I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[StephPlum]

So on my wife's CSP account page it does not have the bonus tracker that I am used to seeing for the amount left to spend for the new account bonus. She was definitely eligible and did the 100k offer. Should I be concerned? Anyone recently do the CSP and not have that tracker?

I started to worry as well. It took a few days after the card showed up in my account before I saw the bonus tracker. I'd give it a few days.

 

[StephPlum]

I called and added my DD to my room and then did online check in. The staff that answered the phone were nice and friendly and helpful and had no problem with my request. I only figured out I could put a name in myself just recently when making a reservation....never noticed the option before.

I need to do this too since I am using DH's FNC. Can you only add names on-line at the time of making the reservation? I can't find the option now my trips.

 

[Judique]

There are in Carroll County Although we do live in a very nice house but not in comparison to his friends with their in ground pools and finished basements.

I get it. The kids have an uncle who has a gym in his house specifically large enough to play basketball in. All the houses in that neighborhood are huge. Meanwhile I have 1425 sq feet and I'm happy, lol. And they are all welcome here.

Another uncle just retired (50ties) and built a huge lake house. Now, about 2 years later he has cancer and they are considering suspending treatment. Not good outlook.

When I was in my 30ties I found some of that affluence a little intimidating. But now, I'm old, I value different things.

 

[catsinawindow]

All 3 versions of the personal Southwest card that Chase offers has a 65,000 miles sign up bonus. That bonus is worth roughly $900 (I value Southwest miles at 1.4 cents per point), so the annual fee should not scare you off. If you don't plan to keep the card past 1 year (after getting the SUB), then get the Plus card, which has the lowest annual fee. The Priority version has the highest annual fee, but also a $75 credit, which drops the fee down to $74. For $5 more than the Plus card, you get 4,500 more miles each year you renew your card. Using the same valuation above, those 4,500 miles are worth $63. So, if you plan to keep the card long term (which helps prevent your miles from expiring), I'd recommend the Priority card. If you think there's a chance you will not use the travel credit or fly at all in the coming year, then get the Premier card ($30 higher fee, but $42 in more miles upon anniversary).

In sum:

Keeping the card just for one year: Plus
Keeping the card for more than one year AND will definitely use the travel credit: Priority
Keeping the card for more than one year, but might not travel this year: Premier

Thank you for this incredibly detailed and helpful post! You've convinced me, I'm going to get it before the 65,000 miles sign-up bonus runs out. I'm trying to decide between Priority and Premier now. Our arrival date is exactly one year from today (which I didn't realize until now, but is pretty exciting!), although there's a slim chance it could get pushed back. In this case, do you think you'd go with Priority or Premier? I'm not fully understanding why you recommend Premier over Priority if it's not 100% sure that we'd travel this year?

Hi and Welcome!
Southwest is the perfect airline for someone that doesn't travel often because their points never expire.
I would probably just recommend the SW Plus card, it comes with $69 annual fee. Right now all personal cards have the same sign up bonus 65,000 points for $2,000 spending.

If your trip is within the next 12 months I would really consider the Priority Credit Card, the annual fee is $149 BUT you get $75 credit on Southwest purchases and 4 upgrade boarding passes. You could use those $75 to pay for early bird checkin, and when flying in and out of MCO you really need to have early bird checkin.

Thank you, it does seem like I hit this thought at a lucky time! It looks like early bird checkin would put us with a earlier boarding group, is that correct? I'm going to have young kids with me when traveling to Disney, so we'd be eligible for family boarding regardless. Also, if we get upgraded boarding passes, is there any reason for the early bird checkin? Thanks so much for providing this input!

N

Now is a great time to apply for a Southwest card! They’ve got a 65k point SUB which ends very soon (sorry, I don’t have the exact date handy). The priority has a $150ish AF, but you get a $75 SW travel credit, so the fee is really more like $75. The annual points anniversary bonus and free upgraded boardings (which you can use in lieu of buying Early Bird Checkin) also makes that AF less painful.

It looks like it expires on 7/14, so I'll definitely be signing up before then! Thought of this at exactly the right time

 

[catsinawindow]

Lots of questions - TYP - tickets can be purchased with them. You may want to not do a travel agent. That way you can buy things separately using points, which you have time to do since you are a year out.

Southwest card: Consider this card but not as the first card.

If you do not have or have not had a CSP or CSR sign up bonus in the last 4 years, sign up for a CSP first. There is a 100K offer on it right this minute and about to expire. The 100K Ultimate Rewards can be used for many things. They transfer to Southwest 1:1. So right there you beat SW's best card offer.

