fh2000

I am also in the same situation. I have already transfered 5000 from UR-->Hyatt-->SW. I got 2400 CPQP. I will do another 8000 UR-> Hyatt. Looks like I can only transfer 7500 to SW, and get 3600 CQPQ there. Leaving 500 in Hyatt ($5 value) is small cost to pay.

gotkwah

i got 105,200 points to SW today from the credit cards. need another 4800 points to qualify for CP.
have 3,000 Hyatt points that are going to be transferred to me from another family member and was going to use another 7,000 UR -> Hyatt to transfer 10k Hyatt points to SW and get 4800 points.

the value of 7,000 UR points is at least $105. any cheaper method of doing this?

go_hokies

Just to follow-up, after numerous emails, they finally credited the E-rewards as CP qualifying. My RR shopping points did not count toward 2017 CP because the purchase was made in December 2016 and the 800+ points posted on January 11, 2017, so SW claims they counted toward my 2016 pass. They then quoted this "Qualifying Points earned from one of our Partners count toward Companion Pass qualification for the year in which they are posted to the account," which would seem to support them counting toward 2017. When I asked them to clarify this, they said " While points earned through Rapid Rewards Shopping can take 6-8 weeks to reflect in your account balance, they post to the day you make the purchase(s) through the site." If I had not had activity on my account for 24 months and it was set to expire at the end of 2016, I doubt these points that did not post until 2017 would have kept it alive and if I was 800 points shy of making CP for 2016 I doubt they would have given it to me, but it is what is it.

flyer4512

$5,000 in Visa gift cards will cost under $60............cheaper but you have to float the $$ and then spend the GC's

haganbmj

Looking to figure out whether I have my options in line here.

Currently, I have points with Starwood/SPG exclusively.

Which of the following is a viable route for companion pass
SPG -> Southwest
SPG -> (Variable Rate) Marriott -> (Variable Rate) Southwest

I've seen references to linking SPG and Southwest directly, but can't seem to find the conversion rates or where that would be done.

EDIT: Realized 90k SPG -> 270k Marriott then trying to purchase a 7 night cat 1-5 package generated more Southwest points.

toomanybooks

SPG > Southwest directly was available for about 7 weeks years ago, when the current RR system started.

x712xdamx

I think I'm going to pull the trigger... While I love my CSR & Hyatt points, I think my wife & I (newlyweds!) will be able to get quite the value. Somebody tell me if we're dumb, though:

Have:
112k CSR
72k Hyatt
89k Marriott

Plan:
Transfer 78k CSR to Hyatt.
Transfer 150k Hyatt to 90k Southwest. (3 separate transfers of 50k)
Transfer 60k Marriott to 20k Southwest (2 separate transfers of 30k)
= 110k Southwest Miles & CP.

I'll still have 32k CSR left-over that I can theoretically replenish my Hyatt balance with a bit. It will be sad to see both balances drop but that's points are earned to be spent! Already looking at 2-weekend trips that we wanted to take and this will save us 52k Southwest RR by having the pass!! This would be all in the 2nd month of having it. It will also help our work budget and provide at least another 50k in points savings this year. I think I just convinced myself. Anyone have any thoughts? Did I miss something?

flyer4512

Are either you under 4/24 ?

Have you had the SPG Business and Personal Card.

If either of you are under 4/24 getting 2 Southwest cards would be an option

If you haven't had both SPG cards there should e time to get those points and convert to Marriott by 3/31

x712xdamx

Man, I wish I could get the SPG cards! She's a foreigner without a SSN so far. She'll be able to get mileage cards in about 14 months I imagine.

I've had both SPG cards a few times, and am about 27/24, or else that would work perfectly! If the new Chase Ink 100k card rumored has in-branch approvals, it could be perfect for me... Get the CP from these cards here and then replenish Hyatt later with that card's bonus.

