Chase Trifecta - Still Worth It In 2024?

[@MyNameJim]

I’d argue you only need a di-fecta: the Flex and the Sapphire of your choice.

[@Daniel_Braun]

That works as well!

[@googmail2155]

You really only use the unlimited as a catch all and the sapphire , you never use the flex, its very annoying the rotating categories and most are just useless except gas and groceries

[@MeganW_88]

@@googmail2155that’s what I have - the unlimited and the preferred. I don’t like rotating categories.

[@shuhei9571]

@@googmail2155it’s incredibly easy to remember one thing for 3 months lol

[@ServiceAceStud]

Bifecta is how i started my chase journey, CFF didnt move the needle enough for me. Id have saved the 5/24 slot in hindsight

[@EthanPatrick_CreditCards]

This is very accurate. Chase really hasn’t innovated for a long time now. I’ve heard they have some new cards in the works and I hope that is the case because all the other issuers seem to be stepping up their game! Great take here Daniel.

[@jcaceres516]

They dont have to.. cause people will still hype them up and sign up. Same thing with amex

[@nmrooney1]

I run the Chase trifecta and agree with all of your points. I added the Triple AAA Daily advantage card to help supplement with 5% on groceries and 3% on Wholesale clubs and Gas.

[@drag0n4ever]

2% back on the unlimited and offer 3% back on regular grocery stores for the preferred and that would be perfect.

[@travis-travels]

These two are why I don’t go with Chase. If they added these to aspects, I might consider switching.

[@CuriousDuckk]

I started off with the trifecta but I stopped using them since I received more points from the AmEx gold than I did with the three chase cards combined.

[@jrg_lmnop]

For you frequent Amazon customers out there, Chase Prime Visa gets 5x at Amazon and Whole Foods

[@jareddavis4483]

But it doesn’t get UR points, only cashback

[@jrg_lmnop]

@ you are right, it won’t go towards UR. But 5x is still killer and the points can also be used to purchase at Chase Travel, similar to UR.

[@gregb5876]

I have the Preferred Trifecta with a Venture X add on, as my airport has a Capital 1 Club.

[@szehui6800]

Agreed 100% here. I have an Amex Gold specifically for the 4x on groceries plus Rakuten as an accelerator - I would likely move that spend back to Chase for a good multiplier on groceries. EV charging being a 1x category is also a real drag - that goes on my Costco Citi card for 4% cash back.

[@adamdejager]

I think the CFU will be staying at 1.5. As you alluded to, the whole lineup is balanced around Chase points being superior to other points, specifically through partnership with Hyatt. Definitely supplement with a CCC to cover the grocery category gap, though.

[@tiffanyonwudinanti]

I did have the chase di-fecto: flex and preferred. Just closed my preferred card, in pursuit of just having a simple credit life. Just rocking the flex for personal use.

[@Daniel_Braun]

Totally understandable! The Freedom Flex is a great standalone card as well 👍

[@thekingslayer8463]

Did it hurt your score much after you closed it? How long did you have it for if you don't mind me asking. I have an amazon prime chase card I spend way too much money on it and was thinking about closing it. I was also thinking about getting a chase sapphire preferred.

[@tiffanyonwudinanti]

@@thekingslayer8463 I opened the account in 2021, and closed it this month. My score only went down 2 points, which I don’t mind. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I wasn’t using it to its full benefit, and had to pay the annual fee. If you need the financial discipline, I’d recommend closing the prime card. So what if your score goes down by a little bit. It’ll recover and you’re growing in your financial fitness.

[@ServiceAceStud]

Good move, sounds like you moved solely into the cash back world. Ive alwaya felt the CSP was like having 1 foot in each world. Bifecta is probably where i should have stayed instead of getting the trifecta. Save a 5/24 slot.

[@tiffanyonwudinanti]

@@thekingslayer8463 no it didn’t hurt at all. My score went down by 2 points for a week, and went back up shortly after.

[@chachagirl4041]

Remember also when booking hotels on points you also save taxes so your real savings is much higher than just the cost of the room itself. Some taxes are 20% of the room price.

[@alannulli]

you don’t have to pay taxes and fees when paying with points?

