Chase Exclusives Bonuses Explained And A Comparison Of Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards.

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Chase Exclusives:

Chase has a little publicized program called Chase Exclusives. It gives special bonuses to holders of select credit cards that also have a Chase checking account.  I’ve mentioned the program in passing before, but it’s about time I made a post to clarify exactly how it works.

When you have a Freedom card and/or an Ink Bold card, and any Chase checking account you are eligible for Chase Exclusives.  It takes 1-2 months from when you open the credit card (or checking account if you already have an eligible credit card) for the Chase Exclusives to begin automatically.  You can also call Chase to have the Chase Exclusives process expedited, but it will still take about a month for the accounts to be linked.  You will also be sent literature about the program once your Chase Exclusives is active.

Here’s how it looks on your credit card statement when the program is active:

Chase Freedom statements:
For $1,887.54 in spending I earned:
-1,888 base points
-189 Chase Exclusives 10% bonus base points
-300 Chase Exclusives bonus points for 30 transactions during the month.
-6,000 bonus points for spending in rotating categories.
Total of 8,377 points, or an average of 4.44 points per dollar spent.

Or spend $0.22 and earn:
-1 base point
-1 Chase Exclusives 10% bonus base point
-220 Chase Exclusives bonus points for 22 transactions during the month.
Total of 222 points, or an average of 1,009 points per dollar spent 😉 (Of course that doesn’t account for the fact that Chase doesn’t charge you for spending of $1 or less on a statement, but 1,009 points per dollar is better defined than ∞ points per dollar)

Chase Ink Bold statement:
For $205 in spending you earn 246 points, or 1.2 points per dollar spent in any category.  If you spend $25K in 12 months then you will bump up your average earnings to 1.5 points per dollar spent, at $50K spending in 12 months your average earning is 1.65 points per dollar spent, and at $100K spending in 12 month your average earning will be 1.675 points per dollar spent.

Ultimate Rewards:

All of the following cards in this post participate in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, which is one of the best point programs out there. With the Ink Bold Business card or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Consumer card you can transfer the points instantly with no fees to anyone’s Continental (Star Alliance), British Airways (OneWorld), Korean (Skyteam), Southwest, United (Star Alliance), Hyatt, Priority Club, Marriott, or Amtrak account at a 1:1 ratio.

Continental/United miles and Hyatt points are both extremely valuable currencies and excellent options to have.  And Chase Ultimate Rewards is the only good place to transfer points into those programs.
You can also transfer Ultimate Rewards points to anyone else with an Ultimate Rewards credit card and if they happen to have an Ink Bold Business card or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Consumer card then they can transfer those points into anyone’s airline/hotel mileage account.

You can also just redeem Ultimate Rewards points for a penny each in cash, but why would you want to when you can transfer the points into miles and use them for tickets with each mile being worth far more than a penny each?

If you get a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold card you can also downgrade to fee-free cards if you decide that you don’t want to pay the annual fee once your free year is up. When you downgrade you will no longer be able to transfer to airline/hotel programs, but you do keep your point balance alive and will be able to transfer all of those points in the future if you do get the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold again or you can transfer the points to someone who does have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold card.

Ultimate Rewards and Starwood Starpoints are 2 of my favorite flexible currencies for their vast amount of awesome potential uses.
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Ultimate Rewards cards with Chase Exclusives:

