Chase Ink Application Rules May Soon Be Changing!

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If you’ve been considering applying for the Chase Ink Plus or Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card, there are rumors that Chase is changing their application rules for these cards.

According to Doctor of Credit, Chase may soon apply the same rules it uses to approve folks for personal Chase Ultimate Rewards point-earning cards to its small business cards.

I’ll explain what I know and what you should do if you’ve been thinking about applying!

What’s Going On?

Link:   Chase Ink Plus

Link:   Chase Ink Cash

Last year, Chase made changes to the way it approves folks for personal cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom.

If you’ve opened ~5 or more credit cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months, it’s unlikely Chase will approve you for a personal Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card.  Although some folks have reported exceptions.

Note:  So far, this has NOT impacted Chase cards that earn other types of points such as United Airlines miles, Hyatt points, etc.

Now, it’s rumored that Chase will extend these rules to the Chase Ink Plus and Chase Ink Cash small business cards starting in March 2016.

I do NOT have confirmation of this.  But Doctor of Credit reports the news came from a trustworthy source.

What Should You Do?

If you’re new to this hobby, or haven’t opened a lot of cards in the past 24 months, these rumored changes shouldn’t make a difference.

But if you’ve opened lots of cards and own a small business, you may want to consider the Chase Ink Plus or Chase Ink Cash sooner rather than later.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is my favorite program for getting Big Travel with Small Money.  Because you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to terrific airline and hotel partners like British Airways, Southwest, United Airlines, and Hyatt.

Or use the points at 1.25 cents per point to book paid travel through the Chase Travel Portal.

I like that transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines allows you to book flights on United Airlines or any Star Alliance partner airline, like Air New Zealand and Lufthansa, with no or low fees.

Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways is great for short-haul partner flights, or cheap flights to Europe!  And transferring to Southwest is terrific for domestic flights (made twice as good with the Southwest Companion Pass)!

Emily and I have transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt for amazing stays at hotels like the Grand Hyatt Kauai, Park Hyatt Paris – Vendome, and Park Hyatt Milan.

But to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to travel partners, you must have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer available) card.

If you don’t have any of the cards mentioned, it might be a good idea to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred first (if you haven’t applied for lots of cards).

Then apply for the Chase Ink Plus or Chase Ink Cash soon after.

For Folks With a Small Business & Who Already Have the Chase Sapphire Preferred

If you already have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you have the ability to transfer your points to travel partners.  So you won’t miss out on Big Travel if you don’t get a Chase Ink card.

But you may still want to consider the Chase Ink Plus for its 60,000 point sign-up bonus after meeting minimum spending requirements, and 5X point bonus categories like office supply stores.

Emily and I don’t earn a commission on the Chase Ink Plus card, but we’ll always tell you about the best deals!

That said, some folks might consider getting a Chase Ink Cash before the new rules take effect.  You’ll earn a $200 (20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards point sign-up bonus) after completing the minimum spending requirement, and there’s no annual fee.

Note:   You can get both a Chase Ink Plus and Chase Ink Cash card because they’re considered different card products.

Bottom Line

There are rumors Chase will make it more difficult for certain folks to be approved for the Chase Ink Plus and Chase Ink Cash in March 2016.

Currently, if you’ve opened ~5+ credit cards in the past 24 months, it’s unlikely you’ll be approved for a Chase Ultimate Rewards point-earning personal card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Freedom.  (So far, Chase cards that earn other types of points aren’t subject to this policy.)

These rules may soon apply to the small business Chase Ink cards!  So if you’ve been considering them, it might be a good idea to apply in the near future.

These cards are important if you want to earn Big Travel with Small Money in my favorite points earning program!  To transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to airline and hotel partners like United Airlines or Hyatt, you must have a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer available) card.

I’ll update y’all if I receive firm confirmation of these changes!