What Earns 5x With Chase Ink Cash

I recently shared all the various streaming services that earn bonus points with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card. In that post I said I had never paid much attention to it since I earn 5x with my Ink+ (no longer available but the big brother to the Ink Cash). Many people in the ToP Facebook group seemed surprised by this so I figured it was time to do a post about what earns 5x with Chase Ink Cash since there are more options than you would expect.

Ink Cash 5x Earning Categories

Anyone that has read our Chase Ink Cash review probably already has a good idea of what the earning structure for the card is. Just to be thorough, here are the bonus categories on the card:

• 5% back / 5x on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on the account during each anniversary (not calendar) year for the following categories:
  • Office supply stores
  • Internet
  • Cable
  • Phone Services
• 2% back / 2x on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on the account during each anniversary (not calendar) year for the following categories:
  • Gas stations
  • Dining
• 1% / 1x on everything else

The big winner here is the office supply stores category. I know everyone loves those no cost deals. Something we have learned over the years is that it all depends on how something codes with the issuer and not necessarily what is being sold. That is how supplement companies sometimes end up coding as grocery, even though they are not groceries. We often see the same charge code completely differently from Visa to Mastercard to Amex. Even though that can be frustrating, it does create some opportunity, if you are paying attention at least.

What Used To Work?

Before we get to what earns 5x with Chase Ink Cash currently we should take a look at what used to earn 5x Ultimate Rewards too. Looking back at what used to work does two things. First off, it allows us to weep over spilt milk…just kidding. Looking back gives us ideas on what may work going forward and it shows what kind of scope we are dealing with.

Here are some things that used to earn 5x Ultimate Rewards with the Ink Cash but doesn't any longer (I'll add to this list as things develop going forward too):

• PayPal Digital Gifts – this was a big one with all of their discounted gift card deals
• Swych – gift card app
• Gyft – another gift card app
• Any wireless carrier that doesn't give an auto discount for credit card payments anymore (usually the cash savings outweighs the points earned)

From this list PayPal Digital Gifts still hurts the most. They used to have a ton of discounted gift card deals on eBay and on their own site. It is less so these days but I did just buy a $50 Chipotle gift card last week for $42.50 on there. It would have been really nice to earn 5x points on the purchase too! There is still one business card that earns bonus points on those charges though.

What Still Earns 5x With Chase Ink Cash?

Now for the good stuff, let's take a look at what is still working for 5x Ultimate Rewards points. Some will be obvious, of course, and some may surprise you. Hopefully we can start juicing your earnings a bit after learning of some new opportunities.

• Staples online for gift cards (3rd party and Visa etc.)
  • This does not work on Office Max / Depot since they outsource their online gift cards
• Quill
  • This is an office supply store owned by Staples and everything on it earns 5x. There are also Chase Offers for this site often which gives people a deal stacking opportunity.
• Streaming Services (many code as cable)
  • Netflix
  • Hulu
  • Sling TV
  • Tivo
  • Vudu
  • Sirius XM
  • Spotify
• Fluz App
  • Some stores on here code as office supply or cable
• Microsoft's Website
• GoGo Wifi in flight on Southwest
• GoDaddy

Earn 5x Ultimate Rewards: ToP Thoughts

Hopefully this helps you rack up some bonus points in areas you weren't earning 5x on before. If you notice anything else that codes for 5x with the Chase Ink Cash please let me know and I'll add it in. I'll keep this resource updated as any changes happen. New apps and processors usually offer new opportunities for increased earning because of their coding potential. So keep your eyes open and be willing to test things out!