I pitched this idea to the gang at Chase Bank and the Ultimate Rewards department and still have not heard back. My initial thought was for moving volunteers for medical mission trips. I think it has other applications as well.
Basic human nature suggests we all want to help the guy that needs a hand up. We see it locally through civic organizations and church groups, nationally with organizations like the Red Cross and internationally as well. Katy and I actually dug a water well somewhere in Africa last year with donations from the blog earnings. People are walking hours there each day, just to reach fresh clean drinking water. Something we take for granted every day.
With the Chase Ultimate Rewards program we can transfer our points into other accounts. My thinking says get those in your congregation with a good credit score (and maybe not enough cash in these tough times) to apply for the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards; Sapphire Preferred, INK Bold, Plus and/or Freedom cards and donate the Ultimate Rewards points to a common church account. We get to give with a cost of only 2-5 points on our credit score but nothing out of pocket in the form of hard cash. The church can then use the points for gift cards to help those in need or, if the need arises, pay for tickets to send church members on a medical mission trip.
Everybody wins with this one and Chase showed interest in my discussions with them in June. I’ll remind them again of this post and see if we can rekindle some interest.
How about some feedback?
Do you belong to a group where there could be beneficial?
I’d be glad to discuss it with group leaders or any organization interested in increasing donations in this strapped economy. I know of one church in Long Island that has sent at least one medical volunteer using this method, so I know it will work.
Some creative thinking here could lead to some huge results. Put your thinking cap on will you?
Deal of the Day
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