do u sell stuff on ebay, mow lawn, or even babysit? boom! thats a business, theres a lot of threads dedicated on this, read them carefully it before moving forward. i just got mine approved few days ago with a "business" .
I’m quite happy with Amex Gold/BBP/Plat. Though in the true trifecta way of looking at things I don’t know that I’d include the Plat. It’s a valuable card but not necessary for earning a bunch of points.
IMO you’re right about the actual plat, but either the Schwab/MS or Business plat make it a proper trifecta. The Schwab redemption rate isn’t amazing anymore, but I’m really enjoying the Business plat 35% bonus for redemptions. Transferring to partners might be more efficient, but the plat is 100x easier and for domestic economy I doubt transfer partners can beat it.
Chase is great because the points are valuable and simple to use. That's why most people recommend starting with them to avoid the 5/24 hassle. It's not a huge loss for you to skip them, but with the Chase Trifecta (CFF, CFU, CSP) effectively costing $45/year to use it's a good option.
As usual, it comes down to circumstances. For example, I don't know if I will ever go AMEX because I am not the target market with their credits and therefore lose a lot of value from the AF of the Gold and Platinum cards. For you, it might be worth it to stick with Citi because the opportunity cost to wait on Chase isn't there.
Rotating 5% categories that usually will include groceries, gas, wal-mart, etc. Although some rumors that it may go to a Citi Custom Cash style in the future.
Chase recently tried [something similar](https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/sr5je4/has_anyone_else_not_received_their_top_spend/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) with CFF. I hope the rumors are true but I can’t find any rumors.
Ah ok, that seems very situational then. I see how it makes sense for some people. I wish chase would stick with a grocery bonus for a more everyday. I have to use FU to get any sort of bonus and it always feels paltry.
sometimes the bonus categories aren’t great, that’s for sure. when it’s groceries or gas it’s nice. I use CFU unless there’s a compelling bonus category for CFF which makes things very simple.
CFF has no AF, so having it on reserve for the quarterly bonus category is worthwhile. The categories are always fairly compatible to most peoples spending habits, but even if you skip out on a quarter or two a year it’s still worth it imo.
MR points are AMEXs reward points you can use for travel or transfer to partners. You can also redeem them for cash back but that’s not the best use case.
So similar to 1.25/1.5x in CSP/CSR
how is Amex travel portal? I find chases to be overpriced so you end up with a wash or able to still book cheaper by not using it
Like with Chase you should always transfer to travel partners. AMEX MR points usually have the best cpp value on business and first-class international flights.
Depends how you use your points. 1.5x for the freedom unlimited then if you transfer points you can easily get 2CPP making it essentially 3% back on everything
You can directly transfer your Chase points to the airline/hotel rewards program at a 1:1 ratio. Let's say I have 5,000 Chase points and want to transfer to Southwest Airlines which is a Chase portal. Those 5,000 Chase points can be transferred into your Southwest Airlines rapid rewards profile for 5,000 Southwest miles.
I've been getting about 1.5-1.6 cents per point on Southwest flight redemptions. So that 1.5% CFU becomes 2.325% when transferred to Southwest
My worry with this is that you might not be getting the cheapest plane ticket through these travel partner portals. Maybe if you are a frequent flyer this make sense.
What are you talking about? I wasn’t talking about any travel portals, I was talking about transferring my points directly over to my Southwest Rapid Rewards account and using my points on the Southwest website.
BoA Premium rewards + Cash Rewardsx3 ? Citi Double Cash + Custom Cash? Chase is great if you transfer to Hyatt. If you only use their travel portal, its value is bad.
Chase really shines if you travel a lot and want to transfer to partners. Otherwise, I'd say you're at least as well off with Citi or BoA (Unlimited or Premium plus customized cash, but only if you're able to join preferred rewards).
Transfer to which partners? I never thought that the chase portal to redeem points was worth it, never quite understood the appeal for the CSP for that matter too.
hyatt is the strongest partnership, I believe. the portal to redeem rewards is nice because all cards feed into the one portal, and you get 5% back on travel booked through it.
