Credit Card: Marriott Bonvoy Boundless vs Chase Sapphire Preferred

[SuiteLady]

I feel like I am asking too many questions so I hope the Tug individuals do not mind. I am new to credit card strategies since I have focused on airline cards and Bonvoy card.

I have some other questions.

1) Should I keep the United and American Airlines cards? I am paying $95 a year for each one. I use them when I fly those airlines and have gotten many miles in the past because they used to be primary cards for spending. I do not use the United club passes because we are a family of 4 and I only get 2 And I don’t want to pay $59 each for them to enter the club. The real benefit to these cards is free luggage, priority boarding and points do not expire if I make a transaction within the timeframe they allow. I fly the airlines maybe once a year but sometimes less than that.

2) The new strategy I am thinking I will try is the one recommended here. Keep Bonvoy to pay MFs and for when I stay at a Marriott-owned hotel. Combine Chase Sapphire Preserve (CSP) with Chase Freedom Unlimited (CFU) and transfer points to partners or buy travel on the website. Any recommendations on how to combine these cards most effectively? I am wondering why there is an advantage to transferring point awards from CFU to CSP?

3) Why would the 1.5% cash back be better than other cash back cards that offer up to 2%+ cash back? I have read about a few of them but conflicted.

Thank you again for sharing your expertise!

 

[aklausing]

I know one can transfer Chase reward points from one card to another as stated in previous posts, but can this be done from one account owner to another. My wife currently has a Chase Sapphire Preferred in her name (not a joint account with me and I am not listed as an authorized user) and I am considering getting either a Preferred or Reserve in my name (she would not be listed on my account in any way) in order to get the sign-up bonus. Would we be able to transfer her reward points to my reward account or vice versa similar to how Bonvoy points can be transferred between different accounts?

 

[ljmiii]

1) Should I keep the United and American Airlines cards?...The real benefit to these cards is free luggage, priority boarding and points...

Having the United card also gives you access to award tickets that you might not otherwise see. I don't know if the AA card does the same.

2) I am wondering why there is an advantage to transferring point awards from CFU to CSP?

You wouldn't be transferring the points - it's all one bucket. It's that the CFU card gives 1.5 points per dollar on random spend and the CSP only gives 1.0 point.

3) Why would the 1.5% cash back be better than other cash back cards that offer up to 2%+ cash back.

No advantage to 1.5% "cash" but 1.5% points are more valuable when the value of a point is more than 1.33 cents. But it's really more than that since the points are an alternative currency that you can use when cash prices are particularly high. Theoretically, Bonvoy points are currently worth 0.84 cents and United are 1.21 cents but I find them more valuable than that...sometimes much more valuable.

For example, I'm sitting on some tickets over Christmas that were 70K miles each but were $2,800 cash when I bought - 4.0 cents per point. Even better, I can cancel a points reservation up to 31 days in advance with no fee. The tickets are sitting around $2,500 now...but the plane is mostly empty. If 31-45 days out the cash price drops precipitously (which does happen) then I can buy cash tickets and get my points back.

 

[Bodie]

I have a Marriott branded Chase card and use that for the MFs.

Thank you.

 

[jwalk03]

I know one can transfer Chase reward points from one card to another as stated in previous posts, but can this be done from one account owner to another. My wife currently has a Chase Sapphire Preferred in her name (not a joint account with me and I am not listed as an authorized user) and I am considering getting either a Preferred or Reserve in my name (she would not be listed on my account in any way) in order to get the sign-up bonus. Would we be able to transfer her reward points to my reward account or vice versa similar to how Bonvoy points can be transferred between different accounts?

Chase will allow you to designate one other person you can combine your UR points with. So you could combine rewards between yours and your wife’s UR accounts.

 

[DRH90277]

Bonvoy cards - Was in a sales presentation and they were promoting a Marriott Bonvoy card by American Express. Offering 100,000 Bonvoy pts for $6,000 in purchases in first year ($3,000 in first 3 months). High fee but a statement credit for Marriott to bring to $150 per year.