[@chachagirl4041]

@ generally no. For example, we have a 4 night resevation at IHG Holiday Inn express for 140k points. My receipt shows no taxes/fees. I just had 10 days in Greece and booked on chase portal and when I look at my recipts, I’m just showing total points charge and it’s not broken down so it could be that some taxes were in there but what could they base tax on since it was a points stay? I do recall one hotel in Greece charged me a local city tax of $40 and I think another one charge a local city tax if $12. Play around in the portals and confirm but that is one of the many reasons I don’t like to pay cash for hotels. I’ve also included breakfast for 2 and 4 people in a room points stay in Europe, Asia and South America. Some of these hotels have 8-12 station buffet breakfasts and it really saves on food especially for big eaters. Good luck.

[@alannulli]

@ hmmm very interesting, will check that next time I book something. Wonder if it applies to planes too bc i mainly use points for plane tickets

[@chachagirl4041]

@ we pay govt mandated taxes and fees on flights. Points won’t cover those. Depends on the carrier and also the airport. Heathrow is expensive so avoid that airport due to high taxes and fees. Use Dublin or Paris for example.

[@alannulli]

@@chachagirl4041 wowow learned a lot today, ty

[@gregb5876]

But 1.5 UR points back on the CU DOES give more value than 1.5 cents... It's at the minimum, 2.25 cents. As you know, you can't just look at the number of points a credit card gives you. You have to look at the value of those points when comparing to other cards.

[@iFrankie.]

Having a duo is better than a trifecta, having to check every Q on the freedom flex would be annoying to get that 5x. CSP & CFU is enough. AMEX Gold along with Plat or Capital one Savor & Venture X

[@Adiscretefirm]

No grocery, no gas, no 2x catchall.

[@theone3428]

"I earned over 350k points.... over 4 years" is how this be titled. Realistically those points you got from your initial trifecta weren't still around by the time you got the reserve.

[@Daniel_Braun]

Correct, that's how points work - they should be earned and then used. I wasn't trying to say that I used them all at once, but over the course of around 4 years my wife and I earned those 340,000 points (from sign up bonuses alone, not even counting spending) and redeemed at at minimum for at least 2 cents per point on average for over $6,800 of travel value over those 4 years. That part of the video was just meant to show our sign up bonuses we got because people ask about that. Not trying to say that we earned that all at once, so sorry if there was some miscommunication there or something 👍

[@jmlinden7]

@3:37, you can have 2 sapphire cards at the same time, you just can't open a new one when you already have one. But you can product change into a 2nd sapphire card when you already have one. It just doesn't really make sense because you're paying 2 effective annual fees but not getting any extra bonuses compared to paying for 1.

[@rebel7254]

Hyatt has started adding "plus cash" to their rooms. Wanted to book a suite stay near Atlanta in July, and last year it was 8,000 points per night, but now it's 8,000 pts + $227 per night. Pretty well tanks the value of the points.

[@Daniel_Braun]

@@rebel7254 that is only for nights where there’s not award availability, so Hyatt gives you the “points + cash” option instead. Use a tool like maxmypoint.com to find which nights have award availability at different Hyatt properties and then search on Hyatt. That will give you the nights with the true award availability that’s bookable using only points 👍

[@BethDiCostanzo]

Thanks, Daniel! Love your content! Wanted to let you and your subscribers know that I just got approved for 6/24 with a Chase World of Hyatt. I was so surprised because I was at 5/24, but the 5 free nights bonus that was expiring 10/31/24 was so tempting that I just gave it a try. It went under review initially, then today I checked online to my notices and letters and saw a request for more info. I called and answered a few identity verification questions and then, after a brief hold, he came back on the line and said I was approved!

[@theone3428]

@BethDiCostanzo how long between your last hard pull?

