Help me understand Chase cards . . .

Disney Princess

Member Since Day 1
Joined
Feb 10, 2000
Messages
2,636
We have an AmEx card that we use for travel rewards. No annual fee, easy to use, points are redeemable for any travel expense, etc. However, I'm very interested in the Chase Sapphire Reserve with its 100,000 bonus points.

I'm a little confused though in reading all the threads. Do I have to have a different Chase card to transfer the points to? I've read that it isn't a good deal to redeem them for cash back, etc. and I wouldn't want to. But to use them for Southwest or another airline, do I need to have a different card that allows me to use the Ultimate Rewards? Before I apply and pay the $450 fee, I want to make sure I can use the 100,000 points.

Thanks for any insight.
 
I'm not a Chase Expert but have a few Chase Cards including the new Sapphire Reserve. As long as you have this card open you can utilize the UR. If you want to close the card after the year - then they would have you not close the card but switch to a different Chase Card that utilizes the UR points so you don't lose them. At any time you can transfer these points to one of their Airline or Hotel partners. That is what I did with the other Chase Sapphire Card that I have. I transferred the points to my Southwest Account at a 1:1 ratio and used them that way.
 
Each Chase card has a different rewards category that earn UR points. The other cards will help you earn more UR points for a higher redemption.

there are 3 premium cards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve - 3x on travel
Chase Sapphire Preferred - 2x on travel
Chase Business Ink+ - 5x on office supplies/cable bill/phone bill

There are 4 regular cards that also earn UR points.
Chase Freedom - 5x on rotating categories
Chase Freedom Unlimited - 1.5x on everything
Chase Sapphire - 2x on travel
Chase Ink Cash - 5x on office supplies

Premium cards are required to transfer to chase's travel partners. You can transfer your Chase Freedom UR points to one of the premium cards, then use to transfer to a partners... u cannot transfer from Freedom --> partners.
Before you apply, make sure you can spend $4k in 3 months to get the 100k. if not, wait for a big expense to come.

edit : missed a regular card.
 
Last edited:
We have an AmEx card that we use for travel rewards. No annual fee, easy to use, points are redeemable for any travel expense, etc. However, I'm very interested in the Chase Sapphire Reserve with its 100,000 bonus points.

I'm a little confused though in reading all the threads. Do I have to have a different Chase card to transfer the points to? I've read that it isn't a good deal to redeem them for cash back, etc. and I wouldn't want to. But to use them for Southwest or another airline, do I need to have a different card that allows me to use the Ultimate Rewards? Before I apply and pay the $450 fee, I want to make sure I can use the 100,000 points.

Thanks for any insight.

That is correct. You can often get more value by transferring direct to an airline partner than by using as cash back or even to use as travel rewards. None the less always double check the price of the ticket and how many miles it would cost you to redeem with points vs how many air miles you'd need for the same ticket by transferring to the airline. The premium cards Albort mentioned above will allow you to transfer your UR 1:1 to Chase's airline and hotel partners. If you cancel the card you will lose those points. You are better off downgrading to the Sapphire Preferred which is only a $95 annual fee. That way you can still use the points to convert o air miles or hotel points. The card with no annual fee mentioned above also earn UR points but can not be converted to miles or hotel points on their own.

I have the Ink+ and the Sapphire Reserve as well as the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited. When I max out my 5x bonus for Wholesale Club purchases on my Freedom this quarter I will earn 7500 UR points. I cannot transfer the UR points from my Freedom account to any of the airlines that partner with Chase. I will have to transfer those UR points into my Ink+ or my CSR account first. Then, I can transfer the points now in the Ink+ or CSR to Korean Air (Sky Team Alliance) so I can book my flight back from Shanghai Disneyland in 2018 or to Iceland via Delta (Sky Team Alliance) next Thanksgiving. The Chase airline partners span the 3 airline alliances, Star Alliance, One World Alliance, and Sky Team Alliance. This means that with a bit of extra homework you can figure out how to fly just about anywhere on just about any major airline.
 