Sounds like options include Chase, AMEX, and ........

 

[Aviator621]

Bonvoy cards - Was in a sales presentation and they were promoting a Marriott Bonvoy card by American Express. Offering 100,000 Bonvoy pts for $6,000 in purchases in first year ($3,000 in first 3 months). High fee but a statement credit for Marriott to bring to $150 per year.

Sounds like options include Chase, AMEX, and ........

That Marriott credit was just discontinued, and replaced by a monthly restaurant credit.

 

[iowaguy09]

That Marriott credit was just discontinued, and replaced by a monthly restaurant credit.

Correct on the credit change for the Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX, but it does not go into effect until mid September 2022.

 

[SuiteLady]

So it sounds like getting the Chase Freedom Unlimted (CFU) is good to combine with Chase Sapphire Preseve (CSP), for the 1.5% cash back. It also sounds like the points/cash back go into the same account so you do not need to transfer points from CFU to CSP. More questions:

1) What is the advantage of also keeping the CSP?
2) Do you need to elect whether you want cash back or points with CFU? How does Chase know what you want? How does Chase know to combine the two cards into one account?
3) What expenses are better to put on the CFU and which are better to put on the CSP?

This credit card stuff can get so complicated. LOL

Thank you again!

 

[jwalk03]

So it sounds like getting the Chase Freedom Unlimted (CFU) is good to combine with Chase Sapphire Preseve (CSP), for the 1.5% cash back. It also sounds like the points/cash back go into the same account so you do not need to transfer points from CFU to CSP. More questions:

1) What is the advantage of also keeping the CSP?
2) Do you need to elect whether you want cash back or points with CFU? How does Chase know what you want? How does Chase know to combine the two cards into one account?
3) What expenses are better to put on the CFU and which are better to put on the CSP?

This credit card stuff can get so complicated. LOL

Thank you again!

CFU earns Ultimate Rewards points. There is no other option- so nothing to choose between.

CSP offers additional options for your UR points that CFU does not. You ca. transfer the points 1:1 to many travel partners. You can also redeem the points through UR Travel for an additional premium over their normal value.

CFU offers 1.5% on everything. CSP offers 1% on everything, with additional % in travel and dining. So travel and dining would earn more on CSP. Everything else would earn more on CFU.

 

[TravelTime]

I am booking travel through the Chase portal. I have both the Sapphire Preferred and the Freedom card. When I go to book, I can’t combine the points for my booking. I thought it was all in one bucket?

 

[Fasttr]

I am booking travel through the Chase portal. I have both the Sapphire Preferred and the Freedom card. When I go to book, I can’t combine the points for my booking. I thought it was all in one bucket?

You can move the Freedom points to the Sapphire card, then they can be used together.

 

[TravelTime]

You can move the Freedom points to the Sapphire card, then they can be used together.

The system only gave me the option to move points from Sapphire to Freedom. But now I am seeing it is not giving me the bonus points to book with Freedom. I am so frustrated! I am on the phone with Chase now to see if they can fix this.

 

[TravelTime]

It sounds like you only get 6x for paying maintenance fees with the Bonvoy card. I also have the Chase Sapphire Preferred card that offers 5x points and a 25% bonus to redeem travel when booking through their portal. It might be better to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card over the Bonvoy card for flexibility in redeeming for travel anywhere plus the 25% bonus. Does this seem accurate?

I am also wondering. How do you get the extra 17x points ie 6x for using Bonvoy, 10x for Bonvoy membership and 1x for Silver elite? Is that only for paying for hotel nights? I qualify for 17x but I have never seen the 17x points awarded to my account. I have inquired with Marriott and they say to call Chase. Chase says call Marriott because they award it.

 

[Ken555]

I am also wondering. How do you get the extra 17x points ie 6x for using Bonvoy, 10x for Bonvoy membership and 1x for Silver elite? Is that only for paying for hotel nights? I qualify for 17x but I have never seen the 17x points awarded to my account. I have inquired with Marriott and they say to call Chase. Chase says call Marriott because they award it.

