As
you all probably know by now, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are my favorite
credit card rewards currency. These
points are exceptionally versatile and valuable. They are very easy to earn from big sign up
bonuses as well as category purchase point multipliers (such as the Chase Freedom 5x categories). Ultimate Rewards points
never expire. Ultimate Rewards points
can also be shared with a spouse or significant other if you live at the same
household address.
The
Chase Ink Business Preferred card is currently offering 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points after getting approved and spending $5,000 within 3 months. This card offers 3x points on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone
services, as well as advertising purchases made with social media sites and
search engines. There are no foreign
transaction fees for purchases made outside of the United States. The card does have a $95 annual fee, which is not waived the first year.
Ink Preferred travel and
purchase coverage
Like
most credit cards, the Ink Business Preferred offers trip cancellation and
interruption insurance. The Ink
Preferred also offers auto rental theft and collision damage when renting for
business purposes. One unique benefit of
this card is cell phone protection:
you can get up to $600 per claim in
cell phone protection against theft or damage when you pay your monthly cell
phone bill with your Ink Preferred card ($100 deductible and maximum of 3
claims per year). Purchase protection coverage
protects your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000
per claim. Extended warranty protection
extends your purchase manufacturer's warranty by an additional year.
Not
long ago, the Ink Business Preferred card was offering a whopping 100,000 point sign up bonus online and
in branch. At that time, neither my wife
nor I could apply for the Ink Business Preferred card due to the Chase 5/24 rule. See below:
Chase 5/24 rule
The Chase 5/24 rule was
created to make it more difficult for credit card “churners” to frequently sign
up for credit cards to get signup bonuses.
With the 5/24 rule, Chase will deny your credit card application if you
have opened 5 or more credit cards from any bank within the last 24
months. Even authorized user cards count
under the 5/24 rule. There are ways to
circumvent the authorized user issue such as removing the account from your
credit report or speaking with a Chase customer service rep. There are a few Chase cards that are not
subject to the 5/24 rule including the British Airways Visa, Hyatt Visa, IHG
card, Marriot Business card and the Ritz Carlton Visa. However, once you get approved for those cards,
they will add to your 5/24 count.
Applying for a Chase
Business credit card
Once
we found out that my wife was no longer under the Chase 5/24 application
restriction, we knew that her next credit card would be the Chase Ink Business Preferred card. She
already has the Chase Freedom and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards. Since we own
a rental property together, my wife’s business is being a property manager.
Business
credit cards allow you to keep personal and business expenses separate. This helps when doing taxes or adding up
business write-off expenses. As long as
you don’t default on your business credit, it will not have an impact on your
personal credit rating. Since business
credit cards are not reported to your personal credit report, they are not
counted towards 5/24.
If
you are a business owner, you can apply for your business credit card with your
business name and tax identification number.
Many people are concerned about applying for business credit cards,
especially if they don’t have an established business or LLC.
There
are many businesses that qualify for a business credit card. If you sell things online (eBay, Craigslist,
etc), you are a sole proprietor of
your own business. If you tutor as a
side hustle, that’s a business. If you
bring in any income on the side, that could potentially qualify your side
hustle as a business. There is no need
to apply for a business credit card under a legal name of business – you can apply as a sole proprietor and use
your own social security number on the application.
When
you apply for a business credit card, it’s important that you are honest on
your application. Do not make up a
business name that you aren’t going to use.
Don’t lie and over-inflate your annual business revenue. Most credit card companies want to approve
you for a business card. You can get
approved for a business credit card even if you are a sole proprietor and are
making a small amount of annual revenue.
I’m
happy to report that a few days after my wife submitted her application for the
Ink Preferred card, she received the following email that congratulated her on
getting approved:
Using your Chase Ultimate
Rewards points
Redeeming
Ultimate Rewards points is extremely easy.
You can redeem them for cash as a statement
credit or deposited into your checking or savings account at a rate of 1
point equals 1 cent. You can redeem them
for gift cards or shop with them at Amazon.com. You can redeem Ultimate Rewards points
through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point (or 1.5 cents per point with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card).
The
best redemption value of Ultimate Rewards points is usually achieved by
transferring your points to one of the eleven Chase travel partners. These points transfer at a rate of 1 point
equals 1 partner mile/point. Chase
airline travel partners include: British Airways, Air France, Korean Air,
Singapore Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Virgin
Airlines. Chase hotel travel partners
include: IHG, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and Hyatt.
We’ve
transferred our Ultimate Rewards points into our Southwest, United, Singapore,
and British Airways accounts many times already.
Our best recent redemption of Ultimate
Rewards points was towards free round
trip flights to Japan from Los Angeles on Singapore Airlines Business Class.
I wrote about our flight to Japan here
and our flight back home here. Being able to experience premium air travel
was a priceless experience for my family.
It was such a great way to start and finish our vacation.
We’ve
also gifted our Ultimate Rewards points to family in the way of booking them
free flights. I recently booked my father free business class flights from Taiwan to Japan with British Airways Avios
and from Japan to Los Angeles with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles, all
transferred from Ultimate Rewards points.
He has never flown business class before and I know he will enjoy an
amazing experience.
Here
are some other ways you can enjoy your new Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase Ink Business Preferred card:
You
can book a 1-way flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo on Singapore Airlines
Business Class for 85,000 KrisFlyer miles and $23.60. This is an 11.5 hour flight where you will be pampered the entire time with amazing service, delicious food and unlimited alcohol. Singapore Airlines Business Class seats convert to completely flat beds in the sky to help you get restful sleep on your flight.
You
can book two 1-way flights from Los Angeles to Paris on United Airlines for a
total of 60,000 United miles and $11.20.
You can book a one way domestic flight on Southwest Airlines for as little as 2,330 Southwest Rapid Rewards points during one of their frequent sales.
I
just logged into my Chase account and I have over 250,000 points just itching to be
redeemed:
An extra 80,000 points will be
a welcome addition to our stash of points.
With
Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the possibilities are endless. You can use the points towards airfare, hotel stay, cash back, or even gift travel to your friends and family. Saving money on travel helps us live a rich life as we continue to strive towards financial freedom.
You can sign up for your Ink Business
Preferred card here
(we will earn 20,000 points for the referral). I recommend checking your credit score for free with Credit Karma. You can refer Chase credit cards to others from the Chase Refer-A-Friend website here.
