Redeeming Credit Card Points: Why Should I Travel instead of Taking Cash?

[DonRocks]

Eric, just to let you know, I don't think Chase AARP Visa participates in Ultimate Rewards. Therefore, you can't transfer those points to Chase Sapphire Reserve. With Chase Freedom, however, you can. I'm not sure, but I'm rapidly coming to this conclusion: Chase Freedom uses Ultimate Rewards; Chase AARP does not.

However, with Chase AARP, you get $1.12 per 100 points if you book travel through Chase, so it's about a 10% discount for travel as opposed to taking cash. In other words, you can get a $224 ticket for 20,000 points. Also, they're sort-of treated like cash when buying tickets, so there are no blackout dates.

[Ericandblueboy]

You need to call to activate the Chase Sapphire Reserve, while you have them on the phone, ask them to activate your priority pass membership.

[DonRocks]

21 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Eric, just to let you know, I don't think Chase AARP Visa participates in Ultimate Rewards.

Confirmed: The AARP Visa does not use Ultimate Rewards. The Chase Freedom Visas, however, do. Remember, though, that the AARP does give about a 10% discount booking travel through Chase - to me, that's only marginally worth it, especially given that I'm going to be closing the account.

[DonRocks]

An additional question for those concerned about optimizing credit scores:

Apparently, the credit bureaus take the total amount owed for all your cards on the payment-due date, and use that to calculate what your actual-debt to allowed-debt ratio is (or whatever it's called).

So if you have $10,000 in credit, and on your due dates, you owe $1,000, you'll have a 10% ratio. Even if you pay your cards off in full each month, you'll still have a 10% ratio.

What happens if you pay your cards in full one day early? You'll have a zero balance on your due date. Is it possible that this will help your credit score? I've noticed that if you enroll in Chase Autopay, the *only option available* is payment on the due date. For you to pay the card off early, you must do so manually, each month - I suspect they don't give you an option to change the payment date for this very reason. 

Thoughts?

[Simul Parikh]

This may be one of the best possible cards for travelers. Chase Sapphire Reserve

After spending $4000 in first 3 months, you get 100,000 points, and if you use that for travel, it's $1500. Any time you use points for travel, you get a 50% benefit.

You get $300 travel credit every year (includes hotels, airfares, but also stuff like Uber, Lyft, airbnb)

3x points for all travel related purchases and all dining.

900 airport lounges. 

No foreign transaction fees. 

$100 credit for Global Entry

Cancellation insurance for trips (illness, weather, etc.)

If you're delayed 6 hours or more / overnight, you get reimbursed for hotels/meals.

Comprehensive collision insurance for car rentals.

A lot of freebies at certain hotels ($100 restaurant credit, airport transfer, etc.)

Fee is steep, $450, but since you get $300 credit, it's essentially $150. And even if you just keep it for one year, you get about $1450 in benefits (the 100k points, the travel credit, global entry)

I'm not a shill.. just got one, after reading about it in Times and Points Guy.

[Mark Dedrick]

I'm going to look into this, thanks for the heads up. 

[Josh]

Mine's on the way...hell of a deal. We'll see how long these generous benefits stick around.

[DonRocks]

12 hours ago, Mark Dedrick said:

I'm going to look into this, thanks for the heads up. 

You should read this whole thread. If you dine and travel even a moderate amount, get the Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa, trust me.

And apply for Global Entry ASAP! (You should read that whole thread, too.)

Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa is the iPhone of credit cards.

I do wonder about how long they're going to continue these amazing benefits, but this is one area where ruthless competition might really work to consumers' advantage.

For me, it's like pennies from heaven, and for heavy-duty travelers, it's probably the same way.

Note to Fresh Off The Roast: You're not considered "Dining" by Chase.

Neither are wine retailers.  

[silentbob]

On 9/13/2016 at 11:44 PM, DonRocks said:

Note to Fresh Off The Roast: You're not considered "Dining" by Chase.

Neither are wine retailers.  

Nor bakeries, caterers, or dairy product stores.

[DonRocks]

30 minutes ago, silentbob said:

Nor bakeries, caterers, or dairy product stores.

Note that the article claims that "coffee shops" *are* included as dining; Fresh Off The Roast was not.

Obviously, this is all automated, and while disappointing, I find it perfectly understandable - buying a baguette at a bakery doesn't really fall within the "spirit" of dining and travel. 

