Tag Archives: Chase Bank

Random News: AMEX Offers for Courtyard Marriott, Lucille’s BBQ, Whole Foods, and JC Penneys; up to 1,000 Bonus Southwest Airlines Shopping Portal Bonus Points; and New Office Depot / Office Max Rewards Program for 2015

AMEX Offers

Random News: AMEX Offers for Courtyard Marriott, Lucille’s BBQ, Whole Foods, and JC Penneys; up to 1,000 Bonus Southwest Airlines Shopping Portal Bonus Points; and New Office Depot / Office Max Rewards Program for 2015

Good evening everyone, what a long day it has been.  I woke up at 4am so I could get to Oakland Airport and catch my 6:15am flight back to Orange County on Southwest Airlines.  I am happy to report that my first use of my Southwest Companion Pass (since last November) went smoothly.  The only hick-up was when I checked in for my flight, I had TSA Pre Check both ways, but my companion only had it on the outbound flight.  It wasn’t too bad, I breezed thru TSA security and only had to wait for her for 10 minutes :)

My buddy Greg (aka Frequent Miler) was able to buy a physical gift card at his local Courtyard Marriott and receive the $20 statement credit (link).

Courtyard Marriott AMEX Offer

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Weekend TWG Homework Assignment: What are the Best Credit Cards for Downgrades or Conversions?

Which Credit Card

Weekend TWG Homework Assignment: What are the Best Credit Cards for Downgrades or Conversions?

Good evening everyone, TGI (Thank Grant It’s) Thursday.  I will be flying up to San Francisco Friday night and coming home early Monday morning from Oakland.  I will not be blogging this weekend, but I will bring my phone so I can respond to emails and blog comments.  Since the collective knowledge of TWG readers is far superior than just my knowledge, I need your help.  I am working on compiling a page on best credit cards for downgrades or conversions.  For every annual fee credit card from a bank, there is a related no annual fee credit card.

Do you remember that kid in school who always asked the teacher if there was any homework due next week when the teacher clearly forgot to assign any?  Well, you can all thank Dan P for the suggestion (link):

I think a blog post about all the “good downgrading cards” would be great. Include the BoA Better Balance Rewards and the Citizens Bank Green$ense (pays you $0.25 per transaction, up to $20 per month; great for purchases under $5) in addition to other cards. Although other than those two I haven’t found any really useful, zero annual fee cards.

Steven got the ball rolling with this comment:

Best practice is to convert the Alaska card to a Better Balance card which will award $100 a year for minimal spending. I have 6 of them. :)

Followed by Jivepicnic’s comment:

I only have one Better Balance Card, so I have some work to do to catch up to Steven! I purchase an Amazon eGC for $0.50 each month, so I spend $6 per year to get $100. Actually for me it’s $120 because you get a $5 bonus per quarter if you have a BofA checking account as well.

Clearly, I have been living under a rock since I was unaware of this card until a few days ago.  I have closed several Bank of American credit card in the last 2 years to avoid the annual fee, when I could have earned $100 a year for keeping a credit card open (link).

BofA Better Balance Rewards

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Random News: Chase Ink Plus 70,000 Point Sign Up Bonus Targeted Letter, US Bank FlexPerks Credit Card Refer A Friend, Multiple Business Cards for Visa Savings Edge, and a Cheesecake Factory AMEX Offer

I apologize for all the Chase Ink Bold/Plus coverage lately, Chase just has a thing for me.  In today’s mail, they sent me a targeted letter to sign up for the Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card (currently I have 2 Ink Bold cards only).  The offer is identical to the currently available bank offer of 70,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points offer after spending $5,000 in 3 months.  The $95 annual fee is not waived for this offer.

Chase Ink Plus 70k Front

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Chase Ink Bold and Plus Business Credit Cards now being Issued with Chip and Signature (Pics)

Ink Cards

Chase Ink Bold and Plus Business Credit Cards now being Issued with Chip and Signature (Pics)

I was planning on talking about how much fun I had at my OC Meetup and San Diego Meetup over the weekend, but decided this might be more relevant.

Long story short, I added my mom and dad as authorized users on my Chase Ink Bold Visa Business Credit Card over the weekend and received the authorized user credit cards this afternoon.  Thank you Chase for the UPS Next Day shipment :)

To my surprise, the new authorized user credit cards have a shiny new Chip on the front and a redesigned card layout.  The top card is my old Chase Ink Bold credit card and the bottom two are my parents’ new Chase Ink Bold credit cards.

Ink Bold Chip Front

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Transfer Chase Ultimate Reward Points to Another Chase Ultimate Rewards Account

Chase-Ultimate-Rewards

Transfer Chase Ultimate Reward Points to Another Chase Ultimate Rewards Account

In light of recent changes to the Chase Sapphire Preferred and its 7% Annual Dividend (link and link), you might be more inclined on closing your Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card or downgrading to a Chase Sapphire Credit Card or Chase Freedom Credit Card.

But before you do anything drastic, think about your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.

I’ve argued in the past that the more Chase credit cards you have, the less value you get from the Chase Sapphire Preferred.  For example, you can earn way more points with a Chase Ink Bold/Plus than a Chase Sapphire Preferred.  Several other Chase credit cards earn 2x on dining and travel, such as the Chase Hyatt Credit Card which earns 2x on restaurants, airfare, and rental cars.  Just ask yourself, what are you paying $95 each year for?

If you do decide to close or downgrade your Chase Sapphire Preferred, you may want to transfer the Chase Ultimate Rewards Points out to a transfer partner (link) or to a different Chase Ultimate Rewards account.

According to the Chase Ultimate Rewards Terms and Conditions (link), you can combine points from different Chase Ultimate Rewards accounts:

Can I combine the points I earn from other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards?

Yes. You can combine points or rebates from any eligible credit or debit card with Ultimate Rewards.

Note: Once points are transferred, they cannot be credited back. Transfers may only be used to combine points belonging to the same individual or business in the program; or for the purpose of enabling spouses or domestic partners to combine points. Chase will not make the transfer if the credit card account(s) or checking account(s), as applicable, are in default at the time of the transfer.

To read the entire post, please click here.