(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.)
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.
Gonna sound really dumb, but how do i get cash out my CC to put into a CD?
Want to know this as well 🙂
Charge all your expenses (rent, groceries, gas, utilities, etc.) to your 0% interest credit card and put all your monthly income into CDs.
gotcha that makes sense now!
Just a hint – there are stores where you buy stuff with your cc, return it but for the refund you can use any card (including debit cards). not sure how much more detailed I can describe it and not get banned
Returns are already being curbed from legitimate use, no need to add return fraud to it. I’ll jump through a hoop or two to save a few bucks but draw the line there.
this is nothing related to return frauds lol e.g. when I shop for a car, I usually need certain type I need to wait for , so I need to leave a deposit using my cc… you do it over the phone and I do it with multiple dealers to get the car from the one who gets it first. Then I can cancel the deposit from the other dealers and you can get it back to a debit card… so how is it a fraud ? it is legal to do with multiple dealers.
Treasury bills can net 5% like CDs right now, but don’t have state/local tax
will chase pull my credit if I am not eligible for the bonus? Will it not pull my credit and just deny the application if i am not eligible for the bonus? about the pull the trigger online but want to make sure
Why wouldn’t you be eligible for the bonus?
Of course they’ll pull your credit. Being ineligible for a bonus doesn’t prevent you from applying for a card and being approved.
Do we need to pay off the initial spend for the sign up bonus or can it also be carried over as balance for the 0 % promo and still get the bonus?
See my recent post, below, for timing of two larger charges. I made a few additional smaller charges to hit the $6k SUB, the 90k SUB appeared in my portal 2 business days later and was added to my UR points at closing of that statement. Still carrying ~$5k of that balance, so, no need to pay off the balance to get the SUB; did the same with a CIC a few years ago, zero issues.
Isn’t that a standard Visa Signature feature that any allowed charge more than the credit line are due immediately with the next statement? So you cannot really squeeze any extra out from the 0% APR by doing that.
Only was given a $6k CL for a new CIU about 4 months ago, I bought a set of BBS CI-R wheels with Michelin PSAS4 tires for my AMG GLB at a national tire chain – I put $2k down and paid the ~$3.5k balance upon installation, calling in each time to let Chase know about the impending purchase. I sold the stock wheels and summer P Zeros (I live in a generally-cooler state, really don’t want summer tires on any of my cars anyway) for about $4k, letting the CIU balance ride until it’s time for a new Chase Biz card.
+1 on not spooking Chase, tho’ it’s my 4th Ink for my “business”.
Got $60k sitting in a 5% CD thanks to amex biz plats and chase inks
Thanks for all the info regarding maxing out 0 apr offer. I messaged Chase yesterday and moved $10K credit to my new unlimited card, now I have $18K credit limit ( $8000 previously ). First time trying this, a little nervous, kindly ask for any insight from the pros here.
My first statement is due in 4 days, min due is $58 , total statement balance is shy of $6000 ( tens of dollard to meet SUB) Is it safe ( no charge ) for me just to pay the min balance now, then continue paying min balance each month until the one year promo is up before paying in full?
Since I moved some credit to this card, can I still spend, as long as within my credit limit and just pay the min each month?
I am not a risk taker, so if there’s any downside doing this, I would rather pay in full. Thanks in advace for any further advice.
Yes, as long as the card is 12 months old or newer you can just pay minimum balance with no penalty. I still pay mine off because I don’t like carrying a balance.
I believe this should really only be done using business cards. If you do this with personal cards, the high credit utilization ratio will negatively impact your personal credit score.
They only issued me a $7k limit, I hit the $6k spend, should I utilize the 0% APR now, or pay down the $6k spend, wait a month or so and request an increase, then put heavy spending on the card utilizing the 0% APR?
The risk and reward of getting a higher increase with a low versus high balance isn’t worth it in my opinion.
Just leave the balance on card and let it grow. It makes no sense to pay it off now and then put non-SUB spend on it just for the APR.
So I joined the arbitrage by doing introductory purchases that will have 0% going to April 2024 on my Ink card. It sounds like I can move credit lines from other Ink cards to this card and take advantage of the 0% rate. What exactly counts as “introductory purchases”? I assumed these are only for charges on the first statement, but is the 0% rate valid for all purchases for the first year? I ask because on my statement there is another line “Purchases” that has an 18% rate.
AFAIK, all the purchases during the promo 0% fall under that. Technically it probably should say Purchases Introductory Rate.