Freedom convert to Sapphire Preferred....Can it be done?

[KhuKhu]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

Obviously you know your own situation best, but 40K points is quite a lot to lose against a HP which reduces in impact quickly, and a reduction in AAoA with hard-to-measure consequences.    So the question is what do you plan to gain by avoiding the HP/AAoA hit?  If you are applying for a mortgage in the next year or so, then it makes sense to avoid, not sure of many other cases.

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Exactly my situation, should i just PC to a CSP, or wait till after my mortgage (anywhere from 10-16 months from now), and apply for the CSP for the 40K bonus points?

Sucky dilemna. I want to at least start earning UR points now (real UR points, not 'fake' UR points from the non-AF UR cards like Freedom).

[longtimelurker]

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@KhuKhu wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

Obviously you know your own situation best, but 40K points is quite a lot to lose against a HP which reduces in impact quickly, and a reduction in AAoA with hard-to-measure consequences.    So the question is what do you plan to gain by avoiding the HP/AAoA hit?  If you are applying for a mortgage in the next year or so, then it makes sense to avoid, not sure of many other cases.

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Exactly my situation, should i just PC to a CSP, or wait till after my mortgage (anywhere from 10-16 months from now), and apply for the CSP for the 40K bonus points?

Sucky dilemna. I want to at least start earning UR points now (real UR points, not 'fake' UR points from the non-AF UR cards like Freedom).

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Depends on your overall credit, but if it is a minimum of 10 months out, I would apply now (and maybe wait 12 months for the mortgage app to allow the inq to drop).  But if your credit is good, the hit from the inq and new account should be small anyway.  Just want to be sure your score isn't near a rate boundary, which is hard to tell.

As you probably know, the UR points are the same.  You can save them up now, and transfer them to the CSP when you get that card.  So not really fake!

[KhuKhu]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@KhuKhu wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

Obviously you know your own situation best, but 40K points is quite a lot to lose against a HP which reduces in impact quickly, and a reduction in AAoA with hard-to-measure consequences.    So the question is what do you plan to gain by avoiding the HP/AAoA hit?  If you are applying for a mortgage in the next year or so, then it makes sense to avoid, not sure of many other cases.

---

Exactly my situation, should i just PC to a CSP, or wait till after my mortgage (anywhere from 10-16 months from now), and apply for the CSP for the 40K bonus points?

Sucky dilemna. I want to at least start earning UR points now (real UR points, not 'fake' UR points from the non-AF UR cards like Freedom).

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Depends on your overall credit, but if it is a minimum of 10 months out, I would apply now (and maybe wait 12 months for the mortgage app to allow the inq to drop).  But if your credit is good, the hit from the inq and new account should be small anyway.  Just want to be sure your score isn't near a rate boundary, which is hard to tell.

As you probably know, the UR points are the same.  You can save them up now, and transfer them to the CSP when you get that card.  So not really fake!

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Exactly, hard to tell. I better not take the chance (it's a huge mortgage). I just wanted the ability to transfer to Hyatt within the next 6 months which the Freedom can't do that (why i called it fake).

Better to be patient then. ty

[p-]

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@SuperKirby wrote:

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@p- wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

Obviously you know your own situation best, but 40K points is quite a lot to lose against a HP which reduces in impact quickly, and a reduction in AAoA with hard-to-measure consequences.    So the question is what do you plan to gain by avoiding the HP/AAoA hit?  If you are applying for a mortgage in the next year or so, then it makes sense to avoid, not sure of many other cases.

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+1.  500 bucks is five years worth of annual fees.  If you have a major app coming up, be patient and wait until you're clear to app and get the bonus.  Except for the nifty metal card, I'm not sure what makes it better than a Freedom Siggy.

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You might touch a nerve there (at least in the frequent traveler world), the CSP is probably one of the best cards out there (IMO the best card period).

For 50,000 CSP points, I can get a $4000 business class ticket one way to london from the US. That's a 8% back value. ($4000 flight divide by 50,000 points).

What can I get for 50,000 Freedom points? $500 cash back. whoopie.

With that said, the Freedom/CSP combo is even better because you can transfer points from your Freedom to the CSP.

Of course, the CSP is only valuble to the frequent traveler, if one doesn't use it's points for flights/Hyatt stays, then the Freedom might be the better choice (if one had to choose only one card).

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Wow, that's cool.  I'll have to crunch the numbers on my spending again; maybe with the points transfer I can justify the AF on the CSP.  If I rack up points at 5%, then transfer them to a mileage program at a high rate, maybe it will be worth it.  Thanks.

[SuperKirby]

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@p- wrote:

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@SuperKirby wrote:

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@p- wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

Obviously you know your own situation best, but 40K points is quite a lot to lose against a HP which reduces in impact quickly, and a reduction in AAoA with hard-to-measure consequences.    So the question is what do you plan to gain by avoiding the HP/AAoA hit?  If you are applying for a mortgage in the next year or so, then it makes sense to avoid, not sure of many other cases.

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+1.  500 bucks is five years worth of annual fees.  If you have a major app coming up, be patient and wait until you're clear to app and get the bonus.  Except for the nifty metal card, I'm not sure what makes it better than a Freedom Siggy.

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You might touch a nerve there (at least in the frequent traveler world), the CSP is probably one of the best cards out there (IMO the best card period).

For 50,000 CSP points, I can get a $4000 business class ticket one way to london from the US. That's a 8% back value. ($4000 flight divide by 50,000 points).

What can I get for 50,000 Freedom points? $500 cash back. whoopie.

With that said, the Freedom/CSP combo is even better because you can transfer points from your Freedom to the CSP.

Of course, the CSP is only valuble to the frequent traveler, if one doesn't use it's points for flights/Hyatt stays, then the Freedom might be the better choice (if one had to choose only one card).

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Wow, that's cool.  I'll have to crunch the numbers on my spending again; maybe with the points transfer I can justify the AF on the CSP.  If I rack up points at 5%, then transfer them to a mileage program at a high rate, maybe it will be worth it.  Thanks.

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NP. People don't realize that Chase has nothing to do with these programs (Chase is only the middle man to transfer points). Just make sure you read the reward rules and award chart on the FT's websites: http://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/mileageplus/awards/travel/awardtravel.aspx

is one example.