Since getting my Chase Flexible Rewards Card a while ago, I have been pouring through their reward program to see what I can redeem. I was actually surprised to find that it actually had a very good travel reward program to get free airline tickets. This is because outside of the American Express Membership Rewards, the Citi ThankYou Redemption Network is the most talked about credit card reward program.

I would like to share a little gem from this credit card. The gem is that it has truly a very “flexible” airline reward program. Here’s why. Like a regular reward program credit card, you can exchange points for free airline tickets. However, like the American Express Membership Rewards program, you can also transfer your reward points to United Mileage Plus Miles. You can transfer them at the following rate :

6,000 points for 5,000 miles
12,000 points for 10,000 miles
30,000 points for 25,000 miles.

Now, the transfer rate is not quite one for one. But having said that, consider the following :

1. The United Mileage Plus Visa from Chase charges a $60 annual fee, but only allows you to earn one mile for every dollar you spend. The $60 annual fee is worth 6,000 points equivalent.

2. Both the American Express Membership Rewards program and Diners Club Rewards do not have United Airlines as their airline partner. Even if they do, you still have to pay a hefty annual fee for either of these cards.

3. Though United is a partner for the Starwood Preferred program, you need 2 starwood points for one mile. The Starwood Card has a $30 annual fee.

Also bear in mind that United has just announced that their Mileage Plus Miles will only be valid for 18 months rather than 36 months. If you are an infrequent flyer but still a member of Mileage Plus, you should either use up your points or make sure you keep your account active by either shopping at their partner merchants or getting a United Mileage Plus Visa.

However, there is now a no annual fee alternative. Get the Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa® Card instead and convert your points to Mileage Plus Miles only when you need to. Why pay a $60 annual fee for an airline credit card that does not allow you to earn double miles when you can get a card with no annual fee which allows you to transfer points to UA miles (for close to 1 for 1 ratio)?

(Note : this information is not available on Chase website unless you are a cardholder. I am a cardholder and will soon screencast this on a video).

This entry was posted on Friday, February 2nd, 2007 at 01:00 and is filed under Credit Card Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.