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The Chase Pay Yourself Back program has been one of the most valuable limited-time redemption options banks have introduced in response to the pandemic. Because many of us still aren’t traveling, this feature provides a way to get a better return for your Ultimate Rewards points when you redeem them toward purchases in select categories.
Chase recently announced the extension of Pay Yourself Back categories — grocery stores, dining, home improvement stores, and eligible charitable donations — on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®. And now Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card cardholders have new, limited-time categories for redemption as well.
Through June 30, 2021, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (and Ink Business Plus® Credit Card, which isn’t available to new applicants) Pay Yourself Back categories are:
- Home improvement stores
- Shipping
- Eligible charity purchases (through December 31, 2021)
Previously, these cards had offered the Pay Yourself Back option on online advertising and shipping purchases, but those categories expired at the end of 2020.
Chase Ink Business Preferred Pay Yourself Back categories
Regular APR
15.99%–20.99% variable APR
Credit Score
Good to Excellent
Featured Reward
100,000 points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Pros
- High sign-up bonus
- Offers 3x bonus points on several spending categories, including travel and advertising purchases
- Includes comprehensive travel coverage
Cons
- Welcome bonus has a very high minimum spending requirement
- Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases
- With Fraud Protection your card transactions will be monitored for possible signs of fraudulent activity using real-time fraud monitoring
- With Zero Liability you won’t be held responsible for unauthorized charges made with your card or account information
- Redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more – your points don’t expire as long as your account is open
- Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Purchase Protection covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per account
- $95 Annual Fee
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Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and Ink Business Plus cardholders can redeem points at an improved rate — 1.25 cents per point — toward shipping, home improvement store, and eligible charity purchases through Pay Yourself Back until June 30. Normally, Chase Ultimate Rewards cards offer a rate of 1 cent per point when you redeem rewards for cash back or statement credits.
In the home improvement stores category, purchases at large retailers (like Lowe’s and Home Depot) qualify, as well as smaller hardware stores. Chase’s terms and conditions note merchants that sell other types of goods, like warehouse clubs, home furnishing stores, or garden and landscaping supply stores are not included.
The shipping category is quite broad and includes postal services, couriers like UPS and FedEx, plus freight shipping companies, express shipping services, and mailbox stores. Stores that sell a wide variety of goods but also ship items, like office supply stores, don’t qualify, nor do merchants that primarily sell boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, or other shipping supplies.
How does Chase Pay Yourself Back work?
Chase makes it easy to redeem points through Pay Yourself Back. Once you’ve made a qualifying purchase, you have 90 days to “erase” the charge from your statement with points — either in full or partially. To do so, navigate to the Pay Yourself Back section under the “Earn/Use” dropdown in your online Chase account.
Chase
You’ll see a list of qualifying purchases made in the last 90 days, and from there you’ll have the option to select a purchase and choose the number of points you want to redeem.
Redeeming Chase points this way is a good option if you don’t have upcoming travel plans, but keep in mind it’s possible to get even more value when you transfer points to airline and hotel partners for award travel. You have even more redemption choices if you also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, because points linked to that card are worth 1.5 cents each through Pay Yourself Back and toward travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal.
It’s easy to transfer Chase points between accounts, and doing so makes it possible to maximize your Chase Ultimate Rewards points by pairing no-annual-fee cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, or Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card with annual-fee cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
Jasmin Baron is an associate editor at Personal Finance Insider, where she helps readers maximize rewards and find the best credit cards to fit their lifestyles. She has covered credit cards, points and miles, and loyalty programs for over seven years, and she’s a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).