I love credit cards so much!

[SouthFayetteFan]

ok.... for the first time, I'm seriously looking at marriott nights and flights..... can someone point me to a primer to read? I need to understand how it works, and is SWA or Jetblue a better deal? which category level? This is the first time I'm considering sacrificng my Swolphin points for such a thing..... it's also pretty much the first time I'll have enough spg to convert into a package..... I need more details please!

I’m interested in these too. It says on the website to call to book. So we can’t look at any availability or whatever without calling?

Frequent Miler did a great analysis on this a while back. United is best (extra points). Stick with the top right corner of the charts if you can (lowest category Marriott). Try this -
http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/2017/01/06/11-things-need-know-marriott-travel-packages/

Just keep in mind that more POINTS does not necessarily equal more VALUE. I have NO idea what Jetblue or United points are worth but TPG (boy I hate using him as an example but I'll do it) lists the following:
Jet Blue = 1.3cpp // United = 1.4cpp // Southwest = 1.5cpp

Now one thing I am an expert on is Southwest points and I almost always get 1.6cpp out of my Southwest points. SO while yes you would get 10% extra points with United...it may still fall short of the value of Southwest. It seems that Jetblue would be a bad option based solely on these numbers.

Regarding Availability: Any hotel with 7 consecutive nights of standard award availability (search at Marriott.com) will allow you to redeem your 7 night certificate. I would assume the key here is booking early. Also if you aren't sure what category you're going to book in just get the Cat1-5 cert. for now and you can pay the difference (30k pts per category upgrade) later when you book your room.

Regarding the value of the points: Understand that the math here is basically this: you get to book 7 nights at a Marriott property and pay EXACTLY what you would have if you had just booked it on points PLUS transfer to an airline partner USUALLY at 1:1 (Southwest, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, British, AirCanda, AeroMexico, Virgin, Iberia). The major exceptions are Jetblue which is 2:1 (pts cut in half) and United which is 1:1.1 (10% bonus points). A bunch of other foreign airlines are available at 10:7 ratio.

Using Southwest as an example...So you get your 7 night certificate at a Cat 5 property for 150k point - which again is exactly what you'd pay for a 7 night stay at ANY cat 5 property. Then you can transfer 50k, 70k, 100k, or 120k additional Marriott Points for Southwest RR points at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott points are typically worth somewhere between 0.8cpp and 1.3cpp in my experience and so now you are getting 1.6cpp out of them by transferring to Southwest. That's what makes this a good deal. AND You truly get the same value whether you transfer 50k or 120k or anything in between.

I've read numerous articles on these packages and very few seem to actually explain the math (the way I just did). IF you really think about it hard, they're simple to understand and it either makes sense for you or it doesn't. The big thing is if you can't do the 7 night stay in once spot or if that "cramps your style" then these packages may not be a good deal for you. I personally think they can make great sense on a Disneyland trip if you plan to stay 7 nights in Anaheim. Happy to answer more questions if anybody has any...

 

[Psychodisney]

What? I thought USAA was just for military families too. I don't care about the car rentals; its the INSURANCE I want!

Ahh, maybe @1st*toright is right! Different requirements for different products. However, I remember a statement that the car rental discounts were only for "USAA insurance eligible members"....and he was eligible. Who knows?!

 

[WVMomof3]

Just keep in mind that more POINTS does not necessarily equal more VALUE. I have NO idea what Jetblue or United points are worth but TPG (boy I hate using him as an example but I'll do it) lists the following:
Jet Blue = 1.3cpp // United = 1.4cpp // Southwest = 1.5cpp

Now one thing I am an expert on is Southwest points and I almost always get 1.6cpp out of my Southwest points. SO while yes you would get 10% extra points with United...it may still fall short of the value of Southwest. It seems that Jetblue would be a bad option based solely on these numbers.

Regarding Availability: Any hotel with 7 consecutive nights of standard award availability (search at Marriott.com) will allow you to redeem your 7 night certificate. I would assume the key here is booking early. Also if you aren't sure what category you're going to book in just get the Cat1-5 cert. for now and you can pay the difference (30k pts per category upgrade) later when you book your room.

Regarding the value of the points: Understand that the math here is basically this: you get to book 7 nights at a Marriott property and pay EXACTLY what you would have if you had just booked it on points PLUS transfer to an airline partner USUALLY at 1:1 (Southwest, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, British, AirCanda, AeroMexico, Virgin, Iberia). The major exceptions are Jetblue which is 2:1 (pts cut in half) and United which is 1:1.1 (10% bonus points). A bunch of other foreign airlines are available at 10:7 ratio.