[@BethDiCostanzo]

@@theone3428 Surprisingly, I applied for Citi Double Cash on the same day minutes before applying for Chase Hyatt and got approved. So if Citi does hard pulls, then the answer to your question is same day. I got crazy this Halloween, probably the full moon or all the sugar, but I applied for 8!!! count 'em, 8 credit cards in one day! I was approved for 4 of them. Also, I'm not too good at math, because what I wrote above that I was at 5/24, was incorrect. When I applied for the Chase Hyatt and got approved, I was at 8/24, not including 3 new business cards. All totaled, I jumped in to the credit card game mid-August and by the end of October, I had 12 new credit cards: 4 personal Chase, 1 business Chase, 5 other personal (Savor, Attune, Double cash, Platinum, US Bank Shoppers cash), and 2 Amex business cards. So I don't know what all the data points here mean, but I wanted to put it out there what a possible result is. I'm planning a trip to Paris and trying to fly business class so that's the reason for all this crazy. We also had a ton of remodeling, taxes, and son's wedding expenses, so I immediately earned all the SUBs. FYI, I have great, long-established credit history (in other words, I'm old!) and pretty good income. I know this is an unorthodox strategy and not for everyone, but I hope this info is helpful!

[@Yddor1]

Ayo! Puerto Rico mention 🔥 Hope you've had a wonderful time on our island and thank you for the video! Completely agree on the bump for the Unlimited to stay competitive. I never felt I needed it while I was getting new cards, to the point where I decided to downgrade my Preferred to another Flex (but Visa) instead of getting an Unlimited and recently got a Venture X to "replace" the Preferred and, in a way, work as an Unlimited too. Also, thanks for the tip on the Hyatt transfer from the Chase side. Didn't dabble to much on transferring points, but now I want to try it when I eventually get a Reserved.

[@inspirely9126]

🇵🇷

[@soapa4279]

Overall Chase will not change because everything is designed into funneling users to the Chase portal. That’s why the CFU is 1.5X because technically when you transfer to a CSR, it’s more like 2.25%. Also 3X in dining on all cards exist because the vast majority of customers will only have one or two credit cards. I know this bugs a lot of CC min-maxxers but we’re a minority. You can carry only the CFU or Flex and still get dining covered.

[@robotnik1937]

More people need to see this. From a business viewpoint they’re optimizing the amount of money they can make on their customers. The average person only has 1/2 credit cards is very true so overlap in categories like that 3x on dining only matter to the small minority of the bank’s customer base which is us credit card warriors who have credit card setups

[@ColinRH]

I think to be more competitive to cap1, the sapphire cards get a 2x flat and either make unlimited a 3-4x back on gas or grocery or anything else. Or come out with a new card that has 3x on 2 categories that don’t rotate. This would eliminate the need for the unlimited giving you a 2 card setup or have a more effective 3rd card that would bump it ahead of cap1. I could only imagine how awesome cap1 duo would be with a rotating 5% card, and chase has opportunity to do just that

[@joshcrame1]

Sorry…Very beginner question here - But I’ve never heard this explained in a video… If Flex and Unlimited have no annual fee, why don’t I just use one of those for points and travel? Is it because those two don’t even come with travel points?

[@Rhaegar7504]

I’d argue the CFU is underrated in a two card set up for a player 2 who doesn’t want to use a bunch of cards. My wife uses it with the USBAR and it keeps her happy. I like having the 3x for sit down dining that the other 2% cards don’t have.

[@CallMeLani]

good stuff! and that editing overlay at 00:18 is sick!

[@daveharman888]

I've recently started my Chase Trifecta journey. Finally (after a bunch of fraud letters in the mail) got approved and got a Chase Unlimited Card. Question: During the 0% for 15 months, do you get a statement still? And if you did a large purchase and pay it off before the 0% end does that Utilization Rate get reported each month? We always pay off the balance each month and have for many years since we are way past our "Bad CC Years" 🙂.

[@jasonfernandez5770]

Can you do a video on Navy Fed more rewards and flagship black card...ones visa (good for Costco) and the other i use for gas if it's not at costco and restaurants. The downside is you can't combine points...wanted to get your thoughts

[@Wongo150]

I’m slowly moving away from C1. I just got the CSP for the 300$ travel credit and plan on getting the unlimited next then the flex. The biggest reason for my switch was with Chase having Hyatt as a transfer partner. Hopefully this next year goes well with Chase!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Yeah having Hyatt as a transfer partner is a big plus for Chase! Hopefully we'll see positive changes (if any) in 2025!

[@slashwonder]

5/24 also applies for Credit Limit Increases, or at least it did for me this year. Your mileage may vary.

