Aug 18, 2015, 8:20 am

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Last edit by: BuBu4

Please read this Wiki before posting questions in the thread.

What's the difference between the Ink Bold & Ink Plus cards?

Ink Bold is no longer available. It was a charge card (pay balance in full each month), but it has been discontinued and many accounts were converted to Ink Plus cards with the same account numbers.

Ink Plus is a revolving credit card. It allows you to earn and redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points (including transfering UR points to air/hotel/rail partners).

What are the best current Ink Plus offers?

The Ink Plus card is no longer available for new applicants. There is a separate thread for The Ink Business Preferred card.

Links for non-targeted Ink Plus 60K offer ($5,000 spend/3 months; annual $95 fee not waived)
Landing page; original application page, current application page.

Landing page; application page.

Landing page; application page.

Landing page; current application page.

There is a report of a 70k offer for the Chase Ink Plus available only through your local Chase Bank office, extended to August 20, 2016. If you recently accepted the 60K offer, you may be able to get the extra 10K simply by asking for it.

There is a no-fee, UR-earning Ink Cash card: https://creditcards.chase.com/ink-bu.../ink-cash-card

Are there are any rules or restrictions to keep in mind when applying for an Ink card?
What is the "5/24" policy?
Are targeted offers exempt from the 5/24 policy?
If my application isn't approved instantly, should I call in?
How can I determine the deadline for meeting the spend requirement to earn the signup bonus?
Once I meet the card's spend requirement, how soon will I receive my signup bonus points?
After being denied, how long should I wait before applying again for the same card?
How long should I wait after closing my card before applying again for the same card?

See the wiki & current discussion at Applying for Chase Credit Cards, 2017 onward.

Are there special earning categories?

Yes. You earn 5 points per dollar on the first $50,000 spent annually at office supply stores, and on cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services. (Sirius XM Radio also qualifies.)

In addition, you earn 2 points per dollar on the first $50,000 spent annually at gas stations and for hotel accommodations when purchased directly from the hotel.

NOT ALL Ink cards earn the 5x and 2x bonus categories above. Not "Old Ink Bold" that earns 7,500 bonus points for $25,000 spend, 15,000 points for $50,000, and 25,000 points for $100,000 spend.

What merchants qualify for 5 points/dollar spent?

Merchants that qualify:

AnswerConnect (Ref)
AT&T monthly bills @ website (Direct entry) (Ref, Ref, Ref)
Boost Mobile (Ref)
Cablevision (Ref)
CallingMart.com (Direct entry)
CardCash.com (PayPal) (Ref, Ref)
CashStar/Staples @ staples.cashstar.com (Ref)
Charter Spectrum/Time Warner Cable monthly bills (Ref, Ref)
Comcast (Ref)
Cox Internet subscription (Ref)
Cricket Wireless (Ref)
Digital River MyCommerce/vorpX (PayPal) (Ref)
DirecTV (Ref, Ref)
Dish Network (Ref, Ref)
Dropbox (Ref)
eBay/PayPal Digital Gifts (PayPal) (Mastercards only) (Ref)
GiftCard Mart (PayPal) (Ref)
GoDaddy.com (Ref, Ref)
Google Fiber (Ref)
Gyft.com (PayPal) (Ref)
Half.com (PayPal) (Ref)
Hetzner.de (PayPal) (Ref)
HTC Vive @ store.us.HTCVive.com (Direct entry) (Ref, Ref)
Hulu (Ref, Ref, Ref)
INIZ (PayPal) (Ref)
LivingSocial.com (PayPal) (Ref)
MileagePlus X/OfficeMax @ app (YMMV ref, Ref)
MileagePlus X/Staples @ app (YMMV ref, Ref)
Netflix (Ref, Ref, Ref, Ref)
Nvidia GeForce Now (Ref)
Office Depot @ B&M, officedepot.com (Direct entry) (Ref)
OfficeMax @ B&M, officedepot.com (Direct entry) (Ref)
OneDrive (Ref)
Republic Wireless (Ref)
RingCentral (Ref)
Sirius XM (Ref, Ref, Ref)
Sling TV @ sling.com (Ref, Ref, Ref, Ref)
Spotify.com (Ref, Ref, Ref, Ref, Ref)
Sprint (Ref)
Staples @ B&M, staples.com (Direct entry) (Ref)
TiVo monthly bills (Ref, Ref)
T-Mobile monthly bills (Ref, Ref, Ref)
UPrinting.com (Ref)
Verizon (Ref)
Verizon Wireless (Ref)
Virgin Mobile (Ref)
VirginMobileUSA.com (Direct entry, PayPal) (Ref)
Vudu.com (Ref, Ref)

Merchants that DO NOT qualify:

Adobe Acrobat DC (Ref)
Amazon Prime music and video (Ref)
Apple iTunes/Apple Music subscription
AT&T phone and equipment orders (Ref, YMMV ref)
CardCash.com (Direct entry) (Ref)
CashStar/Office Depot @ officedepot.cashstar.com (Ref)
CashStar/Panera Bread @ panerabread.cashstar.com (Ref)
Charges at Cricket Wireless Store
eBay/GiftCardMall (PayPal)
eBay/SVM Gift Cards (PayPal)
eGifter.com (Ref)
Giftcard Zen (Direct entry) (Ref)
Google Cloud Platform @ cloud.google.com (Ref)
Google Drive (Ref)
Google Project Fi @ fi.google.com (Ref, Ref, Ref)
Gyft.com (Direct entry)
H2O Wireless (Ref)
Newegg.com (PayPal) (Ref)
Oculus.com (Ref)
OfficeMax in-store pickup @ officedepot.com (Ref)
eBay/PayPal Digital Gifts (PayPal) Visa Cards Only (Ref)
Plastiq telecom (Ref)
Playstation Vue (Ref)
RingPlus.net (Direct entry)
Seashells @ shopseashells.com (Ref)
SWYCH app (using INK and Paypal) (Ref)
T-Mobile.com phone and equipment orders (Ref, Ref, Ref)
Todoist.com (Ref)
Venmo (Direct entry) (Ref, Ref)
Walmart.com (PayPal) (Ref)

Where can I find the Ink Plus Guide to Benefits?

See https://www.chasebenefits.com/ink10311.

What are the rules for transferring UR points to other users or to my own air/hotel/rail accounts?

See the separate discussions in

Closing Ink Plus cards

It is possible to pay the annual fee for the Chase Ink Plus business card, then close the account and get a refund of the fee up to 6 months after it was charged. This provides a total of 18 months of earning up to 5X points for free. Make sure your points are transferred out (either to another UR account owned by you or a spouse, or to an air/hotel partner) before you close the account.

Previous Discussion Threads:

Chase Ink Business Card Questions

Chase Ink Bold, Plus & Cash cards

Chase Ink Plus is now available

Chase Ink Business Cards - July 2015- Present

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Oct 15, 2018, 8:02 pm

#1636

SuperKirby

Join Date: Feb 2013

Posts: 1,818

Can I have an account nickname for the Chase Ink card? I can't seem to find a way to do it. I know I can on the personal cards...

Dec 17, 2018, 4:33 pm

#1637

abhilife2001

Join Date: Nov 2009

Location: PDX

Programs: Don't think it matters...

Posts: 5,240

Quote:

Originally Posted by briang191

i downgrade one month before AF.

Any specific reason to downgrade before AF hits as AF can easily be refunded even if its posted and you call with 4-6 weeks of that. General wisdom seems to be not to change / cancel cards within 12 months from what I read in these forums.

Dec 17, 2018, 5:45 pm

#1638

philemer

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Intermountain West

Programs: Too many to list

Posts: 12,080

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhilife2001

....General wisdom seems to be not to change / cancel cards within 12 months from what I read in these forums.

I don't think this is true. Chase isn't going to care if you cancel during the 11th, 12th or 13th month. Obviously they care if your cancel but it doesn't matter which month it is. I've even canceled some cards during the 9th and 10th month and Chase keeps giving me new cards every year.

Dec 18, 2018, 7:18 am

#1639

pallhedge

Join Date: Sep 2011

Posts: 1,857

Quote:

Originally Posted by philemer

Phil, this is really bad advice. Just because it's been fine for you, doesn't mean it would be fine for everyone, nor does it mean you will continue to be fine forever.

For instance, Amex didn't care about this practice until one day they did care. Now they deny ALL future signup bonuses to those that canceled amex cards prior to 12 months in the past.

Bottom line: don't close your cards inside 12 months unless you have some phenomenal reason that you must.

Happy likes this.

Dec 18, 2018, 9:07 am

#1640

philemer

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Intermountain West

Programs: Too many to list

Posts: 12,080

Quote:

Originally Posted by pallhedge

I was giving my experiences with Chase cards since this is a Chase thread. Have you seen any reports of problems with Chase when people closed a card before the 12 month mark?

Dec 18, 2018, 9:31 am

#1641

abhilife2001

Join Date: Nov 2009

Location: PDX

Programs: Don't think it matters...

Posts: 5,240

Quote:

Originally Posted by philemer

I was giving my experiences with Chase cards since this is a Chase thread. Have you seen any reports of problems with Chase when people closed a card before the 12 month mark?

While I am not an expert by any means, wonder what is the advantage of closing an account earlier, specially since they will not get the downgrade (product change) option in that case and will basically have to close the account. If AF is the reason, folks want to switch, then wait for it to hit, try for retention and then take a decision. Unless ofcourse the OP has a specific reason they want to close earlier.

Dec 18, 2018, 12:20 pm

#1642

Happy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Florida

Posts: 29,755

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhilife2001

You only have 30 days after AF is billed to get a reversal should you cancel your card, NOT 4 to 6 weeks after posted.

This 30 days policy has been in place well over 2 years. I actually started a thread on it literally right after the unannounced change when I found out about this thru a supervisor who said even the CS dept was caught by surprise when they received many complaints from cardholders who thought the same way as you... But that was 2 years ago already.

