Chase Sapphire Preferred Eliminates 7% Dividend

As many of you know, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is my favorite card.  The majority of my spend is dining and travel so earning 2x Ultimate Rewards in those categories equates to a "return" of about 4% on spend.

One of the perks of the card is an annual 7% dividend where all the points earned in the previous calendar year (including the signup bonus) earn an additional 7% UR bonus deposited in February.  So if you earned 45,000 miles from the signup bonus (the current bonus) and spent an average of $1,000 a month on travel/dining and $1,000 a month on other stuff, you would have earned a total of 81,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

You would then receive a dividend of 5,670 Ultimate Rewards points.  The value of those points more than offsets the $95 annual fee making this a really great card to keep forever.

Unfortunately, Chase has changed the card offering for new card members and eliminated the dividend.  Lame.  It sounds like current card members will be able to receive the dividend for the next two years (2014 and 2015) and then it will be eliminated as well.  I am sure this will be communicated via email/letter but figured I'd write about it since this is my everyday card.

Chase has replaced the dividend with increased rental car coverage which is great for the 1-2x per year that I rent a car but I would definitely prefer the dividend to stay forever.

This is still a phenomenal card and will continue to stay in my wallet despite losing 7% of my points after 2015.

Redeeming Points for Free Hotels in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is one of our favorite weekend destinations.  We were looking at a trip in the fall but hotels were all really pricey ($250++) so I wanted to use points if possible.  We've stayed at most of the better hotels in town so usually look for the best deals among our favorites (Wynn, Venetian, Bellagio, Aria) when we go.

Yes, there are many loyalty program partnerships in Las Vegas.  Hyatt has hooked up with MGM Grand enabling you to earn/burn points at their properties.  Starwood and Caesar's have synced up as well.  Hilton has a couple of properties (Tropicana, LVH) and the Cosmopolitan is a Marriott Autograph Collection resort.

But none of these relationships provide especially good value since they require outsize points for free nights.  For example, Mandalay Bay is a category 6 Hyatt Gold Passport property requiring 25,000 points for a free night.  I'm not especially fond of Mandalay Bay since it is far from the "center" of the strip and the design seems a bit odd to me.  And it's really not that expensive - you can often snag a room there for <$200 AI.  So you could either use your 25,000 points at Mandalay Bay or use them at the Park Hyatt Maldives (also a category 6) where room rates often go for over $1,500!!!  

The best loyalty program affiliation in Vegas has got to be the Venetian/Palazzo with IHG.  Last year, I picked up the Chase IHG credit card which offered 80,000 points as a sign-up bonus.  It also provides a free night at any IHG property around the world upon each account anniversary (there is a $49 annual fee after the first year).

I logged into my account yesterday and saw that I did have a free night available:

And the Venetian (going for $300+ AI) was available!

It was really simple to book an award using my free night online.  I did have to book separate reservations for each night (I booked the other night with points from the sign-up bonus) but they were able to join the two nights together on one reservation after the fact.  There are some really great Intercontinental hotels around the world (especially in Europe, Asia, Bora Bora also comes to mind) where you could use your free annual night.  But getting a free night in Vegas for the $49 annual fee is a pretty solid deal as well.

I am definitely going to be keeping this card!

Is Earning 2 Membership Rewards Points/Dollar on Uber Rides a Good Deal?

Last week, American Express and Uber rolled out a new partnership that essentially gives Amex card members (with a MR earning card product) the ability to earn 2x points on Uber rides.  They also launched the ability to redeem Membership Rewards points for Uber rides which is definitely NOT a good deal.

Earn 2x Amex points for Uber Rides

Membership Rewards points are pretty valuable thanks to great partners (i.e. Singapore Airlines, British Airways, etc...) and easy to rack up thanks to monster (i.e. 100,000) sign-up bonuses and a variety of consumer and business card products.  I value you them on par with Chase Ultimate Rewards points (about 2 cents each).

I personally have my Uber account linked to my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.  Because Uber is coded as "travel" I will earn 2x points per dollar spent and also earn a 7% annual divided on that spend.  The dividend effectively makes my earnings 2.14x so while the new partnership with Uber is really cool, I will stick to my current setup!

