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Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K offer: It doesn’t get better than this!

June 7, 2021 by Harlan 6 Comments

Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K? Holy wow am I kicking myself. Chase keeps upping the ante on the Chase Sapphire Preferred. First 60K, then 80K, and now – 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. WOW.

I don’t think it’s going to get better than this. 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth:

$1,000 in cash
$1,250 toward travel booked through Chase (flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals, and excursions)
Potentially much much more when you transfer points to travel partners like Hyatt (my favorite), United, British Airways, Air Canada (coming later this year), and others

Get back to travel in a big way with the new Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K offer

If you’re eligible for this offer, this is your sign! There’s no end date yet – get it while it’s still around!

Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K offer – what to know

Chase Freedom Flex Vs Freedom Unlimited: Which Is Better for Your Spending?

September 18, 2020 by Harlan 6 Comments

Chase has 2 great no annual fee cards that pair nicely with premium Ultimate Rewards cards: Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

The Freedom Flex card earns 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points in rotating quarterly categories on up to $1,500 per quarter in combined spending. The Freedom Unlimited earns 1.5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on all purchases with no cap.

Lots of peeps ask which is better. To which I always answer: it depends on how much you like the bonus categories. But there’s a longer answer beyond that: how much to you plan to spend on the card each year?

Let’s talk about the break even point and which is better for your finances.

Chase Freedom Flex℠ Vs Chase Freedom Unlimited®

‘Tis the Season to Use 0% APR Cards to Avoid Interest for up to 21 Months (If You HAVE to Carry a Balance)

January 3, 2019 by Harlan Leave A Comment

Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s 2019! I’m working on travel plans and my credit card strategy – and soon I’ll have gigantic news to share.

If you spent too much over the holiday season, and carrying a balance is inevitable, consider transferring your balance to a new card with a 0% APR period. They vary from 12 months to a staggering 21 months! This will hugely minimize the interest you’ll pay.

Depending which card you get, you won’t have to pay it off until January 2020 at the shorter end – or October 2020 at the longer end. That’s awesome!

Or if you have a big purchase coming up, opening a card with a 0% APR period gives you time to pay it back.

I’ve used both strategies successfully. But beware – pay close attention to the dates (which are listed on every statement you’ll get), or you’ll be right back where you started.

Still, it’s a LOT better than carrying a balance and paying huge interest rates. NEVER carry a balance if you can help it!

Paying interest negates any rewards you earn. Your balance will grow and you’ll get stuck on a debt treadmill – don’t do it!

Here are card options for balance transfers and big-ticket purchases. Because yes, life happens. Just try to control the damage as best you can.

Get unstuck with balance transfer cards

$3,000 or 225,000 Airline Miles From ONE Sign-Up Bonus – But They’re Not for Everyone

November 18, 2018 by Harlan 7 Comments

Update: This offer is no longer available. Check here to see the latest card offers!

Capital One shook things up this week when they announced mondo 200,000-mile sign-up offers on their Spark Miles and Spark Cash cards. And on the Spark Miles card, those rewards will become transferable to 12 airlines starting December 2018, which is stellar. It’s always good to have more options – especially with flexible rewards programs.

In fact, peeps looking for a single-card solution to most points dilemmas finally found their match. You can redeem the points for 1 cent each, and with the Spark miles card, transfer them at a 2:1.5 ratio to useful airlines like Air Canada, Etihad, and Qantas.

They’re excellent deals if you want a rewarding small business card without hassle. You’ll end up with $3,000 or 225,000 airline miles after the minimum spending is complete.

The required spending and opportunity cost are high with this one

But they’re NOT for everyone. I’ll explain why.

$3,000 or 225,000 Airline Miles After a Boatload of Spending

9 Easiest Signup Bonuses to Earn (7 Under $500, 2 With a Single Purchase!)

October 15, 2018 by Harlan 2 Comments

This one’s for peeps who think they can’t earn signup bonuses because the minimum spending requirements are too dang high.

When you think about, spending $3,000 (the usual spending requirement) is, of course, $1,000 per month for 3 months – or $250 per week. These cards tend to have the highest bonuses.

The problem with bank marketing is they throw out huge numbers and scare people off. But when you break it down, it appears way more manageable.

In any regard, there are plenty of cards with much lower minimum spending requirements. And some of them are genuine keepers!

Or rather, they look high – but most of them aren’t that bad once you break it down

Let’s look at 10 of the easiest signup bonuses you can earn.

10 cards with low spending requirements

9 Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards – All With a 2% or Better Return

October 11, 2018 by Harlan 1 Comment

Everyone should have at least 1 credit card without an annual fee. When a card is free to keep forever, you never have to second-guess it. And the card works its powers on your credit report to increase available limits, decrease utilization, and help boost the average age of all your accounts.

My oldest credit card is from 2002 and has no annual fee. No matter how many new cards I open, I’ll always have a 16-year-old card to raise the average age of my accounts higher and therefore, my credit score.

When a card has a fee, it’s harder to justify keeping it – unless you get outsized value.

But having a card without an annual fee doesn’t mean you have to give up solid returns. All of the cards on this list can get you 2% back or better.

