bulls71986

Hi,
I am new to this so any input is appreciated. I currently have Chase Freedom with over 100,000 points in my account. (I also have Chase Southwest). I have been reading up a little bit and found out the only way I can transfer these to a partner program is by getting a different card with ultimate rewards. I am most interested in using points for miles/trips.

Are Chase's Ink Bold and Ink Plus the best options? I see right now both have a 50,000 pt bonus. I could transfer my Ultimate Rewards points from my Freedom card to the Ink card and then transfer those to United, is my understanding. Is one card better than the other?

Should I be looking into another option or do you guys think this would be the best option for me as I already have all those points with Freedom?

Thank you in advance

wripro

Unless you specifically want a business card I would recommend getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. The bonus is only 40K UR points but it's a much more useful card for everyday spend and you get 2.14 points for every dollar spent on travel and dining out.

bribro

Compare the bonus categories of CSP (2x dining and travel) to Ink Bold/Plus (2x gas/hotels, 5x office supplies, telephone, internet & cable) then choose the one that's best for you. Or do what everyone else does and get both. Getting approved for a Chase personal card and business card on the same day is possible.

bulls71986

That would put me at 4 Chase cards. I would ultimately hold on to the Freedom card since I've had that the longest and most likely hold on to SWA. How long should I hold on to CSP or Bold before cancelling (assuming I get both bonus points). I would want to cancel 1 of the 2 new cards eventually.

bribro

4 Chase cards isn't that many. I have 9. Having 2 existing Chase cards actually helps you get approved for the CSP and Ink Bold/Plus simultaneously because you have a (presumably) positive history with them. You will likely need to do recon for the business card though.

You can cancel either the CSP or Plus/Bold up to 14 months after approval and avoid any annual fees. It may make sense to downgrade the CSP to a CS and keep it as a 2x dining card, then keep the Plus/Bold for transferability. You could also get a retention offer on the Bold/Plus and avoid the AF that way as well, thus not paying any AFs for at least 2 years.

Any reason for keeping the SWA card? The CSP is a better rewards card in all situations, including purchases on SWA itself. The SWA CC is only good if you spend enough for CP or want the A List stuff with the Premier card.

bulls71986

Thank you for the insight. I really only have the SWA to get free flights but since it seems like there are much better options to do so I may cancel in March when my annual payment comes up. I currently have SWA Plus and I was thinking about going for the CP next year in 2015. I think it makes more sense not to concentrate on other points/miles since they all go the same place and United actually has more options. If I want to do CP I can apply for premier and get the 50,000 miles at some other point

bribro

You know Southwest is one of UR's transfer partners, right? That's why the SWA card is essentially worthless once you get a CSP. CSP is 2.14x on dining and travel (including SWA purchases), while SWA is 2x on only SWA purchases. So there's absolutely no reason to put any spend on the SWA, unless you are gunning for CP. I'd cancel the SWA Plus to avoid the AF, then go for the SWA Premier Personal AND Business early next year (assuming 50k offer are around) to get you 95% of the way to a CP.

oyouno

oh nvm I thought freedom points were the same as UR points.

bribro

They are.