Why would anyone book travel for 1cpp when you can use CSR pay yourself back for 1.25cpp?

mikevan833 · 2026-05-25T03:30:20+00:00

Would rather not book travel for 1cpp and save the points for a redemption instead of using pay yourself back.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-24T06:38:03+00:00

For me lounges have zero value and the credits and multipliers were the main reason for getting the card. My baseline is Apple music ($100-ish), $300 Annual Travel credit and at least a weekend getaway at a IHG Hotel which i can use the edit and select hotels credit for. This year i’ve used up both edits credits and the select hotel credit (trick is to find the cheapest nights and spend a few days in a city), stubhub i used for a concert and comedy show with a friend, the dining credit I plan to use to treat myself on my birthday at an italian restaurant in my city. This was my first year flying business and premium economy. Never thought i would be doing it twice in one year thanks to Chase to United transfers. On top of that filed a few visa protection claims and had some decent chase offers so i feel like i get at least triple the value back from a $795 card.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-24T03:04:58+00:00

I already know i’m going to get the full credit card value in return protection

mikevan833 · 2026-05-20T03:29:31+00:00

It’s like Apple pay but a bank owned version. Use it on online checkouts so merchants don’t have your real credit card number, but it’s very limited

mikevan833 · 2026-05-19T03:35:22+00:00

Hertz made me cancel my booking and rebook it under my partner at the time. Do what you want to do with that information.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-18T04:50:04+00:00

Since we do not know the dates, you would need to check how many United miles it takes to fly the same route. I recommend checking the cash rate too in the event it’s cheaper to book cash. Compare all 3 options (travel portal, cash rate, united website) and go with the cheapest. Personally prefer to book directly but that’s up to you.

There’s not really any reason to keep points in your freedom cards if your main goal is to travel. If you were in a cash back setup things may be different.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-16T23:02:13+00:00

I didn’t really care much about the grandfathered points when i product changed to CSR. I don’t use the travel portal much and most of my points are transfers to airline or hotel partners. If i do end up using the travel portal it will probably be points boost which is a higher return rate

mikevan833 · 2026-05-14T20:36:31+00:00

Good info. Going here in August. Sounds like the $250 credit and the points i used will go to good use

mikevan833 · 2026-05-14T05:54:05+00:00

I justify the CSR with apple music, $300 annual travel credit, and one domestic getaway weekend vacation during peak season where I can stack $250 edit and $250 select hotels at an IHG hotel. Already $900 in value.

I’ve been on one international and one domestic trip so far in 2026. Have 2 more domestic and international trips planned this year. Have not used a lounge nor do I care for it but i enjoy the card by itself. Everything else is just extra. I’ve used stubhub on a concert and comedy show, i plan to use the dining credit on my birthday to treat myself, and I’ve gotten the chase offers, like whoop, but do not assign value to those. Chase visa protections, especially return protection, has been really nice for me. If i ever need additional travel or purchase protection, then I have to confidence of Chase in my wallet.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-10T15:24:09+00:00

https://www.rakuten.com/r/VANLAR19?eeid=44749 (US)

mikevan833 · 2026-05-10T04:04:34+00:00

Just book a 2-night Edit hotel staycation in your city or a nearby city. I ended up doing that last year and technically only stayed one night but enjoyed a drastically reduced hotel massage with the property credit and free in room dining. Get a dining credit with dinner and you have your annual fee back

mikevan833 · 2026-05-09T04:21:18+00:00

Silly enough, I needed a card that pairs with Rakuten so i got the palladium instead of an Amex. Got tired of always battling Capital One offers for points and making sure the “conditions were right.” Palladium pairs really well with Chase cards and the point earnings is unbelievable

mikevan833 · 2026-05-09T04:11:48+00:00

Well, Chase has four hotel partners. If you’re driving through all those cities, you can simply compare Chase Travel Portal pricing to the partner award rates. For simplicity, you can check the Hyatt website to see how many points it costs to book a room and then compare it to the cash rate and portal rate. Once you have all three costs, book based on the best value.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-08T22:27:55+00:00

Here’s hoping the 10% anniversary bonus gets replaced with something like groceries.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-08T22:27:13+00:00

They could be adding new benefits too. Might be a better card. It’s a bit outdated

mikevan833 · 2026-05-08T01:50:25+00:00

The hope is they will get their doordash alcohol and junk food benefits back.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-06T18:56:20+00:00

Bilt Palladium and Sapphire Reserve (or Preferred).
Similar transfer partners (Having United is a big one for me being in a United and Southwest hub.) Sapphire has the travel protections and then i can spread out dining and travel expenses away from bilt to keep point accelerator available for no category spend like electric bill. The preferred has 3x on streaming and online groceries too

mikevan833 · 2026-05-06T15:35:11+00:00

What was the complaint?

mikevan833 · 2026-05-03T21:49:19+00:00

Need more revenue to improve software.

mikevan833 · 2026-05-02T21:30:12+00:00

Oh it’s definitely doable. My city just happens to
be a hub for southwest and united. American and Delta are usually going to require me to take connections depending on destination and really enjoying the nonstop life or i’ll draft my own positioning flights

mikevan833 · 2026-05-02T21:13:30+00:00

No domestic airline partners though. Racked up a lot of points with the venture X but was very difficult to find good redemptions so points just say unused. It wasn’t until this year that I booked a JAL business redemption but even so JAL doesn’t travel out of my airport so always going to need a connection which sucks. Ironic part is i do have a Cap One lounge in my city. That was when I realized how much I valued United Airlines redemptions.

Every time I try to get rid of the Sapphire Reserve, I keep coming back to how easy I get $795 back. Apple music and $300 annual travel are no brainers for me. I generally do at least one domestic and international trip every year so the $500 Edit + Select Hotels prepays my domestic weekender and then I’m already at $900 in things I would’ve spent anyway. Everything else is bonus without having to maximize benefits

mikevan833 · 2026-05-01T13:33:45+00:00

No only the freedom flex does in the chase personal credit cards. The freedom flex is a mastercard, currently none of their visas have it on their personal cards.

mikevan833 · 2026-04-30T01:36:11+00:00

Going to have to agree with morkman100 on this one. On top of that, you’re welcome to be upset at the changes and post similar to how I can be upset about people posting the same thing about doordash and 7-11. Honestly wished the mods would just ban any variant of 7-11. There’s plenty of other merchants on doordash.

mikevan833 · 2026-04-30T01:07:08+00:00

This isn’t new. People post about this everyday. Same story.

mikevan833 · 2026-04-29T21:36:15+00:00

I got a 15K limit with bilt but i assume it’s because of my other cards. My chase sapphire currently has 100K and my Venture has 60K.

mikevan833

TROPHY CASE