If you don't have the CSP card, definitely link your Uber account to a Membership Rewards earning Amex card.

My Latest Round of Credit Card Applications

As I discussed in this post, I apply for a new round of credit cards every 90 days.  Remember, this is not for you if you are a) working on improving your credit b) planning on applying for a loan such as a mortgage in the near future or c) if you periodically carry a balance on your cards.  The rewards that you'll gain in these cases will be heavily offset by either not being able to qualify for the lowest lending rate (due to recent inquiries on your credit report) or actually paying interest if you carry a balance.  Each application will typically ding your credit 2-5 points (those inquiries fall off over time and your score will go back up) thus the reasoning for applying for cards every 90 days on the same day.  The inquiries fall off roughly at the same time and on the day you apply, the other banks don't see that you applied for a card earlier in the day.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way...Here's an overview of my most recent card application including what I applied for and why.

1)  American Express Everyday Preferred

This is a new card from Amex that offers 15,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days.  The annual fee (not waived for the first year) is $95.  Even though this sign-up bonus kind of sucks, I needed a quick way to rack up some Membership Rewards points to top off my account for an award and wanted to try out the new offering from Amex.  I value MR points at $.02 teach so this bonus is worth $300.

Result:  Instantly approved

2)  Chase United Explorer Business

This card offers 50,000 United miles after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days after approval.  The annual fee is normally $95 but is waived for the first year.  It is essentially the same version as the consumer card which I have had a couple of times in the past.  I wanted to pick up a couple of cards for my business and also need to work on replenishing my United mileage balance.  I value United miles at $.02 each so this bonus is worth $1,000.

Result:  Application pended but was approved without a call after a couple of days

Chase MileagePlus Explorer Business Card Welcome Email

3)  Citi AA Advantage Business

This card offers 50,000 American Airlines miles after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days after approval.  The annual fee is $95 and is not waived for the first year.  I value American miles at $.02 each so this bonus is worth $1,000.

Result:  Approved after a quick 10 minute call to Citi

Summary:

So I went 3/3 on this round.  After spending $6,000 (should be a slam dunk thanks to Amazon Payments) in 90 days and paying $190 in annual fees, I'll earn 115,000 points/miles that I value at $2,300 which will be put to good use towards future airline and hotel awards.

Chase Sapphire Preferred First Friday

Lots of dining out news today.  

Just a reminder - tomorrow is the first Friday of the month.  And that means, you'll earn 3x points (actually 3.21 with the 7% dividend) for all of your dining spend on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Whether it's coffee in the morning, lunch out, or date night, you'll still get your 3.21 points for each dollar spent. 

Because you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to a variety of partners, you can pretty easily redeem those pends for 2 cents each.  That means, you're effectively earning 6.42% back on your dining spend today which is pretty phenomenal.

If you have the Chase Freedom card and the CSP (or an Ink card) that's definitely the card to use given the opportunity to earn 10x back on your dining spend.  But if you only have a CSP, tomorrow is a great day to use it when you're out to eat.

10% Off at Restaurants & Lowe's During Q2

As I've written about before, The Chase Freedom card is a great tool to maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards.  In combination with the rotating 5x categories, you can essentially earn 10% off on those purchases assuming you value Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents a piece.

You must also have a card (either Chase Ink or Sapphire Preferred) in order to get the most value out of this strategy.  Without one of those cards, you're capped at 5% cash back on the rotating categories and you wouldn't be able to transfer the points to an Ultimate Rewards earning account.

In our house, Emily has the Freedom card and I have Sapphire and Ink.  So by spending on her card at restaurants and Lowe's this quarter, we'll earn 5x points which we'll combine into my Ultimate Rewards account.

This strategy is capped at 7,500 total points ($1,500 in spend) per quarter but it should be a no brainer to spend $500 a month dining in Q2 to earn those points!

Chase IHG MasterCard Activation Bonus

Emily and I both have the Chase IHG MasterCard (formerly Visa).  This is another solid Chase card given that the annual fee is waived for the first year, $49 thereafter but you receive an annual free night to use anywhere in the world.  So basically $49 will get you a night at the Intercontinental Hong Kong which regularly goes for $400 USD+.

