Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is almost done! The last two weeks Greg, Nick, and Stephen competed to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines. But who completed the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
The title of today’s post purposely has a double meaning. Many who’s applications have been denied for the “amazing!”, “awesome!”, “INCREDIBLE!” Sapphire Reserve card are bitter about the constant coverage of the card. For them, today’s post shows that you do not need the Sapphire Reserve to do well. Even though “FU” in this context actually stands for “Freedom Unlimited”, you can read the title in whatever way you prefer.
In the recent post “The BEST travel rewards card,” I argued without proof that the best travel rewards card was a combination of cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points: Ink Cash (or Ink Plus) + Freedom + Sapphire Reserve + FU (Freedom Unlimited). I added that, for those who can’t get or don’t want that many cards, the FU (Freedom Unlimited) + Sapphire Reserve combination alone is well worth considering. And, for fun, I decided that the latter combination should be called “FU Sapphire Reserve.”
But… was I right? Is the Sapphire Reserve + Ink Cash + Freedom + FU really the best 4 card travel rewards combination? And, is FU Sapphire Reserve the best two card combination? Or, more importantly, can we get similar results without the Sapphire Reserve at all?
Background
Chase offers a number of cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, and each offers different category spend bonuses. By using multiple cards, it is possible to take advantage of each of their spend bonuses in order to earn far more than 1 point per dollar. And, once points are earned, they can be moved from one account of yours to another, as needed. This is important because points are worth more when they are held in a Sapphire Preferred or Ink Plus account than when they are in a Freedom or Ink Cash account. And, points are worth even more in a Sapphire Reserve account.
Here are the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards available today:
- Sapphire Reserve:
$450$550 (as of 1/20) annual fee, $300 annual travel credit, 3X points for travel & dining - Sapphire Preferred: $95 annual fee, 2X points for travel & dining
- Ink Plus: $95 annual fee, 5X office supplies, 5X cellular/landline/cable; 2X gas and hotels
- Ink Cash: No annual fee, 5X office supplies, 5X cellular/landline/cable; 2X gas and restaurants
- Freedom: No annual fee, 5X points in rotating quarterly categories limited to $1500 spend per quarter
- Freedom Unlimited: 1.5X for all spend
Show me the money numbers
Last year I published “Best credit card combos: Mixed rewards,” where I calculated point earnings from a number of cards that earn transferable points (points that can be transferred to airline loyalty programs). Most of these also offer the option of using points to purchase travel at better than 1 cent per point.
In order to find the best combination of cards, I had to make a number of assumptions:
- Total annual spend: $30,000
- Spend would be divided into the following categories:
- Travel: 15%
- Dining: 20%
- Gas: 15%
- Grocery: 25%
- Other bonus categories: 5%
- All other: 20%
- The cardholder would always use the card that earns the most at any given location.
- The cardholder would always maximize bonus earnings by making at least 30 purchases per billing cycle with the EveryDay Preferred card (50% bonus).
- Chase Freedom 5X bonus categories are based on the 2015 Freedom 5X calendar
- While it is often possible to increase rewards by buying gift cards at a store that offers a category bonus, this analysis does not take that into account.
The above assumptions were input into my Credit Card Analysis Spreadsheet. The “cost per point” is calculated by comparing to a no-fee 2% cash back card. In other words, annual fees plus the earnings one would have had if using a 2% cash back card instead are accounted for as the “cost”.
And I arrived at the following best combinations based on the number of cards you’re wiling to juggle. These were calculated before Freedom Unlimited or Sapphire Reserve cards existed:
| # Cards | Card / Card Combo | Avg Points Per $ | Annual Fee Total | Cost Per Point vs. 2% Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EveryDay Preferred | 2.33 | $95 | 1.00 |
| 2 | Amex EveryDay Preferred + Citi ThankYou Premier | 2.65 | $190 | 0.99 |
| 3 | EveryDay Preferred + Ink Plus + Freedom | 2.94 | $190 | 0.90 |
| 4 | EveryDay Preferred + ThankYou Premier + Ink Plus + Freedom | 3.23 | $285 | 0.91 |
As you can see in the table above, the more cards you are willing to juggle, the more points per dollar you can earn through spend. That said, the effective cost per point is just as good with 3 cards as with 4 (because the 4 card scenario requires a larger total annual fee). In fact, all of the options shown above result in an estimated “cost” of between .9 and 1 cent per point. That’s very good if you usually get much better than 1 cent per point value. Otherwise, stick with a no-fee 2% cash back card (such as the Citi Double Cash card) and you’ll do just as well with far less hassle.
