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.