Chase Sapphire Reserve; 100,000 points signup bonus

[TomTX]

Anyone else just plan on cashing out on the $1K rather than applying $1.5K to travel? I don't stay at hotels anymore, and I never fly either. There isn't an option to redeem on Airbnb thru UR so for me the extra $500 is a bit pointless.

Go on a cruise? Rent a boat? Rent a car?

[ender]

Anyone else just plan on cashing out on the $1K rather than applying $1.5K to travel? I don't stay at hotels anymore, and I never fly either. There isn't an option to redeem on Airbnb thru UR so for me the extra $500 is a bit pointless.

Go on a cruise? Rent a boat? Rent a car?

It can also function as a psuedo emergency fund too. If you have 100k points, it's kind of like an emergency $1k cash (or $1.5k travel) :P

[Dollar Slice]

Can you apply right away for another card with same bank or do you need to wait?

I got a Chase Freedom a few months ago (I think May or June) and there was no problem getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

[Longwaytogo]

Anyone else just plan on cashing out on the $1K rather than applying $1.5K to travel? I don't stay at hotels anymore, and I never fly either. There isn't an option to redeem on Airbnb thru UR so for me the extra $500 is a bit pointless.

I may do this. Have plenty of Marriott points and not sure if I'm flying anywhere next year or not.

But Chase rejected me ): due to past issues with thier bank. Going to try again with DW's name though.

She is just under the 5/24 having gotten 2 cards of her own and been AU on 2 of mine. However her most recent was Chase with the Marriott 80K bonus. We just hit the minimum $3K spend for that. Can you apply right away for another card with same bank or do you need to wait?

Since I can't get it I'm thinking maybe AMEX SPG or Hilton for my next one. Just recently canceled AMEX Delta.

Remove her as an AU on both cards. Tell Chase everything is cool, no need to reissue the card with a new number. That way, she can still keep using them and will be 2/24 instead of 4/24.

I thought it was having 5 applications not having 5 cards?

The one card she was an AU on was my AMEX which I canceled. She also had the Delta Amex which she also canceled (After getting First class round trip free flight to Florida for a Wedding :)

Right now we only have 2 cards-

Old (2004) Bank of America Card where I'm the primary and shes an AU.

The new Chase Marriott where she is the Primary and I'm the AU.

Can you apply right away for another card with same bank or do you need to wait?

I got a Chase Freedom a few months ago (I think May or June) and there was no problem getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Thanks! Kind of what I figured, she's out of town for the weekend but may go ahead and have her try it Monday. Hopefully my application getting rejected didn't mess her up in any way.

[JLee]

Anyone else just plan on cashing out on the $1K rather than applying $1.5K to travel? I don't stay at hotels anymore, and I never fly either. There isn't an option to redeem on Airbnb thru UR so for me the extra $500 is a bit pointless.

I may do this. Have plenty of Marriott points and not sure if I'm flying anywhere next year or not.

But Chase rejected me ): due to past issues with thier bank. Going to try again with DW's name though.

She is just under the 5/24 having gotten 2 cards of her own and been AU on 2 of mine. However her most recent was Chase with the Marriott 80K bonus. We just hit the minimum $3K spend for that. Can you apply right away for another card with same bank or do you need to wait?

Since I can't get it I'm thinking maybe AMEX SPG or Hilton for my next one. Just recently canceled AMEX Delta.

Remove her as an AU on both cards. Tell Chase everything is cool, no need to reissue the card with a new number. That way, she can still keep using them and will be 2/24 instead of 4/24.

I thought it was having 5 applications not having 5 cards?

The one card she was an AU on was my AMEX which I canceled. She also had the Delta Amex which she also canceled (After getting First class round trip free flight to Florida for a Wedding :)

Right now we only have 2 cards-

Old (2004) Bank of America Card where I'm the primary and shes an AU.

The new Chase Marriott where she is the Primary and I'm the AU.

Can you apply right away for another card with same bank or do you need to wait?

I got a Chase Freedom a few months ago (I think May or June) and there was no problem getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Thanks! Kind of what I figured, she's out of town for the weekend but may go ahead and have her try it Monday. Hopefully my application getting rejected didn't mess her up in any way.

From what I've read, it's 5 credit card accounts (not necessarily just Chase, either).

