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Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Redemption - 10% off eBay Gift Cards YMMV

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Joined Feb 2011
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homers54321
04-02-2018 at 08:36 PM.
04-02-2018 at 08:36 PM.
So i have a chase freedom card with quite a few points on it. I do not have any other chase cards. What's the best way to maximize the points? I don't travel much, but if travel is the best way to go, I'm willing to save the points for a future trip.
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Joined Apr 2011
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geocacher99
04-02-2018 at 08:41 PM.
04-02-2018 at 08:41 PM.
Quote from SDerb4Uwereborn :
You're a big dummy if you are using your UR points for anything other than travel. Really dumb.

Not true at all.

There are many options that can make a lot of sense. One of which is to sell your points to Bruce.
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Joined Feb 2011
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homers54321
04-02-2018 at 08:42 PM.
04-02-2018 at 08:42 PM.
Quote from geocacher99 :
Not true at all.

There are many options that can make a lot of sense. One of which is to sell your points to Bruce.
How does that work?
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Joined Apr 2006
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broadwayblue
04-02-2018 at 08:45 PM.
04-02-2018 at 08:45 PM.
Quote from SDerb4Uwereborn :
You're a big dummy if you are using your UR points for anything other than travel. Really dumb.
Indeed. What do they give you on points for gift cards...generally an effective cash back of 1%. Even with a 10% bonus that's still a terrible 1.1% rate. If someone isn't in to travel why not get a 2% cash back on everything card and use the cash on whatever you want?
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Joined Sep 2009
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Knightshade
04-02-2018 at 09:03 PM.
04-02-2018 at 09:03 PM.
Quote from homers54321 :
So i have a chase freedom card with quite a few points on it. I do not have any other chase cards. What's the best way to maximize the points? I don't travel much, but if travel is the best way to go, I'm willing to save the points for a future trip.

Depends what you mean by not travelling much.

Like one or two trips a year, or one or two trips a decade?

If you're just looking to blow a bunch of points on a single big trip then you'd want to first get all the points you can with signup bonuses (pending your 5/24 status), and then get yourself a CSR.

Yes, it has a big annual fee. And you'll be getting a ton more in rewards than the fee cost out of it so don't worry about that part.


Move all the points from all your chase UR cards over to the CSR- then either:

redeem them at 1.5 cents a point via the portal (which is the lowest-value travel redemption with this card- but beats the heck out of 1.1 cents for gift cards).

Or (this requires a bit more research to figure out which airline is best for where and when you want to travel) transfer those points to airline partners to get tickets where you can often get between 1.5-3 cents a point in coach airfares... 4-6 cents a point for business class... or 8-10 cents a point for first class...

For hotels many Hyatt redemptions can get you north of 2 cents a point as well.


For stuff like rental cars I'm afraid the 1.5 cents in the portal is the best you'll get
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Joined Apr 2011
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geocacher99
04-02-2018 at 09:08 PM.
04-02-2018 at 09:08 PM.
Quote from homers54321 :
How does that work?

Search Bruce the Miles guy
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Joined Apr 2006
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leov6
04-02-2018 at 09:08 PM.
04-02-2018 at 09:08 PM.
Thanks for the info, got couple!
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Joined Dec 2013
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doboy007
04-02-2018 at 09:11 PM.
04-02-2018 at 09:11 PM.
Quote from Alexizupinhea :
Agreed, and if you don't travels you shouldn't have most of the premium chase cards.

Looks like the only use would be for folks with Chase Freedom but can't travel (perhaps due to work/family obligations).
I wouldn't consider Chase Freedom a premium card LMAO
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Joined Jun 2017
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SDislife
04-02-2018 at 09:11 PM.
04-02-2018 at 09:11 PM.
Quote from Knightshade :


Or (this requires a bit more research to figure out which airline is best for where and when you want to travel) transfer those points to airline partners to get tickets where you can often get between 1.5-3 cents a point in coach airfares... 4-6 cents a point for business class... or 8-10 cents a point for first class...

For hotels many Hyatt redemptions can get you north of 2 cents a point as well.

One question on this:
So I don't do a lot of travel. But I do international travel couple of times a year from US to India. Usually I get return ticket for under $700. Will transferring points be able to get me a ticket any cheaper? If you wouldn't know first hand, is there a way to find out myself?

Also, for Hyatt redemptions, what would a typical night in terms of points cost like?
Eg. if at a particular location, I can get a decent hotel, say holiday inn or something for $100 a night, will using these points get a better hotel for UR points less than worth $100 in cash?

