Chase Says Ink Plus 5x Office Supply Rewards Are Staying

Chase’s Ink Plus scare was a false alarm

Chase just gave legacy Ink Plus cardholders a mini heart attack for no good reason. Honestly, this is the kind of thing that makes email communication from card issuers exhausting. A recent email told some cardmembers that the card’s 5x rewards at office supply stores were ending. That would’ve been a massive downgrade to one of the best old-school business cards in the Chase ecosystem.

But Chase has now confirmed the email was a mistake. The 5x office supply store bonus category is not changing, and cardmembers should receive corrected information.

That’s the important part: if you still have the Chase Ink Plus, don’t panic, don’t product-change in a fit of rage, and don’t assume the 5x office supply play is dead. For now, the card keeps doing what made it valuable in the first place.

This is also a nice reminder that bank emails aren’t always the final word. Sometimes they’re legally precise. Sometimes they’re vague. And sometimes, apparently, they’re just wrong.

What changed, and what didn’t

The mistaken message suggested that Ink Plus cardmembers would lose 5x rewards at office supply stores. Chase has since said that is not happening and that corrected communication will go out to affected cardholders.

The practical meaning is simple: the Ink Plus remains intact as a legacy Chase Ultimate Rewards business card with its familiar bonus structure. The key category here is 5x at office supply stores, generally paired with 5x on certain telecom services such as internet, cable, and phone services, subject to the card’s annual cap. Historically, that cap has been up to $50,000 in combined purchases per account anniversary year for those 5x categories, but you should verify your own card’s current terms in your Chase account because old products can have cardmember-specific language.

The Ink Plus is no longer available to new applicants, which is why this email caused such a stir. When a product is discontinued, existing cardholders are always a little exposed. The issuer can keep it as-is, slowly chip away at the benefits, or eventually force a conversion. Chase has done plenty of product updates over the years, so a message saying a valuable category was disappearing sounded believable.

This time, though, it was a mistake.

Why Ink Plus still matters in 2026

The Ink Plus isn’t flashy anymore because you can’t apply for it. It doesn’t get splashy launch coverage, giant public welcome offers, or airport lounge hype. But if you’re sitting on one, it can still be a workhorse.

The reason is Chase Ultimate Rewards. Ink Plus points aren’t just cash-back-style points trapped in a basic account. They’re transferable Ultimate Rewards points, meaning you can move them to programs like World of Hyatt, United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Air Canada Aeroplan, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and other Chase partners, assuming the current partner lineup remains available. Transfers can change, so always check Chase’s site before making plans.

That makes 5x office supply spend much more powerful than a simple 5% rebate. Yes, you can cash out Ultimate Rewards at a baseline value if you want. But the better use is often travel, especially Hyatt stays or select airline awards where you’re getting well over one cent per point.

And office supply stores are more useful than the name suggests. Plenty of small businesses buy printer ink, shipping supplies, paper, tech accessories, postage-related items, breakroom supplies, and software there. Some people also buy gift cards at office supply stores, which can turn the category into a broader spending tool. That can be valuable, but it also comes with risk. Chase doesn’t love behavior that looks like manufactured spending, and stores can change what they sell, how purchases code, or whether card payments are allowed for certain gift cards. Don’t build a house of cards around a loophole.

The worked example: why this email mattered

Let’s say your business spends $2,000 per month in categories that code at 5x on the Ink Plus. Maybe that’s a mix of office supply store purchases, phone service, internet service, and software or supplies bought through an office supply retailer.

Over 12 months, that’s $24,000 of spend.

At 5x, you’d earn 120,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

If Chase had cut that category to 1x, you’d earn only 24,000 points on the same spend.

That’s a 96,000-point difference.

Put a conservative 1.5 cents-per-point value on transferable Chase points, and you’re looking at roughly $1,440 in travel value that would’ve disappeared. If you redeem mainly for Hyatt stays, you may do better. If you cash out at a lower value, you may do worse. Either way, this wasn’t some tiny footnote. A real category change would’ve cost active cardholders real money.

Now scale that up. If you can legitimately use the full historical $50,000 annual 5x cap, that’s 250,000 Ultimate Rewards points. At 1x, it would be 50,000 points. The gap is 200,000 points. Even after accounting for the Ink Plus annual fee, that’s a big reason to keep the card.

