Chase Sapphire Reserve approval and limit question.

[Adkins]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Off topic here, but can someone explain the Unlimited with respect to UR?  I know it's 1.5% back on everything, but is it more with UR somehow?  Just trying to understand how the Unlimited can be the "better" option to a 2% general spend card like the Citi DC, for example.

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1.5 UR points per dollar spent on the Unlimited. You'd use the Unlimited instead of the Freedom if you're purchasing something that isn't in the Freedoms 5% category (1.5% is better than 1%) This way you can maximize points no matter what you buy. 

[bourgogne]

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@Adkins wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Off topic here, but can someone explain the Unlimited with respect to UR?  I know it's 1.5% back on everything, but is it more with UR somehow?  Just trying to understand how the Unlimited can be the "better" option to a 2% general spend card like the Citi DC, for example.

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1.5 UR points per dollar spent on the Unlimited. You'd use the Unlimited instead of the Freedom if you're purchasing something that isn't in the Freedoms 5% category (1.5% is better than 1%) This way you can maximize points no matter what you buy. 

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well said.  how do you know if you don't have lol.  the 3 cards are hard to beat but there is also a $1500 cap per quarter so its not all a bed of roses.  overall its the simplest system to manage I think and if $s are tight just get the cash.  not to thread drift here but the CIP is the hidden weapon of the lineup,  3 points per $1 on the first $150,000.  so if you know someone that ships a lot for example and you can offer a bribe of more than they would normaly get on the card they used to pay the ship cost its like vegas lol.

[Anonymous]

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@Adkins wrote:

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1.5 UR points per dollar spent on the Unlimited. You'd use the Unlimited instead of the Freedom if you're purchasing something that isn't in the Freedoms 5% category (1.5% is better than 1%) This way you can maximize points no matter what you buy. 

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I understand that, but isn't 1.5 UR points less of a value than getting 2% CB on another card?  That's the part I'm not understanding.  I've heard people say that with UR and using the trifecta the FU is a great card to have.  Perhaps if the UR are redeemed for travel or something where the value can exceed 1.5% back compared to a 2% card?

[bourgogne]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Adkins wrote:

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1.5 UR points per dollar spent on the Unlimited. You'd use the Unlimited instead of the Freedom if you're purchasing something that isn't in the Freedoms 5% category (1.5% is better than 1%) This way you can maximize points no matter what you buy. 

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I understand that, but isn't 1.5 UR points less of a value than getting 2% CB on another card?  That's the part I'm not understanding.  I've heard people say that with UR and using the trifecta the FU is a great card to have.  Perhaps if the UR are redeemed for travel or something where the value can exceed 1.5% back compared to a 2% card?

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any cash card is better than the unlimited, so in the context of cash get another card.  if one wants to travel then its a nice simple method to couple to a sapphire to supersize the value somewhat and yes there is far better that 1:1 in the UR world, doing a transfer to a partner with higher redemption is common practice.  do nothing, get miles, get cash or get points.  pick the best that aligns with ones life, pretty basic. 

[NRB525]

With CSP or CSR, you start with a nice bonus of UR points. They earn well in Travel and Dining categories, in UR points

Chase Freedom earns 5 UR points in categories depending on quarter of the year. 

Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5 UR at all times, so where not Dining, not travel, not the current Freedom quarter category, one uses the FU for the 1.5 UR everywhere else.

Then determine whether to transfer UR or redeem them through Chase Travel. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Adkins wrote:

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1.5 UR points per dollar spent on the Unlimited. You'd use the Unlimited instead of the Freedom if you're purchasing something that isn't in the Freedoms 5% category (1.5% is better than 1%) This way you can maximize points no matter what you buy. 

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I understand that, but isn't 1.5 UR points less of a value than getting 2% CB on another card?  That's the part I'm not understanding.  I've heard people say that with UR and using the trifecta the FU is a great card to have.  Perhaps if the UR are redeemed for travel or something where the value can exceed 1.5% back compared to a 2% card?

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As you suggest, the advantage is for travel, which is really the whole point of URs.

So with the CSR, going through the chase portal, using URs gives a 50% bonus, so earning 1.5UR per $ on the Unlimited, translates to 2.25c per $ when redeemed for travel this way (so better than a 2% card).   The bigger values can occur when URs are transferred to partners, earning 2 or more cents per point, so a $ spent on the Unlimited can be worth 3c (or 10 or 20, depending on the example!)

Without this type of use, Unlimited, CSP and CSR don't make a whole lot of sense (maybe apart from the bonus).  Otherwise, the CSP is just a limited 2% card with a high AF!

[Anonymous]

I use my FU more and more lately even with the $500 toy limit because I am banking URs for the future when I have CSR.  2.25% towards travel spending is righteous to me compared to my other general spend card (Discover which is currently 2% first year) so why not bank my URs for a bonus later?

The way I see it, I can get 1% from Discover now and a 1% match in March.  Or I can get 1.5% on FU now, but bank it for another say 15 months to be worth 2.25%.  The difference is 12 months total.

2.25% / 2% = +12.5% rise in value just letting them cache for a year.  That's a fantastic return on my money versus savings or risking it in investments.

After Discover's first year is over, all non-category spend will go on FU and I'll just PIF constantly until Chase CLIs me.

I value URs because I value travel more than cashback.  I regret cashing out my 15,000 UR SUB with FU before I learned I could bank them for a future CSR.

If I get CSP next year (1.25ccp for travel versus 1.5) I'll bank all of that in hopes of PCing to CSR because 1.5/1.25 = +20% increase on points if I wait a year to redeem.  That's a FANTASTIC return.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Adkins wrote:

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1.5 UR points per dollar spent on the Unlimited. You'd use the Unlimited instead of the Freedom if you're purchasing something that isn't in the Freedoms 5% category (1.5% is better than 1%) This way you can maximize points no matter what you buy. 

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I understand that, but isn't 1.5 UR points less of a value than getting 2% CB on another card?  That's the part I'm not understanding.  I've heard people say that with UR and using the trifecta the FU is a great card to have.  Perhaps if the UR are redeemed for travel or something where the value can exceed 1.5% back compared to a 2% card?

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So with the CSR, going through the chase portal, using URs gives a 50% bonus, so earning 1.5UR per $ on the Unlimited, translates to 2.25c per $ when redeemed for travel this way (so better than a 2% card).   The bigger values can occur when URs are transferred to partners, earning 2 or more cents per point, so a $ spent on the Unlimited can be worth 3c (or 10 or 20, depending on the example!)

Without this type of use, Unlimited, CSP and CSR don't make a whole lot of sense (maybe apart from the bonus).  Otherwise, the CSP is just a limited 2% card with a high AF!

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Thanks, that was the info I was looking for!

[pastnow123]

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@Anonymous wrote:
aren’t some perks on CSR calendar year? If so I’d say it doesn’t matter but you’ll miss out on 2017 perks either way since it’s almost the end.

I’d just bite the bullet and app. With your profile you seem like a shoe-in!

Report back please.

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I think perks such as travel credit have been changed to follow anniverary, rather than calendar year, right? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. 

[sjt]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Off topic here, but can someone explain the Unlimited with respect to UR?  I know it's 1.5% back on everything, but is it more with UR somehow?  Just trying to understand how the Unlimited can be the "better" option to a 2% general spend card like the Citi DC, for example.

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I think the only advantage is that you can transfer the points to UR account.