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The (fairly substantial) minimum spending requirement for a popular credit card welcome offer was drastically reduced last year, but the bonus points award remained the same.
That was the “official” good news. But it gets better.
We heard reports of people who didn’t expect to be approved for the card — but ended up with some very pleasant surprises.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: 100,000 Bonus Points
Chase’s Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card awards new cardholders 100,000 bonus Chase Ultimate Rewards points after they spend $8,000 on eligible purchases in the first three (3) months of being approved for card membership. (Learn here how to apply.)
The Ink Preferred‘s previous minimum spending requirement was $15,000. Overnight, it was slashed by almost half to $8,000.
Frankly, we’re surprised the Ink Preferred holds steady at eight grand — especially because some other cards require much higher spending levels.
“LOL/24” — But Approved?!
“5/24” is the colloquial term for Chase’s onerous policy of automatically denying card membership to anyone approved for five or more credit cards within a rolling 24-month period.
The five credit cards apply to any issuer on your credit report, such as Amex, Capital One, Citi, etc. Business card approvals do not count toward 5/24. However, Chase takes into account your personal credit record even when applying for business credit cards.
Many of us love chasing points (no Chase-pun intended) and can’t refuse a good welcome offer. So, it’s not uncommon for us to be approved for at least five cards during a 24-month span (if not less).
Hence, we are (as one Eye of the Flyer commenter called it) “LOL/24.”
I understand why Chase does this — but they need to lighten up a little.
Maybe they are?
Some commenters at Dan’s Deals report being approved for the Ink Preferred Card despite being over 5/24.
So, if you’ve been kicking the Ink Preferred‘s tires and worry about your 5/24 status, you might stand a chance of getting approved. You learn here how to apply.
Want to see which cards you're likely to qualify for without having your credit impacted? Have CardMatch™ run a personalized search for you -- without a hard pull on your credit. Learn more here. (Offers may not be available to all users.)
Ink Preferred Details
The Ink Preferred card is a great complement to two other powerhouse Chase small business cards: the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card (one of our favorite cards) and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. Both of those cards have a $0 annual fee.
The Ink Preferred Card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points that can be converted to cashback (statement credit, direct deposit, mailed check) or used toward travel, gift card redemptions, donations, or other rewards. Unlike some other cards, there’s no minimum required to redeem your points toward cash back.
Points earnings-wise, here’s how the card breaks down:
- Earn 5X total points per eligible $1 spent on Lyft rides through March 2025
- 3X points on the first combined $150,000 spent on these categories each anniversary year:
- Travel
- Internet, cable, and phone services
- Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
- Shipping purchases
- 1X on all other purchases
The Ink Business Preferred allows cardholders to redeem points at a 25% bonus when purchasing travel through Chase Travel℠. So,100,000 points are potentially worth $1,250. That’s great for airfares, hotels, and yes, cruises. (Even more, if you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve® card.) There are also a host of Ultimate Rewards points transfer partners.
The Ink Business Preferred card also comes with exceptional cell phone protection coverage (when you pay your monthly cell phone bill on the card) and good trip protection, too.
“But it’s a small business card!”
Many people clutch their pearls when hearing the term “business credit card.” Why? They pigeonhole themselves into thinking they can only get personal credit cards.
But you’re missing out on hundreds of thousands of points (if not millions) by not pursuing small business rewards credit cards. These days, you probably qualify as an independent contractor or small business. (To be clear: I’m not a tax professional or financial planner. Consult one if you want.)
Rideshare drivers, consultants, designers, bloggers, self-published authors, babysitters, selling stuff on eBay, Amazon, or Poshmark, etc. You’re probably a small business if you independently perform a service or sell something. Therefore, you can pursue small business credit cards.
Time to Set Sail!
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card reduced its $15,000 minimum spending requirement to $8,000. People report being approved for the card — despite being “LOL/24.”
If you’re in the same boat cruise ship, it might be worthwhile to give it a shot.
H/T: Gary Leff
Advertiser Disclosure: Frequent Floaters is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