Intercontinental Hong Kong

Chase recently switched from issuing this card as a Visa to a MasterCard.  That's a pretty big coup for MasterCard considering Visa issues the majority of Chase cards.  We both received our new cards this week with an offer for 1,000 points after first purchase on the new cards.  You can buy IHG points online for .7 cents each so this is a $7 offer.  Still free points are free points.  I will reload my Starbucks card on each of our cards to earn a total of 2,000 points.

If you don't already have this card, it's worth considering.  There is a link out there that offers 80,000 IHG points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days.  Couple that with the free annual night and at your one year anniversary you will have enough points for three (3) nights at a high-end Intercontinental.

The standard offer is 60,000 bonus points but you can do better

One Credit Card Signup Bonus Can Get You to Europe

One card I consistently put spend on is the British Airways Chase Visa.  The current offer provides 50,000 Avios after spending $2,000 in the first 90 days of cardmembership.  The $95 annual fee is not waived for the first year.

The current is offer is good but you can do better

But from time to time, Chase and British Airways sweeten the offer.  Last November, I applied and was approved for the card with this offer:

• Spend $2,000 in the first 90 days and receive 50,000 Avios
• Spend $10,000 in the first calendar year and receive an additional 25,000 Avios
• Spend $20,000 in the first calendar year and receive an additional 25,00 Avios
• $95 annual fee which was not waived for the first year
• Earn 1.25 Avios for each dollar spent
• After spending $30,000 in any calendar year, receive a "travel together" ticket which is essentially a BOGO.  The certificate can even be used on an award ticket!  This benefit effectively "doubles" your mileage balance

I have hit the first two thresholds earning 75,000 bonus Avios already.  Let's look at a hypothetical example of someone who applied for the card on January 1st.

• Total spend of $30,000 in a calendar year earns 37,500 Avios
• Bonuses earn 100,000 Avios
• Travel together ticket doubles the effective balance to 275,000 Avios

Yes, you will still have to pay the taxes/fees if you redeem the travel together ticket.  But 200,000  Avios gets you two (2) roundtrip business class tickets from the US to Europe.  Taxes and fees will probably set you back around $1,000.  In this example, you would have enough points to get you to Europe and back and an additional 75,000 Avios.  From one card!

My bet is this offer comes back later in the year.  I will be sure to post when it does.  In the meantime, I am still working on getting to $30,000 in spend on this card using a couple of tricks I've laid out previously.  If you want to go to Europe in style, this is one of the best all around cards to help get you there.

Triple Dipping on Bangkok Hotel Reservation

On our way to Bali this summer, we have an overnight in Bangkok.  Our flight from Seoul lands at 10:30PM and our flight to Bali departs the next morning at 9:00AM.  We thought about heading into Bangkok for the night but decided it would be easier to overnight at the airport, get a good night sleep and enjoy a free massage in the Thai Airways Royal Orchard Spa in the morning.

There is a Novotel hotel connected (5 minute walk) to the Bangkok airport.  Over the weekend I checked rates for the property on the hotel's website and found that it was going for a prepaid AI rate of $138 USD.  I then used evReward to see if I could earn some points on my booking.

A quick overnight here before Bali

Hotels.com was offering 5x Ultimate Rewards points so I checked out the rate for the hotel and found it was exactly the same.  Excellent...time to triple dip:

• I booked the hotel (for $138) through the Ultimate Rewards mall earning 738 points  
• I paid with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card earning an additional 296 points including the 7% dividend
• Hotels.com also has a rewards program where you can earn a free night after booking 10 nights

I value the Ultimate Rewards points at $21 and the hotels.com credit at around $10.  Thus my total "rebate" is $31 on spend of $138 which is a 22% discount.  Well worth the extra ten minutes it took to check a couple of things out before booking the overnight.

First Friday - 3x Points on Dining with Chase Sapphire Preferred

Just a reminder - it is the first Friday of the month.  And that means, you'll earn 3x points (actually 3.21 with the 7% dividend) for all of your dining spend on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Whether it's coffee in the morning, lunch out, or date night, you'll still get your 3.21 points for each dollar spent.