Dec 18, 2018, 12:25 pm

#1643

Happy

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Jul 2003

Location: Florida

Posts: 29,755

Quote:

Originally Posted by philemer

I was giving my experiences with Chase cards since this is a Chase thread. Have you seen any reports of problems with Chase when people closed a card before the 12 month mark?

I think it is NOT related to the Past DPs, it is related to what are kept in your profile with the bank.

Should one day Chase go the AMEX route, then all your past "abuser" history would be in your profile just because you haven't seen Chase cares about rapid churning of their cards.
Or may be Chase would just make their cards like the Sapphire family that they again, announced first the 2 years restriction right at the eve when people were to cancel CSR and replaced with a CSP for another sign up bonus. Then they pulled the 48 months tactic, again, right around the time many people's 24 months "jail time" are up...

It is quite imprudent to based on bank's past behavior, when things around us have rapidly changed - that most changes come without warnings and on something one cannot change because of one's previous behaviors.

Yes, it is poor advice to give. Claiming Chase has not done that has no merit because Chase can and very well may, do the same as AMEX has already implemented, except Chase so far chooses to put specific restriction on a particular brand, Sapphire, instead of spread it across all its cards, at least not yet.

Dec 18, 2018, 8:13 pm

#1644

pallhedge

Join Date: Sep 2011

Posts: 1,857

Quote:

Originally Posted by philemer

I was giving my experiences with Chase cards since this is a Chase thread.

What you wrote is more definitive than simply giving your experience...

Quote:

Originally Posted by philemer

..Chase isn't going to care if you cancel during the 11th, 12th or 13th month...

Chase may very well care at some point. In fact, I would say there are better than even odds that they will care eventually.

Quote:

Originally Posted by philemer

Have you seen any reports of problems with Chase when people closed a card before the 12 month mark?

No, I have not. Nor did anyone report any problems with Amex prior to them instituting their new anti-churning rule. If Chase follows suit, you and anyone that follows your advice will be ineligible for any Chase signup bonuses in the future.

Dec 18, 2018, 9:32 pm

#1645

philemer

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Intermountain West

Programs: Too many to list

Posts: 12,080

I will readily agree that there is no advantage to closing a card w/in the first year. It is also possible that Chase "may" follow AMEX's lead, sometime in the future, in punishing card holders that have closed cards w/in the first year.

Dec 19, 2018, 1:14 pm

#1646

Hawkeyefan

Join Date: Jan 2014

Location: Rochester, MN

Programs: UA Silver, Hilton HHonors Diamond, IHG Plat

Posts: 1,830

Applied for card 12/13. Got 30 day notice. Was at 4/24. Checked status line today, and still stuck on 30 days. Is this lag typical?

Dec 21, 2018, 8:42 am

#1647

Hawkeyefan

Join Date: Jan 2014

Location: Rochester, MN

Programs: UA Silver, Hilton HHonors Diamond, IHG Plat

Posts: 1,830

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeyefan

Applied for card 12/13. Got 30 day notice. Was at 4/24. Checked status line today, and still stuck on 30 days. Is this lag typical?

Called status line today, approved for Ink Business Preferred card.

aSiAnRiCk and Diplomatico like this.

Dec 21, 2018, 8:58 am

#1648

StartinSanDiego

Moderator: Travel Buzz

Join Date: Aug 2012

Location: Sunny San Diego

Posts: 3,098

Quote:

Originally Posted by pallhedge

<snip>
Chase may very well care at some point. In fact, I would say there are better than even odds that they will care eventually.
<snip> Nor did anyone report any problems with Amex prior to them instituting their new anti-churning rule. If Chase follows suit, you and anyone that follows your advice will be ineligible for any Chase signup bonuses in the future.

In my opinion, it's a much safer bet is to downgrade to a no fee card and hang on to it somewhere between a year and forever. We're going for the forever option around here. We haven't closed a Chase card in years.
See the conversation in this thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...16-onward.html

Dec 21, 2018, 9:09 am

#1649

abhilife2001

Join Date: Nov 2009

Location: PDX

Programs: Don't think it matters...

Posts: 5,240

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeyefan

Called status line today, approved for Ink Business Preferred card.

I had also got the review pending notification while applying online. Did not call and was preparing to call post receipt of the letter in mail. On the contrary, received the card in mail within 10 days of application

Dec 29, 2018, 10:11 pm

#1650

TheBurgerMan

Join Date: Dec 2018

Posts: 4

How many ink cards at once?

I hate to ask a question that I’m sure has been answered, but not matter how I word the search, I can’t find answers through searching here or elsewhere. I know you can have multiple ink cards, but how far can you push it? I have multiple businesses with many different EIN’s. How many of the same Ink card can I have? If I push it to 3 or 4 CIP’s, will I get denied or shutdown? If that’s an issue, can I get 2 CIP, 2 CIC, and 2 CIU all at once? If I’m under 5/25, can I keep signing up for a new business card every month?

A lot of questions, I know. TIA!

Last edited by TheBurgerMan; Dec 29, 2018 at 10:21 pm