I’ve never done plastiq before, but I understand it to be a vehicle that allows you to pay other bills, like your mortgage w/ a cc. And it’s worth the fee incurred?? I need to figure out cash value of the points to better understand these concepts. Like the $6k property tax installment I have to make next month, I think they offer an option to pay w/ your cc but you incur the fee...what % fee would you accept to get points on CIP?
So it seems I need to do CSR and CSP on the same day. Can DH do them same day too? When do we do CIP? How far apart should these be spaced?
First off, Chase’s rewards program is called Ultimate Rewards ("UR"). You'll find that it's very popular here because points are pretty easy to earn, and very easy to understand and redeem. UR points are valued at 1 point = $0.01 if you ever decide you want "cash back." However, if you redeem UR points for travel using one of Chase's premium cards, they're worth 25% more with the Chase Sapphire Preferred ("CSP") and Chase Ink Business Preferred ("CIP"), or 50% more with the Chase Sapphire Reserve ("CSR"), when using Chase's Ultimate Rewards travel portal or the Cruise and Tour department. You can move all UR points earned on any card to another card in your household to pool the points and obtain the best value.
As
@speedyfishy, already pointed out, you can transfer UR points to Chase’s many airline and hotel partners 1:1. However, UR points have additional flexibility because you can use them like cash to book flights, accommodations (even Disney resorts), and activities through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Think of Chase’s travel portal like Expedia (because it actually is running the Expedia platform). In addition to redeeming points through Chase’s travel portal, you can use UR points for flights, rooms, cruises, tours, Disney theme park tickets, vacation packages, car rentals, etc. with Chase’s travel agents in their Cruise and Tour department. You can even book a Disney vacation package using PIN or other targeted offer from Disney, and transfer it over to Chase to pay the balance with UR points.
However, Chase has a rule called 5/24 that restricts many of their more rewarding cards, including the UR-earning Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, CSP, CSR, CIP, and Chase Ink Business Cash ("CIC") for approval only if you've had less than 5 new credit card accounts opened in the past 24 months.
You mentioned above that your husband has a business. If you’ve ever sold anything online (e.g., eBay,
Amazon, Craigslist, Facebook, Etsy), babysat, dog walked, tutored, consulted on anything, done independent contractor work, you have a business too! If you have any plans to start a business, you might also qualify. Business credit cards are great because they often come with higher bonuses than personal cards, and issuers also tend not to report business cards to your personal credit report so they don’t show up when Chase is trying to count how many credit cards you’ve opened in the past 24 months. In other words, business cards are a great way to reap the rewards but not have a card count against the 5/24 rule that Chase uses to restrict approval for their more rewarding credit cards.
As for Chase’s business cards, I would really suggest you consider applying for the Chase Ink Business Preferred (“CIP”). It carries a big 80,000 UR points bonus after a $5,000 minimum required spend (“MSR”) in 3 months with a $95 annual fee (“AF”). (The cardholding spouse should eventually refer the other spouse for their own CIP for another 80k UR signup bonus and a 20k UR referral.) The CIP won’t add to your */24 count.
The main reason I’d recommend the CIP is because of Plastiq. Plastiq is a bill payment service that lets you use a credit card to pay almost any kind of bill with a 2.5% fee. Use your credit card to pay Plastiq the amount due and a 2.5% fee, and Plastiq will send the payee a check, electronic payment, or ACH.
Currently, and for some time now, Plastiq has been earning 3x UR on what seems like all categories of expenses paid on the CIP. It’s the only card known to do this (this could change at a later date as with anything else in this game). Plastiq charges a 2.5% fee for payments made with credit cards, but the 3x UR (equal to 3¢/$1) earned on the CIP would put you ahead if you decide you want to redeem your UR points (1 point = 1¢) for cash to pay off those fees.
If your tax bill is due next month, it might be a good idea to start with the CIP because this card should earn you 3x UR on the $6,000; the CSP and CSR will not. That tax bill will also knock out the CIP's $5k MSR in one go! Easy 80k UR after your first statement.
To use your example, if you have a $6,000 tax bill to pay, Plastiq would charge you a 2.5% fee (or $150) if you wanted to pay with a credit card. You’d pay Plastiq $6,150, but if you charged it on a CIP then you’d earn 3x UR on the amount due and the fee (or 6,150 x 3 = 18,450 UR points, worth $184.50 in cash back, or $276.75 towards travel if the UR points are moved to a CSR). Basically you are buying 1 UR point worth 1¢ for 0.81¢. If you decide to keep the points and transfer them to the CSR, they are worth 50% more when redeeming on the UR portal, so 3x effectively becomes 4.5x worth that more than offsets the 2.5% fee. That’s a pretty good deal!
People here use Plastiq to pay tuition, student loans, car payments, rent, utilities, contractors, the IRS, state and property taxes. However, not all mortgages can be paid using Plastiq. Amex and Visa both have imposed strict restrictions against paying mortgages using their cards through Plastiq. So being able to get a payment through to your mortgage company on a Visa or Amex card is more the exception to the rule. To comply with Amex and Visa's guidelines, Plastiq has essentially blacklisted most mortgage companies as "recipients" if you're using an Amex or Visa card. Smaller banks and credit unions may have slipped this blacklist. Mortgage companies that don't sound like they have anything to do with mortgages may still work, like "Mr. Cooper." And it's possible to change the name and address of the recipient to sneak your payment through to your mortgage company. However, the big banks and mortgage holders/servicers -- like Chase for you -- are very likely blocked.
If you plan to use Plastiq, please consider signing up through a DISchurner’s link. This will give you $500 “fee free dollars” — basically, Plastiq will waive the fee on your second $500 spent through them after you’ve made your first $500 in payments. Likewise, if you do decide to apply for any cards, I’d encourage you to look through DISchurners’ links, and if you see a link from one of the many wonderful people here who’ve already given you great advice, please consider giving back by applying through their link.
We're here if you have more questions, and good luck!