We’ve heard and read about countless people canceling their Delta American Express cards and threatening to fly other airlines ever since the airline announced huge changes to its SkyMiles program.
If you are:
- one of those people
- thinking about being one of those people
- like points/miles in general and don’t care about Delta
…then you might like an offer for a card both René and I (and our respective wives) actively use.
Get Inked:
You can earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months and an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening. That's up to $750 bonus cash back (awarded as 75,000 bonus points) with the the no-annual-fee Ink Business Cash® Credit Card .
The Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (also a $0 annual fee card) offers $750 bonus cash back (awarded as 75,000 bonus points) after you spend $6,000 on purchases within three (3) months of being approved.
The Ink Unlimited Card is pretty straightforward: it earns 1.5% cashback (again: 1.5X Chase Ultimate Rewards® points) on all eligible purchases. No more, no less.
But the Ink Cash Card is a particular favorite of ours.
Why?
Ink Cash Card
Do you have a cell phone?
Us, too!
That’s one big reason we hold the Ink Cash Card.
The card earns 5% cash back (5X points) on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases on internet, cable, and phone services and at office supply stores each account anniversary year, then 1X. (The card also earns 2% cash back (2X points) on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year, then 1X. Everything else earns 1%/1X.)
I put all but $10 of my monthly Verizon bill on my Ink Cash Card and earn 5X points per buck. (If you’re buying a new iPhone and charging it to your monthly bill… see where I’m going?) And if you pay for internet access and/or cable TV, that’s another 5X points per dollar spent right there.
How It Gets Sweeter
Three Chase cards allow cardholders to redeem points at elevated rates when redeeming them for travel purchases through Chase:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (50% bonus)
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (25% bonus)
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (25% bonus)
You can transfer your Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card points to one of those cards (if you have one).
“I Don’t Own a Small Business!”
Are you sure about that? So many people have side hustles these days.
The classic example of “Do I own a small business?” is selling items on eBay.
Do you babysit? Are you an author who self-publishes books or blog posts? Do you create stuff to sell on etsy or Redbubble or Amazon or whatever? An actor looking for gigs? Drive for rideshare companies?
Does anyone pay you for anything outside of your regular, taxable income? (Disclosure: none of this blog’s authors or owners are financial or tax professionals. Consult a financial or tax professional if you have questions.)
You don’t need to have a big desk in some high rise or a storefront window display in order to be a business.
Foreign Transactions Fees
Here’s a knock against the cards: they do charge foreign transaction fees. I generally stick to US-only stores and websites when making purchases uses my Ink Cash. Chances are you already hold a card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees — so that could be your fall for those purchases.
What About 5/24?
Both the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card are Chase products. That means they’re subject to the “unofficial” 5/24 rule. This means you’ll likely be declined for a Chase card if you’ve been approved for five (5) or more credit cards from any bank within the past rolling 24 months.
However, Chase business cards — such as the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card don’t count as personal card approvals.
Final Approach
We really like the Ink Cash Card. If you need a good business card — especially one without an annual fee — give it a look. And if you’re a disenchanted Delta Amex Business cardholder, these offers present a wonderful opportunity for a new start.
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.
Thank you for the info… quick question: Do you know if they have fees for purchases made on international travel ? as in while out of the country do they charge fees when used?
They do charge foreign transactions fees. (Thanks for the reminder — I just added something about that in the post.) Several no-annual-fee cards do that.
I just got a USPS Informed Delivery email today showing that I will receive a welcome offer from AMEX for 125,000 points if I sign up for the personal non-Delta Platinum card. The envelope states that I need to spend $6K within the first 6 months. It’s worth noting that I have already had this card and cancelled it in 2020. Last week, I just got the non-Delta business Platinum card with 150,000 point welcome offer if I spend $15K in three months. I really do not need two Platinum cards, but this is a pretty good offer. It probably makes sense to take the offer and keep the card for a year, and then drop it and continue with the business Platinum with the 35% rebate for booking in first/business. If I got these offers next year, it would be nice to have a total of 12 SkyClub visits.
My guess is that AMEX is realizing that a lot of people are canceling their Delta cards and hope to switch those people over to another premium AMEX product.
Make sure there’s no lifetime language. In other words, make sure there’s nothing in the terms and conditions that say you’re ineligible for the deal. Keep that mailer for a while — even after you’ve received the welcome bonus.
I did get the offer today and I have until Oct. 20 to accept. When I called AMEX about the renewal date of my Reserve card, the agent did confirm that I could get a welcome bonus for either the business or personal Platinum cards, even though I cancelled my personal Platinum card in 2020. However, my worry is that this offer package was generated before I got the business Platinum card, so I will call first and make sure I still qualify.
Given that the published offer is 80,000, it seems like a no-brainer to take the 120,000 points for $695 and the $6K/6mo spend challenge, not to mention the other statement credits. However, I already have so many of these benefits from the business Platinum, and it seems like a bit of a waste to have both cards. I certainly will have a lot of credits that I will need to figure out how to use.
I called AMEX today and ask about the offer. He looked at my AMEX card history and confirmed that I already got a welcome offer and that I had canceled the same card in 2020, and he mentioned the lifetime restriction on getting an offer for the same card more than once. However, he also stated that sometimes people do get a targeted offer. He offered to send me to the an enrollment agent, but said I would be better off doing it online because I would get better confirmation that I would get 120,000 points. I did that, and entered the RSVP code and the last 4 digits of my social security number, and the website confirmed that I could get 120,000 points, so I signed up.
The agent also confirmed that I previously had the personal Delta Reserve card, so I will not get a welcome offer when I drop down to a Gold card to take advantage of TAKEOFF15. IIRC, my Dad had a Gold card and dropped it, and signed up again. He did not get a second welcome offer, but he did get the fee waived for the first year again, so perhaps I will at least get that.
“If you’re buying a new iPhone and charging it to your monthly bill… see where I’m going?” I may have missed a previous post about this but can you explain further?
Earn more points paying it off each month on your cell phone bill than buying it directly from, say, Apple.
Ok, gotcha. My mind was going a different place where I thought you had a workaround to avoid losing the $10/mo autopay discount (per line) that you lose when paying your bill with a credit card.