Chase Freedom Consumer Card:
-Annual Fee: None.
-Signup Bonus: $200 cash back in the form of 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points for spending $500.
-Normal points for spending: 5 points per dollar for purchases in rotating categories (on up to $1,500 in rotating category purchases per quarter) and 1 point per dollar elsewhere.
(For 2011 these rotating categories were:
Q1: Grocery Stores, Drugstores
Q2: Home Improvement, Lawn and Garden, Home Furnishings
Q3: Gas, Hotels, Airlines
Q4: Dining, Department Stores, Movies, Charity).
-Chase Exclusives Bonus for having a Chase checking account: 10 bonus points for every transaction (even on a transaction of just 1 cent!) AND 10% bonus points for each $1 spent!
-All bonus points post to your account monthly.
Pros:
-Hefty bonuses for small ticket purchases and for spending in rotating categories. On a $10 purchase you will earn 21 points (10 base points, 10 transaction points, and 1 10% bonus point) or more than 2 points per dollar spent. If that $10 purchase in for dining or charity this quarter for example then you will earn a whopping 61 points (10 base points, 40 category bonus points, 10 transaction points, and 1 10% bonus point) or more than 7 points per dollar spent.
-Keeps your entire Ultimate Rewards point balance alive with no annual fee in case you no longer want to pay the annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold card. If you decide to reopen those cards in the future you can transfer over your entire point balance to airline/hotel mileage programs.
Cons:
-Can’t transfer points to airline/hotel mileage programs if you don’t have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold card.

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Chase Ink Bold Business Card, 50,000 point signup offer for spending $5,000 in 3 months.
Or
Chase Ink Bold Business Card, 25,000 point signup bonus offer for spending $1.
-Annual Fee: None for first year, then $95.
-Signup Bonus: 25,000 or 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points.
-Normal points for spending: 1 point per dollar.
-Chase Exclusives Bonus for having a Chase checking account: 20% bonus points for each $1 spent!
-All bonus points post to your account monthly.
-Threshold bonuses (Based on 12 month periods from when you open your card):
-Spend $25K in a year and get a 7,500 point bonus. (If you are a checking customer that’s a total of 37,500 points for $25K spend or 1.5 points per dollar spent!)
-Spend $50K in a year and get a 22,500 total point bonus. (If you are a checking customer that’s a total of 82,500 points for $50K spend or 1.65 points per dollar spent!)
-Spend $100K in a year and get a 47,500 total point bonus. (If you are a checking customer that’s a total of 167,500 points for $100K spend or 1.675 points per dollar spent!)
-This is a business card, but anyone can apply for it. If Joe Smith sells items on ebay and wants a credit card to better keep track of business expenditures he can just open a business credit card for Joe Smith Sole Proprietorship. Just be sure to select “Sole Proprietorship” as the business type and just use your social security number in the Tax Identification Number field as well as in the SSN field.
Pros:
-Transfer all Ultimate Rewards points into airline/hotel programs.
-If you are a big spender then by spending $25K, $50K, or $100K on the card you can earn a large amount of points on everyday purchases.
-While spending on most cards will lower your credit score due to your higher credit utilization, spending on a business card will no affect your personal score. Additionally when you close a business card you do not have to worry about losing the credit line (which can also hurt your score) as it was never even reported in the first place on your personal credit score!
Cons:
-$95 annual fee applies after 1st year free.

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Ultimate Rewards cards that do not receive bonus Chase exclusives benefits:

Chase Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card® Card Consumer Card
-Annual Fee: None for first year, then $95.
-Signup Bonus: 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points for spending $3,000, plus a 7% dividend on all points every January/February, making the effective signup bonus 53,500 and the total points earned after spending $3,000 will be between 56,710 and 63,130, depending on the categories of spending.
-Normal points for spending: 1.07 points per dollar spent, 2.14 points per dollar spent on dining, airfare, hotels, car rentals, charges in airports, travel agencies, caterers, timeshares, trains, buses, taxis/limos, ferries, bridges, tolls, and parking, and 3.21 points per dollar if booking travel via the Chase booking tool.
-The extra .07/.14/.21 bonuses post to your account every January or February.
Pros:
-Transfer all Ultimate Rewards points into airline/hotel programs.
-7% dividend on all points earned, even on top of the signup bonus and on top of bonus points earned in double/triple point categories.
-No foreign exchange/transaction fees (All other Ultimate Rewards cards have a 3% fee)
-Excellent card for usage in 2.14 and 3.21 point categories and for purchases made in foreign countries.
-If you don’t have a checking account then this card offers more points for all purchases than other Ultimate Rewards cards.
-No automated phone-tree maze. An agent picks up on the first ring.
-A metal, eye-catching card, with just your name embossed on the front and the number on the back is sure to get noticed when you use it!
Cons:
-$95 annual fee applies after 1st year free.
-If you are a checking customer then the 1.07 points per dollar on regular purchases is eclipsed by Chase Freedom or Chase Ink Bold when they are coupled with Chase Exclusives.
-The 7% bonus posts annually instead of monthly like the Chase Exclusives bonuses on the Freedom and Ink Bold cards.

