The Disappearing Chase Ink Bold

The Chase Ink Bold is the sibling of the Chase Ink Plus – both have the usual offer of 50,000 points as a sign-up bonus, both have a $95 annual fee, both offer 5x points at office stores and 2x points on telecommunication payments as well as hotels and gas stations. The only real difference between the two cards is the fact that that the Chase Ink Bold is a charge card (cannot carry a balance) and the Chase Ink Plus is a credit card (can carry a balance).

Real World Difference

– Application Link – Chase Ink Bold – 50,000 Points After Spending $5,000 in 3 months

Like many people, I have both cards. The advantage of having a Chase Ink Bold compared to the Chase Ink Plus is that the Bold, as a charge card, does not have a credit limit but rather a credit line that can move based on your transaction needs. In my case, my allowable limit is more than three times the actual credit limit on my Chase Ink Plus. That makes it easier to put large purchases on my Chase Ink Bold as well as making it easier to get higher limits, depending on what you will be spending and purchasing. As a charge card (which must be paid in full each month), Chase seems to have a more lenient stance with allowing that credit line to increase. It is less of a risk on Chase’s part since the balance must be paid in full.

Bye-bye, Chase Ink Bold

Other than that, there are really not any other real world differences. Most likely because of how overlapping they are, Chase has decided to get rid of the Chase Ink Bold in November (DealsWeLike puts the date at November 17th). That means that there are only about 5 weeks left in which you can apply for the Chase Ink Bold and take advantage of the 50,000 points it offers.

Is There An Advantage To Having Both?

There actually is an advantage to having both the Chase Ink Bold and the Chase Ink Plus, but very few people will probably be able to take advantage of it. The advantage is that you are limited to the first $50,000 spent on each of the bonus categories – the 5x points for office supply store purchases and telecommunication services, and the 2x points for hotel reservations (made through the hotel directly), and gas stations. If you were to max out the $50K on office supply store purchases, it would net you 250,000 Ultimate Reward points per year! That is huge, but it requires a fair amount of spend at office supply stores (but they do have gift cards!).

If you are one of those people that could max out those bonus categories, then having both cards gives you the opportunity to maximize that bonus even further.

If you already have the Chase Ink Bold, don’t worry. Chase hasn’t said anything about making the card itself go away, just the offer. If you do not have it, I would definitely plan on applying for it within the next 5 weeks.

The only part that might make that a puzzle (over when to apply) is the fact that the Chase Ink Plus has the high, limited-time offer of 70,000 points that will probably disappear sometime this week. Since you cannot apply for the both of them at once, it may be a tricky decision if you want both of them. Frankly, I would apply for the Chase Ink Plus this week at the current bonus level and then apply for the Chase Ink Bold in 4 weeks. I think that is the best way to maximize the bonuses between these two cards. If approved, you will earn 120,000 points in bonuses after meeting the spend on both cards. Not bad for two card applications!

Disclaimer: I do receive a commission on the Chase Ink Plus, but not the Chase Ink Bold.

Non-Affiliate Product Disclaimer: The information for the Chase Ink Bold has been collected independently by Running with Miles. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.