So, how do the above combinations compare to my declared BEST travel rewards combo which includes the Sapphire Reserve and the FU (Freedom Unlimited)? Using the same assumptions, as above, let’s look at the NEW best combos of cards that earn Ultimate Rewards:
| # Cards | Card / Card Combo | Avg Points Per $ | Effective Annual Fee Total | Cost Per Point vs. 2% Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sapphire Reserve | 1.7 | $250 ($550 – $300 travel credit) |
1.47 |
| 2 | Sapphire Reserve + FU | 2.03 | $250 | 1.23 |
| 2 | Sapphire Reserve + Freedom | 2.2 | $250 | 1.14 |
| 2 | Sapphire Reserve + Ink Cash | 2.05 | $250 | 1.22 |
| 2 | Ink Plus + Freedom | 1.9 | $95 | 1.22 |
| 2 | Sapphire Preferred + Freedom | 1.9 | $95 | 1.22 |
| 3 | Sapphire Preferred + Freedom + FU | 2.18 | $95 | 1.07 |
| 3 | Sapphire Reserve + Freedom + FU | 2.48 | $150 | 1.01 |
| 3 | Ink Plus + Freedom + FU | 2.24 | $95 | 1.04 |
| 3 | Sapphire Preferred + Freedom + Ink Cash | 2.16 | $95 | 1.07 |
| 3 | Sapphire Reserve + Freedom + Ink Cash | 2.46 | $150 | 1.02 |
| 3 | Sapphire Preferred + FU + Ink Cash | 1.93 | $95 | 1.2 |
| 3 | Sapphire Reserve + FU + Ink Cash | 2.28 | $250 | 1.1 |
| 4 | Sapphire Preferred + Freedom + FU + Ink Cash | 2.36 | $95 | 0.98 |
| 4 | Sapphire Reserve + Freedom + FU + Ink Cash | 2.66 | $250 | 0.94 |
Among the 2 card combinations, the Sapphire Reserve pairs better with the old Freedom card (which offers rotating 5X categories) than with the Freedom Unlimited. So, technically I was wrong in assuming that the Reserve + FU was the best two card combination. That said, it is probably the best combination for those who want to keep things simple. The regular Freedom card requires signing up for the 5X bonus each quarter and remembering to use the Freedom card for the right types of purchases. The Freedom Unlimited, on the other hand, is dead simple: 1.5X everywhere.
As you can see in the table above, you need to juggle at least 3 Ultimate Rewards cards in order to get near the 1 cent per point “cost” to match options found in my old Best Combos analysis. And, it’s very interesting to see that you do not need the Sapphire Reserve card to get there. One of the best 3 card combinations includes Ink Plus, Freedom, and FU. And the Sapphire Preferred + Freedom + Ink Cash combo is not far behind.
If you’re willing to go with four cards, the difference between the combo with the Sapphire Preferred and the Sapphire Reserve is tiny: .98 cents per point for the former vs. .94 cents per point for the latter. Both are very good and are competitive with the combos I identified in my original post.
Authorized User Card Changes the Math for Couples
One big difference between the Sapphire Reserve and the Sapphire Preferred is that the former charges $75 per authorized user whereas authorized users are free with the Sapphire Preferred card. This means that the total fees required for a couple increase with the Sapphire Reserve card and cause the estimated “cost” per point to increase:
| # Cards | Card / Card Combo | Avg Points Per $ | Effective Annual Fee Total | Cost Per Point vs. 2% Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Sapphire Preferred + Freedom + FU + Ink Cash + Authorized User Cards |
2.36 | $95 | 0.98 |
| 4 |
Sapphire Reserve + Freedom + FU + Ink Cash + Authorized User Cards |
2.66 | $325 | 1.03 |
As you can see above, when considering the same scenario but for a two-person household, the estimated cost per point is slightly better with the Sapphire Preferred card!