I need to investigate how to use the points on other airlines that aren't partners so we can save some dough on flights for our Med cruise. I am usually a SW girl so transferring from UR to there is simple.
 
I need to investigate how to use the points on other airlines that aren't partners so we can save some dough on flights for our Med cruise. I am usually a SW girl so transferring from UR to there is simple.

The great thing to know is that it is likely a travel hacker blogger has already written a post about how to use your miles to fly on a partner airline. Many of them actually put screen shots so you can see what to do and how to do it. It takes a little bit of searching on he internet but eventually you will find out how to do what you need. I usually transfer my UR points to United or British Airways.

While planning our 2018 Adventures by Disney trip to China I decided I wanted to try and fly Cathay Pacific using American Airline miles that i have from some pretty big credit card sign up bonuses. AA's website doesn't even show Cathay Pacific flights anywhere for award bookings with miles even though they are partners. I knew this was possible and just did searches on some of the blogs I follow to find out how to do it.

Do some searches from your area airport(s) to your destination and see which airline seems to have the most flights. If it isn't a UR transfer partner then find out what alliance that airline is part of and which UR partner airline is also in the same alliance. Then, you can start investigating how to use X's air miles to fly on Y's airline.
 
The great thing to know is that it is likely a travel hacker blogger has already written a post about how to use your miles to fly on a partner airline. Many of them actually put screen shots so you can see what to do and how to do it. It takes a little bit of searching on he internet but eventually you will find out how to do what you need. I usually transfer my UR points to United or British Airways.

While planning our 2018 Adventures by Disney trip to China I decided I wanted to try and fly Cathay Pacific using American Airline miles that i have from some pretty big credit card sign up bonuses. AA's website doesn't even show Cathay Pacific flights anywhere for award bookings with miles even though they are partners. I knew this was possible and just did searches on some of the blogs I follow to find out how to do it.

Do some searches from your area airport(s) to your destination and see which airline seems to have the most flights. If it isn't a UR transfer partner then find out what alliance that airline is part of and which UR partner airline is also in the same alliance. Then, you can start investigating how to use X's air miles to fly on Y's airline.

Thank you! I started looking into it last night some. It does seem a bit complicated but well worth the effort!
 
/
Thank you EVERYONE for all the awesome info. My husband has the CSR and we're about halfway to the $4,000. Once he reaches it, I'll apply so we can get another 100,000. Can we combine points from two separate accounts, or do I have to be an authorized user to do that?
 
Each Chase card has a different rewards category that earn UR points. The other cards will help you earn more UR points for a higher redemption.

there are 3 premium cards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve - 3x on travel
Chase Sapphire Preferred - 2x on travel
Chase Business Ink+ - 5x on office supplies/cable bill/phone bill

There are 4 regular cards that also earn UR points.
Chase Freedom - 5x on rotating categories
Chase Freedom Unlimited - 1.5x on everything
Chase Sapphire - 2x on travel
Chase Ink Cash - 5x on office supplies

Premium cards are required to transfer to chase's travel partners. You can transfer your Chase Freedom UR points to one of the premium cards, then use to transfer to a partners... u cannot transfer from Freedom --> partners.
Before you apply, make sure you can spend $4k in 3 months to get the 100k. if not, wait for a big expense to come.

edit : missed a regular card.

This is an awesome summation! Thank you very much!!!
 
I just wanted to clarify some things. Dh and I both signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card in July for 50,000 bonus UR pts.
According to what I've read in Chase's literature/website, dh and I can transfer our UR pts to each other unlimited times for free. IIRC it has to be spouse or maybe just same household.
Also it earns 2x points for travel and dining. Even stopping for pizza counts.

I'm reluctant to get the CSR card if the bonus is 100k pts for $450. I suppose if you can fly to Europe for $450 that's a great deal but considering CSP gets us 50k pts. for $95 (I thought in the Chase branch they told me $85. Did it recently go up?)
So compared to CSP, CSR gives 2x the points but costs more than 4.5x the AF. Really they should be giving 4.5x as many UR points with that big fee.
 