Using Southwest as an example...So you get your 7 night certificate at a Cat 5 property for 150k point - which again is exactly what you'd pay for a 7 night stay at ANY cat 5 property. Then you can transfer 50k, 70k, 100k, or 120k additional Marriott Points for Southwest RR points at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott points are typically worth somewhere between 0.8cpp and 1.3cpp in my experience and so now you are getting 1.6cpp out of them by transferring to Southwest. That's what makes this a good deal. AND You truly get the same value whether you transfer 50k or 120k or anything in between.

I've read numerous articles on these packages and very few seem to actually explain the math (the way I just did). IF you really think about it hard, they're simple to understand and it either makes sense for you or it doesn't. The big thing is if you can't do the 7 night stay in once spot or if that "cramps your style" then these packages may not be a good deal for you. I personally think they can make great sense on a Disneyland trip if you plan to stay 7 nights in Anaheim. Happy to answer more questions if anybody has any...

Ok, that makes more sense. I briefly started looking at some hotels last night for this and I was confused on why someone would pay 200k+ points for a room that was only 150k. So it is just a way to change Marriott points to airline points.

 

[hsmamato2]

Just keep in mind that more POINTS does not necessarily equal more VALUE. I have NO idea what Jetblue or United points are worth but TPG (boy I hate using him as an example but I'll do it) lists the following:
Jet Blue = 1.3cpp // United = 1.4cpp // Southwest = 1.5cpp

Now one thing I am an expert on is Southwest points and I almost always get 1.6cpp out of my Southwest points. SO while yes you would get 10% extra points with United...it may still fall short of the value of Southwest. It seems that Jetblue would be a bad option based solely on these numbers.

Regarding Availability: Any hotel with 7 consecutive nights of standard award availability (search at Marriott.com) will allow you to redeem your 7 night certificate. I would assume the key here is booking early. Also if you aren't sure what category you're going to book in just get the Cat1-5 cert. for now and you can pay the difference (30k pts per category upgrade) later when you book your room.

Regarding the value of the points: Understand that the math here is basically this: you get to book 7 nights at a Marriott property and pay EXACTLY what you would have if you had just booked it on points PLUS transfer to an airline partner USUALLY at 1:1 (Southwest, Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, British, AirCanda, AeroMexico, Virgin, Iberia). The major exceptions are Jetblue which is 2:1 (pts cut in half) and United which is 1:1.1 (10% bonus points). A bunch of other foreign airlines are available at 10:7 ratio.

Using Southwest as an example...So you get your 7 night certificate at a Cat 5 property for 150k point - which again is exactly what you'd pay for a 7 night stay at ANY cat 5 property. Then you can transfer 50k, 70k, 100k, or 120k additional Marriott Points for Southwest RR points at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott points are typically worth somewhere between 0.8cpp and 1.3cpp in my experience and so now you are getting 1.6cpp out of them by transferring to Southwest. That's what makes this a good deal. AND You truly get the same value whether you transfer 50k or 120k or anything in between.

I've read numerous articles on these packages and very few seem to actually explain the math (the way I just did). IF you really think about it hard, they're simple to understand and it either makes sense for you or it doesn't. The big thing is if you can't do the 7 night stay in once spot or if that "cramps your style" then these packages may not be a good deal for you. I personally think they can make great sense on a Disneyland trip if you plan to stay 7 nights in Anaheim. Happy to answer more questions if anybody has any...

Thanks! Now I'm looking at cat 5 hotels, does ritz carlton count? it's a cat 5..... the problem I see is where to stay 7 nights.... anaheim has good redemptions? where? and if i did it for the 70-100k swa points, that would still make this a good value,right?(since the CP deal is gone) I'm low on SWA points after a big travel year...I have the JB points form the m/c signup, and a few UR that U'd like to hang onto without transferring to SWA.... so this might be wise. What if I bought the SPG points (35% sale) and added them to the marritt nights and flights option...that would lessen the value obviously but ould it be worth doing,if I could get more swa points? like doing that could take me from 70k to 120k swa points?

 

[jhoannam]

It was super easy for me. You apply online. Some people have problems with their security questions but I had no issues. You also have to call in to set up the account and they just ask what you are using it for. I said as a separate account to save money. There are a lot of ways to avoid fees just check to make sure you can avoid them. The account can be closed in 6 months with no fee. Also, there have been lots of DPs that it doesn’t code as a cash advance, but I set mine to the lowest amount possible before funding just incase.

