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re: Credit Card Rewards and Points Discussion
Posted on 8/1/19 at 5:45 pm to Teddy Ruxpin
Posted on 8/1/19 at 5:45 pm to Teddy Ruxpin
The family is taking a trip to Las Vegas in the fall where we will stay for a week. Looking to make plane reservations and hotel reservations. I’m completely new to the rewards/points game since we are not travelers (maybe fly once a year or every two years). However, my interest was peaked when I went to book flights on Southwest and saw the add for 40,000 points if you sign up for Chase SW CC. I know we will likely be headed to California in the late spring and strong possibility of flying SW. so I thought I should look into travel rewards CC to see if using purchases on this first trip could help with offsetting cost on the next trip. I’ve read on TD that the two Chase Saffire cards are popular and I was considering one of those two and the SW card. Any recommendation for which card I should go with?
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Posted on 8/8/19 at 11:41 am to Teddy Ruxpin
Teddy hoping you can point me in the right direction.
Had an SPG card for years. The program changed last year and I just had too much going on to look into changing. I see the Marriott program gutted the SPG points, so looking to change.
I drive 25-30k a year for work, stay in hotels 10-15 times a year for work, and we do a family trip 1-2 times a year. I am gold with Marriott, have ~700k points, and am about 2/3's of the way to lifetime gold status. We don't fly that much (1 international flight every other year, 1-2 domestic flights on South West a year).
Debating on sticking with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (From Chase, since I can't get Amex signup bonus again) or going the Chase Sapphire route. Any input would be appreciated.
Had an SPG card for years. The program changed last year and I just had too much going on to look into changing. I see the Marriott program gutted the SPG points, so looking to change.
I drive 25-30k a year for work, stay in hotels 10-15 times a year for work, and we do a family trip 1-2 times a year. I am gold with Marriott, have ~700k points, and am about 2/3's of the way to lifetime gold status. We don't fly that much (1 international flight every other year, 1-2 domestic flights on South West a year).
Debating on sticking with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless (From Chase, since I can't get Amex signup bonus again) or going the Chase Sapphire route. Any input would be appreciated.
Posted on 8/9/19 at 12:58 pm to LSU Delirium
Ok, need advice or help... Need to book a one way flight on an international carrier from HK to Singapore.
Can do it with my UR points on Singapore or Cathay, but want to see if this is a good time to use my abundance of Amex points and save some UR points.
The advantage with UR and Singapore is I can still earn miles with my mileage plus account, since Singapore Airlines is a Star Alliance member.
I believe I can transfer Amex pts to Singapore Airlines, but then can I still get mileage plus points, being ill have to create a Singapore Airlines account to receive the points and book.
Hard to find out the best way to use the Star Alliance network since i’m Gold Elite right now.
Can do it with my UR points on Singapore or Cathay, but want to see if this is a good time to use my abundance of Amex points and save some UR points.
The advantage with UR and Singapore is I can still earn miles with my mileage plus account, since Singapore Airlines is a Star Alliance member.
I believe I can transfer Amex pts to Singapore Airlines, but then can I still get mileage plus points, being ill have to create a Singapore Airlines account to receive the points and book.
Hard to find out the best way to use the Star Alliance network since i’m Gold Elite right now.
Posted on 8/9/19 at 1:08 pm to Lsut81
You don't earn miles on award flights, only paid flights.
This post was edited on 8/9/19 at 1:10 pm
Posted on 8/9/19 at 2:23 pm to Teddy Ruxpin
quote:
You don't earn miles on award flights, only paid flights.
If you book through UR or Amex travel you do..
So debating whether booking directly through Amex travel with points is worth it or not
This post was edited on 8/9/19 at 2:47 pm
Posted on 8/9/19 at 2:59 pm to Lsut81
This is paying for the flight.
This is not, hence my confusion.
The cheaper/shorter the flight you are buying with points and earning miles for that flight, the better value you are getting over booking an award ticket. I'm sure the break even point is sub $400 if not sub $350/300 for a short flight.
For example, UR are valued at 1.5 cents per Chase. Economy one way will cost 12,500 miles usually in the US. That means your points are worth $187.50 at 12,500 miles. So if the cost of the paid ticket is more than that, an award redemption may be better.
Of course, you will earn miles if you pay though, so you have to add the value of miles you would earn if you paid for it to your equation, which would mean the actual award vs pay threshold would be a little north of $187.50.
quote:
If you book through UR or Amex travel you do
This is not, hence my confusion.
quote:
I believe I can transfer Amex pts to Singapore Airlines
quote:
So debating whether booking directly through Amex travel with points is worth it or not
The cheaper/shorter the flight you are buying with points and earning miles for that flight, the better value you are getting over booking an award ticket. I'm sure the break even point is sub $400 if not sub $350/300 for a short flight.
