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Get More Bonus Points Using This Free Tool to Check Store Categories

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    You might be surprised at which stores you can earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points!

    Cards such as the Chase Ink Plus (now with a 70,000 point bonus!) give you 5X points in certain categories such as Office Supply Stores.  And there is a free online tool to find all the big name and lesser-known stores categorized as “office supplies” by Visa in your area.

    Note:   The Chase Ink Plus 70,000 point bonus offer ends on October 19, 2014.
    Order From the American Tea Room Online or in Beverly Hills and Your Purchase Is Classified as “Office Supplies”

    You might also find unexpected places categorized as “restaurants” by Visa where you’ll get 2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points with your Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card.

    Find a Store’s Category With Visa Supplier Locator

    Link:   Visa Supplier Locator

    Link:   Chase Ink Plus limited-time offer for 70,000 Ultimate Rewards points

    Link:   Chase Ink Bold

    Link:   Chase Sapphire Preferred

    Searching for Office Supply Stores

    Let’s look for all the office supply stores near zip code 10001 in Manhattan using the Visa Supplier Locator.

    Enter a Zip Code and Select an “Industry Segment”

    Scrolling down the list reveals some fun places.

    Staples of Course, but Also Souvenir Shops!

    So the next time you’re buying gifts at tourist shops, you can check the Visa Supplier Locator to see if you’ll get 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points with your Chase Ink Plus or Ink Bold!

    And I found a similar surprise here in Austin too!

    Austin Gift Company’s Motto Is, “If You Don’t Need It, We Probably Have It!”

    Check Your Destination to Decide Which Card to Use

    I plugged in the address of a local comedy club and Visa classifies it as a restaurant.

    So everything you purchase from them…show tickets, drinks, and food will earn 2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

    (That’s because the Sapphire Preferred gives you 2X points at restaurants and 3X points on the 1st Friday of the month.)
    Your Night Out Watching a Live Comedy Show Could Earn You 2X Points With Chase Sapphire Preferred

    You’ll Find Surprises in Your Bonus Categories

    You can check a particular 7-Eleven location (that doesn’t sell gas) to see if it qualifies as a gas station anyway, earning you 2X points with Chase Ink Plus and Ink Bold.

    A quick search for gas stations in Cleveland, Ohio, reveals a car wash classified as a gas station.  So that’s 2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points there too!

    Get Double Chase Ultimate Rewards Points at Certain Car Washes

    And in San Francisco a place called Balloon Magic is coded as an Office Supply Store.  That’s 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points when decorating your office party using the Chase Ink Plus or Ink Bold business cards.

    Remember that MasterCard, American Express, and Discover do NOT necessarily classify each establishment in the same way as Visa.  Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an online tool for those cards yet!

    Bottom Line

    You can use the Visa Supplier Locator to find the merchant category code (MCC) of businesses.

    You might find new and unexpected places to earn bonus rewards points with Visa cards such as the Chase Ink Plus (with a limited-time 70,000 point sign-up bonus), Ink Bold, Ink Cash, and Sapphire Preferred!

    Did you uncover any cool places to earn extra points near you or a place you’ll be visiting?

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)