How to Use The Chase Trifecta to Score Free Travel (original) (raw)

Chase credit cards are repeatedly ranked as the most popular cards available today. And it's easy to understand why: With the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, you can redeem your points or cash back for valuable rewards.

If you're a Chase devotee, using the Chase trifecta can be a smart way to boost your rewards to score free travel and other amazing perks. A process where you juggle multiple Chase cards to maximize your earnings, this approach can help you indulge in your dream vacation faster than you thought possible.

Here's how to utilize the Chase trifecta to achieve your goals.

What is the Chase trifecta?

The Chase trifecta isn't a company-sanctioned strategy; it's an informal approach credit card experts use to get the most value from their cards. Users will sign up for and use three different Chase cards so they can take advantage of different bonus categories and earn rewards faster.

While some people opt to use different credit cards, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the most commonly used cards in the trifecta are the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Freedom Flex®, and Chase Freedom Unlimited® cards.

| | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Chase Freedom Flex® | Chase Freedom Unlimited® | | | ------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Annual fee | 795∣795 | 795∣0 | $0 | | Welcome bonus | Earn 150,000 bonus points after you spend 6,000onpurchasesinthefirst3monthsfromaccountopening∣Earna6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening | Earn a 6,000onpurchasesinthefirst3monthsfromaccountopening∣Earna200 Bonus after you spend 500onpurchasesinyourfirst3monthsfromaccountopening∣Earna500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening | Earn a 500onpurchasesinyourfirst3monthsfromaccountopening∣Earna200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening | | Earnings rate | 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠ (including The Edit℠), 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct, 3x points on dining worldwide & 1x points on all other purchases | 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter! Plus, earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases | 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases | | Perks | $300 annual travel creditTSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee creditComplimentary airport lounge accessComplimentary DoorDash DashPass membership for a minimum of 1 year (activate by 12/31/27)Primary auto rental damage collision waiverTravel cancellation insuranceLost luggage reimbursementPurchase protection | Purchase protectionExtended warranty protection0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases, then 18.24% - 27.74% Variable | Purchase protectionExtended warranty protection0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases, then 18.24% - 27.74% Variable |

How the Chase trifecta works together

While it may sound complicated, the Chase trifecta is a pretty simple strategy. You use your three cards to maximize their respective rewards:

Potential earnings with $2,500 quarterly spend: Chase Sapphire Reserve

To see the real value of the trifecta, let's say you spend 2,000duringaquarterongroceriesand2,000 during a quarter on groceries and 2,000duringaquarterongroceriesand500 per quarter eating at restaurants.

If you used only your Chase Sapphire Reserve to pay for those charges, you'd earn 3,500 points:

Your points are generally worth about one cent each — though if you redeem for select hotels and flights through Chase Travel℠, your points could be worth up to 2x. At a one-cent valuation, your 3,500 points would be worth about $35.

Potential earnings with $2,500 quarterly spend: Chase trifecta

But let's say you used the Chase trifecta instead. To maximize your rewards, you'd use the following approach:

By using both cards, you could get 95inrewardsratherthanthe95 in rewards rather than the 95inrewardsratherthanthe35 you'd earn using only one card — and that's just for one quarter's worth of spending.

Redeeming your points

While you can use your cards to earn more rewards, there's another way to use the Chase trifecta to make them even more valuable. If you have more than one Chase credit card, you can transfer your points or cashback rewards between them.

That means if you earn points on your Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited, you can transfer them to your Chase Sapphire Reserve. Why is that important? The Chase Sapphire Reserve rewards could have a higher redemption rate, and you could reap the benefits while paying just one annual fee.

When you redeem your Chase Sapphire Reserve points for eligible travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ portal, your points could be worth up to 2x.

For example, if you had 60,000 points, your points could be worth up to 1,200ratherthanjust1,200 rather than just 1,200ratherthanjust600.

You can even complete point transfers to airline or hotel loyalty programs through the Chase Travel℠ portal, possibly giving you even more value for your points.

Things to keep in mind about the Chase trifecta

The Chase trifecta can be an effective strategy, but it's not for everyone. First, to qualify for the Chase Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited cards, you'll need to have good-to-excellent credit, which typically means having a credit score of 670 or higher. And to qualify for the Sapphire Reserve on top of those, you'll need excellent credit — so you'll likely need a score even higher than that.

Chase may also be strict about the unofficial 5/24 rule. If you've applied for more than five credit cards — regardless of what company they're from — within 24 months, you might not get approved for a Chase credit card.

Finally, juggling multiple credit cards requires you to be extremely organized in order to take advantage of the benefits. You'll need to keep track of bonus spending categories and category spending limits to ensure you get the most value.

To further understand how the Chase trifecta stacks up, see it side-by-side with similar cards from American Express in our Amex trifecta vs. Chase trifecta comparison.

Maximizing your rewards

If you have good-to-excellent credit and are looking for the best rewards credit cards to save money on travel, learning how to utilize the Chase trifecta may be a good idea. You could earn more rewards and be able to redeem them at a higher rate, so you can enjoy get discounts on airfare, hotel arrangements, and destination activities.