Not Freedom Unlimited, just the good old-fashioned Freedom from a card I opened long ago (my first card). I now use my Amex almost exclusively, along with Discover and Freedom only for the rotating categories. But I’m sitting on points that I don’t think are transferable, and if I’m buying travel, I’d rather do it on a card where I can rack up points that can be transferred to an airline partner for a bonus. It seems the only way to get more than 1:1 with these points is a 10% bonus when buying gift cards.
Anyone have thoughts on how to wisely spend these points? THNKS
@Quillan
Nothing wrong with Airbnb. Don’t book Hyatts just because someone else prefers them. Other ways to redeem UR points include transfers to airline partners. International partners like Air Canada, KLM, British Airways, and Virgin will give you great value.
Winslow said:
Get a Chase Sapphire, spend $4,000 and get 60,000 points. Then they will be transferable, and you get a 25% bonus if you buy through the portal.
When you say 25% bonus, do you mean on the transfer from Freedom to CSP? Or when redeeming? Or something else?
@Quillan
Transfer from Freedom to Sapphire is 1:1, but if you use these points on the Chase Travel portal with the Sapphire Preferred, then it’s worth 25% more. (Sapphire Reserve is a 50% bonus.)
Or you could transfer points to a travel loyalty program (frequent flyer, Hyatt, Marriott, or IHG) to get more value out of these points.
If you’re not looking to open another card and are charitably inclined, you can use ‘pay yourself back’ to use points towards statement credit for 1.25 cpp on select charities.
Alternatively, you could product change your Freedom to Sapphire Reserve if you want to avoid applying for another card. You can redeem for 1.25 cpp via PYB on gas, utilities, annual fees, insurance, and fitness clubs if you have no plans to travel. Obviously, all lower redemption value than transferring to Hyatt/travel, but better than 1 cpp and usually better than the typical 10-15% gift card promos they run.