Category Archives: Business Credit Cards

How To Get 5X Ultimate Rewards Points or 5% Cash Back on ALL Amazon Purchases!

Posted on May 20, 2013 by | 61 Comments

[Disclosure:  Emily and I get a commission for links to all cards in this post except for the Ink Classic as of the post publication.  We're always very grateful to readers who apply using our link, but you don't have to!]

Link:   Chase Ink Bold
Link:   Chase Ink Plus
Link:  How to Fill Out a Chase Business Card Application

Emily and I buy a lot of items from Amazon.com.  I started using Amazon.com to buy textbooks over a decade ago, but we now buy almost everything on Amazon.com.  It is great to not have to waste time driving to a store, parking, standing in line when we can get the same items delivered to our door!

5X

Buying an Amazon.com Gift Card with the Chase Ink Bold at Office Max for 5 Ultimate Rewards Points or 5% Cash Back per $1!

Amazon.com usually has the best price on most of what we buy online and sometimes it is worth the small premium if Amazon.com has a higher price to save time.  Amazon sells millions of items from books, electronics, DVDs, food, shoes etc.

But what if you want to earn points or cash back on Amazon.com purchases?

How to Earn 5X Ultimate Rewards Points or 5% Off ALL Amazon Purchases! Continue reading →

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Posted in Beginner Tips, Business Credit Cards, Ink Bold, Ink Plus, Shopping

75,000 Membership Rewards Points After Spending $10,000 Within 4 Months With The AMEX Business Gold Rewards Card

Posted on May 14, 2013 by | 21 Comments

[Disclosure:  Emily and I do NOT get a referral for the 75,000 point American Express Business Gold card as of the post publication date.]

Via FlyerTalk, American Express is offering 75,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 within 4 months on the Business Gold Rewards card if you apply by May 17, 2013.

If you want the offer with 75,000 points please click the link above and NOT the ad in the right column which will get you 50,000 points after spending $5,000 within 3 months.

Just a few days ago, American Express was offering 75,000 points after spending $5,000 (half the spending requirement) within 3 months and many Million Mile Secrets readers got in on that offer.

75,000 Membership Rewards Points After Spending $10,000 Within 4 Months

75,000 Membership Rewards Points After Spending $10,000 Within 4 Months

Normally, 75,000 points would be a great offer, but it isn’t really such a great offer when compared to last week’s offer.

HigH Spending Requirement

You have to spend $10,000 within 4 months to get the 75,000 point sign-on bonus.  If you’ve run out of other cards to apply for or have no problem meeting the minimum spending requirement, the 75,000 point Business Gold card may make sense to apply for.  But most folks have only a limited amount of money which they can spend on credit cards and their sign-up bonuses. Continue reading →

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Posted in American Express, Business Credit Cards

Top 5 Questions on the 75,000 Points American Express Business Gold Rewards [Expired]

Posted on May 9, 2013 by | 33 Comments

[Disclosure:  Emily and I get a commission if you're approved for the 75,000 point American Express Business Gold Rewards card.  You don't have to use our link, but we're always very grateful when you do!  The best offer on the American Express website is for only 50,000 points.]

Update:  As I suggested, the offer is no longer available and was pulled soon, so I’ve removed the links from the post.

 ~85% of clicks on my affiliate links yesterday were for the 75,000 Points American Express Business Gold card.  There are a lot of comments and questions around the card, so I want to answer them in a separate blog post.  And also make you aware of a risk of applying for the card.

Please see these posts on how to:

75,000 Membership Rewards Points After Spending $5,000 Within 3 Months

85% of Clicks Were For The 75,000 Point Business Gold Rewards!

1.   Is it OK to Apply for the 75,000 Point Card if 91+ days Hasn’t Passed From When I Last Applied for cards?

Continue reading →

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Posted in American Express, Business Credit Cards

How to Fill Out an American Express Business Credit Card Application

Posted on April 22, 2013 by | 28 Comments

Don’t forget to follow me on  Facebook or Twitter!

I’ve been getting questions on how to fill out the application for American Express business cards – likely because of the increased sign-up bonus of 50,000 points on the Business Gold Rewards card.

As always, please read The 5 Dangers of Applying for Credit Cards before applying for a new card.

Why Business Cards?

The 50,000 point Business Gold Rewards card & the American Express Starwood card are among the best business cards by American Express.

The credit line for American Express business cards does not show in my personal credit report and impact my credit utilization or credit aging, so it doesn’t impact my personal credit score in the long term.  However, the credit inquiry does show in my  personal credit report, but the effect drops off after 3 to 6 months (though the credit inquiry, as opposed to the business credit line, does stay on my personal credit report for 2 years).

Business cards are an easy way to get extra miles and points, and as I’ve written previously, many of us may qualify for businesses even though we don’t realize it.  However, business credit cards may not have all the consumer protections which personal cards have.