What about redemption value?
In order to transfer points to airline and hotel programs you need either the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Plus. If transferring points is your primary use of Ultimate Rewards, then the Sapphire Reserve card doesn’t offer any more value. And, even if you don’t have the option to get those Chase cards, the Amex EveryDay Preferred card offers equally good point earnings, by itself, as long as you use the card 30 or more times per billing cycle. Or, if you travel a lot, you can do very well with the combination of the Amex EveryDay Preferred card and the Citi Premier card.
That said, one of the heralded features of the Sapphire Reserve is that points are worth 1.5 cents each when used to book travel through the Ultimate Rewards site. This is considerably better than the 1.25 cents per point value that you’ll get from the Sapphire Preferred or Ink Plus cards. Does this feature make the Sapphire Reserve combos significantly better than the combos that don’t include the card?
If all you ever do with points is transfer them to airline or hotel programs, then the Sapphire Reserve’s enhanced redemption value is meaningless. And, as long as you don’t need to purchase travel with points often, it is probably possible to upgrade to the Sapphire Reserve from the Sapphire Preferred or either Freedom card before booking travel in order to get the higher redemption value. Then you can decide whether you want to keep the upgraded card long term or revert back to what you had before.
If you have Amex Membership Rewards points, you can get close to that 1.5 cents per point value when booking flights by signing up for the Platinum Business card. The Platinum Business card gives you a 30% rebate when points are spent to buy travel on your designated airline. That results in a 1.43 cent per point value — pretty close to the Sapphire Reserve’s 1.5, but unlike the Sapphire Reserve this benefit is limited only to airfare and only to a single selected airline. Even though the card has a $550 annual fee, it is possible to get $400 in airline fee reimbursements in your first year of card membership as long as you sign up for the card mid-year. And, of course, if it is your first time getting the card, or if you’re lucky enough to get an offer that doesn’t have the once-per-lifetime rule, you should be able to get a nice signup bonus or upgrade bonus.
Another approach to consider is to use one of the best cards for everyday spend as part of your card combination. A number of cards offer 2% to 3% per dollar in rewards for all spend. While both the Freedom Unlimited and the EveryDay Preferred cards are great options for non-bonus spend (they both can earn 1.5 points per dollar), you may do better choosing a card that offers a high % per dollar instead. Since the Freedom Unlimited card earns 1.5 cents per dollar, and the Sapphire Reserve lets you purchase travel at a rate of 1.5 cents per point, the combined cards result in 2.25% value for unbonused spend. You can do just as well, or better, with other cards. See: Best rewards for everyday spend.
My recommendation, for those who can’t get the Sapphire Reserve card, is to use your transferable points cards when they earn a category bonus (2X to 5X), but use your fixed % card for all other spend. This way, you won’t need the Sapphire Reserve or the Amex Business Platinum card in order to get full value from those rewards. Redeem your transferable points when you want to book award flights, and redeem your fixed value rewards (where you earned 2% or better) to pay for travel.
Don’t forget cash!
The best Ultimate Rewards combination shown above requires 4 cards and $150 in annual fees (or more if adding authorized users) and results in earning 2.66 points per dollar, on average. If you use these points to purchase travel at 1.5 cents per point value, then you can average 2.66 x 1.5 = 3.99% value per dollar spent. But, when you include the $150 annual fee, the effective rebate drops to 3.5% for a single card holder, or 3.25% for a couple.
But, that locks you into using your points to purchase travel. Another option is to go for cash back. Another “best credit card combos” post from last year was my post about combining cash back cards: Best credit card combos: Cash Back. While some of the options shown in that post have since changed, I believe that the general conclusions remain: It’s possible to average between 3.35% and 3.8% cash back by juggling a variety of cash back cards. That’s better than the Ultimate Rewards best combo plus, importantly, you can use cash back for anything not just for travel.