[@MrBrooksV]

Chase Sapphire, Freedom Unlimited, and the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday are in my opinion the best 3 cards you could have for only $95 a year. I also have a Costco card as I do the majority of my shopping there and get 4% back on gas. Sapphire: dining and travel BCE: grocery and gas (unless you have Costco card) Freedom: All other purchases

[@nyrehman2001]

I have a CSR. I upgraded my CFU to another CSR after having it for over a year, so it is possible to have two chase sapphire cards.

[@tamopollocualto]

I had Chase flex freedom unlimited Chase sapphire reserved and another Chase credit card but I closed them all after having issues financially this year might come back to the freedom flex and sapphire for travel

[@Frostyrnb77]

I recently got into learning about transfer partners. Hyatt is really the main player for 90% of us. If Hyatt goes away, then British Airways is really the only partner I'd use. I'm aware other issuers have British Airways, but I hate Amex (Can't afford those high AF). Have the Citi setup. Cap1 I can't get approved for the VX.

[@Darvey]

New to this, so I’m curious on your thoughts about this Chase set up: Prime, Flex, and BonVoy Boundless. I want to keep the annual fees to a minimum and keep it as simple and straightforward as possible, so this seemed to make sense for me. I also prefer Marriott properties because they are seemingly everywhere and usually nice. (Prime) 5% on Amazon purchases (very frequently) and 5% on Whole Foods (We get about a quarter of our groceries here). (Flex) 5% rotating categories and 3% on dining. (BonVoy) 3x groceries (get majority of our groceries at Kroger), and then 2x on everything else as a catch all. I know the Prime cash back won’t transfer to the BonVoy and will have to be straight cash back, which is fine by me, but the Flex points can be transferred to BonVoy for travel as 5x, correct? Appreciate any help if I’m wrong. Thanks, new sub!

[@Yungbaldy69]

question, if i already have the trifecta with the preferred, how can i downgrade that CSP card if i already have the other two cards in the trifecta?

[@naparqalria]

i think it's because they're partners with Hyatt that chase doesn't have easy 3x multipliers because Hyatt pts are so valuable.

[@brokenscalez3446]

When you downgrade do you keep the same credit limit?

[@Sturnburn772]

Do you think the capital one duo is better in general?

[@daniel_fogle_fishing]

I would love to know what you think about my Regions prestige card on tier 3. I have 4X on dining 3X on gas and groceries and 2X on everything else

[@FernsFrugalPointsFinances]

Loved this video. Great outlook

[@kev14609]

Question: does Hyatt ever have transfer bonuses with Chase?

[@ronaldgreig4699]

Just got into the miles/points game within the last month. I have watched and learned from your videos including this one. I have the Sapphire preferred along with Flex. I spend about 10k a month on business expenses and wondered if I could get more out of the trifecta transferring to partners vs just getting a 2x card. Any thoughts?

[@sorrello6328]

Where is the transfer partner cheat sheet, I dont see it?

[@rebel7254]

The link takes you to a form and he forces you to give him an email address to send it to you.

[@TuanNguyen-qk7om]

Thank you for the informative video. I have the trifecta with flex, unlimited, and preferred at the moment. I want to upgrade to reserve from preferred. Which downgrade would you recommend me to do for my preferred? I also have upcoming trip that is already booked via sapphire portal. Would downgrade the preferred before applying for the reserve affect that future trip? TIA

[@Sturnburn772]

capital one you can have your spouse be a second user on your card so all her points go towards one account as well...whats then the point of your wife having her own 3 cards? for the SUB and referral bonus only?

[@felipecadena5334]

In your opinion, which cards would be the most advantageous to have in conjunction with this trio?