Top American Express Business Card Applications

These are the top American Express business cards in my opinion:

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Posted in American Express, Business Credit Cards

Credit Scores: Why Some Business Cards Impact Your Credit Score Less Than Personal Cards

Posted on March 25, 2013 by | 22 Comments

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Additional Reading:

I’ve explained the impact of applying & cancelling personal credit cards on your credit score.  In those posts, I mentioned that business credit cards (from Citi, Chase, and American Express) don’t impact your personal credit score as much as personal cards, but let’s take a closer look.

In general, you don’t need to have an established business or a partnership or LLC to get approved for a business card.  You can usually get approved for a business which you run as the sole owner.  Or even businesses which you are thinking of starting or which you recently started.  But you shouldn’t lie on the business card application form.

 How Is Your Credit Score Calculated?

According to the FICO website, your credit score is determined by:

  • 35% Payment History — (Do you pay on time?)
  • 30% Amounts Owed –  (Do you use a lot or little credit?)
  • 15% Length of Credit History — (How long have you had credit?)
  • 10% New Credit — (Have you applied for credit recently?)
  • 10% Types of Credit — (Do you have different credit types?)
Fico Score Calculation (Image from MyFico.com)

Fico Score Calculation (Image from MyFico.com)

Why Business Cards Impact Your Credit Score Less Than Personal Cards Continue reading →

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Posted in American Express, Beginner Tips, Business Credit Cards, Chase, Citibank, Credit Scores

Which Credit Cards Do NOT Charge a Foreign Transaction Fee?

Posted on January 10, 2013 by | 55 Comments

[Disclosure:  Emily and I get a referral for all cards in the post except for the Southwest Premier, Chase Priority Club, Chase Fairmont, Chase United Club, Citi Thank You Premier (better than my affiliate link), Citi American Airlines Executive, and the American Express Mercedes-Benz Platinum]

No Foreign Transaction Fee CArds

Readers often ask which credit cards do not charge the 1% to 3% foreign transaction fee for using the card for transactions in foreign currency.  Most credit cards will charge you a fee for purchases in a foreign currency.

So I’ve made a new page on the Travel Credit Cards tab for No Foreign Transaction Fee cards!

No-Foreign-Transaction-Fee-Cards

No Foreign Transaction Fee Tab!

The cards listed on that page do NOT charge a foreign transaction fee if you use them for transactions in foreign currencies.

My favorite no-foreign transaction fee card is the Chase Sapphire Preferred which offers double points for travel (airfare, hotel, car rental, parking etc.) and dining.  And you almost certainly are spending most of your money on travel and dining when you’re on vacation! Continue reading →

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Posted in American Airlines, American Express, British Airways, Business Credit Cards, Chase, Citibank, Credit Cards, Delta Skymiles, Foreign Transaction Fees, Foreign Transaction Fees, Hilton HHonors, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Ritz-Carlton, Southwest, Uncategorized, United Airlines

Emily’s December 2012 App-O-Rama – 8 Cards. 355,000 Miles & Points!

Posted on December 31, 2012 by | 111 Comments

[Emily and I get a referral for links to the Chase Ink Plus, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Barclays Frontier Airlines & Barclays Priceline cards, and Credit Sesame.  We do not get a commission for links to the Citi Hilton card & Barclays US Air card because they are better than my referral links and for the US Bank Club Carlson card in this post. We thank all readers who apply using our links!]

Emily and I set travel goals and we then collect miles and points to get to those goals. Our goals are quite simple. We want to have enough miles and points to travel within the US in coach to visit friends, to go to Michigan or Ohio to visit family and to have weekend getaways.

We also want to travel internationally 2 to 3 times a year – ideally in business or first class, but we’ll choose a flight in coach if it means less connections and more time on the ground (like we did when we visited Brazil during Carnival).

We also need hotel points since we have to stay somewhere. We don’t really care which airline we fly or hotel we stay in as long as we can save money while traveling. I’m partial to Hyatt because I’m a Hyatt diamond, but I won’t say no to free or cheap hotel stays.

Emily’s December Churn

Credit Card
Sign-On Bonus
Minimum Spending Requirement
Annual Fee
Chase Ink Plus50,000 Points$5,000 in 3 Months$95 Waived For 1st Year
Chase Sapphire Preferred40,000 Points$3,000 in 3 Months$95 Waived For 1st Year
Citi Hilton50,000 Points$1,500 in 6 MonthsNo Annual Fee
Citi Hilton50,000 Points$1,500 in 6 MonthsNo Annual Fee
Barclays Frontier Airlines35,000 Miles$750 in 3 Months$59 Not Waived For 1st Year
US Bank Club Carlson85,000 Points$2,500 in 3 Months$75 Not Waived For 1st Year
Barclays US Air40,000 MilesOne Purchase$89 Waived For 1st Year
Barclays Priceline5,000 PointsOne PurchaseNo Annual Fee
Total355,000 Miles & Points$14,250 in 6 Months$134 Not Waived For 1st Year

