SW Visa question(s)

[msmama]

I have a SW visa but in looking at a trip for next spring (in May so flights not announced yet) I'm thinking I may be a bit short so trying to earn as many extras as I can.

1. My anniversary just passed a few days ago. Do the anniversary points get added after my statement date closes? (The anniversary date was 9/24 and I don't see any extra points yet but the statement doesn't close for another 3 weeks or so).

2. If shopping through the shopping portal if something says I earn 1 pt/dollar spent, is that an ADDITIONAL point, or the same point I would have earned by paying anywhere with my SW visa? Also, if I go through a shopping portal do I actually have to use that card?

Usually I have plenty of points on both my SW visa and Disney visa to do trips, but I'm low on both this year and trying to figure out how to use them as well as possible to maximize points!!

Thanks!!

Also a reminder to check EVERYTHING on a shopping portal site (whether it be SW, Ebates or other). I had a few things to buy at kind of random places and I've earned extra on EVERYTHING I bought today (except stupid Old Navy, lol).

 

[ICF]

I have a SW visa but in looking at a trip for next spring (in May so flights not announced yet) I'm thinking I may be a bit short so trying to earn as many extras as I can.

1. My anniversary just passed a few days ago. Do the anniversary points get added after my statement date closes? (The anniversary date was 9/24 and I don't see any extra points yet but the statement doesn't close for another 3 weeks or so).

2. If shopping through the shopping portal if something says I earn 1 pt/dollar spent, is that an ADDITIONAL point, or the same point I would have earned by paying anywhere with my SW visa? Also, if I go through a shopping portal do I actually have to use that card?

Usually I have plenty of points on both my SW visa and Disney visa to do trips, but I'm low on both this year and trying to figure out how to use them as well as possible to maximize points!!

Thanks!!

Also a reminder to check EVERYTHING on a shopping portal site (whether it be SW, Ebates or other). I had a few things to buy at kind of random places and I've earned extra on EVERYTHING I bought today (except stupid Old Navy, lol).

1 --- pts for the CC (including anniversary pts) are only added when statements are generated, so they will be on your next statement.

2 -- those shopping pts are in addition to the CC pts. You dont have to use the SW visa on the site. So you really will earn 2 pts (in your example).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Yes, once they bill your annual fee you will get the anniversary pts.

Also, not as great as earned pts but you can transfer pts from one RR to another for much less $ than buying pts. Not long ago dh had about 3500 pts and ds14 needed 3000 for the ticket we wanted. I think it was around $30 to transfer but still cheaper than buying the ticket full price with cash.

Also do you belong to e-Rewards? They used to offer AirTran credits as a reward but as of Oct 1 we can now redeem for RR pts. I just cashed $100 e-Rewards for 2000 RR pts. It can only be done once per month but I still have over $300 in e-Rewards so Nov, Dec, & Jan I'll be slowly converting more RR pts.

There are times I've needed points NOW, say for our Easter week flights that I know will go up, but just a little bit short on pts. Each month we earn $3000-5000 pts on our SW cc. I was afraid the flights would go up if I waited for the next month's statement. So I logged onto my account, went to the shopping portal, bought 2 ridiculously priced Coach bags at Nordstrom.com which offers 4 pts/$. Within a few days I had around 2800 pts added to my RR account, enough to get dh's ticket. I kept the purses safe in their packaging and 2 weeks before my statement closed, I returned the bags, untouched by human hands.
By the time they deducted those 2800 pts back from my account, my next statement had closed and more pts posted so I was never in negative pts. Just a way of "borrowing" next month's cc pts.

 

[bjscheel]

Are you signed up on e-Rewards? I don't remember how I got signed up, but I earn quite a few SW points on it.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Why not just buy the SWA points you need. They are having a 35% sale right now till Oct 13, 2014. FOr example you can buy 2000 points for $55 and get a bonus of 700 points.

 

[pesto78749]

If you are planning any other kind of trip I highly recommend Rocket miles. I booked a hotel stay to visit our son for college weekend and they had a bonus sign up so I got 6,000 points. We are taking another trip to the beach and that hotel is 22, 000 points! Enough for 6 flights home for my college student!