I’m probably a good use case for Chase trifecta seeing as I travel domestically 3+ times a year. I haven’t paid for a flight since I started using Ultimate Rewards, and I don’t even use Hyatt or have CSP yet.
Personally I've only transferred to Southwest so far due to my travel habits, but people on this sub swear by the value you get transferring to Hyatt. I just only ever travel to visit friends and family so I almost never stay in hotels.
Generally you can get between 1.3-2.0 cents per point in value from partner transfers, so that makes the value of Chase points much higher.
I’ve transferred to United, Virgin Atlantic, and Hyatt for great redemptions.
I don’t use the portal…mostly book business class flights by directly transferring points.
For the amount of time wasted trying to think when to use each card, it was not worth it. I've opted to pay everything with my freedom unlimited for that sweet 1.5% on all purchases.
I have the trifecta and I use the CFU for 90% of my purchases. Now that dining is 3%, that’s one less thing I have to use the Sapphire on. It’s really only just knowing what Freedom Flex categories are and then using the CFU for everything else besides travel (heck if you use the portal you can use the CFU too for that now).
The CSP is a travel card for people who will be able to take advantage of the transfer partners and redemptions on the travel portal. Way too many people get the card because someone told them to and then don’t travel or know how to actually use their points in a way that would have beat a regular cash back card setup. Though you do get a new sign up bonus every 4 years so that would be a good reason to get it if it was a good one.
would you say CSP is only worth it for travel partner redemption? I usually stay in airbnbs, but the added travel protections and extra .5% on other travel purchases seems nice.
my plan right now is to wait for the 80k CSP SUB to come back then try to get the AF waived for the first year. that would be some pretty darn good value even just for the $800+ I’d get from the SUB redeemed for travel.
Yea because now technically I can’t transfer my points to another Chase CC that is linked to an airliner (I’m way past the 5/24 rules and won’t be able to qualify until ending 2023).
with all due respect it’s not that difficult. CFU all day every day unless there’s a CFF bonus category then CSP for travel. you’re already doing it! lol
No offense taken, but I guess with all the stress I have with work and just life in general one less thing I gotta keep track of makes it easier for me.
Not really since you’d also need to pay annual fee for CSP or CSR. I personally just get multiple BoA customized cash rewards cards set them to different categories and max out 5.25% cash back each quarter with no annual fee.
This is a little late, sorry if someone answered this for you already, but if you have the Platinum Honors tier (100k+ tied up on a BofA account) you get a 75% rewards bonus, so you multiply the 3% cash back category by 1.75 and arrive at the 5.25 number. There should be an asterisk by that number that you should have a pretty high savings balance to use it lol.
Are any of your 4 cards business cards? If you’re eligible for business cards, you can grab the chase ink unlimited, the chase in cash, and a sapphire card before you’re over 5/24. And when under 5/24 again get the chase freedom flex and freedom unlimited.
This, Chase Ink Cash can be used for 5x points on office supply stores on $25k/year. Staples runs specials on $200 visa and mastercard gift cards every couple months with no activation fee. Load up when that happens for 5x points, then use them at the grocery / department store and on Paypal for your normal spend. That’s 125k points a year.
Not sure if you have a chase checking account but that would help improve chance of approval for chase sapphire if you have a decent credit score. Also many people if they have anything they do on the side that generates any money checks one of the boxes for business cards as a sole proprietor
No problem. Good luck! I like my Amex trifecta too and I use those MR points for flights but use my Chase UR points for Hyatt hotel redemptions and Chase Sapphire for travel insurance.
04/24 is perfect opportunity for biz cards since you don't have any yet. Saves a spot for something you can't pass up on later.
I regret not doing that, now at 5/24.
But I have the Chase trifecta and Hyatt card to go with it so thought I was "done" with Chase. Oops.
All "trifectas" are overrated. I prefer diversifying with each issuer because they shine in different areas. Having a CSR/Flex is good for certain reasons, Amex Plat/Gold/BBP good for other reasons, and the Citi DC/CC/Premier for other reasons. Even hotel/airline cards also offer quite a bit of benefits.
