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Sorry if this may have already been asked before earlier, but I tried searching and could not seem to locate any very meaningful replies, so I was j/w, what makes the Chase UR program a really special for some forum members? From my rudimentary understanding, I am aware that Chase UR allows you to transfer points between Chase cards(?), but even with that feature, why do members here consider it to be such a prominent perk? Again sorry I honestly don't mean to sound snarky or overly uninformed, but I guess I'm just not quite getting why it is so outstanding? I've had a Chase Freedom myself for a few years, but in my own experience, the UR I received were not really anything super-special IME?
It's just like anything else where some people will find it more useful than others. If we're talking about cards like Freedom, I'd argue that on a pure cash back basis, Discover is better in some respects. You can redeem for gift cards at >1cpp.
If the travel partners with UR don't interest you and you are just redeeming at face value then no, there's nothing really special above anything else. Like any other program you just have to research and decide what works for you.
A lot of people like UR because of the lucrative travel redemptions, which others just consider a hassle and not worth the time.
Hyatt, despite limited award availability, can offer great cpp value compared to most other hotel programs.
United (at least at one time) had a great award chart and flexible booking rules (stayovers, jaws, other FT stuff).
@galahad15 wrote:Sorry if this may have already been asked before earlier, but I tried searching and could not seem to locate any very meaningful replies, so I was j/w, what makes the Chase UR program a really special for some forum members? From my rudimentary understanding, I am aware that Chase UR allows you to transfer points between Chase cards(?), but even with that feature, why do members here consider it to be such a prominent perk? Again sorry I honestly don't mean to sound snarky or overly uninformed, but I guess I'm just not quite getting why it is so outstanding? I've had a Chase Freedom myself for a few years, but in my own experience, the UR I received were not really anything super-special IME?
Transferring between CARDS isn't the feature. The point is that some of the cards (CSR,CSP and some Inks, plus older cards) allow transfer of points to partner programs, such as hotels and airlines, and then be used for award travel. That way, if you do it right you can get much more than 1c per point in value.
You may have got confused about card transfer (although there is tons of stuff here about partner transfer so I am surprised!) in that people refer to being able to transfer points for cards like the Freedom (which cannot transfer to partners) to the CSP (which can). So the 5x points earned on the Freedom can, after card transfer, be transfered to a partner like Hyatt and United, and used in their reward programs
TYP and MR are very similar, but many people prefer the UR partners over the others (and also the earning potential of the cards)
@galahad15 wrote:Sorry if this may have already been asked before earlier, but I tried searching and could not seem to locate any very meaningful replies, so I was j/w, what makes the Chase UR program a really special for some forum members? From my rudimentary understanding, I am aware that Chase UR allows you to transfer points between Chase cards(?), but even with that feature, why do members here consider it to be such a prominent perk? Again sorry I honestly don't mean to sound snarky or overly uninformed, but I guess I'm just not quite getting why it is so outstanding? I've had a Chase Freedom myself for a few years, but in my own experience, the UR I received were not really anything super-special IME?
1. Chase UR Program allows you to take the 1%, 2%, 5% "cash back" you receive on their cards and increase its value by transferring to partners like Southwest, United, Hyatt, Marriott, etc.
2. It does allow you to transfer between cards - such as the Freedom, Ink Cash, etc. - but in order to maximize these points you need a card with an annual fee like the Ink Plus, Sapphire Preffered, or Sapphire Reserved to transfer to partners.
3. For example - I earn 5% "cash back" on my cell phone bill on my Ink Cash (cash back card). So my cell phone bill is $300 - so I earn $15 a month from that. Well, I could cash that $15 out or I could take those 1,500 points and transfer them to Hyatt where I typically get at least 3.5 cents of value per point. That means that instead of cashing out that $15 I just earned myself $52.50 worth of travel by transferring instead.
4. They won't be special for you as the Freedom is a cash back only card UNLESS you transfer those points to another card like the Ink Plus, CSP, or CSR where you can then transfer those points to a partner where it can greatly increase their value.
Thanks to everyone for the very helpful and infomative replies!
@nachoslibres wrote:
@galahad15 wrote:Sorry if this may have already been asked before earlier, but I tried searching and could not seem to locate any very meaningful replies, so I was j/w, what makes the Chase UR program a really special for some forum members? From my rudimentary understanding, I am aware that Chase UR allows you to transfer points between Chase cards(?), but even with that feature, why do members here consider it to be such a prominent perk? Again sorry I honestly don't mean to sound snarky or overly uninformed, but I guess I'm just not quite getting why it is so outstanding? I've had a Chase Freedom myself for a few years, but in my own experience, the UR I received were not really anything super-special IME?
