Cash back

Earlier I wrote about redeeming Ultimate Rewards Points by transferring them from Chase to United or one of the other transfer partners.You get a 1:1 exchange for the points. You could also get 1 cent per point as cash back in your Chase account. Is this a good idea though? Lots of people value these points at 1.5 cents each or more.

If you do not have a premium Chase card, then you cannot transfer to one of their other parters. In this case cash back is probably the best way to use the points, unless your spouse or family member has a premium card. If they do you can transfer the points to them and they can send them to transfer partners to book reward flights and hotels.

 So lets say you have been earning 5% back on the Freedom card. To do this you have to activate the quarterly cash back category. It might be fuel one quarter and groceries the next. You will earn 5% on up to $1500 and after that 1%. That's $75 per quarter if you max out the 5%. You can then start using your Freedom Unlimited to earn 1.5%. You can hold on to the points as long as you want or you can redeem them as cash right away.

I would recommend holding on to them if its possible you will get a premium card later or know someone in your household will.

There are other cards out there with good cash back rewards if that is what you want. Bank of America has a with cash back card of 3% on a category you get to choose.