Because you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to a variety of partners, you can pretty easily redeem those pends for 2 cents each.  That means, you're effectively earning 6.42% back on your dining spend today which is pretty phenomenal.

What's in My Wallet - April 2014 Edition

I've been meaning to start a periodic series outlining the cards in my wallet and my rationale for spending on each.  I try to be as purposeful (and organized) as possible about the cards in my wallet and when each one comes out.  The best analogy is really a swiss army knife.  You want to have a handful of tools for different jobs and understand which tool to use for a specific job (purchase).  This will help you maximize your earning on spend.

Here are the four cards (in addition to my debit card) in my wallet for the coming month:

1)  HHonors Surpass Card from American Express 

I upgraded to this card from the standard HHonors American Express card during my January round of applications.  The upgrade will net me 50,000 HHonors points after spending $3,000 which I should complete in April.  The original offer netted me 50,000 points as well so I'm essentially earning 100,000 bonus points from one credit card application within a year.  Pretty good.  Since this card is still short of the minimum spend, I'm not worried about category bonuses.  I will use the points for a free night at the Conrad Centennial Singapore during out trip to Bali in July.

2)  Citi Executive AAdvantage World MasterCard 

I've already completed the minimum spend on my own version of this card.   So I'm actually an authorized user on Emily's version of the card helping her work towards the high ($10K in 90 days) minimum spend threshold.  But thanks to both of us using the card for everyday spend, Amazon Payments, and some taxes due, hitting the threshold should be no problem.  After we complete the minimum spend on this card, we'll have earned 217,500 American Airlines miles from both bonuses.  Good enough for 2 roundtrip business class tickets to Europe! 

3)  Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Card 

No minimum spend needed on this card.  Just my workhorse everyday card earning 2x (actually 2.14X when you include the annual 7% dividend) on travel and dining. This card is also linked to my United dining program account.

4)  Chase British Airways Visa Signature Card 

I've already met the minimum spend on this card but am working towards the secondary bonuses which will net me an incremental 25,000 points after spending $10,000 and another 25,000 points after spending $20,000 in the first year of cardmembership.  The second bonus tranche is a lot of incremental spend is going to be a bit of a stretch.  So I keep this card in my wallet and will use it on non dining/travel expenses after meeting the minimum spend thresholds for the first two cards.

Have I Hit the Minimum Spend Yet?

In the past couple of days, several people have asked me how I keep track of minimum spend requirements for all the cards in my wallet.  Generally speaking, when I apply for a new card I add the following detail to a simple spreadsheet:

• Name of the Card (i.e. Amex Starwood Personal)
• Date of application
• Bonus (i.e. 25,000 points)
• Spend threshold (i.e. spent $1,000 in 90 days)
• 1st year annual fee
• Annual fee in subsequent years
• Whether or not I want to keep the card when the annual fee comes due (if applicable)

I'll look back at the spreadsheet (example above) every month to make sure I'm on track to hit the minimum spend required for each bonus.  That said, sometimes I want to validate where I stand and there's no real way to do that without contacting the card issuer or adding up multiple statements online.  

Point Transfers: Chase Ultimate Rewards

I've written about how Chase Ultimate Rewards are one of my favorite point currencies.  If you are new to UR points, read these posts on how to earn them via the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and how to combine points between cardholders.

Once you have accumulated a stash of points, you're going to want to redeem them.  That is the point of this whole game/hobby anyway.  Here's a quick overview of how to redeem/transfer points to one of the UR travel partners:

1. Login to your Chase Ultimate Rewards Account
2. Mouse over the "Point Transfer" menu on the top navigation bar
3. Select the travel partner (in this case I've selected United) you want to transfer points to
4. Select the number of points/miles you'd like to transfer (in 1,000 point/mile increments)
5. Enter your United MileagePlus number twice
6. Enter your First and Last Name
7. Click "Continue" and then confirm the transfer

I've found that most transfer points (I've used United and Hyatt most often) transfer immediately so Ultimate Rewards points are awesome if you find availability and want to book something while it's still available.

