60,000 point bonus on Chase Ink Bold and Plus business cards

The Chase Ink big 60,000 point signup bonus is back!  If you haven’t already heard (since it’s already been mentioned on almost every hot deal or frequent flyer blog / forum), Chase has increased the sign-up bonus for the Chase Ink cards for a limited time only (no indication of how long).

You can now earn an additional 10,000 points for Ink Plus and Ink Bold credit card signups for a total of 60,000 bonus points (after spending $5,000 in 3 months). 

Chase is also increasing the sign up bonus for the Ink Cash and Ink Classic cards, which are now 25K bonus points instead of the normal 20K bonus points.  While these cards have no annual fee, I recommend applying for the Ink Bold or Ink Plus to take advantage of the first year free and much larger sign up bonus.  You can always downgrade your card into one of the no fee Ink cards later.

You may already qualify for owning a business: 

If you sell things online (ebay, craigslist, etc), you can be considered the sole proprietor of your own business, under your own name.  There is no need to use a “legal name of business” if you apply as a sole proprietor.  There is also no need for a business tax identification number as you can use your own social security number.

You can apply for a business credit card even if you are thinking of opening a business and would like to separate your personal expenses from your future business expenses.

What can you do with 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points?

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are extremely flexible.  You can redeem them 1:1 with these Chase Transfer Partners:

65,000 United miles is enough for 1 free round trip ticket from the U.S. to Asia.

60,000 Southwest miles is enough for 2 free round trip tickets between any 2 U.S. destinations

60,000 Hyatt points is enough for 3 free nights at any Category 5 hotel

At the very least, you can redeem 60,000 UR points for $600 in cash (which I don't recommend, since transferring your points can be far more valuable than redeeming for cash).

Which Chase Ink card do I apply for?

The Ink Bold and Ink Plus offer the same benefits, which include:

• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• 2x points on first $50,000 spent annually at gas stations and hotels
• Ability to transfer points to all of Chase Ultimate Rewards partners
• 5x points on first $50,000 spent annually at office supply stores, cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services

The big difference between the Ink Bold and Ink Plus is that that Ink Bold is a charge card.  You don’t carry a balance and you pay the bill in full each month.  The Ink Plus card is a credit card, which means that you can carry a balance and be charged interest (which you should never do).   Honestly, both the Ink Bold and the Ink Plus should equally suit your needs.

One advantage of the Plus card is that the credit available may be used to shift to a new credit line if you decide to close your account in the future.  One advantage of the Bold card is that it may be easier to get approved for, since it is a charge card that does not allow you to carry over a credit card balance like the Ink Plus card.

I use my Ink Bold (and Ink Cash) cards to get 5x points at Office Depot, Staples, and Officemax stores, where I snag gift cards for gas stations, Amazon, Visa debit cards, and more.  I also enjoy getting 5x points on our cell phone and Internet bill.  Don’t forget that Ink cards give you 2 free Lounge Club passes per user, even on free additional user cards.  Go here to sign up for your free Lounge Club passes. 

With Chase switching Visa cards, you can sign your card up for the Visa SavingsEdge program, which allows you to double dip and earn cash back in addition to points on various business purchases.

Your business card will not show up on your credit report

Another great benefit on most business cards is that your balance does not get reported to the credit reporting agencies. 

One way to avoid having a large balance report to the credit reporting agencies with your personal credit card is to simply pay down most of your balance before your statement closes.  I wouldn’t let your balance report $0 in credit card spending since this may show that you’re not utilizing any credit at all, which is also not helpful to your credit score.  Of course, NEVER carry a credit card balance over to the next month - this does not help your credit score in any way.

Note: If you recently signed up for a Chase Ink card within the last few months and were approved for the 50,000 point bonus offer, you may be able to send chase a secure message asking them to match the better bonus offer for you. 

Go here to apply for the Ink Bold card

Go here to apply for the Ink Plus card

Note: these application links are directly from Chase, I am not a Chase affiliate.

When applying for a Chase Ink card, you may not get approved instantly

It’s normal for Chase to take 7 days to 2 weeks to process a business card application.  You can check the status of your Chase application at 800-625-5166.  You can speak with Chase lending services at 800-453-9719 if you want to speak with a representative who can help approve you of your card.  Chase is likely getting slammed right now with applications for the Chase Ink and Chase Plus business credit cards, so it may be best to wait for auto approval. 

You can read more about this new limited time offer from Chase Ink on Flyertalk here.