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Chase Ink Classic Business Card
-Annual Fee: None.
-Signup Bonus: 15,000 Ultimate Rewards points for spending $1, plus 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points for spending $5,000 within 3 months.
-Normal points for spending: 5 points per dollar on wireless, landline, cable services, and office supplies, and 2 points per dollar on gas and lodging all year long. 1 point per dollar elsewhere.
Pros:
-Hefty bonuses in fixed categories. You don’t have to keep checking to see when to use this card, if you have spending in any of the fixed categories put them on this card and reap the huge rewards!
-Keeps your entire Ultimate Rewards point balance alive with no annual fee in case you no longer want to pay the annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold card. If you decide to reopen those cards in the future you can transfer over your entire point balance to airline/hotel mileage programs.
Cons:
-Can’t transfer points to airline/hotel mileage programs if you don’t have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold card.
-Not compelling to use for purchases outside of the bonus categories.

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Chase Sapphire Consumer Card (Non-Preferred)
-Annual Fee: None.
-Signup Bonus: 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points for spending $3,000 within 3 months.
-Normal points for spending: 2 points per dollar spent on dining and 1 point elsewhere.
Pros:
-No automated phone-tree maze. An agent picks up on the first ring.
-Keeps your entire Ultimate Rewards point balance alive with no annual fee in case you no longer want to pay the annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold card. If you decide to reopen those cards in the future you can transfer over your entire point balance to airline/hotel mileage programs.
Cons:
-Can’t transfer points to airline/hotel mileage programs if you don’t have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Bold card.
-Not compelling to use for purchases (besides dining) compared to other fee-free cards like Freedom and Ink Classic.

Leave a Reply

61 Comments On "Chase Exclusives Bonuses Explained And A Comparison Of Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards."

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

Mike

You mean these benefits don’t occur immediately when you receive the card you have to wait 2 months until they are activated? Also, is it something that you have to sign up for or does Chase sign you up automatically?

Dan

@Mike:
It took just over a month for Chase to add the exclusives benefits to my cards.
Shortly after they were added I received information in the mail about the program.

The linkage happens automatically, but you may be able to expedite the process by sending a secure message, calling Chase, or asking a banker to have them linked for you so that you get the Chase Exclusives benefits sooner.

chaya

So to put it simply, for small transactions and rotating categories use freedom, for others use the ink bold?

Jacob

@Dan Assuming you have a Sapphire Preferred card, what are Chase Freedom points value per point when you transfer them to hotel or airline? Or how many Freedom points to one Ultimate point?

Dan

@chaya:
That sums it up pretty well.

If you also have a Sapphire Preferred though then you’ll want to put travel, hotel, and dining purchases as well as all purchases made outside of the United States on that card.

And if you also have Ink Classic then you’ll want to put Telecom and Gas on that card.

Finally if you have a Starwood card that’s also a fine value per point (I would say 1 Starpoint is worth about 1.2 Ultimate Rewards points) so keep that in mind as well.
Plus AMEX gives the best return protection, dispute resolution, and warranty extension in the entire business, so if you are purchasing something that you might need protections for then you’ll definitely want to use your Starwood card.

@Jacob:
There are no “Freedom points.” All of these cards earn Ultimate Rewards points with the caveat that you can only transfer to hotels/airlines if you have a Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold card.

I personally value Ultimate Rewards points at about 1.9 cents each (compared to about 2.3 cents each for Starpoints and about 1.6 cents each for Membership Rewards points)

Mayer

The rep. told me on the phone that the way to link the accounts is to set up auto payment from my chase account to the freedom card. Is there any other way to link them if I don’t want to pay from that bank?
You don’t get points retroactively, only after it’s linked?

