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“All about” posts take an in-depth look into various topics. See all of them here. Have a topic you want to read more about? Sound off in the comments!
Last week I made a post with a chart comparing the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Here are the results of the poll at the end of that post:
Let’s get back to that poll later in the post…
The great thing about Chase Ultimate Rewards is how versatile and valuable they are:
- If I want to stay in a 5 star Park Hyatt in the Maldives, Melbourne, NYC, Paris, Sydney, or Tokyo that would cost over $1,000/night, I can instantly transfer 25-30K points to Hyatt to do that, a value of up to 6 cents per point.
- If I need a last minute flight from Cleveland (or Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Montreal, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Toronto, etc) to NYC that can cost $500 each way, I can instantly transfer 7.5K points to British Airways to book a short-haul on American with no last minute booking fees. Or if American doesn’t have availability I can instantly transfer 10K points to United for their short-haul award. That’s a value of up to 7 cents per point.
- If I want to stay in a non-chain hotel that costs $300/night and don’t want to pay cash, I can redeem 20K points for the room thanks to my Sapphire Reserve card’s minimum redemption value of 1.5 cents per point.
- If I want to fly in a $25,000 ANA First Class Suite round-trip from the US to Tokyo, I can instantly transfer 110K or 120K points to Virgin Atlantic. That’s a value of up to 23 cents per point.
- If I want to book a $2,285 business class ticket on Air Canada to Tel Aviv I can redeem 152K points for the flight thanks to my Sapphire Reserve card’s minimum redemption value of 1.5 cents per point. Plus I’ll earn 25K United miles as it’s considered a paid flight.
- If I want to fly in a $11,000 Korean first class suite one-way from the US to South Korean, I can instantly transfer 80K points to Korean and take advantage of their amazing award availability. That’s a value of up to 14 cents per point.
- And thousands of other possibilities from Singapore couples suites to booking Southwest awards with 2 free bags and free cancellations, to stealing 2nd base in middle of an MLB game.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Starpoints and the Marriott travel packages have only made those more valuable. But Starpoints don’t transfer instantly to airlines, and that does hinder their usefulness. That’s why I split my spending between Starwood and Chase.
With Chase there are a lot of killer combos that accelerate the pace of your earnings.
Back in 2011 I coined the term Chase Trifecta for having a Chase Freedom, a Chase Sapphire Preferred, and a Chase checking account. Chase killed the checking account benefits in 2014, but the term has lived on.
For an advanced Chase mileage earning today though, let’s call my recommendation of a killer combo of 4 cards the “Chase Quadfecta” consisting of:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve (Earn 50K points for spending $4K in 3 months. $450 annual fee, less $300 annual free travel spend=$150 net annual fee).
- Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
- Chase Freedom (Earn 15k points for spending $500 in 3 months. $0 annual fee).
- Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
- Chase Freedom Unlimited (Earn 15k points for spending $500 in 3 months. $0 annual fee).
- Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
- Chase Ink Cash (Earn $500 for spending $3,000 in 3 months. $0 annual fee).
- Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
- All 4 cards don’t need to be in one person’s name. 2 people from the same household can split up the requisite cards that make up the Quadfecta, as they can transfer the Ultimate Rewards points back and forth between themselves freely and they can add each other as authorized users on each other’s cards!
So, what will you get out of 4 cards with a total net annual fee of $150?
1. The Chase Freedom Unlimited card earns 1.5 points per dollar everywhere. This sets the floor for your earnings and can be used in places that don’t qualify for bonus points.
Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
This card is marketed as a cash back card, but in fact it earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be cashed out for 1 cent each. Don’t do that. While this card can’t transfer points into miles, Chase allows you to transfer points to cards where they can be transferred into miles or redeemed for a greater value. My goal is to receive a value of 2 cents per point via transfers to miles and that makes spending on this card worth 3% back. The minimum value you can receive for your points is 1.5 cents each thanks to Sapphire Reserve and that makes spending on this card worth a minimum of 2.25% back.
2. The Chase Freedom card earns 5 points per dollar in rotating categories and 1 point per dollar everywhere else. The 5 point per dollar bonus is limited to $1,500 in spending per quarter, though occasionally Chase increases that limit or adds 10 point per dollar categories.
Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
For the current quarter you can earn 5 points per dollar at gas stations and internet/phone/cable spending. That includes 7-Eleven, Cell Phone Providers, Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, GoGo, and more. But more interestingly, Q1 spending is also valid on all Chase Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay, or Apple Pay purchases! Samsung Pay for example works pretty much anywhere, so you can earn 5 points per dollar at any store that you shop in. Next quarter you will be able to earn 5 points per dollar at grocery stores, Paypal payments, and on Chase Pay purchases. Other categories can include restaurants, Amazon, Walmart, and more. You can prepay your bills in stores, buy gift cards, or lock in the maximum $1,500 of bonus spending per card every quarter.
