rickjanak

I recently joined FT and this is my first post. I had recently enrolled into SWA Rapid Rewards, Signed up for the SW premier personal and business credit cards a month apart from each other. The personal already posted the 50k bonus and the business should be posting the 50k bonus as well in a couple weeks after my first statement is posted. These are the only two credit cards I have and very much looking forward to earning the companion pass and start traveling with my fiancé. What I'm interested in is other cards to get to supplement/feed into SWA in case I will need to transfer points next year. Trying to reach 110k points in 2014 without a huge bonus seems hard to do. I don't travel for work, so it would be primarily leisure travel and credit card spend to get the CP again for 2015.
Some of my thoughts are to get the Chase INK Bold and Chase Saphire credit cards and earn ultimate reward points. transferring to Hyatt and then to SWA for CPQP. Also thought about getting the Hyatt and Marriott CC for transferability as well. any other thoughts on what cards to get that would compliment the SW credit cards

poser

I see one of two things:

If you applied for the premier cards, apply for the Plus cards
Have your fiance apply for the cards

Maybe you travel more in 2014 with a CP..

Tanic

You need to get to 110k CPQP points this year, then your CP will be valid til Dec 31, 2014. The CPQP counter resets to zero on Jan 1, 2014. There is no guarantee that WN will permit Chase credit card points or hotel points to count as CPQP in the future.

philipgbaker

Which cards they allow points for a CP is not well publicized. Last time I checked (by phone) it was Marriott yes and Chase, Amex no. Mostly hotel cards yes, but not all including Starwood. Best to call and ask, because SW does not provide details on their website.

rickjanak

Poser - If I applied for the Plus cards that would get me all 4 of them -- Would Chase grant them along with the sign 0n bonuses? Having my fiance get them is always an option.
Tanic - Ill keep my fingers crossed with the point relationships they have with various hotels/rental cars
Philipbaker - Good point. By calling you would have the latest information

jonnyd13

Assuming everything stays the same: I think your best options are to have your fiance get the cards as soon as possible in Jan 2015. Your next best option would be to get two Plus cards yourself in Jan 2015. I say 2015 because then your next CP is valid for all of 2015 AND 2016, rather than meeting the requirements in 2014 and having it be extended for only 1 more year.

I got my CP this year in March, valid through the end of 2014. Why meet the requirements in 2014 to have it only good through 2015 if you can meet the requirements through bonuses early in 2015 for a pass good through 2016? Catch my logic?

This of course only applies if you intend to use large CC signup bonuses as I do. I do not foresee myself traveling enough in any of these years to meet CP status without these bonuses. My strategy is different than the next guy though, but your situation seems similar to mine.

And of course, the disclaimer in my first sentence still stands - this will only work if these CC bonuses come back around.

nsx

...and that the bonus still count toward CP. IMHO the only factor preventing closure of this opportunity is Southwest's chronic lag in implementing software changes. Well, that plus the large reimbursements from Chase for all those points. Perhaps due to Southwest's internal accounting structures the costs of free flights are never weighed against the money coming in from Chase.

toomanybooks

I think your best strategy is to pile up UR points and Marriott points and make a big dump 1/1/15. 270K Marriott > 120K WN (thus CP for 2 years) plus a week in a Marriott cat. 5. For smaller transfers, Hyatt should work better.

Don't worry about WN points in 2014. You'd only be gaining an extra year, not 2.

DON'T transfer UR directly to WN. Not CP-qualifying.

If you can get a Diners Club card, it's 1500 Diners > 1200 WN. Amtrak has some possibilities if you are elite with them. Look for Wyndham, Choice, etc. offers.

I think the following are all the hotels that will transfer in:

Hyatt
Marriott
Wyndham
Choice
LaQuinta
Best Western

But all this could change in 21 months.

rickjanak

I like your thinking ...

NorthernAZtraveler

How can you get two mile bonuses for signing up for a Premier and a Plus card? The terms clearly state you only get ONE bonus, unless you have a business, then you can get two, max:

This one-time bonus offer is valid only for first-time Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card cardmembers with new accounts. Previous and existing Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card cardmembers/accounts are not eligible for this bonus offer. Note: the bonus may be earned on one first-time personal and one first-time business Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Credit Card new account.

nsx

FTers know that what is supposed to happen and what actually happens are not always the same. @:-)