Subby

Hey Guys!
Well last year I screwed up and missed CP by only 9k points
I don't want to do the same thing this year and I need your help

Where I'm at:
I have 50,605 cpqp right now and need 59,395 more currently
I have the Chase Rapid Rewards Plus CC - Note: Not the premier
I have about 170k Hilton Honor points
I stay at Hiltons, which I know are no longer partnered with Southwest
I generally rent with National who is now a partner
I will have about another 10k in cpqp from flights before 12/31
I will have at least 14 days/nights of car rentals and hotels stays before 12/31

What is the easiest way to ensure I hit CP this year?
Can I get another version of the Chase card for a quick 50k?
If I just switch to the RR Premeir visa how many points could I expect out of that?
Should I sign up for other credit cards and transfer the points to Southwest?

Thank you in advance for your expertise!

dealswelike

You can get the business version of the Southwest card for another 50,000 points. Additionally, there is a great promo right now with Wyndham were you can earn about 14,000 Southwest points, which count towards the companion pass.

MCOSWAFlyer

Dearswelike: How do you get the 14,000 SWA points with Wyndam? Is this the bonus 16,000 Wyndam points for one of the new hotels? From reviewing the threads, it looks like you have to have received the email (which I did not). Could you please explain for me? Thank you!!!

toomanybooks

You need almost 60K. That is a lot if you aren't flying that much.

You have 14 car/hotel @ 600 each. That's 8400. Or Choice has a "stay 2, get 8K" going on. 8K Choice is worth 2400 WN. Get a Choice Visa card (16K-24K signup, I forget). 6000 Choice>1800 WN.

If you get an Amtrak Visa and spend $200 on Amtrak this year (as far as I know, a refundable ticket for 6 months from now is OK), you can transfer up to 25K Amtrak>75K Choice>22500 WN. You can transfer HH to Amtrak at a rate of 10K>1500 Amtrak. So your 170K HH would get you 25500 Amtrak.

How much can you put on the WN Visa between now and Nov (whenever your statement cuts off)? Buy Amex/MC/Visa gift cards. Prepay all your types of insurance for next year. Prepay gas/electric/water, etc. Prepay for kids, parents, friends, siblings and get reimbursed. Buy any other gift cards you can think of that you will need next year. Call Chase right now and ask them to have your statement "drop" on about the 28th of the month. Then you'd have until Nov. 28 to spend.

Investigate the WN shopping mall. Maybe you need to buy something big that has a bonus attached. Those points are CPQPs.

Send flowers by Teleflora. $45 all in, delivered gets you 1000 WN. Sometimes 1500.

Having said all that, you realize that if you sneak in by Dec. 31, you'll have the CP for about a year. If you do all this in Jan. and early 2013, you'll have a CP for 2 years. So you'll have to decide if it's worth "killing yourself" for one year vs. two.

In short, 110K this calendar year gets you a CP for a year. 110K next year gets you a CP for up to 2 years.

That's why for most folks, saving up in other programs and executing the "big dump" every other year may be superior.

Chase UR points may be transferred between any two unrelated people, it appears. So maybe you can find someone to work a trade. The resultant UR points must be laundered through Hyatt/Marriott/Amtrak, etc. to become CP-qualifying out the other end.

If you switch to a new WN Visa card, you get no points. You have to apply anew.

braddqq

Can you explain what "110K next year gives you a CP for up two years" means?

Here's what I know: 110K points in any one calendar year gives you the CP for the following calendar year. So if you get 110K points in 2012, you get a CP for 2013. If you get 110K in 2013, you then get a CP for 2014. What am I missing? Is there something that gives you a CP for TWO YEARS?

toomanybooks

If you qualify for a CP, from scratch, on Jan. 1, 2013, it's good until 12/31/14.

That is 2 years, and that's what I intend to do.

"All of the current calendar year and all of the next."

braddqq

Thanks toomanybooks - maybe I am just dense, and I apologize for advance for that ;-)

But I am still confused. Let me give you a scenario which might help me (thanks again) - my wife has a companion pass which we have been using all of this year, 2012. She has 74,000 points towards a 2013 companion pass. So, we've been trying to get 110,000 points before Dec. 31st 2012 in order to qualify for a companion pass for all of next year, 2013. But my understanding is, that on Jan 1 2013, the counter goes back to zero, and I need to again receive 110K points by the end of 2013 in order to get it for 2014.

But you seem to be suggesting there's a way to get it for 2013 AND 2014, and that's what I am missing? Thanks so much for helping clarify!!

antinseattle

My understanding is you are back to zero on Jan 1 2013. In 2009 or 2010, it was any rolling 12 month period, I think his post is confused with prior SWA CP qualifying. To get all of 2013, 2014 CP you would be at zero Jan 1, 2013 and as soon as you get from zero to 110k in Jan 2013 to have all of 2013 and 2014

toomanybooks

If your wife gets another 36K in 2012, she will get a CP good from whatever date she thus attains 110K (74K+36k) through the end of 2013. So that's a year+. "All the rest of the current calendar year and all of the next."

