(Update 9/21/23: I thought it worth reposting this now given that the 90k offer is back again.)
Last month I was approved for another Chase INK Unlimited card. A friend pointed out that the card comes with 0% APR on purchases for the first 12 months. I’ve never played the APR game, and this detail completely slipped my attention.
Given that Chase does not report balances on business cards to the personal credit bureaus, carrying a large balance won’t have any affect on my credit score or report.
Note, the 0% APR deal on the Chase INK cards is only on purchases, not balance transfers. You can check your monthly statement where Chase will break down all the details of your APR rate, including any limited-time promotions attached to a card.
It’s easy to get 5% APY or more with a 12-month CD, and the best high yield savings are not much less. Even after deducting income taxes, most people would be able to walk home with 3-4% gain. If someone has a $10,000 credit limit, they can charge $10,000 to their card in initial few months and make minimum payments for the duration of the 12-month promo APR period. They should be able to net a few hundred dollars by doing so.
Chase is typically easy with allowing customers to shift credit lines between their business cards. Thus, it could be possible for someone to to combine their credit lines into one gigantic line of credit, make as many purchases as possible, make minimum payments for the year, and park the extra money in a high yield savings account.
Personally, I’m not comfortable with charging large amounts with Chase in a quick timespan since Chase has been known to get nervous from such customers and shut down their accounts, likely due to Bust-Out Fraud concerns. (Also note, if you plan on applying for more Chase cards, it might be easier to get approved without large outstanding balances to the bank.)
I’m also earning less with my Chase Unlimited card than I do from my regular daily driver – the Bank of America Premium Rewards card. And so I consider there some ‘cost’ in sinking all of my spend on the INK Unlimited card.
In any case, I certainly have to spend $6,000 to meet the spend requirement. (My plan is to make a $6,000 tax payment and knock that out in one go.) I’ll also continue putting spend on the card at a casual pace over the next few months to increase my card balance in a slow organic way.
I’m mindful of the fact that as the 12-month promo expiration draws closer there are diminishing returns with utilizing the offer as there are less days which I can hold the funds in a high yield savings account. (We also don’t know what interest rates will be six months or eight months from now, but it looks like those will remain high in the near term.)
Overall, it’s possible to hit this hard – depending on your credit line – and potentially net thousands of dollars by riding this APR offer or other similar offers. Personally, I’ll be taking a more organic approach and will likely end up with just a couple hundred dollar profit. Small and easy win for me.
Please let us know in the comments below if there are any other good APR offers available.
(Update 5/21/23: Reddit user TupacalypseN0w notes that Chase has something called ‘credit access line’ which potentially allows you to charge more than your credit line. You can check first to see if they’ll approve the purchase above your credit line. This is a way to squeeze a bit more from the 0% APR.)