The Chase Military Optimization Plan

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Hey everybody! I’m going to be wrapping up my credit card churning series soon with an end-of-experiment lessons learned and results post. In the meantime, I wanted to share some military-specific lessons I learned that impact what I recommend to people now.

You may remember that I started this series with the intent of following a popular method (the Chase Gauntlet) of maximizing use of Chase cards before moving on to other brands. You can do some research online to see why so many people favor this plan.

NOTE: This post is written with the understanding that you want to maximize Chase credit card applications before others because of Chase’s 5/24 rule.

In general I think maximizing Chase rewards is a good plan, although over the year I modified it some to meet my particular needs. But it’s not perfect for a couple of reasons.

Reasons Driving a Chase Gauntlet Modification for Military Members

#1: Credit card rules are different for military members, at least those in active service, which means that the normal Chase Gauntlet might not be optimal for us because we can take advantage of special military offers. I have some recommendations for people to maximize these offers.

#2: Chase has changed up the rules for both their Sapphire line and their Southwest Airlines line pretty significantly, so people can’t follow the Chase Gauntlet anymore…at least, not as quickly or perfectly. So the Gauntlet itself needs some updates. I’m looking at what military members can do in the meantime.

Let me also say that what I’m about to discuss almost universally only applies to members in active status. This means either active duty military members or Guard or Reserve members who are in active status. Unfortunately what I’m discussing isn’t usually extended to members in Reserve status, retirees, and veterans. I wish it did, but I don’t get to tell the credit card companies what to do.

Ready to dig in?

Chase Sapphire Reserve > Chase Sapphire Preferred

First – several companies now waive annual fees for active military members including Chase. I talk about that in more detail in this post. Simply put, that means that military members who qualify for waived fees should look first at the premium and premier cards. If there is a regular and premium version of the same card, you will almost always want to choose the premium version. Why? Because you’ll get more benefits for the same amount of money ($0).

Because of that, and the new Chase rule against having two Sapphire cards at once, I recommend that military members just start with the Chase Sapphire Reserve instead of the Chase Sapphire Preferred (referral link). You don’t have to worry about the $450 annual fee and you still get all of the benefits, including the $300 travel credit.

Chase changed the Sapphire policy after I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred, sadly. I thought I’d have to wait another year before I could get the Reserve myself. But they just changed the rules again and now you have to wait 48 months after receiving a Sapphire bonus before you can get the Chase Sapphire Reserve. So…all you people who can get the Reserve and get the bonus, have fun! I’ll be sitting over here for the next three years, not so patiently waiting for my turn.

Moving on…

Annual Fee Waivers

The reason Chase is waiving annual fees for active military was announced as part of the Military Lending Act, which had a bunch of new rules that went into effect on October 3rd, 2017. However, it’s kind of misleading to say it’s because of the Military Lending Act. If you carefully read the MLA language, it’s actually optional for companies to waive those fees.

Because of this optional portion of the law, not all companies will waive the annual fees for military. You need to be careful when choosing cards so you don’t get stuck paying an annual fee you weren’t expecting. Make sure you do your research about which companies do and don’t waive the fees.

I talk about this in more depth in my Military Waivers Q&A post.

American Express also has some great cards and waives the annual fees for military, so if you find that you can’t get 5 Chase cards to complete the Gauntlet under the new Sapphire and Southwest card rules, military members can look at AMEX to keep the travel rewards game going. I personally am a fan of the AMEX Platinum (referral link). The AMEX Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Reserve are both premium travel cards that will grant you a whole lot of benefits without any additional cost thanks to those waived fees.

Other Lessons Learned

Another thing to know is that some companies will also extend the military benefits to spouses of active military members, but they don’t write usually that down in official policy so make sure you verify. Each company has a special military line you can call. I haven’t heard of anybody having issues getting fees waived for spouses, but you never know.

Finally, for military members in inactive status, what you want to do is apply while you are activated. Then you will at least be able to enjoy the benefits for awhile. If you see that your annual fee waiver is no longer being applied because you are in inactive status again, you can always cancel the card. Remember it can take a few weeks for the companies to verify your active status so you want to apply when you will be in active status for awhile.

The Chase Military Optimization Plan

So what do I recommend for military members now, having studied the Gauntlet in action for over a year?

I’m going to call this the Chase Military Optimization Plan. But for simplicity’s sake, let’s just call it the Plan.

Okay, so what would the Plan look like if I were designing it? Well, frankly, I don’t have one single answer to that. One of the major things I’ve learned over the last year is that everybody is different when it comes to credit card churning.

Some just want to max out points and don’t really have a plan in mind. Others are only trying to hack a specific trip, and are hyper focused on getting what they need for only that trip.

Some people spend a lot each month, and can churn through 10 or more cards in a year. Others have very low monthly expenses, and shouldn’t bother trying to churn some of the cards with the higher minimum spends for the bonus.

So, I’ll offer a sample Plan here. This is a good starting point if you want to earn a lot of points quickly and have a fair amount of expenses each month. But don’t take this as gospel! Look at the cards available and what your goals are, and come up with a plan that works for you.

1. Chase Sapphire Reserve
   • Current signup bonus: 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months
   • $450 annual fee (waived for military in active status)
   • Lots of travel benefits like lounge access and a $300 travel credit
2. One of the Chase Southwest cards (I like the looks of the new Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card)
   • Current signup bonus: The Priority card has 40,000 Southwest points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months
   • Priority card: $149 annual fee (waived for military in active status)
   • Priority card: Travel benefits like a $75 Southwest travel credit and 7,500 anniversary points
   • * see information about the Companion Pass, below
   • I have the Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus card (referral link). If you use my referral while it’s active, you’ll get 40,000 Southwest points if you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.
3. Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Card (if you can get it!!)
   • Current signup bonus: 60,000 Southwest points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
   • $99 annual fee (military waivers usually are not given for business cards!)
   • If you can get this card, you should be able to qualify for a Southwest Companion Pass by combining the bonus points from the business card and whichever Southwest card you choose in #2. But read the post I linked in the “if you can get it!!” blue text – Chase turned me down even with a legit business.
   • Try to time your Southwest card bonuses so you qualify for a Companion Pass as early in the calendar year as possible! That will maximize your benefit. If that means doing the Chase Military Optimization Plan out of order, so be it.
4. One of the Chase hotel cards
   • I chose the Marriott Rewards Premier card (referral link). If you use my referral link while it is active, you’ll earn 3 Free Award Nights at a Marriott property after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. Each award night is worth up to 35,000 points!
   • The World of Hyatt and IHG cards are also interesting and offer good signup bonuses. Go with whatever your preferred hotel brand is, if you have one.
5. Wild card
   • If you want more airline miles, go for one of the United cards or the British Airways card
   • Disney fan? If you intend to spend money there in the next year or so, the Disney Premier card offers a nice signup bonus for a very small minimum spend
   • If you qualify for a business card, the Ink Business Preferred or Ink Business Unlimited both offer nice signup bonuses. Or you can double down on previous cards by getting the business version of the Marriott or United cards.
   • Or, if you are willing to give up the fifth Chase card, check out some of the great cards from AMEX or another brand if you can confirm that you won’t have to pay an annual fee

Are any of you credit card churners? How would you modify the Chase Military Optimization Plan?