topic Re: UR points redemption in Credit Cards

UR points redemption

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:41:42 GMT

I know there has been a lot of debate on here lately regarding UR vs MR point values, I will always back up the MR program not necessairly that it is more valuable than UR but the fact that either way it is still very valuable.

So I thought I would share an experience redeeming UR points today, I was looking at booking a round trip ticket from AR to NC in April to visit of my good friends (my best man in fact) that is in the Marines.

The cost of the ticket from united.com was 680$, I was able to book it for 25k miles on a saver award. this is a value of 2.7 cents per point. This means that on Dining and Travel I have been earning the equilivent of 5.4% back on my CSP. This is better than any straight cash back card including the Discover IT with the rotating 5% category and all most 3x the value of the Fidelity AMEX (even beats it on the straight 1 point back spend).

Just thought I would post my experience.

Re: UR points redemption

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:47:02 GMT

I don't think there is much debate that UR points are much more valuable then MR points.

Re: UR points redemption

nickn86 — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:47:39 GMT

Do UR points transfer instantly the way MR points do?

Re: UR points redemption

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:51:19 GMT

Yes, at least mine did to United.

Again not to start a debate because I have got a better redemption value than this out or MR points before, just letting everyone know about my latest experience

Re: UR points redemption

CreditScholar — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:53:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Yes, at least mine did to United.

Again not to start a debate because I have got a better redemption value than this out or MR points before, just letting everyone know about my latest experience

+1. Mine transferred instantly to Hyatt. It seems as if most transfer partners are instant.

Re: UR points redemption

HiLine — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 04:02:36 GMT

Nice redemption! If you can always redeem United miles at that rate, wouldn't the United Explorer trump just about any other card?

Re: UR points redemption

CreditScholar — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 04:13:24 GMT

@HiLine wrote:
Nice redemption! If you can always redeem United miles at that rate, wouldn't the United Explorer trump just about any other card?

Not exactly, since from a pure earnings perspective the CSR is superior in the travel and dining categories. It also has the flexibility to transfer to other high value partners.

I recently booked a stay at the Park Hyatt in Seoul, which as a category 4 hotel costs 15k points per night. That same room is currently going for $438 (including all taxes), netting a value of 2.9 cpp. On dining/travel purchases, it'd be returning 6.2% (once the 7% dividend is factored in).

I can't speak for MR, but so far UR is offering fantastic value.

Re: UR points redemption

HiLine — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:04:35 GMT

@CreditScholar wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
Nice redemption! If you can always redeem United miles at that rate, wouldn't the United Explorer trump just about any other card?
Not exactly, since from a pure earnings perspective the CSR is superior in the travel and dining categories. It also has the flexibility to transfer to other high value partners.

I recently booked a stay at the Park Hyatt in Seoul, which as a category 4 hotel costs 15k points per night. That same room is currently going for $438 (including all taxes), netting a value of 2.9 cpp. On dining/travel purchases, it'd be returning 6.2% (once the 7% dividend is factored in).

I can't speak for MR, but so far UR is offering fantastic value.

By "any other card", I meant any card other than the CSP and the United Explorer

Re: UR points redemption

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:13:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I know there has been a lot of debate on here lately regarding UR vs MR point values, I will always back up the MR program not necessairly that it is more valuable than UR but the fact that either way it is still very valuable.

So I thought I would share an experience redeeming UR points today, I was looking at booking a round trip ticket from AR to NC in April to visit of my good friends (my best man in fact) that is in the Marines.

The cost of the ticket from united.com was 680$, I was able to book it for 25k miles on a saver award. this is a value of 2.7 cents per point. This means that on Dining and Travel I have been earning the equilivent of 5.4% back on my CSP. This is better than any straight cash back card including the Discover IT with the rotating 5% category and all most 3x the value of the Fidelity AMEX (even beats it on the straight 1 point back spend).

Just thought I would post my experience.

You'll always get the best redemption value transferring to airlines or hotels vs. getting cashback. If you don't already have it, you can get 5% on Chase Freedom rotating categories and then transfer those points to UR as well.

Re: UR points redemption

CreditScholar — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:33:19 GMT

@HiLine wrote:
@CreditScholar wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
Nice redemption! If you can always redeem United miles at that rate, wouldn't the United Explorer trump just about any other card?
Not exactly, since from a pure earnings perspective the CSR is superior in the travel and dining categories. It also has the flexibility to transfer to other high value partners.