If that's the case, and non-Chase cards also count, I'm not getting this card until sometime late next year.

[dragoncar]

Wait, so how does the authorized user thing work?

Say I have a 10-year old card and added my wife as an AU last year.  Does this count against her 5/24 because she was added last year, or does it not count because the card is 10 years old?

[KM77]

FYI, I applied for the card on Wednesday and still haven't heard back.  My income is fine and I'm not anywhere near 5/24.

I called the reconsideration line that was listed by a couple folks here to try to figure out what the delay is for.  When I called it,  this is the message I got: "the number you have called is no longer in use, for customer service, please call the number listed on the back of your card."  And then it hangs up on you.

Going to try to find a different number to get some results!

[Catbert]

Wait, so how does the authorized user thing work?

Say I have a 10-year old card and added my wife as an AU last year.  Does this count against her 5/24 because she was added last year, or does it not count because the card is 10 years old?

As I understand it, that new AU would count against your wife's 5/24 since it would show up with last years date.  You could drop her as an AU and then it would disappear.  If you want a more definite answer you might try looking at FlyerTalk Forums.

[dragoncar]

Wait, so how does the authorized user thing work?

Say I have a 10-year old card and added my wife as an AU last year.  Does this count against her 5/24 because she was added last year, or does it not count because the card is 10 years old?

As I understand it, that new AU would count against your wife's 5/24 since it would show up with last years date.  You could drop her as an AU and then it would disappear.  If you want a more definite answer you might try looking at FlyerTalk Forums.

I checked her credit report and the cards show as opened many years ago.  So I tend to think there's no way Chase would know the date she was added as AU.  Given that, she applied and was instantly approved.

KM77- let me know if you figure out the recon line. It's been almost 3 weeks for me with no decision.  Of course now I'm in less of a hurry since we want to spread out the spending on the two cards.

Another way to manufacture spending probably mentioned already but I just realized my parents are very spendy. It would be easy to offer to put some of their large expenses on he card.

[chesebert]

@Dragoncar Check with your HR to see if JP Morgan private banking is a perk available to employees (I assume you are still with a firm). If yes you can apply for JP Morgan reserve card, which is slightly better than Chcase reserve and 5/24 is not applicable. You can check Reddit for more details.

[TomTX]

Wait, so how does the authorized user thing work?

Say I have a 10-year old card and added my wife as an AU last year.  Does this count against her 5/24 because she was added last year, or does it not count because the card is 10 years old?

As I understand it, that new AU would count against your wife's 5/24 since it would show up with last years date.  You could drop her as an AU and then it would disappear.  If you want a more definite answer you might try looking at FlyerTalk Forums.

This is incorrect.

An AU will have the same account age as the primary.  You could add her this month and once it processes she would have a 10-year history with the card.

[dragoncar]

@Dragoncar Check with your HR to see if JP Morgan private banking is a perk available to employees (I assume you are still with a firm). If yes you can apply for JP Morgan reserve card, which is slightly better than Chcase reserve and 5/24 is not applicable. You can check Reddit for more details.

Thanks, I'll check.  I'm not at 5/24 but I have a lot of Chase cards so that may be the holdup.  I might need to cancel one, which would be fine.

[TomTX]

@Dragoncar Check with your HR to see if JP Morgan private banking is a perk available to employees (I assume you are still with a firm). If yes you can apply for JP Morgan reserve card, which is slightly better than Chcase reserve and 5/24 is not applicable. You can check Reddit for more details.

Thanks, I'll check.  I'm not at 5/24 but I have a lot of Chase cards so that may be the holdup.  I might need to cancel one, which would be fine.

Don't pre-emptively cancel anything - they probably will just transfer credit line from one to the other. Before I disentangled myself (AU) from my wife's Chase cards that was what they offered to do.

[erutio]

Data point:

I had 3 newly opened credit cards over the past 24 months.  I figured I had 2 cards left of my "5/24" limit, so I did a mini-app spree, and applied for and was approved for both the CSR card and a Citi DoubleCash card.  This was 2 weeks ago.  The citicard posted to my Credit reports right away. 

I was feeling adventurous this week, and I reading about the ability to transfer to points from CSP to CSR program, even though I knew I would probably be denied, I applied for the CSP card.  It came back with the 7-10 pending message.  I call the Chase reconsideration line, was extremely nice, and they approved, even after knowing I had already 5/24 against me.  They saw the new citicard line in there, and they also definitely knew about the CSR because they referenced it when asking about my credit lines. 