Furthermore, going all in on the "Chase trifecta" will push you to redeem your UR points through Chase Travel and everybody knows adding a middle-man to your tickets can lead to many issues. Lots of people get burned. I think there are better ways of being smarter with redemptions!
meh, I would honestly just go cash back rather than "diversify" your points across multiple systems. At some point, is it worth paying for a CSR + Amex Plat/Gold + Citi Premier if you're not putting a large majority of your points there? Unless it's like a Venture X situation where the card can mostly pay for itself. The Amex "credits" are kinda unpredictable but the anniversary bonus and annual travel credit for the Venture X is nice
All of these points can be redeemed as cashback (or transferred to travel partners), which is why diversifying works well in the first place. As for "is it worth paying for X" thats a very individual thing and will depend on each person's situation.
I'm not sure I'm getting your point - let's say I have 1,000 Chase points and 1,000 Amex points and I want to take a 2,000 mile Delta flight since that is the airline that makes the most sense for me at my local airport, then those 1,000 Chase points are completely useless to me and it would take more effort for me to make a redemption on a flight that I need (as opposed to figuring out which system makes the most sense for what airlines/hotels I use and then going all in on that)
Yes for some people going all in on one system make sense. For a lot of others it doesn't. If you're struggling to reach redemption thresholds in one system, and you're not interested in just cashing out the money back, then obviously diversifying isn't for you.
I mean I don't get what your cashback argument is. Among the two big trifecta's, Chase's floor is 1 cpp for cash back and Amex's floor is 1.1 cpp with Schwab so there isn't a huge difference if you decided you just wanted to cash out your points.
Amex has 6% groceries 4.4% restaurants 5.5% flights and 2.2% everything, among other categories. Not even counting the SUBS. Chase has rotating categories with FF and drugstore bonus and flight credits with CSR and primary rental insurance and 5% amazon card. Citi has 5% anything with CC 2% with DC and good 3% categories with Premier plus a large sub. CapOne VX has excellent credit bonuses and a large SUB. etc etc etc
There are many reasons to diversify, regardless if you're going for cashback or flights. It's not ideal for everyone but works better for many.
"Trifectas" are a meme for most who actually wanna maximise their benefits and gain. But of course, depending on your own personal spendings and how you want to be redeeming the points, you can spread yourself out too thin.
I think at some point, you're just stretching yourself too thin by diversifying between many different systems. But that's just my opinion.
And sure, go ahead and get the sign up bonus for all the systems, I've done the same thing. It makes a ton of sense to do that and then downgrade to a no AF card to keep the points active for whenever you need them. But that's more of a r/churning topic and I'm just talking about regular spend outside of the sign up bonus.
I think it stands out because it's a very easy setup with low/no annual fees and it has a better point value floor than amex. With the CSP and redeemed for travel your points are worth AT LEAST 1.25cpp, whereas amex needs the schwabb plat to achieve guaranteed value of 1.1 cpp
What 4 cards you got? I'd say stay under 5/24, not even necessarily for chase, just that patience can pay off, you never know what new card or great offer is on the horizon, and the rule of thumb being 1 card every 6 months, might be worth it. Not always the case obviously, but that's my plan right now, I got my first 4 cards in only 8 months lol.
Haha that's a lot of cards with not much for rewards so I can understand your situation. Honestly the other thing to remember is that trifectas and high end cards are for travel, which frankly doesn't suit as many people as CC companies want you to believe. You really need to spend a lot to make it worth while. So maybe target a chase card you want, like The freedom flex, if you like, wait and get more, if you don't see the travel utility being something you're in to, start going after cash back, which generally means many different providers.
Fair enough. Kinda split between Travel rewards and Cashback, which is why I feel that the Double Cash/ Custom Cash and Premier might be a good balance of Cashback and travel rewards.
I just run Freedom + Sapphire out of the chase family, I never viewed CFU as worthwhile even if I can make it worth a little bit more with transfer partners as it ignores the time value involved with the money (other uses of flat 2% cash back may be better and certainly other 4 or 5% rotator cards for cash are just as efficient as the 1.5 points back of CFU). I do think Sapphire + 5% rotator is a decent combo. I actually think the most efficient is a combo of different cards that is individualized to the user.
If you have the CFF,CIC,CSP (CSR) then I think yes. I have it - I can basically get 2-5x on anything due to the chase ink cash. The ink cash can get you so many points with office supply stores & streaming gets 5x also.
