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Update: The Chase Ink Plus, Chase Ink Bold, and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card cards are now being issued as Visa cards instead of Mastercards.
This was reported on DDF over the past few days by Achas Veachas, george, Ephcc90, and Solomon.
These cards will participate in the Visa Savings Program instead of Mastercard Easy Savings for instant cash back on top of the already lucrative bonus points offered by these cards.
As far as the new rental car benefits that are coming 11/01, stay tuned.
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Originally posted on 09/08:
The Chase Ink Plus, Chase Ink Bold, and the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card credit cards are some of the most valuable credit cards out there today.
-The Bold and Plus cards have very generous 50K signup bonuses and all of them offer highly lucrative bonus categories.
-These are business cards, but many people that run businesses probably don’t even realize they run a business. If you sell items on eBay or Amazon you have a business that should have a credit card dedicated for its expenses. Any entrepreneur can get a business card, even if your business is still new. You don’t need a Tax ID number, you can apply as a sole-proprietor with your social security number in the Tax ID field.
-The really great thing about these business cards is that they don’t report your spending on your personal credit report.
On personal cards if you spend money on your card your credit score will be hurt even if you pay your bill on time. A whopping 30% of your credit score is based on credit utilization. You can pay off your card before your statement is printed to avoid that, but that takes a lot of effort and laying out money well before you have to.
On a business card it’s just not reported, so you can wait until the money is due without it having a negative effect on your score.
Some people have reported seeing these cards show up on their personal credit report. They were able to have them removed by sending Chase a secure message. I don’t have any on my report but it’s always good to stay on top of your report in case of mistakes like that. You can get all 3 of your reports free from annualcreditreport.com.
-I’m in the process of opening a new business and I now have 6 active Ink cards split among different businesses. The Ink Plus cards offers the ability to pay over time while the Ink Bold card must be paid in full each month and a business can get both of those cards. By having both I can keep health related expenses (like sole proprietor insurance premiums and health savings account spending) on its own dedicated card.
-Additional user cards are free on Ink cards. For now that means that each additional user can buy $2,600 of fee-free Chase gift cards per month with free shipping though it seems like that option will be going away.
-All Ink cards, even free additional user cards, get 2 free annual airport lounge visits per user. Here is a link to find valid lounges worldwide.
-Effective 11/01 Ink Cards will give primary insurance outside of the USA even on leisure rentals. That means you won’t have to file any claimwork with your own personal insurance. (In the USA it will be primary as well for business related rentals). The language implies that it is valid worldwide except where prohibited by law but I’m told they won’t be able to positively confirm if Israel is covered until 11/01 so stay tuned.
Many other improved benefits kick in 11/01 such as $500 return protection, 120 day purchase theft/damage protection, trip cancellation insurance, price-drop protection, lost luggage protection, trip delay protection, baggage delay protection, travel accident insurance, and roadside assistance.
-You can register your card for Mastercard Easy Savings which gives an automatic cash rebate on top of points. Get 5% cash back on rentals from Avis or Budget, 5% cash back at Wyndham hotels on top of 2 points per dollar, 4% cash back at thousands of participating hotels on top of 2 points per dollar, and 1% cash back on gas from 19,000 station nationwide on top of 2 points per dollar, and much more.
I have actually been receiving the gas rebate even without registering my cards.
-All of the Ink cards offer 5 points per dollar on internet/cable service and telecom purchases, so that’s a nice rebate when you purchase a new cell phone and off your cable bill.
-They also earn 5 points per dollar at office supply stores. There are hundreds of gift cards sold by office supply stores, I list them all in this post.
-Upgrading at your local carrier’s store to an iPhone or Galaxy S4? 5 points per dollar.
-Buying gift cards for gas? 5 points per dollar plus you’ll pay the lower cash rates at the pump.
-Buying gift cards for Amazon, Gap, Groupon, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Marshalls, Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines, TJMaxx, etc? 5 points per dollar.
-Plus you can buy $200 Visa gift cards that earn 1,000 points and can be loaded to Bluebird or used for cash back, bill pay, money orders, etc. Or you can use them for everyday spending thereby getting 6-7% back on everything you buy anywhere via the Visa gift cards. Points will rack up very quickly that way.
-All Ink cards give 2 points per dollar on gas.
-The Bold and Plus cards gives 2 points per dollar on hotels while the Cash card gives 2 points per dollar on dining.
-The Bold and Plus cards have no foreign transaction fees and they allow you to transfer all of your Chase points to airlines and hotels.
