Credit Card Thread - Now with a Beginner's Guide to free travel/FAQ

I just got an email from UPS that a 2lb package is being overnighted to my house. I didn't order anything so I'm guessing its the card.

 

I heard the packaging is over the top and the card is made of metal

 

The preferred is made if metal, so this one definitely is

 

Probably the best summary below. The card is a no brainer for anyone who qualifies. Points will work similar to your amex gold. They are either redeemed at 1.5 cents per mile value or can be transferred to a number of airline or hotel loyalty accounts (not as many as amex).

http://thepointsguy.com/2016/08/all-about-chase-sapphire-reserve-perks/

Here's another article than can show you how valuable the signup bonus is:

http://thepointsguy.com/2016/08/best-ways-to-use-100k-ultimate-rewards-points/

 

Mine and Tilly both just got our cards. He requested it get expedited, I didnt

 

Any of you who live near somewhere with a bunch of southwest flights, you can transfer that 100k to get a companion pass. I'd wait until January though because you'll have it for 2017 and 2018

 

So a companion pass is good for two calendar years?

 

Its good for the remainder of the year you earn it, and all of the next year.

 

The year you qualify and the following calendar year

 

Dang thats a good idea.

 

And this is an incredible perk. I thought normally Southwest didn't allow things like that to qualify towards your point totals for their benefits?

 

Holy shit

 

Youve been able to do it with ultimate rewards transfers in the past. I imagine you still can

Now that I think about it I believe you have to transfer them through a hotel partner first. Been a while since I read the points guys thing on it

 

Tell me more about this companion pass. So if I book one ticket I can take someone else with me for free?

Phoenix has a shit ton of SW flights so this could be good.

 

Yeah assuming you have a companion pass you can take a pre designated companion for free. Think you can change the companion like 3 times or something

Id look into what the transfer rule was with the hotels, but I know I can be done through ultimate rewards

 

I don't think UR point transfers to SW Rapid Rewards counts toward you 110k points needed for companion.

 

"For starters, I want to remind everyone that direct transfers from Chase to Southwest do not count toward the Companion Pass."

Read more: http://thepointsguy.com/2016/04/transfer-for-sw-companion-pass/#ixzz4IGujRKUT

 

Right, there's a way to do it through ultimate rewards partners via hotels

 

would be possible but you'd have to burn a lot of points to get 110k Rapid Rewards points


Hyatt is the much better option, since you can exchange just 5,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for 2,400 Rapid Rewards points (for a transfer ratio of 2.08:1). That’s not great, but it’s not terrible if you just need to top off your account.

For example, suppose you’re 4,000 points shy of the Companion Pass. You could transfer 10,000 points from Chase to Hyatt (at 1:1) and then to Southwest for a total of 4,800 Rapid Rewards points. I value Ultimate Rewards points at 2.1 cents apiece, so the original 10,000 points are worth $210 in my estimation. Meanwhile, I value Rapid Rewards points at 1.5 cents, so the final 4,800 points are worth $72. That means on average you’d sacrifice $138 in the process — it’s not ideal, but even a single extra use of the Companion Pass would likely make it worthwhile.

 

Via that link

For starters, I want to remind everyone that direc transfers from Chase to Southwest do not count toward the Companion Pass. However, you can transfer points from Southwest’s hotel partners, including Marriott and Hyatt, and those points do count in practice (even though the terms and conditions are a bit ambiguous). That gives you a few options if you want to boost your Rapid Rewards account using Ultimate Rewards points.

Read more: http://thepointsguy.com/2016/04/transfer-for-sw-companion-pass/#ixzz4IGvRZ700

 

Waiting on the UPS man. My CSR will be here today and I didn't ask to expedite it.

 

Does the reserve card have an introductory apr?

 

My mom has had one for as long as I can remember. I'm named after my dad, so both of us are able to be her "companion" without her having to change her designated companion.

 

100k for a companion pass? What am I missing? That seems like a horrible deal.

 

What? Companion pass is typically $110k? Am I missing something?

 

It's the companion pass AND 110000 points

 

How are you guys tracking that your cards will be delivered today?

 

Both me and the wife got one.

 

mine arrived. I applied monday and did not expedite

 

Im going to give this a go. Had lunch with their CFO. He claims you can basically put anything into their system, they'll aggregate and make the payments for you, and you can put everything on a credit card with a one time payment. Mortgage, car payment, loans, business overhead expenses, anything. You could rack up serious points if it works the way he says it does.

www.justonepay.com

 

very interesting, I just don't get where they find the "savings"

 

Yeah I don't understand that in the slightest

 

I need to look into this more closely tonight, but this sounds to good to be true. If I can run my mortgage, student loans, and car payments on a credit card, for free, its a no-brainer.

 

They analyze your bills and make recommendations to switch service providers or plans based on your usage or the cost. If you switch, they take a 10% cut of the savings. Digging deeper with them though, I think they pay your bills using their private equity float and then they use your payment to pay the next customer's bill. Meanwhile, they take all the payments and invest them in short term instruments. They also have agreements with card companies and providers. I still don't quite understand the business model though bc I don't see how they really make money. Still kicking the tires on it.

 

Sounds like a ponzi scheme to me..

 

Got mine today.

 

I asked him if our clients could pay off their security based loans with us using them, he got back to me and said they would green light literally any amount. So if we have a client that has a 5 million dollar loan against their account with us, they can use their Amex platinum to make payments each month and then pay off their card using the gains from their account. If they will really do that, there's at least 10 loans out there I can think of that would get those clients a black card. My office is very dubious though. Im going to use me and my wife's CSRs as guinea pigs and see if they will really pay my rent and car payment.

 

Mine just shipped next day air. Will be here tomorrow.

 

If you have 250k UR points, you can transfer the UR points to Marriott, then redeem a hotel+airfare package from Marriott. This nets you a single 7-night stay + 100k Southwest points, which is 90% of the way to a Companion Pass

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi

 

Approved Monday...not in my mailbox today

 

Got mine but didn't get it in the fancy box that others did. Already switched all my bills over to this card to hit that spend

 

Yea mine came today too. I guess I didn't get the fancy box bc it included two cards.

 

i havent seen a box for anyone

 

next day air also much cheaper in an envelope i would imagine

 

Approved Monday; should have it tomorrow.

 

I wish i would have applied earlier this week like everyone else

i just got approved and i'm dying for it now

 

So am I leaving money on the table if I don't match it with a Freedom Unlimited? My usual card is an Amex Gold Premier Rewards.

 

you're leaving money on the table if you don't have a regular chase freedom, yes.

 

5% freedom categories
3% CSR - travel/food
1.5% freedom unlimited - everything else