So I'm not dumb, given my circumstance? Wife says we should do it. I see us using about 5 or 6 trips on points and 5-8 trips on cash for work. Without going into major detail though, we get more benefits by keeping our budget low, so it would directly benefit us to get the 2x1 flights.

kerrigjl

Smarter people than I: I am trying to figure out the best way (i.e. getting the best value for my points) to get the CP before hotel transfers get shut down. Here're my current holdings:

WN CPQP: 1831
Marriott: 2730
Hyatt: 144264
Chase UR: 372932
Amex Membership Rewards: 116191
Club Carlson: 1000

I'd like to drain the MR first (should yield 38691 SPG points, so 116074 Marriott points). From there, I'm not sure the most advantageous way to transfer points to get either the Marriott travel package or straight points transfers to WN. I'd think that UR to Marriott would give me the best "value" for my points, but perhaps someone has a different opinion on that point or alternate guidance? I value my Hyatt and UR points about equally (~2c/pt) at baseline...

Am I overthinking this? Is the best thing to do just transfer UR to Marriott to make up the difference? I'm Marriott Gold, if that matters (i.e. for 5 day travel package purchases, if that's still an option)... Thanks in Advance!

toomanybooks

UR must be worth more than Hyatt, because you can always turn them into a Hyatt 1:1 or keep or do something else. That option has value, at present.

What are MR here? Amex Membership Rewards?

Part of the answer depends how much you value the hotel stay. And are you 100% CERTAIN you can get the 5-night?

kerrigjl

Yes, sorry, Amex Membership Rewards.

I have read reports of people being able to get the 5-day packages with status, but if not, I'll just transfer the difference in UR while on the phone to get to the 7-day.

As for the hotel stay, my vacations in the next year are taken Saturday - Sunday (so 9 days), so I'll definitely be able to use the 7 day voucher (or 5 day, which I'd prefer).

As to the Hyatt points, I am having a hard time appropriately valuing them, since it's 0.48 WN points/Hyatt point when transferring 50k (if that math is correct). Hence the question of what the appropriate valuation would be, especially if a travel package is part (or the whole) of the equation.

toomanybooks

Well, it's an algebraic equation. All depends on how you value each point (including Southwest) and a 1-5 cat Marriott stay. Do not forget that the ease of earning more points should be considered. I can manufacture URs for very little, so I am more apt to give them up in a close situation.

50k Hyatt becomes 30k WN. There is a bonus at that level. So .6. Unless they just changed it.

Bloggers all have their own values for points. Always remember that they get paid by you getting credit cards, so it is in their interest to pump up the value a bit.

kerrigjl

So, my math...

Ignoring the Marriott packages, transferring 5736 UR points to Hyatt would get me to 150k -> 90k WN CPQP. I have a flight next week earning 2,384 and a flight the second week of March earning 2,882. Plus the 1831 that I possess, that leaves me 12,921 CQPQ short of 110k. I would, therefore, need to transfer 27500 more UR points to Hyatt to allow for that extra 13,200 CPQP. Total outlay: 33236 UR + 144,264 Hyatt.

For the travel package, I'd move the 116k Amex MR points to *wood -> Marriott, yielding 116,074 points. Let's assume I get the 7 night + 120k points for 270,000 Marriott points. I now need 153,926 more Marriott points, which could be obtained via UR transfer. So, for this, I'm out 154k UR points and 116k Amex MR points (but get a 7 night hotel voucher).

Third option is to do some combination of the above, transferring some Hyatt points to WN while also purchasing a lower priced travel package. Again, a primary goal would be to deplete the Amex points, since I use them for practically nothing (unlike Hyatt/UR). With those 116k marriott points, I'd then need 81,196 more from UR to get the 200k (50k WN CPQP miles) package. With the planned flights, I'll be 52,903 short of CP, which could be filled by 98750 Hyatt points (practically 100k to get the 6k bonus). Total outlay, 100k Hyatt, 81k UR, 116k MR.

Looks like Marriott is valuing the 7 night cert for 150k points (21.4k points/night). I can get a decent Hyatt for 12-15k/night.

Paralysis by analysis.

joshua362

All day long... Just uttered this phrase today with a customer who couldn't make up her mind...