What Credit Cards I Hold & Why: Part 2 – Chase

Chase Credit Cards

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Note: There are a number of links to Credit Cards in the blog post but there are no affiliate links. Any links to credit card products in this article are purely for information only and do not constitute a recommendation.

I get quite a few messages from readers and Twitter followers asking what credit cards I like to hold and which ones I recommend so I thought a walk-through of the cards I hold (and why I hold them) could be helpful.

I have a pretty extensive list of credit cards and there are way too many for a single blog so I’ve divided them up into more manageable groups:

Chase Cards

Chase Sapphire Preferred

chase_sapphire_preferred_card

Annual Fee: $95 ($0 for first year)

Foreign Transaction Fees: No

Benefits most useful to me:

  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Earn Ultimate Rewards (UR) Points
  • Primary rental car insurance

Other benefits:

  • Trip cancellation insurance
  • Baggage delay insurance
  • Extended warranty protection
  • Purchase protection (first 120 days)

Points Earned:

  • Everyday spending – 1 UR Point/dollar
  • Travel spending – 2 UR Points/dollar
  • Dining – 2 UR Points/dollar

Why I hold the credit card:

I love Chase Ultimate Rewards points. They’re a currency that can be converted to a number of loyalty programs I value (like Hyatt Gold Passport, Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer and Korean Air SkyPass) at a 1:1 ratio and with the 2 x earnings on dining and travel (two categories I seem to spend quite a lot in!) I can build up my balances in a reasonable amount of time.

The full list of transfer partners isn’t bad at all (note: Amtrak will shortly cease to be a partner)

chase-ultimate-rewards-transfer-partners

Ultimate Rewards is a currency that allows me to protect myself against devaluations pushed through by hotel and airline programs (to a certain extent). By holding Ultimate Rewards points I can transfer them to whichever partner gives me best value while, if I hold points in a specific airline/hotel loyalty program, I’m stuck with them (usually).

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa

chase_marriott_premier_card

Annual Fee: $85 ($0 for first year)

Foreign Transaction Fees: No

Benefits most useful to me:

  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Earn Marriott Reward Points
  • Earn 1 night towards elite status for every $3,000 spent

Other benefits:

  • Free Cat 1-5 Hotel stay every year
  • 15 nights towards status every year (automatic Silver status)
  • Purchase protection
  • Trip cancellation/Interruption insurance
  • Trip delay reimbursement
  • Lost Luggage reimbursement

Points Earned:

  • Everyday spending – 1 MR Point/dollar
  • Airlines/Car rentals – 2 MR Points/dollar
  • Dining – 2 MR Points/dollar
  • Marriott properties – 5 MR Points/dollar

Why I hold the credit card:

As someone who owns a number of Marriott Vacation Club timeshares this card comes in very useful. Any timeshare maintenance fees I pay using this card earn me 5 MRP/dollar and that is a better rate of return that I would get on any other card.

The 15 elite nights that the card gives me every year is a great kick-start to requalifying for Marriott Platinum status and, with my recent Hyatt Diamond status match, I’m probably going to need all the help I can get to requalify with Marriott in 2016.

In a similar vein, the 1 elite night per $3,000 spend comes in very handy when it comes to pushing me over the top for Platinum Status qualification. I like lounge access, free breakfasts and the occasional fantastic (but often just average) upgrades that Platinum status gets me so I’m pretty keen to hang on to it 🙂

Chase IHG Rewards Club Select card

chase_ihg_card

Annual Fee: $49 ($0 for first year)

Foreign Transaction Fees: No

Benefits most useful to me:

  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Free night at any IHG Hotel every year
  • 10% Rebate on IHG Points redemptions

Other benefits:

  • IHG Platinum Elite status

Points Earned:

  • Everyday spending – 1 IHG Point/dollar
  • Gas Stations – 2 IHG Points/dollar
  • Grocery Stores – 2 IHG Points/dollar
  • Dining – 2 IHG Points/dollar
  • IHG properties – 5 MR Points/dollar

Why I hold the credit card:

Just like the Amex Platinum Card I mentioned yesterday this is a card I hold primarily for the benefits it gives….or, more accurately, one specific benefit. The card costs me $49/year and, in return, it gives me a free night at any IHG hotel in the world – that’s fantastic value. The InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam (where Joanna and I stayed this year) often costs in excess of $500/night and the InterContinental Park Lane is rarely under $400/night – and they’re both easily reached and they’re both great places to stay.

On top of this, IHG has properties all over the globe and it’s amazing how many times I find myself booking a Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express when I need an airport hotel – this IHG credit card makes sure I maximise the value (in points) I can get out of those stays.

British Airways Visa Signature card

chaswe_british_airways_card

Annual Fee: $95

Foreign Transaction Fees: No

Benefits most useful to me:

  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Earn Avios

Other benefits:

  • Companion award ticket after $30,000 spend in a year
  • 10% discount on British Airways flights originating in the US

Points Earned:

  • Everyday spending – 1 Avios/dollar
  • British Airways spending – 3 Avios/dollar

Why I hold the credit card:

This is one of the weaker cards I have and I keep hold of it primarily because I’ve been booking a lot of flights on British Airways in the past couple of years. The $95 annual fee is hard to stomach sometimes because I don’t use this card for anything other than British Airways purchases….but, then again, the Avios I earn off those purchases do save me quite a bit of money on intra-Europe flights where the taxes aren’t excessive.

The reason why this card has escaped the chop so far is because Chase keep giving me reasonable retention offers every year. For the past 2 years I’ve been offered a “challenge” of spending $1,500 in 3 months in exchange for 9,000 bonus Avios (which I value at around $99). The $1,500 spend isn’t hard to manufacture and the bonus Avios negate the annual fee….so the card lives to see another year 🙂

Chase Ink Bold Business Card

chase-ink-bold

Annual Fee: $95

Foreign Transaction Fees: No

Benefits most useful to me:

  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Earn Ultimate Rewards (UR) Points

Other benefits:

  • Purchase protection
  • Extended warranty protection
  • Return protection

Points Earned:

  • Everyday spending – 1 UR Point/dollar
  • Gas Stations – 2 UR Points/dollar
  • Hotels – 2 UR Points/dollar
  • Office supply stores – 5 UR Points/dollar
  • Cell and landline phones – 5 UR Points/dollar
  • Cable and satellite TV – 5 UR Points/dollar

Why I hold the credit card:

I should point out that this card is no longer available to new applicants but the link in the card name leads to Chase’s other Business cards which are very similar.

I hold this card for the incredible number of Chase Ultimate Rewards points I can earn by using it at gas stations and in office supply stores. Added to that, the ability to earn 5 x UR points on cell/landline bills as well as on the satellite TV bill ensures that this card earns its way into my wallet with ease.

It would take a serious devaluation in the number of points I can earn with this card before I’d consider giving it up and even then I may not – each year I’ve called up to talk to the retentions department, Chase has waived the annual fee for me, so there’s no reason to cancel yet.

That’s all the Chase Cards I have (and I think I may be close to the amount of credit Chase are happy to give me!) next up will be a look at the Citi Credit cards I hold.

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