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Chase Ink Bold / Plus Retention Offers and Spending Bonuses

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Good morning everyone, this is going to be a short post about my recent call to the Chase retention department.  My Chase Ink Bold Visa Charge Card annual fee is coming due in a few days, so I called Chase and asked what retention offers were available.  In the past, I received $100 statement credits with no additional spending for paying the $95 annual fee.  I was hoping to get the same retention offer this year, but that was not the case.

Ink Cards

The only retention offer that was worthwhile was for 10,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Reward Points after spending $5,000 in 3 months.  I happily accepted the offer and the representative told me that the spending period did not start right away, but started 7 days later.  I called on Monday, March 16 and the spending period did not begin until Monday, March 23.  I was kind of bummed that I could not take advantage of the current Staples Visa Gift Card promo, but I am happy to hear that there is an upcoming Staples MasterCard Gift Card promo next week.  I might have to get creative with the 1 rebate per household limit.

Toward the end of the call, the representative asked if I had any other questions and I asked her if she saw any spending offers available on my Chase Ink Plus Visa Credit Card.  Even though the annual fee doesn’t post for several more months, she said that the same 10,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Reward Points offer was available.  I happily accepted that offer as well.  Now I need to spend $10,000 between March 23 and June 23.  Challenge accepted!  This offer couldn’t come at a better time, since I literally only have 294 Chase Ultimate Reward Points to my name.

294 Chase UR Points

Moral of the story: even if your credit card is not approaching the annual fee, feel free to call the credit card company and ask for a retention offer or spending bonus.  If you don’t ask, there is a 0% chance you will get anything.  Lastly, if you have a few Citi credit cards, I recommend reading 1 Call to Citi to Inquire about 5 Credit Card Retention Offers.

I completed a small App-O-Rama yesterday, so I have a few more spending requirements to complete over the next 3 months as well.  It is going to be a busy next few months.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great weekend everyone!


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53 thoughts on “Chase Ink Bold / Plus Retention Offers and Spending Bonuses

  1. Ralph

    Grant how do you get the most out of the UR points? I’ve been taking statement credits which equate to $0.01/point, but I’ve seen claims they are worth $0.02/point.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      You can usually get greater than 1 cent per point if you transfer to various travel partners like United, British Airways, Southwest, or hotels like Hyatt. If you transfer to Marriott or IHG, it is hard to get more than 1 cent in value. You can also book travel and get 1.2 cents per point.

      Reply
  2. Alex

    I just called them too. No bonuses available. Asked for retention department. No bonuses but gave $95 (or $100, do not remember) statement credit to compensate. My fee was not even coming till May 2015. That’s was for Ink plus card

    Reply
  3. Jeff

    I’ve been meaning to ask someone on this. When you ask about retention offers, are you straight with them (“Are there retention offers on this card? Just wanted to check”) or do you have to twist their arm (“I’m thinking of cancelling this card, what are you willing to offer to change my mind”)?

    Also, if you have more than one card – I’ve seen the post on checking multiple cards, but tactically – do you play it straight (“Hey, I’m just wondering what’s available in the system”) or do you risk being blown off/retention offers being deleted/etc if you’re not super-serious?

    Thanks for this post, I would never have known about the retention game without it!

    Reply
    1. Grant

      It really depends on the rep. If you get one that is really friendly you can ask about other offers on other cards. In general, if you say something like, “my annual fee is coming due soon, is there any way to waive the annual fee?” They will say that can’t waive the annual fee but they can offer you ABC offer.

      Reply
  4. Jay

    Hi Grant,

    Can you please share your recent app-o-rama yesterday? I’ve always love reading your post on your app-o-rama strategies and results!

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Sure, here are the credit cards I applied for:
      Barclays US Airways – looks like I stand denial
      Chase British Airways – approved with $2,000 CL after recon call
      Bank of America Alaska Airlines – approved with $11,000 CL after recon call
      US Bank FlexPerks AMEX – pending but should be approved soon
      Bank of America Virgin Atlantic – approved with $1,500 CL after recon call

      Waiting to apply for Citi Prestige after my Citi Gold Checking account is set up and my Citi AA Exec card annual fee posts.

      Reply
  5. goheerow

    Grant, thanks for the quick reply. Didn’t know where else to post this so just want to ask a quick question. I have CS and CSP and two ink cards so basically good relationship with Chase for many years. I’m thinking about getting IHG and US Airways cards this week. Does it matter that I do it on the same day or since it’s two separate banks and CR’s, doesn’t matter when i do it? Thanks for all your help.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      I would apply for both cards on the same day around the same time. That should increase your odds of being approved for both cards. Good luck!

      Reply
  6. c l

    Woohoo. Thanks for the reminder. Just paid the annual fee in January. And they offered me not the fee waiver but a $95 statement credit for future purchases which I happily took.

    Reply
  7. Kate

    Interested to see you just got the Virgin Atlantic card. Just finished my spending on mine. Hope to read some posts on your thinking of how you hope to use the points!

    Reply
  8. JW

    “Very good on the phone” — I wish I could say that! :)

    Looks like you just opened a Citi Gold checking account. Did you receive a targeted offer? Can I use someone else’s promotional code and call Citi to open an account? If so, how do I get a code? I opened but closed my account in March 2014. I would really like to repeat it. Thanks.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      I called the Citi Gold Checking department and said I threw away the letter on accident and asked if they had any codes. She said she had a code but she couldn’t guarantee that the code would work, but it was worth a shot.

