Latest news with #ChaseBank
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
I'm an analyst by day and a fashion designer by night. A-listers like Zendaya have worn my clothes, but I'm not quitting my 9-5.
This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Steven Goudeau, the 42-year-old head designer and CEO of Stephen Goudeau. It has been edited for length and clarity. For the past 17 years, I've had two jobs. I own my own fashion brand and work as a full-time analyst at AT&T. I don't think the average successful entrepreneur has just one income. I'll never have one job. I've loved fashion since I was young My parents were super stylish. One of my earliest memories is of my dad wearing a mesh tank top and gold MC Hammer pants standing next to a VW Beetle. As I got older, I also started to play with my look. I studied communications but kept creating clothes for local people in New Orleans, such as the pastor's wife. I didn't have any sewing skills, so I would visit a family friend who owned a local alterations shop, and she showed me how to cut patterns and sew. I got a job as a visual merchandiser at The Gap in Houston, which was my first real experience working two jobs. During the day, I worked for Chase Bank as a phone contractor, and then at night, after The Gap had closed, I decorated the store windows. I started my first fashion brand in 2006 My cousins helped me with my first brand, Studio Sixth Sense. I designed clothes for the professional woman who lives a luxury lifestyle. I did the designs while they handled marketing, model booking, and finance. A local seamstress would sew the clothes. I'd take individual commissions and participate in small fashion shows. I didn't seek funding to launch my brand. As luxury fabrics such as merino wool and crepe were not cheap, I needed a full-time second job to cover this outlay as I finished my contract with Chase. A friend referred me to AT&T A family friend told me about a well-paid tech support job at AT&T. It promised good benefits and a good salary. I interviewed, passed the test, and started working for AT&T in March 2008. At work, I'd keep a sketch pad with me so I could draw my designs during my downtime. It wasn't long before my designs started to get noticed. New York Fashion Week invited me after seeing my designs on social media I was approached by New York Fashion Week for its September 2012 show, as they'd spotted my designs on social media. I was ambitious but still a little raw. I participated in a show with a group of other designers and created a new collection called "Eat Cake" inspired by Marie Antoinette. It featured big shoulders, a lot of lace, and a lot of jewels. It caught the attention of celebrity stylist Law Roach. He started working with Zendaya in 2014 and shot her in my clothes. As time went on, other celebrities, such as Tyra Banks, Lil' Kim, Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child, and Emmy-winning actress Tabitha Brown were photographed in my pieces. When I started gaining traction, I changed the name I never wanted to put my name on the brand because I didn't think that people would accept a male of color in the luxury fashion industry. Then I started listening to people around me, and I agreed that Stephen Goudeau on a label inside a couture gown sounded so much better. It's spelled differently from my name, so I kept my own identity. I don't think I will ever have one job Being comfortable is an unhealthy way to live for me. I work 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week at AT&T. My average day involves getting out of bed and grabbing coffee, then catching the train or an Uber to take me to the office. For the next eight hours, I work as an analyst for AT&T. I won't design on my lunch hour because I'm too busy. Analysts watch the data all day, liaise with the techs, and work with the managers in the field. At Stephen Goudeau, I'm the head of the brand. When I go to AT&T, I can relax a little because somebody else is in charge. I can concentrate on my day-to-day role. AT&T knows that I have my own fashion company. Having a brand hasn't stopped me from progressing at AT&T. When I get home from my day job, I focus on my designs Even if I'm tired, it's not hard to get inspired. My apartment is full of mannequins. I may work until 1 a.m., but I only need three or four hours of sleep. In the evenings, I have calls with my fashion company and a team meeting on Monday nights. Having a solid team behind me ensures I don't get swamped. The upsides of having two jobs are, of course, the finances Working at AT&T has also taught me a lot about running a business. I get to work with a larger team and see different personalities and how different people work. I am sacrificing the time I get to spend with my family and friends, and I feel guilty sometimes, but they continue to be my biggest supporters. I stay on track through positive thoughts. As soon as I get out of bed every day, I put my feet on the ground and tell myself I'm going to have a good day because we have the power to predict how our day will go. In 2025, I plan to get into retail My goal is to have a showroom this year. I've started designing a lot of accessories because nobody wears couture every day. My family does worry about me getting burned out, but they see the bigger picture. They know that I want the Stephen Goudeau company to be known as a luxury household brand, but I don't plan to leave AT&T.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
