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The 70k card I wish I could get
Last year I took the bait and signed up for Chase’s United MileagePlus Explorer when they snail mailed me a 50k offer. Honestly, I was pretty happy, and 50k was about as good as I thought it was going to get. AND THEN THE 70Ks started to roll out. They’ve extended the 70k offer this time around until 7/31. This card is restricted by 5/24 rules, and while I’m under 5/24, it’s only been a year since I was a proud cardholder, and Chase limits sign up bonuses to every 24 months. UGH! However, if I were eligible to get the 70k bonus…I’d be very eager to snatch up this card.
The offer ends on 7/31
You may have to login and out a few times, use incognito, etc. The offer varies for me, but the last time I was checking award avail the 70k popped up, and after I logged in it continued to show 70k.
The major benefits
The benefits that interest me the most
- 70k points
- United Club Passes
- 5k bonus for AU
- Extra Award availability
Even if you could, why would you add on to your 5/24 Miles?
Plain and simple. It preserves my Ultimate Rewards and I highly value flexible currency over fixed. By creating 78k United Miles from a sign up bonus, I save 78k UR for some other redemption. Plus, 80k points will fly you in EVA Royal Laurel Business Class from the US to Asia- and those are points you won’t regret redeeming.
You can check here if you’re targeted
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
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.
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