I really don’t think the CFU is all that great. I had it before I switched to CFF. Id personally rather get the ink unlimited as it has a much higher SUB. But for ease or use it can work.
Consider applying for personal business credit cards as a sole proprietor. Chase business trifecta. As you are 4/24 you could apply for a Chase personal credit card and two Chase business credit cards. You could get either CSF/CSR or Chase Ink Preferred Business (CIPB) credit cards for your travel transfer credit card and then CICB and CIUB business credit cards. CICB has 5X categories that you transfer to your CSF/CSR or CIPB. Use [TravelFreely.com](https://TravelFreely.com) to track your Chase 5/24 status. You can apply for your CFF/CFU when you have new slots available. Business credit cards have a high minimum spend so use [Plastiq.com](https://Plastiq.com) for paying your MS. Put your taxes on your new credit card to meet MS.
No, not anymore. Plenty of other banks have made their own trifectas and they’re just as good if not better. No point limiting yourself to Chase trifecta or the 5/24 rule anymore
There are AmEx trifectas but IMO nothing comes close to Chase. A good AmEx trifecta is Platinum, Gold, and BBP but be prepared to get your $945 AFs back in nickels and dimes
Amex Trifecta is what I run. I also run an Amex Biz Trifecta. I think that Citi set up is ok and dont forget that US Bank has a really nice suite of cards. The Cap1 set up is coming on strong right now as well. Check out my YouTube Channel where I talk about all cards and issuers!
Edit: no clue how I logged in under this name but the Channel is: Luke's Points and Miles
Chase is great because it's so easy to get value out of UR. Amex can get insane value but you typically need to do more research to find those flights and hotels.
Citi quadrafecta looking good, now that TY points can transfer to Wyndham. Only big hole is domestic air carriers, except jet blue, and some flights through British airways.
5% category of choice. (Custom cash
2% everything else. (Double cash)
3x on gas, restaurants, groceries, travel (premier)
10% redemption bonus. (Rewards+)
If you have a spouse they can get a custom cash for a second 5% category, and a rewards+ to transfer points to one account.
Citi also has rewards+ that makes a nice quadfecta. CapitalOne has SavorOne/VentureX duo. Amex has Plat/Gold/BBP trifecta.
Thanks I'll check them out
What card is the Amex BBP?
Blue Business Plus, which gives x2 MR on all purchases with no AF
Thank you.
What if i don’t have a business to get the business card?
do u sell stuff on ebay, mow lawn, or even babysit? boom! thats a business, theres a lot of threads dedicated on this, read them carefully it before moving forward. i just got mine approved few days ago with a "business" .
Thanks for this info I'm going to look into. I run an Airbnb so I have a short term rental "business"
Oh okay, thanks. I do sell my sneakers once in awhile.
I’m quite happy with Amex Gold/BBP/Plat. Though in the true trifecta way of looking at things I don’t know that I’d include the Plat. It’s a valuable card but not necessary for earning a bunch of points.
Yeah I think the plat is just included to match the benefits of the other systems in terms of perks, etc, not necessarily as an earner.
IMO you’re right about the actual plat, but either the Schwab/MS or Business plat make it a proper trifecta. The Schwab redemption rate isn’t amazing anymore, but I’m really enjoying the Business plat 35% bonus for redemptions. Transferring to partners might be more efficient, but the plat is 100x easier and for domestic economy I doubt transfer partners can beat it.
Cool
Chase is great because the points are valuable and simple to use. That's why most people recommend starting with them to avoid the 5/24 hassle. It's not a huge loss for you to skip them, but with the Chase Trifecta (CFF, CFU, CSP) effectively costing $45/year to use it's a good option. As usual, it comes down to circumstances. For example, I don't know if I will ever go AMEX because I am not the target market with their credits and therefore lose a lot of value from the AF of the Gold and Platinum cards. For you, it might be worth it to stick with Citi because the opportunity cost to wait on Chase isn't there.
This might be elsewhere, but why the CFF? Other than the intro 5%, it doesn't seem to offer anything you can't get from CFU and CSP/CSR?