LHV launches first new current account in the UK for four years and offers 3.25% uncapped interest on balances
Britons will have another current account to choose from as LHV Bank, a fully licenced bank, has launched a new offering. It is the first new current account to launch in Britain since 2021 when Chase Bank burst onto the scene, and it already offers savings accounts and loans. LHV which has been operating in the UK since 2018, after establishing itself as the third largest bank in Estonia, received a banking licence in 2023 and has been developing its UK current account for a year and a half. Erki Kilu, chief executive of LHV, told This is Money at its London HQ it is a natural progression for LHV to offer current account, as it already offers loans and fixed-rate saving accounts. He said: 'For me real banking is making credit and making interest income. I can't imagine a bank without current accounts.' As an entirely app-based bank, it is taking on the likes digital banking giants Starling, Monzo and Chase by offering customers 3.25 per cent interest on any balances held in the current account. This rate tracks 1 per cent lower than the Bank of England base rate so it rises and falls with it. Starling scrapped its 3.25 per cent current account interest on balances up to £5,000 in February, as did Chase with its 1 per cent current account interest. The only other bank accounts which pay interest on current account balances at the moment are digital bank Kroo, which pays 3.15 per cent on balances up to £500,000 and also tracks 1 per cent lower than the base rate. Nationwide's FlexCurrent account pays 5 per cent interest on balances up to £1,500 for 12 months. After that the interest is 1 per cent on balances after that up to £1,500. With markets pricing in three more interest rate cuts by the end of this year, customers could find their current account interest slashed to 2.5 per cent, assuming the bank of England votes to cut the base rate by 0.25 percentage points each time. However, the Bank of England's chief economist has warned it has been cutting rates too quickly. That would still be better than earning no interest at all though. There is a chunky £1million cap on balances which can receive interest in the current account, which seems like an expensive business for LHV. But with the base rate at 4.25 per cent and commercial banks earning this rate on deposits held with the central bank, Kilu is not phased by this. He says: 'It's not loss-making for us if we have higher sums. We keep it in the central bank.' 'If the amounts kept in current accounts are £1million then we need to keep them very liquid and can't use them for lending.' As the Financial Services Compensation Scheme limit, which protects deposits if a firm fails, stands at £85,000 people don't tend keep sums bigger than this in accounts anyway. Funds held in LHV accounts are protected under FSCS. The average amount held in a current accounts paying no interest is £2,067, according to research from Paragon Bank. If this were held in the LVH current account it would earn £67 after a year at 3.25 per cent, albeit if the rate stays the same. Kilu didn't rule out the possibility of launching Isas in the future. But as it's next step LHV's will look to launch overdrafts and linked easy-access accounts, which will arrive within a few months. The current account is designed to be intuitive and self-service so new customers can open and use the account quickly. Customers will receive a debit card and can use google pay, with Apple pay expected to launch soon. Kilu said: 'If we develop anything then it should be easy to use for the customers so they don't need any handholding. But with said, should new customers require help with banking queries LHV has customer service help via email currently and there is a dedicated customer service team based in the UK. 'If customer numbers grow, then of course we need to keep an eye on customer support', says Kilu. But he is coy about the number of customers LHV anticipates it will attract in its first year. 'We are a bank for savers, not for spenders. If you want a good interest rate and to start saving with small amounts then LHV should be the first choice.'
