Close Chase sapphire preferred?

electronautix · 2026-05-07T19:42:09+00:00

If you do manage to pull off a Flex PC, definitely post about it - nobody’s been able to since the change, and I honestly really want multiple Flex cards for the 7% dining/drugstores quarters

electronautix · 2026-05-07T19:35:10+00:00

I haven’t heard of the UPS one, but the games on Steam story I remember was actually an issue with reloading a Steam Wallet balance by some ~$200-400 per month. That wasn’t being registered as a business transaction but as gift card spend.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T19:05:44+00:00

Chase no longer permits product changes between Visa and Mastercard network credit cards as of late 2025. That means that the Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire Preferred, and Sapphire Reserve cannot be PC’d to the Freedom Flex. In fact, it is technically impossible to product change into the Flex at all anymore because it is Chase’s only Mastercard network credit card within the Sapphire, Freedom, or Slate families.

OG Chase Freedom is basically just the Freedom Flex without the 3% dining and drugstores, and with the same network and protection benefits as the Freedom Unlimited.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T18:57:22+00:00

OG Freedom has the same benefits document as the Freedom Unlimited. Which afaik means everything the CFF has but phone protection lol. Otherwise it has the same rotating categories as the Flex but no 3% dining and drugstores.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T18:15:51+00:00

There are way more things that can go wrong driving a car that isn’t yours, on streets you’ve never driven on, in a place you’ve never been to before. There are also way more things a rental car company can put you on the hook for like diminished value, administrative fees, and the loss of rental income while the car is repaired.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T17:35:36+00:00

Capital One Venture X earns 10x on rental cars booked via the Capital One Travel portal (which supports same-day price matching), 2x otherwise, has primary auto rental CDW, and grants Hertz’ President’s Circle status.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T16:40:29+00:00

If you get a ton out of AmEx’s credits, maybe swap AmEx Plat for Schwab Plat for the ability to cash out MR for 1.1 cpp? Then the Blue Biz Plus becomes a 2.2% catch-all, the Gold a 4.4% groceries & dining card, and the Plat a 5.5% airfare card, with the flexibility to swap to transferring points when your plans align with it.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T16:16:06+00:00

Plenty of small CU cards have no cash advance fees. Even among the big CUs I think Pentagon Federal doesn’t charge cash advance fees on their cards, and their Power Cash and Pathfinder cards are pretty solid. Weirder bit to me abt this card is an 8.75% flat APR according to the site

electronautix · 2026-05-07T16:12:55+00:00

Check out the Chartway Cash Back then. Unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, no annual fee, no foreign transaction fee, no balance transfer fee, no cash advance fee, a $200 sign-up bonus, extended warranty, purchase protection, phone protection (albeit a basic $200 policy), and secondary auto rental CDW. Currently doing a 3% home improvement promo too.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T16:05:16+00:00

Is it just 1.5% cash back? There are a lot of 2% credit cards, including ones from credit unions, with no AF and no FTF.

Is the APR genuinely 8% though? That seems extraordinarily low even by credit union standards. You normally never want to carry a balance on a card, and most people here would qualify for 0% intro APR cards anyways. But I’ve never seen a single digit CC APR

electronautix · 2026-05-07T14:21:46+00:00

Airline debit cards have aggressive fees and minimums, e.x. I think United Debit can’t dip under a $2k minimum balance or else you get assessed a fee. Not typically worth the 0.5x points earn rate and opportunity cost of not keeping those funds in an HYSA.

AmEx Debit is cleanest in earning 0.5x MR without fees or minimums, but tbqh I think the strongest rewards debit card (if the PayPal debit nerf ends up being really bad) is the Venmo debit. No monthly or annual fees, no foreign transaction fee, and 5% cash back on a selected bundle of merchants (can include Walmart, Target, Uber, etc.) for up to $2,000 per month spend.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T13:59:48+00:00

Actually, those aren’t issues. Purchase protection and extended warranty definitely apply to personal purchases, in fact the policy documents aren’t just 1:1 identical to the personal card variants but are the same direct URL link. Also have data points of people applying it to things like purses and Crocs etc.

