How To Earn 5x Points on Regular Purchases (Strategy)
Let’s be real for a second: How are so many people still missing out on the Chase Ink Business Cash 5x hack?
If you’re only earning 1x points on your groceries, your car insurance, or your morning coffee, you are essentially leaving free vacations on the table. Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on the "Gift Card Strategy".
The Secret Sauce: The 5x Category
The Chase Ink Business Cash has a superpower: it earns 5% cash back (which we know is actually 5x points. More on that in a second) at office supply stores on the first $25,000 spent each year.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: "I don't buy $25,000 worth of staplers and printer paper." Neither do I. But you know what Staples and Office Depot sell? Gift cards. Thousands of them.
Step-by-Step: The "Hack"
- The Store: Head to a Staples or Office Depot/OfficeMax.
- The Rack: Find the gift card rack. You’ll see brands like Amazon, Airbnb, Netflix, and Starbucks. But the "Holy Grail" is the Visa or Mastercard Gift Cards.
- The Purchase: When you buy a $200 Visa Gift Card at Staples using your Ink Business Cash, Chase sees an "Office Supply Store" purchase.
- The Math: You just earned 1,000 Chase points on a single $200 card. Do that for your monthly groceries or gas, and the points pile up fast.
Pro-Tip: Watch for "Fee-Free" Weeks Usually, these cards have a $7.95 activation fee. Skip it. Staples and Office Depot run "Fee-Free" promotions roughly every month (we’ll keep you posted on the dates!). During these weeks, they waive the activation fee entirely, meaning you are quite literally buying "money" and getting 5x points for free.
The "Magic" Trick: Turning Cash Back into Travel Points
Chase labels the rewards on the Ink Business Cash as "Cash Back." On its own, 5% is great. But we’re savvy travelers—we want Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt stays and United flights.
Here is the key: If you also hold a "premium" Chase card—like the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred®—you can "Combine Points" in the Chase portal.
- You move that "Cash Back" from your Ink Cash to your Sapphire account.
- Instantly, that cash becomes transferable Ultimate Rewards points.
- Instead of $100 in cash, you now have 10,000 points you can transfer to British Airways, Southwest, or Hyatt where they can be worth $200 or more.
Why You Need This Card Now
If you aren't using this strategy, you're capped at 1x or 2x points on most of your life. By routing your spending through gift cards bought at office supply stores, you effectively 5x your life.
Ready to start earning? Apply for the Chase Ink Business Cash (my referral link).
Catch you in the skies,
Julia