Thanks for the help
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mma123
04-02-2018 at 09:39 PM.
04-02-2018 at 09:39 PM.
thanks OP!
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Joined Nov 2006
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tripredagus
04-02-2018 at 09:55 PM.
04-02-2018 at 09:55 PM.
Quote from broadwayblue :
Indeed. What do they give you on points for gift cards...generally an effective cash back of 1%. Even with a 10% bonus that's still a terrible 1.1% rate. If someone isn't in to travel why not get a 2% cash back on everything card and use the cash on whatever you want?
Could you help me with the math? CSR card is $450 annually, if you count the $300 travel credit then that's $150 out of pocket. At a 1.5x UR rate, that means you need to earn 10,000 points annually to break even. Earning 10,000 points at 3pts per $1 means you need to spend $3333 on travel/hotel each year just to break even (or some type of combination of travel and categories from a Chase Freedom). Is there more to this than that or do people just spend hella and get way more cash back to make travel worth it (versus this simple 10% redemption for an ebay gift card lol).
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Joined Jan 2008
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rbraden
04-02-2018 at 10:06 PM.
04-02-2018 at 10:06 PM.
Quote from SDislife :
One question on this:
So I don't do a lot of travel. But I do international travel couple of times a year from US to India. Usually I get return ticket for under $700. Will transferring points be able to get me a ticket any cheaper? If you wouldn't know first hand, is there a way to find out myself?

Also, for Hyatt redemptions, what would a typical night in terms of points cost like?
Eg. if at a particular location, I can get a decent hotel, say holiday inn or something for $100 a night, will using these points get a better hotel for UR points less than worth $100 in cash?

Thanks for the help

This analysis is why I typically just sell my miles. I can get the 1.5x multiplier on travel, but I feel like the prices are often inflated somewhat to compensate. I've gotten 1.4cents a piece in the past, and that's cash up front...no need to wait and book a trip that I may be able to get through another portal cheaper.
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broadwayblue
04-02-2018 at 10:13 PM.
04-02-2018 at 10:13 PM.
Quote from tripredagus :
Could you help me with the math? CSR card is $450 annually, if you count the $300 travel credit then that's $150 out of pocket. At a 1.5x UR rate, that means you need to earn 10,000 points annually to break even. Earning 10,000 points at 3pts per $1 means you need to spend $3333 on travel/hotel each year just to break even (or some type of combination of travel and categories from a Chase Freedom). Is there more to this than that or do people just spend hella and get way more cash back to make travel worth it (versus this simple 10% redemption for an ebay gift card lol).
I was speaking about redemption values only. My point is if you are redeeming points for gift cards you are doing it wrong. In that case you are better off just having a cash back card. Spend 100k on a citi double cash or similar and you get 2k back. Spend 100k on a travel card (like this one) and use it for gift cards and you are only getting ~1k in redemption value. That's a poor use, particularly when that same 100k points could get you a 3k-5k business class ticket or a week's worth of $300/night hotel stays.

As for the math on earning, I think your math is on point. If you are only spending a few thousand a year on a credit card it's hard to really get the points to add up. I might suggest a no fee cash back card in that situation. Or skip the CSR card. I have the Freedom Unlimited and Ink Bold. The latter gets me 5x points on internet, phone, cable tv...so my $350 in monthly spend gets me ~1,500 points...or nearly 20k a year just for paying my Verizon and Sprint bills.
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Joined Apr 2006
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broadwayblue
04-02-2018 at 10:17 PM.
04-02-2018 at 10:17 PM.
Quote from SDislife :
One question on this:
So I don't do a lot of travel. But I do international travel couple of times a year from US to India. Usually I get return ticket for under $700. Will transferring points be able to get me a ticket any cheaper? If you wouldn't know first hand, is there a way to find out myself?

Also, for Hyatt redemptions, what would a typical night in terms of points cost like?
Eg. if at a particular location, I can get a decent hotel, say holiday inn or something for $100 a night, will using these points get a better hotel for UR points less than worth $100 in cash?

Thanks for the help
The real benefit of these kinds of credit cards is for aspirational travel. You will likely not beat $700 round trip flights or $100/night hotels. But if you want to sit up front or stay in luxury hotels...that's where loyalty points like UR shines. If that doesn't appeal to you then get a no fee cash back card and spend the 2% on whatever you want.
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Joined Feb 2005
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alchemista
04-02-2018 at 10:51 PM.
04-02-2018 at 10:51 PM.
Quote from broadwayblue :
I was speaking about redemption values only. My point is if you are redeeming points for gift cards you are doing it wrong. In that case you are better off just having a cash back card. Spend 100k on a citi double cash or similar and you get 2k back. Spend 100k on a travel card (like this one) and use it for gift cards and you are only getting ~1k in redemption value. That's a poor use, particularly when that same 100k points could get you a 3k-5k business class ticket or a week's worth of $300/night hotel stays.

As for the math on earning, I think your math is on point. If you are only spending a few thousand a year on a credit card it's hard to really get the points to add up. I might suggest a no fee cash back card in that situation. Or skip the CSR card. I have the Freedom Unlimited and Ink Bold. The latter gets me 5x points on internet, phone, cable tv...so my $350 in monthly spend gets me ~1,500 points...or nearly 20k a year just for paying my Verizon and Sprint bills.
you're missing the 5% chase freedom bonus. So people who have the Freedom card for the 5% bonus categories aren't doing anything wrong. It's not good for everyday spend, agreed.

this quarter is great with 5% PayPal, Chase Pay, and grocery stores
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Last edited by alchemista April 2, 2018 at 11:03 PM.
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