      I think the offer only works for first time applications, I am not sure if you will be able to get another bonus signing up for a new account.

      Reply
      1. JW

        Oh, that is too bad. You reminded me of something I read about not getting another sign up bonus unless there was a 24 months gap. Thanks for the info!

        Reply
  9. Laura

    Is there a reason why you’re keeping both a Bold and an Ink card? Are you thinking of cancelling the Plus card once the AF comes due? I’m asking because, I’m facing a situation where the AFs for both my CSP and Ink Bold are coming due, almost at the same time. I already have a Freedom & an Ink Cash. I need to keep one of them, since I need a main card to be able to transfer and get the UR points. Would you downgrade the CSP to a Freedom and pay the AF to keep the Ink Bold? Or would you keep the CSP and pay the AF and downgrade the Ink Bold to a second Ink Cash? Decisions. Decisions. :)

    Reply
    1. Grant

      I really don’t know why I am keeping both cards. I like the Chase Ink Bold since it is a charge card and is no longer available. I’ll probably cancel my Chase Ink Plus and apply in the future for my blog. I’m currently using my Ebay business for both cards.

      Reply
      1. Laura

        Thanks! I’m leaning towards keeping the Bold, given that it’s no longer offered, as you reminded me. I think I’ll downgrade the CSP and get a second Freedom. Hopefully, they won’t realize I already have a Freedom…

        Reply
  10. JGM

    Grant, curious about why you applied for those specific cards. Are they offering more points than usual, was it time to churn, or some other reason. The only way to become the best is to learn from the best :)

    Thanks for the tips about retention offers. Listened to your podcast about this too – getting ready to call Barclays, Citi and Chase next week.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      The sign up bonuses were nothing special, I choose 1 card from each bank and see which cards are the right fit for me. I’ll go into more details later.

      Reply
  11. Tracy

    Thanks a lot Grant. I just get an offer same as your. May be we can bump to each other sometime at Staples or Ralphs.

    Reply
  12. Katrina

    Hi Grant!
    Do you have a referral link for arnbnb? I would like to sign via your link (coz you are my fave blogger, so you`ll get $25 bonus as well:-) Please post it or send it to me. Thank you.

    P.S. As far as Chase, I`ve been disappointed with them lately-the customer service is pretty awful comparing to 2-3 years ago where those folks were awesome to deal with. No spending bonuses for me-call them quite frequently.

    Reply
  13. airgypsy

    Hello, Grant! unrelated question: I’ve just recently started buying GCs on Raise. What is a good strategy to maximize cashback? I understand one can go through a portal like TCB. Is there another layer/step I can do (triple dip), aside from the promo discounts they give now and then?
    Also sending you an email…something (good) I found out about Raise :) Best regards and thank you!!

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Thank you for the email about Raise. Sometimes there are bonuses for purchasing certain types of gift cards and for first time buyers, but I’m not aware of any other bonus offers.

      Reply
      1. alex

        Be careful when using TCB on Raise
        Fine print says:
        Please note: After you have placed over $1,000 in lifetime purchases on Raise.com, you will no longer be eligible for cash back.

        Please note that the use of a Raise promotional/coupon code not posted and approved by TopCashback, may affect your eligibility for cashback.

        I’m pretty sure using their ubiquitous TAKE5 promo results in the cashback being invalidated (I’ve had purchases before where that was the case).

        Reply
  14. alex

    Grant, do you know if annual spend is related to the retention offer given, etc? If you don’t mind, how much annual spend did you put on the ink? I wonder if there’s a known threshold or something to give certain offers ….

    Reply
  15. Jason

    Called Chase on my Ink PLUS card, which I have held for one year, and no retention offer or fee waiver available. Nice lady, but no offers. I normally spend 1 – 6 K/mo, mostly MS. I will call again in a few days.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Try calling back a few days after your annual fee posts. You spend more on the card than I do, so you should get some type of retention offer.

      Reply
  16. wei

    you said: I might have to get creative with the 1 rebate per household limit for visa gift card, l would like to know how creative?? thanks

    Reply
  17. Alex

    Grant,
    Don’t know if you heard yet (you will receive something if you haven’t already) but a minor detail about the Ink cards is that they are discontinuing Lounge Club Access. The letter was very simple and something like this — “we are discontinuing lounge club access. You can keep your access until it expires. Thank you.”

    Kinda sucks. It was my only alternative access after canceling my Amex platinum and along with it, Priority pass (although Priority pass is letting me keep access until Dec 2015).

    Reply
    1. Grant

      Yes, I read about that on Doctor of Credit. I haven’t received a letter about the change and I have a Chase Ink Bold and Plus credit card. I have the Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card which offers Lounge Club too, so I have 3 Lounge Club cards. Definitely sucks for those who took advantage of the free lounge access.

      Reply
  18. Sam

    AF posted after first year. No retention. Called up. Offered 10k points for 5 k spend in 3 months. Took it. Should I call back again to see if they will consider waiving the fee?

    Reply
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  20. Jason

    Are they not playing ball any longer? Last year and this year it was a hard “no” even though we charge a lot to this card. The ink bold.

    Reply

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