And the truth is that my purchase from Fresh Off The Roast was for my mail-order coffee beans (as the ongoing part of my "Don Rockwell Idiot Kit"), which isn't that different than going to a grocery store, or buying a consumable on Amazon.

Just a few days ago, I made a charge with this card at Pan American Bakery (don't worry, I'm still on "The Walking Dead Diet"; I bought my maids some salteñas) - I suspect this will not qualify for triple points, and you've saved me the trouble of inquiring why it won't. Much obliged!

As a side note, kudos to Chase for giving that guy his triple-points, even though his purchase didn't qualify for them - that's a smart move. It cost them a couple dollars, and didn't anger a customer (I think the author of that article should have recognized this).

[silentbob]

On 8/16/2016 at 8:48 PM, silentbob said:

Many international airlines offer sweet spot redemptions in the FF award chart, though with travel blogs and forums publicizing them constantly to generate web traffic, they've harmed the golden goose somewhat.  For example, it used to be possible to redeem 4500 British Airways Avios points for a one-way short-haul (<600 miles) flight in the U.S., when the price for the same saver award ticket would usually cost 10K to 12.5K AA/UA/DL miles.  But BA eliminated these earlier in the year due to their overwhelming value proposition and popularity.  One FF transfer option that remains fairly good is the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer program.  Not only do they continue to award miles based on distance flown for Star Alliance (e.g., United) and JetBlue flights, regardless of cheap or expensive fare class in coach, they offer 40K first class round trip tickets in the U.S. that would cost 50K in UA/AA/DL miles.  And 60K round trip tickets to Hawaii that cost at least 20K more in UA/AA/DL miles.  Keep in mind that the FF program whose miles you're redeeming need not be the same airline that you're flying for the award.  They simply need to be in the same alliance (or be one of the airline's non-alliance redemption partners).

Very recent example of a great redemption made possible by our family's stash of Ultimate Rewards points -- Singapore Airlines allows you to upgrade a premium economy seat to their award-winning business class using KrisFlyer miles.  For our trip to Southeast Asia next year, there was a rare sale on premium economy tickets for the SFO-SIN nonstop flight, now $1150 RT.  A JFK-FRA-SIN ticket that typically costs closer to $1800 is currently $1150 too.  The cost to upgrade one way for a flight between Singapore and the U.S. west coast is 45000 miles.  After a 15% online award booking discount, it came out to 38,250 miles.  We're waitlisted for upgrade on the return flight.  The difference between a premium economy and business class ticket for SFO-SIN is just over $3000, so assuming our return flight upgrade clears, this will come out to 4 cents/UR point of value in our redemption.  For a 17+ hour flight in lie-flat business class on the west-bound trip (and 14+ hours on the return), it will be priceless to us!

P.S.  In addition to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, those with a business may also want to consider getting the Chase Ink Plus card.  In addition to the signup bonus, they offer 5 points per dollar spent at office supply stores (e.g., Staples or Office Depot, where you can buy Amazon gift cards thus effectively getting 5 points for dollar spent at Amazon) and on internet/cable/cell phone bills.

[Ericandblueboy]

9 minutes ago, silentbob said:

Very recent example of a great redemption made possible by our family's stash of Ultimate Rewards points -- Singapore Airlines allows you to upgrade a premium economy seat to their award-winning business class using KrisFlyer miles.  For our trip to Southeast Asia next year, there was a rare sale on premium economy tickets for the SFO-SIN nonstop flight, now $1150 RT.  A JFK-FRA-SIN ticket that typically costs closer to $1800 is currently $1150 too.  The cost to upgrade one way for a flight between Singapore and the U.S. west coast is 45000 miles.  After a 15% online award booking discount, it came out to 38,250 miles.  We're waitlisted for upgrade on the return flight.  The difference between a premium economy and business class ticket for SFO-SIN is just over $3000, so assuming our return flight upgrade clears, this will come out to 4 cents/UR point of value in our redemption.  For a 17+ hour flight in lie-flat business class on the west-bound trip (and 14+ hours on the return), it will be priceless to us!

Can you describe the actual process?  Do you start by transferring miles from Chase to KrisFlyer?  Presumably Singaporean Air is the one that offers the 15% online booking discount?  So if you do your upgrade online, you'd only use 38,250 miles?  How did you find out about the 15% discount?  Is it always applicable?

