Chase Trifecta question

[coreysw12]

Let's say your Freedom Unlimited card is over a year old, and the intro 3% reward has been reduced to 1.5%.

Is there still a worthwhile Trifecta to have, at that point?

It seems to me that most of us would benefit the most from just having just 2 Chase cards, the Freedom (not FU) and Sapphire, at that point. The FU is, IMHO, a relatively useless card after 1 year, since there are any number of 2%+ cards available from other banks.

Or, is the 1.5% reward on the FU still worth keeping around when you have a CSR 1.5x (not CSP 1.25x) to transfer to points to? According to my napkin math, 1.5% times 150% = 2.25%.... which is very good, but only barely better than a Citi Doubelcash, and not as good as a Alliant 2.5% SV (that does have a $95 AF). Thoughts?

Is the trifecta a worthwhile longterm endeavor, or is it really only useful during the first year?

[Anonymous]

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@coreysw12 wrote:

Let's say your Freedom Unlimited card is over a year old, and the intro 3% reward has been reduced to 1.5%.

Is there still a worthwhile Trifecta to have, at that point?

It seems to me that most of us would benefit the most from just having just 2 Chase cards, the Freedom (not FU) and Sapphire, at that point. The FU is, IMHO, a relatively useless card after 1 year, since there are any number of 2%+ cards available from other banks.

Or, is the 1.5% reward on the FU still worth keeping around when you have a CSR 1.5x (not CSP 1.25x) to transfer to points to? According to my napkin math, 1.5% times 150% = 2.25%.... which is very good, but only barely better than a Citi Doubelcash, and not as good as a Alliant 2.5% SV (that does have a $95 AF). Thoughts?

Is the trifecta a worthwhile longterm endeavor, or is it really only useful during the first year?

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The 3x on FU is new, and people have wanted the trifecta for a long time, which sort of answers the question!

Yes, with the CSR, the 1.5 UR becomes 2.25cents via the portal, and with no AF, that's worthwhile.   If you transfer points, it can be worth more as well.

For some, if you only have 2 including CSR, the CFU might be better than the Freedom, depending how easy it is to meet category spend (and CFU is uncapped)

[coreysw12]

Thanks, that makes sense!

The other card I had in mind is the Alliant 2.5% (3% the first year) signature visa. Seems like it's more valuable than the FU, even with a trifecta. Especially when the 2.5% is real cash-back, not limited to spend in the Chase travel portal. But of course, has a $95 AF vs $0, so you'd have to spend something like $38,000 a year on it before it comes out ahead in that regard

[Anonymous]

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@coreysw12 wrote:

Thanks, that makes sense!

The other card I had in mind is the Alliant 2.5% (3% the first year) signature visa. Seems like it's more valuable than the FU, even with a trifecta. Especially when the 2.5% is real cash-back, not limited to spend in the Chase travel portal

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I see you updated the post making the same points (with correct math unlike mine!)

[coreysw12]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@coreysw12 wrote:

Thanks, that makes sense!

The other card I had in mind is the Alliant 2.5% (3% the first year) signature visa. Seems like it's more valuable than the FU, even with a trifecta. Especially when the 2.5% is real cash-back, not limited to spend in the Chase travel portal

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I see you updated the post making the same points (with correct math unlike mine!)

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I'm a notorious ninja-editor! haha

[mongstradamus]

1.5x UR > 2% cash back if you are using UR the way they are meant to be used.

[coreysw12]

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@mongstradamus wrote:

1.5x UR > 2% cash back if you are using UR the way they are meant to be used.

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I think it's 2.25% if you use them the way they're meant to be used - but Alliant SV is 2.5% cash back, and you can use them any way you want

[mongstradamus]

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@coreysw12 wrote:

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@mongstradamus wrote:

1.5x UR > 2% cash back if you are using UR the way they are meant to be used.

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I think it's 2.25% if you use them the way they're meant to be used - but Alliant SV is 2.5% cash back, and you can use them any way you want

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no i mean use UR for transfer partners, you can usually get 5x value that way at the very least.

[Anonymous]

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@coreysw12 wrote:

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@mongstradamus wrote:

1.5x UR > 2% cash back if you are using UR the way they are meant to be used.

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I think it's 2.25% if you use them the way they're meant to be used - but Alliant SV is 2.5% cash back, and you can use them any way you want

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The booking earns miles if you have a flyer program, so close to 2.5% than 2.25%.

You can transfer to partner airlines, it COULD earn much more than 1.5cpp, but truth is all airline are racing to devalue the points, and its very difficult to find a trip giving you >1.5cpp outside an international business ticket.

[NRB525]

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@coreysw12 wrote:

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@mongstradamus wrote:

1.5x UR > 2% cash back if you are using UR the way they are meant to be used.

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I think it's 2.25% if you use them the way they're meant to be used - but Alliant SV is 2.5% cash back, and you can use them any way you want

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Comparing cash back to travel points is apples to steak. 

With cash back, you use the $15 to pay for what you want.  

With travel points, one might earn points in a airline or hotel program from business travel, and add to it from credit card earning. 

So while technically the earn rate on UR and MR ( and even co-brand airline or hotel cards ) can be tagged as a cents-per-point amount, the points are also useful to top up points earned elsewhere to those programs.  So earning buckets of CC points that can be added to others, is a different goal from a cash back check.