Select the point transfer partner

Enter the transfer amount and your personal information

Combining Points: Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase Ultimate Rewards are one of the most valuable points currencies because it's easy to earn a ton of them and they are incredibly flexible.  Chase offers the ability to transfer points (at 1:1 ratio) to ten different travel partners.  I typically transfer my Ultimate Rewards points to United, Hyatt, or British Airways (in that order) because they offer the best value and return.

Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners

One great thing about the UR program is the ability to instantly transfer points between accounts.  This benefit really comes in handy if you are close to an award and need a few thousands points from a friend or relative.  Emily and I keep our stash of UR points in my account so about once per month, I login to her account and transfer them over to mine.

Here are the instructions for combining points between accounts in three easy steps:

1. Login to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account
2. Under the "Earn Faster" menu, select "Combine Ultimate Rewards Points"
3. Enter the Credit Card Number and Last Name of the point recipient

That's it.  This process takes a couple of minutes and because of the instantaneous nature of these transfers, can be extremely helpful when ready to book an award flight/hotel night.

My Chase Sapphire 7% Dividend Posted!

One of the great features of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the 7% annual dividend on all spend.  This includes bonuses, an extra 7% on category bonuses like dining and travel, and 7% on top of your Ultimate Rewards earnings.  The bonus typically posts on the second statement of the year in February.  I received mine this morning.

An extra 7% for 2013 CSP Spend

I actually spent around $22K last year on this card.  About half was everyday spend (travel and dining) but I also leveraged Amazon Payments to get extra points across the year.  In total, I earned 2,926 bonus points which is 7% of roughly 42,000 meaning I earned an "extra" 20,000 points from category bonuses and the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall last year.  Not bad.

The 7% dividend is a great feature of this card and receiving the bonus in February is always a nice surprise.

Miles & Points vs. Cashback

A lot of people have asked me why they should switch from a cashback (or a debit card) to a miles/points earning credit card.  Everyone is in a different situation but generally speaking, all of us like to travel in some capacity.  You might like to travel to weddings, family gatherings, business travel, domestic vacations, international vacations, or all of the above.  Here are my thoughts on why you can derive so much more value from leveraging the variable valuation of points and miles cards for your everyday spend.

The top cashback card on the market right now is the Barclays Arrival(TM) World MasterCard.  The annual fee is waived for the first year ($89 thereafter) and offers a 40,000 point sign-up bonus and 2% cashback on everyday spend.  In addition, you can get an additional 10% back on your travel "redemptions" effectively making the rebate 2.2% back on spend.  So once you're received the signup bonus, you are capped at a 2.2% return on your spend because cashback is cashback.  You can't redeem the "points" for something that varies in cost like a plane ticket or a hotel night. And that is the best deal on the market (ignoring periodic 5x bonuses that Chase Freedom and Discover cards offer in specific categories).

How to Get 25% off at Starbucks

Like most people, I need coffee in the morning.  Like most people, I get a significant percentage of that coffee from Starbucks.  Since our new office is a 4 minute walk instead of a 2 minute walk, I've reduced the frequency of my trips but I still go quite a bit.  It can definitely get expensive so here's a quick overview of how to easily save 25% on your coffee this quarter.  This might seem complicated at first but it's really pretty simple...

• If you haven't already, sign-up for the Starbucks Rewards program.  You can download the app on  your phone, reload your card on the fly, and even pay with your phone.  It is awesome.  You can even keep track of your "points" within AwardWallet.  When you get to 30 purchases within a year, you get "Gold" status.  Many of you probably have already achieved this level of addiction  

Starbucks has a great rewards program

• Make sure you have an Ultimate Rewards earning card like the Chase Sapphire(R) Preferred Card   
• Get the Chase Freedom(R) Card.  Many of you probably already have this card.   I actually don't have this card but Emily does so I will be taking full advantage of this opportunity. 
• Activate the 5x quarterly bonus which for Q1 2014 is Starbucks (also gas and movie theaters). 