But that said, they are worth more if you use them differently, so get this offer before it ends. Then grab your Southwest card for the flights. More on that later.

Don't be too afraid of annual fees. The CSP (Chase Sapphire Preferred) has a $95 fee but the points are worth $1000 just as a cash out and it goes up from there. You can always downgrade the card after the first annual fee once you've kept it for one year and paid one annual fee.

The SW points do not expire. If you close your rapid rewards account, that will terminate them, but there's no need to do that. The SW thing is a whole other ball game. Depending on who is going on your trip, you may want a companion pass.

I use SW points for my family. I don't willingly fly anywhere anymore. But I often book flights to help out my family.

Ahh, so this would explain all the posts I saw with these acronyms in the last few pages of this thread! Thank you for giving me these additional things to think about, off to look into the Chase Sapphire cards and compare!

 

[Judique]

I need to do this too since I am using DH's FNC. Can you only add names on-line at the time of making the reservation? I can't find the option now my trips.

Yes, only while creating the reservation. I learned when the CSR canceled my sons Hawaii room to add his name in. Than I did another dummy booking to see for myself. I guess I've always booked so fast I never noted it before. Once you have the reservation, unless there is lots of availability, the safest way to add is to call and ask the hotel to do it.

We could have lost our reservation when she canceled or let's say if I had canceled and rebooked myself I would have lost it as the room type was gone shortly thereafter.

 

[chattadisser]

Kids who are happy to be with people they enjoy (your son) will not worry about those things. And, sometimes you may find your 'happy' home is very enticing to a kid who doesn't get a lot of attention, or whose Mom doesn't have time to bake cookies, (just an example - not a necessity, lol.)

Yes, I remember explaining to my oldest when she was in MS that what went on in some of those houses wouldn't make up for the big house. Now that she is in HS and seeing behind the curtain so to speak, she realizes that our normal size house with a normal family is better than all the extras and no one around to talk to or care if your home.

On a credit card question - DH has an CSR that he has had from day one. I'm trying to convince him to get the CSP which I can refer him to. Can he downgrade the CSR to a CSP and then apply for a new CSP or should he just close the CSR and then apply for CSP?

 

[Albort]

Ugh I had decided not to try to wrap my head around applying for a CSP but now that the current offer is (possibly) ending on 7/17 I am rethinking . . . I have the CSR now (have had it since 2016), so I would need to downgrade to a Freedom today and then apply for the CSP on 7/17--is that correct? And then I can (maybe) upgrade the Freedom back to a CSR?

7/17 end date seems to be the expiration date of the in branch offer (100K + waived AF + $50 grocery credit). i have a feeling the 100k offer will still go on after that.
i havent seen anything too concrete yet.

 

[Judique]

Yes, I remember explaining to my oldest when she was in MS that what went on in some of those houses wouldn't make up for the big house. Now that she is in HS and seeing behind the curtain so to speak, she realizes that our normal size house with a normal family is better than all the extras and no one around to talk to or care if your home.

On a credit card question - DH has an CSR that he has had from day one. I'm trying to convince him to get the CSP which I can refer him to. Can he downgrade the CSR to a CSP and then apply for a new CSP or should he just close the CSR and then apply for CSP?

He should downgrade to a different Chase product such as Chase Freedom, Ch Freedom Unlimited, or Chase Flex. I think those are the best candidates. He can't keep a CSP or CSR sapphire product and apply for a new one.

However, once he gets the CSP he can upgrade either the CSP to a CSR after a year or can upgrade the downgraded card back to a CSR. No sign up bonus in the downgrade/upgrade which is the difference versus an app for a new card.

 

[Judique]

Sent DD to Maggianos to pick up dinner. They sent me a $10 half birthday offer and I have my $20 Brilliant credit. So dinner is cheap tonight. I'm having the chopped salad, the tomato and basil grilled chicken, and the banana split cheesecake although we are really sharing this. Don't know what daughter will order.

 

[Judique]

Ahh, so this would explain all the posts I saw with these acronyms in the last few pages of this thread! Thank you for giving me these additional things to think about, off to look into the Chase Sapphire cards and compare!

One other thing - if you have a P2 =player 2, they can also apply for a card, so one of you can do a SW, the other a CSP. Depending on available spend, there are loads of variations to get you lots of points for a trip. You really don't need a lot of cards to get the trip, but there are ways to do well.

Also, your credit report will drop a few points when you get a card, then usually bounce back up in a month. The important thing is to pay off what you charge to get the points and not carry a balance on a card you get points on. Interest paid will eat the savings if you have to carry balances so don't apply if you can't clear the balance each month. Most of us try to add this in once in a while as a precautionary tale.