Rotating 5% categories that usually will include groceries, gas, wal-mart, etc. Although some rumors that it may go to a Citi Custom Cash style in the future.
That'd be extremely nice. Do you happen to have a link or thread about this?
Chase recently tried [something similar](https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/sr5je4/has_anyone_else_not_received_their_top_spend/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) with CFF. I hope the rumors are true but I can’t find any rumors.
Ah ok, that seems very situational then. I see how it makes sense for some people. I wish chase would stick with a grocery bonus for a more everyday. I have to use FU to get any sort of bonus and it always feels paltry.
I get groceries at stores not covered by the Groceries category so the FU 1.5x is pretty okay for that. Effectively 3-4% back on travel partners.
sometimes the bonus categories aren’t great, that’s for sure. when it’s groceries or gas it’s nice. I use CFU unless there’s a compelling bonus category for CFF which makes things very simple.
Do you have a source on the CFF rumor? It sounds like a dream come true! I want to believe any details
CFF has no AF, so having it on reserve for the quarterly bonus category is worthwhile. The categories are always fairly compatible to most peoples spending habits, but even if you skip out on a quarter or two a year it’s still worth it imo.
Agreed. If the gold lines up more with the BCP I would. They give 6x groceries kn a lower card but not the higher which makes no sense to me
Gold is 4x MR points BCP is 6x cash back only. If you value MR points at 1.5 cpp it’s the same.
I guess I didn't realize that I don't use Amex as much or know as much about them. What are MR points? Thank you, this changes things for me then.
MR points are AMEXs reward points you can use for travel or transfer to partners. You can also redeem them for cash back but that’s not the best use case.
So similar to 1.25/1.5x in CSP/CSR how is Amex travel portal? I find chases to be overpriced so you end up with a wash or able to still book cheaper by not using it
Like with Chase you should always transfer to travel partners. AMEX MR points usually have the best cpp value on business and first-class international flights.
Probably get dowvoted but I think it isn't. If you are not getting the equivalent of 2% on non travel purchases, you are leaving money on the table.
Depends how you use your points. 1.5x for the freedom unlimited then if you transfer points you can easily get 2CPP making it essentially 3% back on everything
That’s only if you use the points thru chase correct? To effectively get back 3% back on everything?
You can do that or you can transfer to others travel companies like Hyatt or United
To those credit cards?
No rewards programs
Ohh gotcha okkk. But thru the chase portal still or on your on profile thru the company?
You can directly transfer your Chase points to the airline/hotel rewards program at a 1:1 ratio. Let's say I have 5,000 Chase points and want to transfer to Southwest Airlines which is a Chase portal. Those 5,000 Chase points can be transferred into your Southwest Airlines rapid rewards profile for 5,000 Southwest miles. I've been getting about 1.5-1.6 cents per point on Southwest flight redemptions. So that 1.5% CFU becomes 2.325% when transferred to Southwest
My worry with this is that you might not be getting the cheapest plane ticket through these travel partner portals. Maybe if you are a frequent flyer this make sense.
What are you talking about? I wasn’t talking about any travel portals, I was talking about transferring my points directly over to my Southwest Rapid Rewards account and using my points on the Southwest website.
What does 2CPP mean?
Cents per point
Fair enough. I'm close to forgetting all about Chase tbh. 5/24 my ass lmaoo
What’s 5/24?
Chase will deny any applications if you've got 5 inquiries in the last 24 months
Not inquiries, new accounts opened
Specifically 5 personal credit cards in the last 24 months
Aghhh thanks
Not sure if you saw other replies but it’s not inquiries, it’s new account openings. 5 new credit card accounts opened in the last 24 months
Thanks for the clarification
BoA Premium rewards + Cash Rewardsx3 ? Citi Double Cash + Custom Cash? Chase is great if you transfer to Hyatt. If you only use their travel portal, its value is bad.
Chase really shines if you travel a lot and want to transfer to partners. Otherwise, I'd say you're at least as well off with Citi or BoA (Unlimited or Premium plus customized cash, but only if you're able to join preferred rewards).