Marriott Bonvoy Boundless: Travel Credit Card | Chase.com

Earn up to 17X total points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy(R), 3X points in select categories, and 2X points on all other purchases. Learn More.

creditcards.chase.com

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[TravelTime]

For MFs, I am hearing on the Vistana thread that the Bonvoy card only awards 6x points not 17x.

 

[jwalk03]

For MFs, I am hearing on the Vistana thread that the Bonvoy card only awards 6x points not 17x.

The card never awards 17X. The 17X is only for Marriott hotel stays using the Card. 10X from the Marriott Hotel; 6X from the Card itself, plus the 1X Elite bonus for Silver which is provided on the Card.

Maintence fees only earn the 6X Marriott Card spend part. No 10X from MVC or Elite bonus.

 

[TravelTime]

The card never awards 17X. The 17X is only for Marriott hotel stays using the Card. 10X from the Marriott Hotel; 6X from the Card itself, plus the 1X Elite bonus for Silver which is provided on the Card.

Maintence fees only earn the 6X Marriott Card spend part. No 10X from MVC or Elite bonus.

A few more questions:

So for the extra 10x and 1x from Marriott hotels, is this only awarded on the actual cash cost of the hotel nights?

If you spend during your stay and it is a direct marriott charge on the line item, are these expenses still eligible for the extra 10x and 1x? I have never seen any extra 10x/1x points awarded on my account for any direct Marriott expenses. I understand if it is a marriott vendor that this would not be eligible.

 

[jwalk03]

A few more questions:

So for the extra 10x and 1x from Marriott hotels, is this only awarded on the actual cash cost of the hotel nights?

If you spend during your stay and it is a direct marriott charge on the line item, are these expenses still eligible for the extra 10x and 1x? I have never seen any extra 10x/1x points awarded on my account for any direct Marriott expenses. I understand if it is a marriott vendor that this would not be eligible.

On property spend that is billed to your room typically qualifies. There are some exceptions like parking charges and outside vendors that operate on property- but mostly they qualify for the 10X plus elite bonus. You would not see this on your credit card bill. You would see these points on your Bonvoy account only.

 

[TravelTime]

On property spend that is billed to your room typically qualifies. There are some exceptions like parking charges and outside vendors that operate on property- but mostly they qualify for the 10X plus elite bonus. You would not see this on your credit card bill. You would see these points on your Bonvoy account only.

I have never seen the extra bonus points in my Bonvoy account. I asked Marriott to review my account and they would not do it.

Do you know if the Marriott and Vistana maintenance fees are coded correctly so Chase Sapphire Preferred gives the travel points bonus?

I am wondering if @Fasttr knows the answer to this question too?

 

[jwalk03]

I have never seen the extra bonus points in my Bonvoy account. I asked Marriott to review my account and they would not do it.

Do you know if the Marriott and Vistana maintenance fees are coded correctly so Chase Sapphire Preferred gives the travel points bonus?

I am wondering if @Fasttr knows the answer to this question too?

it’s really not a bonus or something that shows up as a separate line item. It’s just the points you earn for each hotel stay. Review your activity in your Bonvoy account and you should see the folio for each hotel stay and the number of points you earned for it. 10X points for each $1 spent plus an elite bonus based on your Bonvoy status. 1X- Silver, 2.5X- Gold, 5X- Platinum, and 7.5X Titanium. But it all shows as a total for each stay.

 

[mdurette]

The system only gave me the option to move points from Sapphire to Freedom. But now I am seeing it is not giving me the bonus points to book with Freedom. I am so frustrated! I am on the phone with Chase now to see if they can fix this.

When you are in the UR portal, you can click on "combine points" and a screen like the below comes up. You should see the option of your Freedom on the left and your Reserve/Preferred (not sure which Sapphire you have) on the right. Move the freedom to the sapphire.

 

[mdurette]

And for bonus points from Marriott.....

Marriott purchases 6x on chase card:

Same Marriott purchase Bonvoy points received

So, in the end my $102.55 resort charge will end up getting me 2396 Bonvoy points once the Chase credit card points post.