I just wanted to clarify some things. Dh and I both signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card in July for 50,000 bonus UR pts.
According to what I've read in Chase's literature/website, dh and I can transfer our UR pts to each other unlimited times for free. IIRC it has to be spouse or maybe just same household.
Also it earns 2x points for travel and dining. Even stopping for pizza counts.

I'm reluctant to get the CSR card if the bonus is 100k pts for $450. I suppose if you can fly to Europe for $450 that's a great deal but considering CSP gets us 50k pts. for $95 (I thought in the Chase branch they told me $85. Did it recently go up?)
So compared to CSP, CSR gives 2x the points but costs more than 4.5x the AF. Really they should be giving 4.5x as many UR points with that big fee.

you missed a few things though. CSR will give u a $300 travel credit a year. So if u buy your tickets with a CSR for $450, u get 1350UR + $300 statement credit. that takes ur $450 AF down to $150. If you wanna get global entry, thats another $100 expense where the CSR will reimburse you. you now down to $50. 100k UR pts is like $1000 if you cash it out, cash 5k pts out, ur at $0 and 95k UR pts! :D Apply mid year, u get another $300 credit within a single AF payment. -$300 + 95K UR pts! which is like $1250 in your favor! :D

Other benefits u get with CSR over CSP is lounge access, and you can get 1.5 cents per pt if you book with Ultimate rewards. after a year, it might not be worth it.
 
I just wanted to clarify some things. Dh and I both signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card in July for 50,000 bonus UR pts.
According to what I've read in Chase's literature/website, dh and I can transfer our UR pts to each other unlimited times for free. IIRC it has to be spouse or maybe just same household.
Also it earns 2x points for travel and dining. Even stopping for pizza counts.

I'm reluctant to get the CSR card if the bonus is 100k pts for $450. I suppose if you can fly to Europe for $450 that's a great deal but considering CSP gets us 50k pts. for $95 (I thought in the Chase branch they told me $85. Did it recently go up?)
So compared to CSP, CSR gives 2x the points but costs more than 4.5x the AF. Really they should be giving 4.5x as many UR points with that big fee.

I'm not too familiar with the cards but you also get a $300 travel reimbursement with the CSR which essentially brings the cost down to $150.
 
I was looking for a card to keep for everyday shopping. I don't really churn for rewards; it sounds like a PT job though I do see the benefits. We don't have definite travel plans for the next year so I can't even say for sure that I'd get the $300 travel reimbursement.
I've been using my SWA visa for years and love the free flights but when we were in a Chase branch we were offered the CSP and it seemed like a better deal than what we had: a little more AF but much more flexible use of points.
I guess there are plenty of people who can get the most out of what the CSR offers to make it worth their time.
 
I was looking for a card to keep for everyday shopping. I don't really churn for rewards; it sounds like a PT job though I do see the benefits. We don't have definite travel plans for the next year so I can't even say for sure that I'd get the $300 travel reimbursement.
I've been using my SWA visa for years and love the free flights but when we were in a Chase branch we were offered the CSP and it seemed like a better deal than what we had: a little more AF but much more flexible use of points.
I guess there are plenty of people who can get the most out of what the CSR offers to make it worth their time.

I just opened a CSR card yesterday. I went to my local branch and it was really fast. They expedited the card to me so I should get it tomorrow or Tuesday, just in time for our Disneyland trip.

For me, this card makes sense because I travel a lot for work and I am able to charge all of my travel expenses onto a personal card, then get reimbursed. I will be booking work travel in the next few weeks that will get me the $300 travel credit almost instantly. Plus, just 2-3 work trips will earn me enough points to fully "cover" the other $150 in annual fees. So in my mind, this makes it a no annual fee card with some pretty amazing perks. I really like the idea of the travel insurance and airport lounges. I will be using the sign-up bonus points to book our airfare for our Norwegian cruise in May, which after using travel rewards, is costing us just $2k. I can't wait!
 
I just opened a CSR card yesterday. I went to my local branch and it was really fast. They expedited the card to me so I should get it tomorrow or Tuesday, just in time for our Disneyland trip.