[silentbob]

Yes, the 15% discount is specific to the KrisFlyer program, not Chase.  It's been around for years and most travel blog articles on KrisFlyer redemptions will mention it.  Basically it went like this, assuming you have a KrisFlyer account already:  (1) Book Singapore Airlines ticket, (2) Go the manage bookings section, pick the flight you're looking to upgrade, select upgrade with miles.  Generally, I don't like to book tickets where upgrade space isn't already known, so one way to ascertain upgrade space is that it seems to correlate with saver award availability.  So even before (1) above you should first find out if there are enough business saver seats available for the flight you're looking to book (basically, make a dummy saver award booking for the same dates), and if availability exists then transfer the necessary miles on Chase to your KrisFlyer account.  It took between 12-18 hours after I made the transfer on Chase for the miles to appear in my wife's KrisFlyer account.

In our case, for whatever reason the option to upgrade with miles online was grayed out so I called in to request the upgrade but for whatever reason they gave me the 15% discount anyway.  I don't know if that's consistent with policy or YMMV but I went in expecting to pay 45K miles per upgrade so it was a pleasant surprise.

[LauraB]

On September 13, 2016 at 9:39 AM, Simul Parikh said:

This may be one of the best possible cards for travelers. Chase Sapphire Reserve

After spending $4000 in first 3 months, you get 100,000 points, and if you use that for travel, it's $1500. Any time you use points for travel, you get a 50% benefit.

You get $300 travel credit every year (includes hotels, airfares, but also stuff like Uber, Lyft, airbnb)

3x points for all travel related purchases and all dining.

900 airport lounges. 

No foreign transaction fees. 

$100 credit for Global Entry

Cancellation insurance for trips (illness, weather, etc.)

If you're delayed 6 hours or more / overnight, you get reimbursed for hotels/meals.

Comprehensive collision insurance for car rentals.

A lot of freebies at certain hotels ($100 restaurant credit, airport transfer, etc.)

Fee is steep, $450, but since you get $300 credit, it's essentially $150. And even if you just keep it for one year, you get about $1450 in benefits (the 100k points, the travel credit, global entry)

I'm not a shill.. just got one, after reading about it in Times and Points Guy.

Great summary, Simul!  I'm going to print it out so I can have it as a handy reference.

 We got our Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa in late August and within 10 days we had crossed the $4000 line where you are eligible for 100K points.  We just got our statement and it awarded us more than 13,000 points for purchases -- many of those were for the triple points awards for travel and dining.  We also got the $300 refund for our travel-related expenses, making this card a lot less expensive.  However, we were not awarded the 100K points for exceeding $4000.  I called Chase and was informed that we would receive these with our October statement.  The explanation didn't quite make sense to me, but since I'm not in a hurry, I didn't try to argue.  Just a word of caution for anyone who's hoping to get their points windfall in a hurry.  

Also, during my phone call, I learned that we can transfer our Ultimate Rewards points to other Chase rewards plans, such as our United Mileage Plus account, but cannot do the reverse -- you can't transfer other plan points to Ultimate Rewards.  

[DonRocks]

16 minutes ago, LauraB said:

Great summary, Simul!  I'm going to print it out so I can have it as a handy reference.

 We got our Chase Sapphire Visa in late August and within 10 days we had crossed the $4000 line where you are eligible for 100K points.  We just got our statement and it awarded us more than 13,000 points for purchases -- many of those were for the triple points awards for travel and dining.  We also got the $300 refund for our travel-related expenses, making this card a lot less expensive.  However, we were not awarded the 100K points for exceeding $4000.  I called Chase and was informed that we would receive these with our October statement.  The explanation didn't quite make sense to me, but since I'm not in a hurry, I didn't try to argue.  Just a word of caution for anyone who's hoping to get their points windfall in a hurry.  

Also, during my phone call, I learned that we can transfer our Ultimate Rewards points to other Chase rewards plans, such as our United Mileage Plus account, but cannot do the reverse -- you can't transfer other plan points to Ultimate Rewards.  

Laura, I might have some bad news for you: It's only the Chase Sapphire RESERVE Visa that awards the 100,000 points for exceeding $4,000. That is actually a step above the "regular" Chase Sapphire Visa, and wasn't even available to apply for until August 22nd. Are you sure *that* is the card you have? I applied on the 22nd, and got my card on the 29th, so it's possible - but I just wanted to make sure.

