LYC: I'm making progress on my rewards card saga
Posted by
oblique (aka kkuphal)
Feb 18 '20, 09:09
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I'm definitely going to upgrade my Chase Sapphire Preferred to the Reserve. I'm 100% fine with the existing $95 annual fee as the value of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program so by upgrading I end up with:
$550 fee
-$95 annual fee freed up from Sapphire
-$300 annual travel credit (can be used for airfare)
-$20 TSA credit ($100 once every 5 years - technically 4)
-$60 annual doordash credits
-$120 annual doordash pass subscription
I will also get Lyft Pink (15% off rides)
and Priority Pass (with restaurants) which is of limited value to me but still worth it.
With all that I'm at +$45 value on the $550 fee. Even if I discount the $95 from the preferred annual fee and say that I'm $50 in the hole, the Lyft Pink and Priority Pass should net me $50 worth of value over the course of a year if not the increased redemption on Chase Ultimate points at 1.5 vs. 1.25 (boosted by our holding of Chase Freedom Unlimited getting 1.5% on everyday purchases vs. 1% on the Reserve itself).
My next question will be whether I look at any additional cards for extra perks (hotel chains, free nights, etc.) beyond the Hyatt card I just got. IHG gives a free night for a $95 fee and Hilton you have to go up to the high end card to get that. The only downside to me upgrading my card to Reserve is that I miss out on any welcome bonus and then everything is in my name. I'd have to add $75 to add my wife to the card (although she would also get priority pass herself then). Originally I was looking to have her get the Reserve card (which I could do) but then I would probably cancel my Preferred as then everything would be in her name.
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