Understanding The Chase Trifecta

The Chase Trifecta is the best strategy for maximizing the most flexible travel rewards points in the game.

In a nutshell, Chase Trifecta is a pretty straightforward card-combination strategy to maximizing your travel rewards. This is because its core concept is very simple: use 3 (or more) Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel cards to maximize BOTH reward earning AND reward redemption. With me so far? Great! Now, go out and do it!

OK, ok…so, not as simple as at first glance, right? If you strive to be a savvy traveler, and have a desire to get to an expert level understanding of things (which I imagine you do), there is some unpacking that needs to be done to that (still very simple) core concept. So, with that, I bring you some key information on Understanding (and Leveraging) Chase Trifecta.

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Contents
1. Why Chase (The 5/24 Rule)?
2. More Reasons Why
3. Building Your Ideal Chase Trifecta
4. TLDR Video
5. Final Thoughts

Why Chase Trifecta?

If you are new to the concept of Chase Trifecta, you may be asking yourself right now “why Chase?”. It is a valid question and, yes, there are other travel rewards card combinations that can yield powerful rewards results (eg Amex Trifecta and Capital One Bifecta)…so what makes Chase so special in comparison. The simple answer is “maybe it isn’t”. The important thing to remember here is that there are many ways to approach traveling with rewards. And even more variables to consider. Perhaps Amex card benefits, like annual travel credits and Centurion lounge are most valuable to you. Perhaps a lower annual fee is what you are looking for (of which, you will likely NOT find with Amex). On top of all of that, there is no hard rule stating that you can only utilize one strategy or one bank. In fact, you will have to employ multiple programs to fully maximize your regards potential. The bottom line here, is look into a few, see what makes sense. But, be informed (for instance, knowing your 5/24).

Chase 5/24

What is the 5/24 Rule you say? In simplest terms, this is a Chase specific rule in which you will AUTOMATICALLY be denied approval of a new Chase credit card if you have opened 5 (or more) credit cards within the last 24 months. FIVE credit cards in TWENTY-FOUR months. So, for the purpose of visualizing, imagine having five empty slot available for credit cards. When you open any new card, it takes up a slot, and remains their until 24 months after the open date, at which point it leaves its slot and makes room in your 5/24.

The most important distinction here is that just about any credit card opened in the last 24 months (not just Chase) fills one of your 5 slots, and while your slots are filled, you will not be approved for a new Chase card. There are exceptions to the rule (like certain business cards and co-branded cards NOT filling a slot), but for the most part, that is the gist of it.

More on the 5/24

I will go in depth into the Chase 5/24 Rule (and how to track yours) in a future entry, but those are the key points that make it relevant to this conversation. This rule is also the reason that, regardless of which card combination strategy you choose to employ (or, if any at all) I would highly recommend Chase as a starting point for credit card collection. The last thing you want to happen, is realizing down the line that you would like a Chase card to be your next attainment, only to find out you are at 5/24, with 18mo until the next open slot (do you know how many Ultimate Rewards points you can earn in 18 months?).

Other Reasons Why…

Truth be told, I started with explaining the 5/24 Rule as it is the best reason to START with Chase (and, thus by definition, the most urgent point). That being said, there are plenty of reasons why I find Chase to be the best bank for leveraging rewards (and subsequently, why I find Chase Trifecta to be the best strategy for maximizing said rewards). Below is my list of why, while I own cards from multiple banks, Chase is the one I reach for the most.

