Chase has been running its awesome 100,000-point welcome bonus for a few months now, and it’s a fantastic deal even with the $95 annual fee. However, it’s been known that you can sweeten the deal even more by applying at a branch, which would get your Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee waived for the first year. Well, I almost got worried yesterday when my banker told me this option had expired. He even showed me the page on his computer screen that clearly stated the annual fee waiver had the July 17 deadline!
But then it got better
Nevertheless, he told me there was a possibility the bank could still approve me if I was a Select or Selected customer. Now I’ve heard Preferred Customer and Private Client, but I’ve never heard anything about Chase Select Customers. Well, guess what, when my banker entered my data into the application, it turned out I was it. A select customer or client, I don’t remember. And my application was approved on the spot. Yay! Now I have all Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, business or personal, except for the Sapphire Reserve. Unfortunately, I won’t qualify for it until at least 2025.
I’m currently working on a mammoth Chase post that you might want to read even if you’re an intermediate hobbyist. Will publish this week, probably.
The generous (and easy!) $750 Chase checking account bonus
If you hold any Chase business credit cards, you might already find this offer in the Just for You section of the app or account home page. If not, here is the public link.
What makes this offer stand out is not the generous bonus (although it’s outstandingly high), but how easy it is for you to get it. Here are the highlights.
- Open Chase Business Complete Banking online or at a branch.
- Deposit $10,000 within 30 days of opening the account and keep it for at least two months.
- Keep the account open for at least six months.
- Complete 25 qualifying transactions within 90 days of the coupon enrollment.
What counts as qualifying activities? Debit card purchases, Chase QuickAccept deposits, Chase QuickDeposit, ACH (credits only) and wires (credits and debits).
While you’ll need to tie $10,000 in your account for two months, it’s hard to imagine that not being worth $750.
If you have a sole proprietorship, you can still qualify for the account and the bonus. However, some comments on the DoC site suggest you might have to apply at a branch.
Avoiding the $15 monthly fees is super easy too!
The minimum daily limit to keep the account fee-free is $2,000, up from the $1,500 it used to be, I believe.
However, you can alternatively spend $2,000 on your Chase business credit cards. If you have a real business, no matter how small, spending $2,000 a month shouldn’t be a problem. And even if not – there are two no-annual-fee Chase business credit cards – and using them would make a lot of sense even if there weren’t any bonuses.
- Ink Business Unlimited offers 1.5 points or 1.5% cash back on every purchase.
- Ink Business Cash offers 5 points or 5% cash back on office supply purchases and internet / cable / phone services, as well as 2 points or 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants.
And did I mention that these two cards do not have an annual fee?
If you already have or are going to apply for the Ink Preferred card ($95 annual fee), that’s another option for the $2,000 monthly spend.
Like I said, you must consider these cards anyway, but that’s going to be a subject of another post I mentioned earlier.
There are other ways to keep the account fee-free, but these two ($2,000 minimum daily balances or spending $2,000 on your Ink credit cards) are the easiest.
You can receive a new bonus from Chase once every two years
I was lucky. My last business checking enrollment (for a $300 bonus) was in May 2019, so I was good to go. If you don’t remember when your last account was opened, ask your banker – she will. 🙂
Let’s recap
The Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee waiver
The official annual fee waiver for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card at a branch officially expired on July 17. Unofficially, however, they keep offering it to their “select customers.” So go ahead and ask your banker if you belong to this distinguished community, LOL.
In addition, the waiver expiration might mean that Chase is winding down their best-ever 100,000-point offer, so you might want to apply sooner rather than later if your 5/24 status allows it. I must add, though, that this is pure speculation on my part, and we might keep seeing the bonus offered for months to come.
The $750 business checking bonus
This is one of the best banking bonuses I’ve ever come across!
It may not be the highest banking bonus I’ve seen, but it’s extremely easy to get and avoid the fees. If you have any kind of business or side gig, I would go for it. Sole proprietors do qualify, but you might need to apply at a branch rather than online.
What are your thoughts?
I have a Chase Business checking account that I don’t even use & I received a letter stating that it will be converted to a Chase Business Complete Checking account effective September 5. I am going to close it because the balance required to avoid a monthly fee is increasing by $500 to $2000. It looks like you don’t qualify for the $750 bonus if you were a Chase business checking customer within the past 90 days. I should have closed the account a long time ago. Hopefully there will be a new bonus after October.
Actually, it’s 24 months, not 90 days. So yes, if you don’t need an account, close it down and wait for another offer down the road.
Doesn’t the “24 months” refer to when you last received a bonus?. I opened this account more than 24 months ago so I’m good there. However, the other exclusion states that you cannot have closed a Chase Business account within 90 days, so that’s the one that would affect me.
Of course, you’re right. I misunderstood and didn’t know you opened it over 2 years ago. Sorry.
No it’s not. I just applied in branch today and got it waived.
Fantastic! Glad it’s still working and thanks for sharing!