If you are trying to hit minimum spend on a Visa though I thought PNC was easier to deal with. You can fund 2k for a checking and 2k with a savings for them.

If you have any questions I’ll do my best to help. I have only PNC and BMO once, but there have been DPs of people having 8+ accounts.

Can you cash it out as soon as the credit card bill is due? Or do you need a minimum amount of money in the account? Bank funding is the only way we'll be able to double dip CSP & CSR.

 

[miztressuz]

I looked into it before b/c I keep seeing commercials on tv and it is for military/veterans and their families.

ETA: if you see something that says otherwise I’d love to know

USAA has different requirements for different products, some are open to the public and others are only for military. Sometimes they open products up to the public that had previously been military only and then they can close them back down again It's kind of a game to try to find the window you can get in. I have a co-worker who was never military and no one in his family military who got in on the bank accounts and I think an insurance product when they were open to the public (years ago). They've since closed it but since he already had it he gets to keep it. But I think he was saying there's still products he can't get even though he has an existing relationship and others he might be able to. So the long story short, always check for a particular product you want you might find different requirements you can meet.

And BTW sorry to be so late in adding data points here, apparently one cannot sleep with this thread! There were 3 pages to catch up on since I went to bed!

 

[speedyfishy]

I had a legit BMO account years ago, I could open new ones now and use my Delta Biz Amex to fund and meet my MSR?

I haven’t had two open accounts, but I plan on trying to get two and three opened when I apply for the SPG buis. Just lower your cash advance limit just incase.

 

[speedyfishy]

Can you cash it out as soon as the credit card bill is due? Or do you need a minimum amount of money in the account? Bank funding is the only way we'll be able to double dip CSP & CSR.

I’d recommend PNC that’s how I funded my CIP. PNC doesn’t work with Amex. With PNC you can fund 2k for checking and 2k for a savings account. I paid my credit card bill right from the account. However, there are requirements to keep the PNC account fee free for checking

No monthly service charge if you meet any ONE of the following requirements:

• OR, $500 or more, in total qualifying direct deposits[1] to the Spend, per statement period
• OR, $500 average monthly balance in Spend and Reserve
• OR, With Virtual Wallet Student
  
• OR, account holder is age 62 or over

For the savings account

No Service Charge if you meet any one of the following:
● $300 average monthly balance in this account
● At least one Auto Savings transfer of $25.00 or more each month from your PNC Bank checking account
● Account holder is under age 18
● First year waived from the opening of your savings account for Foundation Checking customers

You can close the account after 6 months for free. $25 fee if you close before then.

If you do this set your cash Advance limit to the lowest possible amount.

 

[1st*toright]

USAA has different requirements for different products, some are open to the public and others are only for military. Sometimes they open products up to the public that had previously been military only and then they can close them back down again It's kind of a game to try to find the window you can get in. I have a co-worker who was never military and no one in his family military who got in on the bank accounts and I think an insurance product when they were open to the public (years ago). They've since closed it but since he already had it he gets to keep it. But I think he was saying there's still products he can't get even though he has an existing relationship and others he might be able to. So the long story short, always check for a particular product you want you might find different requirements you can meet.

And BTW sorry to be so late in adding data points here, apparently one cannot sleep with this thread! There were 3 pages to catch up on since I went to bed!

It really is a struggle to keep up - but worth it

USAA truly is awesome, I didn't realize that they sometimes opened the door to other members. They manage their risk really closely - we have them for homeowners insurance (good rates), but i remember when we were buying a house ages ago and I called for a quote, they told me they weren't issuing any more policies in our state (MA at the time). It had to do with how much risk they would assume in one particular geographic area.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Isn't the CIC in bank sign up offer 50k? Could definitely be worth it if 'selling on the side' qualifies!

If you sign up through a Business Relationship Manager, not just a business banker so anyone trying that make sure to ask first and clarify the bonus. Can confirm that is a 50K sign up bonus via BRM.

 

[platamama]

Thanks! Now I'm looking at cat 5 hotels, does ritz carlton count? it's a cat 5..... the problem I see is where to stay 7 nights.... anaheim has good redemptions? where? and if i did it for the 70-100k swa points, that would still make this a good value,right?(since the CP deal is gone) I'm low on SWA points after a big travel year...I have the JB points form the m/c signup, and a few UR that U'd like to hang onto without transferring to SWA.... so this might be wise. What if I bought the SPG points (35% sale) and added them to the marritt nights and flights option...that would lessen the value obviously but ould it be worth doing,if I could get more swa points? like doing that could take me from 70k to 120k swa points?