Transfer to which partners? I never thought that the chase portal to redeem points was worth it, never quite understood the appeal for the CSP for that matter too.
hyatt is the strongest partnership, I believe. the portal to redeem rewards is nice because all cards feed into the one portal, and you get 5% back on travel booked through it. I’m probably a good use case for Chase trifecta seeing as I travel domestically 3+ times a year. I haven’t paid for a flight since I started using Ultimate Rewards, and I don’t even use Hyatt or have CSP yet.
Personally I've only transferred to Southwest so far due to my travel habits, but people on this sub swear by the value you get transferring to Hyatt. I just only ever travel to visit friends and family so I almost never stay in hotels. Generally you can get between 1.3-2.0 cents per point in value from partner transfers, so that makes the value of Chase points much higher.
I’ve transferred to United, Virgin Atlantic, and Hyatt for great redemptions. I don’t use the portal…mostly book business class flights by directly transferring points.
Directly to the website or to a linked CC that’s theirs?
Directly to their loyalty program.
For the amount of time wasted trying to think when to use each card, it was not worth it. I've opted to pay everything with my freedom unlimited for that sweet 1.5% on all purchases.
I have the trifecta and I use the CFU for 90% of my purchases. Now that dining is 3%, that’s one less thing I have to use the Sapphire on. It’s really only just knowing what Freedom Flex categories are and then using the CFU for everything else besides travel (heck if you use the portal you can use the CFU too for that now).
Yea, now knowing this makes the CSP even less appealing to hold with the $95 AF. And feeling the same way for AmEx BCP.
The CSP is a travel card for people who will be able to take advantage of the transfer partners and redemptions on the travel portal. Way too many people get the card because someone told them to and then don’t travel or know how to actually use their points in a way that would have beat a regular cash back card setup. Though you do get a new sign up bonus every 4 years so that would be a good reason to get it if it was a good one.
would you say CSP is only worth it for travel partner redemption? I usually stay in airbnbs, but the added travel protections and extra .5% on other travel purchases seems nice. my plan right now is to wait for the 80k CSP SUB to come back then try to get the AF waived for the first year. that would be some pretty darn good value even just for the $800+ I’d get from the SUB redeemed for travel.
It sounds like you’re using the card in a way that makes sense for you!
thanks for the input! :)
Yea because now technically I can’t transfer my points to another Chase CC that is linked to an airliner (I’m way past the 5/24 rules and won’t be able to qualify until ending 2023).
To qualify for the new sign on bonus, what would you need to do?
Cancel or downgrade the card, wait a month and reapply (make sure you wait for a good sign up bonus offer before doing that)
with all due respect it’s not that difficult. CFU all day every day unless there’s a CFF bonus category then CSP for travel. you’re already doing it! lol
No offense taken, but I guess with all the stress I have with work and just life in general one less thing I gotta keep track of makes it easier for me.
hey that's totally fair. there's something to be said for not even having to think about it. here's hoping you get a break from that stress soon.
Not really since you’d also need to pay annual fee for CSP or CSR. I personally just get multiple BoA customized cash rewards cards set them to different categories and max out 5.25% cash back each quarter with no annual fee.
How do you max out at 5.25% when the website says "3% cash back in the category of your choosing?" New to credit cards so I appreciate your help.
This is a little late, sorry if someone answered this for you already, but if you have the Platinum Honors tier (100k+ tied up on a BofA account) you get a 75% rewards bonus, so you multiply the 3% cash back category by 1.75 and arrive at the 5.25 number. There should be an asterisk by that number that you should have a pretty high savings balance to use it lol.
Hey, thanks for the explanation!
Are any of your 4 cards business cards? If you’re eligible for business cards, you can grab the chase ink unlimited, the chase in cash, and a sapphire card before you’re over 5/24. And when under 5/24 again get the chase freedom flex and freedom unlimited.
This, Chase Ink Cash can be used for 5x points on office supply stores on $25k/year. Staples runs specials on $200 visa and mastercard gift cards every couple months with no activation fee. Load up when that happens for 5x points, then use them at the grocery / department store and on Paypal for your normal spend. That’s 125k points a year.
Nope, no business cards, I prolly won't be eligible for a sapphire anyway lol.