[LauraB]

14 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Laura, I might have some bad news for you: It's only the Chase Sapphire RESERVE Visa that awards the 100,000 points for exceeding $4,000. That is actually a step above the "regular" Chase Sapphire Visa, and wasn't even available to apply for until August 22nd. Are you sure *that* is the card you have? I applied on the 22nd, and got my card on the 29th, so it's possible - but I just wanted to make sure.

Sorry, Don.  Yes, we have the RESERVE.  I've edited my post above to reflect this.

[beachgirl54]

Just got mine and I'm charging up a storm.

[Rovers2000]

I actually recently downgraded away from my Amex Platinum in favor of this - its a much better deal, particularly as Amex seems to really be swinging and missing with some main partners (Costco being one).  

[Simul Parikh]

I got mine literally 2 days after applying. Spending so much money for no reason. Haha

[DonRocks]

On 8/22/2016 at 7:55 PM, DonRocks said:

It's out.

I applied on the 22nd, got approved on the 23rd, received the card on the 29th (activated both the card and Priority Pass that same day), and just *today* received my Priority Pass in the mail - almost a month later. 

That said, I'm pretty sure you don't need the actual plastic card to get into the lounges as long as you have your account number.

I guess I'll be seeing a lot of you folks in airport lounges. Say hi next time!

[dcs]

46 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I applied on the 22nd, got approved on the 23rd, received the card on the 29th (activated both the card and Priority Pass that same day), and just *today* received my Priority Pass in the mail - almost a month later. 

That said, I'm pretty sure you don't need the actual plastic card to get into the lounges as long as you have your account number.

I guess I'll be seeing a lot of you folks in airport lounges. Say hi next time!

"Which Cards Give You Virtual Priority Pass Lounge Access" by Lori Zaino on thepointsguy.com

[DonRocks]

41 minutes ago, dcs said:

"Which Cards Give You Virtual Priority Pass Lounge Access" by Lori Zaino on thepointsguy.com

Wow, this is *hugely* important information to owners of this card.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa alone does *NOT* give you lounge access - according to this article, you must have the actual Priority Pass plastic card.

I wonder if, in reality, the email confirming your Priority Pass membership (with the membership number in the email) is good enough. They'd have to be real pricks to deny access if you showed up with a copy of that.

[silentbob]

5 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

according to this article, you must have the actual Priority Pass plastic card.

Not true in my experience -- if your phone has the Priority Pass app, the digital card therein has always sufficed.

[Josh]

7 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

They'd have to be real pricks to deny access if you showed up with a copy of that.

Remember, you're dealing with people in an airport, so...

[DonRocks]

2 hours ago, silentbob said:

Not true in my experience -- if your phone has the Priority Pass app, the digital card therein has always sufficed.

I just read the pamphlet that comes with the card. It stressed that you must bring the actual plastic card (it actually said the word "plastic"), and it mentioned that the lounges are owned by third parties. So I think what they're spelling out for you is a "worst-case scenario" - the takeaway here is: Have your card with you just to be safe.

[funkyfood]

On ‎9‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 6:01 PM, DonRocks said:

I just read the pamphlet that comes with the card. It stressed that you must bring the actual plastic card (it actually said the word "plastic"), and it mentioned that the lounges are owned by third parties. So I think what they're spelling out for you is a "worst-case scenario" - the takeaway here is: Have your card with you just to be safe.

I've gotten into PP lounges multiple times without my car. just needed account # and expiration date. who knows if that is the case with all lounges though.

[Simul Parikh]

This is interesting:

" Please note that if you receive your Priority Pass Membership from a financial institution you may not be able to access a Digital Membership Card.  "

Curious they would have that restriction. 

[DonRocks]

For those on the fence about the Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa, I've been following the situation pretty closely over the past month (I *never* cared about luxury credit cards before this (and now that I'm all set up, my interest in the subject will quickly be waning)), and I suspect that Chase will soon be ending the 100,000-point sign-up bonus <--- read the article in that link. So my advice is to get it now rather than later, assuming you can drop $4K in 3 months (that 100,000 points is worth $1K in cash, and $1.5K (possibly more, if you can take your time) in travel).

Simul, each of these lounges are privately owned, and only indirectly affiliated with Chase - Chase is laying out a worst-case scenario for its cardholders. For example, I'm sitting in a lounge that says they restrict access from 5PM-1AM, but the lady at the front desk told me it wouldn't be a problem today. "Promise a little, deliver a lot" - I suspect that's the strategy.