Dan

@Mayer:
Most customer service reps don’t know what they’re talking about and your rep is no exception.
You shouldn’t need to do anything to link the accounts, but if you are having issues then I would recommend sending a secure message when logged in at Chase.com to ask about linking the accounts. You definitely do not need to set up any kind of auto-payments to link them.

Bonus points are only earned after the link is properly established.

Mayer

I’m quite excited! my first question and a quick response. Thanks. TIme to join ddf

Mike

@Dan: Just curious Dan, how did you come to these valuations?

Dan

@Mike:
Those are the values that I try to exceed when redeeming Continental miles or Hyatt points.
When I redeem miles I use a buy or redeem equation, you can find the formula here:
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=10618.msg129522#msg129522

When you redeem for tickets in business or first class or for high-end hotels you almost always will far exceed those values, but if I have a last-minute coach ticket to book I’ll try to compute if it’s worth buying the ticket or redeeming miles.

@sam:
Yes. I had a Sapphire Preferred card a couple years ago that I got 25,000 points for opening. I had closed that card (my Freedom card kept the points alive) and opened a Sapphire Preferred card a few months ago and got the 50,000 points for opening it.

Buying and selling miles is a very grey area, feel free to try to find brokers that will give you an exact quote.

SG

Just out of curiosity, where did you make 22 1 cent purchases… 🙂

sh

if someone has points from his freedom card but dosent have a card that has ur could i transfer his points to my ur account? if yes how do i do it? thanks for all the help its amazing

Dan

@SG:
There are a few ways. Sams Club gas stations are great if you are quick on the trigger 😉

@sh:
Again, points earned from Freedom are Ultimate Rewards points, they just can’t be transferred to airlines/hotels without Ink Bold or Sapphire Preferred.

To transfer points between people or between cards just login to the Chase.com site, click on Ultimate Rewards>manage ultimate rewards>combine points>transfer from freedom>transfer to other>enter credit card number of person to transfer points to or select your Ink Bold or Sapphire Preferred card>enter amount of points to transfer and then transfer away!

sam

@Dan:
the time when your card was closed where did your miles go?

Dan

@sam:
As I said comment 11, my Freedom card kept the points alive.
Alternatively I could have downgraded to a fee-free card like the non-preferred version of the Sapphire card to keep the points alive or I could have transferred all of the points out to airlines/hotels.

sam

@Dan:
how long will it keep the points “alive” for?
thanks

Dan

@sam:
Again, all of these cards earn Ultimate Rewards points. As long as you have any of these cards then all of your Ultimate Rewards points will stay alive forever.

Winston

Hi Dan, when you say “Chase doesn’t charge you for spending of $1 or less on a statement,” does that mean the whole balance in a statement less than $1 or each transaction less than $1 gets waived in a statement? Thanks

Dan

@Winston:
Whole balance of $1 or less.

bitzy

How difficult is it to qualify for a sapphire preferred? How long of a credit history do they usually require. I have a great salary but I am just starting off my credit.

Dan

@bitzy:
It’s not particularly hard to get, especially if you are willing to call reconsideration in case you are denied.

Do you currently have any credit cards, store cards, or secured cards?

Yidel

Dan, thanks for this great post!

I think you’ve done a major improvement with the pro/con format, so much easier to understand that way, and easier to evaluate which cards are worth it.

2 Questions: 1) You wrote: “I personally value Ultimate Rewards points at about 1.9 cents each (compared to about 2.3 cents each for Starpoints and about 1.6 cents each for Membership Rewards points)”
How ’bout CO/UA Points?

2) My observation: By you, Amex MRP used to be one of the kings together with Starpoints, it seems to me that Amex MRP has dropped in your rating system and has been replaced with the Chase’s Saphire Pref. (freedom etc..) and the CO , Amex MRP seems to have fallen from your radar to be eclipsed by starpoints and the aforementioned, am i correct?
Is the only advantage in MRP over Starpoints just in the instant conversion into miles factor?