This card is marketed as a cash back card, but in fact it earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be cashed out for 1 cent each. Don’t do that. While this card can’t transfer points into miles, Chase allows you to transfer points to cards where they can be transferred into miles or redeemed for a greater value. My goal is to receive a value of 2 cents per point via transfers to miles and that makes category spending on this card worth 10% back. The minimum value you can receive for your points is 1.5 cents each thanks to Sapphire Reserve and that makes spending on this card worth a minimum of 7.5% back.
3. The Chase Ink Cash card earns 5 points per dollar on $25K in annual spend at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and cell phone bills. It also earn 2 points per dollar on $25K in annual spend at gas stations and restaurants.
Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
You can even earn 5 points per dollar for cell phones that are charged on your bill or bought from sites like Samsung.
Stores like Office Depot/Max and Staples sell gift cards to hundreds of other stores and you’ll earn 5 points per dollar. If you shop at Amazon, Airbnb, Bed Bath & Beyond, Bloomingdale’s, BP, Cabela’s, Delta, DisneyLand/DisneyWorld, eBay, Express, Gap, Google Play, Groupon, Home Depot, iTunes, JCrew, Kohl’s, Lands End, LLBean, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Marshalls, Nike, Nordstrom, Safeway, Sears, Shell, Southwest, Starbucks, StubHub, Target, TJMaxx, Uber, Whole Foods, and more, you can be earning 5 points per dollar by buying their gift cards. Some gift cards are available online and more are available in store.
Your local school or charity will be more than happy to accept donations of Amazon gift cards for supplies or any other useful gift cards for chinese auctions, raffles, fundraisers, etc. They will give you a tax deductible receipt for the full face value-the price you paid for the gift cards. And at the same time you’ll earn 5 points per dollar. So while doing good you can still get a nice chunk of points and you’ll save on your taxes.
You can even buy $300 Visa gift cards from Staples from the comfort of your home, which will earn 5 points per dollar.
Office Depot/Max and Staples often run promotions to save even more on Visa gift cards.
This card is also eligible for additional savings via Visa Savings Edge. That means you can get points plus 2% cash back at Chevron, Sheetz, AutoZone, or Texaco. You’ll earn points plus 3% cash back at NewEgg and Boost Mobile. You’ll earn points plus 4% cash back at Alamo, National, and MGM hotels. You’ll earn points plus 5% cash back at B&H, Lenovo, and Wyndham hotels. Some of those discounts are limited. For example the Boost Mobile and MGM cash back is capped at $100 per year. The NewEgg cash back is capped at $200 per year. The B&H cash back is capped at $150 per lifetime. However you can get unlimited free additional user cards and each of those get their own cash back limits!
This is a business card, but you may already have a business that needs a card to keep track of expenses. For example if your name is Joe Smith and you sell items online, or if you have any other side business and want a credit card to better keep track of business expenditures you can open a business credit card for “Joe Smith Sole Proprietorship” as the business. You don’t need to file any messy government paperwork to be allowed to do that. Just be sure to select “Sole Proprietorship” as the business type and just use your social security number in the Tax Identification Number field
If you’re like me and you run more than one business you can signup for multiple of the same card for each business to manage each businesses expenses separately.
This card is marketed as a cash back card, but in fact it earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be cashed out for 1 cent each. Don’t do that. While this card can’t transfer points into miles, Chase allows you to transfer points to cards where they can be transferred into miles or redeemed for a greater value. My goal is to receive a value of 2 cents per point via transfers to miles and that makes the 2 points categories worth 4% back and the 5 point categories worth 10% back. The minimum value you can receive for your points is 1.5 cents each thanks to Sapphire Reserve and that makes spending on this card worth a minimum of 3% back for the 2 point categories and 7.5% back for the 5 point categories.
The signup bonus is marketed as $500, but it will actually come in the form of 50,000 points, worth $500-$750.
4. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card earns 3 points per dollar on travel spending like Airfare, Airbnb, car rentals, cruises, hotels, Lyft, subways, taxis, trains, Uber/UberEats. It also earns 3 points per dollar on dining, including everything from coffee shops to sit down restaurants.
Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
The first $300 you spend annually in the very broad travel category is automatically refunded. That means the $450 annual fee becomes an effective $150 annual fee. You’ll even keep the bonus points for refunded purchases and they still count towards the $4K spend threshold.
