340K bonus points through pre-approved business card offers

My wife and son recently found that they were pre-approved for a few business cards that they’ve had before. Through these offers, my wife got one new card and my son got two. Once they finish the minimum spend requirements for these offers, they’ll have racked up a total of 340,000 transferable bonus points (not counting the usual points earned on spend). Sadly, I wasn’t targeted for any of these, but since I manage the family’s points, its all good.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

When my son logged into his Amex account where he already had a Business Gold card, a 175K bonus point offer popped up to add a Business Platinum card to his business. He clicked the “Learn More” button and noted that there was no language in the offer barring him from getting the bonus if he’s had the card before. That was good news, because he’s had the Business Platinum card many times before. He didn’t actually apply right then, but each time he logged in afterwards the offer popped up again with the words “Finish applying for the Business Platinum Card®…”

Finally, he gave in and applied. He was instantly approved.

Ink Business Cards

Shortly after getting targeted for the Amex Business Platinum card, my son found that he was “already approved!” for an Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. And my wife found that she was “already approved!” for both that card and the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card. My wife and son found these offers by logging into their Chase business accounts. As you can see above, on desktop, the offers appeared on the right side of the screen. Here’s a close-up of my wife’s offers:

In both cases, my wife and son were pre-approved for cards that they’ve had before but didn’t currently have. I assume that my son wasn’t targeted for the Ink Business Unlimited card because he currently has one open. This is a good reminder to cancel or product change cards you’re not currently using so that you’ll have a chance for pre-approved offers like these.

My son was instantly approved for the Ink Business Preferred offer for 90,000 points after $8,000 spend in three months. My wife was instantly approved for the Ink Business Unlimited offer for 75,000 points after $6,000 spend in three months. After applying for one card, both offers disappeared from her account. She could still apply for the Ink Business Preferred card as well, but she’s not necessarily pre-approved for it anymore. So, for that one it makes more sense for her to wait for an improved offer.

Minimum Spend

In total we have to spend $34,000 to earn all three welcome bonuses. Here are some of the ways I usually handle big spend needs:

• Pay Taxes: fees range from 1.75% to 3%
• Pay Bills: ~3% fee
  • Melio (for business expenses)
  • Plastiq (for other expenses)
• Kiva microloans: There are no fees to make Kiva microloans with a credit card, but there is a risk of not getting all of your money back and there’s the cost of money until your loans are repaid (e.g. you don’t earn interest on your money during that time).
• Donate to charity: I like to donate to my favorite charities through the PayPal Giving Fund Fundraiser Hub because PayPal waives the credit card fees and sends 100% of the donation to the charity.

In this particular case, I know I have some big tax bills coming up so I’ll probably handle most of the minimum spend that way.

Summary

We didn’t intend to do a mini application spree at this time, but these pre-approved offers were too good to pass up. Plus we have some big tax bills coming up that can be used to meet the minimum spend on these offers.

To position yourself for offers like these, you need to already have business cards with these banks. If you don’t already have them, watch for great offers and go for it.

In order to sign up for a business credit card, you must have a business. That said, it’s common for people to have businesses without realizing it. For example, if you sell items at a yard sale or on eBay, then you have a business. Similar examples include: consulting, writing (e.g. blog authorship, planning your first novel, etc.), handyman services, owning rental property, renting on Airbnb, driving for Uber or Lyft, etc. In any of these cases, your business is considered a Sole Proprietorship and you can apply for a business credit card using your own name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as your business Tax ID (also known as EIN).