{"id":887,"date":"2016-03-29T00:40:43","date_gmt":"2016-03-29T00:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/thetravelingmillennial\/?p=887"},"modified":"2016-03-29T00:40:43","modified_gmt":"2016-03-29T00:40:43","slug":"best-credit-card-strategy-for-couples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/thetravelingmillennial\/2016\/03\/29\/best-credit-card-strategy-for-couples\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Credit Card Strategy for Couples (Beginner to Moderate)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advertiser Disclosure: \u00a0some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission.<\/em><\/p>\n

Recently, two couples interested in traveling more asked me how they could use\u00a0credit cards to maximize their miles and points earnings.\u00a0 As I discuss in my Step 1: Strategy page<\/a>, credit card spend is only one portion of a larger travel strategy.\u00a0 You should not apply for a new credit card if you cannot pay it off in full every month (the monthly fees will negate any extra value that you would receive in points) or your credit score cannot withstand a hard check.<\/p>\n

With those disclaimers, let\u2019s look at the options.\u00a0 I recommend looking for credit cards that earn third party transferable points (as opposed to airline miles) because those points can often be transferred to multiple airlines or hotels.\u00a0 This flexibility is helpful when programs devalue their miles or do not have award availability on the dates that you\u2019re looking for.\u00a0 There are three main transferable points programs:\u00a0 American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points.\u00a0 Each program has its own pros and cons. \u00a0 Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners include:<\/p>\n

\"Chase<\/a><\/p>\n

Chase Ultimate Rewards<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll discuss the pros and cons of each in another article, but let\u2019s focus on Chase Ultimate Rewards for now.\u00a0 Chase Ultimate Rewards can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to a number of airline programs including:\u00a0 British Airways, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Southwest, United, and Virgin Atlantic.\u00a0 Do not redeem the Ultimate Rewards\u00a0for cash back, amazon purchases, or things like watches!!!\u00a0 You get a much better return per dollar when you\u00a0redeem the points for airline miles.\u00a0 The best use of Ultimate Rewards is likely the Singapore First Class Suite, short domestic trips booked through British Airways, and international business class flights on United.<\/p>\n

\"CSP\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Credit Card Strategy (Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Unlimited)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I recommend that both individuals apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred<\/a> and list each other as authorized signors on each\u00a0card.\u00a0 When you spend $4,000 on each card within three months of opening each\u00a0account, you will receive 50,000 bonus points per card.\u00a0 You may need to stagger applying for the cards in order to meet this minimum spend requirement, but the couple would have at least 108,000 points after meeting the minimum spend requirements on both cards.\u00a0 Each person would receive 5,000 bonus points after adding an authorized signor (their significant other) who makes a purchase within three months.\u00a0 Now they\u2019re at 118,000 points.<\/p>\n

The Chase Sapphire Preferred<\/a> is also valuable for its bonus categories.\u00a0 You receive 2 points per dollar that you spend on traveling and dining at restaurants, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.\u00a0 You also receive Travel and Purchase Protection which may compensate you for delayed or canceled flights (check the terms and conditions).\u00a0 Each card comes with a $95 annual fee that\u2019s waived the first year, but there\u2019s another strategy to reduce this fee.<\/p>\n

After meeting the minimum spend requirements on both cards, one of the individuals (not both) will need to call Chase and ask to downgrade their Chase Sapphire Preferred<\/a> card to the new Chase Freedom Unlimited.\u00a0 The Chase Freedom Unlimited does not have an annual fee but it earns 1.5 points per dollar spent on everything!\u00a0 It has one of the best earn rates in the industry.\u00a0 The downside is that you cannot transfer points earned on the Chase Freedom Unlimited to airlines unless if you have a premium Chase card (e.g., the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus).\u00a0 You\u2019ll want to double check that your significant other is still an authorized signor on the Chase Freedom Unlimited card and this should become your main card for everyday purchases.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve made it this far, you\u2019ll have 1 Chase Sapphire Preferred<\/a>\u00a0card with an authorized signor and 1 Chase Freedom Unlimited card with an authorized signor.\u00a0 Only one card will have an annual fee ($95) but almost all purchases, except for travel and restaurant spend, should be made on the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. \u00a0If you can pay either rent or taxes with a credit card (I can do both and the fee is less than the value of the miles), you can rack up serious miles in addition to the sign up bonuses. \u00a0You have now mastered the basic travel credit card strategy for couples.<\/p>\n

What to do with the points?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After only $8,000 worth of spend on the cards, you will have acquired 118,000 miles that can be transferred to major airline mile programs.\u00a0 That\u2019s almost enough for two round-trip, economy tickets to Europe with United Airlines (or its partners) or enough for two one-way, business class tickets to Europe with either United Airlines (or its partners) or Singapore Airlines.\u00a0 The economy tickets are worth ~$1,000 each and the business class tickets are worth ~$3,000 each.\u00a0 You should book the award flights to cities that are not hubs (Santorini, Porto, Nice, etc.) because you can usually find relatively cheap airfare to hub cities in Europe (London, Paris, Frankfurt).<\/p>\n

\"DSC01854\"<\/a><\/p>\n

House of Parliament, London<\/em><\/p>\n

Please leave a comment if you use this strategy or recommend another strategy for couples.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advertiser Disclosure: \u00a0some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Recently, two couples interested in traveling more asked me how they could use\u00a0credit cards to maximize their miles and points earnings.\u00a0 As I discuss in my Step 1: Strategy page, credit card spend is only one portion of a larger travel strategy.\u00a0 You should not apply for a new credit card if you cannot pay it off in full every month (the monthly fees will negate any extra value that you would receive in points) or your credit score cannot withstand a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[28,18,31],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nBest Credit Card Strategy for Couples (Beginner to Moderate) – The Traveling Millennial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/first2board.com\/thetravelingmillennial\/2016\/03\/29\/best-credit-card-strategy-for-couples\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Best Credit Card Strategy for Couples (Beginner to Moderate) – The Traveling Millennial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Advertiser Disclosure: \u00a0some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. 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