More critically, it also allows you to redeem all of your Chase points (including the points of an authorized user) at a minimum value of 1.5 cents per point on paid airfare, car rentals, hotels, and vacation activities.
It also allows you to transfer all of your Chase points (including the points of an authorized user) into airline miles or hotel points.
It’s always important to check and see if you’ll do better with airline miles/hotel points for a redemption or if you’ll do better by just using Chase points for a redemption. You’ll also need to bear in mind the taxes owed on an award ticket and the miles you can earn by using Chase points towards a paid airline ticket or hotel stay. Finally you also need to bear in mind that it is typically cheaper to cancel an award ticket than a Chase point redemption towards a paid airline ticket or hotel stay.
My goal is to receive a value of 2 cents per point via transfers to miles and that makes category spending on this card worth 6% back. The minimum value you can receive for your points is 1.5 cents and that makes spending on this card worth a minimum of 4.5% back.
The card includes a Priority Pass lounge membership that allows you to bring unlimited guests with you into over 1,000 airport lounges, including lounges with kosher food and wine in Newark and Tel Aviv.
This card also comes with a Global Entry membership which also includes TSA pre-check. That means you can skip the lines and forms when flying back from abroad and you can leave your shoes on, laptops in their bags, and go through metal detectors when flying from the US. It makes flying so much easier!
This is the only card from the Quadfecta that has 0% foreign transaction fees.
Other benefits include free premium roadside assistance, primary car rental insurance, trip cancellation and delay protection, travel medical and accident insurance, purchase protection, baggage delay/loss protection, and more.
Chase charges $75 for additional cardholders as they also get their own Priority Pass membership. But if you don’t care about that membership, you can always request replacement cards to have spare cards. If you do add an additional user card you can cancel the card within 30 days to get back the fee. The secondary Priority Pass membership will be cancelled, but the credit card will still work as secondary Chase consumer cards have the same exact card number, expiration date, and CVV as the primary cardholder’s card.
The signup bonus on this card is 50,000 points, worth $750-$1,000.
After you have had a card for an initial 12 months, you can change it between a Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire, Sapphire Preferred, or Sapphire Reserve card as needed.
13% of respondents to the poll referenced above said that they had both a Sapphire Preferred and a Sapphire Reserve. There are no advantages to have both of these cards. Some people might not find the Sapphire Reserve to be worth the extra $55 over Sapphire Preferred and you can see the comparison chart here to decide how you feel about that. But there’s simply no reason to have both cards.
The only real advantage to Chase Sapphire Preferred comes when you apply, as the $95 fee is waived for the first year and you can earn 50,000 points for spending $4K in 3 months. Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
If you do have both cards you should change one of them into a Freedom Unlimited or a Freedom card. I have one Freedom Unlimited card and 3 Freedom cards as that allows me to earn the 5 points per dollar on $4,500 of quarterly spending instead of $1,500. I have the extra Freedom cards from downgrading Sapphire Preferred cards that I used to have. Again, there’s no reason for 2 spouses to each have a Freedom Unlimited card as one can make the other a free authorized user card to take advantage of the 1.5 points per dollar offered on that card. Better off to have another Freedom card in that case.
10% of respondents didn’t have a Sapphire Preferred or a Sapphire Reserve. Without those cards you lose out on the ability to make your points worth 1.25 cents each with Sapphire Preferred, 1.5 cents each with Sapphire Reserve, or even 25 cents each by transferring them into airline miles or hotel points.
Once you have the Chase Quadfecta the correct way to spend would be:
- Airfare: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back) or buy gift cards at office supply stores on Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back)
- Airbnb: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back) or buy gift cards at office supply stores on Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back)
- Amazon: Buy gift cards at office supply stores on Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back)
- Car rentals: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back)
- Cruises: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back)
- Everyday spending: Freedom Unlimited 1.5x (2.25%-3% back)
- Federal taxes (1.87% processing fee applies): Freedom Unlimited 1.5x (2.25%-3% back)
- Foreign currency transactions: Sapphire Reserve 1x or 3x depending on the spending.
- Gas: Ink Cash 2x (3%-4% back or 5%-6% back on Chevron, Sheetz, or Texaco) or buy gift cards at office supply stores on Ink Cash 5x
- Gift cards for other stores or Visa gift cards: Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back)
- Groceries: During rotating quarter on Freedom 5x (7.5%-10% back), buy gift cards for stores like Safeway or Whole Foods at office supply stores on Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back), or Freedom Unlimited 1.5x (2.25%-3% back).
