Southwest Visa Gurus - Guidance Please

[KristinU]

Hello All, OP here checking in.

DK9 had his surgery moved to last Tuesday so we'd be home for the remainder of the week post-op. He's doing really well, and now we seem to be entering the difficult part in keeping him calm and have no jumping or running or anything for a few more weeks, he's definitely feeling better and I even caught him eyeing a stone wall in our garden that he likes to jump up onto - no way, Jose!

Anyway, so we're sitting with our two cards at $1900 and $1700. One of them has a cycle close on the 9th of the month and one has the 19th, so I believe I can top them off to $2000 after December 10th and 20th respectively. I'm going to watch closely when the points post after the current cycles close just to be sure. Then after that I'll be going for the additional points.

So I'm getting a little twitchy in wanting to book for a trip we have scheduled in April since SWA keeps sending me the "ending soon!" emails that are trying to get me all panicked (it is obviously working).

If anyone wants to weigh in with an opinion on booking I'd appreciate input. Three of us traveling, one will be the companion when we earn that.

Would you:
1. Book now NOT using the SWA Visa (to take advantage of "sale" prices) then transfer to points when they're available? (and sit on a credit)
2. Wait until December 10th to book using the SWA Visa to get double points then transfer to points when available? (and sit on a credit) - I wonder how much the flights might go up??
3. Wait until the points show up in my RR account and just book with points? - again, I wonder how much the points might increase??

And of course, if we can hit the companion status by the time we go, I assume that we'll be able to convert the existing reservation over to the companion and either put the points back into RR or carry a credit (depending on how we decide the above) - anyone know if this is how it would work?

 

[supersnoop]

You can't "convert" a reservation; you have to cancel and rebook at the then-current price. Obviously, that doesn't matter for the companion, but you aren't locking anything in by doing it now.

 

[KristinU]

You can't "convert" a reservation; you have to cancel and rebook at the then-current price. Obviously, that doesn't matter for the companion, but you aren't locking anything in by doing it now.

Gotcha! Thanks so much! I'll bide my time then and try to be patient

 

[hsmamato2]

I'd wait..... there's always another sale.....

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Also another way to rack up the 6,000 points fast is to shop in the rapid rewards site. When I needed to get the $6k they were offering a 3 month subscription to WallStreet Journal for $12 and I got 1,000 points.


https://rapidrewardsshopping.southw...=NA&med=link&strm=na&cam=&cont=HPNavBar&end=1

 

[KristinU]

Hey All,

I just wanted to stop back into this thread and thank everyone for their guidance on this! I just hit Companion Pass status! Hooray!

 

[hsmamato2]

Also another way to rack up the 6,000 points fast is to shop in the rapid rewards site. When I needed to get the $6k they were offering a 3 month subscription to WallStreet Journal for $12 and I got 1,000 points.


https://rapidrewardsshopping.southw...=NA&med=link&strm=na&cam=&cont=HPNavBar&end=1

just beware of their policies.... I am annoyed with them right now, I signed up for the WSJ offer of 2 months for $1 trial-get 1k points.... they didn't give me the points, and after some back and forth emails, they informed me they would 'look into it within 4-6 weeks'(after 6 weeks already!)..... ugh. I still like the SWA portal(a lot) but they failed to come through on this offer for my account.

 

[KristinU]

just beware of their policies.... I am annoyed with them right now, I signed up for the WSJ offer of 2 months for $1 trial-get 1k points.... they didn't give me the points, and after some back and forth emails, they informed me they would 'look into it within 4-6 weeks'(after 6 weeks already!)..... ugh. I still like the SWA portal(a lot) but they failed to come through on this offer for my account.

Good to know, I did sign up for the WSJ with the offer a couple of weeks ago (ended up not needing the points because I held off on paying our AmEx bill in full that we had used for a big plumbing project and did a balance transfer that worked for qualifying points...wasn't sure if they'd qualify, but they did!) It sounds like I may have to call to get our points! At least we're enjoying getting the WSJ and DH loves getting it on his kindle...he'll be sad when I yank it!

 

[bcbmommy]

Hey All,

I just wanted to stop back into this thread and thank everyone for their guidance on this! I just hit Companion Pass status! Hooray!

How exciting! I'm hoping to do the same. Still waiting on approval for my Premier card, though. It seems to be taking an unusually long time. Congrats!!

 

[Minnie368]

So I'm planning on going for the premiere and business. It unfortunately hasn't been 24 months since I got the bonus on the plus. I cancelled my premier back in December. When I log on to my chase account it still shows that card, but says it's closed. So will it still work? And which should I apply for first and how long to wait in between?

 

[elgerber]

So I'm planning on going for the premiere and business. It unfortunately hasn't been 24 months since I got the bonus on the plus. I cancelled my premier back in December. When I log on to my chase account it still shows that card, but says it's closed. So will it still work? And which should I apply for first and how long to wait in between?

I closed my Plus in November, and applied for the Premier (for the 2nd time) in late Dec, and it was approved. Both cards still show on my Chase online account, the Plus showing closed.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

So I'm planning on going for the premiere and business. It unfortunately hasn't been 24 months since I got the bonus on the plus. I cancelled my premier back in December. When I log on to my chase account it still shows that card, but says it's closed. So will it still work? And which should I apply for first and how long to wait in between?

It's very difficult to say how long one should wait after closing a card and applying for the same product again because there are too many variables in Chase's internal systems and not enough visibility in my opinion to know when you are completely "closed out" of their systems for that product. In order to get the 50K, you can't currently have that particular card, so being completely closed out of it is paramount. The closed card showing in your Chase account is irrelevant; mine is still showing (if I unhide it) from nearly a year ago.

My initial thought is that December is still too recent. I personally would not feel comfortable applying for it until 3-4 months has passed, but that may be too conservative. I say 3-4 months because when you close a Chase card and have the annual fee refunded, they allow 90 days (three closing cycles) for any additional charges to come through before sending you a check for the AF refund. Remember, applying for and getting approved for the card again is not difficult, but whether or not you get the 50K bonus is something very different.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I closed my Plus in November, and applied for the Premier (for the 2nd time) in late Dec, and it was approved. Both cards still show on my Chase online account, the Plus showing closed.

I'm confused by your post. Closing the Plus card in November would have no impact on you getting the Premier in December. When did you close the Premier before applying for it again in December? That could be a useful data point for everybody. Did you get the 50K bonus yet? Remember, applying for and getting approved is not difficult, but actually getting the sign-up bonus can be if enough time (whatever that may be) hasn't elapsed between holding the card and applying for the same one again.

 

[Minnie368]

I closed both the plus and premier in December. I applied for the premier this morning through the 50K link and was approved so we'll see what happens when I reach my $2000 spend. I'd like to apply for the premier business also, but I'm not sure how long to wait between apps.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

I closed both the plus and premier in December. I applied for the premier this morning through the 50K link and was approved so we'll see what happens when I reach my $2000 spend. I'd like to apply for the premier business also, but I'm not sure how long to wait between apps.

Please keep us updated when/if you get the 50K as this will be a good data point with roughly a month in between closing and reopening.

 

[Minnie368]

I definitely will. I'll spend the $2000 in my first billing cycle.