Approved for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card!

Two weeks ago, I submitted an online application for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card. After watching the spinning dial on the website for several seconds, I was informed that Chase would inform me of their decision via mail. I knew it would be anxious wait since I really wanted this card! From what I had read about the difficulty of approval relative to other banks' business credit cards, as well as a previous experience being rejected for Chase cards, I was to receive a denial and to have to plead my case via the reconsideration line. A few days ago, I received a plain white envelope with "Debrian Media" in the envelope's window between my name and mailing address. Feeling a surge of excitement, I traced my finger along the outline of a credit card through the paper, and quickly tore into the envelope and found a Chase Ink Business Preferred card! Approved! If I seem excited to you, you would be correct. I thought it would be good to post and discuss why i am so excited, starting with what makes this card so appealing.

The offer

The Chase Ink Business Preferred card currently offers a very exciting new cardmember bonus: 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 in the first three months of card membership. At a value of 2.1 cents/point, the sign-up bonus is worth $1,680! Since the $5,000 spend would earn at least 5,000 points on top of the bonus, you would receive at least $1,785 in value for your spend or a return of 35.7%. If any of you know where I can achieve a 35.7% return on anything, please leave a comment so I can steer a portion of my portfolio in that direction! Because I don't sign-up for multiple new cards at the same time, achieving an average spend of $1,667 per month for three months should be an easily achievable threshold. I have already begun to transfer the auto-payments for a variety of monthly expenses to the new card. Over three months, these alone should cover at least half of the $5,000 spending requirement. The great thing about this card, however, is that its value does not end with the sign-up bonus, another reason I am excited that I was approved.

Ongoing value - spending category bonuses

As I wrote about last week when discussing my decision to cancel my Citi Hilton Honors Reserve Card, you acquire some cards mainly for the sign-up bonus and then rarely, if ever, use the card again. Other cards may provide a similar bonus but also offer additional value through member benefits or bonus points on various categories of everyday spend. With it's lineup of bonus categories and card benefits, the Chase Ink Business Preferred sits decidedly in the latter group:

• Category spending bonuses
  • Three points per $1  on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account year:
    • Travel, including airfare, hotels, rental cars, train tickets, and taxis
    • Shipping purchases
    • Internet, cable TV, and phone services
    • Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines, such as Google AdWords or Facebook
  • One point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Transfer Ultimate Rewards points to travel partners
• Cell phone protection - up to $600 per claim against covered theft or damage when you pay with your monthly bill with your Chase Ink Business Preferred card
• Primary rental car insurance (business rentals only)
• Purchase and extended warranty protection
• No foreign transaction fees

I can earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points when I pay my mobile phone bill!

The card has a $95 annual fee which is not waived the first year. The triple points on travel is an improvement on the 2x points offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and matches the triple points on my Citi ThankYou Premier Card. The most attractive category for me is the internet, cable TV and phone services since this is a bonus category I do not have on any other card. I currently use my American Express Everyday Preferred card but these bills but I only earn 1.5x points. I can definitely see making this my default card for travel and telecom purchases.

I would be excited about the bonus categories alone, but what really excites me is that the card opens up additional flexibility for my credit card portfolio. That topic is too involved to get into here, plus I need to more fully define my strategy. I intend to write more about this in the coming weeks as I lay out my card moves for 2018.

Are you eligible for a business credit card?

Maybe you are thinking, "This card sounds like a great way to grab a big pile of Ultimate Rewards points! How do I apply?" For the college football fans reading, as Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend." Remember this is a small business card and you must have a small business to be eligible.

"But I do not have a small business. I am a working professional like you...can I sign up for the card and use it for my work expenses?" Unfortunately, no.

While I do not know that Chase does extensive verification of your business, I do not advocate being dishonest on your application in any way. It is a legal document to which you sign to indicate that all information is accurate. If you go that route and jeopardize your account and your Ultimate Rewards points, that is on you. The good news is that there are many activities that may qualify as a small business.

Renting space in your home with Airbnb could qualify as a small business!

Pretty much any income-generating activity can qualify even if your revenues are small and profits fleeting. Take this blog which, together with my other online media, is branded as Debrian Media, for which I make some income off ads. In the past I have sold the rights to a few photos to businesses, including the Big 10 Network at launch for an ad campaign. Do I make a lot of money off these efforts? No...not yet! As for profits, after I pay for web hosting, I am lucky if I am in the black. I reported this financial information honestly when I applied for the Chase Ink Business Preferred card and I was still approved! I now hold small business cards from American Express, Chase and Citibank. The banks often are willing to approve cards for brand new or very small businesses because your personal income is still considered as available to back your charges.

Like me, perhaps you engage in a similar activity or hobby, one that you might not have even considered to be a business, where you generate revenue. Maybe you regularly sell items on eBay, drive for Uber, or rent out space in your home via Airbnb. If so, you could be eligible for a small business card from Chase and other banks! You won't know unless you apply.

Bottom Line

I have been in the Chase credit card wilderness for a long time but, having recently returned to compliance with the Chase 5/24 rule, I was approved for a Chase Ink Business Preferred card. The sign-up bonus is probably the most lucrative I have ever had and the travel and telecom spending categories ensure that this will be a card I will actually use in the future. If this were not enough to rouse me, the flexibility this card - along with being back in the good graces of the Chase rulemakers - brings to my credit card strategy has me excitedly envisioning piles and piles of points and miles later in 2018!

Have you signed-up for Chase Ink Business Preferred under this offer? Are you interested but not sure if you have an eligible small business? What kind of business qualified you for the card? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!