- Hotels: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back)
- Lyft/Taxis: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back)
- Office supplies: Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back)
- Restaurants: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back)
- Rotating category spending (Up to $1,500 of mobile payments, gas, grocery, dining, Amazon, Walmart in their respective quarters): Freedom 5x (7.5%-10% back)
- Starbucks: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back) or buy gift cards at office supply stores on Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back)
- Subways/Trains: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back)
- Telecom/Internet/Cell Phones/Cable: Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back)
- Uber/UberEats: Sapphire Reserve 3x (4.5%-6% back) or buy gift cards at office supply stores on Ink Cash 5x (7.5%-10% back)
There are some caveats to all this of course:
- This scenario ignores other point currencies and it’s a good idea to have multiple currencies. If you want to collect Starpoints it’s good to use that card at places where you don’t receive a bonus on other cards.
- Using gift cards means the loss of credit card protections like extended warranty or air travel protections, so use them only when it makes sense to earn more points at the expense of potential protections.
- While Ink Cash does earn 4% cash back at Alamo and National in addition to 1 point per dollar, it only offers primary car rental insurance on business trips. Sapphire Reserve offers coverage on all trips worldwide.
- You may want to prioritize Sapphire Reserve spending for travel related categories like Uber/UberEats before buying gift cards on an Ink Cash card if you otherwise would not hit the $300 in annual free travel spending.
- The value received per point is highly variable based on how you will use it. The nice thing about the Quadfecta is that you’ll receive a minimum of 1.5 cents per point. 2 cents is a good goal to set, so just compare the cost of a ticket or hotel to the amount of miles you’ll need for it to see how much value you are receiving.
- All of these cards are subject to 5/24 restrictions, read more about that here. Note that business cards, even Chase business cards, do not get added to your 5/24 count of recently opened cards. Additional user consumer cards do count, but you can get them not to count by calling reconsideration if you are rejected for a card.
- You can receive the bonuses on these cards once every 2 years. The 2 year count starts from when you received the last bonus on that card.
- You most likely will not be approved for a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve if you currently have a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve open or if you received a bonus for a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve in the past 24 months.
- Want just 2 cards? Having the Chase Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Reserve means you’ll earn 1.5 or 3 points per dollar everywhere at a value of 1.5-2 cents per point. That’s a solid combo!
- If you spend on shipping, social media advertising, or SEO, consider adding the Chase Ink Business Preferred into the mix for 3 points per dollar spent on $150K of annual spending in those categories. Click Here to get more details on this card and compare to other cards!
Do you have the Chase Quadfecta? Which cards are you missing from completing it?
hey, I got a question if I don’t have any card which one should I apply for first?
secondly, if I already applied for a chase freedom unlimited and got denied should a re-apply or call them and do a reconsideration?
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the great post. If I had a CSR for over 2 years (given I passed the 48 month threshold), in order to get my new 50k signup bonus, would I need to cancel the card and reapply?
What would be the best way to go about this? In other words, how would you go about this? TIA and Shana Tova!
Hey All,
I am trying to apply for a chase ink preferred card and reading Dan’s post I have a quick question. Once i select “sole proprietorship” as the business type should I enter in the business name field as just “Joe Smith” or “Joe Smith Sole Proprietorship” (obviously i would replace Joe Smith with my actual name)
You can just write Joe Smith.
Thanks, and one last question do we need to add our legal middle name?
Don’t need to have a middle name on any cards.
dan what happened to the 3x for rent paid through plastic on the chase preferred did they cancel the 3x ?
Gone 🙁
Dan-
what do you mean by “As for the miles, I chose 120K Alaska over the 132K United. I love my United miles, but they’re so easy to earn thanks to the Chase quadfecta, so Alaska was an easy choice.”
Can you please explain yourself how you easily convert your Chase UR to United miles?
As for the Chase quadfecta and living in Israel, I have 4 cards:
1 CSR
1 Freedom
1 United Explorer
1 Marriott – Premium
Dan-
what do you mean by “As for the miles, I chose 120K Alaska over the 132K United. I love my United miles, but they’re so easy to earn thanks to the Chase quadfecta, so Alaska was an easy choice.”
Can you please explain yourself how you easily convert your Chase UR to United miles?
As for the Chase quadfecta and living in Israel, I have 4 cards:
1 CSR
1 Freedom
1 United Explorer
1 Marriott – Premium
Is there anything else that you would change? I am planning on getting a Business card sometime in the near future sometime after I finish reaching the bonuses on the last 2 cards.
Dan, as of August 26th, priority pass will be limited to 2 guests, and also you won’t receive points for the $300 that you’re credited in travel (that part’s no big deal).
Dan,
I really don’t want to juggle multiple cards. What’s your recommendation for the best single card?
I’d say the Amex Blue Business Plus. Or else the Chase Freedom Unlimited is solid.
