80 more per year for essentially the same card is the kind of loyalty tax that would make even a points nerd weep.

If you want

You want the best welcome bonus and lowest fee to start

90k Chase points for $95/yr is an absurdly good deal that Amex can't touch at nearly 4x the fee.

→ Pick Chase Ink Business Preferred

If you want

Your business spends heavily in 2 specific categories (e.g., advertising + shipping)

4x on your top categories can outpace Ink's 3x cap if you're running $100k+ through those buckets annually.

→ Pick Amex Business Gold

If you want

You travel frequently and want robust protections

Ink's trip cancellation, purchase protection, and cell phone coverage leave Amex Business Gold in the dust.

→ Pick Chase Ink Business Preferred

If you want

You're an Amex loyalist maximizing a broader MR ecosystem

20+ transfer partners and Delta/Marriott access make it a natural fit if you're already deep in Amex territory.

→ Pick Amex Business Gold

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