5x points on gas, movies, and Starbucks this quarter

• Load your Starbucks card with your Chase Freedom card and go get some coffee!
• As long as you are Starbucks gold, for every 12 purchases, you get a free one.
• Redeem your free Starbucks reward for something better...like an Evolution Juice which is $5
• Transfer your 5x "cashback" from your Freedom card to your Ultimate Rewards account

Here's how the math works:

• 5 points per dollar x 2 (two cents per point) = 10% back
• Spend $3 per coffee x 12 = $36...get a free drink worth $5 = 13.9% back

Total rebate = 23.9%

Obviously this depends on the price of the coffee you purchase and what you get with your free reward but it's a nice discount on something you all likely purchase several times per week.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Why I Love the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The most "abused" card I have in my wallet is the Chase Sapphire Preferred(R) card.  Beyond the awesome look (name on the front, numbers on the back) and feel (this card is heavy) the CSP has some outstanding benefits.  There are certainly more benefits but here are my top 10:

1. The current sign-up bonus is 45,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
2. 2x points on travel and dining
3. 3x points on dining on the first Friday of each month through the end of 2014
4. A 7% annual dividend on all points earned including the sign-up and category bonuses
5. $0 annual fee for the first year, $95 thereafter
6. The ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards points between accounts (super useful for couples/families to consolidate balances)
7. Access to the Ultimate Rewards Mall for additional earning opportunities
8. Awesome transfer partners including United, Marriott, Hyatt, British Airways, and Korean Air
9. Most points transfer instantly so you can locate your award and then transfer the points
10. No foreign transaction fees when traveling abroad (typically 3%).  You can also get the card with a chip (like mine below) so you can use it in Europe.  Many places won't accept the card without the chip.

My "abused" CSP

If you don't already have this card, you should get it right away (post on getting started) and put it in your wallet.  For most people, these are the most lucrative category bonuses.  Approximately 50% of my spend falls into the travel or dining category.  Travel is pretty broad and includes airfare, hotels, rental cars, parking, etc...I have this card linked to my Uber account as those charges count as travel.

Here's a quick example if you get the card today:

• Spend $2,000 per month, 50% on travel and dining
• You would earn 3,000 points per month in spend (36,000 total for the year)
• 45,000 bonus points in month three for hitting the new cardmember bonus
• The 7% dividend would pay out 5,670 points at the end of the year

In total, you would earn 86,670 Ultimate Rewards points.  This doesn't take into consideration the 3x "First Friday" or any additional points earned through the Ultimate Rewards Mall.  Those points could be transferred to a variety of different partners but let's use a real world example.  You could transfer the points to Hyatt and redeem for 4 nights at the Park Hyatt Istanbul where we stayed in November.  When we stayed, the hotel was selling for $380 USD per night.  The hotel is a Hyatt category 5 and requires 20,000 points per night or 80,000 total.

So you would be getting $1,520 in "value" from $12,000 in spend.  That is a 6.33% return!  Pretty solid redemption and a great way to get a luxury hotel stay for managing your everyday spend efficiently. 

Getting Started: Online Shopping Portals

This the third in a series (posts one and two) of posts on getting started earning, managing, and redeeming points and miles.  Everyone shops online and it’s one of the best ways to earn incremental points and miles.  Most airlines (United, American, Southwest, etc…) have shopping portals that enable you to earn points by clicking through their affiliate links.  Many Chase issued cards also have their own shopping portal through Chase Ultimate Rewards called the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall.

Sample United Shopping Offers

It’s really simple…click through one of the links above, login using your AA/United/Southwest/Chase credentials, find a retailer, click through to their website and shop as you normally would online.  During an especially big promotion earlier this year, we spent a few hundred dollars at eBags when they were offering 35 miles for each dollar spent.  We earned over 10,000 miles in about ten minutes buying Christmas presents and a new suitcase for Emily.  

Holiday Shopping yielded a ton of AA miles

In some cases you can “double dip” to really maximize the points earned.  I’ve been able to go through a shopping portal to buy a gift card earning 4x points.  Then I used that gift card to pay for something I was going to buy anyway through the same portal earning another 4x points.  Everyone has a different “valuation” for how much their miles are worth.  I value most of my airline miles at $.02 each.  So earning an incremental 8 miles per dollar spent is like getting 16% off your purchase for a few minutes of work.