Point Currency:
Chase Ultimate Rewards offer instant and fee-free transfers to top-notch mileage and points programs at a 1:1 ratio.
Transfer partners include:
–United (Star Alliance) is one of the best mileage currencies around. They never charge fuel surcharges, have very flexible routing rules, they allow one-way awards for half the mileage, they have a short-haul awards for 10,000 miles, they allow for a stopover and an open-jaw so that you can really maximize a single award ticket into several free trips if you play your hand well, they have an around-the-world award to visit tons of cities on one award ticket, and they have dozens of partners to fly on, most of which can be booked on their website.
–British Airways (OneWorld) is awesome for short-haul awards. Just 9,000 miles for a round-trip zone 1 or 15,000 miles for zone 2 short-haul award. The zone 3 award for 25,000 miles round-trip can also be a bargain, for example for flights between the west coast and any of the Hawaiian islands or between Boston and Ireland with no fuel surcharges. Flights to Israel on Air Berlin are 60,000 miles with no fuel surcharges. They allow one-way awards for half the mileage. There are no close-in or expedite fees. You can cancel an award for as little as $2.50. Infants are only charged 10% of the miles on international trips instead of 10% of the full fare like US carriers charge. Plus they don’t collect fuel surcharges on AA within the western hemisphere, on Qantas within Australia, on Air Berlin, Aer Lingus, Alaska, or LAN and you can transfer points to Iberia to limit fuel surcharges there as well.
–Korean (Skyteam) offers unbeatable first class availability (A380 First Class Trip Report here) and they also have true bargains on partner travel, just 30,000 miles to fly round-trip on Hawaiian or Alaska to Hawaii in coach or 60,000 miles in first. And it’s just 20,000 miles to fly to Alaska in coach or 40,000 miles in first. You can even get a free stopover on the way to or in Alaska!
–Southwest offers a value of about 1.95 cents per point towards award travel. Plus if you prefer points can be transferred to Airtran for flat-rate awards like business class upgrades or free tickets at a flat rate instead of a rate that corresponds to the ticket price.
–Virgin Atlantic has some niche uses like a one-way ticket from the US to London for 25,000 miles round-trip with reduced fuel surcharges with their current award sale.
–Hyatt is one of my favorite hotel award program. You can stay in fantastic world-class hotels that normally cost $1,000 per night or $2,000 per night in a suite for a maximum of 22,000 points in a regular room or 33,000 points in a suite. Award nights start at just 5,000 points. Plus you can funnel points through Hyatt to Southwest to qualify for a free Southwest Companion Pass.
-You can also transfer points to Marriott, Ritz Carlton, Priority Club, and Amtrak.
The beauty of miles over points or cash-back:
The great thing about being able to transfer points into airlines or hotels are the incredible values you can attain.
-A first class ticket to Hawaii can cost $4,000 but you can use 60,000 miles for that same ticket, a value of 6.7 cents per mile. If you were using say, Capital One points, you would need 400,000 points per ticket.
-A last minute ticket or a ticket where you don’t stay for 3 nights from New York to Cleveland costs $1,200 in coach but just 9,000 miles. That’s a value of 13.3 cents per mile. If you were using Capital One points you would need 120,000 points per ticket.
-A first class ticket to Asia can cost $20,000 but you can use 135,000 miles for that same ticket, a value of 14.8 cents per mile. If you were using Capital One points you would need 2,000,000 points per ticket.
-A night at a Park Hyatt in Paris, Sydney, or the Maldives can run $1,100 with tax but you can use 22,000 points for that room, a value of 5 cents per point. If you were using Capital One points you would need 110,000 points per night.
And that’s all besides for the fact that getting a Capital One card costs a minimum of 3 credit pulls whereas you can get multiple cards from other banks with just 1 credit pull.
I value Ultimate Rewards points at a minimum of 1.9 cents per dollar, so 5 points per dollar categories mean a 9.5% rebate and 2 point per dollar purchases would mean a 3.8% rebate. Of course airline miles and hotel points are best as aspirational awards that you could otherwise never afford, so the sky is the limit on how far you can stretch them!
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69 Comments On "Do You Take Advantage Of Chase Ink Cards?"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
can I make the 3BM with business and personal cards in one shot? like the ink bold and ink plus and a personal BA card???
@Menachem:
You definitely can, though some people report 1 pull while others report 2 pulls.
YMMV as always.
Where do I find my ink invitation code?
Dan thanks for the post. Can you please post a link where you discuss open jaws either in a post or in the forums. I could not find anything when I searched.