I recently booked a stay at the Park Hyatt in Seoul, which as a category 4 hotel costs 15k points per night. That same room is currently going for $438 (including all taxes), netting a value of 2.9 cpp. On dining/travel purchases, it'd be returning 6.2% (once the 7% dividend is factored in).

I can't speak for MR, but so far UR is offering fantastic value.
By "any other card", I meant any card other than the CSP and the United Explorer

How about the Ink Bold/Plus, JPM Select and Palladium? They use UR too

Re: UR points redemption

CreditScholar — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:37:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I know there has been a lot of debate on here lately regarding UR vs MR point values, I will always back up the MR program not necessairly that it is more valuable than UR but the fact that either way it is still very valuable.

So I thought I would share an experience redeeming UR points today, I was looking at booking a round trip ticket from AR to NC in April to visit of my good friends (my best man in fact) that is in the Marines.

The cost of the ticket from united.com was 680$, I was able to book it for 25k miles on a saver award. this is a value of 2.7 cents per point. This means that on Dining and Travel I have been earning the equilivent of 5.4% back on my CSP. This is better than any straight cash back card including the Discover IT with the rotating 5% category and all most 3x the value of the Fidelity AMEX (even beats it on the straight 1 point back spend).

Just thought I would post my experience.
You'll always get the best redemption value transferring to airlines or hotels vs. getting cashback. If you don't already have it, you can get 5% on Chase Freedom rotating categories and then transfer those points to UR as well.

Perhaps I'm in the minority here, but I really dispise rotating category cards.

I really can't be bothered swapping out cards that often, especially when some of them have such low quaterly caps. Thr random changing nature of the categories also means that some months it won't get much use, while in others I'll blow through the cap in a day or two. For me, consistancy and ease of use > the extra points gained.

The other thing is that given the Freedom is a Chase card, it occupies a valuable slot. Chase won't issue you an umlimited number of cards, so picking which few you keep is something to be mindful of.

Re: UR points redemption

HiLine — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:42:06 GMT

Haha you may as well count the Freedom in combination with any of those cards. I should've said non-UR earning cards
Seriously, only the Amex Gold and Platinum can possibly compete, since they give 3 MR points per dollar spent on travel booking on their site, and MR points are transferable to frequent flier programs.

Re: UR points redemption

CreditScholar — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 05:50:00 GMT

@HiLine wrote:
Haha you may as well count the Freedom in combination with any of those cards. I should've said non-UR earning cards
Seriously, only the Amex Gold and Platinum can possibly compete, since they give 3 MR points per dollar spent on travel booking on their site, and MR points are transferable to frequent flier programs.

Speaking of Amex MR, I ran across something interesting a few months ago and am contemplating whether or not it's worth it.

Amex issues a revolver here called the Platinum Edge, which gives 3x on groceries, 2x on gas and 1x on everything else with $149 AF. The two of us spend around $300 per week on groceries and around $500 per month on gas (though that is mostly reimbursed by my employer).

I'm wondering if it's worth adding it to my rotation or not, factoring in the extra hassle plus lost United and UR points in favor of MR.

Re: UR points redemption

distantarray — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:22:51 GMT

@CreditScholar wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
Haha you may as well count the Freedom in combination with any of those cards. I should've said non-UR earning cards
Seriously, only the Amex Gold and Platinum can possibly compete, since they give 3 MR points per dollar spent on travel booking on their site, and MR points are transferable to frequent flier programs.
Speaking of Amex MR, I ran across something interesting a few months ago and am contemplating whether or not it's worth it.

Amex issues a revolver here called the Platinum Edge, which gives 3x on groceries, 2x on gas and 1x on everything else with $149 AF. The two of us spend around $300 per week on groceries and around $500 per month on gas (though that is mostly reimbursed by my employer).

I'm wondering if it's worth adding it to my rotation or not, factoring in the extra hassle plus lost United and UR points in favor of MR.

I'm pretty sure it's an Austrillian thing

I get upto 4.3 cpp (cents per point) transfering UR to United to saver award to Vietnam where it can run towards 2,800 in high season (when I usually travel)

Also I tried checking Ritz Carlton 3.3 cpp for a night isn't bad either.

But a good contender is Citi Foward + Premier for domestic travel, 5x categories + 33% bonus = 6.65 cents rebate for dining out, movies, music, bookstore, amazon.

