Chase Sapphire Preferred seemed like a great card…
The Chase Sapphire Preferred signup bonus is not a bad deal. At 50,000 points, this offer is worth $625 in travel when booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. I opened this card earlier this year to get some free hotels for an upcoming trip.
…until Chase Sapphire Reserve came around
When the Chase Sapphire Reserve was released, like everyone else, I knew I had to have it. Since the Preferred and Reserve are two separate products, you are able to receive the signup bonus for both. Having both Chase Sapphire cards gives me access to two different views of the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. Booking travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards site with Chase Sapphire Preferred gets you 25% more (e.g., 50,000 points are worth $625). With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you get 50% more with your points (50,000 points = $750 in travel). This increase in point valuation for the Chase Sapphire Reserve makes a huge difference.
For example, Hotel Drisco in San Francisco costs $912 per night. If you book with Chase Sapphire Preferred, it will cost you a whopping 72,982 points per night. The same property booked through Chase Sapphire Reserve drops to 60,819 points per night—a savings of over 12,000 points!
Making the Most Out of Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase allows you to transfer Ultimate Rewards points between your own accounts. If you have both Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards, simply transfer your points to Chase Sapphire Reserve to increase their value.
- When you go to Ultimate Rewards, you will see both of your cards listed. Click the Chase Sapphire Preferred account from which you want to transfer.
- Click on your points at the top of the page and select “Combine Points”.
- Enter the amount of points you want to move.
- Review the transfer and submit. Your points will be moved instantly.
By transferring my points, I was able to get 3 nights at a hotel in San Francisco for about 43,000 points. Even when I book with points, I’m more of a budget traveler so unfortunately, my 3-night stay will not be at Hotel Drisco. Maybe someday! I had enough points leftover from my Chase Sapphire Preferred signup bonus to transfer to Hyatt. Combined with points from my Hyatt credit card and leftover points from my boyfriend’s account, I got two nights free for an upcoming weekend trip to New Jersey. This would not have been possible if I didn’t book the San Francisco hotels on the Chase Sapphire Reserve portal.
If you have yet to receive the signup bonuses for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve, I recommend applying for both. You will eventually want to only keep one card but by transferring the Preferred points to Reserve, you can end up with 150,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points that are worth $2,250 on the Chase Ultimate Rewards site.
What would you do with your 150,000 points?
