Originally Posted by
philemer
Looks like "chase will always come out ahead" failed in this case.
Well, Chase will always come out ahead, except in instances where AMEX has an extremely discounted rate vs. what's available elsewhere. I've never seen a disparity like that before, but the disparity doesn't really have anything to do with MR vs. UR. The $288 is available with cash--and I'd probably book it with cash instead of redeeming points.