So $5,000 spent dining out would get you a $325 ticket (25,000 points) but then I'm pretty sure southwest would beat it (i don't use southwest)

Re: UR points redemption

CreditScholar — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:34:24 GMT

@distantarray wrote:
@CreditScholar wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
Haha you may as well count the Freedom in combination with any of those cards. I should've said non-UR earning cards
Seriously, only the Amex Gold and Platinum can possibly compete, since they give 3 MR points per dollar spent on travel booking on their site, and MR points are transferable to frequent flier programs.
Speaking of Amex MR, I ran across something interesting a few months ago and am contemplating whether or not it's worth it.

Amex issues a revolver here called the Platinum Edge, which gives 3x on groceries, 2x on gas and 1x on everything else with $149 AF. The two of us spend around $300 per week on groceries and around $500 per month on gas (though that is mostly reimbursed by my employer).

I'm wondering if it's worth adding it to my rotation or not, factoring in the extra hassle plus lost United and UR points in favor of MR.
I'm pretty sure it's an Austrillian thing

I get upto 4.3 cpp (cents per point) transfering UR to United to saver award to Vietnam where it can run towards 2,800 in high season (when I usually travel)

Also I tried checking Ritz Carlton 3.3 cpp for a night isn't bad either.

But a good contender is Citi Foward + Premier for domestic travel, 5x categories + 33% bonus = 6.65 cents rebate for dining out, movies, music, bookstore, amazon.

So $5,000 spent dining out would get you a $325 ticket (25,000 points) but then I'm pretty sure southwest would beat it (i don't use southwest)

It is an Aussie-issued card, but that's ok for me since I spend the majority of the year here. I'm just wondering if it's even worth bothering with. Acceptance is limited to major chains (supermarkets, gas stations, food outlets such as McDonalds) and other large companies (department stores, utility companies, telecom, government, etc.). Most places don't take AMEX at all.

4.3 cpp is a good return, but is the $2800 for Y or J? For such a long trip, J or F would be much more comfortable. Also which Ritz were you referring to at 3.3 cpp? I've rarely found values that even come close to that.

Re: UR points redemption

distantarray — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:37:54 GMT

@CreditScholar wrote:
@distantarray wrote:
@CreditScholar wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
Haha you may as well count the Freedom in combination with any of those cards. I should've said non-UR earning cards
Seriously, only the Amex Gold and Platinum can possibly compete, since they give 3 MR points per dollar spent on travel booking on their site, and MR points are transferable to frequent flier programs.
Speaking of Amex MR, I ran across something interesting a few months ago and am contemplating whether or not it's worth it.

Amex issues a revolver here called the Platinum Edge, which gives 3x on groceries, 2x on gas and 1x on everything else with $149 AF. The two of us spend around $300 per week on groceries and around $500 per month on gas (though that is mostly reimbursed by my employer).

I'm wondering if it's worth adding it to my rotation or not, factoring in the extra hassle plus lost United and UR points in favor of MR.
I'm pretty sure it's an Austrillian thing

I get upto 4.3 cpp (cents per point) transfering UR to United to saver award to Vietnam where it can run towards 2,800 in high season (when I usually travel)

Also I tried checking Ritz Carlton 3.3 cpp for a night isn't bad either.

But a good contender is Citi Foward + Premier for domestic travel, 5x categories + 33% bonus = 6.65 cents rebate for dining out, movies, music, bookstore, amazon.

So $5,000 spent dining out would get you a $325 ticket (25,000 points) but then I'm pretty sure southwest would beat it (i don't use southwest)
It is an Aussie-issued card, but that's ok for me since I spend the majority of the year here. I'm just wondering if it's even worth bothering with. Acceptance is limited to major chains (supermarkets, gas stations, food outlets such as McDonalds) and other large companies (department stores, utility companies, telecom, government, etc.). Most places don't take AMEX at all.

4.3 cpp is a good return, but is the $2800 for Y or J? For such a long trip, J or F would be much more comfortable. Also which Ritz were you referring to at 3.3 cpp? I've rarely found values that even come close to that.

Not sure which one just in Miami I found one just to see, they wanted 30,000 points for $1080 a night room.

Re: UR points redemption

CreditScholar — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 06:40:19 GMT

@distantarray wrote:
@CreditScholar wrote:
@distantarray wrote:
@CreditScholar wrote:
@HiLine wrote:
Haha you may as well count the Freedom in combination with any of those cards. I should've said non-UR earning cards
Seriously, only the Amex Gold and Platinum can possibly compete, since they give 3 MR points per dollar spent on travel booking on their site, and MR points are transferable to frequent flier programs.
Speaking of Amex MR, I ran across something interesting a few months ago and am contemplating whether or not it's worth it.

