Earning Extra Points: Many people with travel credit cards are earning points, but at a slow pace. Being strategic about using specific cards can really up your points earning potential! You will see people that travel with points saying that they earned 3X or 5X points. This basically means, instead of just earning 1 point per dollar spent, you would earn 3 points per dollar, or 5 points per dollar etc.
An example would be if you used a credit card on a dinner out and paid $50. Traditionally, you would earn 50 points on that purchase. But, when you are strategic, you may be able to earn up to 250 points just by using the “right” card that earns 5x points.
Trifecta: You may hear people that travel referring to the “Trifecta.” This includes a combination of 3 cards from Chase Bank. Basically, when you have 3 cards, you can maximize your earning potential consistently without having to open as many credit cards. That being said, sign up bonuses will get you places faster, but this combination of cards is great if you want to pace yourself with opening cards and/or have great earning potential between opening cards.
Honestly, it is rare for our family to only earn 1X on a purchase since we have at least 1 of each of these cards. The best thing about earning Flexible Travel Rewards points is that they can be combined. So, if I had 30,000 points earned from one card and 20,000 earned on another card from the same bank, I can combine them together to have 50,000 total points for a trip!
*One thing to keep in mind is that some cards are marketed as “cash back” earning cards. But, when you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, your earnings can be used as points toward travel with Chase Ultimate Rewards®. So, if you that a card earns 5% back, that is equivalent to 5X points.
So, let’s break down the earning potential for some of our favorite cards from Chase Bank.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- 3X on Dining
- 3X on Online Grocery Purchases
- 3X on Select Streaming Services
- 2X on Travel
- 5X on Travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
- 5% back on Office Supply Stores
- 5% back on Internet Services
- 5% back on Cable Services
- 5% back on Phone Services
- 2% back on Gas Stations and Restaurants on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases each account anniversary year
- Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
- 1.5% back on purchases made for your business
- Chase Freedom Flex® Credit Card
- *This card product is no longer available
- 3% back on Dining
- 3% back on Drugstore Purchases
- 5% back on Travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 5% back on on different categories like gas stations, grocery stores (excluding Target® and Walmart®)
*and select online merchants on up to $1,500 in total combined purchases each quarter you activate. ***This is one of the best earner cards because of these category bonuses!***
- Chase Freedom Unlimited® Credit Card
- After offer details are earned:
- 3% back on Dining after your first year or $20,000 spent
- 3% back on Drugstore Purchases after your first year or $20,000 spent
- 5% back on Travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ after your first year or $20,000 spent
- 1.5% on all other purchases after your first year or $20,000 spent
As you can see, having a combination of any of these cards can really up your points and miles game!
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