The Best Downgrade Options for the Chase Ink Preferred Card

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review) is one of the most compelling credit cards on the market, and there are plenty of reasons to apply for it.

While many people find the card to be a good long-term option, some people may try the card and decide it’s not right for them. For those in this situation, I wanted to take a look at the potential downgrade options available.

Why Chase Ink Preferred is Worth Buying

The Chase Ink Business Preferred Card, with a $95 annual fee, is one of the most attractive business cards on the market. At the most basic level, here are some of the reasons why you should consider getting this card:

Remember that you can apply for the card even for a sole proprietorship, and you can also get this card for multiple businesses. Check out my guide on card eligibility restrictions and my experience getting the card.

The Best Chase Ink Preferred Downgrade Strategy

Credit card companies often offer big upfront bonuses to encourage people to try a card. For many people, the card will work, while for others it may not, and that’s okay. If a card isn’t working for you, you can of course cancel it, but that’s not the only option. You can also usually downgrade credit cards, which is an opportunity to consider.

If you have the Chase Ink Business Preferred card and want to downgrade, what are your options? Let me start with some basics:

• You can typically only downgrade a card after you’ve owned it for 12 months, so you can’t downgrade a card within the first year; however, there is a grace period for the annual fee, so you can downgrade a card by paying only the first year’s annual fee
• You can only downgrade a business card to another business card, not to a personal card; furthermore, you can often only downgrade to a card in the same family, which in this case is the Chase Ink business card family
• You’ll need to call Chase to find out exactly what options are available to you, as not everyone will have the exact same offers.
• You don’t get the welcome bonus on a card if you downgrade, in case that’s a consideration

That being said, if you have the Chase Ink Business Preferred card and are looking to downgrade, you can generally expect to have two lucrative no-annual-fee cards to choose from: the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (review) and the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (review). Both of these products are excellent:

• The Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card offers 1.5x points on everyday spending, making it the best Chase Ink points card for everyday spending; the card also offers other helpful benefits, like rental car protection and more
• The Chase Ink Business Cash Card offers 5x points on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases per cardmember year at office supply stores and on cell phone, landline, internet and cable TV services, making it a great value card; the card also offers other benefits, like rental car protection and more

Both of these cards are fantastic and have no annual fees. They are a great complement to all of the other Ultimate Rewards point earning cards. Which one is best for you will depend on how much value you get from the 1.5x points on everyday spending or the 5x points in certain categories.

Of course, there are some drawbacks to these no-annual-fee cards. They don’t offer the same great cell phone protection as the Chase Ink Business Preferred, they have foreign transaction fees, and the Chase Ink Business Cash has a lower cap on how much you can earn bonus points on (though some bonus categories are bigger, since you earn 5x points instead of 3x points).

Finally, the Chase Ink Business Cash and Chase Ink Business Unlimited cards do not directly earn Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel partners.

However, if you have either of these cards in addition to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (reviews) or the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (reviews), points earned on the cards can be pooled and transferred to airline or hotel partners, or can be redeemed for 1.25 to 1.5 cents each toward the cost of a travel purchase through the Chase Travel portal.

How about upgrading to Chase Ink Preferred?

For the sake of completeness, I should also mention that if you have the Chase Ink Business Cash or Chase Ink Business Unlimited, you should also be able to upgrade to the Chase Ink Business Preferred, as long as you’ve had the card for a year. You’ll have to call Chase to find out all the options, but it’s usually a possibility.

Remember that if you upgrade or downgrade your card, you keep the credit history of that card and there is usually no technical check. You do not, however, benefit from the welcome bonus for upgrading.

Chase Ink products are not mutually exclusive

The Chase Ink business card collection is impressive, although I think there are a few points worth highlighting:

• Each of the cards is considered a separate product, so you can collect each of these cards if you wish.
• If you apply directly for the cards, you will earn the bonus on each card, which you will not get if you change products (whether it is an upgrade or downgrade).
• You can even collect each of these cards for multiple businesses, in case you have more than one business (for example, if one is a sole proprietorship and the other a corporation).

Personally, I think there is great value in having all of the Chase Ink Business products, given that they are truly complements, rather than substitutes.

In conclusion

The Chase Ink Business Preferred Card is arguably the most comprehensive business credit card on the market in terms of bonuses, spending returns, and benefits. Best of all, it has a reasonable annual fee of $95. If you qualify, I think this card is definitely worth getting. Personally, I think it’s worth keeping as well.

For those who end up getting the card and find it’s not a good fit for them, the Chase Ink Business Cash Card and the Chase Ink Business Unlimited Card are great alternatives. Both cards have no annual fee and also offer great rewards. Which card makes the most sense depends on your preference: earn 1.5x points on all spending or 5x points in select categories.

If you downgraded from the Chase Ink Preferred card, what was your experience and which card did you choose?