Chase Ink Business Preferred Cell Phone Protection: How It Works

The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review) is one of the all-around best business credit cards. There’s a lot to love about the card, from the huge welcome bonus, to the 3x points bonus categories, to the excellent rental car protection, to the card being a potential hub card for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

In this post, I wanted to specifically focus on one of my favorite benefits of the Ink Business Preferred, which is cell phone protection. How exactly does this handy coverage work?

Chase Ink Preferred Card cell phone insurance

One of my favorite benefits of the Ink Business Preferred Card is the cell phone protection it offers. Given how expensive smartphones are nowadays, this is a benefit that could prove especially beneficial for many. What makes this so great is that the card offers up to 3x Ultimate Rewards on cell phone spending, and on top of that offers industry-leading protection.

What is the cell phone protection benefit?

With the Ink Business Preferred Card cell phone protection benefit you can get up to $1,000 per claim in cell phone protection against covered theft or damage for you and your employees listed on your monthly cell phone bill. The Ink Business Preferred cell phone protection is supplemental to any other insurance you may have on your cell phone.

Here are some of the basic terms of the card’s cell phone protection:

• In order to take advantage of this you need to pay your cell phone bill using the Ink Business Preferred Card
• You’re limited to three claims in a 12 month period
• There’s a $100 deductible per claim
• You can receive up to $3,000 in cell phone protection annually

Who is eligible for the cell phone protection benefit?

To be eligible you need to charge your monthly cell phone bill to the Ink Business Preferred Card. The coverage is effective the day following your cell phone monthly bill payment, and remains in effect until the last day of the calendar month following the payment.

You don’t receive this benefit if you pay your monthly cell phone bill with another card. However, there’s no requirement to have actually purchased your phone with this card.

What isn’t covered with the cell phone protection benefit?

The following are some of the things not covered as part of the Ink Business Preferred Card cell phone benefit (I’m copying this from the benefits guide, to be thorough):

• Cellular wireless telephone accessories other than standard battery and/or standard antenna provided by the manufacturer
• Cellular wireless telephone purchased for resale
• Cellular wireless telephones that are lost or “mysteriously disappear” (meaning the vanishing of an item in an unexplained manner where there is absence of evidence of a wrongful act by a person or persons)
• Cellular wireless telephone under the care and control of a common carrier (including, but not limited to, U.S. Postal Service, airplanes, or delivery service)
• Cellular wireless telephone stolen from baggage unless hand-carried and under Your personal supervision, or under the supervision of Your traveling companion who is previously known to You
• Cellular wireless telephone which has been rented, leased, borrowed or cellular wireless telephones that are received as part of a pre-paid wireless service plan or “pay as you go” type service plans
• Cosmetic damage to the cellular wireless telephone or damage that does not impact the cellular wireless telephone’s capabilities and functionalities of the phone
• Damage or theft resulting from abuse, intentional acts, fraud, hostilities of any kind (including, but not limited to, war, invasion, rebellion, or insurrection), confiscation by the authorities, risks of contraband, illegal activities, normal wear and tear, flood, earthquake, radioactive contamination, or damage from inherent product defects
• Damage or theft resulting from misdelivery or voluntary parting with the cellular wireless telephone
• Replacement cellular wireless telephone not purchased from a cellular service provider’s retail or Internet store, (for example: Verizon Wireless, Sprint Wireless, etc.) or from an authorized cellular phone retailer
• Taxes, delivery and transportation charges, and any fees associated with the cellular service provider

How do you file a claim for the cell phone protection benefit?

To start the process of filing a claim with the Ink Business Preferred Card cell phone protection benefit, you’ll want to call the benefit administrator within 60 days of the incident. After you call you’ll be sent the claim form, which must be completed within 90 days of the incident.

You’ll need copies of your card statement reflecting your monthly cell phone bill payments during the time of the damage, and a store receipt for the purchase of your replacement cell phone, if applicable.

Depending on the circumstances, you’ll then either have your phone repaired or replaced, or will be reimbursed for the lesser of $1,000 (minus the $100 deductible) or the current suggested retail price of a replacement phone that’s a similar quality to what you have. Reimbursement should occur within 10 business days of the approval of your claim.

What’s the best credit card for cell phone coverage?

How does the Ink Business Preferred Card cell phone coverage compare to what’s offered by other major credit cards? I’d say the only real competitive business card with cell phone protection is The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review), which offers up to $800 per claim with a $50 deductible, and a limit of two claims per year.

There are more personal cards that offer coverage, including:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) offers up to $800 per claim with a $50 deductible, and a limit of two claims per year
• The Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) and Chase Freedom Flex^SM (review) offer up to $800 per claim in coverage with a $50 deductible, and a limit of $1,000 per year in protection
• The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) (Rates & Fees) provides coverage with a $50 deductible. Review the benefits guide for full details.

For the Platinum Card …

Coverage for a Stolen or damaged Eligible Cellular Wireless Telephone is subject to the terms, conditions, exclusions and limits of liability of this benefit. The maximum liability is $800, per claim, per Eligible Card Account. Each claim is subject to a $50 deductible. Coverage is limited to two (2) claims per Eligible Card Account per 12 month period.

• Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.
• Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
• Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

Those are just a few of the best options for cards popular in the miles & points world. The catch is that those cards don’t offer any bonus rewards for your cell phone bill. Personally I think the Chase Ink Business Preferred is the most well-rounded card for paying your cell phone bill:

• You can earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points for paying your cell phone bill, which I value at a 5.1% return (I consider Chase points to be worth 1.7 cents each)
• You get fantastic cell phone coverage worth up to $1,000 per claim, which compares favorably to most other cards offering up to $800 per claim in protection; while there’s a $100 deductible rather than the $50 deductible offered by some other cards, that should be worth it for the additional $200 in coverage

Bottom line

The Ink Business Preferred Card is a fantastic business credit card and offers a particularly compelling cell phone protection plan.

The benefits are fairly straightforward, though the main things to keep in mind are that the benefit only applies to you and your employees, and you need to charge the cell phone bill to your credit card. If you meet the terms, this could easily be one of the most valuable credit card perks out there.

Personally, I charge my monthly cell phone bill to the Ink Business Preferred, given that it not only offers great coverage but also offers 3x points on cell phone spending.

Do you charge your cell phone bill to the Chase Ink Preferred? Have you ever used the coverage?

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.