Amex issues a revolver here called the Platinum Edge, which gives 3x on groceries, 2x on gas and 1x on everything else with $149 AF. The two of us spend around $300 per week on groceries and around $500 per month on gas (though that is mostly reimbursed by my employer).

I'm wondering if it's worth adding it to my rotation or not, factoring in the extra hassle plus lost United and UR points in favor of MR.
I'm pretty sure it's an Austrillian thing

I get upto 4.3 cpp (cents per point) transfering UR to United to saver award to Vietnam where it can run towards 2,800 in high season (when I usually travel)

Also I tried checking Ritz Carlton 3.3 cpp for a night isn't bad either.

But a good contender is Citi Foward + Premier for domestic travel, 5x categories + 33% bonus = 6.65 cents rebate for dining out, movies, music, bookstore, amazon.

So $5,000 spent dining out would get you a $325 ticket (25,000 points) but then I'm pretty sure southwest would beat it (i don't use southwest)
It is an Aussie-issued card, but that's ok for me since I spend the majority of the year here. I'm just wondering if it's even worth bothering with. Acceptance is limited to major chains (supermarkets, gas stations, food outlets such as McDonalds) and other large companies (department stores, utility companies, telecom, government, etc.). Most places don't take AMEX at all.

4.3 cpp is a good return, but is the $2800 for Y or J? For such a long trip, J or F would be much more comfortable. Also which Ritz were you referring to at 3.3 cpp? I've rarely found values that even come close to that.
Not sure which one just in Miami I found one just to see, they wanted 30,000 points for $1080 a night room.

Ugh... Miami. Here I was hoping for a good value for those RCR/Marriott points, but I honestly can't stand the beach. You got my hopes up for a moment only to shoot me down. How cruel!

Re: UR points redemption

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:07:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I know there has been a lot of debate on here lately regarding UR vs MR point values, I will always back up the MR program not necessairly that it is more valuable than UR but the fact that either way it is still very valuable.

So I thought I would share an experience redeeming UR points today, I was looking at booking a round trip ticket from AR to NC in April to visit of my good friends (my best man in fact) that is in the Marines.

The cost of the ticket from united.com was 680$, I was able to book it for 25k miles on a saver award. this is a value of 2.7 cents per point. This means that on Dining and Travel I have been earning the equilivent of 5.4% back on my CSP. This is better than any straight cash back card including the Discover IT with the rotating 5% category and all most 3x the value of the Fidelity AMEX (even beats it on the straight 1 point back spend).

Just thought I would post my experience.
You'll always get the best redemption value transferring to airlines or hotels vs. getting cashback. If you don't already have it, you can get 5% on Chase Freedom rotating categories and then transfer those points to UR as well.

I think this will be my next card to app for, just for the rotating categories. although I would like to have a BOA or Citi card to diversity my portfolio... Choices, Choices!

Re: UR points redemption

Open123 — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:16:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I know there has been a lot of debate on here lately regarding UR vs MR point values, I will always back up the MR program not necessairly that it is more valuable than UR but the fact that either way it is still very valuable.

In general with all things being equal, I think the UR program is more valuable than the MR one.

This is also becuase the CSP (or, Ink Bold), offers a better value than anything Amex has to offer, except for the unique charge card characteristics offered only by Amex. In time, we'll see if Chase handles the charge card as well as Amex.

The only times when MR points are of a greater value than UR is when you capitalize on a bonus transfer and find a premium cabin on a certain route. This is certainly the exception, rather than the rule.

Re: UR points redemption

Cdnewmanpac — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:26:44 GMT

@CreditScholar wrote:

The other thing is that given the Freedom is a Chase card, it occupies a valuable slot. Chase won't issue you an umlimited number of cards, so picking which few you keep is something to be mindful of.

One of the advantages of UR that nobody seems to mention is that you can transfer points between spouses. So you can get the CSP and have SO get a Freedom. Or you get an Ink, she gets an Ink Bold. Then transfer all UR points to one account and use that to transfer to partners. My wife is thinking of getting an Ink or Ink Bold for the consulting work she does. She doesn't spend enough on office supplies/phone/etc. to make UR work independently for her. But transfering the sign up bonus plus whatever points she does earn to my UR account might be the difference between our son flying to Europe on mom's lap or in his own seat. Something to keep in mind...