Deemus7

Ok, I can now verify that with Hilton's Q3 promotion (1200 miles per stay), only the first 600 count towards companion pass qualification.

As a current companion pass holder, I am absolutely LIVID with this change. I believe that all previous bonus points from hotels and car rentals counted...is that right? This change will probably prevent me from obtaining a companion pass for the coming year, and I know believe that this is the single-most negative change to RR. I will have at least 24 Hilton stays through the end of the promotion, leaving at least 14,400 points as non-qualifying that previously would have counted.

I also just saw a thread that Priority Club stays will also no longer accrue Rapid Rewards credits? These two changes are VERY unwelcome and are forcing me to reconsider ever using Southwest again.

Here's my dilemma, and I'd appreciate some insight. It's plain to me that the regular Business Select purchaser has made out like a bandit in this transition, and I am definitely not one. I fly 12-15 revenue flights with SW each year, but I earned the companion pass last year through partner credits. Would Southwest still value my opinion as someone who doesn't pay to fly them as often as they accrue points through partners? I figure that the more concrete e-mails they get regarding unhappiness with RR 2.0, the better. Thoughts?

Thanks!

toomanybooks

Someone confirmed in a Milesbuzz thread that the 50k bonus points for the WN Visa indeed are CP-qualifying.

This is going to put a lot of people over the hump.

ftnoob

I never had much doubt that these points would qualify. At the same time, without a screen capture and the limited amount of info that poster provided didn't erase 100% of the small doubt. Now, however, I have definitive proof:The signup and activity points are still posting as a lump sum (just as they did in March on a card issued pre-transition), so there does not appear to be a way for some of them to be categorized as non-qualifying "bonus" points.

Presumably the same would apply to the "up to 15,000" points available for balance transfers. So for $598 (two $99 annual fees + $300 fee on a $10,000 BT) you can buy 110,000 CPQP. (Pay off the BT without waiting for the statement, to avoid running up interest charges.)

If these offers are still available in mid-September you should be able to apply for the two cards then and defer your first purchases until after your December statements close, you should qualify for about a 23-month CP. You would have to be careful with timing the BT so that it hits within 90 days of account opening, but after the December statement closes.

Of course if you can otherwise rustle up 10,000 points that will post in January, you can skip the whole BT thing.

InkUnderNails

Sounds good. I just got the Business card and a 50K bonus. We will see when it posts.

If I cancel my regular Signature card, how long do I have to wait to re-up and get the bonus for it?

toomanybooks

Chase has been tightening up. I don't think there is a definitive answer.

Officially, they'd probably tell you never.

But perhaps if the signup bonus you got before was smaller than the new one, you'd get the difference.

bward76

I recently called chase to cancel my visa signature card so that I could apply for a 40,000 point offer card I got in the mail. They said that I would only ever be able to get 1 promotional offer from the Chase SWA Rapid Rewards card. Unfortunately all I got when I signed up for my card was 8 flight credits

If someone knows my info from Chase service rep to be incorrect, please let me know!

benmaller

I applied for the WN Premier card for the 50,000 point signup bonus and I had the WN Visa Sig at time of app. I was initially denied for too many open accounts. When I called the recon -number (888-245-0625) I was told that I had all the cards they could give me and I could only have one WN card. I said I was interested in the new benefits the offered with the Premier card and offered to close the old WN card to get the new card approved. CS said OK and promptly close the old WN card and approved the new card. The card shows up online but haven't yet recevied it.

Time will tell for sure, but I have no reason to assume that I will not get the 50,000 bonus points.

benmaller

We know partner bonus' do not count towards CP in the RR2.0 but will they still count for the rolling 12 month calculation for this year?

The link from the email has the following details:

TO COMPANION PASS STATUS

•Earn Companion Pass status within a rolling 12 months by earning 100 credits from Partners or flights. Qualification under this method must occur prior to December 31, 2011.


◦Credits for flights flown prior to the launch of the All-New Rapid Rewards in March 1, 2011 will be calculated just as they were in the old program. Credit from each one-way flight flown in the new program will also be tracked for Companion Pass qualification.

◦Partner credits earned prior to the launch of the All-New Rapid Rewards will be calculated just as they were in the old program. Credit from Partner transactions after the launch of the new program will also be tracked, but will be assessed by dividing the total number of Rapid Rewards Points earned through Partners by 1,200.
•Earn Companion Pass status within the calendar year by flying 100 one-way flights or earning 110,000 Companion Pass Qualifying Points between January 1, 2011 and December, 31, 2011

This would indicate that all points earned, including bonus points, will count toward the rolling qualification this year. Does anyone have evidence one way or the other?

jbdear

For the first time in years I am nervous about not renewing my CP (which also comes near the same time when my companion and I will finally be residing in the same town - for the first time in years). I am close, but not certain that I will make it.

Can someone answer the following questions for me?

Does Chase WN Card Sign-up Bonuses count towards CP renewal? (if yes, I will finally get the Chase WN Card - something I have put off until actually needing the extra points).

Does Marriott Reward transfers to WN points count toward CP renewal? (a much less attractive option).

Finally, does anyone have a short link to view companion pass status? (it takes me forever to find it when I log on to the WN website, horrible!)

Thanks in advance.

FindAWay

Yes, the bonuses do count as CPQPs.


Try: http://www.southwest.com/account/rap...mpanion-status

Or, just log-in to "my account" and click "My Rapid Rewards".

jbdear

Thank you (and thank you for the link). For some reason I could not access my CP status through "My Account".

toomanybooks

Yes. As do Choice, Hyatt, and all the others I have heard of.

One thing about pushing now for a CP: it will only be good for a bit over a year if you get it right away. If you can do it early next year, almost 2 years. Something to consider when going for that 50K bonus.

Of course, no guarantee that will be available in Jan. But maybe you could delay your spend to have the points post in Jan.

pavemental

I'm very interested in figuring out how to get a CP via rolling qualification. If all 2.0 partner activity is divided by 1200 to convert to credits, then that raises some interesting questions.

eg Do we simply need to earn 120,000 non-TQP points in 2011 to qualify for a 2012 CP?

Or is the rolling qualification much more difficult, ie Partner points divided by 1200 equals no. of credits, and flights taken are equal to 1 credit each (so flight bonus points do not count towards rolling status)?

And this might be a silly question, but if you have a 2011 CP but requalify for a 2012 CP, do you get formal notification of that (email or snail mail) or does your expiration date on the RR site simply update?

bward76

where can one apply for this business card?

thanks,

ftnoob

IIRC, rolling qualification is based on [partner points / 1200] + flight credits. Flight credits would be calculated per the old program, not as [points earned / 1200] (which would amount to a serious double dip for some...such as BS flyers).