Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Benefits

chase sapphire preferred rewards

I don’t need more credit cards. My Capital One card has something like a $35,000 credit limit. I pay it off every month. So, why am I getting a Chase Sapphire Preferred rewards credit card? However, while the easiest thing to do is to just get a good credit card that earns cash back, I like earning points that I use on travel. Up until now, I haven’t really hacked travel rewards points like this guy does, but after reading through some of his stuff, I feel like I should. Money is fungible (that means money is the same no matter how you use it), but people aren’t robots. I don’t care that the spreadsheet that is my net worth says that earning $2,000 cash back is the same as getting a $2,000 hotel stay for free. The thing is, I have money, what I want is that hotel stay, and I don’t want to feel like I’m paying for it. And, voila, travel rewards are better than cash back, for me. Credit Card Miles Hacking Why should I get a Chase Sapphire Preferred card? I’ll re-up my article about how getting cash back, or cash equivalents is often as …

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Summer Time!

Summer Time! 1

We at Finance Gourmet (it’s just me, but I like saying that) are getting ready to gear up for summer. That means a few things. First, some of the articles around here are going to be about VACATIONS and things like credit card rewards programs, airline miles, and how to save money on travel. Second, some of the articles are going to be focuses on outdoor activities and how you can take advantage of them while saving money, and living the good life. Third, there is a WHOLE LOT of weird stuff going on in the world economically speaking. Regardless of what you think of President Trump, the stuff he is doing is bombastic, and not at all carefully implemented, so expect plenty of whipshaw from investors, the markets, and economic numbers. As always, a well balanced portfolio is the answer to all your long-term investing issues, but changes are probably necessary for your short-term stuff because the volatility isn’t going away. And, finally, I’m “off” during the summer (I don’t have to go into an office anyway) so expect a bit of off-topic drift as me and the family have a whole lot of fun without breaking the bank, …

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Curabitur sodales ligula in libero. Sed dignissim lacinia nunc. Curabitur tortor. Pellentesque nibh. Aenean quam. In scelerisque sem at dolor. Maecenas mattis. Sed convallis tristique sem. Proin ut ligula vel nunc egestas porttitor. Morbi lectus risus, iaculis vel, suscipit quis, luctus non, massa. Fusce ac turpis quis ligula lacinia aliquet. Mauris ipsum. Nulla metus metus, ullamcorper vel, tincidunt sed, euismod in, nibh. Quisque volutpat condimentum velit. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nam nec ante. Sed lacinia, urna non tincidunt mattis, tortor neque adipiscing diam, a cursus ipsum ante quis turpis. Nulla facilisi. Ut fringilla. Suspendisse potenti. Nunc feugiat mi a tellus consequat imperdiet. Vestibulum sapien. Proin quam. Etiam ultrices. Suspendisse in justo eu magna luctus suscipit. Sed lectus. Integer euismod lacus luctus magna. Vestibulum lacinia arcu Quisque cursus, metus vitae pharetra auctor, sem …

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Curabitur sodales ligula in libero. Sed dignissim lacinia nunc. Curabitur tortor. Pellentesque nibh. Aenean quam. In scelerisque sem at dolor. Maecenas mattis. Sed convallis tristique sem. Proin ut ligula vel nunc egestas porttitor. Morbi lectus risus, iaculis vel, suscipit quis, luctus non, massa. Fusce ac turpis quis ligula lacinia aliquet. Mauris ipsum. Nulla metus metus, ullamcorper vel, tincidunt sed, euismod in, nibh. Quisque volutpat condimentum velit. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nam nec ante. Sed lacinia, urna non tincidunt mattis, tortor neque adipiscing diam, a cursus ipsum ante quis turpis. Nulla facilisi. Ut fringilla. Suspendisse potenti. Nunc feugiat mi a tellus consequat imperdiet. Vestibulum sapien. Proin quam. Etiam ultrices. Suspendisse in justo eu magna luctus suscipit. Sed lectus. Integer euismod lacus luctus magna. Vestibulum lacinia arcu Quisque cursus, metus vitae pharetra auctor, sem …

