Is It Worth Getting (or Converting to) the Chase Ink Business Preferred Just for 3X Plastiq Payments?
There’s a bit of a known secret about the Chase Ink Business Preferred card – you earn 3X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on ALL Plastiq payments (that is, the ones you can use a Visa card for).
I currently have the old Chase Ink Plus card (no longer available) that earns 5X at office supply stores, and on cable, internet, and phone service.
But month after month, I find myself spending way more on Plastiq payments than on “office supplies” or my internet bills. I’m heavily considering converting to the Ink Business Preferred to get that sweet 3X. When I run the numbers, I know I can earn more Chase Ultimate Rewards points this way. But, I’m afraid:
Chase will change the 3X any second now
Of losing the Chase Ink Plus card – once I convert, I can never go back
Is it worth a risk long-term for a short-term gain? Ah, isn’t that always top of mind with this hobby (and everything, really)?
I’ve had the Chase Ink Plus since it was a MasterCard… but if I covert, it’ll go the way of my Blockbuster card: SO TOTALLY OVER
Along the same thinking, would it be worth opening the Chase Ink Preferred to earn 3X on Plastiq payments… for as long as the gettin’s good?
Chase 3X Plastiq payments
Key link: Chase Ink Business Preferred – Compare it here
Key link: Sign-up for Plastiq and get $500 in fee-free payments
With the Chase Ink Preferred (compare here), you can earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points when you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
That’s worth $1,000 toward travel booked through Chase – or potentially $1,000s more when you transfer points to Chase’s valuable transfer partners.
Pair Chase cards to earn even more points
You’ll also earn 3X Chase points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases each anniversary year on:
Travel
Shipping purchases
Internet, cable and phone service
Advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
Earning 3X Chase points on rent or HOA dues is super sweet
For whatever reason, Plastiq codes to earn 3X Chase points on every payment you can make with a Visa card, including:
Rent
Tuition
Student loans
Car note
Insurance
Utilities like electricity
HOA dues
Annual memberships
Taxes
Note: You can NOT use Visa cards for mortgage payments. Only MasterCards or Discover cards.
Plastiq charges a 2.5% processing fee. But considering Chase points are easily worth 2 cents each, that’s like getting 6% back – or 3.5% back after factoring in Plastiq’s fee. Either way, it’s hugely worthwhile to use this card for all your Plastiq payments.
Keep in mind, you need some sort of business income to open this card. And you will NOT be approved if you’ve opened more than 5 new cards in the last 2 years.
So is it worth it?
If you’ve already had any Chase Ink card for more than a year (I’ve had my Chase Ink Plus for many years by now), you can also product change to this card – which is what I’m considering.
I’ve used Chase points to travel the world, like gorgeous Prague
The idea of earning 3X Chase points on thousands in spending each month is too good to pass up. But, the coding could revert to 1X at any time – and leave you high and dry with a card you don’t want to use.
Reddit hope
I have some hope this will stick around because of a recent Reddit AMA with Platiq’s CEO. Someone pointedly asked:
There’s a lot of worry around here that the more the media picks up on the Chase Ink Preferred card coding Plastiq as 3X, the sooner that perk will go away. Personally I can’t believe that Chase would be unaware of this. Can you confirm whether the 3X coding is intentional on Chase’s part?
To which he replied:
If you look at past discussions by Chase, including their public earnings calls/transcripts, they have mentioned several times how they were intentionally aggressive with, say, the CSR card and its bonus when it came out. This was despite analysts asking them about the huge cost, which Chase more/less summarized as “not a big expense” for their longer term goal of retaining the customers as part of the overall bank (i.e. card is just an entry vehicle to relationship with Chase banking). Point is, these bonuses are a rounding error as part of a broader strategy. I can also confirm that Plastiq is 100% following VISA and Chase rules in how we are processing these payments, so there are no surprises to anyone. Of course, as we have seen in the past, many issuers change their offers/bonuses from time to time.
So Chase knows about this, Plastiq is following the rules, and neither Chase nor Visa mind about the coding. In this light, I think it may stick around. But then the question becomes: how many months would I need to break even with this card vs other cards with 5X bonus categories?
I loved seeing Vienna and Slovakia on another Eurotrip – with Chase points
For me, I’d break even pretty much right away. But still, I hesitate to lose the 5X categories. I guess, worst case scenario, I could ride the gravy train until it ends, then convert to the Chase Ink Cash (compare it here) to have the same 5X categories again – albeit at lower spending thresholds. GOD I’M SO TORN.
As with everything, it’s gonna be case-by-case. But I do think it’s totally worth it to get 3X for as long as you possibly can. Chase knows about it and doesn’t seem to care – for now.
Bottom line
Key link: Chase Ink Business Preferred – Compare it here
Key link: Sign-up for Plastiq and get $500 in fee-free payments
I love Chase Ultimate Rewards points and making payments through Plastiq to earn bonus points. I won’t earn 3X on my mortgage payment, but the idea of 3X on all other payments, like my car note, insurance, Airbnb rents, and more – is too good to pass up.
In fact, it may be worth it to open a new Chase Ink Business Preferred card (compare here) or convert a existing Ink card to hop on the 3X train for Plastiq payments.
I need to look at my monthly and yearly earning and decide if it’s worth it. Rough numbers tell me it’s highly worthwhile. But I dunno – what do you guys think? Solid bet – or too risky?
