Chase Launches 50,000 Point Sign-up Bonus for Ink Bold
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Chase just officially launched a new 50,000 point sign-up bonus for their Ink Bold with Ultimate Rewards business card when you spend $10,000 within 3 months and the $95 annual fee is waived for the first year.
These Ultimate Rewards points, which are the same as the Sapphire Preferred (Personal) points, can be instantly transferred at a 1:1 ratio to Continental, British Airways, Korean Air, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club and Amtrak. Chase is extremely flexible with these programs and allows you to instantly transfer points to other Chase member's Ultimate Rewards accounts, which allows for maximum flexibility when pooling a group or family of people's points together to make a trip happen.
The key differences between this and the Sapphire Preferred card (which also has a 50,000 point bonus are:
The Ink Bold is a charge card, which means there is no pre-set spending limit (which is the flexibility that many businesses require).
The Ink Bold is a business card, which means that it is secured by your personal credit (they will run an inquiry against your SSN), but it will sit on your business line of credit, meaning it won't show up on your personal credit reports after you get it.
The Ink Bold also has category bonuses:
Earn 5X points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually at office supply stores, on cable and wireless service, and landline communications
Earn 2X points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent annually on gas and hotels
Additionally, the new card will give Priority Pass membership and waive foreign transaction fees.
Additionally, if you have Chase Business checking accounts, having an Ink Bold card attached will waive any monthly fees (so you don't have to require a minimum monthly balance).
The Ink Bold card also has a bunch of interesting technologies that makes business bookkeeping a lot easier - like automatic categorizing of expenses and electronic receipt keeping - I'll cover more of those in a future post.
The great thing is that this is a business card, so even if you've had a bunch of personal cards from Chase this year, you should be eligible to get this card and the sign-up bonus. You don't need to be incorporated or have an LLC to get this card - you can list sole proprietership and use your SSN as the Tax ID number. Many people have small businesses - heck this site started out as a sole proprietorship before I made it an LLC when it started growing. In fact I still have an old Chase Business Checking account from the Continental checking account gravy train days.
I'm not recommending people to apply for this card who has no intentions of starting a business, but I can recommend (as a small business owner) that keeping all business finances separate from personal funds is a good thing to do even in the very early stages of creating your business.
Overall, this is a solid deal since these points can be easily combined with your existing Ultimate Rewards points and transferred to all three alliances and hotel partners. Remember, there are some phenomenal awards out there that these 50,000 points can get you - like 2 free nights at the Park Hyatt Maldives or a one-way Cathay Pacific business class ticket to Asia with a stopover in Hong Kong (via British Airways until they change their program November 16, 2011).
Full details:
[card card-name='Ink Plus® Business Credit Card' card-id='22129636' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 5X | New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Valuable dining and food-related credits
- Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
- Multiple travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.