I just want to point out that Marriott has Categories 1-9; Ritz Carlton has Tiers 1-5. The points needed for RCs is MUCH higher than Marriott, so look closely at whether it's Category vs Tier.

 

[miztressuz]

Jet Blue Mastercard Question:

I signed up for the 2x points for this quarter. My offer is 2x on gas, utlities, dept stores.
Does anyone know what qualifies as a dept store? Would Home Depot, Lowe's, CVS count?
Does not seem to be much info on the web about Jet Blue offers..

I don't know for this particular card, but in general all those stores are not department stores. A department store is usually Macy's, JCPenny, Bon Ton, Boscovs, Kohls (mostly), Sears.... places where they sell an array of different products that don't necessarily go together, like power tools and prom dresses. While HD and Lowes sells soda and gift cards, their general theme is construction goods. Likewise CVS has a seemingly odd assortment of stuff but it's main theme is pharmacy/health goods.

 

[Lain]

USPS Informed Delivery tells me DW’s SPG Biz is in the mail today. Approved 3/1.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks! Now I'm looking at cat 5 hotels, does ritz carlton count? it's a cat 5..... the problem I see is where to stay 7 nights.... anaheim has good redemptions? where? and if i did it for the 70-100k swa points, that would still make this a good value,right?(since the CP deal is gone) I'm low on SWA points after a big travel year...I have the JB points form the m/c signup, and a few UR that U'd like to hang onto without transferring to SWA.... so this might be wise. What if I bought the SPG points (35% sale) and added them to the marritt nights and flights option...that would lessen the value obviously but ould it be worth doing,if I could get more swa points? like doing that could take me from 70k to 120k swa points?

I just want to point out that Marriott has Categories 1-9; Ritz Carlton has Tiers 1-5. The points needed for RCs is MUCH higher than Marriott, so look closely at whether it's Category vs Tier.

Yes I think you mean the Ritz is a tier 5 which means travel packages start at 470,000 Marriott points... lol!

I can't really answer the question of buying SPG for these purposes - that seems like a complicated equation. Perhaps I could figure it out if I knew what 20,000 SPG points cost, haha! What I can simply say is this is THE BEST way to transfer Marriott points to Southwest. Even if you IGNORE the 7 nights you are getting a 100:44 transfer ratio which is pretty darn good. Whether it makes sense for you or anybody is such a personal decision though...You're probably getting 3.5cpp+ value out of your SPG points at the Swolphin. The incremental value on the Southwest points here is 1.6cpp Marriott (so 4.8cpp SPG) but I hate to say that like it means this is the perfect answer...

Here's the chart for those interested:

 

[jhoannam]

I’d recommend PNC that’s how I funded my CIP. PNC doesn’t work with Amex. With PNC you can fund 2k for checking and 2k for a savings account. I paid my credit card bill right from the account. However, there are requirements to keep the PNC account fee free for checking

No monthly service charge if you meet any ONE of the following requirements:

• OR, $500 or more, in total qualifying direct deposits[1] to the Spend, per statement period
• OR, $500 average monthly balance in Spend and Reserve
• OR, With Virtual Wallet Student
  
• OR, account holder is age 62 or over

For the savings account

No Service Charge if you meet any one of the following:
● $300 average monthly balance in this account
● At least one Auto Savings transfer of $25.00 or more each month from your PNC Bank checking account
● Account holder is under age 18
● First year waived from the opening of your savings account for Foundation Checking customers

You can close the account after 6 months for free. $25 fee if you close before then.

If you do this set your cash Advance limit to the lowest possible amount.

Thank you for the details!! Makes me feel better about double dipping!

 

[platamama]

What if I bought the SPG points (35% sale) and added them to the marritt nights and flights option...that would lessen the value obviously but ould it be worth doing,if I could get more swa points? like doing that could take me from 70k to 120k swa points?

If I'm understanding right, what you're asking here is: what is the value of 50K SW (aka RR) points? The last I heard, the redemption of SW points for flights is basically 70 SW points = $1. (It used to be 60 SW points = $1, but even SW devalues over time. And before that there was the SW credit system which was even sweeter if you used it right...) There's a bit more to it, because using points as payment also reduces some other fees associated with the ticket and no matter the cost of the ticket there's always a $5.60 one-way fee domestic to pay OOP. But for this purpose, let's keep it simple.

