Sapphire v. MileagePlus Explorer
 

I'm new to the somewhat frequent flyer club. I've logged 3 cross country jaunts this year for weddings and am looking at more in the next few years.

My perimeters:
* Minimum 6 round trips from PDX to DCA or IAD for business. Non stops preferred.
* Will most likely have to check at least 1 bag each way
* Desire the most efficient/least exhausting trip door to door. I will be driving 2.5 hours to get to the PDX airport and leaving my car in extended parking or with a friend in Portland.

Have I chosen the best Airlines for my needs?
Through my research its seems that united/continental seem to have the most schedules on this route. Southwest also does the route but their best connection times for east are 6.5 hours and going westbound about 8. This seriously eats into my time on the ground, as does renting the car in BWI instead of VA, most of my friends and places to stay will be in VA.

I also intend to travel a few times a year for pleasure, though these trips are not guaranteed.

The second question becomes -
A) Is is better to have a free bag and priority boarding and have United really like me? Or B)Is it best to have the option to maximize my point earning potential by having the Sapphire & Freedom card combo.
Maximizing points seems like a lot of work for a novice like me but I think I could swing it. Note: I will have to check luggage, I am a hair stylist and will be traveling with shears. It may be that having a second set of shears in DC so not as to not have to check bags is better option, that would run me about $450 - one time cost. I will probably be living a bi-coastal life for at least 2 years.

Would love thoughts from the expert travelers out there.. this is all new to me. Better to be able to accrue the most points or have the preferential treatment?

In the chase scenario: My current credit is good 703-725 depending on which agency you ask. I think I will get approved for any card but have seen that is is good to wait at least 3 months before applying for a second card.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Welcome to Flyertalk.

Alas, a score in that range is below average in Oregon. See here:

http://www.scoreinfo.org/Your-Credit...tatistics.aspx

Before applying you may wish to examine your credit reports to see if all of the information is accurate and if there are changes you can make which would boost your score

I would go with the Sapphire/Freedom combo. If you are only considering the Mileage plus explorer card for the free bags and priority boarding, if you will be flying PDX to IAD at least 6 times a year you will be at least the lowest tier elite which will give you up to two free checked bags and priority boarding anyway so I would go with the Freedom/Sapphire for the points bonus, since you are already getting the perks as an elite anyway. Plus I remember hearing somewhere you can transfer your Sapphire points to United miles 1:1 if you prefer.

If you want nonstops from PDX-WAS, then UA is currently your only option. There's one nonstop flight from PDX to IAD each way on United. DCA is essentially prohibited by the current perimeter rule out of that airport.

Thanks for the welcome and all the info.

Mia, I am living in Virginia until January. The scores seem more in my favor here than once I'm in Oregon.

I did double check my report, there is one big bad slash on my report, I had 6 months of no payments and then go to collections on a card that wasn't being billed to the proper address. I paid in full as soon as I realized the problem existed. Would have been nice if the card had called me instead of just letting all those fees build up but then where's the profit in that?? ha.

My banker told me to call the credit agencies to get it off my record, but when I spoke to the credit program I was enrolled in they said that nothing would happen if I appealed because it was just the bad payment history that was hurting me, not that the balance wasn't paid. Should I call one of the agencies directly instead of talking to a third party service? The agent at the fraud service said that appealing can be bad because of the type of activity that puts on your report.

Is good not good enough these days to get approved for a card?

I would rather have the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom cards, but there is no right or wrong answer.

I have no personal knowledge of credit repair and disputes, but creditboards.com forums is a good place to research that. I remember The Points Guy writing an article about improving credit.

I'm sure your credit is good enough to get some credit cards, but whether it is good enough to get all the best offers, only you can find out.

Get both cards. @:-) Collect big bonus on each. ^

Check bags for free on UAL using UAL card if needed (that is,until you get status). Transfer Chase points to UAL miles and have at least 90K in UAL miles.

Don't worry if UAL likes you better depending on which card you have and use. Don't think they care.

Insurance Benefits: Sapphire Preferred vs UAL Explorer ?
 

Apologies if this has been discussed - did a search on Sapphire but could not find any threads specific to Insurance...

Probably like most of you, I have quite a number of cards, all with slightly different benefits - I am trying to put together a grid containing benefit highlights for MY cards, to remind me which one to use and when...

I recently converted from the original UAL visa card to the new Explorer card and despite all the small print (yes, I read it all... :)) the insurance benefits are pretty comprehensive.

However, I am UAL Silver Premier, so don't really need the free bag, priority checkin, priority board benefits and I'm wondering whether to try to change it for the Sapphire Preferred - problem, is that I cannot find anywhere on the Chase site that gives very detailed benefit info - particularly insurance benefits (maybe there aren't many ?).

On the UAL Explorer card, I know that I have the following Insurance benefits and would appreciate any clarification on which of these are also provided with the Sapphire preferred:

- Auto Rental CDW (primary coverage) ** I think NOT provided with Sapphire **
- Up to $100/day Baggage delay of > 18 hours
- Up to $300 hotel/food if trip delayed > 12 hours or overnight
- Purchase protection (loss/damage worldwide) - Secondary coverage
- Return Protection (to $300/item) within 90 days of US purchase
- Price protection within 90 days (printed ad or non-auction internet site)
- Extended Warranty


Thanks
Mike

Found a link that provides a detailed overview of the insurance benefits that are specific to the Sapphire Preferred Card.

http://milecards.com/2063/chase-sapp...enefits-guide/

Just got Chase Sapphire, now want UA MP Explorer
 

I accepted a targeted 50k no spend offer for the Sapphire Preferred a couple of weeks ago (December) and now want to go for the UA 50k+10k offer. Aside from this Sapphire, I've had a Chase CO free card for a few years, which began as the $85 World MasterCard and was downgraded at a renewal.

My payment history has been excellent but I never put through much spend on the CO card and now plan to shift much of my spending from Amex to the Sapphire. My original CO limit was $25k and my Sapphire was approved at about 2/3 of that limit.

If I apply for this UA card within the next week or two, can I expect an approval? I have no problem reducing the limit on my CO card (or even canceling it) which I do not use anyway. Thanks for any help.

They may approve outright, or they may put into review. Probably if it goes to review you could move some credit from one of the other cards. If you're willing to wait, 35 days from last application is often recommended. I'd be surprised if they flat out denied though, after targeting you for the other one.

Chase Sapphire or United Explorer for 1K
 

I've been looking around these forums and trying to gauge which card is the best to pick up. Little background here- I currently have an Amex Gold Rewards Plus that I've had for a number of years. I am Platinum on Starwood, Presidents Circle on Hertz, and 1K on United. Is there a particular card out there that will work best main for miles that accumulate toward United? The Amex goes 1:1 into *Wood and after the UA/CO Merger there isn't much I can do for the Airline portion anymore.

That being said, Is the United Milage Explorer card worth it for a 1K or is there a better one out there like the Sapphire. The Annual fee is something that I will take into consideration but as long as its not absurd, it will be ok.

Advice?

The transfer ratio from Membership Rewards to Starwood is 3:1. Typically there is one promotion per year at 2:1, but (to my knowledge) it has never been 1:1.

Ok- thats fine- I'm more concerned with the Airline side anyways..

UA Explorer has 2miles/$ on UA spend (and a 10k bonus at $25k spend). The only other real benefit I see for 1k iis the primary rental car insurance (and the two lounge passes)

Sapphire preferred is 2 points/$ on all travel and dining ( plus the 7% bonus). It also has more flexible transfer options.

Depending on your spending patterns, one or the other should work out better for you. You may also want to look at the Chase UA club card.