For example, UR are valued at 1.5 cents per Chase. Economy one way will cost 12,500 miles usually in the US. That means your points are worth $187.50 at 12,500 miles. So if the cost of the paid ticket is more than that, an award redemption may be better.
Of course, you will earn miles if you pay though, so you have to add the value of miles you would earn if you paid for it to your equation, which would mean the actual award vs pay threshold would be a little north of $187.50.
This post was edited on 8/9/19 at 3:12 pm
Posted on 8/9/19 at 9:20 pm to Teddy Ruxpin
Now I’m confused... If you book through UR or Amex travel using points, you still earn miles if you tie it to your FF account, is what I am saying. Ive done it twice through UR. They actually use expedia on the back end and United has issued me 6k miles on each one, plus the flights counted towards my status.
However, I”m looking at whether its better to book that way 1:1 potentially with Amex since I have so many points and earn miles on top of using points, or if there’s a round about way to transfer points between carriers and get a better value on the points.
Just trying to best bang for my buck in addition to figuring out if I just transfer points and book with Singapore, is there a way to get my travel benefits being Premier Gold on Star Alliance...
I know, I”m a pain in the arse
However, I”m looking at whether its better to book that way 1:1 potentially with Amex since I have so many points and earn miles on top of using points, or if there’s a round about way to transfer points between carriers and get a better value on the points.
Just trying to best bang for my buck in addition to figuring out if I just transfer points and book with Singapore, is there a way to get my travel benefits being Premier Gold on Star Alliance...
I know, I”m a pain in the arse
Posted on 8/9/19 at 10:15 pm to Lsut81
quote:
Now I’m confused... If you book through UR or Amex travel using points, you still earn miles if you tie it to your FF account, is what I am saying.
I didn't disagree.
You said something about transferring miles from Amex MR to Singapore Airlines. If you did that, you wouldn't be paying for a flight, you'd be booking an award flight.
To your question, see my advice. You have to compare how many miles would be necessary to book an award flight on your preferred carrier vs. paying for the flight with cash or paying with points.
Paying with points through the UR or MR portal is not the same thing as booking an award flight.
This post was edited on 8/9/19 at 10:18 pm
Posted on 8/12/19 at 10:44 am to Teddy Ruxpin
Does anyone have the United Explorer Business card?
I am increasingly flying United these days and the 100k miles bonus seems legit.
I am increasingly flying United these days and the 100k miles bonus seems legit.
Posted on 8/13/19 at 11:04 am to Azazello
Bump - about to pull the trigger today
Posted on 8/13/19 at 8:17 pm to Azazello
Since United went dynamic pricing on awards that's gonna be a blow but I wasn't using United points on their planes anyways.
Posted on 8/14/19 at 12:54 pm to Teddy Ruxpin
quote:
Since United went dynamic pricing on awards that's gonna be a blow but I wasn't using United points on their planes anyways.
precisely.
if you have international travel plans in the near future, then it could be a good move, because United hasn't changed partner award pricing yet. But for the long term, we don't know when United will implement dynamic pricing on partner awards flights. So if you do get the card, try and maximize the points via a star alliance partner pretty soon.
This post was edited on 8/14/19 at 12:55 pm
Posted on 8/14/19 at 1:31 pm to Teddy Ruxpin
quote:
Since United went dynamic pricing on awards that's gonna be a blow
Dumb question, but what does that even mean...
Posted on 8/14/19 at 1:38 pm to Lsut81
static pricing charts are something like this:
Domestic flights (one-way):
Economy - 12,500
Business/First - 25,000
Flights from N.A. to Europe
Economy - 30,000
Business - 70,000
First - 115,000
With dynamic pricing, the number of points will change based on the actual price of the flight. For instance, I wish I could fly r/t from DC to New Orleans fro Mardi Gras for just 25,000 points. But typically, that flight is in higher demand, so it will likely be 'dynamic' and cost roughly 30,000 points each way.
With dynamic pricing, each flight is different. And the cost in points of award flights can change from day-to-day
Domestic flights (one-way):
Economy - 12,500
Business/First - 25,000
Flights from N.A. to Europe
Economy - 30,000
Business - 70,000
First - 115,000
With dynamic pricing, the number of points will change based on the actual price of the flight. For instance, I wish I could fly r/t from DC to New Orleans fro Mardi Gras for just 25,000 points. But typically, that flight is in higher demand, so it will likely be 'dynamic' and cost roughly 30,000 points each way.