So the 5/24 rule isn't an absolute.  For my case, I don't have a banking relationship with chase, but I do have an amazon card opened in 2003 and a chase freedom opened 4 years ago.  I also have credit score > 800 so YMMV. 

[dragoncar]

Data point:

I had 3 newly opened credit cards over the past 24 months.  I figured I had 2 cards left of my "5/24" limit, so I did a mini-app spree, and applied for and was approved for both the CSR card and a Citi DoubleCash card.  This was 2 weeks ago.  The citicard posted to my Credit reports right away. 

I was feeling adventurous this week, and I reading about the ability to transfer to points from CSP to CSR program, even though I knew I would probably be denied, I applied for the CSP card.  It came back with the 7-10 pending message.  I call the Chase reconsideration line, was extremely nice, and they approved, even after knowing I had already 5/24 against me.  They saw the new citicard line in there, and they also definitely knew about the CSR because they referenced it when asking about my credit lines. 

So the 5/24 rule isn't an absolute.  For my case, I don't have a banking relationship with chase, but I do have an amazon card opened in 2003 and a chase freedom opened 4 years ago.  I also have credit score > 800 so YMMV.

Supposedly 5/24 isn't absolute for any card EXCEPT the Reserve.  Which # did you call for reconsideration?

[crazy jane]

My husband and I went into a Chase Bank to see if we would be pre-approved last Saturday. Since we are both over 5/24, I was shocked to have both of us approved. Sadly we received letters in the mail saying after further review we have too many cards in the last year. We tried. Good luck to everyone.

[erutio]

Data point:

I had 3 newly opened credit cards over the past 24 months.  I figured I had 2 cards left of my "5/24" limit, so I did a mini-app spree, and applied for and was approved for both the CSR card and a Citi DoubleCash card.  This was 2 weeks ago.  The citicard posted to my Credit reports right away. 

I was feeling adventurous this week, and I reading about the ability to transfer to points from CSP to CSR program, even though I knew I would probably be denied, I applied for the CSP card.  It came back with the 7-10 pending message.  I call the Chase reconsideration line, was extremely nice, and they approved, even after knowing I had already 5/24 against me.  They saw the new citicard line in there, and they also definitely knew about the CSR because they referenced it when asking about my credit lines. 

So the 5/24 rule isn't an absolute.  For my case, I don't have a banking relationship with chase, but I do have an amazon card opened in 2003 and a chase freedom opened 4 years ago.  I also have credit score > 800 so YMMV.

Supposedly 5/24 isn't absolute for any card EXCEPT the Reserve.  Which # did you call for reconsideration?

888 - 270 - 2127

[KM77]

Data point:

I had 3 newly opened credit cards over the past 24 months.  I figured I had 2 cards left of my "5/24" limit, so I did a mini-app spree, and applied for and was approved for both the CSR card and a Citi DoubleCash card.  This was 2 weeks ago.  The citicard posted to my Credit reports right away. 

I was feeling adventurous this week, and I reading about the ability to transfer to points from CSP to CSR program, even though I knew I would probably be denied, I applied for the CSP card.  It came back with the 7-10 pending message.  I call the Chase reconsideration line, was extremely nice, and they approved, even after knowing I had already 5/24 against me.  They saw the new citicard line in there, and they also definitely knew about the CSR because they referenced it when asking about my credit lines. 

So the 5/24 rule isn't an absolute.  For my case, I don't have a banking relationship with chase, but I do have an amazon card opened in 2003 and a chase freedom opened 4 years ago.  I also have credit score > 800 so YMMV.

Supposedly 5/24 isn't absolute for any card EXCEPT the Reserve.  Which # did you call for reconsideration?

888 - 270 - 2127

I called the above number and she said that I had to talk to a different department that is closed on the weekends.  They're open 8am-8pm M-F and the number is 877-470-9042

[dragoncar]

Finally approved-- took three weeks.  Didn't have to talk to anyone.  Now I gotta spend $8k... Sadly this will be doable with the holidays coming up and worst case I'll pay the surcharge for my property taxes

[Terrestrial]

Wife and I just got our new CSR cards last week - only the plastic version though, apparently demand has been so huge the metal cards are backed up at the moment.

