Chase Ink Cash vs Ink Unlimited: Which Works Better for Payroll?

Chase Ink Business Cash and Chase Ink Business Unlimited are two of the most popular no-annual-fee business cards in the US. They share a parent family (the Chase Ink lineup), a welcome offer structure, and a Chase Ultimate Rewards points currency — but their earning structures are almost opposites. Cash uses category bonuses; Unlimited uses flat-rate earning. For card-funded payroll specifically, which one wins?

This article runs the comparison directly and gives you a clear answer based on your payment profile. The short version: Ink Unlimited for most card-funded payroll use cases, Ink Cash only if your payment mix includes meaningful office supplies / phone / internet spending that earns 5x, not for the payroll itself.

Who this article is for

Business owners considering a no-annual-fee Chase business card for card-funded payroll who want to understand which variant actually fits their use case. If you’re looking for a premium card with bigger rewards, see our Chase Ink Business Preferred for payroll review instead.

The two cards at a glance (April 2026)

Chase Ink Business Cash

• Annual fee: $0
• Welcome offer: Typically $750 cash back after $6,000 spend in 3 months
• Earning structure:
  • 5% cash back on the first $25,000/year in office supply stores + internet/cable/phone
  • 2% cash back on the first $25,000/year in gas stations + dining
  • 1% cash back on everything else
• Credit limit: Typically $5,000–$30,000 initial approval

Chase Ink Business Unlimited

• Annual fee: $0
• Welcome offer: Typically $750 cash back after $6,000 spend in 3 months
• Earning structure: 1.5% cash back on everything, unlimited
• Credit limit: Typically $5,000–$25,000 initial approval

Verify current offers and terms on Chase’s website before applying.

The welcome offer (identical)

Both cards have essentially the same welcome offer: $750 cash back after $6,000 in spend in 3 months.

$6,000 minimum spend × 2.99% Plastiq fee = $179.40 in fees
$750 welcome offer − $179.40 = $570.60 net welcome value

This is essentially equal between the two cards. Welcome offer is not a differentiator here.

Where the cards diverge: ongoing earning

Ink Business Cash on payroll

Here’s the critical question: do card-to-ACH transactions earn 5% on Ink Cash?

Almost certainly no. Ink Cash’s 5% category includes “office supply stores” (a specific MCC like 5943) and “internet, cable, and phone services” (MCCs like 4814, 4899). Plastiq and other card-to-ACH services typically post under MCC 4829 (money transfers) or similar — neither of which qualifies for Ink Cash’s 5% bonus.

Realistic earning on Ink Cash for payroll:

Monthly payroll: $30,000
Likely earning: 1% (base rate)
Rewards: $30,000 × 1% = $300
Fees:    $30,000 × 2.99% = $897

Net: −$597/month = −$7,164/year

This is a losing position. Ink Business Cash is not a card for payroll funding at base 1% earning. The 5% categories don’t apply, and 1% × 1.5¢ (as a Chase Ultimate Reward) = only 1.5% effective, not enough to cover the fee.

Ink Business Unlimited on payroll

Ink Unlimited earns a flat 1.5% on everything, uncapped.

Monthly payroll: $30,000
Earning: 1.5% (flat rate)
Rewards (as cash): $30,000 × 1.5% = $450
Fees:              $30,000 × 2.99% = $897

Net: −$447/month = −$5,364/year

Also negative, but less negative than Ink Cash. And here’s the critical optimization for Chase ecosystem users:

The Ultimate Rewards transfer value trick

If you hold Ink Business Unlimited alongside a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer Ink Unlimited’s cash-back rewards as Ultimate Rewards points and redeem them at higher value through transfer partners.

Effective Ink Unlimited value with transfer optimization:

1.5 points per $1 earned on Ink Unlimited
Redemption value via transfer partners: 1.8–2.2¢ per point

Effective rate: 1.5 × 1.8¢ = 2.7% (conservative transfer value)
                1.5 × 2.0¢ = 3.0% (mid transfer value)
                1.5 × 2.2¢ = 3.3% (high transfer value)

At a 2.7% effective rate, Ink Unlimited still doesn’t quite clear the 2.99% Plastiq fee. At 3.0% it breaks even. At 3.3% (aggressive but achievable for travel enthusiasts) it’s slightly positive.

