How to classify charges to get 5X on Ink?

Old Apr 23, 2015, 7:02 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: Northwest, United
Posts: 3,256
How to classify charges to get 5X on Ink?

I have an Ink Plus and an Ink Bold. Love 'em both, love those Chase UR points.

One of the best benefits of these cards, of course, is getting 5X points (up to 50,000 annually) for spending at "office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services", as they put it.

When I see the charges post online to my Ink accounts, there's an "Expense Category" listed. One can change the category easily.

My questions are...

1. Does changing the category have any effect on how Chase classifies the category, or is that merely a convenience for me?
I ask this because some items appear (without me doing any adjusting) under "work related" (eg things purchased at office supply stores always appear with that category), while other things that I think should get the 5X bonus may appear as "Miscellaneous" (for example, my monthly satellite TV bill, a monthly bill for web hosting, cell phone service/mobile data plans).

2. Assuming that the category indicated does have an effect on whether you get the 5X points or not, what are the categories that do earn it? All my spending at Staples, OfficeMax, etc, show up as "work related", which is not marketed as getting 5X (at least not in those terms). My internet and satellite TV charges show up as "Miscellaneous" - should they be classified as "online/internet" (they are) or "work related" (they are not)?

3. Or is this entire "category" value only for my own convenience? Does Chase just look up any business in their Great Visa Supplier Locator and base the 5X on how the merchant is categorized there? If that's the case, do I really need to check on AT&T, Dish Network, my ISP, etc., to ensure I get all the 5X UR love I deserve? If I find Chase does *not* consider my AT&T data plan for my iPad or my satellite TV service "internet and cable TV services" (which seem pretty obvious to me) do I need to argue with Chase and try to convince them?

Thanks for shedding some light on how this works.
nwflyboy is offline  
Old Apr 23, 2015, 7:24 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 16
It's a mere convenience for you.

Otherwise u can always rename a restaurant u frequent as office supply store

The way they will assign which purchase is 5x, 2x, or 1x is by how the merchant has classified itself as a business (entity) and how it's processeed.

Example, I have purchased something from H.com because they were having a promotional 5% cash back instead of 1% for online purchases.

Even though it went through H website perfectly, it was run through as a phone order so guess what, 1% for me.

Same with a grocery store that has a Starbucks inside. Even though it's a Starbucks, it's running off of the grocery store's payment processing system. If I had a card that pays more with grocery purchases I can easily rack up a lot of points..Amex has a card for this.

In your online account, when you click the item you should see additional information. That should give a clue as to how it's perceived and the amount of cash back you get.

You can label it any way you like, it's only for your convenience and will not influence or impact how you earn the rewards.
Verpiss is offline  
Old Apr 23, 2015, 7:32 pm
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: Northwest, United
Posts: 3,256
Originally Posted by Verpiss
It's a mere convenience for you.

Otherwise u can always rename a restaurant u frequent as office supply store
Well, of course - you know some smart alec would try to game the system by changing EVERYTHING to a 5X category (not me, honest!....but I know people who would go there).

So, given the heft of Chase, I assume it would not be a good use of my time to try and convince them that, for example, my CenturyLink bill (which is how I connect to the internet), or my ISP that I pay for hosting web pages, should get 5X points if they don't classify them appropriately...

Thanks for the clarification.
nwflyboy is offline  
Old Apr 24, 2015, 2:46 pm
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 427
My local telephone company, who provides our phone and internet, codes as miscellaneous and does not post the 5x bonus. In my case, I looked up the MCC for my phone company, and some of the brick and mortar offices classify as telephone. You might check there. You might be able to pay your bill in store, in person, and get the 5x.
bigugly is offline  

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