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What to learn from this surgeon's $450K student loan payoff, even if you don't earn a big salary
Dr. Ryan Bly never imagined making student loan payments for twice the amount of his mortgage. Still, making those extra payments toward his medical school debt somehow made all the sense in the world. 'I didn't want this looming behemoth of a loan to be the only thing that was driving my life,' says Bly, a Wisconsin-based general and trauma surgeon. That mindset — plus leveraging student loan refinancing three times — helped Bly and his family dispatch about $450,000 in federal loans. This amounted to paying the six-figure debt off three years ahead of schedule, in July 2023. And yes, Bly's fortunate station in life, considering his high-income career, helped too. But given the size of his education debt, every little bit helped. 'It's kind of terrifying when you send $5,000 to a [lender], and your principal goes down $247 or something like that,' Bly says. 'It just goes to show you what interest can do.' Bly's exact repayment strategy won't work for everyone — and we'll get to more relatable methods if you don't have the highest income or best credit — but his family's story might inspire yours nonetheless. Bly describes his upbringing as 'solid middle-class.' His parents, who were the first in the family tree to graduate from college, helped pay for his undergraduate degree. That isn't to say Bly didn't contribute — he worked three jobs to contribute, too. But they made a deal: paying for medical school was his responsibility. So, Bly borrowed repeatedly until he had racked up well into the six figures in student loans. All of his loans were federal except for, he says, a $7,000 Chase Bank private loan for his undergrad degree. 'I know some people that I went to school with, it was almost a fear, paralyzing-type of thing that they would continually check their balance and have a small heart attack or anxiety attack,' Bly remembers. But he didn't feel the stress of piling debt, thanks to his 'financially-savvy' mom. 'She really made money stretch, and she showed me that there can be such a thing as good debt as opposed to just bad debt,' Bly says. 'And so, she helped me to frame this in terms of an investment: 'This is an investment in your future, allowing you opportunities that we never were able to get. However, it is going to come at a cost, and that cost is the loans and associated interest.'' Related: How student loan interest works Bly recalls 'constantly' talking about education debt with his fellow medical school classmates and, later, his colleagues. 'It's not even an elephant in the corner of the room — it's a beast in the corner of the room,' Bly says. 'It's a reason why some to a fair number of [practitioners] choose the subspecialty within medicine that they do … If you're coming out of school with a half a million dollars in debt, you want to look at a subspecialty that's going to afford you the option of paying it off quickly.' To combat the average medical school debt, many graduates seek out positions with signing bonuses or employer student loan repayment assistance. Others elect to work for a nonprofit or the government to achieve Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). In Bly's case, he put PSLF to the side and joined a private practice that could award bonus payouts and the possibility of 'making partner,' which later came to fruition. Related: Best medical school loan forgiveness programs Public Student Loan Forgiveness has helped. Incentives from healthcare organizations help, but the disparity is so large that people are shying away from these slightly lower-paying fields [such as primary care] just to pay off these sometimes massive student loans. If Bly's eventual last student loan payment was an emotional high, submitting his first was a low. 'It was very demoralizing when I saw how little of a dent this payment was making to the principal of the loan,' he says. 'This is where I decided to get aggressive about paying it back.' The wake-up call made him realize he needed a strategy, and some help executing it. 'My wife and I knew early on that we were going to need to make some sacrifices to get rid of this burden,' Bly says. 'And thankfully, we both were of very similar mind in terms of financial strategies, working through this whole process, taking a look at a three or five or 10-year plan and how do we get there.' Taking a '10,000-foot view' of the family's overall financial picture with a certified financial planner also helped. It was 'an overall global strategy of, yes, 'We're going to finance a little bit of our retirement. Yes, we're investing in the kids' educational accounts …'' Bly remembers 'But at the same time, 'We are going to take a majority or a huge bulk of any of our excess [cash flow] month to month and make additional payments to knock that principle down.' That was front and center for years here, trying to make these [loans] go away.' Related: How these borrowers are feeling about repayment in the Trump era Entering a stable, high-paying career made Bly and his family feel OK about giving up the safety net of federal student loans for the lower interest rates of a private lender. So, student loan refinancing became the focal point of their medical school debt repayment strategy. Bly shopped around and landed on SoFi. Friends relayed good experiences, and the lender offered the lowest student loan refinance rates at the time. While his career and income no doubt strengthened his student loan refinancing application, strong credit was equally critical. He gives 'kudos' to his mom for his credit score remaining in the 'high 700s' and 'low 800s.' 'She gave me a credit card at 16 in addition to a checking account that I've had since I was 12,' Bly says. 