New math at 2.7% effective (conservative transfer partners):

Rewards: $30,000 × 2.7% = $810
Fees:    $30,000 × 2.99% = $897
Net: −$87/month (near break-even)

At 3.3% effective (aggressive transfer partners):

Rewards: $30,000 × 3.3% = $990
Fees:    $30,000 × 2.99% = $897
Net: +$93/month = $1,116/year

The punchline: Ink Business Unlimited only makes sense for card-funded payroll if you have a Chase Sapphire card to enable transfer partner redemption, and you’re comfortable with travel point valuations at the higher end of the range.

The comparison for card-funded payroll specifically

Assuming you only care about payroll funding, not other business spending:

Ink Unlimited wins. Clearly.

When Ink Cash still makes sense

Ink Business Cash is not useless — it’s just not useful for payroll funding specifically. It becomes valuable when you have genuine spending in its 5% categories:

• Office supply stores: Staples, Office Depot, Amazon (sometimes). At 5%, $25k/year of genuine office supply spending generates $1,250/year in rewards. That’s meaningful if you actually spend that much on office supplies.
• Internet, cable, and phone: Business internet, phone plans, streaming services. Again, 5% on $25k/year is $1,250.

If you have $2,000/month in legitimate office supplies and phone/internet spending, Ink Cash generates $1,200/year in bonus rewards on top of whatever your other strategies produce. That’s valuable — but it’s not a payroll card, it’s an office-supplies card that happens to be in the same Ink family.

For a business with both card-funded payroll AND meaningful office supply spend, the optimal strategy is to hold both cards: Ink Cash for office supplies, Ink Unlimited (paired with Sapphire) for payroll.

The Ultimate Rewards ecosystem value

This is where I want to be careful. The transfer partner valuations that make Ink Unlimited marginally work for payroll are not guaranteed. They assume:

1. You actively use transfer partners (Hyatt, United, Southwest, etc.) for travel
2. You find good redemption opportunities when booking
3. Transfer ratios don’t devalue over time (Chase has held them mostly stable but periodic devaluations happen)
4. You have time to research and execute complex redemption strategies

If you’re not a travel enthusiast and you’re going to redeem points as cash, Ink Unlimited earns 1.5% cash — which doesn’t cover the 2.99% fee and is a losing proposition for payroll funding.

The card is not a pure cash-back tool for payroll. It only works in the Chase ecosystem context, and only with active point optimization.

Counter-argument: just use Capital One Spark Cash Plus

For a pure card-funded payroll play, Capital One Spark Cash Plus earns 2% flat cash back with no ecosystem dependencies. It’s a simpler, more reliable long-term card for this use case than either Chase Ink no-fee option. We cover it in detail in our Capital One Spark vs Chase Ink Business Unlimited comparison.

The tradeoff: Capital One Spark Cash Plus has a $150 annual fee. If your volume is too low to justify $150 in AF, the no-fee Chase Ink Unlimited wins on simple math. But at any serious volume, Spark Cash Plus is the better long-term workhorse.

Action checklist

1. Determine your actual payment mix — is it all payroll, or do you have office supply spending too?
2. Check your Chase card holdings — do you have a Sapphire card to enable transfer optimization?
3. Decide your redemption preference — cash (Capital One) vs travel points (Chase)
4. For Ink Cash specifically — only apply if you have meaningful 5% category spending, not for payroll
5. For Ink Unlimited specifically — only apply if you already have or plan to get a Sapphire card for transfer value

Bottom line

Chase Ink Business Unlimited beats Chase Ink Business Cash for card-funded payroll, assuming you have a Sapphire card to enable Ultimate Rewards transfer partner redemption. Ink Cash’s 5% categories don’t apply to card-to-ACH transactions, making it a losing choice for payroll funding.

Neither is the best long-term card for this use case. Capital One Spark Cash Plus at 2% flat cash back is a simpler, more reliable workhorse for operators who don’t want to manage Chase’s travel redemption ecosystem.

Use Ink Unlimited for the welcome offer, keep it as a year-round card if you’re in the Chase ecosystem, and look to Capital One or category-bonus cards for the long-term optimization of your payroll strategy.

Next: What happens when your payroll credit card hits its limit on payroll day — the operational emergency playbook.