[@SpaceForceCooks]

If you pay rent and to a lesser degree a home HOA, Bilt will earn you points and has no AF. Savorone also has no AF and gives you a free uber one membership. Costco's Citi has no AF if you maintain a Costco membership and offers 3% back in travel

[@N0BL36]

Bilt is a no brainer for the Hyatt transfer. Hyatt credit card is good too

[@sol_nb7143]

@@SpaceForceCooksthe uber one membership is ending next month

[@Daniel_Braun]

I'd say Bilt card makes sense if you rent because it also transfers to Hyatt. If Amex Gold makes sense for your spending habits, then that works great as a food card earning 4X on dining/groceries. If not, then SavorOne/Venture or Venture X combo works great alongside the Chase Trifecta

[@SnazzySki98]

The only chase card I have is the Amazon prime. I am almost exclusively CITI and AMEX now. Combined they have every transfer partner I’d ever need and the only other card in my wallet is a BofA custom cash for Costco and Costco gas. 5/24 isn’t a big issue for me but if I am over it for some reason I’ll take my business to someone who wants it.

[@tommymartinez1179]

Can someone please help me understand something about redeeming. So I’ve had the freedom flex and freedom unlimited for a while as well as 2 business cards for my business. I have 180,000 points that I intend to use for travel. So with the value increase of the sapphire cards, I should wait until I get one of the sapphire cards and pool all the points on that card and then redeem it for a flight correct?

[@felipecadena5334]

And would you say that you could switch the unlimited with an ink unlimited to substitute the 1.5 and only have the flex ?

[@Daniel_Braun]

They're both very similar cards earning 1.5X - only that one is for business. So I'd only use the Ink Unlimited as a business card

[@mwlai288]

Got the CSP with the current welcome offer and would like to get the Flex soon. Unlimited isn't worth it at the moment for me since I also have C1 Duo. Hopefully, there will be some changes!

[@Mike_Genisys]

Yeah it's odd not seeing warehouses, groceries .. it might be better just to pick up the Ink Business Unlimited with the sapphires and call it a day.

[@N0BL36]

Great vid! Loved your points on improving the multipliers! And yes Hyatt is major key.

[@Daniel_Braun]

Thank you! Yeah felt like I had to put some of those ideas out there in the hopes that maybe one day Chase will implement some of that haha

[@kevinbonilla4340]

Personally for me I just need chase sapphire reserve to complete the trifecta but gotta wait 2 and 1/2 years to get the bonus

[@christopherhunter5730]

Any idea what happened to Mark Plymale? He hasn’t posted in 5 months.

[@steelcitytv]

I went with Capital One the master card is more used world wide I was told a couple times on my Philippines trip that visas and American Expressweren't accepted but but I never had not one place there even in the middle of nowhere and decline a MasterCard and no International fee

[@alfonsojohnson5148]

Hey Daniel, Thank you for your videos. Should I get the Citi custom cash and close my new flex card? I have the sapphire and the Freedom Unlimited but could careless about the trifecta if it doesn't work as well in the long run.

[@jamesyu613]

I think the chase setup is still easy to use and cheap in the long run.

[@iheartpinkmochi]

I’ve loved being able to transfer to Hyatt, but I rarely use the card now since I have the Amex Gold for dining and groceries and the CapOne VX for catchall. I’m able to stack using Rakuten, too. It might be better to do Savor One for groceries to ditch the coupon book and high AF. 🤷🏻‍♀️Nice video!

[@kev14609]

Agreed ! I wish Chase would have a dedicated gas and Grocery category for all groceries. And why not take it a step further to compete with Amex and give 4x on the Sapphire reserve. Where Capital One shines is the simply of the VX and Savor One card. They just need major domestic transfer airline partners and more hotel partners. Any word on that ? 😉 Great vid as always 👍

[@Bangpaulxu]

Another great video! I have learned so much about credit cards over the past year because of you! Much appreciated! ❤❤❤

[@daviddayan7602]

I’m waiting for that grocery offer on the freedom to drop 😭

[@basmo6803]

really need a video on how to book hotels with kids. I've got 3 and it's impossible.

[@chachagirl4041]

I use chase points in the chase portal and book ahead several months in advance. We had 3 and 4 adults in a room in Greece and it was great. Just use the search function! Good luck!

[@chachagirl4041]

If you have 5 people you may be able to find homes and condos on chase portal.

[@Sakurasan2023]

Great video 📹 👍

[@seanxia5308]

You're back!!!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Back and better than ever!

