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Chase trifecta: the optimal combination of Chase cards
Combine Chase cards to maximize your rewards.
With a set of credit cards — known as the Chase trifecta — you can earn as many rewards points as possible on a variety of categories. All you have to do is use each card where it earns accelerated points, and you can pool the points into one card. If you travel often, you can get between a 25% and 50% higher rewards value.
What is the Chase trifecta?
The Chase trifecta is a combination of three Chase credit cards that can help you maximize your credit card rewards. The cards involved are:
- Chase Freedom®
- Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Note that in the Chase trifecta, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is often picked over the Chase Sapphire Reserve® because of the difference in annual fee. However, if you often travel abroad, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® could be a better choice. Because the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is much more commonly used, however, we will look at that as part of the Chase trifecta.
| Chase Freedom® | Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rewards rate |
| Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases |
|
| Signup bonus | $150 cash back bonus when you spend $500 in your first 3 months of card membership | $150 cash back bonus when you spend $500 in your first 3 months of card membership | 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in your first 3 months of card membership |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 | $95 |
Note: Despite being marketed as cash back, all three cards earn points, which you can redeem for a variety of rewards including cash.
Signup bonuses stack
If you get all three credit cards for the first time, or if you haven’t earned any of the cards’ signup bonus in the past 24 months, you are eligible to earn all three bonuses.
This can boost your rewards to a total of $1,000 when you earn the bonus of all three cards.
Average annual value of Chase trifecta
| Chase Freedom® | Chase Freedom Unlimited® | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas stations | $1,500 | $3,000 | $0 | $4,500 |
| Grocery stores | $1,500 | $3,000 | $0 | $4,500 |
| Restaurants | $0 | $0 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Travel | $0 | $0 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Lyft | $0 | $0 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Other | $0 | $2,000 | $0 | $2,000 |
| Total spent | $3,000 | $8,000 | $9,000 | $20,000 |
| Total rewards | $150 | $120 | $270 | $540 |
If you move your Chase Freedom® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® card points to your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and then redeem your points for travel purchases, your $540 will be worth 25% more or $675.
To get the highest value, consider switching the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. If we take the spending from the example above, you would earn a reward value of $900 instead of $540, and if you move your other cards’ points to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and redeem for travel, your reward value jumps by 50% or $1,350.
Business credit cards Chase trifecta
The Chase business trifecta is a combination of the three Chase business credit cards.
- Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card
- Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card
- Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card
The difference between the personal and the business trifecta is that with the business cards, you earn accelerated points on business-related purchases, such as office supplies, shipping and advertising on social media and search engines.
| Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card | Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card | Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rewards rate |
| Unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. |
|
| Signup bonus | $500 cash back bonus when you spend $3,000 in your first 3 months of card membership | $500 cash back bonus when you spend $3,000 in your first 3 months of card membership | 80,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 in your first 3 months of card membership |
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 | $95 |
Average annual value of Chase business trifecta
| Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card | Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card | Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet, cable and phone services | $3,000 | $0 | $0 | $3,000 |
| Office supply stores | $7,500 | $0 | $0 | $7,500 |
| Gas and restaurants | $7,500 | $0 | $0 | $7,500 |
| Travel | $0 | $0 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Shipping | $0 | $0 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Advertising with social media and search engines | $0 | $0 | $20,000 | $20,000 |
| Other | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | $15,000 |
| Total spent | $18,000 | $15,000 | $35,000 | $68,000 |
| Total rewards | $675 | $225 | $1,050 | $1,950 |
Your rewards valued at $1,950 can be worth $2,437.50 if you move your Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card points to your Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card and redeem them for travel purchases.
Compare Chase trifecta cards
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How to maximize rewards with Chase trifecta
Having the Chase trifecta won’t mean much if you don’t maximize the cards’ value. Here’s how to do that:
- Use each card where it earns most rewards.
Keep an eye on the reward categories. If none of your cards earn accelerated rewards on a select category of purchases, use the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card. - Activate rotating categories.
To earn the Chase Freedom®‘s 5% cash back on rotating categories, you must activate them first. If you forget to activate for the quarter, you’ll earn 1% back in all categories. You’ll also earn 1% back after you’ve spent $1,500 in activated categories each quarter. - Intro APR period.
The Chase Freedom® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® cards offer a long intro APR period on balance transfers and purchases. You can apply for one of the two first and use the intro APR period on balance transfers and purchases. Once it expires, apply for the second card and use another round of 0% intro APR period. - Earn the signup bonus.
Make sure you meet the spend requirements with all three cards to earn a bonus of up to $1,000.
Chase 5/24 rule
One thing to keep in mind is the unwritten Chase 5/24 rule that will make Chase automatically reject your credit card application if you opened five or more new credit cards in the past 24 months. Even if you had a card briefly opened and then closed, it will still count toward the rule.
Bottom line
Loyal Chase customers who want to maximize their credit card rewards could consider applying for the Chase trifecta cards and use each card where it earns most rewards.
However, if you don’t want to get multiple cards, compare other rewards credit cards until you find the right card for your needs.
Frequently asked questions
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