topic Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points. in Credit Cards

I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 02:55:24 GMT

I was approved for Chase Sapphire ($9,000 CLI) last month and have spent the $4,000 necessary to qualify for the 40,000 free miles. I tried booking a hypothetical flight to Cancun using the Chase Rewards System. Flight is listed for $450 whereas the same flight on cheaptickets.com is only $350.

I am new to the rewards game. Is there a card that one can use at any site?

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

kdm31091 — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:07:38 GMT

Booking through chase is usually more expensive so its not worth it even with the "extra points" you get.

Id caution you to thoroughly research next time. The card really only shines if you transfer your points to airline and sometimes hotel partners. For other redemptions, a cash back card generally will come out ahead or the same.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:13:19 GMT

Is there a card that earns points that I can use on ANY website? Expedia? Southwest Airlines, etc? Any opinion on the Capital One Venture?

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:17:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Is there a card that earns points that I can use on ANY website? Expedia? Southwest Airlines, etc? Any opinion on the Capital One Venture?

KDMs comment about a cashback card. Something like Citi Double Cash earsn 2% on all transactions, and you can have the cash redeemed to your bank account. Then use on any site.

Stuff like Venture and Barclays Arrival also earn 2 points per $, but HAVE to be redeemed for travel (whereas Double Cash can be used anyway). Worth having the first year for the bonus and lack of annual fee that year, but much less useful for many after that

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

kdm31091 — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:19:28 GMT

Id get a double cash over a venture for the reasons lurker mentioned. Beyond the bonus, venture has little purpose.

If you arent a hardcore traveler and into the point transfers, you will do better with cash back. Some cash back cards like discover also have portals where 5 or 10 percent back on orbitz, travelocity etc is offered, though theres no guarantee that will always be offered

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:21:22 GMT

Thank you longtimelurker! The Citi card does seem attractive but I don't want to open a new account. Is there a downside to the card?

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:23:38 GMT

If you dont want to open a new account why are you asking about any card that can be used on all websites? 😏 Or are you asking if theres a card you already have that serves this purpose?

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:28:28 GMT

Two reasons.....I am asking because I am helping my girlfriend decide on which card to apply for. Right now, I have the Discover It, BofA Cash Rewards, Chase Slate, Chase Sapphire, and Amex Blue Cash. That is why I'm hesitant to open a new account. I travel on vacation frequently. Of these cards, which is the best one? Again, I should have done a better job of researching the details of each card. I'm trying to do that now : )

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:33:19 GMT

Ahh I see Totally understand now. Does your Discover it have the double cash promo? If so thats best for you, if not Id still check Discover Deals like kdm suggested. Travel category.

As far as your gf its hard to suggest cards without knowing her profile details but it sounds like a cash back card would be best from what you've stated so far. Unless she's loyal to a particular hotel or airline.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 03:41:02 GMT

Looks like Lucky strikes again. xfers are the lifeblood of these cards.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 04:21:24 GMT

I checked the terms of the Sapphire card and it looks like I can redeem my points for cash. I have about 50,000 points so far. I'm assuming that I can get a check or credit statement. Correct?

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

red259 — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 04:16:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I checked the terms of the Sapphire card and it looks like I can redeem my points for cards. I have about 50,000 points so far. I'm assuming that I can get a check or credit statement. Correct?

Guess you could but that is a terrible value. You already said you travel frequently. You can use the points for hotel nights or transfer to an airline for some flights.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 05:16:45 GMT

Cash? Why that's even worse value than using the portal. I will be glad to wire you $500 in exchange for xfer those UR into my Hyatt account if you insist though. 😄

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

noobody — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 05:20:21 GMT

Reading the questions OP asked, just let him redeem UR for cash, it quick and easy, transfer points and book with partners is way over his head.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

red259 — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 06:04:17 GMT

@noobody wrote:
Reading the questions OP asked, just let him redeemUR for cash, it quick and easy, transfer points and book with partners is way over his head.

Its not rocket science. Even a redemption for a hyatt stay will probably net more value.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

jsucool76 — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 06:15:03 GMT

I'm gonna side with red here.

A quick transfer of 50k points to hyatt can get you substantially more than $500 in value, and if OP is already travelling it makes sense.

OP I would suggest looking for a flight you plan on taking or a place in which you plan on staying in at some point. Check if either marriott, IHG, or hyatt has hotels where you'll be, see how much redemptions with points would cost.

Check if the airlines making the flights you're going to be purchasing are transfer partners of chase ultimate rewards. See how many miles it would cost.

As red said, it's not rocket science, and there are more than enough willing and knowledgeable members here on MyFico to assist if you need it. I'm all for you doing what you want with your points, but if you're looking to make your points worth more than the minimum, give us some info on your upcoming travels and we'll help you out =]

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 06:29:49 GMT

The only thing that would make UR more valuable is adding Starwood as 1:1 xfer partner.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 06:31:30 GMT

I still see it as a free flight. Whether it costs 400 or 500 after fees is less relevant. But booking thru a site and using the card to pay for it to gain more points for a NICE legit vacation in the future is the "ticket" as well. I am very green to this aspect too. One way domestic flights on the west coast i am confused on myself.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 06:35:22 GMT

Depending on where you fly, xfer to BA Avios would be a good option once you have a redemption in mind. Their redemption tiers are mileage based and they use AA for domestic. Great if they hub near you.

Re: I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

kdm31091 — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 11:41:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I still see it as a free flight. Whether it costs 400 or 500 after fees is less relevant. But booking thru a site and using the card to pay for it to gain more points for a NICE legit vacation in the future is the "ticket" as well. I am very green to this aspect too. One way domestic flights on the west coast i am confused on myself.

Generally but not always the "best" value with points comes from international, first class flights. For domestic flights, travel/point cards aren't always worth it and you again may do better with cash back.

It really just depends on your spending, how much you travel, income, etc. The CSP, and such cards, are really designed for heavy travelers. As in, flying around internationally pretty frequently and spending a lot. The redemptions pretty much benefit those people the most. So if that's you, it will make sense.

If you are talking about a couple domestic vacations a year, you may not see much extra value out of CSP vs a solid cash back card. If you take flights out of the equation, it's even worse (say you're going on a somewhat local vacation and you drive). Hotels are generally not nearly as lucrative with the point transfers on these cards. Again just depends on your goals and there is no blanket answer.