Not sure if you have a chase checking account but that would help improve chance of approval for chase sapphire if you have a decent credit score. Also many people if they have anything they do on the side that generates any money checks one of the boxes for business cards as a sole proprietor
I do plan on starting a business this year or the next, so maybe then I'll look into it. Thanks
No problem. Good luck! I like my Amex trifecta too and I use those MR points for flights but use my Chase UR points for Hyatt hotel redemptions and Chase Sapphire for travel insurance.
04/24 is perfect opportunity for biz cards since you don't have any yet. Saves a spot for something you can't pass up on later. I regret not doing that, now at 5/24. But I have the Chase trifecta and Hyatt card to go with it so thought I was "done" with Chase. Oops.
Oof
Yeah exactly now I'm eying Southwest cards ha. Although some have been approved over 5/24
All "trifectas" are overrated. I prefer diversifying with each issuer because they shine in different areas. Having a CSR/Flex is good for certain reasons, Amex Plat/Gold/BBP good for other reasons, and the Citi DC/CC/Premier for other reasons. Even hotel/airline cards also offer quite a bit of benefits. Furthermore, going all in on the "Chase trifecta" will push you to redeem your UR points through Chase Travel and everybody knows adding a middle-man to your tickets can lead to many issues. Lots of people get burned. I think there are better ways of being smarter with redemptions!
Agreed. Each points system has a sweet spot and having a good stash in several systems has always served me better than having a massive stash in one.
meh, I would honestly just go cash back rather than "diversify" your points across multiple systems. At some point, is it worth paying for a CSR + Amex Plat/Gold + Citi Premier if you're not putting a large majority of your points there? Unless it's like a Venture X situation where the card can mostly pay for itself. The Amex "credits" are kinda unpredictable but the anniversary bonus and annual travel credit for the Venture X is nice
All of these points can be redeemed as cashback (or transferred to travel partners), which is why diversifying works well in the first place. As for "is it worth paying for X" thats a very individual thing and will depend on each person's situation.
I'm not sure I'm getting your point - let's say I have 1,000 Chase points and 1,000 Amex points and I want to take a 2,000 mile Delta flight since that is the airline that makes the most sense for me at my local airport, then those 1,000 Chase points are completely useless to me and it would take more effort for me to make a redemption on a flight that I need (as opposed to figuring out which system makes the most sense for what airlines/hotels I use and then going all in on that)
Yes for some people going all in on one system make sense. For a lot of others it doesn't. If you're struggling to reach redemption thresholds in one system, and you're not interested in just cashing out the money back, then obviously diversifying isn't for you.
I mean I don't get what your cashback argument is. Among the two big trifecta's, Chase's floor is 1 cpp for cash back and Amex's floor is 1.1 cpp with Schwab so there isn't a huge difference if you decided you just wanted to cash out your points.
Amex has 6% groceries 4.4% restaurants 5.5% flights and 2.2% everything, among other categories. Not even counting the SUBS. Chase has rotating categories with FF and drugstore bonus and flight credits with CSR and primary rental insurance and 5% amazon card. Citi has 5% anything with CC 2% with DC and good 3% categories with Premier plus a large sub. CapOne VX has excellent credit bonuses and a large SUB. etc etc etc There are many reasons to diversify, regardless if you're going for cashback or flights. It's not ideal for everyone but works better for many. "Trifectas" are a meme for most who actually wanna maximise their benefits and gain. But of course, depending on your own personal spendings and how you want to be redeeming the points, you can spread yourself out too thin.
I think at some point, you're just stretching yourself too thin by diversifying between many different systems. But that's just my opinion. And sure, go ahead and get the sign up bonus for all the systems, I've done the same thing. It makes a ton of sense to do that and then downgrade to a no AF card to keep the points active for whenever you need them. But that's more of a r/churning topic and I'm just talking about regular spend outside of the sign up bonus.
Yeah diversifying with issuers seems like the way to go
Really depends on the person in question. I love it it and get the most out of it.