That’s why Chase’s correction matters.

Should you keep the Ink Plus?

For most cardholders who actively use the 5x categories, yes. I’d be very slow to give this card up.

The Ink Plus has two big advantages over many newer cards. First, it earns transferable Ultimate Rewards on 5x office supply and telecom-style spend. Second, it has a higher historical 5x cap than the no-annual-fee Ink Business Cash, which generally has a lower annual cap for similar 5x categories. The Ink Business Cash is excellent, but it’s not a perfect replacement if you’re maxing out the Ink Plus.

That said, the Ink Plus won’t make sense for everyone. If you pay the annual fee and barely use the 5x categories, you’re keeping a relic for sentimental reasons. That’s not a strategy. You’d be better off comparing a no-annual-fee Ink Cash, an Ink Business Unlimited, or an Ink Business Preferred depending on your spend and whether you need transferable points.

The tricky part is that product-changing away from a discontinued card can be a one-way door. If you convert your Ink Plus to another Chase business card, you likely shouldn’t expect to get the Ink Plus back later. That’s why I wouldn’t make a move based on one bad email or even one confusing Chase message. Wait for corrected information. Save copies. Check your rewards activity after new statements post.

What Ink Plus cardholders should do now

Don’t call Chase and ask a frontline phone rep to explain the long-term future of a discontinued product. That’s usually how you get five different answers from four different people.

Instead, do the boring but useful stuff. Keep the mistaken email. Keep the corrected email when it arrives. Take a screenshot of your current rewards terms inside Chase if you can access them. After your next office supply store purchase posts, confirm that it earns at the expected 5x rate. If it doesn’t, then you have documentation and a specific transaction to dispute.

You should also check your account anniversary year and where you stand against the 5x cap. Some people think in calendar years, but many card caps work by account anniversary year. If you’re trying to optimize spend, that detail matters. A purchase made in the wrong month could earn 1x not because Chase changed the category, but because you already hit the cap.

If you use office supply stores for gift cards, be extra disciplined. Track fees, track activation issues, and make sure the math still works. Buying a $200 Visa gift card with a $6.95 fee at 5x might still be attractive for some users, especially during promotions, but it isn’t free money. You’re paying a fee, taking on hassle, and creating activity that could draw attention if abused. The cleanest use of this card is still real business spend that naturally fits the 5x categories.

How this compares to Ink Cash and Ink Preferred

The closest cousin is the Ink Business Cash. It has no annual fee and earns 5% cash back, issued as Ultimate Rewards points, in office supply and certain telecom categories up to its own annual cap. Pair it with a premium Ultimate Rewards card, such as a Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, or Ink Business Preferred, and those points can become transferable.

For many small businesses, Ink Cash is the better modern recommendation because it’s available to new applicants and has no annual fee. But legacy Ink Plus cardholders may still prefer the Plus if they need the larger 5x capacity and want a single card that already has full Ultimate Rewards transfer functionality.

The Ink Business Preferred is different. It has broader 3x business categories and strong travel protections, but it doesn’t replace 5x office supply earning. If your business spends heavily on shipping, ads, travel, or internet and phone services, Ink Preferred can be excellent. If your main value engine is office supply stores, Ink Plus remains special.

The best setup for a Chase-heavy business owner may be a mix: keep Ink Plus if you already have it, use Ink Cash if you can benefit from more 5x capacity or no annual fee, and use Ink Preferred or a Sapphire card where travel protections or transfer access matter.

Don’t ignore the bigger lesson

This episode is a small mess, not a catastrophe. Still, it shows how fragile legacy card value can feel.

Banks can change benefits. They can send confusing notices. They can retire products to new applicants and then leave existing cardholders wondering whether they’re living on borrowed time. If a single category is responsible for most of your points strategy, you need a backup plan.

For Chase users, that means knowing which cards earn transferable points, which cards only earn cash-back-style Ultimate Rewards unless paired with a premium card, and where your caps reset. It also means not hoarding points forever. Ultimate Rewards are useful and flexible, but flexibility doesn’t make them immune from devaluations by travel partners or changes to transfer relationships.

For now, though, Ink Plus cardholders got good news. The bad email was just a bad email. The 5x office supply category lives.

That’s the move: keep earning, keep records, and don’t let a mistaken notice talk you out of one of Chase’s best legacy categories.

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