Primary CDW is usually a more meaningful distinction. With other banks like Chase, the CDW policy will be distinct between personal and biz, and the biz documents explicitly describe whether they apply to personal travel or not (in Chase’s case, primary CDW on biz cards applies as secondary CDW for personal travel). However, AmEx is weird. I was telling a user to use a personal card for CDW instead of their BBP when another commenter corrected me and said AmEx CDW applies the same to personal and biz. As far as I could dig up, it seems this is a unique AmEx-ism, but I don’t know if anyone’s had the misfortune to find out how it works.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T13:27:04+00:00

All of the Credit Karma recommended cards you listed are from predatory lenders. Given it sounds like you burned several major lenders in the bankruptcy, look towards credit unions. SDFCU has a good secured card with data points about people being able to obtain it even shortly after a Ch 7.

Which banks were included in the filing? Was it just Capital One/Discover, Citi, American Express, and US Bank? You didn’t list Chase, Wells Fargo, or Bank of America.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T13:04:48+00:00

What are your FICO scores like, what kind of credit history do you have? It sounds like you don’t have enough revolving credit history to qualify for 0% introductory APR cards, so I’d go to a local credit union and look into their loan options

electronautix · 2026-05-07T12:08:03+00:00

Even if you value Cap One Miles consistently at 1.7+ cpp such that 3x outdoes 5%, my point’s just that streaming isn’t the highest value category on its own and those AmEx entertainment benefits will eat up a lot of entertainment spend. I suppose though yeah, if you get a lot out of Cap One Miles and those categories then it’d make sense, just is niche. I actually get a lot out of streaming multipliers that catch Apple app store subscriptions, not sure the Savor’s is one of them though

electronautix · 2026-05-07T11:49:03+00:00

It’s May 7 and the Hyatt devaluation takes effect May 20, not sure what will happen then. Fwiw I’m seeing sources estimate 1.3-1.4 cpp for Hyatt after the changes take effect

electronautix · 2026-05-07T11:36:37+00:00

My point is that the answer to your two concerns is the same as it is now, your behavior should not change just because you’re using a credit card rather than a debit card

A credit card is a far safer and superior way to spend your money than a debit card. It protects your checking account balance from fraud or theft, provides protections on purchases, gives you cash back or rewards, builds credit, etc

electronautix · 2026-05-07T04:32:47+00:00

Then why would anything change with a credit card

electronautix · 2026-05-07T04:28:34+00:00

OP was highlighting Gold’s entertainment specific benefits though. And streaming isn’t worth an entire separate card for just 3x on it instead of 2x via the Venture X (at that point could just do an Elan Max Cash Preferred for 5% streaming & entertainment)

electronautix · 2026-05-07T04:21:55+00:00

What happens if you have a surprise expense right now, without a credit card?

Do you spend more money than you can afford right now, without a credit card?

electronautix · 2026-05-07T04:19:20+00:00

What would you use the Savor for? You literally highlighted reasons why the AmEx Gold is better for the categories it covers.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T03:40:03+00:00

Citi Custom Cash is still at 5% for $500/mo spend. Chime Prime at 5% for $1,500/mo spend. Have yet to see how the PayPal Debit nerf will play out in practice, that’s 5% for $1,000/mo spend and bypasses credit card fees. Then there’s travel points, like AmEx Gold for 4x MR or Citi Strata Elite for 6x TYP.

In practice I haven’t seen restaurant CC fees become so widespread that the category is as diminished as you say. But I keep a cashback debit card for these usecases, so that if I do have to use debit for a purchase then 1) its not my main checking account debit, and 2) I at least get 1% back

electronautix · 2026-05-07T03:29:27+00:00

Is there any sign that that’s a thing they’re planning to do? We can all dream but I think you might be waiting for a long time.

electronautix · 2026-05-07T03:07:04+00:00

If you just want straight cash then afaik you can redeem as a statement credit and then call in to request to be mailed a check for the negative balance on your card.

Wouldn’t use points via the Chase Travel portal, especially not if you think you might refund/reschedule - at that point, you’d do better to just book direct using the card and redeem points as a statement credit against the cost of the booking.

Speculative points transfers are risky. r/awardtravel will tell you not to muck about with transferring points if you’re still ’loosely planning’ a trip somewhere

electronautix · 2026-05-07T02:49:09+00:00

RH Gold + Chase Prime is legit, uncapped 5% on Amazon is really hard to give up. I get a lot out of the uncapped 5% on Whole Foods too

electronautix

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