What about travel benefits?
In addition to having excellent point earning (especially when combined with other Ultimate Rewards cards) and value, the Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards offer excellent travel benefits such as primary car rental insurance, no foreign transaction fees, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, trip delay coverage, etc. And the Sapphire Reserve throws in lounge access via Priority Pass Select membership.
The analyses shown above do not factor in the value of these benefits. If these matter to you, then it is worth comparing these benefits to those available with other credit card combinations you may consider.
Wrap Up
The analyses I presented above show that the Sapphire Reserve card really does have great point earning potential (especially when combined with other cards) in addition to offering better per-point value for purchasing travel. But, the “FU Sapphire Reserve” combination is not necessarily the best two-card Ultimate Rewards combination. And, it is possible to do equally well or even better without the Sapphire Reserve.
This is all good news for those who want to find cards to maximize value from spend. There are plenty of good options! Unfortunately, none of this helps those who are pissed that they can’t get approved for the Reserve card’s 100,000 point signup bonus. But maybe it eases the sting a little bit?
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Is it worth having two CSR cards for a couple? I am currently paying an extra $75 to be authorized user and will get an extra $300 travel refund. Still makes it $75 short for the $450 annual fee. Not sure if I could qualify (5/24) but is it worth trying before the March 15 deadline?
The only advantage I can think of is the signup bonus and the first year travel rebates (2017 and 2018). For ongoing years I think you’re better off keeping just one account between the two of you. But, short term, yes. I think that the second signup offer is well worth it
Quick question. I currently have the CSR, CFU, CF and the United Mileage Plus. My top expenses are food (dinning out mainly and sometimes in), transportation via uber and lyft and rent. What card would you suggest to compliment what I have already? I am thinking of the ink preferred because of the sign up bonus and Chase’s 5/24 rule (currently 4/25) even though I won’t really be spending in the card’s bonus categories. Thanks for your input!
Being @ 4/24, a Chase card makes sense. That said, I’d also suggest diversifying with another bank/points program if you haven’t already. I like my eggs in multiple baskets.
The singup bonus on the Ink Preferred is great, but the bonus categories are redundant for you. It depends how much you spend. Another card to consider is the Ink Cash. Even though it is marketed as earning cash back, you can combine the points with your URs from CSR, etc to transfer to partners or book travel. If you dine with chain restaurants, you can buy GCs at office supply stores for 5x. You may also find Uber GCs at office supply stores. The earning structure is more compelling and it saves you from paying another AF. You may be able to open an Ink Preferred now and product change to an Ink Cash down the road, but YMMV. Assuming you max out the $25k in office supply bonus cat, you’d have 155k points at end of year 1 with no AF. If you spent $25k in the top category on Ink Preferred, you’d be at the same 155k at end of year 1 and you’ll have a card with an AF – not to mention that you already have access to similar 3x opportunities with CSR. But if you’re not going to hit $25k, the math might be different for you.
[…] Baqa found that flights from Dublin to Frankfurt were significantly more expensive through Chase […]
Currently I have United Mileage Plus Select and Sapphire Preferred. I want to get the Sapphire Reserve and cancel the Preferred which I have had for 15 months. In your experience what’s the earliest I could cancel the Preferred without a clawback .
You can cancel it anytime and you’ll be fine. Just make sure to transfer points out of your Sapphire Preferred account and to the Sapphire Reserve before you cancel. Rather than cancel, though, consider downgrading to the no-fee Freedom or Freedom Unlimited cards. They earn Ultimate Rewards points too.