'And so my credit has been good to very good here for most of my adult life, which opens doors, allows for better interest rates or opportunities that might not be there.' After the first refinance, Bly kept an eye on available rates. Twice more it made mathematical sense to refinance. Date* Loan amount* New interest rate** New loan term** Refinance 1 April 2018 $404,596.27 7.50% 15 Refinance 2 Sept. 2019 $375,989.62 3.50% 10 Refinance 3 April 2020 $339,961.46 3.25% 5 'Within the SoFi application portal, there was the ability to kind of compare and contrast using current interest rates and amounts versus potential [scenarios]. And that was helpful, especially with my wife, to kind of show as opposed to just talking about it. 'She was a bit more scared of it than I was just because of the total number. And we live in Wisconsin, which is a communal marriage property [state]. So, as soon as we got married, she got to inherit half my debt. So, she was motivated too.' They remained driven to the end, realizing that their $5,000-ballpark monthly payments could soon be put to a more fun use. Like family trips, for instance. When an employment bonus arrived in July 2023, the Blys decided to make one last, extra-large payment. 'I don't want to use the word monumentous occasion,' Bly says, 'but it sure was a fantastic relief to move on from what can be such an onerous, overbearing situation.' Bly acknowledges that his high-income career expanded his repayment options far beyond what the average student loan borrower has at their disposal. Still, there are pieces of his debt payoff journey that are replicable. Bly's answers Questions for you Consider your career He chose his subspecialty (surgery), in part because it offered a higher-paying career to fend off his debt. Even if you're already committed to a job or industry, would upskilling or seeking a promotion super-charge your repayment? How about switching to a company that pays off student loans? Pick a lane He settled on an aggressive approach to repayment, mainly through student loan refinancing. Would you benefit from a similarly aggressive approach, making biweekly payments, or a slower-but-strategic route, such as enrolling in income-driven repayment or PSLF? See the big picture He temporarily sacrificed saving for retirement and experiences like family vacations to dedicate more of his income to his education debt. Have you thought about where a student loan payoff fits into the broader scope of your personal finances? Don't go it alone He highlighted the support of his wife, plus a financial advisor. Have you consulted or expanded your support system, perhaps to include a certified student loan counselor, lawyer or other professional? Stay engaged He closely monitored interest rates and refinanced three times because each saved him serious cash. Unfortunately, student loan repayment isn't set-it-and-forget-it — what can you do to stay apprised of your best options? You got to have a plan. Just winging it, when there's that many variables, doesn't usually end well. Safe to say: The majority of student loan borrowers don't earn the salary of a surgeon or have a pristine credit score, thanks in part to being given the responsibility of a credit card as a teenager. And the purpose of sharing Bly's story isn't to rub it in, trust us. Successful repayment for you might not resemble Bly's. For one, student loan refinancing with bad credit might not be possible or even beneficial, unless you have a workaround like a cosigner or co-borrower. For what it's worth, refinancing with a low income may be more realistic, assuming you have strong credit or a co-applicant. But student loan refinancing, if it's the right answer for you at all, is something you can work toward over time — perhaps when interest rates are lower anyway. So, you might start simpler. Consider the questions above. Also, create or update your budget, and learn about repayment strategies. It all takes time, but there's a zero balance in your future, too. 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Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge set to release settlement records in wrongful death case
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — The family of the man who died in the Realty Tower explosion last year has been denied their request asking that documents pertaining to their wrongful death lawsuit be sealed. In March, attorney Patrick McFarland, who represents the estate of Akil Drake, confirmed the family reached a settlement in the lawsuit that involved the owner of the building, the property management company, and the gas company. Drake died while working at the Chase Bank last May. The original lawsuit alleged negligence by those involved in construction work on the building that led to the explosion, alleging that the property owner and management company knew the work could be dangerous and failed to maintain the safety of those inside. A motion filed by the estate on April 11 in Mahoning County Probate Court Judge Robert Rusu Jr.'s court asks for the details of the settlement to be sealed, as well as 'each of the four proposed release of claims.' In the filing, the estate says that the incident 'which gives rise to the death of (Drake's) decedent involves continued litigation involving multiple lawsuits and hundreds of claimants' and that the motion was made to comply with agreed settlement terms. A hearing held last week dismissed the motion. Rusu cited the Public Records Act, which allows the disclosure of probate settlement records, and said they did not find that the parties 'met their burden of proof and did not exhibit by clear and convincing evidence.' Akil Drake's family has until Monday to appeal before making the settlement details available to the public. As of Sunday, they have not filed one. Several other plaintiffs are suing in relation to the explosion. Ohio Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy assigned retired Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay to the case. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 8. Kristy Regula contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Forbes
