Heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend who… – REO Speedwagon
I have an unconfirmed report from a person with a friend “in the know” that on November 11, the Ink Plus signup offer will improve. Reportedly, the spend requirement to get 50,000 points will drop from the current $10K in 3 months to only $5K. My source thinks that the Ink Bold offer may improve as well.
Reason to believe
A couple of weeks ago, the Ink Plus sign-up page temporarily showed this better offer when accessed from affiliate web sites like mine. This proved to be an error, and Chase quickly shut down that page. However, new sign-up offers can’t just appear out of thin air (I don’t think). Instead, it seems likely that Chase was preparing this new offer and accidentally released it too soon.
Now, while I do believe the better offer is coming, I don’t know if November 11th is really a date set in stone. Even if Chase has given that date to employees, that doesn’t mean things won’t change between now and then. That being said, I have no reason to disbelieve the date, so I’d give it better than even odds. Plus, my friend Carol will be turning 50 on that date, so that can’t be a coincidence can it?
Seeing it coming
If Chase holds true to form, affiliates (i.e. bloggers like me) will be told a day or two ahead of time that they must disable their sign-up links to the Ink Plus (and to any other card affected) on a certain date. At that point, you’ll see a slew of blog posts contemplating the meaning of this (e.g. “Will the sign-up bonus get better or worse?”, “Is Chase changing the bonus categories of the card?”, etc.)*.
* Answer key: 1) Better; 2) No
Which Ink offers will change?
Immediately after the accidental launch of the new Ink Plus sign-up offer, affiliates were told to disable links to the Ink Plus, Ink Cash, and Ink Classic, but not the Ink Bold. The next day, the links were restored. I thought it was strange at the time that the Ink Bold was excluded. My guess now is that the Ink Bold may be the only Ink card in which the signup offer stays the same. Hopefully we’ll see improved offers not just for the Plus, but for the Cash and Classic cards too. Note, again, that this is just speculation on my part.
What to do?
If you’re thinking of signing up for an Ink card, you can simply wait until November 11 (or so) and see what happens. If you’re eager to get an Ink card right away, though, I’d recommend the Ink Plus over the others. The reason is that the Plus is the card most likely to get a better offer, and Chase is usually very nice about letting people switch to the better offer if they applied recently. If you’ve already signed up for the Ink Plus, wait for the better offer to appear and then call or send a secure message to Chase asking if they can switch you to that offer.
See also
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[…] I posted a rumor that said the sign-up offer for the Ink Plus was going to improve (see “Ink Plus better offer is on its way“). As of last night, the rumor seems to have been proven correct. On Chase’s Ink signup […]
I REALLY want to apply for the Ink Plus when the new offer is available however, I have been approved for 4 Chase cards in the past 10 months… the Marriott and SWA cards in late Dec., the Priority Club in late April and the United in late Aug. How long would you recommend waiting before applying for the Ink Plus?
Carol H: Have you applied for many other cards recently too? Not just with Chase? If you’ve applied for, say, 3 or more, in the past 2 months, I’d recommend waiting until 3 months have gone by before doing any more applications. If the United card was your only app in August, then you should be fine. The Ink cards are business cards so they are treated differently. Plus, you can actually use your credit on your other cards as a bargaining chip. If they don’t want to approve a line for you with the Ink Plus, offer to let them take say $5K or so from a personal card’s credit line.
I feel like kicking myself – I applied for the Ink Bold just this past week and got approved. Well, on the upside, I am glad to have used FM’s affiliate link, as a way of showing my gratitude for all the helpful info.
Error was “Floor Limit Exceeded” if anyone has any clue what that means…
Went to OD today and the register refused to allow credit cards for VR. Unless this is a temporary change, looks like this is dead…
went to my local OD today (in Michigan) and there were a handful of VRs for sale. When I went to the register, the cashier refused to accept CCs for it, saying that they have a new policy of only accepting debit or cash. Have traditionally never had a problem at this location, so not sure if I got a rogue cashier (she did confirm with the asst manager) – in any case, time to check another location – hoping this is not a new systemwide policy.
Thanks FM. I was thinking something like that might be the way to go. I forgot to mention I’ve got the Sapphire Preferred so the transferring part wasn’t an issue. But the extra bonus does look well worth the trouble to apply/cancel later on and end up with the Ink Classic. And the 50k vs. 25k spend cap isn’t an issue for me as my business is limited to odd jobs, e-selling and the wife’s new blog getting started so not a huge spender there. Thanks again and keep up the good work!
Wondering i just got it this month will they honor it for me and not require the 10,000 if they change it lower now to the 5,000 ?
MeLovesVanilla: Yes, that might work
I was approved last week for the Bold but have not received the card yet, and therefore have not activated it. If I wait to activate the card when I receive it until we know more details about this, is it possible that I may be able to have them switch me over to the Plus offer instead without having to reapply for the Plus? I guess, the easiest would be they change they offer to the Bold as well and then I just ask for the new offer instead.
josh: I don’t think it can be changed at this point, but you could always call and ask. Yes, I agree that a good strategy is to simply wait to see if the Ink Bold offer improves
Thinking about getting one of the Ink cards after seeing the min. spend might drop. Not sure the $95 fee is worth it after the first year though.
Is there any benefit to the Bold/Plus over the Cash with no fee annually? Looks like they both get the 5X bonus for office suppliers and internet/cable,etc.
Guessing you can’t drop down from Bold to Cash or anything like that but trying to think of a plan of action. Obviously the bonus is better for Bold but as a keeper I’m just not sure.
Thanks!
Matt: The Ink Bold and Plus have two big advantages: 1) they allow you to transfer points to loyalty programs (United, Hyatt, Amtrak, etc.); and 2) they allow up to $50K per year in 5X category spend whereas the Classic and Cash allow up to $25K. If you want to avoid the annual fee, do something like this:
1. signup for the Ink Plus when the better offer arrives
2. After a year, signup for the Ink Bold (to get the new bonus). Call the reconsideration line right away and offer to close the Ink Plus in favor of the Ink Bold
3. After a year, signup for the Ink Classic. (to get the new signup bonus). Call the reconsideration line right away and offer to close the Ink Plus in favor of the Ink Bold
Chase finally agreed to honor the 50,000 points for $5,000 spend Ink deal my wife signed up for. It took many many emails to Chase before they agreed, so be persistent if you are in that position!
Ken: Great!
Thanks FM…I might be pushing my luck trying to go for the new Plus. I might just try for the classic and cash, and giving the reason I want no annual fee to the reconsideration. I could say I want to trade my fee-based inks to the on fee-based inks. What do you think?
FM, saw ur post just a couple hours too late. I applied yesterday for the Ink Bold (using ur referral links) and called the recon line today. Was approved in a few minutes w a 10k flex spending limit. Your posts have been great and I’ve been reading them religiously. I’ve scoped out the nearest OD and will be making my first purchase soon!
Question: when this new offer for the Plus comes out, what are the chances of them applying it to my Bold offer?
My first comment did not appear hours after I posted it (as did no other comments from anyone else) so I resent when I came home again. Sorry about the double post! My internet issue or boardingarea server issue again?
WishyAnand: Sorry, this is happening to all comments today. I just discovered the problem a few minutes ago. Hopefully it will be cleared up soon!