I’m Finally Gonna Fall Below Chase 5/24: My Credit Card Plan

I have a below 5/24 plan. How’d that happen?

A combination of things. There was a rumor Discover It would remove Cashback Match after the 12th billing cycle – I held back on my 4th application (they didn’t change anything, btw). Bank of America added application rules for Alaska cards – I held back on my nth card.

And I can’t get most Amex cards because I’ve already earned the welcome offer, or Citi cards because of their 24-month “family of brands” rule. Plus, I got busy baby-making.

So when I checked Credit Karma, I had to blink again. For the first time in years, I’ll be below 5/24 as of July 19, 2019 – only 4 months away!

I mean yeah, there are non-Chase cards I’d looove to get (I’m drooling for the Amex Hilton Aspire). But heck, if I’m this close, I may as well keep trending. And you bet I’m running right for the Chase Ink Business Preferred – I hope that sweet 80,000-point bonus is still around!

When I think of UR points, alls I see is Hyatt hotel stays. First stop: Ink Business Preferred

More broadly, this might be the beginning of a long-needed credit card overhaul.

My Below 5/24 Plan

3 Chase Ink Small Business Cards: Which Is Right for You? (One Bonus Is Worth $1,000)

Q: When one falls below 5/24, what do they do?

A: Fill in around the edges. 

As far as Chase cards, I currently have 7:

Ink Plus (no longer available)
Sapphire Reserve
Freedom
Hyatt
IHG
United Explorer
British Airways

That’s… a lot. And I’d be willing to ax a couple to make room for new ones (prolly British Airways and the IHG card).

Potential new additions are:

Ink Business Preferred – you just can’t beat the sign-up bonus of 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Ink Business Cash – 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($500 cash) after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Ink Business Unlimited – Ditto
Freedom Unlimited – Same flat 1.5X earning as Ink Business Unlimited, but a personal card

So my focus is clearly on earning more Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

Here’s my post on how to decide which Ink card is best for your situation.

My next Chase card(s)? I’ll have to have a marg about it (sandy-footed friends welcome)

A few scenarios are possible:

Get Ink Business Preferred (later downgrade to Ink Cash) and Ink Business Unlimited (close Ink Plus) – stay under 5/24
Get Ink Business Preferred (later downgrade to Ink Cash, close Ink Plus) and Freedom Unlimited – hit 5/24 again
Get Ink Business Cash and Ink Business Unlimited, keep other cards – stay under 5/24

But the question remains…

What to do with the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

The Ink Business Preferred offers:

3X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on the first $150,000 spent on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone service, and advertising, each account anniversary year
1X Chase Ultimate Rewards point on all other purchases

Note that it duplicates one of Sapphire Reserve’s 3X bonus categories – travel. And I can get 5X on dining with another card.

Which would make my beloved Chase Sapphire Reserve obsolete – so I could downgrade it to a Freedom Unlimited. And open the Sapphire Preferred in its place to get another big bonus. That complicates things.

Because I only need to keep one Ultimate Rewards card with an annual fee to keep access to partner transfers. And honestly, I haven’t used my Sapphire Reserve much lately.