For those worried about meeting the spend I just wanted to post a couple quick tips that I use to meet the minimums when churning without succumbing to 'unnecessary/wasteful' spending:

-Prepay some kind of monthly expense you were going to pay over the next year anyway (if you have the money to pay it up front, and there isn't a fee to use a CC).  The money I use to cover the prepayment is just sitting in a savings account as part of an emergency fund earning practically zilch anyway, so missing out on the peanuts in interest isn't a heart-breaker. Just repay yourself monthly to rebuild the account.  For example on my wife's new CSR card we just payed our daughters entire year of pre-school tuition up front.  They had no problem charging me the full amount and the minimum spend is done on one card. 

-For those who spend for work (travel, client entertainment/expense account, etc) and have a company card to do so, check if they will let you use a personal card instead and get reimbursed (companies my friends and I have worked for are all over the map on their policies).  I usually use my corp card because it's far less of a pain in the A, but I switch to a personal when I need to manufacture spending.  I have to jump through more hoops with documentation and such, but it's worth the effort for the 'free' spending.  Would hit the minimum on my new CSR in a couple months just from that.

-For family members who don't care about maximizing points or don't use credit cards, if you know they have a large purchase coming ask if you can charge it and have them just give you cash/check.  I've met the spend on several cards over the years just by doing this with close family members - booking plane tickets for them, buying big appliance type items, etc.  With online shopping/travel booking these days it literally takes almost zero effort.  There is actually a benefit for them as well that older/non-tech oriented family members who don't get CC benefits have no idea about - a lot of CC's offer pretty solid consumer and travel protections.

These methods can help for the couples wondering how to hit $8k in the 3-4 months left we have this year....the way the travel credit works it behooves couples to try and get both cards this year to double up, especially if you are only considering having the CSR for 1 year.

[bryan995]

Has anyone received their Priority Pass (Airport Lounge) card yet?
I requested mine about 2 weeks ago...?

[JoJo]

Has anyone received their Priority Pass (Airport Lounge) card yet?
I requested mine about 2 weeks ago...?

Mine hasn't come either.  I seem to recall seeing something when signing up that said it might take 3 weeks. 

[geekette]

Has anyone received their Priority Pass (Airport Lounge) card yet?
I requested mine about 2 weeks ago...?

Got mine several days ago, but I ordered it right after getting the card (applied within the first couple days).  First purchase was on 8/29, so I probably ordered it within a couple days of that.

[robtown]

Do you have to ask for one?  It does not come automatically?

Has anyone received their Priority Pass (Airport Lounge) card yet?
I requested mine about 2 weeks ago...?

[JoJo]

Do you have to ask for one?  It does not come automatically?

Has anyone received their Priority Pass (Airport Lounge) card yet?
I requested mine about 2 weeks ago...?

Yes!  you need to ask for it.  I think it was under benefits when you log into the website.  I think I also got an email after the card arrived that had a one-click way to request it.

[2buttons]

Anyone else just plan on cashing out on the $1K rather than applying $1.5K to travel? I don't stay at hotels anymore, and I never fly either. There isn't an option to redeem on Airbnb thru UR so for me the extra $500 is a bit pointless.

So I tried my hand at the churn game with this card. 

Here are my takeaways. 

1. You are spending $150 for $1k in savings (wait just hear me out) after everything nets out.
2. I had to book some work travel and I compared the rates through UR versus buying directly. UR was approximately 50% more expensive. 
3. I met the spend in less than a month, and after weighing the deltas on travel. I took the cash reward and just cashed it this morning.  It was a little over $1k in cash, which will go to my travel fund.  They are suggesting it will take 3 business days direct deposit into my account. I wanted to cash so they could not take it back if I am flagged for churning. So all in all its really an $850 win + plus the extra bennies.

4. I found I definitely spent a little more money than I usually would, so going back to debit/cash system - for others this stuff may work, and admittedly, I probably came out ahead on this one, but there is definitely some work that has to be put in for the reward. 

[johnny847]

Wife and I just got our new CSR cards last week - only the plastic version though, apparently demand has been so huge the metal cards are backed up at the moment.