Good point. But thanks to your analysis making me review my cards I think I will open a Freedom Unlimited and cancel the United card as I don’t spend a lot on air fares these days. I will get the Reserve and transfer the points as you suggested
IMO, the following cards are bad due to the 3% FTF .I would never include them in a travel combo. Most of my travel is abroad . The net earnings abroad for non-category spending is :
Freedom : -2%
Freedom Unlimited : -1.5%
Ink Cash : -2%
The only Chase cards that have no FTF have an annual fee, ie, the :
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase Ink Plus
IMO, it does not make sense to pay more than one annual fee and have more than one of these cards. Pick whichever AF card works best for your patterns.
Then, choose the second card for non-category spending. I would argue none of the above cards are great for non-category spending.
My personal choice as second card when traveling is :
Capital One Quicksilver (MC or VISA, mine is MC) . No AF. No FTF. Earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases, including abroad
Good point about foreign transaction fees. My recommendation with the Freedom and Ink Cash cards is to use them in the US only. They don’t have annual fees, so there’s no cost to keeping them.
[…] FU Sapphire Reserve: Better combos exist – While the Freedom Unlimited and Sapphire Reserve are an attractive combination of cards, they aren’t necessarily the best combo. […]
Very complicated analysis for a newbie like me. One simple question I have is If I decide to keep the Reserve for all the value – lounge, etc, does it make any sense to keep the Preferred also? Spouse also has the Reserve. We generally transfer UR to United for business class tix. We also share a Freedom card for the 5% and each have Ink Plus cards.
Thanks.
Wow. Great cards for newbies. Do you max out the Ink 5% on both cards ? I am newbie too but didn’t get in on the Reserve this round 🙁
We do not as our businesses do not generate that amount of Ink expenses.
Why not have your businesses “manufacture” the “business” expenses?
In that case, you can save additional money by downgrading your Ink Plus cards to no fee Ink Cash cards. Ink Cash has no annual fee, but it has the same 5X categories (capped at $25K spend per year)
No, there’s no point in keeping the Preferred. I’d recommend downgrading the Preferred to either the Freedom Unlimited (for 1.5X everywhere) or to get a second Freedom card if $1500 5X spend per quarter isn’t enough for you.
After a year, when the annual fees come due again, you should consider cancelling one of the Reserve cards and adding the spouse as an authorized user for $75. That will get you the same benefits but for less money.
“In order to transfer points to airline and hotel programs you need either the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, or Ink Plus.If transferring points is your primary use of Ultimate Rewards, then the Sapphire Reserve card doesn’t offer any more value”
Not sure I understand that as using your breakdown of charges the Reserve gets 1.7 points/$, the preferred gets 1.35points/$.
That was under the section titled “What about redemption value?” The point was that once points are earned, they’re not more valuable with the sapphire reserve if you plan to transfer them to airline or hotel programs. The Sapphire Reserve absolutely does have higher point earning ability and has higher redemption value when points are used to pay for travel.
CSR + EDP + Freedom looks like a hell of a combo. Really want a SPG also, but hard to justify its low earn
I would only assume that the average spending on credit cards is much higher than 30k if the goal is to capitalize on the points. I’m at 58k and the year is not over. With the Reserve card getting 3% on travel you can subtract $45 of the $300 you get from bonus categories on Freedom. That brings me ahead with the FU Sapphire Reserve combo and no headaches of what card to use, category activations, I went over $1500 and didn’t realize it and now only getting 1% back. The 2 card combo that is best really depends on how much you spend. Having a business creates another variable to the best choice.
Yes, that’s absolutely true. In my prior posts about Credit Card combos I urged readers to make a copy of the analysis spreadsheet in order to put in their own spend assumptions. That way you can change the estimated amount spent per year as well as % spent on different categories.
Greg The Frequent Miler,
Can you add 2 more combination to your calculation table?
1.) Sapphire Preferred + Freedom + Ink Cash + Ink Plus
2.) Sapphire Preferred + Freedom + FU + Ink Cash + Ink Plus
Thank you,
Dan,
You’ll find the same points per dollar earnings if you look for those same combinations without Ink Plus. Ink Plus’ category bonuses are almost identical to Ink Cash except that Ink Plus offers 2X hotels whereas Ink Cash offers 2X restaurants. You’ll get 2X in those categories anyway since the Sapphire Preferred is included.
