Good question! I have a picture of the Visa and Mastercard gift cards on my blog page for reference (because yea, it does make a difference)! Check out the pictures of the gift card at the bottom of the blog: leenontravel.weebly.com/learn-more/my-favorite-perk-of-the-chase-business-ink-cash
Just saw your question on the blog article too! A transaction ending in $.00 can look suspicious/fraudulent, so add a pack of gum or soda or something so the transaction is more like $202.18 and doesn’t look like someone just stole your card and is buying gift cards. I forgot to do this once and no fraud phone calls occurred, but it’s good practice if you regularly buy those gift cards with your Ink.
Hi I’m planning to apply for CIC but I’m confused on the part where you mentioned about working on sign up bonus. Can I not buy these gift cards to help meet my minimum spend? Would I not get the points? Sorry I’m new at this.
@hallobeanme hello! Im not sure if you got my reply or not as its not showing up. But yes- you absolutely can buy gift cards when working on your sign up bonus. 😉
Business credit card agreements indicate that they are to be used for business purposes. I could buy gift cards to pay my annual license renewal and other business expenses. However using it for groceries, utility bills and personal expenses does not comply with the card issuer agreement.
Good question @mberrynunez! Ok so banks need to put that "business expenses only" statement to cover themselves due to the Credit Card Act of 2009. This act is all about consumer/personal credit card protections as they have a lot more protections than business cards. So banks need to make it clear that you are not protected by the Credit Card act with business expenditures, unlike personal expenditures. If you notice the Offers page on the business cards- a considerable amount of them are impossible to be business related. So that indicates to a lot of travel hackers that the banks expect people to be doing a mix of spending on them. What you report to the IRS for your business expenditures is a totally different thing though, but our banks do not communicate with the IRS. Additionally, Chase has no idea what is purchased with the card, or if something is business or personal. Businesses all the time buy supplies and drinks/snacks at grocery stores, use gas stations, and pay utilities. Of course, if you're not comfortable using your biz card for personal expenses, don't do it! But know that most of us travel hackers do do it, and there's never been a credit card police out there inquiring, let alone punishing us for it. :)
While “manufactured spending” violates it, Chase (unlike Amex) cannot see what you purchased- only the $ spent. So when you buy only gift cards at Staples/Office Depot, a transaction that ends in $.00 does look suspicious (although there’s been zero reports of travel hackers getting caught). So to not make it look suspicious, always add a pack of gum, soda, post-its, etc. to your transaction. 😊
Great video! When you say gift cards, are you referring to Visa or Mastercard debit cards?
Good question! I have a picture of the Visa and Mastercard gift cards on my blog page for reference (because yea, it does make a difference)! Check out the pictures of the gift card at the bottom of the blog: leenontravel.weebly.com/learn-more/my-favorite-perk-of-the-chase-business-ink-cash
Just saw your question on the blog article too! A transaction ending in $.00 can look suspicious/fraudulent, so add a pack of gum or soda or something so the transaction is more like $202.18 and doesn’t look like someone just stole your card and is buying gift cards. I forgot to do this once and no fraud phone calls occurred, but it’s good practice if you regularly buy those gift cards with your Ink.
Hi I’m planning to apply for CIC but I’m confused on the part where you mentioned about working on sign up bonus. Can I not buy these gift cards to help meet my minimum spend? Would I not get the points? Sorry I’m new at this.
@hallobeanme you absolutely can do this while working on your minimum spend!
@hallobeanme hello! Im not sure if you got my reply or not as its not showing up. But yes- you absolutely can buy gift cards when working on your sign up bonus. 😉
Business credit card agreements indicate that they are to be used for business purposes. I could buy gift cards to pay my annual license renewal and other business expenses. However using it for groceries, utility bills and personal expenses does not comply with the card issuer agreement.
Good question @mberrynunez! Ok so banks need to put that "business expenses only" statement to cover themselves due to the Credit Card Act of 2009. This act is all about consumer/personal credit card protections as they have a lot more protections than business cards. So banks need to make it clear that you are not protected by the Credit Card act with business expenditures, unlike personal expenditures.
If you notice the Offers page on the business cards- a considerable amount of them are impossible to be business related. So that indicates to a lot of travel hackers that the banks expect people to be doing a mix of spending on them. What you report to the IRS for your business expenditures is a totally different thing though, but our banks do not communicate with the IRS.
Additionally, Chase has no idea what is purchased with the card, or if something is business or personal. Businesses all the time buy supplies and drinks/snacks at grocery stores, use gas stations, and pay utilities.
Of course, if you're not comfortable using your biz card for personal expenses, don't do it! But know that most of us travel hackers do do it, and there's never been a credit card police out there inquiring, let alone punishing us for it. :)
Does this violate the chase TOS? I so want to do this but I’m scared about my chase relationships getting terminated .
While “manufactured spending” violates it, Chase (unlike Amex) cannot see what you purchased- only the $ spent. So when you buy only gift cards at Staples/Office Depot, a transaction that ends in $.00 does look suspicious (although there’s been zero reports of travel hackers getting caught). So to not make it look suspicious, always add a pack of gum, soda, post-its, etc. to your transaction. 😊
I've purchased Amazon gift cards at my local Staples and Office Depot. YMMV.
There is no amazon cards on staples or office depot
Nope, there’s not. But you can use your Visa/Mastercard gift cards for Amazon payment though!
Awesome
It's so sucks I like it 😂