Another one bites the dust…maybe. Miles to Memories has picked up on a Reddit post stating that Swych transactions are no longer coding as 5x on an Ink card. It wouldn’t surprise me if this is true, but it’d be good to have additional data points verifying if this is definitely the case.
In case you’re not familiar with Swych or the opportunities it provided, it’s an app selling third party gift cards. They frequently have promo codes that can make a deal break even or profitable for resellers, with the added benefit that you can earn 5x/5% when checking out with PayPal and using an Ink Plus or Ink Cash card.
The Reddit post was made on March 4 and states that it no longer codes as 5x on the Ink Cash card. The subsequent Miles to Memories post says that this change has been since February 26. I earned 5x on a Swych transaction on that day, so if this is true, the earliest this change came into effect was February 27.
Something that might be relevant here is that the Reddit post references the Ink Cash card, whereas I earned the 5x with the Ink Plus card. If Chase has nixed earning 5% on the Ink Cash card though, I’d be surprised if they hadn’t done the same with 5x on the Ink Plus card.
Chase has been cracking down over the last 18 months or so on 5x qualifying transactions, with PayPal Digital Gifts being the biggest loss. Although it’s nowhere near as lucrative as PPDG once was, Swych has been a good way to increase 5x spend at times so it’ll be a sad loss if this news is indeed true.
From what I can find though, that Reddit post is the only data point we have that Swych no longer codes as 5x. If any of you have bought gift cards through Swych recently, did you receive 5x? If so, what date was it that you received that?
Update: In addition to the comments below, the Frequent Miler Insiders Facebook group gave a couple of additional data points. A transaction on February 28 coded as 5x on the Ink Plus and a transaction on March 3 also coded as 5x, although I’m not sure if that was the Ink Plus or Ink Cash. This therefore might not be completely dead yet, although the negative data points are concerning.
Update 2: Chuck over at DoC confirmed the other day that his Chase Ink Cash card only earned 1x on a Swych purchase. I subsequently bought a gift card on March 9 and paid with an Ink Plus card and that’s only coded for 1x too. RIP.
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[…] interest in the Swych app from our readership likely dried up when Swych purchases stopped coding at 5x on the Chase Ink Cash card (which changed more than a year […]
[…] that it looks like Swych no longer codes as 5x/5% with the Chase Ink Plus and Ink Cash cards (see here, here and here for more information on […]
[…] cards. We waited for collaborating data points, and eventually one came through in the comments on Frequentmiler, though there is another conflicting data point there as […]
[…] have been reports that Swych might no longer code as 5x/5% with Chase Ink Plus and Ink Cash cards, so be aware of that before […]
data point…Purchased an iphone through my AT&T online account and did not code at 5x. Note I have done this 3x before and got the points each time.
Oh my gush. My main play is gyft… So now I’m really worried. If gyft falls then really it will be terrible. I honestly don’t see any other play that is better than 5x ink + csr. So if it’s gone I might just do Amex bbp on all and that’s it which is no fun. Horrendous news.
You can still get egift cards on the Staples website. Their delivery times can be really slow. Otherwise it looks like the only 5X avenue will be to buy gift cards in store at Staples or Office Depot.
Gyft is the last man standing.
I bought a gift card on 2/27, which coded as bills and utilities and earned 5x, but just saw my purchase on 3/2 coded as Merchandise and inventory and only earned 1x. So Sad!
That’s interesting that it coded as 1x for you on March 2, but 5x for rocio0817 above on the same day.
Noooo! Bought an Ebay gift card on 3/2/19 on my Ink and posted as 5X.
“Oh! The humanity!”
“…..And another one gone, and another one gone…”