It is much more prevalent that we think. If you look on the Dans Deals forum , there's a huge thread about Chase account closures. I'm not sure if iall the closures are related to MS on the Ink card, but the people there are in the same demographics as us (credit card churning and MS). The shutdowns seem to have started late last year.

I also originally thought that Chase does not care about MS on the Ink card since there is a cap, but apparently, they started caring a lot more. I'm not planning to stop because I need the points, but I will probably refrain from applying to additional Chase cards (I have most of the good ones anyway) and will only earn points that I intend to spend soon, rather than hoarding them.

I normally don't buy VGCs from office supply stores unless there's a special. There are enough per year that I don't want to waste my $50,000 Chase Ink spend limit on the normal deals even though they are also profitable. I find it better to wait for the specials like this week (although limited to how many addresses you have the rebate card mailed to) and the Office Max VGC sale they had in early March. It takes more patience, but I'll maximize my profit/spend ratio.

If you don't know why they were shut down, you can't really blame them on MS. How many here have been shut down for MS? I believe it's less prevalent than you think.

If you read Dansdeals, a lot of the people on the forum are involved with brokering/selling points, which is the easiest way to get a shutdown (transferring to an account that doesn't belong to you or your spouse).

Often you will read posts bragging about how hard they hit the credit card like 3x to 10x, and then after few months no posts from them.... I wonder where they go? Its not easy for them to admit how foolish they were...U have seen tail between the legs. This forum is full of new posters, a revolving door! only few posters I recognize by names.

That's only speculation. Not usable as proof of anything.

I may be missing the best deals. But lately I only see a max of 0.5% cash back from portals for office stores and at Staples thereally is only $100 cards for $6 fee.

Is there a better option online?

Shopathome?

Shopathome is currently 2% only. TCB is 3%. Also if you have luck with Upromise or Discover(using ink card) then they are at 5%.

Last option currently is Swagbucks 6sb/$ but unsure if gc purchases would count through them or not. They are pretty strict with the CB restrictions but may do a test transaction tonight for a $100 Visa.

My bad. I was looking at portal rewards for gift card mall and not staples. Whoops!

So online they are 7% fee ($7 charge per $100 card) at staples.
For absolute cash value (not UR equivalent value), that is 7% in fees against (5% UR + 1% visa savings edge + 3% TCB). Looking at 2% margin, or $20 vs the $25 (2.5%) by going in store.

Pro
free shopping and don't have to drive to staples

Con
Twice as many cards to unload ($100 vs $200) at a Walmart money center machine for BB.

I can not emphasize how much of a con this is

Twice as many cards is a major con. However 6% at Swagbucks would make it worth it IMO. Will test tonight and report back if visa purchase is tracked.

Using upromise for 5% at statples works great for me. You can buy $100 visa gift card and get 5% cash back. But it takes 2-3 months to get your rebate check.

Just a few weeks ago one of the portals had a limited time offer of 7% cb on purchases on staples.com so I used my ink and loaded up the pesky $100 VGCs. These are the kind of deals you watch for and are worth the effort, but they don't last long.

+1, I think people forget to think about the sales tax...its 7.5% here, which kills any profit margin. I do them occassionally, if I actualy need something they have as a FAR, like paper or batterires.