Thanks so much again, please keep it up with this pro & con format (if only you can repair all those critical previous posts to be such 😉 )!!

mosie

how do i make a 1 cent transaction? thanx

Mendel

Hey Dan the Man,
Can you direct me to the link/post about checking accounts (specifically business)?
Thanks so much!

Dan

@Yidel:
I try to get 1.9 for CO/UA, but of course they’re more valuable to a broker as Ultimate Rewards points as then they are transferable.

AMEX MR used to be good for Continental, Aeroplan, and British Airways.
Now Continental is gone, Aeroplan has started charging fuel surcharges, and BA is devaluing their chart tomorrow.

The best use of MR now is during Delta bonuses, like the 43% bonus now. As Delta is worth about 1.1 or 1.2 in my book, MR is worth 1.6 only because of the bonuses they run for Delta.

Starpoints on the other hand still have many valuable transfers, like to AA, USAirways, and LAN, and they transfer at 20:25 or 20:50 ratios. The only problem is that transfers aren’t instant, but still the partners and the ratios are great.
And of course Starpoints are awesome for hotel stays (unrestricted nights+5th night free, cash and points, night & flight miles) as well.

MR also charges a transfer tax while Starpoints and Ultimate Rewards do not.

Starwood

@Dan:

Do Starpoints transfer instantly? If not, then there is a clear advantage to MR and UR. This is an important factor if you are looking to book a ticket immediately, or even within 24-48 hours.

Dan

@Starwood:
I’m pretty sure I covered that in comment 26.

Maury

This year I applied and received the Chase BA, Priority Club, and Chase Sapphire. The last one being over 3 mos. ago. I do not have a legit business but want to apply for the Ink Bold 50k. I have a score in the 760. What are my chances I will get approved?

Lb

Do you think I can get chase sapphire card if I have credit of around 700? I have a Capitol one for about six months and have been an au on a starwood gold and co master card for about a year.

Bi Al

Dan,

Two comments.
1st, one card that provides incredible year round benefits to a big fuel user is the Costco Amex business, 4% on gas and 1% on regular purchases, all the OPEN savings, no annual fee and no limits on rewards.
2ndly, it seems the Business Chase Ink Bold combined with the Exclusive benefits take the cake, as there is a whopper signup and great point bonuses if you spend over $25k/yr and even better if you spend over $50k.
What are your thoughts.
Thanks for all your amazing research and help!

chaya

Dan, thanks for your reply.

As far as return protection and starwood, I’m kicked out of AMEX 🙁

You mentioned to use the Sapphire for travel, hotel and dining. Is the 2.14 points per dollar more than chase freedom with a checking account?

s berk

I just got a $300 signup bonus on the Freedom Card

Dan

@Maury:
See my advice under the Ink card.

@Lb:
I think you should be able to. Worst comes to worst you’ll have to negotiate with reconsideration.

@ari:
Evaluate and see if the benefits are worth the fee.
I’m not a fan of the AMEX PRG past the first free year, but Continental does give free bags on Continental and United.

@Bi Al:
4% on gas is nice, but I’m not sure it’s worth opening another card for.
Ink Classic gives 5 miles (which is 9.5% in my book) for telecom and 2 miles (3.8% in my book), which makes is better all-around for me at least.

Ink Bold does take the cake for people who spend $25K on their card in 12 months. Great card!

@chaya:
For travel, hotel and dining the Sapphire card will earn more than Freedom unless it’s a purchase of $9 or less in which case Freedom will beat it even in those categories.
For $10 or more in those categories Sapphire will win.

the harder comparison to make is Freedom versus Ink Bold due to the threshold bonuses on Ink Bold which complicate matters if you are shooting for $25K.

@s berk:
You can send a secure message to Chase after applying asking to match and get the $300 offer.
You can also do that with the Continental or United cards asking for 50K via Secure Message instead of the public 30K offer.

Scott

Dan, to get the chase exclusives bonus for the INK BOLD card does the chase bank account have to be a business account?

ari

called chase they gave me $150.00 credit in order to stay and not cancel the card so that saved me as i really wanted to keep that card do to free pce of luggage and many gas stations as well as the (kosher stores) dont accept amex

do you think amex will give me points or credit to stay with them?

