When Exactly Does the Chase INK Year Reset for it’s 50k Limit?

The Chase INK cards earn 5x rewards on select categories up to a maximum of $50,000 each year. When exactly does the new year start?

• Cardmember anniversary date?
• New calendar year?
• Statement close?

It resets with the statement close. Typically, after each 12 statements it will reset, although that might not be the case for the first year.

The terms on the INK Plus card states (pdf):

“account anniversary year” means the year beginning with your account open date through the first statement after the anniversary of your account open date, and each 12 billing cycles after that

According to the terms, the first year of an INK Plus card goes from card opening until the end of the statement which closes after your anniversary date, and all following years will be 12 statements.

For example, if you opened the card on 6/12/13 and your statements close each month on the 23rd, your first INK year will end on 6/23/14. Purchases made from 6/12/13 until 6/23/14 are part of Year One, and purchases made from 6/24/14 through 6/23/15 are part of  Year Two (assuming the statements continue to close on the 23rd).

So the first INK year will typically be slightly more than a year, and potentially 13 statements. Subsequent years will always be exactly 12 statements. It should follow that if you move your statement date and 12 statements close in less than a year, your 50k will reset anyway. This will not work, however, for the first cardmember year.

Recent experience with my first INK year is consistent with the terms. My INK card was approved on 12/24/15, and the card reset when the 13th statement was generated which was on 1/7/16. My first INK year was 13 statements and around 12.5 months.

Interestingly, a friend had the opposite experience with his new INK Cash card where the card reset after 12 statements and just under 12 months.

I suspect there’s a difference between cards which have an annual fee and those that don’t, and no fee cards will always reset after 12 statements even the first year. I suspect further that a fee-card that has it’s annual fee waived the first year (which is often the case with branch applications) will act like a no-fee card and reset after 12 statements. Bear in mind this is all speculation on my part.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is an INK year will typically reset each 12 statements, but the first year should reset on the statement following your card anniversary which will probably be the 13th statement. YMMV.

You can try messaging Chase to verify for yourself, but I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock in their reply. When I asked Chase via SM, they told me it goes by actual date, not statement date, which isn’t true.

Chase does make it easy to tell when the year reset, so you’ll know after the 12th statement closes whether or not your INK year has reset. Our question is only for pre-planning.

The new INK Preferred card likely works similar to the other INK cards as well.

Please let us know your own experiences in the comments.