I have the Sapphire and do not understand points.

[Anonymous]

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?

[red259]

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@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?

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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. 

[Anonymous]

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. 😄

[noobody]

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.

[red259]

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@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.

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

[jsucool76]

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 =]

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[kdm31091]

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@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.

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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.