My Number One Credit Card Recommendation

Free travel...it's something I love to think about. It's something I love to experience. And it's pretty easy to cut the cost of flights and hotel rooms to pretty much nothing. As I've noted before, one of the easiest ways to get free travel is through signup bonuses from banks. It's pretty easy to rack up tens of thousands (and occasionally hundreds of thousands) of points from signing up for a new credit card or two.

You might wonder what credit card I'd recommend the most for those looking for a quick trip. It's an easy answer. That would be the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. (This is an affiliate link. If you sign up for this card, I may be compensated. You can also just Google Chase Sapphire Preferred and get the same offer, but I do appreciate any support you might give).

Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

You might wonder why I'd choose the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It's pretty easy to give a reason. I like the fact that you can get a 50,000-point bonus after spending $4,000 over the first three months that the card is open. You might think that it's hard to spend this much, but many middle-class families spend at least $1,000 a month on insurance, gas, and food. If you put all of these expenses on the card, you're pretty much there. 

What are 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points worth? You can use the points for a statement credit at a penny a point. This means that you could get at least $540 of that $4,000 back just be utilizing the points for a statement credit. If you're averse to annual fees, no worries. There's no fee the first year. Starting with year two, there's a $95 annual fee, however. If you want to avoid the fee, you can cancel the card after 10 or 11 months as long as you've used the bonus or transferred the points to a partner.

The card earns a point per dollar spent, as well as two points per dollar for spending in the travel and restaurant categories. This is where the $40 extra dollars comes from, but it would likely be more if some of the spending went toward paying for travel or restaurant expenses. 

You can get an even bigger return from these 54,000 points, however. If you use the card to pay for travel through the Chase travel portal, you'll get 1.25 cents of value for each point. This means that the signup bonus alone would get you $625 of value from the signup bonus and at least $50 more from meeting the minimum spend. This could pay for multiple airline tickets or a few nights at a decent resort, depending on where you're looking to go. If you have a spouse with good credit, he or she could sign up after you've hit the bonus, and you could effectively double the bonus!

You can even use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points as a 1-to-1 transfer opportunity with a number of travel loyalty programs. For example, your 54,000 points could become 54,000 Rapid Rewards points with Southwest Airlines, 54,000 Mileage Plus miles with United, or 54,000 points with Hyatt or Marriott. These are some of the best travel partners around. 

How I Used My Chase Sapphire Reserve Bonus

I got the signup bonus a few years ago, and I proceeded to go to Disneyland, among a few other places in Southern California. I utilized a Southwest Airlines fare sale to transfer 29,000 Ultimate Rewards points for 29,000 Rapid Rewards points. Four tickets to LAX from Denver, total cost $44.80 (taxes that frequent flyer miles don't erase). I call that a win. 

We saw the Lakers at the Staples Center
Here's a statue of Jerry West. Go WVU!

I then looked for places to stay. They were pretty expensive, to say the least. I had a free night through Marriott, which I used to spend the first night close to the airport after our late arrival. Then I transferred another 24,000 to Hyatt for a free three-night stay at a Hyatt House near Disneyland. It was actually in a one-bedroom suite for only 8,000 points per night. Talk about a travel score! 

I added another night in this hotel for about $180. This means that I saved $540 on hotel expenses at the Hyatt (not to mention another $150 or so from the free Marriott night). I probably saved another $400 to $500 on flights although it's been a few years and I can't remember the exact cash price.

This means that my one signup bonus got me nearly $1,000 of value. The flexibility that comes with the Chase Sapphire Preferred is why I can say it's my number one card recommendation. You can sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred here.   

If you're worried about spending $4,000 in three months, you could also start with the:

Chase Freedom Unlimited ($150 bonus after spending $500 in 3 months + no annual fee ever) Affiliate Link

Where would you use your travel bonus from the Sapphire Preferred? Let me know in the comments.