Thanks
@Norma:
You can call or SM Chase for the code.
@Bubble347:
Not sure offhand, did you try searching here or on the forum?
@dan
Forum
I read the Ink paperwork and I’m pretty sure it specifically said the car rental has to be for business purposes to qualify for Primary rental insurance. Let me know if you read it differently. I think it was in the first or 2nd paragraph.
@Norma: whats an invitation code for ink?
@Bubble347:
If you find a thread there where someone mentions it then ask your question there.
I talk about it in passing here: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/34019
@Randall:
Did you read the new 11/01 benefits? Seems clear from the first paragraph that personal rentals are now primary when rented outside your home country.
@j:
For the free lounge membership.
Dan thanks. Gmar chasima tova.
@j:
In order to signup for the lounge access
what would you have to do to prove that a rental was for business, not pleasure?
Is it one pull with 3bm if I do 2 business chase and a Amex business ?
i live in canada and wantd to build my credit rating in the u.s to b able to eventually get accepted by chase so i got a cap1 crd w 300$ credt limit Will it build credt if i dont use the crd? will it build faster if i do? Also does being a secondary crd holder build credit? Thanks
Dan i would like to close a united card and get another ink how would i do it without hurting my credit? (United is not business) thanks
I am wondering what airline will have the nicest first class on flights from NY to LA,and is it anything special?
Dan I’m still hoping that you let us know about some good 5th freedom flights from the US with BA, If there are any at all, this is quite crucial to make use out of the BA CP.
Thank you,
Can I have on my name more than 2 cards? For acre businesses?
lounge access: if flying delta domestic, would any lounge allow entry with ink?
do 2 entires in one day considered one day or 2 entries?
one entry + guest?
MC rabate 4$ back on hotel. chase saphire give x3 miles on hotel stay, which is more valuable? (have both cards)
Dan you wrote,even free additional user cards, get 2 free annual airport lounge visits per user.
IME YMMV, so have people reported on the forums.
@Norma: CHASEINK
@Moshe:
Thank you
Can a spouse get INK card alone on same business if spouse is employed in business?
Lounge Club from INK Business Card is only for the PRIMARY card holder according to Chase when I called to try to get the Lounge Club card.
@reuvenhunt:
Beats me.
@Yossel:
2 banks will always result in 2 pulls.
@josh:
Capital one wasn’t a smart move as they require 3 credit pulls.
But now that that’s done just use it for a few bucks a month and pay it off on time for a few months.
@dave:
If you move the line to a business card you may lose some points.
But they can approve you without doing that and you can move it to another personal account.
@Big Boy:
There are lot of options for lie-flat first class on that route.
@sam:
English please?
@E:
I posted the list of lounges. It doesn’t matter who you fly.
An entry is an entry. No guests are free.
@Joe:
Not sure what you’re asking but Sapphire gives 2.14x on hotels.
Ink gives 2x though up to 5x if you buy hotel gift cards at office supply stores.
@Moshe:
Worked for me to get Lounge Club for additional cardholders.
@new yorker:
Yes.
Will I be able to enter the lounge with my Family or is it just for me ?
If its just for me, would issuing cards for additional family members give them each entry ? or is that just silly just to get the benefit?
So what do you recommend applying for in order to move the line? have already sapphire freedom and hyatt, or is it same good just moving line to an exisiting card? thanks
@YY:
I’ve added additional family members for the lounge membership.
@dave:
Freedom is an awesome card.
Dan, great post thanks.
I do not have any chase cards. What cards would you recommend for a 3bm?
Thanks
also, does it help if i have a business account with chase?
@yitz g:
Depends if you want to combine personal and business cards or not and what your needs are.
Ink Bold, Ink Plus, Sapphire Preferred, British Airways. United, Freedom, and Hyatt are all awesome cards.
http://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8028
@yitz g:
Can’t hurt!
Dan are u still considering doing ANA screen shot flight search post so we can use put our amex and ultimate reward points too good use. ANA as you mentioned has the non stop United flights to israel that many of us in the tri-state area could really benefit from but not so simple to navigate Thanks
So have already one freedom should I apply for a new one or transfer line to existing freedom?
does anyone know if purchasing a TIVO is part of the 5% bonus category for cable services?
Who can I sell these points to for 1.9? Can someone please post a phone number or website? The local numbers that I called in my neighboorhood to bu these Chase points from me only want to pay 1.7 or 1.75.
Is there any way to get my children under 18 free entry into the lounge’s. I have 4 passes under my name; 2 from each ink.
