Chase Ultimate Rewards is by far the best credit card rewards program out there. Renowned for their ease of earning points, versatility for redeeming points, and user-friendly interface, Chase Ultimate Rewards have become the go-to choice for savvy travelers looking to maximize their points and travel more for less. In this blog post I'll share with you tips and tricks for earning lots of Chase credit card points. But first, here are a few reasons why Chase points are my favorite.
Easy to Earn Points
With a robust line up of personal and business credit cards, it is super easy to rack up a lot of Ultimate Rewards Points really fast! On the personal side you have the Freedom cards with no annual fee as well as the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve, with an annual fee. On the Business side, you have the Chase Ink Unlimited or Cash at no annual fee as well as the Chase Ink Preferred, with a $95 annual fee. The most attractive part on the Chase Ink cards is that unlike other cards (across all banks), you can earn the sign up bonus multiple times without having to downgrade/close the card or wait a set amount of time.
Multiple Ways to Redeem Points
Whether you're dreaming of a luxurious getaway, a spontaneous road trip, or a budget-friendly staycation, Chase Ultimate Rewards have you covered. With multiple redemption options, including transferring points to airline and hotel partners, booking travel through the Chase travel portal, or even using points to pay yourself back for purchases, it's easy to use your points to cover most of your travel expenses.
User Friendly App/Website
Managing your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points couldn't be easier, thanks to Chase's intuitive app and website interface. From tracking your sign up bonus to exploring redemption options and even managing your account on the go, Chase's user-friendly online interface makes it easy to manage points from multiple different accounts. Additionally, Chase lets you easily combine points between business or personal accounts on the same name as well as one other family member that lives in the same household.
Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards: The Fast Track
Now that you're familiar with the perks of Chase Ultimate Rewards, let's dive into how you can quickly accumulate points to fuel your wanderlust. Here are my strategies to for earning a lot of Chase points really fast:
1. Sign-Up Bonuses: Take advantage of generous sign-up bonuses offered by Chase credit cards. These bonuses can provide a significant boost to your points balance right from the start. Although these cards have standard sign up bonus offers ranging from 60-100k points, they often have increased limited time offers that make these really lucrative! Especially the Ink Cards. Read more about that here.
2. Shopping Portal: When shopping for anything online, I always check the shopping portal first. Very often there will be additional points earned just for clicking through their link!
3. Referral Bonuses: Refer friends and family as a Player 2 to Chase credit cards and earn bonus points for each successful referral. With a Player 2, you can each earn a referral bonus every time the other one is ready to open a new card. Most common Player 2 is a spouse, but it can be done successfully with a friend, sibling, parent, etc. Referral bonuses range from 5k points all the ways up to 40k per referral.
4. Business Credit Cards: Consider applying for Chase business credit cards to unlock even more earning potential. These cards often come with lucrative sign-up bonuses and bonus points for business-related expenses. Additional perk: since they are business cards, they will not reflect on your personal credit reports, thereby not affecting your 5/24 status.
5. Increased Point Categories: Keep an eye out for Chase credit cards that offer bonus points for specific categories, such as dining, travel, or groceries. By strategically using the right cards for the right categories, you can maximize the amount of points earned per dollar.
A couple things to note. All the above mentioned strategies can be used and applied to other banks and credit cards, not just Chase. Also, over time, you will notice that some strategies are more valuable in terms of time required. For example, I no longer bother with point categories (5) since I’m almost always putting all my spend on a new credit card to meet a sign up bonus. Lastly, make sure to space your credit card applications 60-90 days so as not to arouse any red flags with the credit bureaus. With a player 2 that’s a new card every 1.5 months.
Leave your questions below!
Happy Travels!
Chavy