Reward Flexibility

Chase’s travel rewards points (called Chase Ultimate Rewards aka Chase URs) are hands down the most flexible rewards out there for maximizing value. For starters, you can transfer URs from one of your Chase cards to another, at the click of a button. This is particularly handy when working with a Chase Trifecta. That’s because, by design, while some Chase UR cards are very good at earning potential (the amount of URs you will earn for spending with that card) others are very good at maximizing UR value (the amount your earned URs are worth when redeeming them. For instance, my Chase Freedom Flex (CFF) earns 5% back (or 5 URs for every dollar spent) at gas stations. However, through the Chase travel portal, URs on the CFF have a value of 1% (or $0.01 per point). Alternatively, my Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) only earns 1% back on gas, but URs are valued at 1.25% (or $0.0125 per point), 25% higher than the CFF. Because Chase makes it so easy to transfer URs between cards, I can earn 5% on gas with my CFF and transfer those URs to my CSP to spend for an additional 25%. It is a one-button method for stacking value. This also makes it possible to pool URs from multiple cards into one pile for a large redemption, and you can even easily transfer points from one household cardholder to another, easily within the portal. You can learn all about how to utilize the Chase Travel Portal, including transferring points, in my post on Using Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal for Booking Flights.

Travel Transfer Partners

Not only can you transfer from Chase card to Chase card (or household cardmember to household cardmember) as outlined above, Chase also has a list of 14 Travel Partners (11 airlines and 3 hotels) to whom you can easily (and in most cases, instantly) transfer your URs at a 1:1 ratio through the portals “Transfer to Travel Partners” feature. This means that for any partner that offers cheaper offerings, that on the portal itself, you can easily use your Chase URs to benefit from the savings. This works in conjunction with Star Alliance (which I can, and will) provide a complete post on, but the (very) simplified version is that if you do some digging and find a deal to Asia through Singapore Airlines, you can benefit on the savings by transferring the points straight from Chase Portal.

Hyatt Transfers

Piggybacking on the above paragraph, if Hotel Rewards is your thing, Hyatt is widely felt to be the pinnacle of that, and you can transfer directly from Chase to World of Hyatt points at a 1:1 ratio.

Diversified Rewards Multipliers

If we think of the Chase Trifecta as an express train to greater rewards, then this is its engine. The array of Chase cards that offer Ultimate Rewards, cover a vast amount of category earning multipliers. I will go into further detail on the individual cards and their respective categories below, some highlights are Chase Sapphire Preferred earning 3% back on both restaurants and online groceries, Chase Freedom Flex earning 3% on drugstore purchases plus 5% on rotating quarterly categories, etc. Add this to the fact that you can transfer points from one to another card (above) and you are now dealing with a very powerful tool.

High Sign Up Bonuses (SUB)

When just looking for cards to enrich your travel rewards, high SUBs are the #1 thing to look for. This isn’t necessarily the case when looking to build out your trifecta, as this, by design, is more of an engine that builds more exponentially. That being said, a high SUB sure is beneficial to get you started, and Chase offers some of the best in the business. They change frequently, so check when you are looking for a particular card, but you could land yourself upwards of 100k in SUBs per card in your bunch.

Lower Annual Fee

There are multiple cards that you can consider for a Chase Trifecta, and we will outline them below, but for the most part you can benefit from this strategy at a lower Annual Fee as most of its competing banks. I wrote an entire article on why Chase Sapphire Preferred is my pick for best first credit card to start earning points on, but it is also the backbone of my preferred (pun intended) Chase Trifecta configuration and is the only one of the cards I pick that has an annual fee ($95). As a point of reference, every viable configuration of the Amex Trifecta uses Amex Platinum and Amex Gold, with a combined annual fee of $945. Granted, the higher annual fee comes with a larger amount of card benefits so this one is more personal preference than anything. If you are opting for American Express, read our post on Maximizing Benefits with Amex Platinum to find out how to offset the high annual fees.

Building Your Ideal Chase Trifecta

Card #1: Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP)

We went over the “why”, so it seems time to discuss the “how”. The key thing to keep in mind here, is that a Chase Trifecta can be made up of any 3 (or more) Chase cards that offer Ultimate Rewards (more on those, in detail, below). There is no “one way to rule them all”, however there are some guidelines. Starting with “be informed and make informed decisions”. For instance, I would always start with either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or a Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR). In fact, regardless of whether or not you are trying to build a Trifecta, I would start with one of those two cards (but more on that elsewhere). For the purposes of this conversation though. either of these cards serve as a great backbone to your Trifecta. Why? UR redemption bonus. In addition to any earning multipliers, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a 25% bonus on travel though the Chase Travel Portal and the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a 50% bonus for the same thing. When choosing which of the two Sapphire cards to start with, I suggest the CSP due to its lower annual fee ($95 vs CSR’s $550)…but again, with the higher annual fee comes more benefits so this is a personal preference.

