How to get 5 points per $ for your Chase Sapphire account
We love the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. It earns double points on all travel and dining programs with no limits, all year round. And you and transfer points instantly into some great mile programs, including United /Continental , Southwest Airlines, British Airways, Amtrak, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club, Ritz Carlton, and Korean Airlines.
But how would you like to earn a 5 point per dollar bonus on purchases in select categories each quarter?
Then get yourself a Chase Freedom card. Here’s why — Chase lets you combine the points you earn on the Freedom card with those in your Sapphire’s Ultimate Rewards account. And it carries no annual fee.
As you’ve seen on TV, the Chase Freedom earns 5x points on select categories each quarter, up to $1,500 in spending. See this year’s categories below.
Chase Freedom 5x points categories
So, the strategy is to use your Freedom card for purchases in the active categories for the quarter, and your Sapphire Preferred for the rest.
Now, how do you link the points together?
First, login to www.ultimaterewards.com with your Chase Freedom account. Then…under ‘Manage Ultimate Rewards’ select ‘Combine Points.’
You’ll then be able to link your two accounts together and combine points. There is no fee for this, and you can combine any amount of points at any time, and do it back and forth if you’d like. In fact, you can even swap points with another person, like a family member. Just remember, you’re better off moving points into your Chase Sapphire Preferred’s account since it lets you transfer points 1:1 to many travel mile and point programs.
That’s it! A simple way to maximize your Chase Sapphire Preferred point earning, and lock in 5x points in many categories.
So, to get started…apply for a Chase Freedom credit card to carry along side your Chase Sapphire Preferred. We recommend waiting about 2-3 months between Chase mile credit card applications.
Could you tell me what is the point value if I use my chase points for an airline ticket? I want an idea of how many points needed to purchase an airline ticket to Hawaii, say on United. I would charge the difference of the price on my chase card if needed. I understad we are entitled to a 20% discount on the cost of the ticket price if purchase through the Preferred customers travel sight. BUt no dollar price is given to me to equal the points I’ve accrued so far. Are the prices higher than on Expedia or and other travel sites?
Thanks for your help!
@Kathleen – The prices should be similar to Expedia. Basically, every point you have is worth 1.25 cents toward the cost of the travel. So if you have 10,000 points, you have $125 toward the purchase of an airline ticket. They price the tickets in dollars for you on the UltimateRewards website when you search. Once you click through to select an itinerary, and get to the purchase page there is a small box where you can change the number of points you want to apply toward the purchase, and it will show at the bottom the remaining cost in cash you have to pay.