The Points Mom

Which Card Should You Use For School Supply Shopping?

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Note-since the time of this post, the Chase Ink Plus card is no longer available to new cardmembers.  See the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card.

Summer is here and I know many people who like to get the jump start on shopping for school supplies.  However, as with other specific purchases, you may as well try to earn some additional points/miles when you shop.

If you like to shop at office supply stores (think Staples) for your supplies, ideally, you should use a card that offers a bonus at office supply stores.  For example, with the Chase Ink Plus card, you can earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points per $1 on the first $50,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores.  With the CitiBusiness/AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard, you can earn 2 AAdvantage miles for every $1 you spend on purchases at office supply stores.  Similarly, with the Chase United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card-you can earn 2 United MileagePlus miles per dollar spent at office supply stores.  Lastly, with the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Business Credit Card-you can earn 2 Marriott Rewards points for every $1 spent at office supply stores.

Don’t have any of these cards?  I actually do not!  (I want the Chase Ink but have not gotten it yet).  I would then use a card that you get more than a 1:1 ratio on all purchases. For example, you could use Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard or your Capital One Venture Rewards Card and earn 2 Rewards miles/points per $ spent.

Finally, you can be creative and shop for your school supplies at a supermarket and use a card that offers bonus points at supermarkets.  Or you can shop for supplies at a drug store and use a card that offers bonus points at drug stores.

As you can see, there are many ways to earn additional rewards on school supply shopping.  Don’t settle for a 1:1 ratio.  You can do better!