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10 Signs you may be obsessed with Points

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10 Signs you may be obsessed with Points

It happens to all of us. The day comes where you realize you’re obsessed. But when does that happen and how do you know you have a problem? I’ve put together a short list of signs that you may or may not identify with, but I know I certainly do. Here are 10 signs you may be obsessed with Points.

Bonus points if you can name the airline, plane, and cabin in the background =)

10 signs you may be obsessed with points

And a Clearer Version if you can’t read that 😉

  1. You have a problem celebrating your best friend’s birthday because it’s on 5/24
  2. You use HUCA on your loved ones
  3. Someone called you a Globalist and you replied, “No, but I’ll soft land to Explorist.”
  4. Somone brings up Freedom and you think of quarterly bonuses
  5. You convinced yourself that Panama City was a reasonable weekend getaway
  6. You find yourself saying “but the airline credit offsets most the fee”
  7. Every time currency devaluation came up in the debates you thought of AAdvantage
  8. You recommended a restaurant to a friend and qualified it by saying, “but you know YMMV.”
  9. When you talk about the end of PC culture…it’s in reference to the Better Balance Rewards card.
  10. You takes pictures of a stuffed Monkey everywhere you go.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market.  It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

Earn

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
    • Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 1x on everyday purchases
  • 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
  • 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.

Benefits and Credits

  • $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
  • NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® ,  Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„  you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year.  It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.

One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3. 

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

6 Comments

  • Smittytabb December 11, 2016

    AA 77W?

  • ssbmoro December 10, 2016

    My wife’s birthday is 5/24 and I have to always write or say it “May 24” so I’m not reminded of Chase…

  • L December 10, 2016

    Hey don’t insult the 5/24 birthday. Even though that is my birthday I had not thought about the points aspect.

    • Miles December 10, 2016

      L – haha my best friend’s is really on 5/24 as well!

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