Going with the 70pts/$1 --> 50,000 SW pts = $714

Buying 17K SPG points on sale = 51,000 Marriott points. Costs $387

$714 - $387 = $327 extra value

Stuff like this is why I buy SPG points on sale. I've flown Southwest for years on points alone through the Marriott travel packages.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Can you cash it out as soon as the credit card bill is due? Or do you need a minimum amount of money in the account? Bank funding is the only way we'll be able to double dip CSP & CSR.

Before you open an account check the terms for early closure fees, rarely can you just cash it all out and shut her down when it comes time to pay the credit card usually, you'll have to be able to float enough to keep the account running fee free until early closure fees no longer apply. Next, set your cash advance limits to the lowest possible. Call the number on the back of your card or shoot them a SM, I think I requested $0 and they told me the lowest they could go was $100. You do this in case the bank changes something and tries to pass this off as a cash advance charge. If they do the credit card issuer will deny the charge because it is above the limit you have set.

PNC works for many, although there are some issues passing verification and if you have to open the account in person you can't fund with a credit card (funding with a credit card in person- when a bank even allows it- is generally known to result in cash advance fees so do not try that unless you have recent data points it works). PNC cc funding online works for most people, although I was one person who could not make it work and after 2 tries on my CFU and 1 try on a Citi card I was blocked from funding with a credit card (I was chasing a bonus, not the cc funding thankfully). Most people don't have issues so I think maybe my name on the account was slightly different than my name on the credit card (no middle initial maybe, it's the only thing I could think of that might have caused the issues). I just did the BMO route. You can open checking, savings, and money market. Open all 3 at once and fund each with $1K, then you need to sit down and figure out how to shuffle the money around to keep it fee free for 90 days so you don't get hit with an early closure fee. Open everything you want at once because you can't open any more accounts for 30 days after your first application. All 3 are totally doable, a bit tricky. I withdrew most of the money in the first month and arranged for the rest to be auto-saved to waive the fees. It's a tricky, but easy, process so if you want some tips on that specific thing shoot me a message, some people screw it up and get hit with the fees.

AND check for bank bonuses, sometimes you get lucky and can snag a bonus on top of the credit card funding. (BMO bonuses are now restricted to certain states, PNC says they are restricted but it doesn't appear the computer enforces it.)

Phew! lots of words there I know! Personally, I would attempt the double dip and hope for some bank funding to work, you get one shot at that double dip and the worst that happens is you don't make one of the spends, not the end of the world! Imho worth the risk since there are TWO banks as possible funding destinations for you.

 

[havaneselover]

USPS Informed Delivery tells me DW’s SPG Biz is in the mail today. Approved 3/1.

I have no USPS Informed Delivery today. It's so spotty for me. Even when I log in it shows no items??? Anyway, that's great news. Congratulations! Hopefully the rest of ours are right behind yours.

 

[linzjane88]

Thanks! Now I'm looking at cat 5 hotels, does ritz carlton count? it's a cat 5..... the problem I see is where to stay 7 nights.... anaheim has good redemptions? where? and if i did it for the 70-100k swa points, that would still make this a good value,right?(since the CP deal is gone) I'm low on SWA points after a big travel year...I have the JB points form the m/c signup, and a few UR that U'd like to hang onto without transferring to SWA.... so this might be wise. What if I bought the SPG points (35% sale) and added them to the marritt nights and flights option...that would lessen the value obviously but ould it be worth doing,if I could get more swa points? like doing that could take me from 70k to 120k swa points?

I am looking at where to use the 7 night stay myself. My issue is that I don't want to stay one step above an Econo-Lodge for 7 nights IYKWIM. We have DVC points and like to use those so the idea of going back to a hotel room, a dinky one at that (I've been spoiled!)-- isn't thrilling. The other thing that makes it hard for me is that when we travel we travel usually with at least one other family and the rest of my "people" don't churn and thus don't have incentive to stay at a particular place. It actually usually works really well to do a rental house if not using DVC. Hawaii is a good potential but there are no cat 1-6 on any island, there are 3 7's that are 'meh', and a whole lotta 8's that I would love to stay at for a whole lotta points

I think I may be having cold feet about my AMEX SPG Biz card that is still pending!

 

[1GoldenSun]

Can someone explain "double-dipping" to me?