I agree that not accepting digital membership is an odd restriction - probably an attempt to prevent overcrowding - but I suspect that going forward, that restriction will be removed, as everything is going digital. 

On a related note, isn't it amazing how much *less* we all go to ATM machines now than we did just five years ago? In the 1980s, ATM machines were the wave of the future; now, they're going to become like a less-extreme version of pay phones.

[dinoue]

I recently used a few years worth of points accumulated on a Chase United Visa for 4 tickets to Japan. 70,000 points per ticket which had I purchased, would have been around $1600 each. That's a conversion rate of 2.3 cents per mile/point, though about a quarter of those points were from anniversary and sign up bonuses. Just got a new card that has no transaction fees for international purchases and got me another 70k miles for signup, basically another free ticket to Japan. 

I do have one cash card, the Chase Freedom, which I use only for purchases at the 5% bonus merchants which change every three months.

[LauraB]

Interestingly, it seems that the Chase Sapphire Reserve card considers travel on Metro and parking in Metro garages to be 'travel'-qualified expenditures and awards 3x the points.  Could be a bonus for people who commute on Metro daily.  (There's got to be some compensation for enduring the misery that is Metro.)

Sadly, it did not count my recent purchase of relatively expensive luggage as worthy of 3x the points.

[DonRocks]

"10 Best Ways To Use 100,000 Ultimate Rewards Points" by Nick Ewen on thepointsguy.com 

[Simul Parikh]

The Hawaii, 4 roundtrips for 100k points through Skypass is pretty insane. I can't believe I've lived my life without a points program. Perhaps my greatest regret in life. 

[dcs]

How to Pick the Best Credit Card, Based on Rewards, by Stacy Cowley, September 30, 2016, on nytimes.com.

[silentbob]

On 8/21/2016 at 4:13 PM, DonRocks said:

Flying Blue is pricing each leg, per person, at 25,000 miles + a small amount of cash, depending on the ticket. Examples:

If you have any other trips across the pond planned, 25% off points redemptions!

[DonRocks]

On 9/29/2016 at 3:25 PM, Simul Parikh said:

The Hawaii, 4 roundtrips for 100k points through Skypass is pretty insane. I can't believe I've lived my life without a points program. Perhaps my greatest regret in life. 

The whole points-program thing is just now reaching critical mass where it has become a no-brainer - you haven't missed all that much.

You don't want to know how many Ultimate Rewards points I had from my Chase Freedom Visas, just sitting there doing nothing, all because I was too lazy to cash them in - and now they're all transferred over to Chase Sapphire Preferred - I feel like a thief ...  a successful jewel thief.

I suggest to everyone deciding to jump into the Points Game, to join all the frequent flyer, frequent stayer, frequent renter, etc. programs that you can now, so as to avoid the hassle later - give them all a junk email that you don't mind getting spam on (I have a separate email that I use for such things).

[Simul Parikh]

Was just going to post the KLM thing. 37k for roundtrip in economy this winter. That's basically 3 roundtrip tickets to Paris for 112k points. 

Korean Air is good, too. Priced out tickets to Seoul or Tokyo. 70k roundtrip, + $100 in fees. Those non stop flights to ICN are usually $1200-1500. And I'm pretty sure there is a way to stay over a few nights for no additional cost. That's really great! 

I'm not that excessive of a spender, but got 10k points in the first 2ish weeks - I guess I dine and travel a lot and so the triple points really helps me. 

[silentbob]

3 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I suggest to everyone deciding to jump into the Points Game, to join all the frequent flyer, frequent stayer, frequent renter, etc. programs that you can now, so as to avoid the hassle later - give them all a junk email that you don't mind getting spam on (I have a separate email that I use for such things).

The only comment I would add is that the airlines and hotel chains continue to realize quickly how widely their so-called loyalty programs have been/are being gamed, and are slowly taking away some of the best redemption opportunities (i.e., loopholes) or otherwise eroding their fantastic value proposition.  So unless there's some crazy aspirational award requiring hundreds of thousands of points, I recommend earning and burning as quickly as one's schedule and vacation days will allow.  Because points/miles don't earn interest and will devalue sharply at unpredictable moments.

Believe it or not, the game of miles/points used to be much, much more lucrative before airline/hotel consolidation and shortly after the financial crisis/subsequent recession when the promotions were AMAZING.  Like one free night per two stays, where two times at an IAD hotel ($60/night), done several times, netted us free suites in Venice and Florence for a week in the fall of 2010.  Or when having mid/high-tier elite status in a legacy airline meant a 80 to 90+ percent chance of a complimentary upgrade clearing.  I only caught the tail end of these golden days, but they are long gone. 