14-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
100k Chase Points Can Do More Than You Think—Here's How The Savviest Travelers Use Every Last One
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is offering a 100,000-point welcome bonus, which is currently one of the most valuable offers on the market. For a limited time, new cardholders can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. With a minimum redemption value of $1,250 through Chase Travel℠ and potentially much more through transfer partners, there are multiple ways to stretch your rewards for maximum value. But which route delivers the best bang for your buck, transferring points or using Chase Travel? The answer depends on how you travel, where you're going and whether you value simplicity or strategy. Below, we compare the two options head-to-head in several categories. Up to 5x Reward Rate Earn 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on allRead More 100,000 bonus points $95 19.99% - 28.24% Variable Excellent, Good (670 - 739) Offering a rare mix of high rewards rates and redemption flexibility, this card is a dream for frequent spenders on travel & dining – while charging a modest annual fee. Winner: Transfers to travel partners Chase has over a dozen airline and hotel transfer partners. Those partners include: Airline Partners Hotel Partners Thanks to the 25% bonus offered to Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card owners, Chase Travel bookings yield a fixed redemption value of 1.25 cents per point. However, your Ultimate Reward points can be worth significantly more when redeemed for bookings through the loyalty programs of Chase's travel partners. I personally love transferring my points to Hyatt as I frequently get a value of more than 2 cents per point on my stays. As an example, I ran a sample rate search for the Hyatt Regency Dallas. On Hyatt's own site, cash prices start at $358 a night for nonmembers with a total of around $420 after taxes and fees. Chase shows the same base price and cost after adding taxes and fees, for a total of $420. Booking with rewards in Chase Travel would cost 33,594 Ultimate Rewards points, reflecting the 25% points bonus. That's a better deal than paying cash, however, you can book this hotel on the same night for just 9,000 World of Hyatt points transferred from Chase to your World of Hyatt account. By leveraging the points transfer option, you could save 24,594 Ultimate Rewards points and receive an incredible redemption value of 4.7 cents per point! This is an excellent example of how points transfers can be such a powerful weapon in a traveler's arsenal. It's also worth mentioning that Hyatt waives resort fees on award stays. This is an often-overlooked benefit that can save you a decent chunk of change. Not every property charges resort fees. But you're still on the hook for these fees when booking through Chase's portal, and they can't be paid with Ultimate Rewards points. Rather, these charges must be paid directly to the hotel at check-in, adding an extra out-of-pocket cost to your stay. Moving beyond Hyatt stays, transferring your points to airline partners and then redeeming them for long-haul international flights in premium cabins can also provide outsized value. In the example below, a one-way business class seat for an Air France flight from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) would cost $3,458 or just 60,000 Air France Flying Blue miles + $237.60. That's another superb value of 5.4 cents per point. We could go on with many more examples, but the bottom line is this: If you enjoy strategizing to get the most potential value from your points, transferring them to partners is the way to go. Winner: Chase Travel Unlike redemptions with partners, Chase Travel redemptions have a minimum redemption value, and it's a solid one. As we've already mentioned, Ultimate Rewards points are worth a fixed 1.25 cents on the Chase Travel portal for Sapphire Preferred cardholders. Depending on the booking you're considering, this could outperform the value you'd receive by booking through the transfer partner's own program. And 1.25 cents per point is often better than the per-point value of IHG One Rewards or Marriott Bonvoy points. For a sample booking at the Courtyard Miami Beach South Beach, the total price on Chase Travel comes to $233, or 16,324 Ultimate Rewards points + $29. If you booked directly through Marriott Bonvoy, you'd need to pay 30,000 Bonvoy points + $33.06 for the same reservation. So by using Chase Travel instead of transferring your points to Marriott, you'd save over 13,000 of your Ultimate Rewards points. Plus, keep in mind that Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders get a $50 annual hotel credit for hotels purchased through Chase Travel. So that's additional value that can only be realized through the platform. While it's true that with international flights you're likely to get more value for your points by transferring them to partners, it's not as much of a sure thing with domestic flights. And it's worth noting that while you typically lose benefits by booking hotels through Chase (more on that next), the opposite is true with flights, as you could gain the ability to earn frequent flier miles. If you book a Southwest flight with Rapid Rewards points, for instance, you can't earn Rapid Rewards points for that flight. But if you book that same flight through Chase and add your Rapid Rewards number to the reservation, you'll earn points from Southwest because it will be viewed as a revenue fare (even if you paid with Ultimate Rewards points). Those additional rewards simply add