I love credit cards so much!

[wendow]

I think @havaneselover is referring to the better redemption per point through CSR - the points will look the same until you go through the UR site to redeem them, then they will be worth more through the CSR UR site.

Yes, I was confirming that when I transfer my Freedom points to my CSR card, they seem to be worth the 1.5 in the UR site

 

[gottalovepluto]

Yes, I was confirming that when I transfer my Freedom points to my CSR card, they seem to be worth the 1.5 in the UR site

Not using those for cash back anymore!

 

[peel]

Tried to sign up for this but got the "we need more time" response. Deciding if I want to mess with calling Chase or just wait and see what happens. I am somewhat concerned because I just got approved for the Chase United card about a week ago, and I think I recall some kind of Chase limit about one card per 30 days?

AFAIK it's 2 in 30 days.

 

[wendow]

Not using those for cash back anymore!

Me either!! I cannot believe I ever did lol!

 

[hsmamato2]

@gottalovepluto good for you! I just waited till my Au fell off..... but good to know that it can work in the right circumstances

 

[mhartman09]

After thinking about this way more, I've decided I'm just going to conserve my 100,000 UR points from the CSR bonus and try to plan a Disney trip for next year. That way I can have time to apply for the 2 Chase SW cards at the end of the year and try to get the CP for 2017-2018 to maximize my savings. By that point I should have lots more UR points built up and should be able to plan a much bigger trip for much less. Does anyone know if you book a Disney resort hotel through the UR portal if you still qualify for the dining plan? I didn't know if you had to do a package through Disney for that or not. I know we can always just use Disney gc for our food and pay as we go, like we did on our trip next year. In fact, that's probably what we'll end up doing simply because of the cost savings involved. I was just wondering if the dining plan was even an option when booking this way.

I'm sure if I can plan this right I should be able to get a great deal on our hotel and flights. Then my husband will definitely see the savings potential here and be more on-board with what I'm doing.

 

[Ngwira]

Had 13,000 Marriott points left after transferring my leftover spg points. Wasn't sure what to do with them since most hotels in major cities are at least 20,000 points. Ended up booking a local Fairfield inn for me and DH on valentines weekend. It was 10,000 points for the night. So dinner and a private night away(free) from the kiddos. Win-win.

Booked the Fairmont Georgetown in Washington DC for July 4th holiday, two nights using sign up bonus from fairmont card I picked up yesterday. Fairmont lets you book standard rooms even though you don't have the free night certificate yet. No deposit for room and can cancel up to a day before penalty free. Once I meet minimum spend (should do it by mid march) and the certificates are deposited into my account I just need to call them to apply it to my stay. Hopefully can also use my suite upgrade certificate as well if there is availability. Signup bonus also includes 25 a night dining credit. Rates on those dates are $500 a night. Suites are $700.

We will drive as D.C. is only 2.5 hours away. Booked parking for 2 nights on parking panda as D.C. parking rates are crazy. Total was $36 for 2 nights for parking right next to hotel since I'm booking so far out. Hotel parking is $51.00 a night! So saving some serious $$$ by doing this. We plan to check out the smithsonian zoo, national monuments and the new African American museum. Another awesome budget trip due to points and travel rewards cards. So thankful to everyone for all of the tips.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

After thinking about this way more, I've decided I'm just going to conserve my 100,000 UR points from the CSR bonus and try to plan a Disney trip for next year. That way I can have time to apply for the 2 Chase SW cards at the end of the year and try to get the CP for 2017-2018 to maximize my savings. By that point I should have lots more UR points built up and should be able to plan a much bigger trip for much less. Does anyone know if you book a Disney resort hotel through the UR portal if you still qualify for the dining plan? I didn't know if you had to do a package through Disney for that or not. I know we can always just use Disney gc for our food and pay as we go, like we did on our trip next year. In fact, that's probably what we'll end up doing simply because of the cost savings involved. I was just wondering if the dining plan was even an option when booking this way.

I'm sure if I can plan this right I should be able to get a great deal on our hotel and flights. Then my husband will definitely see the savings potential here and be more on-board with what I'm doing.

Be sure to check Dvcrequest.com for resorts, they are pretty cheap. (Although not sure if it codes as travel, maybe someone here knows). Dining plan does need to be a package with hotel & tickets. Don't forget your $300 travel credit from Chase. Good luck.

 

[Albort]

Out of nowhere my dad wanted to go to Iceland over a weekend with WOW air to see the northern lights. I was like, wow, 10 hour flight to Iceland just to see that would suck... i was like, why not alaska? So thrilled i got the CSR just in time to book the entire trip with it. $300 credit travel credit used! lol.

Lounge access for all 4 airports... Safe Traveller Number from me... everything is finally paying off... didnt use any points though, none were worth using points. :\ 3x on $2k, a nice 6k of points!

