Wilbur

I called up and opted out.

The process was very painless, less than three minutes. I gave them my card number and confirmed to them that I had reviewed the information about the Sapphire card and was making an informed decision.

Reasons:

1. I like cash. I redeem the Chase Freedom card's $250 cash back check for $200 in reward points at least once a quarter, so in effect Chase pays me a minimum of $1,000 per year to use this card.

2. The travel rewards described by the other posters are very accurate, and outside of my travel needs or patterns - I don't focus much travel on CO, BA or Marriott.

3. The other benefits and rewards listed by the Sapphire material are available to me either on the original Chase Freedom card or the SPG AmEx, so they duplicate existing services.

Other:

If the $250 cash back check for $200 reward points redemption ever ends, I will seek out another cash back card for the best available rate of cash rewards.

Other cards in use:

- SPG AmEx (for travel rewards),
- Citi AAdvantage (credit score maintenance/oldest card - useless for travel - fraud alerts)

FreFly

I also got a notice that my Freedom card will be "upgraded" to Sapphire. A CS representative I talked to claims there is no way to opt out of this as Freedom card is being discontinued.

Is this correct? If it is, buy buy Chase!

Cow 98765

This is what a rep told me. When my Chase Freedom card becomes a Sapphire card, I will downgrade use to a backup card. The new card is just mediocre, nothing exciting.

frank_mass

So about 3 months ago I called chase and someone sold me BIG TIME on the card. I would recieve 3x points on airfare and 2x on travel (hotel and cars) if I booked through the website and 2x on airfare all the time

I do a lot of traveling so this seemed like agreat deal, so off I went charging and travelling. Recently I called Chase (6 times ) and half the time the people on the phone describe the deal I got the other time they dont.... So I asked to speak to a manager.... I asked her to listen to the voice recordings of the calls. 3 days later she called me back, telling me that she listed and the conversations never occurred and basically all you get is 1% back..... and there was NOONE else I could talk to about it

So yesterday I called again and the person that answered the phone described what I mentioned above......

So I guess what *isses me off is that she lied to me and that you cant get a clear story from Chase about this.....

Does anyone have any advice how to handle this, I guess I could write Deb Walden
Executive Vice President

and the better business .

I guess I dont see any advantage to this card, am I missing something?

thanks Frank

mia

Welcome to Flyertalk. Do you have Chase Sapphire -or- Chase Sapphire Preferred?

http://www.chasesapphire.com/

If you have been booking airfare through their site there is no question you are entitled to an additional point per dollar on those transactions, and if you have the Preferred version you are entitled to a 10,000 point bonus after spending $50,000 in a year. However, I don't see anything in the description of either card that even resembles 3x points on travel booked through their site or 2x on airfare booked elsewhere.

When you called Chase recently what did you say that caused the agent to recite these features? Did you identify yourself as a cardholder and ask for a recap of your benefits, or did you say you were interested in applying?

frank_mass

I said I was a card holder and he sold me on how great the card is...

btw thanks for the welcome,

subsequent calls also led me to beleive that you got extra pts for hotel and car rentals...... These calls are all recorded.....

even after the supervisor claimed they didnt occur, I called again, spoke to another supervisior and he initailly led me to beleive in the extra pts for travel...........basically the customer service is confused and I wish they would just fess up and admit it

the bottom line is: I dont see any real advantage to this card................. over discover or whatever

kausa

If you use the rewards for booking travel through their website, do you ever get a receipt for the original amount?

Say I have 20000 points, this can be used towards a $250 credit on flights since there is a 25% bonus on travel redemption. If I book a flight for $1000, will I ever get a receipt that shows the original $1000 or will the receipt show $750?

This issues is critical for me to be able to book through their web-page and be reimbursed for the full amount for work-related travel.

stupenal

My chase cash plus rewards card has not yet been upgraded, although I did recently receive a new card in the mail. I checked my chase rewards options online today, and noted I can still redeem 5,000 points for a $50 check (Cash). I think I'm still earning 5% everyday spending plus 1% all others, so crossing my fingers it'll continue.

JeffISU

I'm also considering the base Sapphire if/when they get rid of my current Cash Plus card. I used to have a Freedom as well but that got closed by Chase for inactivity (D'Oh!) The SPG AMEX is my primary, so this card would be almost exclusively for anywhere that doesn't take AMEX. That being said, looking though the rewards this card is intriguing. Although the Schwab Visa earns 2% cash back compared to 1% on this card it'd allow me to keep a history/higher limit with Chase and not deal with another bank.

Reading in the terms, it says 25,000 points can be redeemed for a $335 air ticket. Anyone know if this is base fare then I pay all taxes (ala PremierPass)? Or if this includes taxes/fees? (For a domestic ticket this seems like about a $250 base fare + all the taxes/fees.) It also states strangely you may not upgrade travel arrangements?! So do the tickets redeemed even earn miles?

Other notable benefits on the base card I see are Travel Delay, Lost Luggage, Delayed Luggage (> 18 hrs!), roadside dispatch, price protection, and return protection. Many of these are unavailable on most cards w/o an annual fee. Anyone have access to more T&C for these benefits? I'd assume roadside dispatch isn't a real covered benefit since it states they'll provide a referral. Although most of these I have with SPG AMEX too.

subeez

I just read through the fineprint of the Sapphire card and there is no 5 points for $1 dollar spent at grocery stores and drugstores as there was with the old card. I think this is major drawback. It seems to be a better card if you travel a lot (and purchase through their website).

Are there any cards that still have the 5:1 for everyday spending?

LAX

Is this only a feature of a particular Chase card? Can you provide a link? I would be interested in redeeming for travel via Chase if it give a 25% bonus. TIA.

LAX

GoGreen

I applied online and got the Chase Sapphire preferred card. I was disappointed that the 25K initial bonus point offer was no longer there, but I was supposed to get 15K bonus points after first purchase. Now Chase CSR's are telling me there was no such offer. I do see a current offer for 15K bonus points after spending 1K within first three months. Wouldn't you know this is the time when I can't find my print copy of the initial offer. Does anyone have one they could share? Otherwise I may have to spend another $997 to meet the 1K spend, and send them the print from that offer (which is a really bad print, because it's a pop-up on top of something else so hard to read, they might deny that too). If you can help please post or PM me -- thanks everyone!

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Blanche DuBois

kausa

Yes, seems like this is for the Sapphire Preferred Card only:


http://cache.u47.net/11703/sapphire/downloads/Sapphire%20Preferred%20Product%20Benefits%20Guide. pdf

From Page 6 of the Benefits Guide:

And to answer my own original question (whether you ever get a receipt showing the original dollar amount, useful wto hahen you are reimbursed for travel expenses): Yes.

I booked a MR on UA using points, the UR online tool is very straightforward, seems to have access to the full inventory of flights and allows you to pay for the flight using a combination of point redemption and cash. I booked the MR using points only, providing my MP number, and it showed up under My Itineraries on united.com. The online receipt you get there shows the original Dollar amount (It's just a regular booking from UA's perspective).

ddfr

I first noticed this card yesterday and am considering trying it.

However, while I saw that you can get a bonus for taking this card, I can't seem to find how (and for what quantities) you can redeem these points.

Could someone please tell me or email me a link for this?

Thanks

TAHKUCT

http://www.chasesapphire.com/ultimate-rewards/