I love credit cards so much!

[havaneselover]

So I'll probably downgrade CSR to Freedom and keep the CSP. Or vice versa I have until October to decide.

It's pretty easy to offset the CSR's higher AF compared with CSP if you have CF and max out the rotating categories a few times and have some dining/travel expenses. I never would have thought I'd be keeping CSR but I'm pretty sure I will.

 

[Albort]

Geez, this CSP vs CSR is getting out of hand.

Math:
CSP $95 AF. $4750 in purchases @ 2x to break even. - 1.25 redemption rate
CSR $150 AF. $5000 in purchases @ 3x to break even. - 1.5 redemption rate
$250 doesnt seem too bad.

CSP benefits
Free AU( $75 for CSR)

CSR extra benefits
$100 GE/TSA Pre bonus(every 4 years)
Priority Pass Lounge Access($99 per year)
$300 travel benefit(ofsetted to AF)
Special benefits with Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection

CSR vs CSP insurances
Auto Rental CDW | CSP - excluded higher end cars | CSR - all cars up to $75k
Roadside Assistance | CSP - $60 per call | CSR - 4 incidents up to $50 a year
Trip delay | CSP - kicks in @ 12 hr mark | CSR - kicks in at 6 hr mark
Travel Accident | CSP - $500k loss of life | CSR - $1 mill loss of life
Purchase protection | CSP - $500 per claim | CSR - $10,000 per claim

All other insurances are the same.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Geez, this CSP vs CSR is getting out of hand.

Math:
CSP $95 AF. $4750 in purchases @ 2x to break even. - 1.5 redemption rate
CSR $150 AF. $5000 in purchases @ 3x to break even. - 1.25 redemption rate
$250 doesnt seem too bad.

CSP benefits
Free AU( $75 for CSR)

CSR extra benefits
$100 GE/TSA Pre bonus(every 4 years)
Priority Pass Lounge Access($99 per year)
$300 travel benefit(ofsetted to AF)
Special benefits with Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection

CSR vs CSP insurances
Auto Rental CDW | CSP - excluded higher end cars | CSR - all cars up to $75k
Roadside Assistance | CSP - $60 per call | CSR - 4 incidents up to $50 a year
Trip delay | CSP - kicks in @ 12 hr mark | CSR - kicks in at 6 hr mark
Travel Accident | CSP - $500k loss of life | CSR - $1 mill loss of life
Purchase protection | CSP - $500 per claim | CSR - $10,000 per claim

All other insurances are the same.

Thanks for the summary.
The CSR is great but I've rented a car once in the past 5 years (actually hasn't happened yet, it's for one day end of this month). I spend around $1500 per year on dining. Last year vacation was Wisconsin ($800 for cabin plus gas) & WDW (free hotel & flight with miles). Paid for WDW tickets & food. I would never use an airport lounge nor a Luxury hotel. Am considering Precheck for DH but would be this year & not needed again for 5. So as much as I like seeing 3x points on dining, it doesn't add up very quickly when we eat at Culver's once a month. Lol.

 

[ski_mom]

Does it really come out to 7.5% on gift cards purchased from an office supply store? I buy my gift cards from the grocery store using my Amex BCP which gives me 6% cb. I may have to go for the Ink+ next if that 7.5% number is accurate!

[QUOTE="Albort, post: 57231910, member: 128038"

im not sure what portal @ski_mom is using but chase portal says it doesnt allow gift card purchases to earn the extra points. Im a big ink+ user though. I use it with paypal+Gyft. I buy the gift card when i shop and i can use it automatically without having to drive to the store to buy gift cards for the specific store.[/QUOTE]


I hope I didn't confuse anyone - I was trying to say that I use the Ink+ card to get gift cards at office supply stores (as well as Gyft). They get 5x points. I can then transfer them to my CSR and get 1.5 times the number of points if I redeem through their portal. This winter, I did that to pay for a cruise for DH and I - so the way I figure it, is that I was getting 7.5% back on those purchases.

 

[Psychodisney]

Impatiently waiting for my DH's SW points to post. Billing cycle ended on the business card and I paid the bill the day the bill came (a week ago) and unfortunately the bonus points have not posted yet. Paid the premier bill too, no bonus yet. We were hoping to have the companion pass for a quick getaway in 3 weeks. Looks like that won't happen, I knew it was a stretch. I just hope the points post soon.
Also waiting to hear about his CSR. Applied in branch on Saturday. The banker said we should hear something in "a couple of days".

 

[WVMomof3]

Geez, this CSP vs CSR is getting out of hand.

Math:
CSP $95 AF. $4750 in purchases @ 2x to break even. - 1.5 redemption rate
CSR $150 AF. $5000 in purchases @ 3x to break even. - 1.25 redemption rate
$250 doesnt seem too bad.