Dan

@Scott:
A personal or business checking account is good enough for Chase Exclusives.

@stever:
I don’t see why not.

@ari:
$150 to keep the Continental card open is an awesome retention bonus considering that the card only costs $95/year!

Besides for free luggage it also gives free primary CDW on car rentals, which is very rare for cards to cover.

You can read more about retention bonuses that others have received on DDF: http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=1572

gevaldig

Dan my wife has amex blue a non charge card, i have PRG amex card,is there a way to transfer my wives points to me.? so i should be able to transfer it to airlines.

Dan

@gevaldig:
It’s very difficult to transfer AMEX points, but you can try.

Otherwise if your wife opens up a Green, Gold, or Platinum card she will be able to transfer all of her points to airlines.

gevaldig

Dan thanks

ari

whats also important for those traveling to israel that world mastercard is the only card that still offers the cdw coverage in israel
otherwise your obligated to take the xtra insurance which can add an additional 10.00 or more per day(depending on car catogory) to a car rental

ALvin

@dan:
if one doesn’t have a sapphire or ink card and only the freedom card, what are the best ways to use ultimate rewards on then? not cash right, so what else then?

thanks

Dan

@ALvin:
Why not sign up for Ink Bold or Sapphire Preferred?

Nate

Dan-

Does this sound feasible:
1) Open Bold Business (for the 50,000 point bonus)
2) Open Chase Freedom (for 20,000 point bonus plus spend categories)
3) If I open up both simultaneously will have a better chance of getting approved
4) A week later, open up a Chase bank account
5) Wait a few months, then make sure Chase Exclusive is applied

Is there a specific chase account that must be opened? Are there monthly fees or minimum balance requirements? Thanks!

zlt123

Hi Dan Amazing article!!! I wanna ask you i have the freedom card alredy 2-3 years didnt get any bonus points whan signing up So my Q is can i aplly now for a new freedom card and get the 2-300 bonus? Also do i first cancel my card (& of course shifting over my credit line to a diffrent card) or just apply and than call recon to close my old freedom & shift ove the line to the new 1???
THANKS IN ADVENCED

Mark

Dan. Thank you! I am already benefitting from your wisdom and advice. (Got the Preferred Saphire. Just returned from overseas trip. Very helpful, not to mention all the comments on the card itself).

Ive been banking with Chase for years and have both Saphire cards.

Based on this post i will sign up immediately for the Ink so i can link my bank account and my credit cards.

Do you advise closing the Saphire (non preferred)? I dont see the point in keeping it. I transferred the 100,000 miles or so to my new preferred account.

Also, whats you thoughts on why Chase would keep this so quiet? I feel “robbed” of hundreds of thousands of points that i could have been earning over all these years.

Thanks again.

New Dandeals Fan/Addict

reuvenhunt

I applied for a freedom card and was immediately approved a the branch. However, the signup bonus is only $100 after the first $500 of spending. Is there anyway to get the $200 signup bonus even though I have already been approved for the card?

RAJ

Hi Dan,
I love your posts – very informative and helpful! I currently have about 170,000 miles on American Airlines (from an American Airlines Mastercard), which I don’t find so helpful. I am looking to open a card that would allow me to fly more convenient airlines for me, like Continental. So, 2 questions:

1. It seems from your posts that it would fit me to start a Chase Freedom card and a Chase Sapphire Preffered card (so I could then transer it into miles. (I am a standard consumer, spending most of my money on food, gas, cleaners, utilities, and the like.) Does that sound right?

2. Any way I could transfer those miles from American to any other account I would be starting?

Thanks so much for your help!

DS

Dan – You wrote “You can also just redeem Ultimate Rewards points for a penny each in cash, but why would you want to when you can transfer the points into miles and use them for tickets with each mile being worth far more than a penny each?”
I have 55K reward points and I’m looking to book something around Christmas/New Years since I have some time off work. I looked into booking a bunch of flights with either mileage or dollars and it seems to be a 1:1 ratio. I’ve never booked a mileage ticker before. Is there a trick to booking flights and hotels with miles? Or am I just not finding a good ratio because I’m choosing to travel at a busy time?
Any advice would be appreciate.

