What’s in My Wallet? A Credit Card Guide: Part 2 - The Chase Trifecta & a Mystery Card

Welcome back! If you’re new to my blog, check out my first post on “What’s in my Wallet?” As you’ve read in the title, I’ll be going over what some call the “Chase Trifecta” and a special card that’s relatively new to the credit card scene, but just might surprise you. So, let’s get right to it!

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Chase Sapphire Preferred

Annual Fee: $95

Annual Percentage Rate: 19.74% - 26.74%

Foreign Transaction Fee: None

Special Offers: 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. This equates to roughly $750 toward travel when redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

Reward Points & Categories: $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel credit, 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on dining, and 2x points on all other travel purchases. Additional 3x points on Lyft rides and membership.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card was my first step into premium travel credit cards. This was my primary card used to help book my tickets for my first travel contract. I was even able to use the bonus points to upgrade to Polaris business class from Guam to Oregon using their airline partnership with United! I maximized my use of this card by primarily using Lyft to get around for work and leisure, for dining, and for all other travel purchases such as car rentals, train tickets, and booking hotels.

On top of all these great benefits, if you book your rental car with this credit card you can decline the rental agency's insurance and instead use the Chase rental car coverage. Before I finish talking about this great card, I also wanted to mention that I got my AirPods Pro 2 with points equivalent to $187.50. They normally will cost you $249.99. I’ll let you do the math on that one.

If you aren’t convinced about this card yet and the value of the points doesn’t make up for the annual fee yet, let me talk about the rest of the Chase Trifecta.

Chase Freedom Unlimited

Annual Fee: $0

Annual Percentage Rate: 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. 18.74% - 27.49% after.

Foreign Transaction Fee: 3%

Special Offers: Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cashback. Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

Reward Points & Categories: 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on Chase travel purchased through Chase Unlimited rewards, 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.

After getting approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, I applied for the Freedom Unlimited. I primarily took advantage of the $200 bonus offer after spending $500 on purchases. Because of the 3% cash back on dining and delivery services, I used this card every time we ate at a restaurant or ordered delivery. The 1.5% cash back is a nice addition for everyday spending. The best part about synergizing this card with the Sapphire Preferred is that you can redeem points through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and you can pool all your points from each card together! Finally, let's talk about the last card of the Chase Trifecta.

Chase Freedom Flex

Annual Fee: $0

Annual Percentage Rate: 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. 18.74% - 27.49% after.

Foreign Transaction Fee: 3%

Special Offers: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.

Reward Points & Categories: Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Earn 5% on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases.

This is the most recent card that I applied for. Again, like the Freedom Unlimited, I wanted to take advantage of the $200 bonus offer! The great thing about this card is that it not only offers 3% back on dining and drugstores, like the Freedom Unlimited, but it also offers 5% cash back on bonus categories. As I’m writing this, this quarter’s bonus category includes grocery stores, Target, fitness clubs, and gym memberships. From January 1 to March 31 I can get 5% cash back on all my groceries in up to $1,500 in purchases.

Now doesn’t it make sense why they call this the Chase Trifecta?! If you're interested in any of these cards check out my referral links here!

If you were paying attention to the title, you’ll notice that I mentioned a mystery card. Sorry to tease you, but you’ll have to check back for my next post about one of my favorite cards so far! Here’s a hint:

This card is shaping up to be one that’s built to last!

Thanks for reading and let me know if you found this post helpful!

Until next time! Salamat and si yu’us ma’ase!