Thinking about getting a new credit card

[la79al]

I have a Chase Disney card and while the 1% in reward dollars is nice, that's for spending money and I feel like we should be good in that department. I was looking around today and saw an offer for 40,000 points with a Chase Southwest Card. My husband already has one of these cards and has enough to cover 2 flights. I am thinking about getting one because the 40,000 points should cover (or just about) the other 3 flights we would need. I don't know if I can, since I already have a Chase card but I told DH if he can keep the cost of flying (including car rental) very close to the cost of driving (about $400) then I would agree to fly instead. Ideas or words of wisdom?

 

[Chancery8]

If the Disney card is the only Chase card you have, then yes, you are eligible to get a Chase SW card, as long as you have not opened more than 4 credit cards in the last 2 years. Chase has a 5/24 rule, meaning if you've opened 5 credit cards in the last 24 months (any credit card, not just Chase, and store cards count too), then they will automatically deny you for a new card. So as long as the SW card would be card #5 or lower, then you're fine.

There are three Chase SW personal cards (Plus, Premier, and Priority). Chase allows you to have one of the personal SW family cards. Since you've never had a SW card, you are eligible for the sign up bonus of 40k pts. However, if you are interested, there is link to an in-flight offer that has a 50k pt sign up bonus. It's not advertised publicly, as you're only supposed to be able to use it on a SW flight (hence in-flight), but many people have used that link and gotten the sign up bonus. There is also a Chase SW business card that has a 60k pt sign up bonus. You also have to be under 5/24 to apply, but if you get approved, the business card itself won't count towards the 5/24 tally. There is a strategy that people use in which they apply for the business card, then apply for the personal card, which would end up netting a combined 110k pts. The 110k pts would automatically get you a SW companion pass (where you can designate one person to fly for free when you fly. Plus, you can still use the 110k pts to book your flight, so it's like you're getting two flights for free).

If you're interested in learning more about the strategies to maximize the point potential of SW cards, there's an amazing thread here on the budget board (https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...v2-0-see-first-page-for-addl-details.3729982/) with a really friendly and helpful group of people. There is so much information there about credit cards and how to get the most out of them.

 

[HeatherC]

We have a Southwest card and haven’t paid for airfare in years. Both dh and myself got one several years ago with 50k points each. If you are careful when booking flights, you can stretch those points for sure. The minute they open their schedule for the booking window is when the points will be the lowest. Within minutes they go up. Something to keep in mind.

Another thing to keep in mind is the interest rate on the card is ridiculously high from what I remember. Make sure you pay it in ful each month. Otherwise those free flights wind up costing a fortune.

 

[_19disnA]

With any credit card you have determine if the benefits are something you can actually make use of. How much you charge annually will determine if you actually accumulate enough points/credits to be worth anything. If they expire before you get enough for a free flight, that benefit isn't useful. Also need to travel enough on a specific airline to make it worthwhile. How often you fly and on which airline also matters. If you have several different credit cards with various airlines, may not be worth the trouble. All credit card companies make money on the fees they charge merchants, that is why so many are always making their card seem the best.

Where you live and which airport you typically use also matters. If you live near a hub airport for a major airline, probably more choices of flights. However, there is no guarantee that future airline mergers won't change/eliminate certain hub cities.

 

[EACarlson]

Unless you are going for the companion pass, or spending a ton of money on southwest flights. I would recommend a Chase Sapphire Preferred over the SW cards. You can transfer points to SW, it has a higher sign up bonus and offers flexibility on what to do with your points. Also has primary car rental insurance.

 

[GPC0321]

Ironically, the Disney Visa is one of the least valuable cards for a Disney vacation. Sometimes they have a nice sign-up bonus on offer, but otherwise, 1% in Disney Dollars for every dollar spent is going to yield pocket change.

For Southwest, I agree with the above poster who recommended the Sapphire Preferred. You'll get 50,000 points instead of 40,000, and you can transfer whatever portion of those you want to Southwest to cover flights and keep the rest in the Ultimate Rewards program to be used however you want.

Since you only have one card and are allowed up to 5 before Chase would cut you off, I'd recommend going for the "trifecta" of Chase's Freedom, Freedom Unlimited, and Sapphire Preferred (or Reserve if you can justify the higher annual fee). I'd get the Sapphire first, use it exclusively to hit the sign-up bonus (you have 3 months). Once that bonus is achieved, apply for one of the other two. Use it exclusively to hit the sign-up bonus. Then complete the trifecta with the last card, use it exclusively to hit the sign-up bonus.

You'll wind up with over 80,000 Ultimate Reward points, which are transferable to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio. You'll also have a point-earning system for the long haul: Chase Freedom for 5X rotating quarterly categories, Sapphire for 2X or 3X on dining and travel, and Freedom Unlimited for 1.5X on everything else. You're allowed to combine all points on your Sapphire card, where they can be transferred to Southwest or many other travel partners (airlines and hotels), or you can use them through Chase's travel portal (no Disney resorts though...as I just found out), or just redeem for straight cash back.

Sorry for the long-winded reply. The short answer: You're fine to get a new Southwest card. You can get more than that if you want too.