We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Chase Ink Application Rules May Soon Be Changing!

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • 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. 

    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.

    Thinking of Applying for a Chase Ink Card? The Rules for Approval Might Be Changing Soon!

    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.
    If You’ve Opened ~5 or More Cards in the Past 24 Months, You Could Have a Hard Time Getting Approved for Chase Ink Cards Soon

    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.

    Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Can Open the Door to Incredible Travel Experiences

    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.

    Stay at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Like We Did by Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Hyatt Hotels

    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!

    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! :)