My Travel Rewards Journey with the Chase Trifecta Credit Cards

Why I Chose These 3 Credit Cards for My 'Chase Trifecta'

I recently made the life-altering decision to go full throttle on travel rewards credit cards. Within one month, I applied for and opened an entire Chase Trifecta of credit cards, with the goal of maximizing my reward points. The three cards I chose were:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Chase Freedom Flex℠

Not everyone should apply for this many credit cards so quickly. If your credit score is not where you'd like it to be, if you struggle with excessive credit card spending, if you sometimes miss payment due dates, then the risks might outweigh the rewards. Don't be too blasé about opening new credit cards.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred: Home base for travel rewards

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card was the No. 1 priority on my Chase Trifecta list -- and not just because of the 75,000 bonus points welcome offer. My biggest reasons for choosing this travel rewards card are that it can serve as a "home base" for Chase Ultimate Rewards points and it offers a 25% multiplier on the value of reward points when you redeem the points for travel through the Chase Travel portal.

Chase Freedom Unlimited: Big points on everyday spending

One of the reasons to open a Chase Trifecta is that it helps you cover all your bases for maximum points across spending categories. I chose the Chase Freedom Unlimited® because it has "unlimited" 1.5% points on all purchases. You can use these points for cash back or transfer the points to your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and use them for travel. (I'm using all of my points for travel because of that 25% multiplier.)

Chase Freedom Flex: Fun bonus categories

As part of my Chase Trifecta, I also chose the Chase Freedom Flex℠. This card is really fun to use because it gives you 5% bonus cash back/points on up to $1,500 of purchases in specific categories, which rotate each quarter. It makes shopping into a fun little game.

Bottom line

Between the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and the Chase Freedom Flex℠, within one year, I'm on target to earn a total of at least $2,125 of travel from my Chase Trifecta. And that's just from the welcome offers and special bonus points, not including other everyday credit card spending.