Costs & Pricing

Metric	Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	American Express® Business Gold Card
Annual fee	$95 (no first-year waiver published)	$375
Employee card fee	$0	Employee Business Gold $95 (first 5 then $95 each); Employee Business Expense Cards $0; max 99 additional cards
Purchase APR	17.74%–26.74% variable (Prime + 10.99% to +19.99%; max 29.99%)	17.74%–28.49% variable on Pay Over Time only (Prime + 10.99% to +21.74%)
Intro APR (purchases)	Not offered	Not a standard public offer (some targeted pages have shown 0% for 6 months on POT-eligible purchases)
Foreign transaction fee	$0	$0
Late payment fee	$40	$39 or 2.99% of any past-due Pay In Full amount, whichever is greater

Rewards & Value

Metric	Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	American Express® Business Gold Card
Base earn rate	1 Ultimate Rewards point per $1 on all other purchases (uncapped)	1X Membership Rewards point per $1 on other eligible purchases
Welcome bonus	100,000 Ultimate Rewards points after $8,000 purchases in first 3 months (posts 6–8 weeks after qualifying)	Personalized — marketed as high as 200,000 Membership Rewards points after $15,000 eligible purchases in first 3 months (offer varies; you may not be eligible)
Redemption value	1¢/point cash (RPA contractual floor); Chase Travel marketed at 1.25¢; transfers at partner ratios	Varies by redemption; Amex does not publish a single cpp. Treat Pay With Points / statement credit at ~1¢; transfers can be higher or lower — do not assume 2¢.
Transfer partners	Native transfers (airlines 1:1; IHG, Marriott, Wyndham 1:1). World of Hyatt 1:1 through 9/30/2026, then 4:3 from 10/01/2026 (1,000 UR → 750 Hyatt). Unlocks transfers for Ink Cash/Unlimited points moved onto this card.	Membership Rewards partners (most airlines 1:1; hotel ratios vary). U.S. airline transfers: excise tax offset $0.0006/point, max $99. Confirm live at membershiprewards.com/pointsinfo.

Credit & Eligibility

Metric	Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card	American Express® Business Gold Card
Personal guarantee	Required — authorizing officer liable individually and jointly with the business for all balances	Required (standard small-business Amex model; no published no-PG path)
Credit check	Hard pull on the authorizing officer (standard Chase practice)	Apply with Confidence — no personal-score impact to learn approval; accepting the card may impact personal credit. Submitting may affect business credit.
Employee cards	Free; number not capped in public copy; individual spend limits and real-time tracking	Up to 99 total; Gold employee cards $95 structure; Expense Cards $0; spend limits and alerts
Product type	Revolving business credit card	Hybrid small-business charge card with revolving Pay Over Time (NPSL on purchases)

Pros & Cons

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Pros

• 100,000 UR / $8,000 / 3-month welcome bonus; authorized-user spend counts
• 3x on shipping, direct social/search ads, comms, and travel up to $150k per anniversary year
• Native Ultimate Rewards transfers; unlocks transfers for Ink Cash/Unlimited points
• $0 foreign-transaction fee and $0 employee cards
• Cell-phone protection plus purchase protection and primary business rental CDW

Cons

• $95 annual fee with no Global Entry, lounge, or travel statement credit
• No intro 0% APR — poor working-capital tool if a balance will be carried
• Personal guarantee + hard pull + unofficial 5/24 gate
• Advertising 3x is narrow (direct platform MCCs, not agencies); office supplies are not 3x
• Hyatt transfers drop to 4:3 on October 1, 2026; bonus likely unavailable if you ever held this card

American Express® Business Gold Card

Pros

• Auto-4X on whichever two of six categories lead each month, up to $150k combined — no annual category lock-in
• Transferable Membership Rewards (same partner list as other MR cards)
• Statement-credit stack can exceed the $375 fee if credits are enrolled and used
• $0 foreign transaction fee; NPSL plus optional Pay Over Time
• Personalized welcome marketed as high as 200k / $15k / 3 months

Cons

• $375 annual fee plus $95 Employee Business Gold cards
• 4X dies after $150k combined and is only two categories per cycle; 1X residual is weak
• Shipping dropped from 4X (2026 refresh); credits need enrollment and specific vendors
• No lounge, Global Entry/TSA, or airline incidental credit
• Hybrid pay-in-full + high POT APR; late fee can be 2.99% of past-due Pay In Full

Verdict

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Ink Business Preferred is the transfer keystone of the Ink family — 3x on the spend categories many operators actually have, $0 FTF, and a 100k welcome bonus, all at $95. Pair it with Ink Cash or Unlimited if you want the rest of spend at cash-back rates with transferable points parked here. Skip it if you need 0% capital, no personal guarantee, lounges, or simple uncapped cash back.

American Express® Business Gold Card

Business Gold is a specialist, not a simple daily driver. Auto-4X that follows whichever two categories win each month is powerful for ads, software, restaurants, gas, transit, or wireless — and the credit stack can more than offset $375 if you already buy those products. After the $150k cap, or if you will not enroll in credits, a no-fee 2% card or Ink Preferred is usually cleaner. Poor substitute for 0% capital, no-PG fintech cards, or Business Platinum travel perks.