Dear Clever Credit,
We are a retired couple looking for a better rewards credit card for our situation. Right now we use only one — the Chase Freedom Unlimited® — but I fear we could be earning more rewards for our spending. We have excellent credit, put all of our monthly spending on the card and pay off the bill in full each month. We’re not looking to pay an outrageous annual fee, but we plan to travel to Europe sometime next year and would like some perks. Any suggestions?
Sincerely,
Retired & Ready for Rewards
Dear Retired,
Welcome to the rewards game! You’ll love it here.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited is a good starter card when it comes to earning rewards since cash back is straightforward and easy to manage. But if you want to start traveling with your rewards, you’ll need to make the jump to points and miles.
Since you’re already a Chase customer, I recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. It would be a great companion card because you’ll be able to convert your cash back into Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The Preferred Card has an annual fee of $95 but doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, so you can use it in Europe worry-free.
There are several ways you can earn rewards on this card:
— Earn five points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Travel portal.
— Earn two points per dollar on other travel purchases.
— Earn three points per dollar on dining purchases, including takeout.
— Earn three points per dollar on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
— Earn three points per dollar on select streaming services.
— Earn one point per dollar on all other purchases.
[READ: Cash Back vs. Travel Rewards: Which Is Better for You?]
To really get the most out of this card, you could use it to pay for your upcoming trip. New cardmembers earn 60,000 bonus points after they spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, every anniversary, you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. So let’s say you spent $10,000 on purchases. That means you’ll receive 1,000 extra points.
Also, if you’re part of an eligible frequent flyer program, you can transfer your points at a one to one value. Some airline travel partners include:
— British Airways Executive Club
— Emirates Skywards®
— Flying Blue
— TrueBlue
— Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
— United MileagePlus®
[LINK: 8 Ways to Earn Miles Without an Airline Credit Card]
The Chase Sapphire Preferred also offers a number of travel perks like trip cancellation/interruption insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver, baggage delay insurance, and travel and emergency assistance services.
By coupling the Chase Freedom Unlimited with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you could use the Sapphire Preferred as your travel and dining card, and your Freedom Unlimited as your “everything else” card. Happy travels!
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Clever Credit: Retired and Ready for Rewards originally appeared on usnews.com
