Here’s Why I Transferred 48,144 Chase Points From My Freedom to Sapphire Preferred

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Scott:   I love my Chase Freedom® card.  It’s part of my Chase Trifecta strategy to get Big Travel with Small Money!

My goal was to get a Business Class flight to Europe.  And my Freedom card was clutch.

I’ve had my no annual fee Freedom card for years and years.  I use it fairly often, but especially whenever there’s a quarterly promotion I really like.  See, each quarter card members can earn 5% cash back (or 5x Ultimate Rewards points) on certain shopping categories (up to $1,500 each quarter you activate).  All you have to do is click a box in the email they send you and you’re all set.

In the past, 5X special categories have included grocery stores, restaurants, and internet bills.  You’ll earn 5X points per $1 instead of the usual 1 point per dollar.  Freedom caps you at $1,500 in spending per quarter, so the most you can earn is 7,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  This really adds up and is a big part of the reason I had 48,144 points in my account.

I could have cashed those points out for ~$481.  (Each Chase point is worth 1 cent for cash back.)  But as much as I love cash, I really love to travel at a bigger discount.

Because while you can NOT transfer the Chase Ultimate Rewards points  you earn with Freedom directly to airline partners, you CAN first move them to your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.  And from the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’re enabled to transfer your Chase points for travel like Business Class flights.

So I armed my Chase Sapphire Preferred with all the points from my Freedom.  And now I was all set to do one of the easiest award booking moves there is… transfer Chase points to United Airlines for crazy cheap flights to Europe.  And what’s really great is you do NOT have to fly on United Airlines.  I didn’t.  I wound up flying in Air Canada’s Business Class.

What’s really cool is your connection is included.  So basically I paid 70,000 United Airlines miles (48,144 of which originated from my Freedom card) plus VERY low taxes and fees to fly from Florida up to Toronto, relax in a quiet airline lounge with free food, then continue on to Europe.

Instead of being cramped in coach (like I usually am because I’m not too picky) this time I treated myself to a bed.  I got to lay down and sleep during the 9 hour overnight flight.  I also got liquor drinks and really good food.  And my luggage was marked priority so I got it before everyone else so I could leave the airport faster.

This time around, I was very happy to trade $481 worth of points to get me closer to the number of miles required for the Business Class experience.

Anyhow, that’s how you might think of your Freedom card… it’s your points-generation engine that turbo boosts your Chase Sapphire Preferred to get you traveling faster.

When you’re ready, apply here for the Freedom.

And apply here for Chase Sapphire Preferred.

They go together like vodka and, uh, pretty much anything!