Tag Archives: Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

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Convert Marriott & Ritz Carlton Points to United Airlines Miles (2.24:1 Ratio)

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Good morning everyone.  A few days ago, I was in an interesting predicament.  I found an awesome United Airlines award, but I did not have enough United Airlines miles to book the award. *gasp* Worse though, I did not have enough Chase Ultimate Reward Points either. *double gasp* I’m not sure if you have been in this situation before, but it is not fun.  Here are some of the options I considered:

  • Converting SPG points to United Airlines miles at the 2:1 transfer ratio
  • Paying to transfer United Airlines miles from my grandparents’ account
  • Buying United Airlines miles directly from United Airlines
  • Begging United Airlines to “help a friend out”

Before I did anything drastic or embarrassing, I remembered that Marriott and United Airlines have a crossover relationship, whereby you can transfer miles into points or points into miles.  Here is the Travel Rewards page on Marriott’s website.  Marriott partners with many other airlines, but they have an exclusive relationship with United Airlines where you can get a “20% discount when you convert Marriott Rewards points to United MileagePlus award miles.”

I crunched the numbers and the transfer ratios range from 4:1 down to 2.24:1 (Marriott Points to United Airlines miles).  Since I needed around 25,000 United Airlines miles, I selected the 4th option (56,000 Marriott Points = 25,000 United Airlines miles).

Convert Marriott Points to United Airlines Miles

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Merging Marriott and Ritz Carlton Accounts; Combining Points and Free Night Certificates

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Good morning everyone.  Last December, I applied for the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card which offered 140,000 Ritz Carlton Points (Ritz Carlton and Marriott points can be used interchangeably).  During the approval process, the system created a new Ritz Carlton account number for me.  After meeting the minimum spend requirement, I had an old Marriott account with 28,985 points and a new Ritz Carlton account with 150,000+ points.

Chase Ritz-Carlton Credit Card Offer Details

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July App-O-Rama Update: Several Reconsideration Calls Required to be Approved for 6 New Credit Cards

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Warning: if you are just starting out with rewards-earning credit cards, please do not apply for several credit cards at the same time.  You are responsible for your credit history and credit scores.  You have been warned…

Good evening everyone.  Last month, I wrote July 2015: My 8 Credit Card App-O-Rama Game Plan and I shared my plans/reasoning for applying for the below 8 credit cards.

App O Rama July 2015

After listening to your feedback and suggestions, I decided to make some changes to my App-O-Rama plan.  The table below shows the 7 credits that I ended up applying for.  Here are my reasons for not applying for a few of the credit cards:

  • The Barclays Arrival Plus Credit Card was not available for new applications on my App-O-Rama date.
  • I couldn’t get the targeted 75,000 offer on the AMEX Business Gold Rewards Charge Card, so I decided to wait for a better public offer.
  • I forgot that Citi’s “8 Day Rule” applies to personal and business credit cards, so I decided to apply for the Citi American Airlines Business Credit Card instead of the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Credit Card.
  • I decided to go for the Bank of America Spirit Airlines Credit Card instead of another Bank of America Virgin Atlantic Credit Card.

July App-O-Rama Final List

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Chase Ink Bold Changes: Ability to Pay Over Time and Stated Credit Access Line (Similar to Chase Ink Plus)

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Good evening everyone, I just got home and checked my mailbox.  Inside, there was a letter from Chase with details about upcoming changes to the Chase Ink Bold Business Charge Card, effective August 31, 2015.   Here is the summary of both changes:

  • Currently, the Chase Ink Bold is a charge card, meaning you must pay your balance in full, otherwise you will be charged a fee.  The new Chase Ink Bold will allow you to pay your balance over time (instead of being charged a fee, you will instead pay interest on any balance that is not paid in full by your payment due date).
  • Currently, the Chase Ink Bold has a flexible spending limit whereby you are allowed to go over your preset spending limit.  The new Chase Ink Bold will have a stated credit access line (aka a credit line/limit) that will be shown on your monthly statement.

In summary, if you pay your balance in full every month and do not go over your stated credit access line, then these changes do not affect you.  This looks like Chase’s attempt to slowly transform the Chase Ink Bold into a Chase Ink Plus, which makes sense since only the Chase Ink Plus and Chase Ink Cash business cards are currently available for new applications.

Chase Ink Bold Business Card Changes Front

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My Unsuccessful Chase Sapphire Preferred Reconsideration Call, Visit, and Tweets

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Good morning everyone.  A few weeks ago, I did an 8 card App-O-Rama.  One of my top credit cards to apply for was the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card.  I previously opened a Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card back in August 2012 which I then downgraded to the Chase Sapphire (Basic) Credit Card in August 2013 which I then converted to the Chase Freedom Credit Card in November 2013.  Since I received the sign up bonus back in August 2012, I waited the necessary 24 months to reapply.

When I first received the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card, the sign up bonus was 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $3,000 in 3 months.  The current sign up bonus is 40,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $4,000 in 3 months.  Long story short, I was low on Chase Ultimate Rewards Points (aren’t we all?) and I had waited long enough to reapply, so I was ready to apply for my second Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card.

Side note: Doctor of Credit and a few other blogs and forums are reporting that Chase has really cracked down on approving applications for people that have more than 5 credit inquiries total during the last 2 years.  I (foolishly) ignored those warnings and insisted that my previous 3 years with Chase, 16 total approved Chase credit cards (8 currently open), and reconsideration call skills would be enough to get approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card.

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t enough.   Continue reading →