 

[StephPlum]

Sent DD to Maggianos to pick up dinner. They sent me a $10 half birthday offer and I have my $20 Brilliant credit. So dinner is cheap tonight. I'm having the chopped salad, the tomato and basil grilled chicken, and the banana split cheesecake although we are really sharing this. Don't know what daughter will order.

Now I’m hungry!!

 

[Arcades]

Thank you for this incredibly detailed and helpful post! You've convinced me, I'm going to get it before the 65,000 miles sign-up bonus runs out. I'm trying to decide between Priority and Premier now. Our arrival date is exactly one year from today (which I didn't realize until now, but is pretty exciting!), although there's a slim chance it could get pushed back. In this case, do you think you'd go with Priority or Premier? I'm not fully understanding why you recommend Premier over Priority if it's not 100% sure that we'd travel this year?

Priority has an annual fee of $149, but a travel credit of $75, so if you use the travel credit your net annual fee is $74. Premier has an annual fee of $99 (less than the Priority, but more than the net AF if you can use the Priority travel credit). So, if you're fairly certain you will use the $75 travel credit on some flight (maybe a different trip), then Priority is the better choice. If you are unsure or want a lower fixed annual fee, then Premier is your better option.

As Judique mentioned in another reply, you should consider that Chase Sapphire Preferred is 100,000 UR for $95, which can be transferred to Southwest at any time 1:1 (and you don't have to transfer all at one time). It's a slightly higher minimum spending requirement ($4,000 instead of $2,000), but is 1.5x the miles. You can also get BOTH cards and have more miles for future trips. Generally, you should space Chase applications out so that you don't get more than one card every 2-3 months. There are exceptions, but I don't think they would apply to you unless you were trying to get TWO Southwest cards on back to back days in order to try and get the Companion Pass.

 

[StephPlum]

Yes, only while creating the reservation. I learned when the CSR canceled my sons Hawaii room to add his name in. Than I did another dummy booking to see for myself. I guess I've always booked so fast I never noted it before. Once you have the reservation, unless there is lots of availability, the safest way to add is to call and ask the hotel to do it.

We could have lost our reservation when she canceled or let's say if I had canceled and rebooked myself I would have lost it as the room type was gone shortly thereafter.

I’m not going to cancel since all the rooms are sold out. I’ll call to get added. Good to know and I also need to not be so quick to book and remember to add names then.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Yes, I remember explaining to my oldest when she was in MS that what went on in some of those houses wouldn't make up for the big house. Now that she is in HS and seeing behind the curtain so to speak, she realizes that our normal size house with a normal family is better than all the extras and no one around to talk to or care if your home.

On a credit card question - DH has an CSR that he has had from day one. I'm trying to convince him to get the CSP which I can refer him to. Can he downgrade the CSR to a CSP and then apply for a new CSP or should he just close the CSR and then apply for CSP?

Since he can’t have any Sapphire card when applying for the CSP have him downgrade the CSR to one of the Freedoms, wait 4 days then apply for the CSP. If he closes the CSR the wait is 30 days to apply

 

[catsinawindow]

One other thing - if you have a P2 =player 2, they can also apply for a card, so one of you can do a SW, the other a CSP. Depending on available spend, there are loads of variations to get you lots of points for a trip. You really don't need a lot of cards to get the trip, but there are ways to do well.

Also, your credit report will drop a few points when you get a card, then usually bounce back up in a month. The important thing is to pay off what you charge to get the points and not carry a balance on a card you get points on. Interest paid will eat the savings if you have to carry balances so don't apply if you can't clear the balance each month. Most of us try to add this in once in a while as a precautionary tale.

Thank you, I've only just started thinking about utilizing credit card purchases to maximize reward points recently, so this is all very new to me! We definitely only put purchases on credit cards that we can pay off immediately. In fact, I'll often focus only on high-cost purchases and then pay it directly from checking/savings so that the balance doesn't creep up on us!

 

[jujubiee4]

Yes, the support links usually last a couple of weeks after the public link dies.

Where do you park your UR points? I have a freedom unlimited. I probably will PC CSR to freedom flex.
Do i tell them to transfer points?

 

[jujubiee4]

Wasn't there a tip somewhere to lower your credit limit before Pc'ing your CSR?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Where do you park your UR points? I have a freedom unlimited. I probably will PC CSR to freedom flex.
Do i tell them to transfer points?

When you PC to the CFF the points stay on that card

 

[jujubiee4]

When you PC to the CFF the points stay on that card

I just saw I forgot to use the travel credit. An easy way to liquidize? Grocery store gift card?