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Curabitur sodales ligula in libero. Sed dignissim lacinia nunc. Curabitur tortor. Pellentesque nibh. Aenean quam. In scelerisque sem at dolor. Maecenas mattis. Sed convallis tristique sem. Proin ut ligula vel nunc egestas porttitor. Morbi lectus risus, iaculis vel, suscipit quis, luctus non, massa. Fusce ac turpis quis ligula lacinia aliquet. Mauris ipsum. Nulla metus metus, ullamcorper vel, tincidunt sed, euismod in, nibh. Quisque volutpat condimentum velit. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nam nec ante. Sed lacinia, urna non tincidunt mattis, tortor neque adipiscing diam, a cursus ipsum ante quis turpis. Nulla facilisi. Ut fringilla. Suspendisse potenti. Nunc feugiat mi a tellus consequat imperdiet. Vestibulum sapien. Proin quam. Etiam ultrices. Suspendisse in justo eu magna luctus suscipit. Sed lectus. Integer euismod lacus luctus magna. Vestibulum lacinia arcu Quisque cursus, metus vitae pharetra auctor, sem …

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Save Money on Vacation Travel Airfare

Most of the time, if you find information for saving money on travel, you’ll find tips on how to get the lowest airfare, or how to get discounted hotel rooms. Unfortunately, these tips are often impractical for the vacation traveler, or even the business traveler. While it may be true that new airfares on released on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, I never seem to be going to the kinds of places that have a cheap fare just because it is Tuesday. In fact, what is seldom mentioned in these travel tip articles is that the most volatile airfares occur either on the least popular routes, or on travel at the least popular times That is because those planes are not already full, so the airlines have to jockey around on the price in order to sell the seats. Realistic Airfare Savings Tips There really aren’t any secret airfare tips that you can use, unless you can be pretty flexible in your travel. If you need to leave on a certain date, or even at a certain time, the “tricks for saving money on airfares” won’t help you. To see what I’m talking about, open up any travel website you like. Try …

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Car Rental Scam Fees Explained

Recently, I had a very nice family vacation. Now, I travel on occasion for business, and often when we travel we setup via the same system. The rental companies don’t really bother with the tricks, because they have a blanket contract with the company. This time, however, the family and I went on our own. In doing so, I noticed more than a few of the most common travel company tricks have been updated, and some new ones are out there as well. So, without further ado, let’s look at the latest car rental company tricks to increase your bill. Rental Car Fee Scams The travel industry was once the domain of luxury travelers and big spenders. Travel companies just charged high, profitable rates for everything from hotel rooms to car rentals. But, along the way, travelers got savvy. Internet travel websites opened people’s eyes to the vast difference in pricing, and the race to the bottom was on. One way travel businesses, like rental car companies, compete is by offering a rock bottom, low price, for a car rental, with every intention of boosting those rates back up with fees when you actually rent the car. Avoiding a high …

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Review Citibank Rewards Points Elite Level Premier Pass Card

The Citibank PremierPass credit cards offers higher point earnings for frequent travelers, but comes with a steep annual fee.  And, most cardholders were recently nailed with a steep increase in interest rate even if they had good credit.  Do the PremierPass pros outweigh the cons?

citibank-credit-card-premierpass-elite

Earn Points Citi Premier Pass Card

The basic Citibank rewards points chart looks like this.

  • 2 ThankYou Points earned for ever $1 spent at Grocery Stores, Gas Stations, Drugstores, Parking, and Public Transportation like subways.
  • 1 Thank You Point earned for all other $1 spending.
  • 1 Thank You Point earned for every mile flown on any airline, including other people whose tickets you bought with the card.

ThankYou Points Redeem Chart

Points / $ Travel Reward* Spending Required Cash Back Equivalent
Grocery, Parking, Drugstore, Gas 2 Points / $ 20,000 points (for $200 ticket) $10,000 2%
Everywhere Else 1 Point / $ 20,000 points (for $200 ticket) $20,000 1%
50 / 50 Split 1.5 Point / $ 20,000 points (for $200 ticket) $15,000 1.5%

* Since there is no fixed flight option anymore, I tested a couple of flights through the booking system and it appears that tickets are pricing at approximately 100 points per dollar.

Reward Value is average unless you maximize shopping at the 2 for 1 points locations.

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