Alrighty - I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on this one.

I have the printed coupons for both the personal (checking account + debit card = 25k miles), and also one for the business (checking account + business debit card = 25k miles). I can use 50k miles to go along with the 25k I am getting for my new Chase Continental MC that just arrived last week. :D

A few final questions before I go visit the local Chase folks tomorrow...

1. Is there any clear word on what they will expect for the "business" account? I have nothing but my SSN and will call my business "nwflyboy consulting" or "nwflyboy inc." or somesuch....is that going to pass muster? I do live in WA state and they do take biz accounts here.

It sounds like the optimal way to do this (based on the previous post) is to open the business account first (and swallow the $65 annual fee). Then open the personal account (eat the $25 annual fee) - and because you have the biz account first, your personal account gets upgraded, and then you apparently do not have to worry about the monthly fee for the personal account?

2. Does having the business account really mean you do not have to worry about the monthly fee for the personal account (as long as the business account is open)? I had been assuming that I needed to do 5 debit card swipes per month (or set up a direct deposit, which I'm not going to do), or suffer a monthly fee. But I think biggestbopper says you can get around that - do I understand correctly that if you have the biz account, you do NOT need to do the 5 debit swipes per month to beat the monthly fee?

3. Are there additional miles available for adding others to your account? The original post in this thread (admittedly from back in January, so things may have changed) claims the offer "Also it says you can add 3 cardmembers to your account and they receive 2,500 miles." Anyone know is this is still available - and if so, how/when do you do that? The OP links to this page, and under the T&C there is says I'd like to add Mrs nwflyboy (and have her add me). I assume that should work. (Damn, if only I had a dog and a cat with OnePass accounts!) Do you add them at the start, or later?

So I assume I need to insist on the $65 business debt card and the $25 personal debit card, and ignore any other cards they try to peddle (in order to get the 15K miles for each). And don't leave without the printed e-coupon confirming all details.

Does that cover it? Many thanks!!! ^

I have only tried two Chase branches in Seattle with the business account. One insisted a state business license, so I went to the second one, which only asked for my EIN. So of course I opened the biz acct at the second branch and rewarded them with my personal account application, too.

I asked about the biz license thing when I was opening my accounts (not an issue for me as I actually have a license :D).

But, I have a friend who does not have a license who wants to go with the two accounts. Mgr told me that a biz name which includes the person's name (Jack Sprat's House of Lean or whatever) would be fine even if no biz license or dba.

The personal checking acct upgrade thing is probably YMMV. Might differ depending on which market area you are in, or, maybe, just the branch.

Unless you get someone at a branch who wants to be pushy, opening a biz checking account as a sole proprietorship shouldn't be an issue. Easy to open a biz account with your name as the business and your TID is your SSN. ou're not required to actually make money to have a business.

Lots of legit sole proprietors open accounts like this - independent contractors or anyone who does side work and wants to make it more official than getting paid under the table.

You need to call your business by a legally valid name. The easiest option is your own legal name.

If you want to call it Something, Inc., you must have created a corporation. A corporation is a separate legal entity; you would have to file articles of incorporation with your state's Secretary of State, name officers, pay a filing fee, hold annual meetings, probably pay at least a minimum tax each year. (In my state, it was $456/year last time I checked.)

If you want to call your business "Something, consulting" then you should file a "doing business as" or d/b/a form that links that new name to your legal name, usually with your county clerk for a nominal fee.

What I do is just use the legal name I already have (the one on my birth certificate), telling the bank I just want to keep my personal finances separate from my business finances, if they ask at all. My business credit cards all list my personal name on one row and my business name on the second row; in other words, the two rows say the same thing.

acct open vs bonus in calendar year
 

i've read in this thread that chase considers the date of bonus posting to be the criteria for the 'calendar year' consideration. i didn't know that when i opened a personal checking acct for decent cash bonus back in december. the bonus itself posted in january '10, so it would seem i am out of luck as far as closing that account after 6 months and opening a new one for the CO bonus.

does anyone have recent experience with this account opening date vs bonus posting date discrepancy as it relates to what calendar year it counts for? any luck with getting an agent to reconsider or manually override the bonus date with the account open date to allow technically two bonuses for one year ?

thanks

answers
 

calander year disputes are YMMV I have heard they were denied by posting date but you can plead your case that account was opened in 2009.

I have never heard (other than reading that post here that was probably wrong) that linking your business account and personal will exempt you from making 5 swipes on each account...ask the horses mouth when you apply.

When applying for business account use your name and the kind of business
I am _____painting and my wife is ______property management neither require a business liscense in our state and you tell them its a sole proprieter and that you use your social security number as your tax ID number.

No bonus miles for adding people, just another fee for the extra card.

My personal account IS exempt because of the business account linked to it, the branch business rep told me so. Therefore, I am only required 5 non-pin purchase for BOTH personal and business account to avoid the fee. Just FYIs

For the business account, they requested the following from me:

1) EIN number from the IRS website. This is where you go to register your business with the IRS.
2) Certificate of trade name - In NJ, you have to go to county clerk to register your business.

no longer relevant post

I am wondering the same. How can you apply online? (There are Chase branches in my state, but I'd prefer to apply online if possible.)

Hi Muji,

Here are instructions provided to me by JeffISU. Hope it helps.

The link for the 25k miles offer is:
http://www.chase.com/milesforchecking
and there is a link on that page for the business one if you want that too. Make sure to refresh once to ensure you get a new number.

Then to apply for the accounts, go to www.chase.com. Under personal banking click on Checking Accounts, then the personal account is called Chase Checking - click the Open Now link on that page.
The business account is called Chase BusinessClassic Checking - link is here:
https://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?...b_open_account
Though reports that business cannot be done online, even for those with addresses in the states listed on their page - has to be done in a branch.

Towards the end of the application it allows you to pick which debit card you want, either the $25 or $65 option.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet but will be doing over the weekend.

Thanks

post no longer relevant

I reconsidered. Just applied online. It went very smoothly.

During the process all my questions got answered. The ($25 annual fee) "Continental Airlines Preferred Debit Card" came up as an option to choose. A space came up for typing in the coupon code. The promised 10,000 + 15,000 miles were clearly stated. I was given the option to not have checks printed. And a number was provided to call if any problems arise concerning receiving promised bonus miles.

I now recommend applying online. Fairly quick and easy.

I have just now applied for the card (so I have not yet received it and its accompanying instructions), and I never use debit cards, so I am unclear on the procedure involved. Is it that when you use the card for a purchase you would tell the merchant it is a credit card (or you would tell them to input "credit" instead of "debit")? As I said I'm not familiar with debit card usage.