The Chase Ink line of business credit cards is one of the most valuable business credit cards you can get, primarily because they earn Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (which is my favorite type of transferable rewards currency). In addition, because the Chase Ink credit cards are business credit cards, they don’t appear on your personal credit report, so they don’t impact your 5/24 status. Getting cards that don’t impact my 5/24 status is particularly important for people like me who want to keep getting a lot of new cards, but also leave open the ability to get new Chase credit cards.
For years, it’s been well known in the travel rewards community that you could open multiple Ink cards and earn the bonus each time you opened the card. Using this strategy, I would regularly open a new Chase Ink card every 3-4 months, helping me to accumulate a large stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards points every year just from the sign-up bonuses on these cards.
In recent months, however, it seems Chase has tightened up their business credit card applications, making it far more difficult to get multiple Ink cards or multiple Chase business cards, in general. That being said, my wife was due for another Chase Ink business credit card, and with my stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards Points starting to dwindle a bit, we decided now was a good time to throw in an application for her.
This is what my experience was like opening a Chase Ink Unlimited card under the more restrictive application rules that seem to be in effect these days.
Chase Ink Business Card Application Restrictions
As a bit of background, the Chase Ink line of business credit cards comes in three different types. These include the following:
- Chase Ink Unlimited ($0 Annual Fee)
- Chase Ink Cash ($0 Annual Fee)
- Chase Ink Preferred ($95 Annual Fee)
There’s also a fourth Ink card called the Chase Ink Premier, but this card doesn’t earn Ultimate Rewards points and is not a card I would recommend to most people.
The main requirement to get a Chase Ink card is having a business. This shouldn’t be an issue for the vast majority of people – remember that almost anything you can do to earn money outside of a regular W-2 job can qualify as a business. This includes simple activities like selling things on eBay or working in the gig economy for apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats. As long as you have something that qualifies as a business (i.e. pretty much anything that isn’t W-2 income), you’ll be eligible for a Chase Ink business card.
The main limitation these days with the Chase Ink cards has to do with the number of Chase business cards you currently have open. While most Chase credit cards limit signup bonuses to once every few years, Chase Ink cards do not have this limitation. Even if you’ve earned the bonus on a Chase Ink card before, strangely enough, you can still earn it again with no limitation.
In the past, it often seemed that people could get multiple Chase Ink cards without any issue. This is exactly what I did for years, opening up new Chase Ink cards whenever I needed to top up my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points. This past year, however, Chase seemed to tighten up their business card acceptance rate. These days, it seems that the number of Chase Ink cards you can get is heavily limited by the number of Chase Ink or other Chase business cards you already have. While there are no set rules, people on Reddit have conducted surveys and come up with a general idea of the percentage chances of approval based on the number of Chase Ink Cards you already have open.
Below are the estimated chances of getting approved for a new Chase Ink card based on the number of Ink Cards you already have (Source: Doctor of Credit):
- No Ink Cards = 87% chance of approval for a new Ink.
- 1 Ink Card = 68% chance of approval for a new Ink.
- 2 Ink Cards = 57% chance of approval for a new Ink.
- 3 Ink Cards = 18% chance of approval for a new Ink.
- 4 Ink Cards = 0% chance of approval for a new Ink.
From the data, it appears that the chances of getting approved for an Ink card are very high if you have no Ink cards already open and remain fairly good if you already have 1 or 2 Ink cards already open. However, it seems to become basically impossible to get an additional Ink card if you already have three or more Ink cards currently open.
In this case, my wife had two Chase Ink cards already open. So, the data told us it was about a 50/50 shot that she could get approved for a third Ink card.
My Chase Ink Unlimited Business Card Application Experience
So what is the application process like when applying for a business card like the Chase Ink Unlimited? Fortunately, the application process for a Chase Ink business card is pretty easy. If you already have a Chase account, you can log in to your account when you fill out your application, and it’ll fill out all of your personal information for you.
The parts of the application that are different with a Chase Ink card are the questions about your business. For example, in the application, you’ll get this question about your business structure.
Most people will be applying as a sole proprietorship – the only time you wouldn’t do that is if you have a separate, registered legal entity. In that case, you’d apply under that entity. As a sole proprietor, your business name will be your name, and you would select “no” under the question about whether you have a DBA.
If you’re applying as a sole proprietor, you’ll also use your Social Security Number as your Business Tax ID.
Finally, you’ll need to enter some information about when your business was established and what your annual revenue is. This is something that you can estimate, especially if you have a relatively new business. My general advice is to say your business is at least 1 year old and has a business revenue of at least $1,000. That being said, Chase doesn’t have a hard minimum of how old your business needs to be or what the minimum annual revenue is. From my experience, though, having a 1-year-old business and at least $1,000 of revenue seems to always work for me.
In this case, we applied for the Chase Ink Unlimited for my wife as a sole proprietor, using our rental property as the business (this is what we always use when applying for business credit cards). Typically, the application goes into pending status when applying for a new Chase Ink card and then is automatically approved a few days later, but to my surprise, we were instantly approved on this application. Huzzah!
My Long-Term Chase Ink Strategy
Going forward, my plan is to continue trying to get new Chase Ink cards every 4 to 5 months, applying for a new one: (1) whenever a decent amount of time has passed between my Chase applications, and (2) whenever I have two or fewer Chase Ink cards open. What constitutes a decent amount of time is going to be based primarily on vibes, but I’ll probably be aiming for 3-6 months between Chase cards. In general, this shouldn’t be a problem, as I’m usually able to get cards from other banks to hold me over while I’m between cards.
Between my wife and me, that should hopefully result in us opening at least 2 Chase Ink cards per year, with potentially as many as 6 Ink cards in a year, depending on how things align. The most likely scenario is that we end up getting around 3 Chase Ink cards most years, which should usually net us between 225,000 and 250,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
The Chase Ink Cards also have some value beyond the signup bonus. In particular, I’m a fan of the Chase Ink Unlimited since it offers 1.5 points per dollar spent on any purchase with no annual fee. This makes it a solid overall card to keep in my wallet when needed.
Final Thoughts
It’s nice that my wife was instantly approved for a new Chase Ink Unlimited, especially since, as of the time I’m writing this, Chase has a heightened signup bonus on the card.
Chase business cards are still a little harder to get than they used to be, but it’s still possible to rack up a lot of Chase Ultimate Rewards points by targeting these cards. Assuming things don’t change, I should continue to target these cards as needed and hopefully, continue to rack up more Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.
This post may contain affiliate links.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($75) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $75 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($400/$1200) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $400/$1200 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $75 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Do you open those 3 cards and then close them and then reopen the same ones again the following year? Is that how you are able to keep opening cards? by opening and closing them shortly after? It doesn’t affect your credit?
A couple things here. First, most business credit cards don’t appear on your personal credit report, so opening and closing them doesn’t do anything to your credit report as they never show up. In this case, the Chase business cards don’t appear on my credit report, so it doesn’t matter that I open and close them after a year.
Second, opening and closing new cards in itself doesn’t negatively impact your credit score. It’s important to understand what goes into your credit score and what closing a card does, but the short of it is that closing a card doesn’t hurt your score unless you have so little credit that it dramatically reduces your available credit.
A bit beyond what I’m willing to write in a comment, but this gives me a good idea for a post about how a credit score actually works!