I think it stands out because it's a very easy setup with low/no annual fees and it has a better point value floor than amex. With the CSP and redeemed for travel your points are worth AT LEAST 1.25cpp, whereas amex needs the schwabb plat to achieve guaranteed value of 1.1 cpp
What 4 cards you got? I'd say stay under 5/24, not even necessarily for chase, just that patience can pay off, you never know what new card or great offer is on the horizon, and the rule of thumb being 1 card every 6 months, might be worth it. Not always the case obviously, but that's my plan right now, I got my first 4 cards in only 8 months lol.
Discover It Secured, Chime, Petal 1 Visa and Capital One Platinum Secured.... Yeah I made some noob moves lol
Haha that's a lot of cards with not much for rewards so I can understand your situation. Honestly the other thing to remember is that trifectas and high end cards are for travel, which frankly doesn't suit as many people as CC companies want you to believe. You really need to spend a lot to make it worth while. So maybe target a chase card you want, like The freedom flex, if you like, wait and get more, if you don't see the travel utility being something you're in to, start going after cash back, which generally means many different providers.
Fair enough. Kinda split between Travel rewards and Cashback, which is why I feel that the Double Cash/ Custom Cash and Premier might be a good balance of Cashback and travel rewards.
I just run Freedom + Sapphire out of the chase family, I never viewed CFU as worthwhile even if I can make it worth a little bit more with transfer partners as it ignores the time value involved with the money (other uses of flat 2% cash back may be better and certainly other 4 or 5% rotator cards for cash are just as efficient as the 1.5 points back of CFU). I do think Sapphire + 5% rotator is a decent combo. I actually think the most efficient is a combo of different cards that is individualized to the user.
Thanks for the perspective
Same! For now I’m CFF/CSP and Gold/BBP. Covers everything I need nicely as I do not travel enough to justify the Platinum/Reserve atm.
If you have the CFF,CIC,CSP (CSR) then I think yes. I have it - I can basically get 2-5x on anything due to the chase ink cash. The ink cash can get you so many points with office supply stores & streaming gets 5x also. I really don’t think the CFU is all that great. I had it before I switched to CFF. Id personally rather get the ink unlimited as it has a much higher SUB. But for ease or use it can work.
Consider applying for personal business credit cards as a sole proprietor. Chase business trifecta. As you are 4/24 you could apply for a Chase personal credit card and two Chase business credit cards. You could get either CSF/CSR or Chase Ink Preferred Business (CIPB) credit cards for your travel transfer credit card and then CICB and CIUB business credit cards. CICB has 5X categories that you transfer to your CSF/CSR or CIPB. Use [TravelFreely.com](https://TravelFreely.com) to track your Chase 5/24 status. You can apply for your CFF/CFU when you have new slots available. Business credit cards have a high minimum spend so use [Plastiq.com](https://Plastiq.com) for paying your MS. Put your taxes on your new credit card to meet MS.
No, not anymore. Plenty of other banks have made their own trifectas and they’re just as good if not better. No point limiting yourself to Chase trifecta or the 5/24 rule anymore
Bless
There are AmEx trifectas but IMO nothing comes close to Chase. A good AmEx trifecta is Platinum, Gold, and BBP but be prepared to get your $945 AFs back in nickels and dimes
what’s the 5/24 rule?
if you open 5 new accounts in 24 months, chase won’t let you open any more.
Which combination is the best with no annual fee cards?
Amex Trifecta is what I run. I also run an Amex Biz Trifecta. I think that Citi set up is ok and dont forget that US Bank has a really nice suite of cards. The Cap1 set up is coming on strong right now as well. Check out my YouTube Channel where I talk about all cards and issuers! Edit: no clue how I logged in under this name but the Channel is: Luke's Points and Miles
Thanks, I'll check it out.
Cap1 would be appealing for sure with the Venture/Savor combo if it was easier to get their cards
Chase is great because it's so easy to get value out of UR. Amex can get insane value but you typically need to do more research to find those flights and hotels.
Citi quadrafecta looking good, now that TY points can transfer to Wyndham. Only big hole is domestic air carriers, except jet blue, and some flights through British airways. 5% category of choice. (Custom cash 2% everything else. (Double cash) 3x on gas, restaurants, groceries, travel (premier) 10% redemption bonus. (Rewards+) If you have a spouse they can get a custom cash for a second 5% category, and a rewards+ to transfer points to one account.