Originally Posted by
emcampbe
the needing to use the portal for travel credit is not new. ...
id agree the portal is not ideal - but C1 is no worse than the others, IME. I’d honestly rather book directly when I can, but I can’t say I’ve had a major problem…I’ve mostly seen pricing the same (minus my inability to…say, get a AAA rate at a property). There are instances where the flights I’d prefer don’t show up, but many of these are intra-Asia flights. In the end, never had an issue using my credit on a trip I’m doing anyway, so not that big a deal, though definitely prefer the way Chase does it as a travel credit that is automatically done.
I guess I forgot that I had to use it through the portal. I guess I've only used it twice. I've never had an issue either. However nearly every hotel as been more expensive on the portal. As for flights, I've never had an issue but I wonder what would happen during IRROPS. I dread the day I'll be in another country with a delay/cancelled flight and the airline worker tells me I need to call my travel agent to change the ticket.
Priority pass has lost most of its value to me. I’m willing to bet you won’t be able to use the DEN lounge on half your trips due to its low capacity....
In the US, PP is not very useful. I use it nearly everytime I'm abroad. Lounges arent great but USUALLY are better than nothing. I don't go through DEN that often but usually have at LEAST a 90min layover which is enough. The longest wait I had was about 30-40min which left 20-30min. Luckily my gate was in the same terminal. Even if there's a wait, they'll let you go up to the grab+go and get something. That's not including usage by authorized users.
Like I said, not a huge value but the C1 card isnt a huge cost either. In theory, it breaks even. In reality, due to some lost savings/points, there is some very minimal cost. And ofcourse your time. Plus there was the sign up bonus, airbnb credit and global entry reimbursement. It will take a while for me to go into the red from this. The only other option I'm aware of is the CSR and you basically have to offset $200 which can be difficult.
I had considered getting the VentureX business card to get another bonus and a better PP but that would mean dropping family/friends that I've given PP to.
How long do I have to wait before I can cancel and signup for the regular VentureX again and get a bonus.