So currently, I have the Ink Cash which just got me 50K points. I was just approved for the Ink Preferred card, which should get me 80K soon. I want to end up with this quadfecta (will probably cancel the Ink Preferred later this year), but I am concerned about my credit score being hurt. I opened both Ink cards within the last 3 months. Will my credit score be hurt badly if I open these last 3 by the end of 2018? Or do you think that as long as I’m paying everything off as I have been, I’ll be fine? (I currently have a score of over 800). Thanks!
I randomly saw your question now.
Be aware that chase can shut you down for getting too much cards in a short period of time. I wouldn’t apply for new cards now after getting 2 inks. Wait a few months before completing the quadfecta. And also, don’t apply for all 3 together, max 2.
I’m aware about applying to chase cards. I’m asking more aboutthe effects on my credit score
Should be a minor affect in the short run and a positive affect in long run.
See this:
https://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards/building-credit-and-credit-card-faqs/
I have the freedom ba and csp I haven’t gotten a new card in a few years can I get the csr if I already have the preferred
Downgrade the CSP to a Freedom Unlimited and wait a few days first.
A rumor is going around they will soon end the transfer from UR points between accounts, is that true?
Can I transfer points from Freedom Unlimited to United if I dont have a Saphire card??
I’m getting mixed messages from Chase. We have the CSP and want to move to CSR (and Freedom Unlimited – we live in Israel, so would use it on US purchases only).
On CSP, I am primary, and my wife is authorized.
I was told:
1. My wife needs to get off the CSP for a few months, then SHE can apply for CSR.
2. My wife can get off of CSP, and apply for CSR now.
3. Either of us can apply for CSR, as-is.
What’s the deal??
She can apply for CSR now.
You can’t apply for CSR unless you close or downgrade your CSP to Freedom/Freedom Unlimited.
Can I apply for Freedom Unlimited now (for the bonus), move current points over to there, and then apply for CSR and move points back there?
My wife won’t qualify for CSR…I need to do that application.
I want to get the Freedom Unlimited bonus, too, so if I downgrade to that, I probably won’t get the bonus, right? Best bet seems to be for her to apply for CSR?
If one does NOT have a business then how does this work WITHOUT the Chase Ink Cash business credit card? What is the Tri or Quadfecta for a nonbusiness owner Joe Shmo person who works for someone else?
thanks for the post , let me know if i’m missing something but why wouldn’t i go for the ink preferred vs the regular ink card (i know i have to spend $2k more in the first 3 months) even with the extra $95 in annual fee isn’t getting the extra 50K of points a no brainer?
Dan, my wife and I are trying to figure out the best way to use our UR points for hotels on our trip to Japan in a couple months. I have the CSR card, but I’m not completely sure when it’s better to buy Hyatt points (or other hotel member points), or to book directly through the Chase UR system. Any advice?
If I buy a flight with gift cards but I also use a credit card to cover some of the cost, do I get credit card benefits?
E.g. a flight for $205 I use a $200 gift card and my credit card for $5
@Dan – Can you please explain how you calculate the % return on a specific card on your post above? i.e. “My goal is to receive a value of 2 cents per point via transfers to miles and that makes category spending on this card worth 6% back” – how did you get to 6% and what is that a return on exactly?
I have all of these except the freedom unlimited. My question is: Is there any list of all transfer options and the “sweet spots” for each? I know you mentioned a few. I feel like I’ve been making bad redemptions lately as they are all through the chase travel site at 1.5pp
Dan, amazing job!!!
U never use the AmEx biz card (plus) that earns 2 MR per dollar?
Already have more MR points than I need for now…the loss of the 50% rebate hurts bigly.
I spend Chase points and Starpoints much faster.
Maybe the reason for having both Sapphires is because 2 sign up bonuses is better then one..
Tough to get approved for both these days. And afterward, why keep it that way?
Well, I was lucky enough to get approved for both along with UE. And To add a cherry to the pie they recently offered me a loan for 15 months with 0 APR, which was used to flip a property. good enough reason for me to keep it.
Nice!
is there a specific way to check BA for flights on AA or will the “book with avios” option always show BA and AA flights?
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/everything-youve-ever-wanted-to-know-about-british-airways-avios/
I only have Freedom, and I don’t have the Sapphires because I don’t travel too much. My hesitation on the Freedom Unlimited is, why go for 1.5x if you can get 2x with Citi Double Cash?
As I explained in the post, 1.5 Chase points are worth 2.25%-3% or more.
But if you never travel and just want the simplicity of 2%, sure, you can definitely do that.
