THE CHASE TRIFECTA: HOW TO earn more CHASE ultimate POINTS
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are some of the most valuable travel points you can earn. With multiple airline partners like United, Southwest, and British Airways, plus hotel partners like Hyatt and IHG, these points can unlock amazing travel opportunities.
If you’re only using one Chase card, you could be missing out on points from purchases you’re already making. I use a combination of three Chase cards, often called the Chase Trifecta, to earn more points on everyday spending. I’ll show you which cards I use, what I put on each one, and how I turn those points into travel.
what is the chase trifecta?
The Chase Trifecta is a combination of three Chase credit cards that you use together to earn more Ultimate Rewards points. Here are the three I use:
Chase Sapphire Preferred® or Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Chase Freedom Flex®
Chase Ink Business Cash®
The Chase Sapphire is the key card because it lets you transfer points to Chase’s airline and hotel partners. The Freedom Flex and Ink Cash are marketed as cash back cards, but you can combine the points you earn on them with your Sapphire points. That’s how I turn everyday spending into points I can use for travel.
My Trifecta includes a business card, but you can build one with personal cards if you don’t have a business. I encourage you to look into whether a business card makes sense for you. Side hustles like blogging, reselling on eBay or Facebook Marketplace, driving for Uber, or dog sitting may count as a business.
With the three cards I use, only the Sapphire has an annual fee.
the CHASE TRIFECTA cards
Choose either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Chase Sapphire Reserve. These are the “must have” cards in your Trifecta because it unlocks transfers to travel partners.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card - Earn 75k points after making $5,000 in purchases in first three months of account opening. Annual Fee: $95.
Earns 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel℠
Earns 3x points on dining, gas and EV charging, top streaming services, vacation homes (Airbnb, VRBO) and online grocery (excluding Wal-Mart, Target)
Earns 2x points on travel related purchases
$100 credit on any hotel booked through Chase Travel
$120 TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit
Perks include: Complimentary Apple TV, DashPass membership and Primary rental car insurance
No foreign transaction fees
Chase Sapphire Reserve - Earn 100,000 points after making $6,000 in purchases in the first three months of account opening.
Annual Fee: $795
Yes, the annual fee is high, but you get: $300 annual travel credit, $250 credit for select Chase Travel Hotels, $300 StubHub credit, $500 credit for stays with The Edit, IHG Platinum status, Priority Pass Membership and access to any Chase Sapphire Lounge for cardholder + two guests, $120 credit for TSA Precheck or Global Entry
Earning: 8x on all purchases through Chase Travel
Earns 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct
Earns 3x points on dining
Benefits: Priority Pass, Global Entry/TSA credit, premium trip protections
Best For: Frequent travelers
Which Chase sapphire card is right for you?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is perfect for beginners: low annual fee, solid bonus categories, and all the travel protections you need.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is better for frequent travelers who value airport lounge access, higher earning rates, and premium benefits.
Either card will “unlock” the ability to transfer points from your Freedom or Ink cards to travel partners like United, Hyatt, and Southwest. However, with the new “once in a lifetime” rules from Chase on the Sapphire cards, I recommend getting the Sapphire Reserve with the higher sign up bonus. The credits alone make it worth the annual fee, at least for the first year.
Stacy’s Tip: If you use Chase points for Hyatt stays, there’s one more difference to consider. Starting October 1, 2026, points transferred through the Chase Sapphire Preferred will transfer to World of Hyatt at a 4:3 ratio. That means 1,000 Chase points become 750 Hyatt points. The Sapphire Reserve continues to offer a 1:1 transfer to Hyatt.
Chase Freedom Flex®: How I Earn 5x Points With Quarterly Categories
Earn 5x points on rotating categories with the Chase Freedom Flex
Chase Freedom Flex® - New! Increased bonus: Earn a $250 bonus after spending $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening ($250 converts to 25,000 UR points if you also hold a Sapphire card). No Annual Fee.
The Freedom Flex has been a workhorse card for me for years as part of my Chase Trifecta. It has no annual fee, and I pull it out whenever one of the quarterly bonus categories matches something we’re already buying.
Earn 5% cash back, or 5x points per dollar, on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in the quarterly categories you activate
Earn 3x points on dining and at drugstores year-round
Get cell phone protection when you pay your eligible wireless bill with the card
How to Maximize the Chase Freedom Flex 5% Quarterly Categories
Chase changes the 5% categories every quarter. They’ve included things like groceries, gas stations, Amazon, and entertainment. You have to activate the bonus each quarter, so I set a reminder as soon as the new categories are announced.
For October 1 through December 31, 2026, the categories are grocery stores (excluding Walmart and Target), dining, and eligible donations to the American Red Cross. This is a particularly good quarter for dining: the Flex’s regular dining bonus stacks with the quarterly bonus, giving you a whopping 7x points per dollar at restaurants! You can activate this quarter’s categories through December 14, 2026.