Card #2: Chase Freedom Flex (CFF)

The next card attained for my Chase Trifecta was my Chase Freedom Flex. This card is the workhorse of my Trifecta. Offering 3% on drugstore purchases and dining PLUS a whopping 5% back on revolving quarterly bonuses (like Walmart, Gas, Paypal Purchases, etc). These all being offered at no annual fee, make for a very powerful (and underrated) card.

Card #3: Chase Ink Business Cash (CIC)

Finally, I rounded out my Trifecta with a Chase Ink Business Cash (CIC). The CIC, being a business card, has some additional criteria for approval, but don’t count it out as being non-viable. The CIC is another “no annual fee” card and offers 5% back on purchases at office supply stores (think Gift Cards for anything) and 2% back on gas.

If a business card is really not a possibility for you, there are plenty of other cards to choose from and find what works best for your needs.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Cards

Here we are, the moment of truth. These are all of the cards in which Chase offers Ultimate Rewards, and thus, all of the cards that you can consider to build your Chase Trifecta. Remember that this is not “one size fits all” and that the guidelines above don’t necessarily work for everyone’s needs. They work well for me (and others) but feel free to mix and match a bit if that serves you better (though I would advise strongly to make sure you have a Sapphire card in the mix).

Chase Sapphire Preferred:	Chase Sapphire Reserve:	Chase Freedom Flex:	Chase Freedom Unlimited:
Annual Fee: $95	Annual Fee: $550	Annual Fee: $0	Annual Fee: $0
5% back when booking travel through Chase Portal.	10% back on hotel, car rental and dining experiences booked through Chase	5% back (up to $1,500) in combined purchases each quarter on bonus categories that you activate (1% back after)	5% back on travel booked through Chase Portal
3% back on dining, select online grocery purchases & select streaming services	5% back on flights booked through Chase Portal	5% back on travel booked through Chase Portal	3% back at restaurants and drugstores
2% back on all other travel	3% back on travel and dining	3% back at restaurants and drugstores	1.5% on all other spending
1% back on all other spending	1% back on all other spending	1% back on all other spending
5% back on Lyft rides (valid through 3/2025)	10% back on Lyft rides (valid through 3/2025)	5% back on Lyft rides (valid through 3/2025)	5% back on Lyft rides (valid through 3/2025)
Per point Ultimate Rewards value when redeeming on Chase Travel Portal: 1.25 cents	Per point Ultimate Rewards value when redeeming on Chase Travel Portal: 1.5 cents	Per point Ultimate Rewards value when redeeming on Chase Travel Portal: 1 cent	Per point Ultimate Rewards value when redeeming on Chase Travel Portal: 1 cent

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card:	Ink Business Cash® Credit Card:	Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card:
Annual Fee: $0	Annual Fee: $0	Annual Fee: $95
1.5% back on all purchases	5% back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year	3% back on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, and on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year
5% back on Lyft rides (valid through 3/2025)	2% back on the first $25,000 in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year	1% back on all other spending
Per point Ultimate Rewards value when redeeming on Chase Travel Portal: 1 cent	1% back on all other spending	5% back on Lyft rides (valid through 3/2025)
	5% back on Lyft rides (valid through 3/2025)	Per point Ultimate Rewards value when redeeming on Chase Travel Portal: 1.25 cents
	Per point Ultimate Rewards value when redeeming on Chase Travel Portal: 1 cent

TLDR Video

Final Thoughts on Chase Trifecta

As you see, when used properly, the Chase Trifecta can be a powerful tool in your rewards toolbox. It allows for a boost in both, point earnings AND point redemption – creating a point engine that can increase your rewards exponentially. Do you have any other suggested favorite configurations for the trifecta, or any questions…Comment below!