Thanks
Sirius radio. Anyone getting 5X bonus on the Inks?
can i have under my name s few ink cards for a few business?
can u please tell me where I can get 1.9 cents for chase ultimate rewards
Dan,i applied for united business card in adition to ink. got approved for ink, but called recon 5 times on untied and got denied every time due to opening 8 new accounts this year. is there anything I should be telling them to help me get approved next time I apply?
thanks
How many chase cards can be approved on same 4 months window?
typical experience?
any word on what the roadside will cover?
I applied for the chase ink bold and plus using the 2bm, they pulled 2 credit reports, approved the bold and refused to approve the plus due to too many applications for credit recently. They also refused to change the bold to the plus.
Called chase, reconsidered and approved for the ink plus.
Dan, staples only has visa gift cards and not the SHELL gift cards. Do I gain anything from having SHELL gift card over regular card or do i still get 5 points and maybe even cash price using either card? They want $106 for $100 gift card is this standard?
@sam:
Yes.
@max:
1.9 is the minimum value you should strive for when redeeming though it’s not hard to get better than that. Obviously if you go through a broker they need to make something so 1.8 is probably the most you’ll get unless you know an actual traveler.
@Joe:
YMMV.
@chaim:
I was just at Staples and they definitely still sell Shell gift cards.
You can try another store or go to Office Depot to find them there.
Can I get an Ink Plus Visa if I have a mastercard already?
@Joe: I have 4 Chase cards and counting in the last 3 months!
I had to call the reconsideration department for 2 of them but they all got approved. I received 110,000 bonus ultimate reward points (60K for ink, 40K for Sapphire Preferred, 10K for Freedom) and 55K bonus United points after SM matching and that’s just the bonus obviously I have more for the spending which was 90% manufactered spending, Vanilla Reload @ CVS, VISA gift card @ Staples, Amazon payments, etc.
Dan, thank you for the response. the staples near me doesnt have them. My question quickly is does it make a diffrence if its shell card or regular Visa gift card? Is there any advantage if im buying it for gas to look around for a SHELL GC? Is there any way around the $6 fee ?
Thank you
@chaim:
As you said, Visa gift cards have a fee.
Store gift cards do not. So yes, it’s worth going to another Staples or Office Depot or asking your local store manager to order Shell cards.
Still, it’s worth buying the Visa card with a fee thanks to the whopping 5 points per dollar to use at stores where they don’t have a gift card for.
i went to walmart to load the chase gift card onto the bluebird card ,they didn’t allow loading gift cards onto bluebird?
@mls:
1. You can still do it at the ATM.
2. You can do it with any cashier, so keep trying.
thanks buddy, cant find any online and my stores around here dont have them in stock
For some reason it doesn’t let me register my Ink cards in the MC savings…
@Oompaloompa:
Try another browser.
I can confirm getting the bonus on both the Ink Plus Mastercard and Visa.
they will approve me for another bold or plus even i have already for one of my business 2 credit cards a ink plus and bold ?
@Norma: I’m confused. Doesn’t the link from this website pull up an application that says the card comes with lounge access? Why do I need an invite code?
Dan: I previously had the Ink Bold as a MC and currently have the Ink Plus as a MC. Are these cards in their Visa form considered new cards so that I am eligible for the signup bonus should I get either of them in the future?
You posted that you have 6 ink cards for several businesses. Did you receive sign up bonus for each? Like if I have 2 sole proprietor businesses can I get the bonuses for each business using the same ssn?
@Dan’s the man: whats SM matching
/
@greg, how did you switch? call or on line brand new application?
You say in the post “All of the Ink cards offer 5 points per dollar on internet/cable service and telecom purchases”. Would this work at BestBuy or do I have to go to the Verizon store?
BTW Mazal tov
Is cell phone bill included in telecom??
To be more specific. Is paying my AT&T bill considered telecom
Just got a Chase Ink card and I’m reading the conditions. It says there is a fee for cash advances. Just looking to confirm that Vanilla cards and other gift cards I hope to purchase at Staples are not in that category. Thanks for the great tips.
Hi dan , i have a chase ink bold abt 70,000 miles i didnt realize i have that card & reapplied & got approved again. should i be nervous to use it? does it make sense to approve me twice for 2 bonuses pls advise
thanks
@esther:
Nothing to worry about.
I just filed a claim with purchase security for accidental water damage on a 2 months old apple laptop purchased with INK CASH . I wonder if anyone can shine some light on if it will be protected???