The Trick To Getting More Value Out Of Chase Ultimate Reward Points

 

When I wake up and see this in my Chase.com account, that makes for a great day! I applied for the new Chase FREEDOM Flex card in October and bam, this month, I was awarded the 20,000 point bonus. 

The Flex card requires just a $500 minimum spend in the first three months to earn the bonus. It has no annual fee and right now, it also earns 5% at grocery stores for the first year or up to $12,000. It also comes with the Chase rotating categories which for Q4 are Paypal and Walmart. 

I already had the Chase FREEDOM card, it's been my go-to card forever. But this is a new product so I was eligible to apply and get the bonus. I may close my old FREEDOM card or I may hold onto it in order to max out the rotating categories. 

Chase Ultimate Reward Points are amazing because they are so flexible and during the pandemic, Chase added a pay yourself back benefit to the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards where you can cash in the points for grocery and home improvement purchases. The Sapphire Preferred card has a $95 annual fee, but I think it's totally worth it. This is one of my favorite cards. The Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee, but before you gasp, it also comes with a $300 travel credit which right now is a grocery credit plus FREE Doordash, Lyft and Peloton membership and a $120 credit at Doordash. It also comes with a $100 Global Entry credit and FREE airport lounge access. 

So here's the trick to get more value out of the points. 

The Sapphire Preferred gives you 25% more for your points in the pay yourself back and Chase Travel Portal and the Sapphire Reserve gives you 50% more. Chase also allows you to combine your points from one credit card to another. So you can easily move your points from your new FREEDOM FLEX card to your Sapphire Preferred or Reserve to get more value. 

It's easy. 

• Just log into your Chase.com account
• Click on the earn/use points and you'll see this dashboard. It's expanded a lot since the pandemic started. One of the things I love about Chase is how user friendly the site is. You can see exactly how many points you have, how to use them, and how to earn them. 
• Click on combine points and you will see the option to move points from one card to another. You can also move points from one family member to another if your family member only has a no fee card or even a Preferred card. 

Chase will ask you how many points you want to move, review your order and bam, instant transfer. Now you can use those points for travel or to pay yourself back for any qualified purchases you made in the past 90 days. 

If you decide to apply for the Chase FREEDOM Flex or Sapphire Preferred, please consider using my referral link. You get the same bonus and I also get a small bonus for referring you. That's how we do it at almostFREEfamilytravel.com