Details on the Improved Chase Ink Card Bonuses

As I posted a few days ago, the sign-up bonuses on the various Chase Ink card have now improved (for the most part).  Most notably, the spending requirements for both the Ink Bold and Ink Plus have dropped from $10,000 to $5,000.  The applications were not working very well at the very beginning, but they should now be ready to rock.  As you may or may not know, there are four different Chase Ink products that are available.  All four are business cards, but remember to think broadly about the things you do to earn money, and you may realize you in fact do have a small business (child care, etsy, eBay, blogging, etc…).  You can read about many of the questions you will likely be asked about your business in this post.

All four cards also earn Chase Ultimate Reward points, but only the Ink Plus and Ink Bold earn Ultimate Reward points that can directly transfer to hotel and airline partners like United, Hyatt, Marriott, British Airways, Priority Club, and more.  All four cards either have no annual fee, or have the annual fee waived the first year, and all four have some pretty good category bonuses that can lead to racking up Ultimate Reward points in a hurry.

For those who aren’t already familiar, I’m going to go through the four different Ink cards and their new sign-up bonuses/spending requirements.

Ink Plus® Business Card

• Get 50,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in the 3 months from account opening.
• Earn 5X points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services.
• Earn 2X points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at gas stations and for hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel.
• Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases—with no limits.
• Annual fee of $95 waived the first year.

• No foreign transaction fees on international purchases.

• 0% intro APR for 6 months on purchases and balance transfers.

• This is a credit card as opposed to the Ink Bold that is a charge card.
• 1:1 point transfer to United, Hyatt, British Airways, Marriott, Priority Club, and more.
• Get 20% off travel redemptions—with no restrictions or blackout dates—when booked through Ultimate Rewards. For example, 50,000 points is worth $625 in travel rewards.

Ink Bold® Business Card

• Get 50,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in the 3 months from account opening.
• Earn 5X points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services.
• Earn 2X points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at gas stations and for hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel.
• Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases—with no limits.
• Annual fee of $95 waived the first year.

• No foreign transaction fees on international purchases.

• Pay in full each month since this is a charge card.
• 1:1 point transfer to United, Hyatt, British Airways, Marriott, Priority Club, and more.
• Get 20% off travel redemptions—with no restrictions or blackout dates—when booked through Ultimate Rewards. For example, 50,000 points is worth $625 in travel rewards.

Ink Classic® Business Card

• Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in 3 months from account opening.
• Earn 5X points per $1 on the first $25,000 spent annually at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services.
• Earn 2X points per $1 on the first $25,000 spent annually at gas stations and for hotel accommodations when purchased directly with the hotel.
• Earn 1 point per $1 on all other card purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn.
• Redeem your points for travel, gift cards, experiences, cash and merchandise—however you wish to treat yourself.
• While this card earns Ultimate Reward points, you cannot transfer the points 1:1 to hotel and airline partners without first transferring them to the Ink Bold Business Charge Card, the Ink Plus Business Card, or Chase Sapphire Preferred.
• 0% intro APR for 6 months on purchases and balance transfers.
• No annual fee.

Ink Cash® Business Card

• Earn $200 bonus cash back (aka 20,000 Ultimate Reward points) after you spend $3,000 in 3 months from account opening.
• Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent annually at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, Internet and cable TV services.
• Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent annually at gas stations and restaurants.
• Earn 1% cash back on all other card purchases—with no limit to the amount you can earn.
• 0% intro APR for 6 months on purchases and balance transfers.
• No annual fee
• While this card earns Ultimate Reward points, you cannot transfer the points 1:1 to hotel and airline partners without first transferring them to the Ink Bold Business Charge Card, the Ink Plus Business Card, or Chase Sapphire Preferred.

For most people I recommend starting with getting the Ink Bold Business Charge Card or the Ink Plus Business Card as the sign-up bonus is larger, the earning potential is larger, the points transfer 1:1 to hotels and airlines in the Ultimate Rewards program without having to go through a secondary card, they have no foreign transaction fees, and the annual fee is waived the first year.  The only real difference between those two cards is the Bold is a charge card and the Plus is a credit card.  The Ink Cash and Ink Classic cards, in my opinion, are good to get after you have already exhausted some options with the sign-up bonuses from the other two cards.

The 5x bonus categories for these cards are amazing.  I can’t emphasize enough how easy it is to rack up tons of Ultimate Reward points when you are earning 5x at office supply stores, cell phone bills, landline, internet, and cable.  Of course 2x at gas stations and hotels is helpful as well.  If I could only have one credit card, it would absolutely be one of the Ink cards.

Most people will have to call the business reconsideration line at 1-800-453-9719 to get approved for one of these cards, but don’t let that discourage you.  The process is not that bad at all.  They will just want to ask you a few questions about your business.  See my information linked at the beginning of this post to get a feel for what type of questions they will likely ask.  Let me know if you have any questions and congrats if you get in on one of these awesome offers!

Disclosure: I do receive a commission if you are approved for one of these credit cards using my affiliate links.  As always, thank you for your support.