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Yes, when banks offer cards that work together. Chase absolutely does. Here's how it works for Chase: Their various products (Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Sap

Yes, when banks offer cards that work together. Chase absolutely does. Here's how it works for Chase: Their various products (Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, Sapphire, Sapphire Preserved, Sapphire Reserve, Business Ink, and maybe a few others) all generate the same currency (Ultimate Rewards) but do so in different ways: * The Freedom offers 5% (5 points per dollar) on a rotating set of categories that change each quarter. For instance, right now the categories are Gas Stations and Home Improvement stores, so put those purchases on that card (there's no annual fee), and 1% on everything else * The Sapphire Reserve offers 3% on dining, travel and 1% on everything else. It ALSO allows you to redeem Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5x the value. It has plenty of other perks and a significant annual fee, so whether it's worth it depends on your lifestyle, but for many people it is. * The Freedom Unlimited offers 1.5% on all other purchases, so it's a good fallback. No annual fee so no problem keeping it around. The other cards have their own quirks as well. The point is that you can accumulate reward points on the various cards depending on the category of the purchase and them consolidate them all into one card (the Sapphire Reserve) for maximum value. People who are truly dedicated will go even further and point out that technically, for optimum value, you shouldn't just redeem the UR points for cash/travel purchases and should instead transfer them as airline miles to various partners, but I've never found it worth it personally, as while I enjoy travelling my tier of travel is strictly coach to a variety of locations, not trying to save up 3 years of points for a first class flight to Dubai.

maxerickson 6y ago
But do a lot of people do this? What are the spending requirements for the game to be worth it in money terms? And then there is the part where the game turns into work (I see keeping track of the several accounts mentioned above as a chore).
- ac29 6y ago
  The sapphire reserve has an annual fee of $550. Its not a card that makes sense for most people in my opinion, but if you can use its benefits (primarily travel benefits), it might pay for itself.
- Arainach 6y ago
  There are plenty of communities built around it such as The Points Guy, who has thousands of followers. It all depends on what you want to get out of it. I don't make a living off points, but it's certainly been profitable for me as someone who pays off my cards in full every month. For reference, the signing bonus that was offered when I got the Sapphire Reserve (100K points, though it's been dropped since) was more than high enough to pay for my annual fee for the entire time I've had it so far, so everything I've paid for with points (which is thousands of dollars) has been pure profit.
- leetcrew 6y ago
  depends what you mean by a lot of people. r/churning is a relatively large sub (~282k members), and that's dedicated to a fairly aggressive form of the game. as to whether it's worth it, depends how you value your time. I'm a fairly modest spender; I get about $150 in cashback rewards and $200+ from signup bonuses each year. I don't travel much, so it would be hard for me to break even on any points card with an annual fee. not a huge chunk of change, but a decent return on ~2 hours spent each year with an excel spreadsheet. there's not much month-to-month overhead if you use autopay and something like personal capital to track your finances.

maxerickson 6y ago

But do a lot of people do this? What are the spending requirements for the game to be worth it in money terms? And then there is the part where the game turns into work (I see keeping track of the several accounts mentioned above as a chore).

ac29 6y ago
The sapphire reserve has an annual fee of $550. Its not a card that makes sense for most people in my opinion, but if you can use its benefits (primarily travel benefits), it might pay for itself.
Arainach 6y ago
There are plenty of communities built around it such as The Points Guy, who has thousands of followers. It all depends on what you want to get out of it. I don't make a living off points, but it's certainly been profitable for me as someone who pays off my cards in full every month. For reference, the signing bonus that was offered when I got the Sapphire Reserve (100K points, though it's been dropped since) was more than high enough to pay for my annual fee for the entire time I've had it so far, so everything I've paid for with points (which is thousands of dollars) has been pure profit.
leetcrew 6y ago
depends what you mean by a lot of people. r/churning is a relatively large sub (~282k members), and that's dedicated to a fairly aggressive form of the game. as to whether it's worth it, depends how you value your time. I'm a fairly modest spender; I get about $150 in cashback rewards and $200+ from signup bonuses each year. I don't travel much, so it would be hard for me to break even on any points card with an annual fee. not a huge chunk of change, but a decent return on ~2 hours spent each year with an excel spreadsheet. there's not much month-to-month overhead if you use autopay and something like personal capital to track your finances.