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, silentbob said:

The only comment I would add is that the airlines and hotel chains continue to realize quickly how widely their so-called loyalty programs have been/are being gamed, and are slowly taking away some of the best redemption opportunities (i.e., loopholes) or otherwise eroding their fantastic value proposition.  So unless there's some crazy aspirational award requiring hundreds of thousands of points, I recommend earning and burning as quickly as one's schedule and vacation days will allow.  Because points/miles don't earn interest and will devalue sharply at unpredictable moments.

Believe it or not, the game of miles/points used to be much, much more lucrative before airline/hotel consolidation and shortly after the financial crisis/subsequent recession when the promotions were AMAZING.  Like one free night per two stays, where two times at an IAD hotel ($60/night), done several times, netted us free suites in Venice and Florence for a week in the fall of 2010.  Or when having mid/high-tier elite status in a legacy airline meant a 80 to 90+ percent chance of a complimentary upgrade clearing.  I only caught the tail end of these golden days, but they are long gone. 

Back in the 1980s, I was a Hyatt Gold Passport member, and the rules were that for every 4 stays (not nights, but stays), you got a free night. I was living in a Hyatt five nights a week, so would check in, then out, then in, then out, then in, then out - each week - so I'd have 3 stays per week. I did this for about three months, and even though it was a *major* pain on paper, I was living in a college dorm just a couple years before (tiptoeing over broken glass in the hallway just to get to the shower), so I didn't even notice the hassle. I got about 10 free nights, and this is when I was only 23 years old, so that really meant something to me.

Sep 13, 2016 - "Value-Seekers Warm to $450 Annual Credit Card Fee" by Stacy Cowley on nytimes.com

[silentbob]

I would not get this card if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve already (except for those who travel frequently through SFO, DFW, MIA, IAH, LGA, or SEA), but for those who own the personal AMEX Platinum too, they will be giving 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on airfare booked directly from airlines or AMEX starting tomorrow.  That's likely enough for me to shift my airfare spend given that MR has more airline transfer partners, including some of the same ones we currently use for our Ultimate Rewards points.

[porcupine]

After a long time hemming and hawing about it, I got an AmEx Platinum a few months ago. Mr. P and I now refer to it as the American Express Bait and Switch Card. There are a few benefits we've used, and maybe the points will add up, but I'll probably not renew it.

Example: booked travel to Europe. Single biggest reason why I got the card was to take advantage of the companion fare. Called AmEx travel to price out the trip: $X on KLM with a 2 1/2 hour layover connection through Amsterdam. Then I went online and bought us two business class tix through SAS - for about $X - 200. Nonstop flight, no layover.

So the companion fare cost more, takes longer, and involves a connection (on a flight that doesn't have business class as such). The only benefit to buying through AmEx is the flexibility to cancel the trip without penalty.

phht.

[dcs]

2 hours ago, porcupine said:

After a long time hemming and hawing about it, I got an AmEx Platinum a few months ago. Mr. P and I now refer to it as the American Express Bait and Switch Card. There are a few benefits we've used, and maybe the points will add up, but I'll probably not renew it.

Example: booked travel to Europe. Single biggest reason why I got the card was to take advantage of the companion fare. Called AmEx travel to price out the trip: $X on KLM with a 2 1/2 hour layover connection through Amsterdam. Then I went online and bought us two business class tix through SAS - for about $X - 200. Nonstop flight, no layover.

So the companion fare cost more, takes longer, and involves a connection (on a flight that doesn't have business class as such). The only benefit to buying through AmEx is the flexibility to cancel the trip without penalty.

phht.

The Points Guy would agree.

Quote

The Amex Platinum companion fare (also knows as the International Airline Program) allows a companion to join you with the purchase of a qualifying international first or business-class fare. That sounds great at first, but there are some crucial restrictions that make this benefit somewhat impractical.

Read more: "Does the AmEx Platinum Companion Fare Offer a Good Deal?" on the thepointsguy.com

 

[DonRocks]

On 9/29/2016 at 9:25 AM, Simul Parikh said:

The Hawaii, 4 roundtrips for 100k points through Skypass is pretty insane. I can't believe I've lived my life without a points program. Perhaps my greatest regret in life. 