@Dan: I downgraded my Sapphire preferred to a no fee Sapphire. Can I still get the sign up bonus for a Sapphire preferred if more then 24 months past (more like 10 yrs lol)?
Make it a Freedom or Freedom Unlimited.
I would except I was saving this no fee Sapphire in order to redeem/transfer my points to miles and such.
The no-fee Sapphire can’t do that.
Thank you. Now just have to wait another 10months until I am not 5/24 so I can sign up again for Sapphire preferred.
Does Chase take issue with making check payments directly to CCs? What about depositing to a Chase checking account and then to the CC? Or is it better to have a checking account in a different bank and then use that to pay off the cards?
Deposit to checking first to be safe.
DAN – You the man, great summary thanks!
Thanks!
Is it possible to product-change from a business ink cash to a personal freedom unlimited?
Nope.
thanks!
so what card best to pay taxes?
It’s in the post.
the amex gives me 5 times amount of points on single transaction of 5k and more isn’t that better?
If you’re taking about AMEX Plat Business, it gives 1.5x on $5K+, not 5x.
So no, that is not better at all.
If I downgrade CSP to Freedom can I apply for another Freedom to get the bonus?
You’re not going to get approved for a card if you already have it.
Great post Dan! Thank you! Quick question for you:
Can you list companies where can i can get more than thru Chase travel? More than 1.5 times
Thank you
Any of the mileage transfer options has that potential.
I have 120k points on my CSP but I want to convert to the freedom as I also have the CSR. What do you recommend I should downgrade to? I currently don’t have the freedom and I have a great score. Will any downgrades effect my 120k points? Should I first open a new freedom and then downgrade the preferred?
If both Sapphire cards are in your name, you should have nothing to worry about. You should be able to transfer points between accounts online right now if they are all linked to the same username. I think it makes complete sense to downgrade your Sapphire Preferred to a freedom card when you don’t have one, and you have a CSR.
Won’t the CSP points downgrade to freedom points?
You can transfer points between cards and between people in the same household.
I still have the chase ink business bold what is that compared to?
Similar to Ink Cash, but with no Forex fees and higher 5x earning caps.
@dan is today a chesed day that you’re answering all these questions? Most would get answers with a simple google search
Lol
Can you use the global security bonus for your children?
Yes.
Does applying for the business cards pull my credit?
and goes on my credit report?
It is a pull, but it won’t go on your report or add to your 5/24 count.
A few weeks ago, Chase closed down my personal cards and checking account (they wouldn’t tell me why, only that the closing of my checking account triggered the closing of my cc accounts) when do you think I can reapply and get approved.
i have a ink preferred a sapphire and a freedom
i want to get an ink cash i already got my point on the preferred any reason to keep it or should i just downgrade it to a ink cash?
It has different categories and phone insurance.
Dont need the phone insurance…what other categories?
It’s in the caveat section of the post.
thank you!
I crashed a rental car in Australia in to a flash flood. The car was toast. The reserve card covered the entire car. AND I got to put the charge on reserve to the rental agency which returned 3% back. Great card
Nice!
does ana charge fuel surcharges on first class redemption using virgin atlantic miles ?
No.
Is there any advantage to the Chase Ink Credit Card for which I am paying $95 per year over the Ink Cash?
If you mean Ink Plus, it has no Forex fees and allows 5x on $50K per year.
Ink Plus also has price protection
how about the chase ink business preferred with $95 annual fee? does that have any advantage over the ink cash besides for the 80k points bonus offer when you spend $5k?
It has different categories and phone insurance.
I have a sapphire preferred and a freedom unlimited. Should I downgrade it to a freedom? Or should I keep it so that I can transfer my rewards onto the sapphire? And do I lose my points if I downgrade?
You don’t lose rewards, but you won’t be able to transfer them to miles.
That depends if he means switching the freedom unlimited to freedom or the Sapphire Preferred to Freedom. Your scenario is the latter. You will keep all of your ultimate rewards, but without a premium card (ie Sapphire Preferred/Reserve or Ink Preferred/Plus) you can’t transfer them to partners.
If you are constantly getting new cards and hitting sign up bonuses this post isn’t that relevant. Unless you are doing ms
“That’s why I split my spending between Starwood and Chase.”
Are there specific instances where the Starwood-Marriott travel packages are worth more than the quadfecta?
I have the Quadfecta and Starwood and debating the value of keeping Starwood…
Starwood to United via the packages can be 1.76x or better.
https://www.dansdeals.com/more/all-about/marriotts-lucrative-milesnights-travel-packages-best-way-spend-starpoints/
As opposed to spending on Freedom Unlimited at 1.5x
Thanks.