You don't just qualify for year X+1 in year X. You qualify for year X+1 and the rest of year X.

Thus ideally you only have to go through this every 2 years. It really makes the CP a valuable thing.

At midnight New Year's Eve, the CP counter resets to zero. If she has 109999 at that time, she gets no CP. So it's a threshold/trigger situation. The last few points are immensely valuable.

If she stops right now, her existing CP will expire 12/31/12 you seem to say. Then she'll have to get 110K in 2013, starting Jan 1 only, and whenever she gets to that threshold in 2013, she'll have a CP through the end of 2014. This can be very early in 2013 if you convert outside points in. Her 2012 points will have been wasted for CP purposes in this situation.

Your choice is to get another 36K this year for about 1 year CP or 110K as fast as possible in 2013 for up to 2 years' CP. You should probably go for it this year if you can. But don't fall short if you start trying.

WN had some special flexibility in 2011 for CPs when they went from a rolling 12-month period (pretty much) to the current setup; that date was March 1, 2011. I got my CP in late Feb. 2011 and it is good until 12/31/12. Most any CP attained in 2011 should be good until end of 2012, I think.

Paradoxically, it is not efficient for most people to use their WN Visa for CP qualification, except for those points those that happen to hit in January and maybe February every other year. That's because WN points will post for CP purposes whenever you happen to get them and you cannot save them up.

A screwy system, but that's what they have handed us. You are better off piling up points in Choice, Wyndham, Amtrak, Diners, etc. and dumping them all Jan 1 in alternate years, even if you lose 10-30% in the transfer. For example, Diners convert 1500>1200 WN.

Until they change the system again.

WN is 2 programs in one, with entirely different strategies:

1. You have a shot at a CP
2. You don't.

InkUnderNails

As someone that flies enough on their non-WiFi planes to get my CP in August, let me try to explain.

Beginning January 1, you have until the end of the year to get by hook or crook 110K CPQP's. As soon as the 110Kth point drops in your account, you have earned CP for all of the following year. Just to be nice, WN lets you start using it immediately even though it was earned for the following year.

So, if I get my 110K in August 2012, WN gives me CP for 2013. I also get the rest of 2012.

You get the following year plus whatever is left in the year the 110K hits. Make it hit in January, you get 23+ months. Squeak it in in December you get 12 months and a few days.

If you do not get it continually from flying, like me, it pays to arrange your earning so that it all drops in January. It effectively gets you CP for a bit over 55K a year. Sort of.

braddqq

InkUnderNails and toomanybooks:

Thank you very much, I now get it. I was missing the point that if you get 110K points mid-year, it would be good for the rest of the year. Now I get it, that if you earn 110K in January of 2013, you will get CP for 2013 and 2014.

Unfortunately for me, I have no good mechanism to convert a whole lot points to Rapid Rewards early on in 2013. But since we are pretty close to already achieving 110K in 2012, looks like I am good for 2013.

I'll have to look into Diners and other ways to convert a lot of points all at once, perhaps in Jan 2014.

Thanks so much guys.

toomanybooks

Unfortunately, Diners is closed to new US applicants, last I heard. It's a good card, some say the best for renting cars as it gives primary rental car insurance. Diners has been sold, so maybe they will reopen.

It's not a bad strategy to just spend on Diners, piling up points, and dumping them every 2 years in January for a WN CP. 110K WN would take 137,500 Diners at the rate of 1500>1200.

So over 2 years, that's $5729 a month spending, returning you $1833 in WN points and a 2-year CP (possibly worth thousands) every other year. This would be lessened by whatever you could accumulate staying at Choice/Wyndham/Marriott/Hyatt hotels and dumping first.

Let's say you value the CP at $200 a month; that might be a free RT every couple months. I know many folks do a lot better than that. If you do the math, you'll see that this is about a 5% return on your Diners spend.

Not bad. Many people are happy to get 2-3%.

doublemazaa

I am in a similar position and have a question for the thread.

I get the part about qualifying mid year and getting the rest of the current year included, but wouldn't the OP's existing 50K point total expire on 12/31/2012?He'd need to earn 110K after January 1 2013 to get a CP that is valid through 12/2014, effectively losing this 50K points. Is that right?

Perhaps he's better off earning 50K in the next two months, and then going in to overdrive in Jan 2014 to earn 2014's and 2015's CP?

pavemental

This is my strategy, I need another 30K CPQP in 2012 to renew my CP. I'll then look at options to build non-WN points for a Jan 2014 dump. Its going to take some time to figure whether that's feasible for me given my travel, spend habits etc

toomanybooks

Correct.

You have to look ahead with this CP stuff. If you doubt you can get to 110k, it may be better not to try at all until a following year.