Approved For the Ink Bold…. Again

I can’t help myself.  I like the Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards by Chase.  These business cards are great for the 5X points they pay for  office and internet-related purchases, 2X points for gas and hotels, and for the Ultimate Rewards system itself including the Ultimate Rewards shopping portal.  To me, it is a valuable card – not one that gets thrown in the sock drawer when the minimum spend is done.

Generally, there is a 50,000 Ultimate Rewards point bonus when you sign up for a new Ink Bold/Plus Card (the major difference being that Bold is a charge card, and Ink Plus is a credit card, but since I pay my balance in full each month, it doesn’t really matter to me). Both have a required spend of $5,000 and a first year waiver of the annual fee ($95). Many people switch their Ink Bold/Plus to a free version of the card after the year rather than paying the annual fee.

I was sort of promising myself that I’d go on sabbatical with new cards, and focus perhaps on cancelling a few of them.  While I have closed a few of my credit cards recently, I also couldn’t “help myself” but to apply for a few because of “offers I couldn’t refuse.” (Please think of it like ladies all grabbing for a dress at Loehmann’s instead of an alcoholic who can’t pass a bar without going in…) (I need a larger closet, not an intervention).

Anyway, the current deal for Ink Plus/Bold is 60,000 Ultimate Reward points (instead of 50,000) – officially valued at $750, but actually worth much more. But wait, I already have an Ink Plus card – can I get the Ink Bold card too? (actually, over the years, I’ve had two or three Ink Plus cards and one Ink Bold card – always getting a new card sometime before renewal of the older card, which I’d then cancel rather than renew).

My current Ink Plus card is a Mastercard. The cards being currently issued are Visa cards and, in fact, Chase will be changing the existing Ink Mastercards to Visa cards shortly.  So, I figured, why not get 60,000 Ultimate Reward points for a Visa Ink Bold card now rather than wait till later, receive a Visa version of my Ink Plus card, and get zilch?

I applied online and I received the typical pending review message. A day or two later, I phoned the business card department at Chase. If you are not known for your patience, I recommend doing this rather than waiting for an answer.  The phone number goes right to the credit analysts. The woman who answered the call took my information and told me the application was pending for review.  She then said the magic words – as long as you’re on the phone, let me ask you some questions.  She proceeded to ask me about my business (blogging), the age of the business, revenue, costs, where I see it going, as well as my main occupation and income. I had my answers to these questions ready.  She put me on hold, came back saying that I would be approved, but that I already had a lot of credit with Chase, so would it be OK if they took $5000 credit from my United Explorer credit card and moved it over to my new Ink Bold card? Absolutely, I proclaimed.

And voila, I am approved for a shiny new Ink Bold! Let the spending begin continue!

Note: I don’t have an affiliate link. If you apply and get approved, I get no compensation other than pleasure at knowing you got a good deal.