How I Used the Chase Trifecta To Earn Over 200,000 Points—and Redeem Them for Maximum Value (2024)

When I set off on my gap year to travel the world, I earned more than 200,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points over three years. So far, I’ve redeemed about half of those points for thousands of dollars worth of free travel, and I have big plans for the other half.

Although I have many different credit cards and lots of credit card points in various rewards programs, Chase Ultimate Rewards is my favorite rewards ecosystem by far. One major reason is how easy it is to earn points and how valuable they can be when redeeming them, thanks to a strategy called the “Chase Trifecta.”

This unofficial term refers to a popular strategy of pairing multiple Chase credit cards to maximize both the rewards you can earn and the value of your rewards when you redeem them. Here’s how the Chase Trifecta works and how I personally use it to maximize the value of my points.

My Chase Trifecta: Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

There’s no official definition of a “Chase Trifecta,” but my personal trifecta currently consists of three cards: The Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. (I previously held the Chase Sapphire Reserve® but downgraded to the Preferred.)

Though the Freedom Unlimited and Ink Business Cash are marketed as cash back credit cards, they technically earn Ultimate Rewards points—the same currency as the Sapphire Preferred. Essentially, 1% cash back on those cards is the same as 1X points.

Here’s the purpose each card serves in my trifecta:

• The Chase Freedom Unlimited is my go-to for dining and drugstore purchases, which earn 3% cash back. It’s also my catch-all card for any purchases that don’t earn bonus points with other cards, thanks to its unlimited 1.5% base cash back rate on all other purchases. I can also earn 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ portal.
• I use the Chase Ink Business Cash for business expenses from my side hustles. The card earns 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants (on up to $25,000 spent in combined purchases each anniversary year, then 1%) and 5% back at office supply stores and internet, cable and phone services (on up to $25,000 spent in combined purchases each anniversary year, then 1%). While some of the rewards categories aren’t applicable to my business, the extra rewards at gas stations and internet and phone services are useful.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns me 2X points on travel purchases not made through the Chase Travel portal (under other travel). The card also earns 3X points on dining and 5X points on Chase Travel purchases. The real benefit of the Sapphire Preferred is the ability to transfer my points to hotel and airline partners—a feature that’s not available with the Freedom Unlimited or Ink Business Cash.

How I Use the Chase Trifecta To Supercharge My Rewards

Welcome Bonuses

The best part about opening multiple cards is earning multiple welcome bonuses to rack up points for meeting the requirements.

For example, here are the current welcome bonuses of each card mentioned above:

• Chase Freedom Unlimited: Earn an extra 1.5% cash back on everything you buy with the card, up to $20,000 spent in the first year. If fully maximized, this intro bonus is worth up to $300 (in the form of 30,000 Ultimate Rewards points).
• Chase Ink Business Cash: Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months. Then, earn an additional $400 when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after account opening. This adds up to bonus cash back of up to $750 (in the form of 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points, total).
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

If fully maximized, the combined welcome bonuses for all three cards could net you a total of 165,000 Ultimate Rewards points by our math.

Because of the different offers that were active when I applied for these three cards, I personally earned different bonuses than what’s currently available. In terms of value, I earned a 20,000-point welcome bonus on the Chase Freedom Unlimited, a 90,000-point welcome bonus on the Ink Business Cash, and an 80,000-point welcome bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which I later downgraded to the Chase Sapphire Preferred. (Because I downgraded, I was not eligible for a welcome bonus on the Preferred). In total, I earned 190,000 points from welcome bonuses alone—by far the largest source of my 200,000+ points.

Maximizing Bonus Categories

For my everyday spending, I use each card in the categories where it earns the most rewards. This has earned me more points than if I’d used one card for everything.

Here’s the breakdown of how I use my cards and how much I earn:

While this list doesn’t perfectly cover all of my spending categories, I still earn bonus points on most of my everyday spending.

How I Spend My Points for Maximum Value

Earning points with the Chase Trifecta is only half the equation. Thanks to how the Ultimate Rewards ecosystem works, the real magic happens when I redeem my points.

Pooling Points

The biggest benefit of using multiple Chase credit cards, as opposed to cards from different issuers, is that you can pool your points from multiple Ultimate Rewards-earning cards. For example, if I earn 1,000 points with my Freedom Unlimited, 1,000 points with my Ink Business Cash and 1,000 points with my Sapphire Preferred, I can transfer all my points to the Sapphire Preferred to access that card’s redemption options for all 3,000 points.

Transfer Partners

One of the most important features that separates the annual-fee-charging Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve from Chase’s no-annual-fee cash back cards is the ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to airline and hotel partners.

This is, by far, the best way to redeem points for travel if you know how to find good deals. For example, I booked a one-way flight from New York to Paris with Air France/KLM Flying Blue for just 15,000 Flying Blue points (equal to 15,000 Chase points transferred at a 1:1 ratio), plus less than $100 in taxes and fees. I’ve stayed in Hyatt hotels that retailed upwards of $150 a night for as low as 3,500 points transferred from Chase.

Finding good deals requires some digging and a good understanding of different loyalty programs. Rewards search aggregators like Point.me, Roame.Travel and Seats.aero can make it easier to find an award flight or hotel stay for your desired itinerary.

Chase Travel Portal

When I can’t find a good deal through Chase transfer partners, the Chase Travel portal is a good alternative for redeeming my points. Although all Chase cards, including the no-annual-fee ones, have the option to redeem points through the portal at a flat rate of 1 cent per point, the Sapphire cards offer a redemption bonus that makes your points more valuable. Points are worth 1.5 cents per point when redeemed via the Sapphire Reserve and 1.25 cents per point when redeemed via the Sapphire Preferred.

And thanks to the ability to pool points, I can redeem all my points via my Sapphire card to take advantage of the redemption bonus, regardless of which card I used to earn those points originally.

Tips for Maximizing Your Own Chase Trifecta

If you want to start your own Chase Trifecta—or optimize one you already have—here are some tips to maximize your points:

• Be aware of Chase’s application rules. Chase has an unofficial 5/24 rule, where you typically won’t be approved for a new Chase card if you’ve opened five or more personal credit cards from any issuer in the past 24 months. If you plan on applying for a few different cards, prioritize applying for Chase cards before cards from other issuers.
• Redeem points for travel. The main benefit of the Chase Trifecta is the ability to access the Sapphire cards’ portal redemption bonus or transfer partners using points earned on other cards. If you don’t intend to redeem your points for travel, the Trifecta loses a lot of its value. In that case, you might be better off mixing and matching cash back credit cards from various issuers to get the highest possible rewards rates rather than limiting yourself to just Chase.
• Don’t be intimidated by business cards. While you need a legitimate business to qualify for a business credit card, the definition of “business” is quite broad. Side hustlers, gig workers and freelancers—which is what I am—can also qualify. If you’re making money from somewhere other than a traditional job, it’s worth applying for a business card for extra rewards and welcome bonuses. Chase has a handful of Ink business credit cards worth checking out.