For those worried about meeting the spend I just wanted to post a couple quick tips that I use to meet the minimums when churning without succumbing to 'unnecessary/wasteful' spending:

-Prepay some kind of monthly expense you were going to pay over the next year anyway (if you have the money to pay it up front, and there isn't a fee to use a CC).  The money I use to cover the prepayment is just sitting in a savings account as part of an emergency fund earning practically zilch anyway, so missing out on the peanuts in interest isn't a heart-breaker. Just repay yourself monthly to rebuild the account.  For example on my wife's new CSR card we just payed our daughters entire year of pre-school tuition up front.  They had no problem charging me the full amount and the minimum spend is done on one card. 

-For those who spend for work (travel, client entertainment/expense account, etc) and have a company card to do so, check if they will let you use a personal card instead and get reimbursed (companies my friends and I have worked for are all over the map on their policies).  I usually use my corp card because it's far less of a pain in the A, but I switch to a personal when I need to manufacture spending.  I have to jump through more hoops with documentation and such, but it's worth the effort for the 'free' spending.  Would hit the minimum on my new CSR in a couple months just from that.

-For family members who don't care about maximizing points or don't use credit cards, if you know they have a large purchase coming ask if you can charge it and have them just give you cash/check.  I've met the spend on several cards over the years just by doing this with close family members - booking plane tickets for them, buying big appliance type items, etc.  With online shopping/travel booking these days it literally takes almost zero effort.  There is actually a benefit for them as well that older/non-tech oriented family members who don't get CC benefits have no idea about - a lot of CC's offer pretty solid consumer and travel protections.

These methods can help for the couples wondering how to hit $8k in the 3-4 months left we have this year....the way the travel credit works it behooves couples to try and get both cards this year to double up, especially if you are only considering having the CSR for 1 year.

Or if all of that fails, just send someone you trust money via Square Cash for a 3% fee with a cc and have them pay you back. Yeah you're paying 3%, but that's nothing compared to the rewards you can get. For some people this is the only way to meet the spend.For others this is just worth it to do so they don't have to keep track of the spending over a couple months.

[dragoncar]

2. I had to book some work travel and I compared the rates through UR versus buying directly. UR was approximately 50% more expensive. 

This has not been my experience at all -- anyone else seeing this?

[chesebert]

2. I had to book some work travel and I compared the rates through UR versus buying directly. UR was approximately 50% more expensive. 

This has not been my experience at all -- anyone else seeing this?

Second.

UR (compared to other fare aggregators) is often cheaper on flights, slightly more expensive on hotels and much more expensive on car rentals.

[chesebert]

Finally approved-- took three weeks.  Didn't have to talk to anyone.  Now I gotta spend $8k... Sadly this will be doable with the holidays coming up and worst case I'll pay the surcharge for my property taxes

Okay, I guess I shouldn't expect a quick response on DW's application. It has already been a week...

[dragoncar]

Finally approved-- took three weeks.  Didn't have to talk to anyone.  Now I gotta spend $8k... Sadly this will be doable with the holidays coming up and worst case I'll pay the surcharge for my property taxes

Okay, I guess I shouldn't expect a quick response on DW's application. It has already been a week...

Maybe the secondary review team is just overwhelmed by the response. It's always possible to call reconsideration, but IMO you lose a "bite at the apple" by doing that before they actually reject you (i.e. Only two total chances for approval rather than three)


BTW, I know this isn't strictly a reserve issue, but my wife's card did not show up in her online account while mine showed up immediately.  Got the card today via UPS (so only three days from instant approval-- real metal card but not fancy box).  So now I'm worried I entered her SSN wrong or something.  I did slightly change her name on the application so maybe that's it.  But for the life of me I can't find a place in chase online to "add a card" -- is it even possible without calling them?  There are links to enroll a card but that only lets you create a new account, not link to an existing account.  Viewing the card online will obviously be important in meeting spend, paying bills, and redeeming points.

BTWBTW, anyone else really dislike the new chase interface?  They added all this unnecessary Web 2.0 crap that makes it super slow on my decade-old laptop and it's hard to find anything and even downloading statements is a pain since I like to download like 20 statements in a session (a few months worth times a few different cards) and you used to be able to just click each month in succession but now you have to do all these pull down menus for each individual statement.  Ugh rant over

[JLee]

2. I had to book some work travel and I compared the rates through UR versus buying directly. UR was approximately 50% more expensive. 