If I downgrade my sapphire preferred to the free sapphire, can I apply for the sapphire reserve or I need to downgrade to a freedom card?
Why would you want the free Sapphire over a Freedom card??
So that I won’t lose the signup bonus and be able to apply for it when I’m out of 5/24.
For the ink preferred, do I receive 3% on every purchase that it was made through shipment? (Amazon, Best buy, walmart etc.)
2 questions:
If I have a sapphire preferred how long do I need to wait before getting a reserve and getting another sign-up bonus , 24 months from when I was approved or from when I got the bonus? (and how would I know the date of when I got the bonus?)
Are the inks like the sapphires that I can only get 1 every 24 months?
I don’t understand, can’t you apply for both the preferred and reserve at the same time and get sign up bonus for both?
From when you got the bonus. You can look back at your old statements to see about when that was.
With Ink you can get the card again at any time if it’s for another business, otherwise 24 months.
How about two different ink cards?
I have the quadfecta exactly as described (+1 more Freedom card). Almost as elite as Dan! Wish I still had the Ink Plus though, or some way to get an Ink Preferred.
I don’t think that Dan only has two freedom cards.
Nice!
But do you you also have a United card for expanded saver award availability 🙂
Quinfecta 😉
great post! is there any way to get the united card for people at LOL/24? Apparently you can’t convert another card to it. I have old ones I (stupidly) closed as was told it is way too late to reopen.
LOL!
Unfortunately, no.
:You can receive the bonuses on these cards once every 2 years. The 2 year count starts from when you received the last bonus on that card”
That’s even of i still have the first card open?
Or it must be closed in order to get the sign up bonus again ?
You won’t get approved for the same card again if it’s still open, but you can change that card to another card, like Sapphire to Freedom.
If i have 2 business names, can i get the sign up bonus twice on the Ink?
Yes, but you will have to explain to reconsideration about the 2 businesses.
I have the quadfecta:
Ink cash: 2 cards for $50k in 5x spending at office stores
Freedom: 4 cards for $24k in 5x spending in rotating categories
Sapphire reserve: 1 card for at least 1.5 CPP redemption of ultimate rewards points
Freedom unlimited: I find myself rarely using this. I earn more than enough ultimate rewards points from 5x spending and opt to earn 1x SPG points on non bonuses spend rather than 1.5 UR points.
I was going to say this. Since Dan said he usually splits his spending between SPG and Chase, I agree the Chase Freedom Unlimited is unnecessary. I rather have more regular Freedom cards. Also, I think the Blue Business Plus is better than Freedom Unlimited, but it has a cap and Freedom Unlimited is Unlimited. I also rather have the Citi AT&T More Access card.
Makes sense to me, nicely done!
Is the ink subject to 5/24?
See the caveats section.
For all you Starbucks goers, your real best bet is to use your Freedom Unlimited to buy Starbucks gift cards at Cardcash or similar sites for an additional 11% off. If you also have a Sapphire Reserve that brings the value of the discount to 13.25% off every time you go to Starbucks. That takes away some of the sting of buying overpriced coffee.
Are you able to transfer those gift cards to your primary Starbucks card?
Yes. I believe you’d be able to add it to the Starbucks app and then merge the two cards.
Different question as well, any benefit of still having the free version of the sapphire? I downgraded my preferred (when I got the reserve) into the free version by calling up. Should i just change it to a Freedom? (I’ve never applied for a Freedom just still in 5/24 for the next few months)
Thanks!
Hmm..I’m not sure.
If me and my wife have our own sapphire reserve accounts can we merge or transfer our points into 1 account?
Yes, you can do that over the phone or online.
Into one Chase account??
Yes.
Hey Dan
Love these posts! You didn’t mention anything about transferring UR points between spouses. If one spouse has just the freedoms and ink and the other spouse at the same address has a sapphire, can’t they all be ultimately transferred to airlines and hotels? This can be a good way of avoiding annual fees altogether through alternating years on the sapphire preferred between spouses. This always gives you the option to transfer without having to pay the annual fee and you will earn the sign up bonus yearly. Tell me if I am wrong please.
I touched on that briefly in the post, but yes, that will work.
This whole Quadfecta strategy will work between any spouse or authorized users in your household who can transfer points to each other.
Can only work with two people at the same address? or as long as you are an authorized user you can transfer points from one to another?
Also for amex cards how often can you apply for the same card and get the bonus offer? Is it the same like by chase-every 2 years?
Love these posts! Thanks DAN
Thanks!
If I did a product change to Freedom unlimited and didn’t get the signup bonus, can I get the signup bonus for a new freedom unlimited ight away? Do I need to close my active freedom unlimited first?