You know what?

If this is your greatest regret in life ... you were either born yesterday, or you've lived a pretty damned good life.

[Simul Parikh]

I was being facetious

How about this deal - 110,000 points get you Southwest Companion Card. Sounds like there are two credit cards from Southwest, one personal, one business, both have 50,000 point bonues when you spend $2000 on each. So then you need to spend another $3,000 on each to hit 110,000 points. Sounds like from the time you hit that number until the next calendar year is over, whenever you get a flight your companion can fly free, as well. That sounds great for domestic travel. Anyone have this?

[DonRocks]

8 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:

I was being facetious

How about this deal - 110,000 points get you Southwest Companion Card. Sounds like there are two credit cards from Southwest, one personal, one business, both have 50,000 point bonues when you spend $2000 on each. So then you need to spend another $3,000 on each to hit 110,000 points. Sounds like from the time you hit that number until the next calendar year is over, whenever you get a flight your companion can fly free, as well. That sounds great for domestic travel. Anyone have this?

My initial reaction: If you have one "luxury" card, that's all you need. That said, it's only an initial reaction, and my comment is made without any thought. Personally, I'm pretty much done researching these mega-point cards, now that I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa - *unless* someone can actively convince me I should get a second one.

Getting approved for Global Entry is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me, travel-wise.

My guess is that once you've covered the "thousands of dollars" you can earn by having one of these cards, you've covered 90% of what you can cover.

[Simul Parikh]

Sure, but had I been a little quicker on this, could have had the Chase Saph and their 100,000 bonus for 2016. Then get these two Southwest cards and time it to drop the 110,000 pts in January 2017. Now, basically have 2 for 1 domestic flights for 2 years. And still have the Chase Saph for everything else, in fact you could purchase the Southwest flights with CSR, and get 3x points. I think reading TPG has gotten me all crazy, ha ha. 

[DonRocks]

22 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:

Sure, but had I been a little quicker on this, could have had the Chase Saph and their 100,000 bonus for 2016. Then get these two Southwest cards and time it to drop the 110,000 pts in January 2017. Now, basically have 2 for 1 domestic flights for 2 years. And still have the Chase Saph for everything else, in fact you could purchase the Southwest flights with CSR, and get 3x points. I think reading TPG has gotten me all crazy, ha ha. 

Another important thing to remember is that I *think* the $300 annual travel reimbursement resets on Jan 1 each year, so Chase Sapphire Reserve card members need to make sure to spend $300 on travel by this Dec 31 (I suspect that won't be a problem for you).

If it's Dec 30, and you haven't spent $300 yet, buy an airline ticket, get a hotel for New Year's Eve, or do something that won't cause you to lose this benefit.

I burned through mine very quickly on my recent trip, and it was surprising what was considered travel (autoroute tolls, Uber) and what wasn't (a hotel, for whatever reason - I might write them about that one because I'd like my 3x points; more importantly, I just want to know why). Note that it's all automated, and comes in drips and drabs, but should eventually add up to $300:

Sep 23, 2016	UBER FR SEP23 SJWCK HELPabout this transaction	$6.75
	TRAVEL CREDIT $300/YEARabout this transaction	–$6.75
Sep 22, 2016	ORANGE WIFIabout this transaction	$22.37
Sep 20, 2016	RADISSON HOTEL JFK AIRPabout this transaction	$2.00
	TRAVEL CREDIT $300/YEARabout this transaction	–$77.16
	UBER *US SEP19 BXRTIabout this transaction	$77.16
	TRAVEL CREDIT $300/YEARabout this transaction	–$2.00
Sep 19, 2016	HOTELS.COM132642163816about this transaction	$3.50
	THE SPOTTED PIGabout this transaction	$10.00
	ARAMARK AT FITabout this transaction	$2.06
	STARBUCKS STORE 07529about this transaction	$3.45
	TRAVEL CREDIT $300/YEARabout this transaction	–$3.50
	NYC YELLOW CABabout this transactio n	$9.49
	TRAVEL CREDIT $300/YEARabout this transaction	–$9.49

[silentbob]

On 9/15/2016 at 0:32 PM, DonRocks said:

Note that the article claims that "coffee shops" *are* included as dining; Fresh Off The Roast was not.

Obviously, this is all automated, and while disappointing, I find it perfectly understandable - buying a baguette at a bakery doesn't really fall within the "spirit" of dining and travel. 

