Mia is right - transfer is always 1:1 while 25% bonus applies only to travel redemption thru UR.

I have a review on the enhanced card and a little comparison with Amex PR Gold in http://drcreditcard.weebly.com/chase...preferred.html

To compare two cards directly is difficult. It all depends on your spending and if you have a lot of foreign transactions. If your annual spending is just above 30K, PR Gold with the 15K point booster very likely will trump Sapphire Preferred unless you have huge spending on hotels, rental cars, etc and/or in foreign countries. If your annual spending is far beyond 30K to justify paying annual fees for both, having both will probably be a good idea.

Good write-up although you really don't net 3.21% at hotels through Ultimate Rewards (UR) as the site adds 11% to the BAR (and then rounds UP to the nearest dollar). So your net at hotels through UR is negative 7.5% (Airlines seem to be at market rates w/o the markup)

You can find specific examples here:

Chase Ultimate Reward (Sapphire Card & others) Hotel Rate inflation

That is good to know!

Most frequent travelers won't book through 3rd party anyway due to lack of stay/night credits, points, and elite benefits. I know there are exceptions. Priceline/Hotwire type of opaque booking is different though since they are lower than BAR.

Airfare booked through UR does not incur booking fees (unlike Amex Travel booking) - that is why Sapphire can rival Amex PR Gold in most airfare purchases. Of course, for some tickets you just can not get this one extra point through UR since they are not sold through 3rd party, for example Southwest, while PR Gold will still give you 3x.

Just got my first bill, and timeshare fees, dining out and car rental all posted at 2X points. This is an awfully good card!

I guess thats what I meant. If you purchase a ticket off their site you get better rate than amex. You get 15k bonus end of the year if yuo reach 30k spending but keep in mind Amex charges $175 membership fee compared to chase $95. I think this card is for someone who likes to get cash back or gift cards or even who book airfair online with them. :)

timeshare fees
 

Was this an annual maintenance timeshare fee, or was this fees at a timeshare while staying there? My MF isn't due until Dec 1st and I'm hoping to confirm that the MF get 2x points before I pick which card to use.

Thanks

Transferring points
 

I am considering applying fora Chase Sapphire card for me and also for my wife. I wanted to use the points for Hyatt rewards. Is it possible to transfer points between Chase Sapphire accounts? If we each get 50k, can she transfer hers to me so I have 100k? I feel like it would be easier to book hotels (or flights, but right now I'm thinking about hotels) with all the points in one bucket.

Thanks.

Don't bother. Either of you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points into any transfer partner account, i.e., you can transfer your Chase UR points to your wife's Hyatt account.

Also, welcome to FT!

It was the maintenance fee...which I paid early to get the $3K spend quickly.

Thanks beltway! Actually that makes much more sense now that I think about it.

Thanks!
 

Thanks for confirming the double points. That is awesome news. My MF aren't due until Dec 1st. I'll have the spend done on all my current cards by then, but I'll be glad to get 2x.

Anita

? Slightly confused...
 

So here's another question. I just applied for the Sapphire card for me and separately for my wife online. I got "decision pending", saying they'll tell me within 10 to 30 days. My wife got approved immeidately. Is that weird? The only card we've opened recently is the Amex Platinum (which we both opened a couple of weeks ago). I have the UMP Chase Visa from back in the day, but I opened that 5+ years ago -- is there any chance that's keeping me form getting approved for the Sapphire? is there any way I can call or otherwise expedite the decision on my card

I've found that with Chase, the specific language that they use on the automated message telling you your status is pretty specific to your situation. If they say "next 2 weeks" it means that it's still pending and a decision hasn't been made, usually just going through some verification stuff. If they say "14 days" it means that your app has been denied, and that you'll get a letter in the mail telling you why.

My message said the applicaiton was pending but that they would try to tell me within 10 days, but that in some cases it could take as many as 30 days. Any idea if that's code for something specific?

If you want to appeal/inquire as to the status, a number of people have had great lucking calling 888-245-0625. That's the department who makes the call and can tell you the status, and can sometimes approve (or disapprove you) during the call.