Chase Freedom is one of the best no annual fee cards – up to 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per year from 5X earning! I’ll share my top faves

Here’s my list.

9 best no annual fee credit cards

8 Easy Tricks to Earn & Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

July 30, 2018 by Harlan 7 Comments

This one’s for my friends who say, “I never earn enough points to get a travel reward,” or, “Points are useless once you have them.”

The truth is you don’t have to invest a ton of time into learning how to use your points. You can do well by using 1 or 2 tricks to earn and redeem for travel.

And if you do that, you will still come out way ahead of most people.

I used Chase Ultimate Rewards points to stay in San Francisco this April

These “tricks” require very little finesse – just that you pay attention. Perhaps now is a good time to form a habit loop?

Even if these methods are ALL you ever learn, they’re an incredible place to begin. And once you’re comfortable, you can build from there – baby steps.

4 ways to EARN Chase points

Which Chase Card Is Best When You’re Starting With Points?

April 19, 2018 by Harlan 3 Comments

In general, I tell most peeps to start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. It’s the quintessential points card, even after all these years. And you can transfer the points you earn directly to airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio – most of them instantly.

If you spend a lot in travel & dining, or if you want lounge access, spring for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Here’s how to find the break even point with the annual fees ($95 for the Preferred and $550 for the Reserve, but you get a $300 annual travel credit).

I transferred Chase points to Hyatt to stay 3 free nights at the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta

Already have one or the other? Then get the Chase Freedom Flex℠ or Chase Freedom Unlimited®. The only difference is the bonus categories. Chase Freedom Flex℠ has 5% rotating quarterly categories. Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 1.5 points per $1 spent – and you can combine the points with your Sapphire card points. So they’re an easy way to boost your Ultimate Rewards points balance fast. And both cards have a $0 annual fee!

If you’re looking for a small business card, get the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card or Ink Business Cash® Credit Card. The former earns points that transfer directly to travel partners and has a $95 annual fee; the latter requires you to have a premium Chase card to access travel partners, but a $0 annual fee.

If you just want to earn cashback, spring for any of the cards with a $0 annual fee (Chase Freedom Flex℠, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, or Ink Business Cash® Credit Card).

But to get awesome travel (think international Business Class flights, upscale hotels, and cheap flights to Hawaii), you want one of the annual fee cards (Sapphire Preferred, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card). The annual fees are worth it for the huge travel savings you can get. It’s how I got a $2,000+ Mexican vacation for $90!

Which Chase card?

The 3 Best Credit Cards for Holiday Season 2016

November 12, 2016 by Harlan 11 Comments

It’s nearly mid-November, how’d that happen?

I’m gearing up for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, as I’m sure many of you are, too.

Dear everyone I know, you might get a kitchen appliance. Love, H.

Here are my top picks for cards to use for gift shopping and travel this holiday season.

Holiday 2016 best credit cards

1. Chase Freedom

Why I Product Changed to the Chase Sapphire Reserve

October 2, 2016 by Harlan 38 Comments

I caved. And called Chase. Asked if they’d let me change my Chase Sapphire Preferred to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. And thankfully, they did.

I’m happy to report I’m now the owner of a shiny new Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Got itttt

Here’s why I did it.

My Chase Sapphire Reserve Product Change

Update: Denied for Chase Freedom Unlimited – DIAF!

March 31, 2016 by Harlan 16 Comments

Also see:

Well, I got the letter today that I was straight-up denied for the new Chase Freedom Unlimited card (which is now open for online applications).

It was to be my last Chase card.

I kept trying to call the automated line for info (888-338-2586), but even now it still says to look for a letter in the mail. I presume this one:

So ugly

The reason?

“Too many credit cards opened in the last 2 years.”

Wowwww. It’s interesting that’s listed as the only reason.

It seems this rule will now cover ALL Chase cards, including small business and co-branded cards.

DIAF – Die in a fire

Definition: To be in a fire, and die within it.

Usage: I hate you, DIAF.

Why I applied for Chase Freedom Unlimited

My Last Chase Card: Just Applied for Chase Freedom Unlimited

March 25, 2016 by Harlan 19 Comments

Also see:

UPDATE 3/31: I was denied. 🙁

Chase will soon (in April 2016) extend their restrictive 5/24 rule to all their card offerings, including co-branded and small business credit cards. And presumably to the new Chase Freedom Unlimited card when it launches online.

The 5/24 rule means if you’ve opened 5+ cards within the previous 24 months, you’ll be instantly denied for a new Chase card. I’m suddenly no longer their target market.

It’s the last week of March, which means this is my last crack at opening up that Chase Marriott Premier card or a Chase Ink Cash, for example.

Instead, I went with the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which will be available for online applications on April 7th, 2016.

However, you can apply in-branch or over the phone right now. (Or at the bottom of this page.)

So today, I strolled over to the Chase bank 2 blocks away on my lunch break (I still haven’t grocery shopped since getting back from Vipassana) and applied in-person for the new Chase Freedom Unlimited.

I love how the acronym for this card is, endearingly, FU.