The annual fee of $95 for my Chase Ink Preferred card is about to be charged and I was planning to renew it for another year without much consideration. While I usually review every card to ensure it still suits our portfolio, I tend to overlook cards that cost less than $100. However, after reading several posts about the Chase Ink Preferred and its increased 100,000-point sign-up bonus, I began to question whether it’s worth keeping in my collection.
Upon reviewing my expenses over the past year, I realized that I have hardly used my Chase Ink Preferred credit card, except for a $12 monthly subscription charge. After examining my usage patterns, I came to the conclusion that the card is not bad, it simply does not align with my spending habits. I already have other credit cards that cater to the areas where this card would be more beneficial.
For a reminder, here are some of the benefits of the Ink Preferred:
Spending Bonus Categories
The Chase Ink Business Preferred earns 3X points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary (not calendar) year.
- Travel
- Shipping Purchases
- Internet, cable and phone services
- Social media and search engine advertising
The card earns one point per dollar for all other spending with no limits to the total amount of points you can receive.
For travel expenses, I use the Chase Sapphire Reserve and receive the same 3x Ultimate Rewards points. We don’t have any shipping or social media advertising expenses and I can put our internet and cable expenses on my Chase Ink Cash card for 5X Ultimate Rewards. I’ve moved our T-Mobile bill to the Venture X for the reasons listed below.
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Another great feature of this card is that it acts as primary coverage when you rent a car. In normal terms, if you get in an accident in your rental car, you can use the coverage from Chase before filing a claim with your own insurance. Most other companies offer secondary coverage (where you need to file a claim with your auto insurance first). One important thing to remember is, that coverage is primary when renting for business purposes.
I charge our rental cars to the Sapphire Reserve or Capital One Venture X which also have primary coverage.
Cell Phone Protection
With iPhones going for upwards of $1,500 for a top-of-the-line model, it makes sense to insure your phone for theft or damage. If you pay your cell phone bill with the Ink Preferred, you get up to $1,000 per claim if your phone is damaged or stolen. There’s a max of 3 claims in 12 months and a $100 deductible per claim.
I’ve moved our T-Mobile bill to the Venture X card which earns 2X points on all expenses and also has cell phone insurance with a $50 deductible.
Chase Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to other programs at a 1:1 value
Several programs partner with Chase, allowing you to move points to other programs. This will enable you to take advantage of the values in multiple programs without being locked into any particular one. Here are the partners of Chase Ultimate Rewards:
- AerLingus AerClub (Avios)
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Executive Club (Avios)
- Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
- Emirates Skywards
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Iberia Plus (Avios)
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus®
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
Since I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, I can still transfer points to partners.
Time is running out for me to make a decision
Chase allows you to cancel a credit card and get a credit for the annual fee if you contact them within 30 days of the annual fee being charged to your account. For me, that means I have until the beginning of next month to make a decision.
However, if I decide to cancel my card I need to transfer the points to my Chase Ink Cash or Sapphire Reserve card before I close the account. Any Ultimate Rewards balance in your account will be lost if you close the account. Fortunately, it’s easy to transfer points between accounts.
Final Thought
After carefully considering the Chase Ink Preferred card, I still believe it is a good choice for many individuals. However, since we already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ink Cash, and Capital One Venture X cards, having the Ink Preferred card with its $95 annual fee seems unnecessary.
In addition, by closing the card I’ll eventually become eligible for a large signup bonus again. How can anyone pass up 100,000 Ultimate Rewards?
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
This is a keeper card for me because the 3x travel includes cruises, a category not a lot of cards cover. When coupled with one or both of the no annual fee Ink cards it helps leverage this card making the annual fee easier to swallow.
Does airport food fall under Travel or Restaurants