Chase Sapphire preferred credit card

[RigatoniFeline]

@calypso726 i haven't booked anything yet. I'm just asking if I use the points and then the money gets refunded on the card, what happens with the points? Does that make sense?

 

[calypso726]

@calypso726 i haven't booked anything yet. I'm just asking if I use the points and then the money gets refunded on the card, what happens with the points? Does that make sense?

Ok. I think I get what you mean. Any UR points earned will be clawed back if the purchase is refunded. Potentially, that could also invalidate the entire bonus if the refund was part of the spend required to get the bonus.

If you use UR points to make a purchase it is considered a final transaction. If you book SW flights through the travel center using UR points and then have to change or cancel the flight you would have to contact SW and you will incur the change or cancellation fees associated as if you had bought the ticket with cash. I hope that helps.

 

[Albort]

Nice! Way to make some lemonade! Most of our grocery shopping is done at Costco with the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex so we will make sure to do our June Costco shopping before they stop accepting Amex. After June, the Costco purchases will switch to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa. No bonus points for the purchases but UR points are the most valuable currency for travel second to the SPG for us. The rest of the groceries are usually from Whole Foods and we use the Ink to buy Whole Foods gift cards at Staples to get the 5X UR points for office supply purchases unless Raise has a deeply discounted WF gift card then we will go that route. None the less, I still plan to take advantage of the 5x points on the Freedom for groceries next moth. Publix sells Disney gift cards

theres a potential chance that Costco is 5X under the freedom card, considered that Sams Club is for sure in the 5% catagory for next quarter's 5x bonus.

The Citi Thank You Premier might be another good option. The current offer is 40k points but there is a 50k point link that was working that I found on Flyer Talk.

no more 50k link, i searched long and hard for one before i signed my mom up for the 40k... :\

 

[calypso726]

theres a potential chance that Costco is 5X under the freedom card, considered that Sams Club is for sure in the 5% catagory for next quarter's 5x bonus.

no more 50k link, i searched long and hard for one before i signed my mom up for the 40k... :\

Oh good thinking! I do hope the Costco purchases code as groceries. That would be awesome. Wow it looks like I just got in under the wire with that link before it stopped working.

 

[RigatoniFeline]

Thanks @calypso726, that does help. I'm just trying to now figure out on the Disney end of things if changing your reservation results in a refund and a repurchase or if the funds are just transferred to the new reservation.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I just got the freedom and DH (Travels a ton for work) just did the sapphire preferred. Prior we both used SW Pref Visas.
So clue me in before I switch all my autopays, etc over to my freedom from my SW Visa. The 1% back on all purchases is how many points? If I spend $100 at target on SW Visa I'd get 100 points. 1% of $100 is only $1 cash back thru freedom. Would I only get 1 UR point? or 100 UR Points?

 

[Albort]

I just got the freedom and DH (Travels a ton for work) just did the sapphire preferred. Prior we both used SW Pref Visas.
So clue me in before I switch all my autopays, etc over to my freedom from my SW Visa. The 1% back on all purchases is how many points? If I spend $100 at target on SW Visa I'd get 100 points. 1% of $100 is only $1 cash back thru freedom. Would I only get 1 UR point? or 100 UR Points?

u get 100 UR points.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I have a few more qustions on this and the Freedom card...please forgive if they are stupid, but...

When do you see the points show up? After charging, after pay, next statement?
Where does it show you pts as 1x or 5x on Freedon statement?
Where can I find the shopping portal? Is that also the same as I would use for travel?

I do a fair amount of online shopping as well as I need to buy a few tickets for some bus travel for Sept and hope to do it soon.

I already hit the 50K by using the CSP for our bus 1st week but where do i find the info for bonus(think $1500) on the Freedom?

I swear I read all of this before and now feel like I cant see it on the site again. My DH wanted me to show him what I am up to and I didn't see it quickly.

Again, sorry for my "blonde" moment.

 

[Albort]

I have a few more qustions on this and the Freedom card...please forgive if they are stupid, but...

When do you see the points show up? After charging, after pay, next statement?
Where does it show you pts as 1x or 5x on Freedon statement?
Where can I find the shopping portal? Is that also the same as I would use for travel?

I do a fair amount of online shopping as well as I need to buy a few tickets for some bus travel for Sept and hope to do it soon.

I already hit the 50K by using the CSP for our bus 1st week but where do i find the info for bonus(think $1500) on the Freedom?

I swear I read all of this before and now feel like I cant see it on the site again. My DH wanted me to show him what I am up to and I didn't see it quickly.

Again, sorry for my "blonde" moment.

I believe points show up after pay. (cant confirm).
login to chase --> activity, click on the Plus button --> it will show u +1%(1 Pt/$1 earned on all purchases. the 5% shows up as +Bonus from 2Q 5% on top of the 1%. Im not sure if it shows on paper or not...
Ultimaterewardspoints.chase.com --> Earn Points --> Shop through Chase. Yes, same site for travel.
Check out Wallaby to see if your using the right CC for the right place.
bonus on freedom? not sure what your talking about. $1500 is the max you can send that will get the 5% UR points.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Thanks so much! There are so many sites out there and so much info I am finding it all a bit confusing.

 

[georgina]

I have a few more qustions on this and the Freedom card...please forgive if they are stupid, but...

When do you see the points show up? After charging, after pay, next statement?
Where does it show you pts as 1x or 5x on Freedon statement?
Where can I find the shopping portal? Is that also the same as I would use for travel?

I do a fair amount of online shopping as well as I need to buy a few tickets for some bus travel for Sept and hope to do it soon.

I already hit the 50K by using the CSP for our bus 1st week but where do i find the info for bonus(think $1500) on the Freedom?

