If you’ve decided the Southwest Companion pass isn’t for you, let’s talk about the next Chase card in the lineup: the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.  This blue, metallic card is one of the best deals out there right now when it comes to travel rewards.  Chase is offering 50,000 Ultimate Rewards (UR) Points (Chase’s loyalty system) which is worth a minimum of $625 towards travel when you book through Chase’s online portal (remember that you might get more value than this if you transfer points to one of their travel partners though!). These points will be credited to your account once you hit a $4,000 minimum spend in the first three months. This is $1,000 more towards a minimum spend than some of the other cards out there right now, but remember, you want to start out maximizing your benefits with Chase before you move on to other card issuers because of their 5/24 rule. Below are the details:

• The $95 annual fee is waived the first year
• 125% redemption value on your points when you book through Chase UR portal (that’s why 50,000 points is effectively worth $625 towards travel)
• All travel and restaurant charges on the card receive 2x the points
• Several other benefits, such as Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance, Trip and Baggage Delay Reimbursement, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, and no foreign transaction fees.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card should really be the next card you get in your credit card arsenal. Chase UR points are a valuable commodity, especially if you’re able to use them with Chase’s transfer partners.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

I’m going to be really clear, I’m not recommending this card at the time being, but there’s been a lot of talk about it so I felt like it needed to be mentioned. Late in 2016, Chase came out with an ultra premium card related (in name) to the Sapphire Preferred Card called the Sapphire Reserve Card. It was the hottest card to hit the market in a long time, due in large part to the 100,000 UR point signup bonus it was offering at the time (that has since changed to 50,000 UR points).  However, it also came with an ultra premium price tag of $450 per year that wasn’t waived. However, looking at the perks, that hefty annual fee isn’t too bad. Those perks include:

• $300 in travel credit annually (automatically applied to travel purchases on the card). This effectively reduces the annual fee to $150 yearly
• 150% redemption value on your points when you book through Chase UR portal (note that this is 25% more than the redemption value of points for the Preferred card)
• All travel charges receive 3x the points
• Priority Pass Select lounge access
• $100 one-time credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck enrollment
• Several other benefits similar to the Preferred Card, such as Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance, Trip and Baggage Delay Reimbursement, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, and no foreign transaction fees.

I missed out on the 100,000 point signup bonus on this card because of Chase’s 5/24 rule. Again, for the time being, I’m not recommending getting this card because it offers 50,000 UR points rather than 100,000. It may never go above that 50,000 points ever again, but it’s hard to tell with such a short track record.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!