Chase continues to make it more difficult to get approved for new credit cards and earns large sums of points with sign up bonuses. By now, many are familiar with the 5/24 rule, in which Chase will automatically reject applications for most of their cards if you have opened five or more new credit card accounts with any bank within the last 24 months.

Now, Chase has come out with a new rule, targeted at the Sapphire family of cards. There are three cards in the Sapphire family: the no annual fee Sapphire card, Sapphire Preferred, and Sapphire Reserve. Here are the new rules per a memo sent to Chase bankers:

It’s hard to believe it has already been a year since Chase announced the release of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. This card and its promotional 100,000-point sign-up bonus sent shockwaves around the travel blogosphere.

For those who signed up for the card or are thinking about getting it, you may be wondering if it’s worth the hefty $450 annual fee. Let’s take a look.

Premium credit cards can be a great value, but they also carry a hefty annual fee. You can enjoy free airport lounges, travel credits, insurance, and other perks and privileges, but at some point, you might decide you don’t want to pay the annual fee anymore or you want to try a different card. Many of the benefits like lounge access, the Global Entry credit are offered by several cards. But if you close the card you lose the credit line attached to it and that may bring down your credit score. There are also other considerations like what to do with the points you’ve accrued. So what’s the best plan to keep your credit line and points? You downgrade the card.

You might be taken aback by the $450-$550 price tag on a premium credit card, but you need to weigh the benefits to see if the fee is worth it. One of the biggest payoffs beyond the sign-up bonus the first year is the annual travel credit one gets with a premium card. When you put that together with lounge access and the other benefits these cards offer you might find the card not only pays for itself but gives you extra funds for travel.

Competition in the premium travel card segment continues to heat up as two new contenders have recently entered the market: the Altitude Reserve card from US Bank and the UBS Visa Infinite card. In addition to these new cards, Amex has made a variety of benefit changes to both the personal and business versions of the Platinum card.

Is it worth booking an award flight as soon as it becomes available? You might get the cheapest redemption or a hard-to-find first class seat on a popular flight, but your reservation will be about a year out. A lot can change in that time. Knowing how much you’ll have to pay to change or cancel that flight can determine if it’s worth taking the chance.

If you’re new to earning points and miles through credit cards, you have many options when it comes to what cards you can get and earn the bonus on.

This changes when someone has been signing up for cards for a while due to some rules that various credit card issues have. Deciding which cards to get first is pretty straightforward if you know what to look for.

If you had a chance to meet two of the world’s most famous astronauts, what would you talk about? On the Thursday before the Super Bowl last month, I was invited to attend the NFL Player’s Association VIP party at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Among the hundreds of attendees were dozens of current and former players, who easily stood out because of their size.

Qatar Airways is planning to introduce a new business class seat with doors that close and fully flat beds. The Q Suites will begin flying this summer. Learn which flights will have them plus more of the latest in miles and points news.

You’ve got your expensive boots and après-ski attire; the fur or leather-lined jacket is ready to go. It’s time for the world-famous Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. This year’s festivities take place January 19-29, and it’s time to plan out your mileage-earning and burning strategy for the big event.

If you’re headed to magical snow country, these seven tips could make a great festival guide.

Chase introduced some exciting new Ultimate Rewards credit cards last year, including the buzzworthy Sapphire Reserve, a new Ink business card and a second no-fee Freedom card. A few airlines got in the act last year, too. There’s a new and improved offering from Asiana Airlines, as well as a completely new lineup from Central America’s Avianca and an excellent opportunity for small business owners from Hawaiian Airlines.

Last August, Chase made a big splash by introducing the Chase Sapphire Reserve, a brand new card with top-of-the-line benefits as well as an attractive 100,000-point signup bonus. As you may have heard, that signup bonus was recently lowered from 100,000 Ultimate Reward points to 50,000 as of March 12.

You may not be a New Year’s resolution type of person, but you’ll actually do yourself a disservice if you don’t make a few promises related to your travel hacking hobby. Earning miles and points that will help whisk you and your family around the globe in style isn’t easy, and it takes planning and organization.

Before you sing “Auld Lang Syne” at the dawn of the New Year, make a few resolutions that may help you get where you want to go in the next 12 months. Here are some resolutions shared by us at RewardExpert. You may want to commit to them as well.

With so many travel rewards credit cards on the market, it can be difficult to decide which ones are worth getting and which should be ignored. If you get too many cards, you may end up paying more in annual fees than the value you get out of the cards. On the other hand, if you have too few cards you might miss out on programs and points that fit your travel needs.

You can get to China and Hong Kong for as little as 60,000 miles. So save your cash for a nice new bespoke suit from the world famous tailors of Hong Kong. Or head straight to Beijing and start your journey in the Middle Kingdom with a trip to the Great Wall. With the right rewards credit card, you can earn enough with just the sign-up bonus.

Have you ever wanted to experience the over-the-top luxury and outrageous architecture of the Middle East’s top tourist spots? You don’t have to be a jet-setting playboy or prince to visit five-star hotels, fine-dining restaurants, the world’s largest malls and man-made island resorts.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is a great program with many fans. Just like the American Express Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou programs, Ultimate Rewards offer multiple ways to redeem points. It is the only program that allows easy cash redemption at 100:1, but it mostly shines on travel redemptions.

If you like to travel, you might want to avoid some common mistakes in order to stretch your dollars. These mistakes are easy to make because the Ultimate Rewards earning structure is a bit complicated.

The release of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card set off a whirlwind of excitement, disappointment, questions, and answers around the travel blogosphere. When the card was released, Chase was not particularly clear on the details regarding some of the benefits. Now that people have received their cards and started activating and using the benefits, we have a better understanding of everything this card entails.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is quite possibly the best credit card combination in the entire travel rewards industry. The combined benefits of this combo provide just about everything a travel hacker could want in their credit card portfolio – high points earning rates, a very valuable currency, a diversified array of travel benefits and purchase protections, and point transferability.

In addition, the ability to get so much out of only 2 cards allows travelers to simplify their wallets and reduce the cost of the annual fees they pay relative to a traveler who carries many cards. The Freedom Unlimited card has no annual fee while the Sapphire Reserve card carries a $450 annual fee.

With so many good travel credit cards on the market, it can sometimes be difficult to decide which ones to keep in your wallet long-term. If you keep too many, you will end up paying a significant amount of money in annual fees which may end up costing you more than the value you receive from these cards. On the other hand, if you cancel a card and later decide you would like to have it again, you may be prevented from getting that card again due to Chase’s much-maligned 5/24 rule.