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Edited November 1, 2023
at 09:05 AM
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It's back! Limited Time Offer!
Your points are worth 10%-50% more
Until 11/30/23 or while supplies last, your Chase points are worth more when you redeem for any product on the AppleĀ® Ultimate RewardsĀ® Store.*
Chase Sapphire Preferred is 25% more.
Chase Freedom Unlimited is 10% more.
https://ultimaterewardspoints.chase.com/
For example:
The $1199 iPhone Prom Max is 79,900 points (plus tax if applicable) if you have the Reserve (so retail * 66.7 points). Effectively 1/3 off at a penny per point.
If you have a card with a $99 ish annual fee, I suspect you get 25% extra (so retail * 80 points). Effectively 20% off at a penny per point.
If you have a no-annual-fee card, you likely get 10% extra (so retail * 91 points). About 9% off at a penny per point.
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Also worth noting you get extended warranty and purchase protection when you pay with points (you don't when you pay with gift cards).
tempting
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Exactly I was looking for the new pros as well
Also worth noting you get extended warranty and purchase protection when you pay with points (you don't when you pay with gift cards).
I agree the flights are a joke. Bragging about a flight that they would never purchase. Spend points on what is meaningful to you. We all have different values. 7c or 4c a flight is meaningless to me. I fly international 2 times a year and use points for last minute short hops using ba avois on AA metal.
And same goes for hotels. I can spend 10,000 points on a fancy hotel room that's "normally" $1,000 a night and say I'm getting a 10:1 redemption ratio. But if I could Hotwire a nice hotel room in the same location for $100 a night I'd argue the redemption ratio was more like 1:1. Obviously that's an oversimplified example and there are certainly times where redeeming your points for hotel rooms or flights makes perfect sense and gets you a better redemption ratio than this Apple deal, but all of these self-proclaimed experts telling us we are all so stupid redeeming for iPhones is getting out of control.
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And same goes for hotels. I can spend 10,000 points on a fancy hotel room that's "normally" $1,000 a night and say I'm getting a 10:1 redemption ratio. But if I could Hotwire a nice hotel room in the same location for $100 a night I'd argue the redemption ratio was more like 1:1. Obviously that's an oversimplified example and there are certainly times where redeeming your points for hotel rooms or flights makes perfect sense and gets you a better redemption ratio than this Apple deal, but all of these self-proclaimed experts telling us we are all so stupid redeeming for iPhones is getting out of control.
Check United, Singapore or any other partner airlines and see if there is any deals. Also check if booking with the Ultima Rewards portal will give you a better deal. If you have the annual fee card you get more (like an extra 25%).
When does Amex have 20-25% off Apple gift cards!?!?!
So, yes - it's not the absolutely best maximum redemption option for points, but a 50% bonus or 1.5 cents per is good enough to justify the purchase of a product that hardly EVER goes on sale, but ONLY IF you're not tied to a postpaid carrier or need to keep your grandfathered plan.
Otherwise, taking advantage of bill credits for an iPhone is a good deal as well, as long as you can foot the bill on multiple lines. I personally have a single line that I pay $35/month for, and for me it doesn't make sense to switch to postpaid.
Second - I know people have their stories about the Chase Apple Store. Yes, it's a third party. Yes, delivery times suck if you need a phone now or have no patience. I've ordered from them before (12 Pro Max, iPad Pro) and had no issues when it came to the actual delivery, but it was indeed a long wait.
Third - for those of you wanting points + a device faster, you can "pay yourself back" and get the statement credit, then use that credit to purchase your device from a retailer at full price.
I did this with my 14 Pro Max - at the time it was a 50% bonus, but now it's a 25% and only on select categories. But I got $1200 on statement credits for 80K points, and went to the Apple Store to buy my iPhone.
Sorry to be stupid but how do you "pay yourself back" at 1.5x? Is that a separate promotion or can I do that now with the Ipad I bought last week?
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Also worth noting again that even if you were able to buy enough discounted Apple gift cards to buy your iPhone, you would be foregoing the credit card benefits such as extended warranty and purchase protection (which are valid if you buy with points).