Why would you apply for a Freedom Unlimited if you already have one?
Apply for a different card.
The reason why I did was so I can max out on the credit of both accounts so i can purchase in bulk
This is amazing.
So informative and helpful.
I agree that you need to reread it a few times to get everything.
I have a JP morgan card (which is the private bank version of the sapphire reserve)
I also still have the sapphire preferred card but will call now and change it to a freedom card.
I also have the British airways card which I don’t think I need so I will also change that to a freedom.
Dan you are incredible!!
Unfortunately the BA card can’t be converted into anything. Though if you apply for a new card you can offer to close that and get approved for the new card.
Dan- are the signup offers the best they’ve been?
I have them all except Freedom Unlimited. My credit with Chase is maxed out, so I can’t be auto approved. The question is, will they shift credit from one of my other accounts. Rather than applying for the Freedom Unlimited, am I better off applying for a Sapphire Preferred and then downgrading? But that would mean having first to downgrade my existing CSR? Too risky/complicated a plan?
They can shift credit around for a card approval.
That strategy can work, though it may be 12 months until you can convert a new CSP/CSR card.
For the list of awesome flight redemption examples in the first section of this post, do any of those incur major fuel surcharges? If so, which?
None of those have major fuel surcharges.
K thx. Might be helpful if you created a “Top 30 Chase UR Redemptions Post” to go along with this. Perhaps you already even have one? I feel like those sort of lists need to updated fairly frequently though because there are so many devaluations/caveats that pop up over the years.
I’ve done posts like that a few times, but they do get out of date quickly.
I’ll add it to my list.
Sounds good, looking forward to it!
I got denied sapphire reserve bc I RECEIVED a sapphire Preferred bonus in may 2016. So it’s not just 24 months from when you were approved (even if you downgraded to a non sapphire card), it’s even 24 months from receiving the bonus (even if you were eligible in the first week, it goes from when the points post to your account).
#chasemadness
Right, good reason to spend quickly after signup!
What do you mean you can receive the bonus on the cards once every 2 years? As in the 50,000 signup bonus?
Yes.
How?
I have a freedom and freedom unlimited. How can I get the bonus again?
Also I had the reserve but for some reason I had to change it to a slate. Any way to change it back??
You can apply 2 years after you last got the bonus for it.
How does that work? Would I have to close my card and then signup again every 2 years?
What score credit on fico I need to have in order to get approved on the reserve card? Thank you!
There isn’t a hard number, it also depends on more factors than just a score and how good you are on a reconsideration call if needed.
If you downgrade from saphire preferred to freedom or unlimited will you get the signup bonus?
You only get a signup bonus with new applications, not for product changes.
And if you have a freedom already from having downgraded a preferred, can I apply for the same freedom and still get the sign up bonus?
Also when downgrading to the chase freedom unlimited do I still get the 0% APR for 14 months like when I apply for a new unlimited?
Another point to keep in mind – when using Chase cards you lose out on Amex’s benefits such as extended warranty, return protection, etc.
Chase reserve has all of that
Well you still get those (Actually Sapphire retur protection works for $500 vs $300 for AMEX), but there are more hoops to jump through than with AMEX.
Can I still apply for 3 chase cards at one through different browsers?
Yes.
Just applied for the freedom a few minutes ago, but don’t have Ink Cash (Do have Ink Business Preferred). Can I apply for that too or will it be another pull? Any advice from the pros is appreciated!
Combining consumer and business will sometimes work for one pull and sometimes may be another pull.
But it’s a great card to add to anyone’s portfolio, so I’d go for it now personally.
Thanks! Response I got was that I’ll get letter in the mail. As long as I’m applying for for the Ink Cash today can It might be one pull or I had to do at same time with that browser trick?
Same day is the same thing as multiple browsers. Just lower odds of instant approval.
How?
You can choose 3 different cards and apply for them at the same time from IE, Firefox, and Chrome for example.
Wouldn’t this violate 2/30 though? I know 2/30 isn’t a hard and fast rule like 5/24, but it seems to reject people more often than not.
I’ve helped people get 3 approved. Nothing like a 5/24 rejection.
Does chrome incognito do the same thing or need to download Firefox?
That would be to get around 5/24?
A big regret I have is closing the Fairmonts which were later converted to Sapphires. It’d have been nice to add more Freedoms to my collection.
How long ago did you close them? They can still reopened if it wasn’t too long ago.
anyway to reopen something that was shut down by chase ? not for perk abuse
im dizzy
That’s a common symptom after reading an “All about” post 😉
Read through it a couple of times and let me know what questions you have 🙂
Lol. Love it!