With dynamic pricing, each flight is different. And the cost in points of award flights can change from day-to-day
This post was edited on 8/14/19 at 1:39 pm
Posted on 8/14/19 at 2:39 pm to Uhtred
Ok, so basically how Hotels do their rewards (Marriott, Wyndham, etc...).
Posted on 8/14/19 at 3:08 pm to Lsut81
not quite. hotels are pretty static. with Marriott, for instance, a 35,000-point property is a 35,000-point property. The different categories of properties determine the points. Which is similar to how airlines price static awards among domestic, to Europe, to N. Asia, to S. Asia, etc.
With static pricing, you typcially know the exact number of miles to get to where you want to go, depending on where you want to go (how far, international vs. domestic, etc).
With dynamic award pricing, an award flight that would otherwise be 12,500 points (like IAD to MSY) can range from 7,500 - 35,000 points, depending on the time of year.
With static pricing, you typcially know the exact number of miles to get to where you want to go, depending on where you want to go (how far, international vs. domestic, etc).
With dynamic award pricing, an award flight that would otherwise be 12,500 points (like IAD to MSY) can range from 7,500 - 35,000 points, depending on the time of year.
This post was edited on 8/14/19 at 3:09 pm
Posted on 8/15/19 at 12:11 pm to Uhtred
Need some help /w the churn game. Just started last year. Knocked out a couple chase cards. Been traveling for free on my flights and what not.
Got a big anniversary trip coming up next year. Thinking about getting the hilton surpass card. Offering 130k points + 1 free weekend night. If me and the misses get one we can prob get to 300k points pretty easy. Should be able to get us a week in tahiti or bora bora pretty much paid for.
I'm new to using them for hotel stays. Is the value still good in the case mentioned above or should I just get another chase card?
Got a big anniversary trip coming up next year. Thinking about getting the hilton surpass card. Offering 130k points + 1 free weekend night. If me and the misses get one we can prob get to 300k points pretty easy. Should be able to get us a week in tahiti or bora bora pretty much paid for.
I'm new to using them for hotel stays. Is the value still good in the case mentioned above or should I just get another chase card?
Posted on 8/15/19 at 12:15 pm to TigerMan327
Teddy may have a different opinion, but I never transfer Chase UR points (or any flexible points currency) to a hotel loyalty program - unless I just want to transfer a few to hit a specific number... like a top-off, if I'm just a few hundred or a few thousand points from an award night that I'm looking for. Transferring flexible credit card points to hotel programs typically demean the value, in my opinion.
If you plan to book a Hilton property, I think the plan you laid out works well. Save the Chase UR, AMEX MR, Citi ThankYou, etc for airlines.
If you plan to book a Hilton property, I think the plan you laid out works well. Save the Chase UR, AMEX MR, Citi ThankYou, etc for airlines.
This post was edited on 8/15/19 at 12:16 pm
Posted on 8/15/19 at 12:25 pm to Uhtred
Yeah I was thinking it was best to keep the Chase points separate.
What's a good way of cancelling/moving off these cards without effecting credit score too much? Right now I've got 3 cards. An old discover from college and 2 chase cards i've gotten within the last year (sapphire\CIPbusiness). I've read maybe downgrading them after a year to avoid the annual fee to a chase freedom and then keeping them for a while is the best bet but not really sure.
What's a good way of cancelling/moving off these cards without effecting credit score too much? Right now I've got 3 cards. An old discover from college and 2 chase cards i've gotten within the last year (sapphire\CIPbusiness). I've read maybe downgrading them after a year to avoid the annual fee to a chase freedom and then keeping them for a while is the best bet but not really sure.
Posted on 8/15/19 at 12:41 pm to TigerMan327
I'd say keep the Discover card for 'age' of credit for your overall score.
Which sapphire do you have? Preferred or Reserve? the Freedom or Freedom Unlimited are no-annual-fee cashback cards unless paired with one of the two Sapphire cards. When paired, you can transfer into UR points.
Preferred is $95 annual fee
Reserve is $150 annual fee ($450 minus the $300 travel credit)
If you accrue a lot of points, it might be worth it to keep the Sapphire open AND open up a Freedom Unlimited to accrue more points on daily spend. I say this without knowing your spending or travel habits, so please take it with a grain of salt.
Which sapphire do you have? Preferred or Reserve? the Freedom or Freedom Unlimited are no-annual-fee cashback cards unless paired with one of the two Sapphire cards. When paired, you can transfer into UR points.
Preferred is $95 annual fee
Reserve is $150 annual fee ($450 minus the $300 travel credit)
If you accrue a lot of points, it might be worth it to keep the Sapphire open AND open up a Freedom Unlimited to accrue more points on daily spend. I say this without knowing your spending or travel habits, so please take it with a grain of salt.
This post was edited on 8/15/19 at 12:44 pm
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