If you spend the full $1,500 in the quarterly categories, you’ll earn at least 7,500 points that quarter. Do that all four quarters and you’ll earn at least 30,000 points from those purchases (which is enough points to fly to Europe or to book two free Hyatt nights).
Stacy’s Tip: When grocery stores or gas stations are a bonus category, I also look for gift cards sold there for places I know we’ll shop later. It’s an easy way to earn the quarterly bonus on planned spending, as long as the purchase qualifies.
Chase Ink Business Cash®: How I Earn 5x Points at Office Supply Stores
Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card - This is another card I use regularly in my Chase Trifecta. It has no annual fee, and I can combine the points it earns with my Chase Sapphire Preferred points for travel.
Earn 5% cash back, or 5x points per dollar, on the first $25,000 spent each account anniversary year at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services combined
Earn 2x points on the first $25,000 spent each account anniversary year at gas stations and restaurants combined
How I Maximize the Ink Business Cash
I pay our internet and phone bills with this card for an easy 5x points every month. I also keep an eye on Staples and Office Depot for fee-free Visa or Mastercard gift card promotions. When I can buy them there without an activation fee, I use the gift cards for purchases I already planned to make. That’s one of the ways I earn more Chase points from the Ink Cash.
Chase Freedom Unlimited®: A Trifecta Without a Business Card
If you don’t have a business card, you could use the Chase Freedom Unlimited as the third card in your Trifecta alongside a Chase Sapphire and the Chase Freedom Flex. It has no annual fee and earns:
1.5x points on purchases that don’t qualify for a higher bonus
3x points on dining and at drugstores
5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel
I like the Freedom Unlimited as a catch-all Chase card because that 1.5x applies to everyday purchases without having to track a rotating category. You can combine these points with your Sapphire points and transfer them to travel partners.
This is a great “catch-all” card for purchases that don’t fit into bonus categories if you don’t have a Capital One Venture Rewards credit card that earns 2x points per dollar on all purchases.
Another Option: The Original Chase Freedom Card
There’s also an original Chase Freedom card that earns 5% cash back, or 5x points per dollar, on quarterly rotating categories you activate. It’s no longer open to new applications, but you may be able to get it by calling Chase and asking to change an eligible Sapphire Preferred card to the original “Freedom that earns 5% on rotating categories.” Be specific so the representative doesn’t switch you to the Freedom Unlimited or Freedom Flex.
The original Freedom follows the same rotating categories as the Freedom Flex, but it does not have the Flex’s regular 3x dining bonus. That means dining earns 5x this quarter on the original Freedom, while it can earn 7x on the Flex.
Can You Get a Chase Ink Business Card With a Side Hustle?
You don’t need an LLC, employees, or a storefront to apply for a Chase Ink business card. If you earn money independently, even through a side hustle, you may be able to apply as a sole proprietor using your Social Security number.
When you apply, use accurate information about your business and its revenue. Having a side hustle doesn’t guarantee approval, but don’t assume you need a large company to apply. I wish more people knew that when they first started earning points.
How I Use My Chase Cards to Earn More Points
When I’m not working toward the welcome bonus on a new card, these are the Chase cards I reach for:
Chase Ink Business Cash: I pay our internet and phone bills with it for 5x points and purchase fee-free Visa gift cards to use at merchants that only code for 1x points/$
Chase Freedom Flex: I activate the 5% categories (remember, that’s 5x points/$) each quarter and use it when our purchases fit those categories. This quarter, that includes 7x points on dining - that’s HUGE!
Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve: I use it to pay for travel purchases (earns 2x points/$ on travel) when I want its travel protections and no foreign transaction fees.
Chase Freedom Unlimited: I use it for purchases that don’t earn a higher bonus on another cards to earn 1.5x points/$ or at places that don’t accept give cards, like daycare.
The Freedom Unlimited is my fourth card, so you don’t need all four to build a Trifecta. This is simply how I put the cards to work together to earn points on spending we’re already doing.
By stacking these strategies, I easily earn hundreds of thousands of UR points each year which I redeem for free flights and hotel stays.
chase trifecta rules to know
All of these Chase cards are subject to the Chase 5/24 Rule. That is, Chase will not approve you for one of their cards if you have received more than 5 cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months.
The Chase Ink Business cards do not count towards your 5/24 status, but you must be under 5/24 to be approved.
All points from these three cards above can be transferred to your Chase Sapphire account so that points can be transferred to travel partners like United and Hyatt. Avoid the Chase Ink Premier as those points cannot be transferred to travel partners.
You can combine your Ultimate Rewards points with anyone in your household. This is great for those with a Player Two.
You will almost always get the highest value from your points by transferring points to travel partners. Your points are typically worth only one cent per point when you book through Chase Travel℠
Happy Travels!
