Both are no-annual-fee business cash-back cards. Chase Ink rewards category spend; Amex Blue Business Cash keeps it flat-rate simple with a built-in spending buffer. Decision rule by spend pattern below.
Chase
5% on office supplies and telecom up to $25K combined.
Pros
American Express
Flat 2% cash back up to $50K/year, $0 annual fee.
Pros
Pick Chase Ink Business Cash if: Office-based SMBs with heavy spend on supplies, internet, cable, or phone.
Pick American Express Blue Business Cash Card if: Owner-operators spending under $50K/year on the card who want better than 1.5% with zero category tracking.
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Neither card charges an annual fee — both are $0/year business credit cards per Chase and American Express published card terms. Chase Ink Business Cash earns tiered cash back (5% on office supplies and internet/phone/cable, 2% on gas and dining, 1% on everything else, with a $25,000 annual cap on 5%/2% categories). Amex Blue Business Cash earns a flat 2% on all purchases up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%.
Amex Blue Business Cash includes an expanded buying power feature that allows you to spend above your credit limit. The amount you can exceed your limit is not a fixed number — it adjusts dynamically based on your spending patterns, payment history, credit profile, and account tenure. Any over-limit amount is billed in full with your next statement — per American Express's published cardholder agreement.
Generally no. The IRS treats cash-back rewards earned through business spending as a rebate or discount on business expenses rather than taxable income — meaning you reduce the deductible cost basis of the expense rather than reporting additional income. However, welcome bonuses not tied to spending may be treated differently. Consult a tax professional for your specific business situation.
Yes — both offer introductory 0% APR periods on purchases per their current published card terms. Chase Ink Business Cash includes a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months from account opening; the variable APR applies afterward. Amex Blue Business Cash includes a 0% intro APR on purchases for the first 12 months from account opening; the variable rate follows. Verify current intro APR terms and ongoing purchase APRs at chase.com and americanexpress.com before applying, as promotional terms can change.
Chase Ink Business Cash has historically offered a welcome bonus of $750 cash back (earned as 75,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months — one of the strongest no-annual-fee business card welcome offers. Amex Blue Business Cash welcome bonuses have varied; the card has offered statement credit bonuses after meeting a spending threshold in the first few months. Welcome bonus offers change frequently — confirm current offers at chase.com and americanexpress.com before applying.
Chase Ink business cards generally do not report routine monthly activity to personal credit bureaus, but Chase does perform a hard personal credit inquiry at application — which appears temporarily on your personal report. Amex business cards also typically do not report routine account activity to personal bureaus, with the same inquiry exception. Both issuers may report derogatory events (missed payments, default) to personal credit in some circumstances. This differs from many small-business credit cards at other issuers that do report monthly balances to personal bureaus. Source: CFPB guidance on business credit card reporting practices.
Yes — both cards require a personal guarantee at application. The Small Business Administration notes that nearly all small-business credit cards from major issuers require the owner to personally guarantee the account, meaning the cardholder is personally liable for unpaid balances if the business cannot pay. This is industry-standard for small-business credit cards regardless of business entity type (sole prop, LLC, S-corp, C-corp). Both Chase and American Express also perform a hard inquiry on the applicant's personal credit at application. Source: SBA business credit guidance at sba.gov; Chase and American Express business cardholder agreements.
Yes — both cards offer free employee cards with individual spending limits. Chase Ink Business Cash issues employee cards at no additional cost; the primary cardholder can set per-card spend limits and earns rewards on employee spend. Amex Blue Business Cash also issues employee cards at no additional cost, with the same earning-on-employee-spend structure and the ability to set individual limits. Verify current employee-card terms at chase.com and americanexpress.com. The IRS treats business-card spending by employees on company business as a business expense for tax purposes.
Chase Ink Business Cash earns 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent annually at office supply stores (Staples, Office Depot, and similar merchants) and on internet, cable, and phone services. Amex Blue Business Cash earns a flat 2% on all purchases up to $50,000 per calendar year. For a business spending heavily at office supply stores, Chase Ink's 5% category beats Amex Blue's 2% until you hit the $25,000 category cap — after that, you earn 1% on Chase Ink vs 2% on Amex Blue (up to the $50,000 cap). The decision is concentration of spend: heavy office-supply spend favors Chase Ink; broad-category spend favors Amex Blue. Verify current category bonuses at chase.com and americanexpress.com.
Yes — there is no rule preventing holding both cards simultaneously. Many small-business owners pair them to maximize rewards: route office-supply, internet, and phone spending to Chase Ink (5% cash back) and route other spend categories to Amex Blue Business Cash (2% flat). Each application is a separate hard inquiry on personal credit and a new line of business credit. The CFPB recommends spacing new credit applications by 3–6 months to minimize the temporary credit-score impact from multiple hard inquiries (consumerfinance.gov). Both issuers have their own velocity rules limiting how many of their cards you can hold or open in a given period — Chase's 5/24 rule is the best-known example. Source: Chase and American Express published rules; CFPB credit-shopping guidance.
Independent editorial comparison. ClearValue Lending is not the issuer of any product compared here; affiliate links may pay a referral commission at no cost to you — selection is independent of compensation.