JOE

Dan,

I already have the ink bold biz for around 6 months. At the time of opening I didn’t get any signup bonus, is there any way of me asking them to give me now the 50k bonus?

farmbochur

I filled at an application for the Freedom Card online before seeing the link on your site. The signup bonus offered on that application was only $100. I called Chase and the representative told me that the only way I could receive the “richer premium” was if I could fax in an invitation that was sent to me personally from chase for that premium. Is this true? Isn’t there any way to direct them to the link on this site and receive the $200 premium?

Mark

Dan, Im confused. I went to Chase yesterday and not surprisingly couldnt get a straight answer about which card is the best to get for someone who has a Chase account. They seemed to finally concur that the Ink bold would be best. (they offered to do the application for me, claiming it would be easier if they “helped me” with it. They also mentioned that for the Ink Bold you have to show tax returns for a few years. is there any value to them processing the application? Do they indeed ask for Tax returns?)

My question is with regard to your post. I cant seem to figure out if the Bold is beter than the Freedom or vice versa?

If you have a personal and business checking account with Chase what card is the best to have?

If the answer is, the Freedom is better for x purchases, the Saphire for x and the Bold for x, i appreciate that, but realistically, i dont know if i can switch between three cards everyday.

If someone was only going to use 1 of the Chase cards which would it be?

Thanks in advance.

M

Dan

@Nate:
That should work. Any Chase account should work.

@Mark:
Sapphire is still good for travel and dining purchases.

@reuvenhunt:
Try sending a secure message.

@RAJ:
1. Yes.
2. No.

@DS:
You need to search for the mileage flights on sites like aa.com or continental.com

@JOE:
Try sending a secure message.

@Mark:
They want you to apply in the branch so that they get the referral 🙂
Thing is in the branch they have much worse signup offers.

You don’t need to provide tax returns to get the card, just apply online and you should be fine.

Freedom is better than Ink Bold for small purchases and Ink Bold is better for larger purchases.

And Sapphire is better for dining/travel.

Which is the best overall? That depends on where you typically spent money and how much you spend in a year. There is no one-size fits all for Chase cards.

For AMEX that would be Starwood, but with Chase there are too many variables.

Mark

Thanks, Dan.

reuvenhunt

@Dan: It worked! They’re gonna give me the “richer premium.” Thanks Dan.

zlt123

hi dan where is my answer

redbull3

Here is the brilliant chap – find an online charity that lets you donate .01 at a time, and keep doing it (you make 9 cents per transaction)… this could turn into quite a part time job. I am only half kidding.

Shmuel Boruch

@redbull3: Are you causing a loss to the charity? DO they pay a transaction fee?

Erik J

I was all pumped up about this and I tried opening a checking account with Chase, only to be told I can’t do so unless there is a branch in my state (Massachusetts). There isn’t, so I am out of luck. In fact, the only branch in all of New England is a branch in Connecticut!

Erik J

I have just torn my hair out trying to get Chase Exclusives recognition for my Freedom card. I opened the card five months ago and opened a Chase Checking Account simultaneously and had the two linked to each other.

I was told after 1-2 billing cycles I would get 10 points per transaction. This never happened. Now when I’m on the phone with them they say they have never heard of Chase Exclusives, and that I must be thinking about the Chase 10 plus 10 program that offers an extra 10% rebate, but which is a different product from this one.

I know that’s not the case. I tried going to the Chase Exclusives webpage today, and the link to the Freedom card is no longer functional.

Are others having this problem and is there any specific info or promotion code I can provide these morons so they know what I am referring to?

Dan

@Erik J:
Send a secure message.

cshia

Hi dan

I swipe about $10-15k a month on my sapphire preferred. and im looking in to getting a charge card is the chase ink a charge card? what card would you recommend? and i can easily get another 25-30k per month in spending if i can have 2 separate cards not same so can have separate accounts what should i do?

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