In other words, the addition of Ink Plus will only make the combination more expensive (with a second annual fee) without increasing point earnings.
Dear Greg,
The only reason why I ask you to calculate the Ink Cash + Ink Plus, is to see the numbers if it’s worth having to pay the annual fee on the Ink Plus. I understand that the Ink Plus has X2 Hotels and Ink Cash has X2 Restaurants, but I’d like to keep both because I like maxing out on my 25k 5% categories on the Ink Cash, and maxing out on my 50k 5% categories on the Ink Plus. Although it is an additional $95, it may be worth it if I’m maxing out my 5% categories every year. Do I still get to keep the 2% Restaurants on the Ink Cash if I max out on my 25k 5% category?
Yes, the 2X categories remain when you max out 5X.
You can model things yourself by making a copy (click File… make a copy) so that you have the ability to edit cells. Then find the row that has the combo of everything but Ink Plus and simply increase the annual fee column by $95.
How do I save the File for the pts calculation? I tried to look everywhere on this page, I couldn’t find it.
Press File… Make a Copy
Greg,
This analysis would be more accurate and relevant if the calculations compared the net annual return after the annual fee accounting for total annual spend, dollar spend bonus categories, annual fee, and the point redemption value which would allow direct comparison to no annual fee cash back credit card returns.
I could do that. It’s very tricky to do so when including the option to transfer to loyalty programs, though, since we don’t know what point value a person might get. With UR, though, it would be easy enough to peg the redemption value now at 1.5 cents in order to make somewhat of an apples to apples comparison.
Why can’t the Chase Sapphire Reserve with its $75 per authorized user be issued by Wells Fargo? Then we would have hundreds of thousands of free (un)authorized user accounts created by the bank without having to do lift a finger. Then again, many customers these days seem like they want to lift a finger to our (dis)honorable banks.
LOL, thanks for the laugh 🙂
Maybe Wells should rebrand as Wells T Fargo, or WTF for short
ADK: I was a WF victim and I can tell you that I did get charged fees for the unauthorized account that I didn’t know about. Plus interest. There was no free lunch here, WF was making money.
Sorry to hear about this. Did the credit accounts not appear on your credit reports? It’s highly likely this will be class action this week and you will recover all th and you will recover all fees plus possibly damages.
This article is just more proof that the DL AMEX Reserve cards and Citi Prestige card are the best available credit cards for frequent travelers (not for everyone!).
Greg –
All of these posts across the various blogs are just taking the 1.5c redemption at face value. However, that wasn’t my experience when I tried to use it a little over a week ago.
I needed a one way ticket DUB-FRA last minute and the fare was expensive enough that I wanted to use miles/points but cheap enough that paying with 1.5c/point was going to come out less than traditional miles bookings. So, I logged in to the travel portal for my shiny new Chase Sapphire Reserve card to book.
However, all of the prices I found there clocked in as more expensive than what I could find via Kayak. Sure – the points cost worked out to 1.5cpp based on those prices, but the prices were all inflated. Curious, I calculated the true cpp based on the prices I found elsewhere – and it turned out I would get 0.99cpp – 1.01cpp (so, effectively 1cpp) if I booked through the portal. This was across multiple airlines and different itineraries for each airline.
I haven’t tried to repro. Was it because it was one way, last minute, within Europe….? I don’t know. But I do know that I felt like the whole value prop of CSR was a lie – and it was quite suspicious that the effective cpp was pretty much 1cpp across the board.
