On my recommendation, a very close friend applied for the Chase Preferred Sapphire Visa Card. He went to his local Chase branch and they offered him a sign on bonus of 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points (10,000 more UR points than the current best offer available). His application was approved, he received the card, and met his spend.
So far, so good…
Fast forward a few weeks. I receive this email from him:
So I just received 50,000(!) Ultimate Rewards points for my new Chase Sapphire. I’m toying with the idea of getting cash back for some of it. As you probably know, I can trade in 50,000 points for $500 cash which will just be deposited to my account.
Ohmigosh…I was horrified! I responded:
Don’t you dare take it as cash! Its so much more valuable as points.
For Chase Ultimate Rewards, seems like the best approach is transferring points to a travel partner, and I’m sure you’ve told me that before. Looks easy since I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and United and Hyatt seem to be the best (or at least most popular) options,. For now though, I’ll just hold on to them for now until I do more research.
Phew. That was close.
Remember: Friends don’t let friends exchange Ultimate Rewards points for Cash!
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Kay @ Travel Bug Diary blog says
Thank goodness. I thought you really almost had a heart attack, which would be terrible.
I just applied for the CSP with a 40,000 mile bonus. Is there an offer code? I want to send an SM to CSR to see if they’ll bump my bonus.
(Kathy) Will Run For Miles says
Hi Kay.
I had told my friend about the 40K offer. Then, when he went to his own branch (presumably in NYC or Brooklyn) he was offered a 50K deal.
TWA44 says
I just talked to a friend who closed his CSP, took the cash, and thought it was basically a waste of time. Wonder if I should send him your post?! Now I never suggested he open a CSP and only heard about it when it was a done deal. Hard to even start explaining that he made a mistake!
(Kathy) Will Run For Miles says
I wrote this tongue-in-cheek. Of course if someone wants to take the cash, that’s their prerogative.
Michelle Singh says
I took the cash…but I had good reason to http://first2board.com/milespointsandmaitais/my-mileage-run-booking-binge/
(Kathy) Will Run For Miles says
I’m in awe of so many of your trips!