Emily applied for 8 credit cards and was approved for all of them except the US Bank Club Carlson card (still pending) after ~1 hour on the phone with the Chase and Citi reconsideration folks, so Santa was good to us!  In case you’re wondering, Emily has a ~6.5 year credit history and a credit score above 700.  This churn focused on international travel and hotel stays. Continue reading →

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Posted in Barclays, Business Credit Cards, Chase, Churning, Citibank, Frontier, Hilton HHonors, US Air

Why I Called the Chase Business Reconsideration Department

Posted on December 5, 2012 by | 178 Comments

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I recently applied for the Southwest business card to get the Southwest Companion Pass and got approved after calling the reconsideration line.  Earning the Companion Pass in 2013 means that Emily can fly for free, up to the end of 2014, on every Southwest ticket I book using either miles or points!

The 50,000 point Chase Ink Plus, Chase Ink Bold, and the Chase Southwest card are among the best business cards by Chase, so I thought I’d post my experience with the Chase business reconsideration line (800-453-9719).  The Chase reconsideration line is closed on Sundays.

The credit line for business cards does not show in my personal credit report and impact my credit utilization or credit aging, so it doesn’t impact my personal credit score in the long term.  However, the credit inquiry does show in my  personal credit report, but the effect drops off after 3 to 6 months (though it does stay on my credit report for 2 years). Continue reading →

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Posted in Business Credit Cards, Chase, Denial & Reconsideration, Southwest

Chase Ink Plus & Bold Minimum Spending Reduced to $5,000 (from $10,000) within 3 Months & Other Chase Ink Cards Reduced to $3,000

Posted on November 8, 2012 by | 102 Comments

[Emily and I do NOT get a referral for any of the Chase Ink cards in this post.  This offer for 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points requires $5,000 less minimum spending than my affiliate link for the Chase Ink Plus & Chase Ink Bold which currently pays one of the highest commissions, but requires double the minimum spending $10,000.]

Note:  I just switched web hosts yesterday and am still ironing out the kinks.  One of those kinks is that only the links on this page go directly to the better offer for the Chase Ink cards.  So don’t use the links anywhere else on the blog for the Chase Ink cards because they may not go to the $5,000 minimum spending offer.  I’ll fix those as soon as I can figure out how (sometime tomorrow)!

Another kink is that I can’t attach screenshots of the offer either.

Link:  Chase Ink Plus Credit Card

Link:  Chase Ink Bold Credit Card

Link:  Chase Ink Classic

Link:  Chase Ink Cash

I shared a rumor earlier that the $10,000 minimum spending on the Chase Ink Plus was likely to decrease to $5,000 within 3 months.  I also explained the likely marketing and business reasons why this was very likely to happen and urged folks to hold off their Chase Ink application for a week.  After all, less minimum spending can only be a good thing, even if I don’t earn a commission.

I like sharing only the best credit card information on the blog – regardless of whether it pays me a commission or not.  The Chase Ink Plus & Ink Bold currently pays the highest commission, but the $5,000 minimum spending requirement version directly from the Chase website is currently the better deal. 

Even better, the minimum spending on the Chase Ink Bold also dropped!  I’ll admit to not predicting this and thought that it would remain at $10,000 within 3 months to differentiate the Ink Bold from the Ink Plus.

Continue reading →

→ 102 Comments

Posted in Business Credit Cards, Chase

Credit Card Updates: 50,000 Points Chase Ink Bold & 50,000 Points Chase Southwest Premier Personal

Posted on November 5, 2012 by | 29 Comments

[Disclosure:  No referral or commission for me on the Chase Southwest Premier.  I do earn a referral on the Ink Plus & Chase Ink Bold.]

1.  Chase Ink Bold.   My affiliate links for the Chase Ink Bold haven’t been working since the last few days.  The affiliate marketing company very helpfully suggested telling folks to apply for the Ink Plus instead (they earn a commission when I earn one).

Update:  My affiliate links to the Chase Ink Bold are working again.  Thanks to everyone who uses them!

But the links to the Chase Ink Bold are still working when you go to the Chase website and use the links on the Chase website. I’ve redirected the links to the Ink Bold on the blog – in the Airlines, Business, & Bank Points, & Hot Deals – credit card pages – to those on the Chase website.  I don’t get a commission when you apply for the Ink Bold on the Chase website, but that’s better than dead links on the blog.

I don’t suggest applying for the Chase Ink Plus until November 14, because it is likely that we’ll see a reduced spending offer on the Ink Plus.  Chase usually matches you to the better offer if you applied within the last 90 days, but that could stop anytime. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business Credit Cards, Chase, Southwest