CSP benefits
Free AU( $75 for CSR)

CSR extra benefits
$100 GE/TSA Pre bonus(every 4 years)
Priority Pass Lounge Access($99 per year)
$300 travel benefit(ofsetted to AF)
Special benefits with Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection

CSR vs CSP insurances
Auto Rental CDW | CSP - excluded higher end cars | CSR - all cars up to $75k
Roadside Assistance | CSP - $60 per call | CSR - 4 incidents up to $50 a year
Trip delay | CSP - kicks in @ 12 hr mark | CSR - kicks in at 6 hr mark
Travel Accident | CSP - $500k loss of life | CSR - $1 mill loss of life
Purchase protection | CSP - $500 per claim | CSR - $10,000 per claim

All other insurances are the same.

Your redemption rates are backwards and I am not following your math. $4750 in restaurant in travel will net you an extra 1% on CSP. Thereby only giving you $47.50 in extra rewards. You would need $9500 on CSP in dining and travel to equal the $95 fee, right? You would get the 1% anyway, so only 1% extra. And on CSR you would need $7500 in dining and travel for the extra 2% to equal the $150 fee. Am I seeing this wrong?

 

[ski_mom]

ok, so I just applied for the 2 Chase Southwest cards in DH's name today to go for the companion pass. The application for the Premier card went through great. He was approved with a $33,000 credit limit (I don't want or need nearly that much for it). I waited a couple of hours and applied for the RR plus card and got a message to call an 800 number as soon as possible to discuss the application with a customer support specialist .

The whole reason I didn't go for the business card (for the 60,000 points) for him is that I wanted to avoid unnecessary questions. He just left town today for a work meeting for the week - now I'm going to have to explain all of this to him when his plane lands and have him call . He's going to hate it!

I guess if we end up with the companion pass it will all be worth it - but this is the part I hate about this "hobby"! DH doesn't care at all that I do this, but he just doesn't like participating lol!

Well, I thought I'd follow up with the happy ending to my story! I sent Chase a direct message and told them that "I" was on a business trip and wouldn't be able to follow up with a call for a few days. I said if the issue was the number of cards that I have that the reason I was applying for 2 cards in the same day was that I wanted to use one primarily for personal purchases and the other for purchases that I am reimbursed for through the company that I work for. I got the standard reply that someone would be getting back to me.

This morning, I logged into DH's account and both accounts are there! I guess it was pushed on through - I don't know if it had anything to do with the message that I sent, or if it would have been approved anyway, but now I just need to get some spending in to get the companion pass! I'm very excited!

The odd thing to me is that one of the accounts shows the next due date will be 4/15/17 and one will be 5/1/17. I'll try to get the spend done of the earlier close card first. I really hope to have all of the spending done that I need to get the companion pass by the time the second card closes that way I will get the pass sooner.

Thanks everyone for your help and advice on getting these cards!

 

[CoP Luv]

Your redemption rates are backwards and I am not following your math. $4750 in restaurant in travel will net you an extra 1% on CSP. Thereby only giving you $47.50 in extra rewards. You would need $9500 on CSP in dining and travel to equal the $95 fee, right? You would get the 1% anyway, so only 1% extra. And on CSR you would need $7500 in dining and travel for the extra 2% to equal the $150 fee. Am I seeing this wrong?

This is what I was thinking too. If I didn't have the CSR, I would be getting 1% on travel and dining anyway, so this is an additional 2% on top of what I would be getting. I might hold onto the CSR for another year as we have some big travel coming up in the next 18 months, but I will still have to crunch the numbers for an additional year.

 

[ski_mom]

I found something even better. I signed up for WSJ and had 700 RR credited, and then I found a listing for 650 RR on Meredith print magazines (it's kind of hidden). I followed the link and there are a handful of magazines that have 1 year subscriptions from $5.99-$7.99. When you start the subscription process and roll over the browser header, a "Last Chance" offer pops up for a shorter subscription at a lower price. I placed orders for 5 issues of Living Magazine for $5 and 6 issues of Better Homes and Gardens for $3! Each should net me 650 points.

Do you know if these points count toward the Southwest Companion Pass? I'm thinking they would since they are through the shopping portal, but just wanted to be sure. This would be a great help to get the rest of the points I need.

 

[Albort]

Your redemption rates are backwards and I am not following your math. $4750 in restaurant in travel will net you an extra 1% on CSP. Thereby only giving you $47.50 in extra rewards. You would need $9500 on CSP in dining and travel to equal the $95 fee, right? You would get the 1% anyway, so only 1% extra. And on CSR you would need $7500 in dining and travel for the extra 2% to equal the $150 fee. Am I seeing this wrong?

oops, my redemption rate are backwards.
you are right, restaurants/travel with CSP will net you an extra 1%, making is 2x. so spending $4750 on restaurants/travel will net u 9500 UR points, convert those @ $.01 will get u $95. The same applies to CSR, which earns u an extra 2% on top the 1%. 3x. so u need 15,000 UR points, $5000 will net u 15,000UR points. $7500 * 3x = 22,500 UR points.

