By now you may have heard about the 60,000 point sign-up bonus on the Ink Bold and Ink Plus cards. I don’t get any compensation if you use the link in the post, but I wanted to cover it because it’s a pretty great offer if you’re looking to top off your Ultimate Rewards account. The typical offer for this card is 50,000 points after $5,000 spent within 3 months, but now you get an extra 10k points for the same amount of spend.
I couldn’t find a non-affiliate link for this offer, so if you’re having trouble finding the offer online (like I did), consider using the links on Frugal Travel Guy. I don’t get any compensation when you use those links, but I am employed as Managing Editor of the site.
The exception, of course, is the Ink Cash card. The card pays out $300 after $3,000 spent within 3 months. The main difference between this card and the Ink Bold/Plus (aside from being a cash back card)? The Ink Cash caps category bonuses at $25,000 rather than $50,000. In addition, the Ink Cash comes with 0% APR for 12 months and no annual fee.
The downside? You’re only earning cash back and the card has a foreign transaction fee. It still makes a good no-fee cash back card, though the $300 sign-up bonus is relatively paltry. Compare this to the 60,000 sign-up bonus for the Ink Plus/Bold cards, which can be converted to $600 in statement credits.
As one reader astutely pointed out in the comment section, this increased sign-up bonus is perfect timing with Staples offering $200 Visa gift cards online. You could meet the $5,000 spending requirement by buying $5,000 worth of gift cards via Swabucks. This would cost you $173.75 in fees, but you’d earn 30,000 Swagbucks ($300 in cash via Paypal), netting you a profit of $126.25. You’d also earn 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you could convert to $250 in cash back for additional cash. You’d of course get more bang for your buck if you transferred points to an Ultimate Rewards transfer partner.
What do you do with $5,000 in Visa gift cards? Load them onto your Bluebird card, which has a limit of $1,000 per day/$5,000 per month. Then use the balance on your Bluebird account to pay off your Ink credit card. You can also use some of those Visa gift cards to pay your bills via Evolve Money.
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I’m not sure where to post my question, but I wanted to get your opinion on both the current Hyatt and IHG credit cards and whether you think they are worth snagging or not? Thanks so much 🙂
I’d only get the Hyatt card if you have definite plans to use the free nights before they expire. As or the IHG card, thats a great card for the recurring annual free night. If you’re gonna get it, be sure to pick up the unofficial 80k version of the card.
Pimp. Pimp. Pimp.
Considering I don’t have an affiliate link in this post, that is not an accurate rambling. But I understand reading is hard for some people, along with writing full sentences and abstaining from trolling a site you clearly do not enjoy reading.
are you sure that buying gift crads in staples will grant swagbucks. the staples special terms indicate – “Gift Cards and Gift Wrapping are not eligible for Swag Bucks.”
Just got this card approved on April 24th but with 50k. Any experience in getting them to ante up the extra 10k?
In the past Chase has “bumped the bonus” for applications made within 30 days of the best offer. I’d absolutely call and see if they’ll match it.
Would registering my Ink Visa with the Visa Savings Edge program increase the payout on these by1%?
Yes