5 Most Popular Credit Card Offers With Our Readers in April 2018

This month, Million Mile Secret Agents are loving the no-annual-fee Chase Ink Business Cash card!  That’s likely because of the increased bonus, which is an amazing deal!

And with the right Chase card combo, you can combine points from the Ink Business Cash and transfer them directly to fantastic travel partners, instead of just redeeming them for cash back!

If you’re just learning about miles & points, be sure to check out the Million Mile Secrets Beginner’s Guide.  Because you’ll have more success if you know where you want to go before you get your first big bonus.  And you can learn about lots of credit card myths.

For lots of folks, it’s easy to maintain a high credit score even by having lots of cards.  There are times where opening a new credit card can actually improve your credit score!

5 Most Popular Credit Card Offers With Our Readers in April!

Many of you were able to stock up on Delta miles before the AMEX Delta card offers decreased.  So now that y’all have boosted your Delta frequent flyer balances, where are you looking for your next bonus?

Out of the many great travel cards to choose from, these are the 5 you all have been relying on the most this month to earn Big Travel with Small Money!

1.   Chase Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card

Link:   Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card

Link:   Biggest No-Brainer Deal of the Year: $500 Cash Back (50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points!)

The Ink Business Cash card currently has one of the best sign-up bonuses you’ll ever see on a no-annual-fee card.  The card comes with a $500 bonus (50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points!) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.

This is the highest bonus I’ve ever seen on this card, so it’s no surprise to see it at the top of the list.

You’ll also earn bonuses on certain purchases:

• 5% cash back (5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points) on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on phone, internet, and cable, TV services each account anniversary year
• 2% cash back (2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points) on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year

And you can qualify for the Chase Ink Business Cash card even if you already have the Chase Ink Business Preferred card!  This is a great way to power up the points you earn with the Chase Ink Business Cash.  Because if you have a Chase Ultimate Rewards annual fee card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred, you can transfer the Chase points you earn to valuable travel partners.

This is a small business card, so you must have a for-profit venture to qualify.  But qualifying for a business is easier than you might think.  There are lots of side hustles and freelance gigs that count as small businesses.  And you can use your own name and social security number to apply!

This card is affected by the Chase “5/24” rule.  So Chase will NOT approve you if you’ve opened 5 or more credit card accounts (from any bank) in the past 24 months (NOT counting Chase business cards and these other business cards).

2.   Chase Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card

Link:   Chase Ink Business Preferred

Link:   Our Review of the Chase Ink Business Preferred

When you’re approved for the Ink Business Preferred, you can earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.  That’s worth $800 in cash back or $1,000 toward travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal!

This card continues to remain popular with Million Mile Secret Agents because of its massive sign-up bonus!

Chase Ultimate Rewards points can get you all sorts of Big Travel with Small Money.  One reader booked a European cruise with his bounty of Chase points.  And team member Keith used the Chase travel portal to get 4 nights at an all-inclusive resort for his mom, which would have cost $1,000+ out of pocket!

And with great airline partners like United Airlines, British Airways, and Korean Air, you’ll be able to book award flights with all of the 3 major airline alliances!

With the Ink Business Preferred, you’ll also get:

• 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards points for every $1 you spend on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites, and search engines (up to a maximum of $150,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year)
• 1X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on all other purchases
• Up to $600 in cell phone insurance when you pay your cell phone bill with the card
• Primary auto rental insurance (CDW) when renting for business purposes, plus purchase and extended warranty protection

The $95 annual fee is NOT waived the first year.

Keep in mind, Chase will NOT approve you for most of their credit cards if you’ve opened 5 or more credit card accounts (from any bank) in the past 24 months (NOT counting Chase business cards and these other business cards).  And the Chase Ink Business Preferred is restricted by this rule.

3.   Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Link:   Chase Sapphire Preferred

Link:   Our Review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with a 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards point bonus after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of opening your account.

This is one of the best personal cards for earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points!  That’s a big reason why it’s our #1 card for beginners in the miles & points hobby.  Chase Ultimate Rewards points are so valuable because they transfer at a 1:1 ratio to lots of useful airlines and hotels.

With just the bonus from this card, you could book 2 round-trip flights to Hawaii!  Or you could use your points to book a romantic weekend getaway at a luxury Hyatt hotel.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll also get:

• 2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel and dining & 1X Chase Ultimate Rewards point per $1 spent on all other purchases worldwide
• Primary car rental insurance – Covers damage due to theft or collision to your rental car, when you pay for the rental with your card
• $95 annual fee is WAIVED the first year!
• NO foreign transaction fees

This card is affected by the same application rules as the Chase Ink Business Preferred.  So you’re not likely to be approved if you’ve opened 5 or more credit cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months (NOT counting Chase business cards and these other business cards).

4.   Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

Capital One has an easy-to-use rewards program!  You just pay for your travel expenses with your card and then, log-in to your account and  “erase” the charge by redeeming your miles.  So you won’t have to worry about blackout dates or dealing with obscure award routing rules!

And when you use Venture miles to pay for your flights, you’ll earn frequent flyer miles at the same time!  You can also check out this post with outside-the-box ways to redeem Venture miles, like Costco travel packages!

In addition to the card’s welcome bonus, you’ll get:

• 2 Venture miles per $1 you spend on all purchases
• No foreign transaction fees
• $95 annual fee.

5.   Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Link:   Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Link:   Our Review of the Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card

The Chase Marriott card is offering 75,000 Marriott points after spending $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of opening your account.

With this card you’ll also get:

• 5X Marriott points at Marriott & Starwood hotels
• 2X Marriott points on restaurants, car rentals, and airline tickets purchased directly from airlines
• Free night each card anniversary at Marriott category 1 to 5 hotels
• No foreign transaction fees
• $85 annual fee is waived the first year

In August, the new combined Marriott-Starwood-Ritz-Carlton award chart is going into effect.  While the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier card is currently available for new applicants, Chase is introducing the new Chase Marriott Premier Plus card on May 3, 2018, which will have a larger 100,000-point bonus!

Check out the details of the new card to help you decide whether you want to apply for the current version or wait until the new one comes out.

Personally, I would wait and get the larger bonus, even if there’s a slightly larger annual fee.  Because you will NOT be able to have both cards at the same time.

Both of these cards are subject to the Chase “5/24” rule.

Bottom Line

These are the most popular cards with Million Mile Secret Agents in April 2018:

• Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card
• Chase Ink Business Preferred
• Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
• Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card

Did you take advantage of any of these popular offers this month?