Points show up right after the statement closes for the month. Your bonus is listed on the paper statement, right on the first page, it lists the 1% points and then the bonus points. (also online you can see it immediately). I have never used the shopping portal, as I use cash back or mostly convert my points to SW RR points.

The Freedom is offering a $150 bonus after you spend $500 in the first 3 months, also a $25 bonus for adding an authorized user after you get the card.

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks to this thread I applied and was approved for the Starwood preferred guest card with the 35k bonus. I was able to book several stays at sheratons and Weston hotels using my points. This card is a keeper for me.

 

[hsmamato2]

The Chase UR shopping portal is a great way to maximize more points per dollar spent.... which you can then transfer out (like to SWA) or use to book travel..... keep in mind standard spend on the freedom is 1 POINT per dollar,not one percent. So a bonus month would be if I use at the grocery store I get 5 UR points per dollar spent....($10=50 points) CSP has 2x points for travel purchases and dining out all the time- And the Freedom has a different(usually less lucrative) shopping portal than the CSP....

 

[hsmamato2]

The wording on the 5x groceries is a bit confusing...... it says NOT Walmart or TArget.... but underneath that it says 'wholesale clubs'.... does this mean it is or it isn't 5x at say,Sams club?

 

[AmyAnne]

For those of you who have the Chase Ink business card, how do you maximize rewards? I just was approved for this card, and am wondering, besides the initial bonus, whether it will make sense to keep this card given the $95 annual fee. I definitely will charge our cable service to this card, but that is the only 5x points category that I see us using on a regular basis.

I usually charge most everything to our Capital One card that pays 1.5% on everything. I also have the Chase Freedom, which I use for the quarterly 5% categories (when I remember).

 

[calypso726]

For those of you who have the Chase Ink business card, how do you maximize rewards? I just was approved for this card, and am wondering, besides the initial bonus, whether it will make sense to keep this card given the $95 annual fee. I definitely will charge our cable service to this card, but that is the only 5x points category that I see us using on a regular basis.

I usually charge most everything to our Capital One card that pays 1.5% on everything. I also have the Chase Freedom, which I use for the quarterly 5% categories (when I remember).

We use our Ink card to purchase gift cards at office supply stores in order to get the 5x bonus. We earned over 40,000 UR points by purchasing Disney gift cards at office supply stores and then using the gift cards to pay for our Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise on the Magic last summer. We purchase Macy's gift cards and any other department store gift cards, Whole Foods gift cards, Fandango gift cards and restaurant gift cards also at the Office supply stores. Therefore, we tend to earn 5x per $ on just about everything.

 

[calypso726]

Thanks to this thread I applied and was approved for the Starwood preferred guest card with the 35k bonus. I was able to book several stays at sheratons and Weston hotels using my points. This card is a keeper for me.

This is also one of our keeper cards and I was just approved for the business version, YAY! I really hope that Marriott buying Starwood doesn't affect the Amex SPG program. Having the ability to transfer points to over 30 airlines is not something I want to lose.

 

[AmyAnne]

We use our Ink card to purchase gift cards at office supply stores in order to get the 5x bonus. We earned over 40,000 UR points by purchasing Disney gift cards at office supply stores and then using the gift cards to pay for our Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise on the Magic last summer. We purchase Macy's gift cards and any other department store gift cards, Whole Foods gift cards, Fandango gift cards and restaurant gift cards also at the Office supply stores. Therefore, we tend to earn 5x per $ on just about everything.

This is somewhat similar to what I do with gift cards at Target -- I use the redcard to get 5% off Disney cards (which I also used for our cruise last year ). I also buy IHop and Starbucks giftcards there, especially when my college kids are home. Is 5x points from Chase better than 5% off? I am guessing it is for travel purchases, but with the kids' schedules all over the place now, I am not sure when the next big trip will be.

 

[Albort]

This is somewhat similar to what I do with gift cards at Target -- I use the redcard to get 5% off Disney cards (which I also used for our cruise last year ). I also buy IHop and Starbucks giftcards there, especially when my college kids are home. Is 5x points from Chase better than 5% off? I am guessing it is for travel purchases, but with the kids' schedules all over the place now, I am not sure when the next big trip will be.

5x points from Chase is better than 5% off. 5x will give u 5% cash back, but it varies on how u redeem it.
For example, i have planned a trip to Japan, we are missing 1 leg of the flight.
For the same flight, i would have to pay $1000. I can redeem it for 30k+$25. If i convert this to cashback, it would be $325. thats roughly $3 per point and 60% off!

note: i think i did the math wrong, i just woke up, will rethink when im more awake...

 

[calypso726]

This is somewhat similar to what I do with gift cards at Target -- I use the redcard to get 5% off Disney cards (which I also used for our cruise last year ). I also buy IHop and Starbucks giftcards there, especially when my college kids are home. Is 5x points from Chase better than 5% off? I am guessing it is for travel purchases, but with the kids' schedules all over the place now, I am not sure when the next big trip will be.

For the next few Adventures by Disney trips we will be doing a combo. We will buy Target gift cards from the office supply store for 5x/$ and then buy the Disney gift cards though Target with our red card as default to trigger the 5% off. Best of both worlds.

Like Albort said, it depends on how you redeem them. We used 100,000 UR points and transferred them 1:1 on United to fly back from Paris in first class. Had we paid cash for the flight we would have had to fork out $15,000. Not that we'd ever do that LOL Had we used the 100,000 UR points as cash back they would have only been worth $1,000. This year we redeemed 100,000 UR points for a round trip first class flight to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The same flights would have been over $4,000 out of pocket. So for us, the points are always more valuable than cash back.