This has not been my experience at all -- anyone else seeing this?

Second.

UR (compared to other fare aggregators) is often cheaper on flights, slightly more expensive on hotels and much more expensive on car rentals.

I've always found UR to match Google Flights.

[JoJo]

Anyone have any creative ideas for converting the $300 travel credit on anything other than "travel"? Anything that may code as "travel" but be something indirectly related?

Those concerned about not having travel in 2016 are buying gift cards for future flights with their favorite airlines.  The "loosest" def of travel that is coming up as 3x points is bus fare (loaded my local bus pass) and ferry crossings.

Some things that I consider travel but didn't count as such - a tour I took, entrance to a major tourist attraction.

[Dollar Slice]

Anyone have any creative ideas for converting the $300 travel credit on anything other than "travel"? Anything that may code as "travel" but be something indirectly related?

Those concerned about not having travel in 2016 are buying gift cards for future flights with their favorite airlines.  The "loosest" def of travel that is coming up as 3x points is bus fare (loaded my local bus pass) and ferry crossings.

Some things that I consider travel but didn't count as such - a tour I took, entrance to a major tourist attraction.

I can confirm that taxis count as "travel," at least here in NYC.

From the Chase website:

"Merchants in the travel category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, campgrounds, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages. Please note that some merchants that provide transportation and travel-related services are not included in this category; for example, real estate agents, websites or owners that rent vacation properties, in-flight goods and services, on-board cruise line goods and services, sightseeing activities, tourist attractions, merchants within airports, and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. In addition, the purchasing of points or miles does not qualify in this category."

[2buttons]

2. I had to book some work travel and I compared the rates through UR versus buying directly. UR was approximately 50% more expensive. 

This has not been my experience at all -- anyone else seeing this?

Second.

UR (compared to other fare aggregators) is often cheaper on flights, slightly more expensive on hotels and much more expensive on car rentals.

I've always found UR to match Google Flights.

Flights were slightly higher in my case. Hotel was 50% more than booking directly although have special account with hotel. Rental same deal as hotel.

[ooeei]

Finally approved-- took three weeks.  Didn't have to talk to anyone.  Now I gotta spend $8k... Sadly this will be doable with the holidays coming up and worst case I'll pay the surcharge for my property taxes

Okay, I guess I shouldn't expect a quick response on DW's application. It has already been a week...

Maybe the secondary review team is just overwhelmed by the response. It's always possible to call reconsideration, but IMO you lose a "bite at the apple" by doing that before they actually reject you (i.e. Only two total chances for approval rather than three)


BTW, I know this isn't strictly a reserve issue, but my wife's card did not show up in her online account while mine showed up immediately.  Got the card today via UPS (so only three days from instant approval-- real metal card but not fancy box).  So now I'm worried I entered her SSN wrong or something.  I did slightly change her name on the application so maybe that's it.  But for the life of me I can't find a place in chase online to "add a card" -- is it even possible without calling them?  There are links to enroll a card but that only lets you create a new account, not link to an existing account.  Viewing the card online will obviously be important in meeting spend, paying bills, and redeeming points.

BTWBTW, anyone else really dislike the new chase interface?  They added all this unnecessary Web 2.0 crap that makes it super slow on my decade-old laptop and it's hard to find anything and even downloading statements is a pain since I like to download like 20 statements in a session (a few months worth times a few different cards) and you used to be able to just click each month in succession but now you have to do all these pull down menus for each individual statement.  Ugh rant over

I wouldn't worry too much about the delay.  I was approved over the phone yesterday morning, and it hasn't shown up in my online profile yet.  I applied last Tuesday, called them yesterday and they said they had to confirm a few things about my identity.  Once the things were confirmed they said I was approved and I'd get the card in 1-2 weeks. 

I'm guessing the instant approval has a lot of automated steps that don't necessarily happen if your application has to be reviewed by a person, including being added to your online banking right away.

With that being said, calling them didn't take too much time, might be worth doing for you.

[kudy]

2. I had to book some work travel and I compared the rates through UR versus buying directly. UR was approximately 50% more expensive. 

This has not been my experience at all -- anyone else seeing this?

