Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start. I currently have a Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card which just posted the $95 annual fee and a Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card with no annual fee that was previously downgraded/converted from a Chase Ink Bold Business Charge Card. I have started to ramp up my gift card buying and selling with The Plastic Merchant (TPM) and that involves buying a lot of gift cards on eBay from PayPal Digital Gifts (PPDG) that earn 5x Chase Ultimate Reward Points. I also charge my monthly Comcast Xfinity Wifi and my parent’s AT&T and Cox Communications utility bills to my Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card and I think I will finally max out the 5x spend on the first $50,000 spent annually (without even shopping at an office supply store).
When the annual fee posted on my Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card, I started thinking if I should upgrade my Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card to a Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card or Chase Ink Bold Business Charge Card. Even though both of those cards have $95 annual fees, they would allow me $50,000 of 5x spend, compared to $25,000 of 5x spend on the Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services. I called Chase to find out what my options were. Unfortunately, when I called the Chase business department, I was told the Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card and Chase Ink Bold Business Charge Card are no longer offered and I could only upgrade to a Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card.
The Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card has different earning categories, different earning rates, and different spending caps than any other Chase Ink product. The Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card earns 3x on the first $150,000 of spend on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines. Since gift cards purchased from PayPal Digital Gifts codes as a “utility” (aka some form of cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV service), it should code as a utility on the Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card too. I would rather earn 5x on the first $25,000 of spend with the Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card than 3x on the first $25,000 of spend with the Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card.
But now that I am writing this post, it occurred to me that I could max out the 5x spend on my Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card and then upgrade my card to the Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card. I assume that if I am charged the $95 annual fee after upgrading to the Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card, I would have the full $150,000 of 3x spend available, not the difference of $25,000 and $150,000.
So, if I get super involved in gift card buying and selling to the point where I max out the 5x spend on the first $50,000 on my Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card, I will move on to maxing out the 5x spend on the first $25,000 on my Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card. If I somehow max out the rewards on both of those credit cards, I would probably call Chase and have them upgrade my Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card to the Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card. At that point, I find is super unlikely that I would be able to max out the 3x spend on the first $150,000 spent, especially considering that I would have already had to spend $75,000 combined on the Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card and Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card.
Since the Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card is no longer available, I plan to always hold on to that credit card, especially since that it my only premium Chase Ultimate Reward earning credit card and I need at least one premium Chase Ultimate Reward earning credit card to transfer Ultimate Reward Points to travel partners like Hyatt, United, and British Airways. As long as the Chase Ink Cash Business Credit Card is still available and a viable option for upgrades/downgrades, it makes sense to max out the 5x spend and then upgrade to the Chase Ink Preferred Business Credit Card.
I am way over 5/24 and don’t think I can get any more Chase Ink products in the near future, unless Doctor of Credit’s recent post is true (New Way To Bypass Chase 5/24). I would definitely give this a try, but the timing is not great for me. I did a massive App-O-Rama in March and have 8 new credit cards to show for it, so even if a business relationship manager (BRM) could help me with the application, I’m sure the 8 new credit card accounts would be a big red flag on my credit report.
So there you have it. Do you think my plan and logic makes sense? Is there anything I am missing or overlooking? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below. Have a great weekend everyone and a happy Easter :)
At what point buying of gift cards on eBay is considered excessive?..Does maxing outin 50k purchases gets us in scanner ?..And how to deal in an event of a ban for excessive misuse.
Any advise here
I think it depends what your mix of purchases looks like and how quickly you max out the $50,000 spend. If you do it all in 1-2 months, that might get some special attention from Chase, but I tihnk if you max it out over the cardmembership year, that would be fine. Mix in some 1x and 2x spend too.
8 new cards! That’s great! I’ll consider that proof that the App o Rama is not dead yet.
So, where ya going when all those miles and points post?
Haha, I’m living proof that App-O-Ramas are alive and well (just without Chase). I don’t really have any immediate uses or ideas for the points but I’m sure I can find a use for them. SPG points are always welcome, I can never have enough AS miles, Aeroplan miles are new to me, and cash back travel cards come in handy :)
I product changed one of my Ink Plus’s to an Ink Preferred! Mainly for the cell phone protection benefit since I don’t like Wells Fargo :)
That’s a good idea, I hear the cell phone protection benefit is quite generous. Hopefully you never need to use it :)
Well considering I used the Wells Fargo one 3 times last year…I think I will need it. LOL :) (not for me particularly, the card is covering 7 people!)
Haha, you have a big family :)
Regarding WF, their language is unclear. Do you have to pay your entire bill with Wells Fargo? Like Grant, I am likely not to meet Chase’s 5/24, but I also use $1 transactions from my cell phone bill to meet transaction requirements since I’m not a big amazon shipper. I opened a checking account recently for the big bonus and I’m thinking about getting a credit card from them while I still have it.
Since PPDG codes as “utility,” do you think you’d get 5% back on an Amex SimplyCash Business card?
It might but I don’t have that credit card to verify. Does anyone have that credit card? If you do, do PPDG GC purchase code as a utility and earn 5% cash back?
DOC reports it doesn’t. That would be worthwhile though. Citi AT&T Access More card gets it.
Good to know, thank you Jeremy.