The Chase Gauntlet is, hands down, one of the best ways to start your travel rewards experience. As a real estate investor, you have a unique opportunity to reap the benefits of credit card rewards easily. With a little bit of planning, you could save yourself thousands on your next vacation!
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Check out our tips on how to enjoy the benefits of the Chase Gauntlet as a real estate investor.
What is the Chase Gauntlet?
The Chase Gauntlet is a fun way of saying signing up for all of the Chase credit cards in a strategic way. Each of these Chase credit cards offers Ultimate Rewards points, which are extremely valuable travel rewards currency.
Here are the credit cards:
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Many credit card experts consider this to be one of the best rewards credit cards available – even if you aren’t a real estate investor. But as a real estate investor, you have the opportunity to truly take advantage of everything this credit card has to offer!
The first perk of this card is the outstanding welcome bonus. After spending $4,000 in the first 3 months, you will receive 60,000 points as a welcome bonus. Those points can be redeemed for $750 of travel rewards. Plus, you’ll earn 2x points on travel and restaurants.
Although the card has a $95 annual fee that is waived for the first year, you’ll likely find that this card is well worth the cost. Overall, this is a great card for anyone that wants to dip their toes into the lucrative world of credit card rewards.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
When you are ready to take things to the next level, you can move on to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. With this card, you’ll earn more points for your spending. But the welcome bonus is slightly less valuable.
Once you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months, you’ll earn a welcome bonus of 50,000 points, which can be redeemed for $600 worth of travel. In addition to the signup bonus, you’ll receive 3x points on travel and restaurants.
This card also offers a $300 annual travel credit to offset the annual fee of $450. If you are just getting started, an annual fee of $450 might not be the right fit for your situation. However, the offsetting travel credit makes this card worth the fee. If you enjoy traveling or dining out often, then this credit card will reward that spending in the best ways.
Chase Ink Business Preferred
As a real estate investor, you have the option to open business cards and personal cards. After all, your real estate portfolio is a legitimate business with expenses that need to be paid for. You might as well earn the most bang for your buck with a card that will reward you for your necessary business purchases.
The Chase Ink Business Preferred offers an outstanding welcome bonus of 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months. As you use the card, you’ll receive 3x points on travel and select business expenses. The annual fee of $95 will be easy to justify with this card.
Which card should you start with?
Each of these cards offers a worthwhile signup bonus. With so many great options, it can be difficult to decide where to start. Luckily, that is a good problem to have!
The goal of the Chase Gauntlet is to open each of these cards at some point. But you can choose the first card based on your expected spending. Take a look at the welcome bonus spending requirement. Then compare that to your upcoming planned expenses and try to match them up. If you have major business expenses coming up soon, you might want to start with the Chase Business Ink card. If you aren’t planning on any major expenses, consider using your monthly spending to meet the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s welcome bonus requirements.
Eventually, you’ll be able to take advantage of all the cards. When combined, you can take your travel rewards experience to the next level. Once you run through the Chase Gauntlet and collect all of these welcome points, you’ll be able to travel in style on points.
What are the rules? 
As you consider your strategy for the Chase Gauntlet, it is important to understand the rules. Chase is relatively strict about enforcing the 5/24 rule on customers. The 5/24 rule means that you cannot open more than 5 credit cards within 24 months. So, if you apply to open a Chase credit card after opening 6 other credit cards, then you will likely be denied. Even with an excellent credit score, the bank is unlikely to approve your application.
The rule applies even if you’ve closed the other accounts. Unfortunately, there is not a way to skate around this rule. Instead, choose to prioritize Chase credit cards when getting started with travel rewards.
After you’ve run the Chase Gauntlet, you can take advantage of other credit card reward programs.
How to maximize these points?
There are several ways to push these credit card rewards opportunities to the next level. Here are the best strategies:
Team up with your spouse
When strategizing to run the Chase Gauntlet as a real estate investor, you may want to consider bringing your spouse on board. Instead of adding them as an authorized user, have them sign up for their own account with each card. This will effectively double the number of points you can glean from the Chase Gauntlet with very little downside. All it takes is a little bit of planning!
Work with travel partners
When you are ready to redeem your Ultimate Rewards points, it is important to maximize their value. You have the opportunity to stretch your rewards even further. Why not take advantage of that option?
Although the offers directly in the travel portal are enticing, transferring your points to a travel partner can make them even more valuable. Currently, you can transfer your points to these travel partners:
- British Airways
- Flying Blue
- JetBlue
- Emirates
- Singapore Airlines
- Southwest
- United
- Virgin Atlantic
- Aer Lingus
- Iberia
- Hyatt
- IHG
- Marriott
Consider taking advantage of the added value offered by these travel partners. I would highly recommend scoping out the deals offered by Chase travel partners. You can truly squeeze all of the value out of your points with this approach.
After finding a good deal offered by a travel partner, then make sure to redeem points responsibly. It is good practice to keep your Ultimate Rewards points safely with Chase until you are ready to purchase a flight or hotel through one of the partners.
Once you make the transfer, the points will not be eligible to reenter the Chase system. That means that your decision to make the transfer is final. Make sure you are comfortable with your decision before you make the transfer.
The bottom line
Chase offers valuable credit card features to its customers. If you take advantage of the Chase Gauntlet, then you may be on your first fully funded vacation sooner than you think. Especially as a real estate investor because you have the spending capacity to hit each of the welcome bonuses responsibly.
Be sure to check out the next article in our credit card reward series: How to Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards as a Real Estate Investor.
