Tag Archives: Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

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Chase 5/24 Rule Is Overrated: 6 Credit Cards & Bonuses I Scored After I Stopped Worrying

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Good morning everyone, I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  Every time a new credit card is announced or the sign up bonus increases to an all-time high, bloggers and readers debate endlessly about whether the card is “worthy of a Chase 5/24 slot.”  Back in the day (before the Chase 5/24 Rule existed), I think Chase had the best credit cards and the best sign up bonuses, but those days are long gone.  Many credit cards from American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, Capital One, Citi, US Bank, and Wells Fargo have bigger sign up bonuses and more transferable points than similar Chase credit cards. I like to think of myself as a free agent when it comes to credit cards, miles, and points, so I Chase chase the credit card sign up bonus, regardless of the credit card issuer.

I currently have 8 Chase credit cards, and based on my Chase 5/24 score, I won’t be able to pick up any new Chase credit cards for more than a 12-18 months.  The last Chase credit card I applied for was the Chase Ink Cash Credit Card and I was happy to pick up 90,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.  Here is my current Chase credit card roster:

Grant’s Chase Credit Cards Opened Notes
Chase Freedom Flex 1 11/1/2013 Opened Chase Freedom (2013), converted to Chase Sapphire Reserve (2017), & converted to Chase Freedom Flex (2021).
Chase IHG Rewards Select 11/18/2013
JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton 12/15/2014 Opened JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton (2014), converted to Chase Marriott Premier Plus (2017), & converted to JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton (2019).
Chase Ink Plus 3/21/2016
Chase IHG Rewards Premier 7/25/2018
Chase Freedom Flex 2 7/13/2021 Opened Chase Sapphire Preferred (2021) & converted to Chase Freedom Flex (2023).
Chase IHG Rewards Business 6/17/2022
Chase Ink Cash 10/13/2023

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My IHG Hotel Strategy: Points, Free Night Certificates & Multiple Rebookings

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Good afternoon everyone.  Last week, Laura and I were in New York City for her Spring Break.  I had 2 IHG Free Night Certificates (40K capped FNC from my old Chase IHG Select Credit Card and a 40K uncapped FNC from my Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card) that were expiring soon that I wanted to use.  We were staying for 4 nights, so I could have used the IHG 4th Night Free Benefit, but I wanted to use up those 2 IHG FNCs instead.  We decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza Times Square because the hotel is 1-2 blocks away from Times Square, surrounded by many musical theaters, very close to many subway lines (including the subway that goes from Manhattan to JFK (via the Jamaica Station), and walking distance to Central Park / Cruise Terminal / Rockefeller Center, etc.

I didn’t take screenshots during the booking process, but here is the booking strategy I used which I will explain below.  To get started, I searched for 4 nights to ensure that there was availability every night using points.  I clicked the Select Hotel button to view more details.

a screenshot of a hotel

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I Paid $4,807 in Credit Card Annual Fees in 2023 – Was it Worth it?

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Good evening everyone, I hope your holiday season is going well.  With the end of the year right around the corner, I decided to publish my 2023 version of credit card annual fees I paid this year.  For comparison, here are my previous credit card annual fee posts:

For this year’s post, I decided to break up the list of credit cards into 5 sections:

  • New credit cards with sign up bonuses
  • Credit cards with retention offers
  • Credit cards that have been upgraded / downgraded / product changed
  • Annual fees saved on closed credit cards
  • All other credit cards

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My 6 Credit Card App-O-Rama: Results & Reconsideration Calls

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  A few weeks ago, I applied for 6 new credit cards in my most recent App-O-Rama (which doesn’t work as well as it used to work, back in the good ol’ days), but I wanted to share my results and reconsideration calls.  Warning: I don’t recommend applying for multiple cards in the same day (“do as I say, not as I do”).  With that said, I started with the American Express Blue Business Plus Credit Card that has a 75,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points signup bonus after spending $15,000 in 12 months.  Check out this Doctor of Credit post for more info.

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Which Credit & Debit Cards are in my Wallet, ApplePay Wallet, and Travel Wallet? (August 2023)

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Good morning everyone.  We all know the classic Capital One line, “What’s in your wallet?” (spoiler alert: no Capital One Credit Cards are currently in my real wallet), but I thought it would be fun to do this type of post monthly or every other month, depending on which credit cards I am currently using.  At last count, I currently have 40+ personal and business credit cards, but I don’t carry or use every credit card every month.  I treat my credit cards like tools in a tool box, each credit card has a specific use and no credit card is perfect for every situation.  I also have 3 “wallets” for my credit cards: the physical cards that I carry with me in my iPhone case, the credit and debit cards in my ApplePay Wallet, and the credit cards in my travel wallet (aka backpack) that I use when I travel.  I will go through my 3 “wallets”, but the cards in my ApplePay Wallet and travel wallet (aka backpack) don’t change very often.

Credit Cards in my iPhone Case / Wallet

Last week, I was approved for the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card that currently offers a sign up bonus of 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $8,000 in 3 months.  I am meeting the minimum spend on this credit card by paying for a few home improvement projections, car insurance, and any other large purchase that will get me closer to my $8,000 minimum spending requirement.  I don’t have immediate plans for these 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, but I can always use more Chase Ultimate Rewards Points.

a blue credit card with silver text

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