[@mycryptolingo5974]

I'm going to bypass the Chase trifecta for a Chase Sapphire & Amex Gold duo

[@NACHTY1]

Why specifically this combo? Do they work off each other somehow? I have the Gold already

[@lukezuluaga9243]

Hyatt points are so OP

[@rebel7254]

Not anymore. They've started putting "plus cash" on a lot of their room categories. Wanted to book a suite stay near Atlanta in July, and last year it was 8,000 points per night, but now it's 8,000 pts + $227 per night. Pretty well tanks the value of the points when it's like that.

[@willharris5562]

Kinda flawed is an understatement

[@whitneyhodgkins1114]

We just got the CSR and I've been thinking about getting the trifecta, so thanks for this video!

[@Daniel_Braun]

Nice! Yeah highly recommend getting all of these cards at least once to try out. Thanks for watching!

[@aloudpancake]

It should be called the Chrio

[@colinyuhl9339]

CSR, ink unlimited, ink cash is the real trifecta

[@FrequentFlyer_MIA]

Cool that you have a wife to tag team these bonuses. Single folks always get screwed. I'll keep my single happy life though. Remember Happy Wife Happy life....

[@SpaceForceCooks]

If you value long-haul business class flights on specific dates, perhaps 4 round long haul trips a year, pick one top tier airline card and stick with it. You'll get more value with free upgrades than you can with ALMOST any other redemption and get other perks such as miles and discounted airline award travel. If you travel enough, it helps you reach lifetime status by flying 1M miles. Only "redemption whores" (I wish I were one, we don't have enough PTO and only travel on holiday weeks) or those who do not care when, where or how long they go, they only want maximum value from their points. Life is short, you'll save a lot of time and possible stress with one primary card

[@Daniel_Braun]

Have you had good success with upgrades by just having a top tier airline card? And which cards specifically have given you those benefits? I'd definitely look into it if that's possible

[@SpaceForceCooks]

@@Daniel_Braun I've had good success, the key is book a flight with lots of biz class vacancies along with evaluating your chances a week before and possibly re-booking to a different flight (same day, a day before or after) with more availability. I specifically have the Chase United Club Infinite Card, and you get free upgrades on domestic flights which include a select few routes mainly in the Caribbean and Mexico along with Guam. International long haul flight upgrades are NOT complimentary, they require 80 POINTSPlus (upgrade points) or cash and miles, often $600 + 30K miles which is around $950 in value which is still a good deal on 10+ hour flights. Once you apply cash/miles or PLUSpoints, it gets you on the waitlist yet at times you can receive an instantly confirmed upgrade. To get on the waitlist with United, require 80 "upgrade points" called PLUSPoints for business or 40 for premium economy (we've never used) and another way to upgrade is to use cash and miles, often only $600 + 30K miles. On eBay if you search PLUSpoints you can even buy these upgrade points online and the same goes for American Airlines. You cannot upgrade for Delta does not have these but allows you earn status solely by spending. United has 5 status tiers (top is invite only) once you hit the #3 tier you receive 40 PLUSpoints and then another 280 PLUSpoints once you hit the #4 tier (320 points total, good for 4 long haul segments). The biggest benefit to the card is increasing your status so you're higher on the waitlist. To give you a specific example, as I have written down, we just got back from our Asia trip over Columbus Day (oct 10-20), we paid $1072/person for a RT in coach/main, the Business class fare was $7281/person. One other perk with United, most aircraft that fly 10+ hour routes is in coach, they have two front rows where you literally have 10' between the front row seats and the bulkhead. If you have status, you can book those for free; those are great seats because no matter which front row seat you pick, you get up without bugging your neighbor and vice versa. If you don't get the upgrade those front row seats are amazing for a 10+ hour flight where often you want to sleep, or your neighbor wants to sleep and in our opinion better than premium economy. I’m happy to answer more questions about United

[@wesleywilliams1186]

Their multipliers are terrible. If you travel a crap ton then sure but citi is better imo. All chase has is Hyatt and what southwest or united or both? Woohoo. If for somer reason they lost Hyatt, they wouldn't be so popular. The citi trifecta imo is better especially the custom cash over the freedom flex. Double cash is better than freedom and strata premier is better than CSP.

[@SOXGATORS]

😊

[@Daniel_Braun]

First comment as always! Thanks for watching 👍 🥇

[@jocelynchang6413]

can you review the triple a visa cards please 🫶🏻