Which SWA partner program is best for "banking" credits?
 

I have achieved companion pass status with 8 months to spare. Since my wife flys free with me, I don't have a need to accrue credits for rewards flights. Accordingly I have stopped using the SWA Visa card temporarily. I have been using an Amex Gold card, but now I am forced to convert some AMEX rewards points since the relationship is severed as of June. I have been building up ChoicePrivileges points with its Visa card for conversion in December but it has a history of devaluations and the exchange rate now isn't that great. Are there any other better strategies that folks are using?

I think the 2x, 3x, 4x rental car partner promotions are best, usually meaning Alamo or Hertz. (Alamo's usually the better price.) But I don't think this answers your other question -- e.g., who's a good partner for getting RR credits that can be delayed in posting. (Or am I reading this into your question?) For this, I can only think of ChoicePrivileges, when you choose the m.o. of later conversion to RR credits, and not choosing them on the spot.

Thanks Firewind. Yes, that is what I meant. I am accruing Choice Privilege points until such time as I will convert them to SWA credits when the companion pass clock is reset. AMEX was a good deal as long as it lasted :(

If it's speed of posting RR's to SWA, Hertz has been about 7-10 days from when I do a "frequent traveler credit" on the Hertz site. I don't wait for them to get around to figuring out if/when/how I did a rental. I save us all the hassle and just force the RR confirmation by entering my contract # on the Hertz side.

Maybe I haven't been clear. I don't want any RR credits posted to my account for the next 8 months to the extent that is possible. One way to do that with partners is to opt for their "points" and save them up rather than use them. At a later date, these points can be converted to RR credits. I was hoping there might be some program which has a more generous exchange rate than the Choice Privileges Visa card.

I agree greater clarity is needed. You might want to look into changing the title of the thread, as it points in a very different direction than what I think you are really asking.

Are you aiming for a CP renewal? If so, how much do you value the CP? What proportion/how many of your RR credits are earned from flights?

We need a lot more data to give you good advice.

IMHO, the best partner program for obtaining points that won't expire that, if necessary, may then later be transferred to WN is Hyatt. Although the equivalent monetary value of the points is obviously better using them for the hotel rooms.

My last Companion Pass was earned in December and the 100+ credit balance was reset to zero at that time. In the last 4 months I have accrued 109 points already via flights and a whopping conversion of AMEX reward points. Now the AMEX partnership has been dropped. That leaves me with the Choice Privileges partnership but the exchange rate isn't that good. If I were to use my SWA RR Visa for purchases, these would result in RR credits being immediately deposited in my account and wouldn't be of any use towards next years companion pass. While it is true that they still earn free roundtrips, I don't need them. Award flights are often difficult to book whereas I have never had a problem with flight availability with my wife travelling as my companion.

I changed the title to better reflect the thread topic. carraher, please advise if you prefer a different title.

Hotel programs. For example,

https://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/moreairmi.mi
https://www.marriott.com/rewards/use...ck.mi#packages

carraher, you achieved CP in less than five months this year, is there a specific reason you believe it's going to be harder to achieve next year that makes it necessary to even worry about banking credits?

I'm in a similar, though slightly less dramatic, situation in that I need less than 25 credits in the next 6.5 months to maintain my CP, so I have actually been seeking to credit elsewhere wherever practical. I've been using Evan!'s new quarterly car rental promotion thread to find the best non-WN deal for each rental lately (3,150 DL SkyMiles for example on a two-day rental from Avis and 3,050 UA MP miles for a one-day rental from Hertz are some nice deals I scored in the past few months), and I'm hopeful the rumored BA/Hilton Q2 offer will work well for my Hilton stays (taken DL miles on the past few, which with the 50% bonus through 4/30/2010 is 750 miles vs. .5 WN credits, barely worth it).

The best option for banking miles is probably Diners Club Club Rewards ... but, they are not taking new personal members right now, so if you don't already have it, you can't get in at the moment, but there's a chance that may change soon since they changed ownership recently, you may want to keep an out for news on that in the Club Rewards forum.