I’ve Had This No Annual Fee Credit Card for 9 Years and Still Use It All the Time (but Differently Than Before)

Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

Scott:   Cash back — I love it.  But that’s not why I’ve held onto my Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card.

I keep using it each month because of an insider travel secret.

It’s a simple secret really.

For my small business bills, I use the Chase Ink Business Cash card to earn what I think is the absolute best travel points currency – Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Specifically, I earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on cell phone, internet, and cable TV bills.  And 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points at office supply stores.

I also earn 2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points at restaurants and gas stations.

Here’s the fine print of how that works:

• Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent on combined purchases at office supply stores and on cellular phone, landline, internet and cable TV services each account anniversary year.
• Earn 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent on combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year.

I used to happily take that in the form of cash back.  100 Chase Ultimate Rewards points earns you $1.  But then I learned the Million Mile Secret to using Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Big Travel with Small Money.

Here’s Exactly What I Did

I got myself the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.  Adding this card supercharges your Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  Now they’re good for cash back OR… here’s where it gets great for travel… they can be transferred to Chase’s travel partners.  So those same 100 Chase Ultimate Rewards points could be worth MUCH more for a flight or hotel.

Yes, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has an annual fee BUT you are NOT charged for your first year with the card.  So you can essentially try it out for free to see if you like it.  That’s what I did and I’ve kept it.

The Simple Method to Heavily Discounted Travel

1.  I put my small business expenses on my Chase Ink Business Cash to earn points.

2.  I move those points over to my Chase Sapphire Preferred.

3.  And from the Chase Sapphire Preferred I’m now enabled to transfer to 2 of my favorite programs — United Airlines and Hyatt hotels.

Hyatt has no blackout dates.  And you can book incredible hotels in cities around the world for a great points price.  I’ve saved $1,000s this way.

United Airlines DOES have blackout dates, so you have to be a bit more persistent.  Still, I’ve also saved $1,000s this way too.  And I’ve never even flown on United Airlines using points!  Instead, I fly on their partners.  I’ve transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines to fly on:

• Air Canada from Florida to Europe
• LOT Polish from New York to Warsaw
• TAP Portugal from New York to Lisbon

Just to name a few!

Sometimes you need a flight and can’t mess around with blackout dates.  And that’s why I really like the Chase Travel Portal.  You can basically book ANY flight that’s for sale and pay with your Chase Ultimate Rewards points!

And if you move your points to your Chase Sapphire Preferred card first your points are worth 25% more toward travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal!  So 100 Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth $1.25 toward a flight instead of $1 in cash.

Sure most everyone knows about the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card for simple travel rewards.  And that’s a great card too.  But you can get much bigger discounts using these 2 Chase credit cards if you just follow the 3 simple steps above.

Earn the Biggest Bonus Ever

The Chase Ink Business Cash now has the highest sign-up bonus I’ve ever seen on it.  Sometimes the banks tell us how long great offers will last.  But not this time.  So if you’ve been considering it, you may want to pull the trigger so you’re not upset when the generous bonus is pulled.  (When I was approved many moons ago, the sign-up bonus was much lower!)

Bottom Line

I really love the combination of my Chase Ink Business Cash and Chase Sapphire Preferred.  Cash back is great.  But if you really want big travel discounts, consider getting yourself both of these cards.

Please be sure to pay all your bills on time and in full to avoid ugly fees.  If you can do that, I highly recommend you try this out for yourself!

Then come back here and we’ll help you use your Chase points for amazing travel!