Perhaps this is a known issue. If it is not, it might be worth a bit of an expose…
Out of curiosity I just tried to repro. Here’s what I found (better than last time, but who knows what it will be next time…and definitely not 1.5cpp):
(tomorrow)
DUB-FRA, 13/9/2016
EI 650 or 656 | Kayak: $195 | UR: $228 / 15,200 pts | 1.28 eCPP
LH 983 or 979 | Kayak: $256 | UR: $274.70 / 18313 pts | 1.39 eCPP
(also checking Thursday, which was the day of the week when I was actually booking – though I was doing the booking on Wednesday)
DUB-FRA, 15/9/2016
EI 650 or 656 | Kayak: $161 | UR: $194 / 12,933 pts | 1.24 eCPP
LH 983 or 979 | Kayak: $256 | UR: $274.70 / 18313 pts | 1.39 eCPP
(checking very far out to see if the issue is last minute)
DUB-FRA, 2/3/2017
EI 650 or 656 | Kayak: $45 | UR: $78.70 / 5246 pts | 0.858 eCPP
LH 983 or 979 | Kayak: $79 | UR: $97.20 / 6480 pts | 1.22 eCPP
So, it looks like last minute in this case was actually much better eCPP (though that wasn’t the case last week when I was trying to book). Still not 1.5cpp though.
(round trip)
DUB-FRA-DUB 2/3/2017 – 3/3/2017
EI 650-657 | Kayak $100 | UR $187.70 / 12513 pts | 0.799 eCPP
LH 983-982 | Kayak $160 | UR $262.10 / 17473 pts | 0.916 eCPP
Ouch! Round trip is even worse. Might be worth looking into…
I’m just curious, but how do you come to your calculations of eCPP?
Cheapest (“actual”) cash price / points cost in CSR portal. As has been pointed out elsewhere, this is even overestimating the value a bit in some cases (such as when you would be passing on other benefits/bonuses by not buying cash through your preferred portal).
Thanks for the details. Your results are easy to replicate. What I’m finding is this: With Lufthansa and Aer Lingus, the price discrepancy seems to be the fact that most other search engines are finding the “economy light” / basic economy fares whereas Chase only shows classic economy. With Lufthansa, when you book economy light, you can’t check bags for free (even with elite status) and you can’t get free seat assignments in advance.
It would be much better if all of the search engines would show both fares and clearly label each one, but I don’t think any of them do.
It’s certainly not great that Chase won’t show those fares, but for some people it can be a good thing since they won’t accidentally book a deeply restricted fare. I haven’t proven it yet, but my guess is that Chase also won’t show Delta basic economy, for example.
Thanks for this. I’ll investigate. It’s ironic because before the Sapphire Reserve existed I published similar results when I ran hotel searches. At that time I recommended against using UR points to book hotels. However, yesterday I ran a few hotel searches and they priced the same or better than found on kayak.
The quick takeaway: always compare UR prices to competitor prices before booking!
I found some amazing deals from UR compared to Kayak and also Amex Travel.
Sometimes Amex have discounted hotels when you purchase a gift card through MR so I bought with my MR hilton gift card and purchase the night through UR.
You also need to consider that to use UR at 1.5cpp to book a hotel room you’re forgoing using a site like hotels.com that gives you 10% cash back via free night every 10 stays plus usually offers 5-10% cash back through a portal.
I’ve found the same thing. Their inventory is not always the same as direct with airlines, or via a website like Kayak or Priceline. It can be very, very annoying.
Example – booking SFO-HKG (stop in LAX) on a specific AA flight…trying to use SWUs so the flight is very important. The price is $886 via every single portal besides Chase, which doesn’t even show it! I called them up and provided flight numbers, and they can find it that way, but it’s priced at $120 more per person. I asked why that was and the representative said they do not always price the same, and do not offer matching, because “AA is able to offer discounts to people for booking directly with them.” Additionally, she said that “sites like Kayak can offer the same because they pre buy in bulk on every single flight.”
The entire thing was frustrating but I kept checking for a week or so and finally found one of two tickets matching price-wise. I will be booking the other ticket in cash because I don’t want to lose this price and/or the SWU availability, but suffice it to say the 1.5% value isn’t quite as great as it seems.
Overall I’d say about 75% or so of flights have shown same pricing and same routing on the Reserve portal as elsewhere.
Thanks Nicole. I was able to replicate your finding. I picked a specific flight from SFO to HKG via LAX, all on AA metal, and couldn’t find that flight on Chase even when trying to force it through multi-city search.