IME they deliver the card to you very quickly. I signed up online around noon on a Tuesday and my card was delivered via FedEx on Wednesday. I don't even know how they print them that quickly.

I'm in the same boat as you - I travel a good amount for work and have to put all my expenses on a personal card and get reimbursed. So this card should work our pretty well for me.
 
I need to investigate how to use the points on other airlines that aren't partners so we can save some dough on flights for our Med cruise. I am usually a SW girl so transferring from UR to there is simple.
You can transfer to United Airlines and I find them to be the best for international tickets. I have had good luck finding tickets for the dates and locations I want internationally for 30k points each way. And they have lower fees and taxes than the others. I paid around $100 taxes and fees on my last trip.
 
I need to investigate how to use the points on other airlines that aren't partners so we can save some dough on flights for our Med cruise. I am usually a SW girl so transferring from UR to there is simple.

For our Med cruise (family of 4) in 2013 we had been saving miles from the USAirways cc for a loooooong time. By transferrring among each other, we were able to get 3 free RT tix to Barcelona. Also since my parents joined us on this trip, we were able to split the cost of having private drivers in each of the 3 Italian ports. IIRC it ended up costing each of us (as a couple) around $950 to have Rome In Limo for all 3 of those. For the Villefranche stop, we had lots of credits from DCL for booking while onboard and from our TA. Enough to almost cover our Nice/Monaco tour through the ship.
It was a fabulous trip that we could have never done if we had to pay for airfare for 4.
Now I'm saving UR points so we can do the Norwegian Fjords cruise. Hopefully they are still offering it by the time I get enough UR points. Some days I really wish I travelled for work.

Off the top of my head I know you can transfer 1:1 into AA, United & British Airways, probably others too. They can also be transferred into Marriott & Hyatt points and others too but they're my favs so I know those 2 were on the list. Really, with enough points one could fly to Europe and stay for free. That would be amazing!
 
Last edited:
Slightly OT, but does anyone else have trouble entering the UR shopping mall?
Any time I would shop online, I would try to enter first through the SWA shopping mall, then after getting the CSP, the UR shopping mall. For around the past month or 2, when I click on any store to shop at, a new window opens but the web page doesn't load.

When I called Chase to ask if it maybe was a setting in my computer or was it their issue, the rep told me there was no technical help line he could call and transferred me to the UR dept. The rep there could only book travel and couldn't understand why I'd be transferred to him. :rolleyes:

So now I'm back to shopping through the SWA shopping mall. They won't go to waste but really I'd rather have UR points. Also for many of the stores, the UR mall earns more than the SWA mall. :headache: With holidays quickly approaching, I feel like I will be missing out on a lot of UR pts.

If I'm not the only one, at least I know there's not something wrong with my computer. I did turn off the pop up blocker for that site. :headache:
 
Slightly OT, but does anyone else have trouble entering the UR shopping mall?
Any time I would shop online, I would try to enter first through the SWA shopping mall, then after getting the CSP, the UR shopping mall. For around the past month or 2, when I click on any store to shop at, a new window opens but the web page doesn't load.

When I called Chase to ask if it maybe was a setting in my computer or was it their issue, the rep told me there was no technical help line he could call and transferred me to the UR dept. The rep there could only book travel and couldn't understand why I'd be transferred to him. :rolleyes:

So now I'm back to shopping through the SWA shopping mall. They won't go to waste but really I'd rather have UR points. Also for many of the stores, the UR mall earns more than the SWA mall. :headache: With holidays quickly approaching, I feel like I will be missing out on a lot of UR pts.

If I'm not the only one, at least I know there's not something wrong with my computer. I did turn off the pop up blocker for that site. :headache:

you may need to clear your cookies... I had this happen to me a few times. Try a different browser, if the other browser works, its the cookies.
im guessing you using chrome?
 
you may need to clear your cookies... I had this happen to me a few times. Try a different browser, if the other browser works, its the cookies.
im guessing you using chrome?

No, I use Internet Explorer. I did clear the cookies when it first happened but I will try on dh's computer.
 

PixFuture Display Ad Tag












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE














DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Back
Top