And the truth is that my purchase from Fresh Off The Roast was for my mail-order coffee beans (as the ongoing part of my "Don Rockwell Idiot Kit"), which isn't that different than going to a grocery store, or buying a consumable on Amazon.

Just a few days ago, I made a charge with this card at Pan American Bakery (don't worry, I'm still on "The Walking Dead Diet"; I bought my maids some salteñas) - I suspect this will not qualify for triple points, and you've saved me the trouble of inquiring why it won't. Much obliged!

As a side note, kudos to Chase for giving that guy his triple-points, even though his purchase didn't qualify for them - that's a smart move. It cost them a couple dollars, and didn't anger a customer (I think the author of that article should have recognized this).

A head's up for those thinking about booking at Pineapple and Pearls -- do not charge the pre-paid portion of the meal price on your Chase Sapphire Reserve with the expectation of receiving 3x UR points.  Because you will only get 1x.  I spoke to Chase just now, and apparently the pre-paid charges are coded as Miscellaneous and not Dining.  Only the drinks we ordered for our dinner at the bar ended up getting 3x points.  This is of course the most first-world of first-world problems, but an unpleasant surprise nonetheless.

As a one-time courtesy, the Chase representative was willing to give me 3x points for the remaining 50% of the meal price that was pre-paid the day before our reservation (but not the original 50% charged when booking).  I accepted this service recovery as better than nothing.  But be forewarned.  I have no idea if it costs P&P more one way or the other, but don't really feel like taking this up with them given that our dining experience overall was quite positive.

[Simul Parikh]

So, just got to use the lounges ... in IAD and in FCO. 

Free booze and wifi. Food is very sad appearing. I'll take it!!

But overall thinking about what Chase Saph Reserve's effect will be on things. As an economics major, it just seems that we are creating points inflation and devaluing the currency. Everyone and their sister are getting the 100,000 bonus and now other cards are upping their bonuses. Flooding the market with points has already led Delta to modify their program and it's way worse. Other airlines are following suit. I think the lounges are worse and worse, and with priority pass going to be quite crowded. Pretty soon, we are going to be bringing in points on wheelbarrows to get a free flight or an upgrade. I think spend them now before they become worthless.... just try booking awards flights on United or Delta. Pretty lame. The Points Guy changes the game, and then the concierge guys that figure out the loopholes for you to use your points, but now with the enormous dumping of points into the system ... it's like QE - short term the massive dumping of points into the system won't hurt because their is so much capacity, but at some point you can't reverse the easing / point dumping and we are going to see a rapid decline in the value of points. Use em or lose em !

[funkyfood]

On 11/28/2016 at 7:56 PM, Simul Parikh said:

So, just got to use the lounges ... in IAD and in FCO. 

Free booze and wifi. Food is very sad appearing. I'll take it!!

But overall thinking about what Chase Saph Reserve's effect will be on things. As an economics major, it just seems that we are creating points inflation and devaluing the currency. Everyone and their sister are getting the 100,000 bonus and now other cards are upping their bonuses. Flooding the market with points has already led Delta to modify their program and it's way worse. Other airlines are following suit. I think the lounges are worse and worse, and with priority pass going to be quite crowded. Pretty soon, we are going to be bringing in points on wheelbarrows to get a free flight or an upgrade. I think spend them now before they become worthless.... just try booking awards flights on United or Delta. Pretty lame. The Points Guy changes the game, and then the concierge guys that figure out the loopholes for you to use your points, but now with the enormous dumping of points into the system ... it's like QE - short term the massive dumping of points into the system won't hurt because their is so much capacity, but at some point you can't reverse the easing / point dumping and we are going to see a rapid decline in the value of points. Use em or lose em !

this is a very interesting and thought-provoking analysis

[DonRocks]

2 hours ago, funkyfood said:

this is a very interesting and thought-provoking analysis

I heard a related piece on NPR (a couple days ago) about the Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa that says banks are actually losing money on these cards right now.

There's no question in my mind that point-currency devaluation is the logical endpoint, but as long as it's one dollar per point, you at least have a floor. I doubt that the cards will offer 1.5 dollars per point in airline reservations forever. Hopefully, we'll have sufficient notice to either "book one last trip" or "cash out" should the banks ever decide to devalue the points.

I guess that mentally, I'm prepared to accept "one dollar per point" at some time in the future; if they don't give adequate notice, there will be an uprising.