more value to the 1.25 cpp you're guaranteed to receive. Winner: Transfers to travel partners If you've earned elite status with Hyatt, IHG or Marriott, you're entitled to exclusive benefits. While those benefits will vary by hotel and the status level you've achieved, common examples include: Some of these benefits could add significant value to your stay. But you won't be eligible to receive them on a Chase Travel booking, as hotels don't provide status benefits to members who book through third-party platforms. Winner: Chase Travel You don't have to worry about award inventory when using Chase Travel. If there's an empty seat on the plane or a vacant room at the hotel, you can book it since it's just like a cash reservation. This is a major advantage over award bookings made with the airline's or hotel's own points or miles, as they often limit the number of seats or rooms that are made available for award bookings. Take, for example, this sample booking for the Hyatt Place across from Universal Orlando Resort. I can see that it has rooms available when I'm trying to book with cash. But when I switch to using World of Hyatt points, it shows no availability. On Chase Travel, I can book this hotel on the same date with no issue using my Ultimate Rewards points. Even when you can find award availability with hotels, there may not be as many options as with a paid stay. Going back to our sample Hyatt Regency Dallas booking, I was given several room types to choose from for a cash booking. But when I toggled the 'Points' switch, my options suddenly dropped to just a two Queen Beds room. That's not exactly ideal if you're trying to book a romantic getaway. But the full menu of room types are available on the Chase Travel portal to book with Ultimate Rewards points. Winner: Transfer to partners Generally, hotels and airlines provide generous cancellation policies on award bookings. But since Chase Travel bookings are viewed as cash purchases, they may not have the same refundability, or may charge extra for it. For example, all United award flights are refundable with no fee provided you cancel before departure ('no shows' are charged a $125 fee). But if you try to book a United flight with Chase, you'll see that you have to pay $45 more for the privilege of refundability. You'll typically see something similar with hotel bookings. The lowest-price option is often nonrefundable, and then there will be a refundable option that has a bit of an upcharge. If you're using the hotel's points system, however, it won't typically charge you extra for a cancellation period. Going back to our earlier example of the sample booking of the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, you automatically get the right to cancel up to 48 hours prior to your scheduled arrival, included in your award booking price of 9,000 World of Hyatt points. While airline and hotel programs are generally more cancellation-friendly, there is a downside to keep in mind. Even if you're allowed to get a refund of your points or miles, you won't be able to transfer them back to Chase Ultimate Rewards, as points transfers from Chase are one-way. This means there's a higher potential for refunded points or miles to become 'orphaned,' with no way to use them until you're ready to book another reservation with the specific provider. Whereas if you receive a refund from Chase Travel, those points can be used in a variety of ways, including toward future Chase Travel bookings, transfers to partners or even for cash-back redemptions. Winner: Chase Travel With Chase Travel, you'll have access to a broader range of hotel options. Rather than being limited to Hyatt, IHG or Marriott hotels, you can book with other popular brands like Hilton or Choice Hotels, or even with independent, boutique hotels. The same goes for flights. You'll have no problem booking a flight with Delta or American Airlines, for example, even though neither is a Chase transfer partner. Winner: Transfers to partners If you need to make changes to a reservation made through Chase Travel, you'll have to go through the Chase Ultimate Rewards customer service team. This can sometimes add an extra layer of friction, especially if you're facing a time-sensitive issue or need quick assistance. By contrast, booking directly through an airline or hotel's loyalty program allows you to manage changes with the provider directly. This can result in faster resolutions and more flexible options. Winner: Chase Travel Navigating loyalty programs and tracking down award space can be time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. For travelers who aren't interested in diving deep into the world of points and miles, the sheer complexity can be a barrier. Chase Travel provides a much simpler alternative. You don't need to be an expert who's fluent in airline award charts to get solid value for your points—you just search and book your flight or hotel like you would on Tripadvisor (which powers Chase Travel). It's an intuitive, user-friendly option. Consider a hybrid approach when deciding how to redeem your points. To identify high-value transfer redemptions from partners, consider using an award search tool like PointsYeah or AwardTool. These platforms can help you uncover premium flight and hotel options that maximize the value of your Ultimate Rewards points. Just remember: Once you transfer points to a travel partner, that transfer is final. Always confirm availability and pricing before moving your Ultimate Rewards points. Find the best travel credit card for your travel needs. The Chase Sapphire Preferred's 100,000 bonus offers an abundance of reward riches, and understanding the pros and cons of its two travel redemption paths can help you make the most of every point. Match your strategy to your travel goals and you'll be well on your way to an unforgettable trip at an incredible value.