I only have 1 data point - just booked a tour for 2 through the UR portal for $170 worth of points (~11,000 or so). The same tour through the company's website is $180.

[OurFirstFire]

Certainly looks like a great deal!  I've read the terms and don't see any mention of being able to transfer the points to airline miles (eg Southwest Rapid Rewards)  like you can with CSP.

Can anyone confirm whether you can transfer the points as miles with the Sappphire Reserve?

[dragoncar]

Certainly looks like a great deal!  I've read the terms and don't see any mention of being able to transfer the points to airline miles (eg Southwest Rapid Rewards)  like you can with CSP.

Can anyone confirm whether you can transfer the points as miles with the Sappphire Reserve?

Good question since I'm about to "product change" my CSP

[geekette]

Certainly looks like a great deal!  I've read the terms and don't see any mention of being able to transfer the points to airline miles (eg Southwest Rapid Rewards)  like you can with CSP.

Can anyone confirm whether you can transfer the points as miles with the Sappphire Reserve?

I logged in to our account and confirmed that yes, you can.  Looks the same as the CSP.

[Livewell]

Has anyone gotten travel credit towards the $300 by buying airline gift cards?

Thinking about a trip next year, figured I could buy "free" gift cards and use them next year when we book our trip.

[Rubic]

Has anyone gotten travel credit towards the $300 by buying airline gift cards?

Thinking about a trip next year, figured I could buy "free" gift cards and use them next year when we book our trip.

I don't have the CSR card, but I've successfully purchased American Airlines gift cards
with my American Express and Wells Fargo travel credits.  I purchase them in $100
increments.  The AA gift cards never expire.

[2buttons]

FYI - Cash out transfer was in fact three business days, and I have not even paid the bill yet.

[CowboyAndIndian]

Got approved immediately. Waiting for the card.

Thanks Scandium.

[JoJo]

Possible use of your PriorityPass...

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/man-who-missed-flight-and-spent-18-days-in-transit-using-forged-boarding

[erutio]

Possible use of your PriorityPass...

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/man-who-missed-flight-and-spent-18-days-in-transit-using-forged-boarding

18 days of free food, booze, and lodging, for the price of 1 international flight ticket.  Mustachian ...or anti-mustachian?? 

[TomTX]

Anyone else just plan on cashing out on the $1K rather than applying $1.5K to travel? I don't stay at hotels anymore, and I never fly either. There isn't an option to redeem on Airbnb thru UR so for me the extra $500 is a bit pointless.

So I tried my hand at the churn game with this card. 

Here are my takeaways. 

1. You are spending $150 for $1k in savings (wait just hear me out) after everything nets out.
2. I had to book some work travel and I compared the rates through UR versus buying directly. UR was approximately 50% more expensive. 
3. I met the spend in less than a month, and after weighing the deltas on travel. I took the cash reward and just cashed it this morning.  It was a little over $1k in cash, which will go to my travel fund.  They are suggesting it will take 3 business days direct deposit into my account. I wanted to cash so they could not take it back if I am flagged for churning. So all in all its really an $850 win + plus the extra bennies.

4. I found I definitely spent a little more money than I usually would, so going back to debit/cash system - for others this stuff may work, and admittedly, I probably came out ahead on this one, but there is definitely some work that has to be put in for the reward.

In January spend another $300 on travel for another $300 reimbursement.

You should be netting $1150 + Priority Pass + Global Entry.

[CowboyAndIndian]

Got approved immediately. Waiting for the card.

Thanks Scandium.

And I just got the card.Less than 48 hours after I applied (applied 21st evening)

Unlike others, looks like I got the metal card. Much heavier than the other plastic credit cards I have.
But no fancy box, just the UPS envelope with the Chase envelope  in it.

Let the fun begin.

[ender]

Protip: if you travel, instead of paying tolls with cash, pay them online, and they get reimbursed as travel :-)

We had a few we paid online since we had no cash. And chase is considering it a travel expense.

[CowboyAndIndian]

Protip: if you travel, instead of paying tolls with cash, pay them online, and they get reimbursed as travel :-)

We had a few we paid online since we had no cash. And chase is considering it a travel expense.

Yup, I modified all of these to auto charge

• EZ Pass (tolls)
• PATH Smartlink (Train between NYC/NJ)
• Google FI
• Gym
• Uber
• Republic Wireless (sons account)