Edit: i see what u did. ur doing CSP = 1x, CSR = 2x. It should be CSP = 2x, CSR 3x.

 

[peel]

Do you know if these points count toward the Southwest Companion Pass? I'm thinking they would since they are through the shopping portal, but just wanted to be sure. This would be a great help to get the rest of the points I need.

They should count based on the stated guidelines, but I haven't had the points awarded yet. I took screen shots of everything as I made the purchases, but I have to wait 60 days before I contact SW because they say that's how long it can take for points to be awarded. I'm thinking since it's involving physical magazine subscriptions which take forever to fill, that the purchases might not be reported to SW right away. So it's a good way to rack up points, but not if you're in a hurry. I did, however, get my 700 points for a 12 week digital WSJ subscription within a few days of placing the order. I think the deal has changed now, though.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Woo hoo. Just approved for Chase Marriott with 80k points. Still waiting on AMEX to send DH a request for info form for SPG card.

 

[wendow]

Thanks for the summary.
The CSR is great but I've rented a car once in the past 5 years (actually hasn't happened yet, it's for one day end of this month). I spend around $1500 per year on dining. Last year vacation was Wisconsin ($800 for cabin plus gas) & WDW (free hotel & flight with miles). Paid for WDW tickets & food. I would never use an airport lounge nor a Luxury hotel. Am considering Precheck for DH but would be this year & not needed again for 5. So as much as I like seeing 3x points on dining, it doesn't add up very quickly when we eat at Culver's once a month. Lol.

You really do sound so much like me in regards to your dining and travel spending I considered TSA precheck a benefit until I realized that I never travel without my family so I'd need to pay for 5 more TSA prechecks so we all could go through...not worth it at all, imo...so that benefit doesn't pertain to me.

Also, our home airport is Denver Int'l and they have no lounge to access lol.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

You really do sound so much like me in regards to your dining and travel spending I considered TSA precheck a benefit until I realized that I never travel without my family so I'd need to pay for 5 more TSA prechecks so we all could go through...not worth it at all, imo...so that benefit doesn't pertain to me.

Also, our home airport is Denver Int'l and they have no lounge to access lol.

Our home is near Chicago, so we have 2 airports to pick from, OHare & Midway. I'm sure OHare has a lounge or two but I never use them. I always try to fly non-stop or we have short layovers. No idea why I would use a lounge. Ditto on TSA precheck.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Chase can't overnight a new card? "It can take up to 10 days" !?!

 

[wendow]

WOOT!! Update...DH got a call from Chase to move credit around...Did that and approved for CSR! This was after getting denied back in Dec b/c of being an AU on two of my cards pushing him over 5/24. We went into a branch to apply this past Friday.

Our home is near Chicago, so we have 2 airports to pick from, OHare & Midway. I'm sure OHare has a lounge or two but I never use them. I always try to fly non-stop or we have short layovers. No idea why I would use a lounge. Ditto on TSA precheck.

We got delayed for almost 9 hours this past Jan at the Denver airport. If we had access to a lounge, I would have been there. Then delayed 3 hours getting home from Dallas. They may have a lounge but I didn't realize that I could get my entire family in on my card or I would have tried it. But otherwise, we tend to fly non-stop also so airport lounges are not a huge deal for us either. I was just shocked Denver didn't have one.

 

[wendow]

Chase can't overnight a new card? "It can take up to 10 days" !?!

They just told my dh 1-3 weeks for his CSR. Hoping 1 week. Mine came in like 2 days when I got the CSR.

 

[Albort]

You really do sound so much like me in regards to your dining and travel spending I considered TSA precheck a benefit until I realized that I never travel without my family so I'd need to pay for 5 more TSA prechecks so we all could go through...not worth it at all, imo...so that benefit doesn't pertain to me.

Also, our home airport is Denver Int'l and they have no lounge to access lol.

you have your TSA pre and Global Entry mixed up. As long as you are on the reservation with the rest of your family, your whole family "Should" get TSA pre. Global Entry is where u cannot take someone else with you when u go through customs.

Get Global Entry though, it comes with TSA pre.

Source: went to alaska 2 weeks ago, im the only one with Global Entry, both my parents got TSA pre going and coming.

 

[Lain]

WOOT!! Update...DH got a call from Chase to move credit around...Did that and approved for CSR! This was after getting denied back in Dec b/c of being an AU on two of my cards pushing him over 5/24. We went into a branch to apply this past Friday.

I've been following your ordeal trying to get a CSR for your husband, and I'm glad your persistence finally paid off!

 

[Albort]

Chase can't overnight a new card? "It can take up to 10 days" !?!

Call the CSR hotline and you should be able to get it overnighted. do it quick cuz once the cards out, u cant overnight it.