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

It's time to look for tickets again!!

Right now, it looks like it will be Delta from NYC to Venice (only direct flight I could find). The plan is to go up to NYC on SW, see a show and spend the night then head on to Venice. 70,000 Amex points to Delta x2 for Delta One class (or whatever it's called, I never fly Delta).

Then hopefully some saver awards will open up for the return from our departure spot.

I also have to run some numbers and see if it makes more sense to do the 7 night plus air Marriott package for 360k points (for SW miles plus companion pass) for my upcoming stay I was planning on paying cash for.

Has anybody done this before? how exactly does it work? (I'll check the usual sites but thought somebody here might know).

I can't believe how long this thread has gotten!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Dont forget that even after the 100K bonus points and spending $4000 to get the points, you will still be 6000 point shy to get the Companion Pass. So if you have any big purchases you need to make, save them till you get the SWA CC.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

After thinking about this way more, I've decided I'm just going to conserve my 100,000 UR points from the CSR bonus and try to plan a Disney trip for next year. That way I can have time to apply for the 2 Chase SW cards at the end of the year and try to get the CP for 2017-2018 to maximize my savings. By that point I should have lots more UR points built up and should be able to plan a much bigger trip for much less. Does anyone know if you book a Disney resort hotel through the UR portal if you still qualify for the dining plan? I didn't know if you had to do a package through Disney for that or not. I know we can always just use Disney gc for our food and pay as we go, like we did on our trip next year. In fact, that's probably what we'll end up doing simply because of the cost savings involved. I was just wondering if the dining plan was even an option when booking this way.

I'm sure if I can plan this right I should be able to get a great deal on our hotel and flights. Then my husband will definitely see the savings potential here and be more on-board with what I'm doing.

Yes you need a package to get the free dinning. Oh and SWA now only offers one personal credit card now. The Premier personal card has been discontinued. There is a Premier business card. So you will need to apply for a business card and personal card to get the 100K RR points.

 

[hsmamato2]

Yes you need a package to get the free dinning. Oh and SWA now only offers one personal credit card now. The Premier personal card has been discontinued. There is a Premier business card. So you will need to apply for a business card and personal card to get the 100K RR points.

the premier is gone? where have I been that I haven't heard this??? ---- I don't think this is true, I still see plenty of links to get premier personal....

 

[Albort]

the premier is gone? where have I been that I haven't heard this??? ---- I don't think this is true, I still see plenty of links to get premier personal....

knowing chase, they probably would get rid of it... haha. but yeah, both cards are still publicly available...

 

[hsmamato2]

knowing chase, they probably would get rid of it... haha. but yeah, both cards are still publicly available...

someone upthread said it was gone...

 

[ThurlFan]

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, does anyone have experience with Aer Lingus? Better to book thru Chase site or transfer points and book directly? New to all these points and trying to work my way through this thread...

 

[gottalovepluto]

CSR showed up in my Chase account this morning & the automated message changed from 30 days to you've been approved!
(Timeline for reference: applied Thurs, told 30 days, changed to 7-10 days, recon Fri, on 3rd call rep recommended for approval but needed final approval, auto message changed to 30 days, card showed up in chase account Mon & auto message changed to approved.) I need to go back and do some catch up reading in the thread to see everyone's tips, tricks & experiences with CSR!

 

[mhartman09]

Be sure to check Dvcrequest.com for resorts, they are pretty cheap. (Although not sure if it codes as travel, maybe someone here knows). Dining plan does need to be a package with hotel & tickets. Don't forget your $300 travel credit from Chase. Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely check it out.

someone upthread said it was gone...

I did see a post here and on another forum about one of these cards being unavailable, but I've found several referrals still active for them both. I was hoping to be able to wait until November or December to get both cards in order to maximize my CP for 2018 and 2019 full years. I just don't think I'd use it enough this year. However, seeing these posts is making me a bit leery about waiting. I can't apply now anyway because I'm 5/24. One card will drop off in 5 months and another in 6 months, so I have to wait regardless. Here's to hoping both cards are still around late this year so I can cash in on this deal.

 

[peel]

Dont forget that even after the 100K bonus points and spending $4000 to get the points, you will still be 6000 point shy to get the Companion Pass. So if you have any big purchases you need to make, save them till you get the SWA CC.

Right now, the Premier Business card has a 60K bonus, so that with a personal card will cover the Companion Pass as soon as you hit the minimum spends.

 

[JKalai]

Do referral bonus points through Chase Southwest count towards CP?

Significant other is looking at possibly applying for the SW card, and I'm almost at the minimum spend for 1 out of the 2 cards.

Also, when I applied for my SW Premiere I got the "wait 7-10 days" message and had to call the recon line to get approved. Has anybody had to call recon a second time when applying for other SW card?