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Keep Points Flexibility After Downgrading This Chase Travel Card

  • Million Mile Secrets

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    Million Mile Secrets reader, Harold, commented:

    If I downgrade my Chase Sapphire Preferred to the Chase Freedom Unlimited, can I still transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Freedom Unlimited to the Chase Sapphire Reserve?

    Absolutely!

    On its own, the points you earn from the Freedom Unlimited can only be redeemed for 1 cent each toward travel or for cash back.

    But when you pair it with another eligible Chase Ultimate Rewards card like the Sapphire Reserve, you’ll have the flexibility to combine points and transfer them to terrific airline and hotel partners.

    With a downgrade, you’ll also avoid duplicate benefits and save on annual fees.  That’s why after getting the Sapphire Reserve, I downgraded the Sapphire Preferred to the no annual fee Freedom Unlimited.

    I Downgraded My Sapphire Preferred to the Freedom Unlimited Because I’ll Still Have Flexibility to Combine Points With the Sapphire Reserve and Transfer to Airline and Hotel Partners, Like Hyatt!

    I’ll explain why downgrading your Sapphire Preferred might make sense!

    Downgrade Chase Sapphire Preferred

    Link:   Avoid Duplicate Card Perks and 2 Annual Fees by Downgrading This Chase Card

    Link:   Chase Sapphire Reserve Increases Value of Your Ultimate Rewards Points

    If you have the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve cards, you might consider downgrading to a no annual fee card like the Freedom Unlimited.

    Because you’ll avoid having duplicate benefits and save on paying multiple annual fees.

    You Can Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards From the Freedom Unlimited to Airline and Hotel Partners If You Have Another Eligible Card, Like the Sapphire Reserve

    And the Chase Ultimate Rewards points you earn with the Freedom Unlimited can still transfer to airline and hotel partners.  But you must first combine the points with one of these eligible cards:

    I recommend combining Chase Ultimate Rewards points to your Sapphire Reserve account.

    Because points linked to the Sapphire Reserve are worth 1.5 cents each when you redeem them for travel through the Chase portal.

    Great Card Combination: Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Reserve

    Link:   Chase Sapphire Reserve

    Link:   My Review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve 

    Link:   Chase Freedom Unlimited 

    Link:   My Review of the Freedom Unlimited

    Having the Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Reserve is an amazing 2 card combination.

    Because you’ll earn 1.5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on ALL purchases with the Freedom Unlimited.  Then, you can transfer the points to your Sapphire Reserve to get a 50% bonus on travel redemptions.

    You’ll Earn 1.5X Chase Ultimate Rewards Points per $1 With Every Purchase on the Freedom Unlimited!

    For example, if you make $10,000 in purchases in a year with the Freedom Unlimited, you’ll earn 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points ($10,000 in purchases X 1.5 points).

    These points are worth $225 in travel when they’re linked to your Sapphire Reserve (15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points X 50% bonus with Sapphire Reserve).

    So effectively, you’re getting 2.25 cents per $1, which is a terrific deal ($225 worth of travel / $10,000 in purchases)!

    Chase Ultimate Rewards points are my favorite type of flexible points.  But if you’re not looking to earn transferable points, you might consider a card like the Discover it® Miles, which earns 1.5 miles on everything! The information for the Discover it  Miles card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer

    You have the flexibility to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the no annual fee Freedom Unlimited card to airline and hotel partners by combining them with one of these cards:

    Folks with the Sapphire Preferred AND Sapphire Reserve cards might consider downgrading the Sapphire Preferred to the Freedom Unlimited.

    Because besides avoiding duplicate benefits, you’ll have a terrific 2-card combination to earn lots of valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points to use toward Big Travel!

    Thanks for the question, Harold!

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)