1. Chase UR Program allows you to take the 1%, 2%, 5% "cash back" you receive on their cards and increase its value by transferring to partners like Southwest, United, Hyatt, Marriott, etc.
2. It does allow you to transfer between cards - such as the Freedom, Ink Cash, etc. - but in order to maximize these points you need a card with an annual fee like the Ink Plus, Sapphire Preffered, or Sapphire Reserved to transfer to partners.
3. For example - I earn 5% "cash back" on my cell phone bill on my Ink Cash (cash back card). So my cell phone bill is $300 - so I earn $15 a month from that. Well, I could cash that $15 out or I could take those 1,500 points and transfer them to Hyatt where I typically get at least 3.5 cents of value per point. That means that instead of cashing out that $15 I just earned myself $52.50 worth of travel by transferring instead.
4. They won't be special for you as the Freedom is a cash back only card UNLESS you transfer those points to another card like the Ink Plus, CSP, or CSR where you can then transfer those points to a partner where it can greatly increase their value.
Wow, thank you for that. This is the best explanation I've seen so far
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@nachoslibres wrote:
@galahad15 wrote:Sorry if this may have already been asked before earlier, but I tried searching and could not seem to locate any very meaningful replies, so I was j/w, what makes the Chase UR program a really special for some forum members? From my rudimentary understanding, I am aware that Chase UR allows you to transfer points between Chase cards(?), but even with that feature, why do members here consider it to be such a prominent perk? Again sorry I honestly don't mean to sound snarky or overly uninformed, but I guess I'm just not quite getting why it is so outstanding? I've had a Chase Freedom myself for a few years, but in my own experience, the UR I received were not really anything super-special IME?
1. Chase UR Program allows you to take the 1%, 2%, 5% "cash back" you receive on their cards and increase its value by transferring to partners like Southwest, United, Hyatt, Marriott, etc.
2. It does allow you to transfer between cards - such as the Freedom, Ink Cash, etc. - but in order to maximize these points you need a card with an annual fee like the Ink Plus, Sapphire Preffered, or Sapphire Reserved to transfer to partners.
3. For example - I earn 5% "cash back" on my cell phone bill on my Ink Cash (cash back card). So my cell phone bill is $300 - so I earn $15 a month from that. Well, I could cash that $15 out or I could take those 1,500 points and transfer them to Hyatt where I typically get at least 3.5 cents of value per point. That means that instead of cashing out that $15 I just earned myself $52.50 worth of travel by transferring instead.
4. They won't be special for you as the Freedom is a cash back only card UNLESS you transfer those points to another card like the Ink Plus, CSP, or CSR where you can then transfer those points to a partner where it can greatly increase their value.
Wow, thank you for that. This is the best explanation I've seen so far
My pleasure!
@nachoslibres wrote:
@galahad15 wrote:Sorry if this may have already been asked before earlier, but I tried searching and could not seem to locate any very meaningful replies, so I was j/w, what makes the Chase UR program a really special for some forum members? From my rudimentary understanding, I am aware that Chase UR allows you to transfer points between Chase cards(?), but even with that feature, why do members here consider it to be such a prominent perk? Again sorry I honestly don't mean to sound snarky or overly uninformed, but I guess I'm just not quite getting why it is so outstanding? I've had a Chase Freedom myself for a few years, but in my own experience, the UR I received were not really anything super-special IME?
1. Chase UR Program allows you to take the 1%, 2%, 5% "cash back" you receive on their cards and increase its value by transferring to partners like Southwest, United, Hyatt, Marriott, etc.
2. It does allow you to transfer between cards - such as the Freedom, Ink Cash, etc. - but in order to maximize these points you need a card with an annual fee like the Ink Plus, Sapphire Preffered, or Sapphire Reserved to transfer to partners.
3. For example - I earn 5% "cash back" on my cell phone bill on my Ink Cash (cash back card). So my cell phone bill is $300 - so I earn $15 a month from that. Well, I could cash that $15 out or I could take those 1,500 points and transfer them to Hyatt where I typically get at least 3.5 cents of value per point. That means that instead of cashing out that $15 I just earned myself $52.50 worth of travel by transferring instead.
4. They won't be special for you as the Freedom is a cash back only card UNLESS you transfer those points to another card like the Ink Plus, CSP, or CSR where you can then transfer those points to a partner where it can greatly increase their value.
Curious, how are you managing "at least" 3.5 cents per point out of Hyatt? I haven't used their reward program but if this is possible, it sounds lucrative and I might have to get on board
Most sites I've seen show Hyatt at about 1.5-2 cents per point on average.