Hotel status, Credit Cards, Car Rentals, Bonus Points, etc... what's been "worth" it to you?

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I do NOT understand how people can eat that 'stuff'. I haven't been in an FF slop hole of any brand in more years than I can remember.

 

[JEDI]

I do NOT understand how people can eat that 'stuff'. I haven't been in an FF slop hole of any brand in more years than I can remember.

cheap and fast.
where else can you get a small coffee for $1?

AND before this month, buy 5 and get 1 free?

 

[Svnla]

I used to do a lot of churning and manufacture spending to earn bonus (AE Platinum and Chase Reserve) and cash back. Used to earn over $1K USD per month from the 2% cash back from Citi. Not year, but per month.

Not into points but Chase is temping me with the 100K Reward for the Preferred card. Thinking about it.

 

[Captante]

I do NOT understand how people can eat that 'stuff'. I haven't been in an FF slop hole of any brand in more years than I can remember.

The breakfast isn't terrible provided you remember to ask for "round eggs" on anything with egg on it. (they're real eggs the "folded" kind are powdered)

 

[ponyo]

I feel your pain bro...there are only so many Pina Coladas and Margaritas you can drink while burying your toes in the sand or seeing one more sunset over the water.......before you just have had enough.

So you understand my pain... There's only so much pool, beach, fish, and beer man can take before he goes crazy.

I'm going to have to suffer through another generic steakhouse dinner tonight. Wish me luck!

 

[RichieZ]

So you understand my pain... There's only so much pool, beach, fish, and beer man can take before he goes crazy.

I'm going to have to suffer through another generic steakhouse dinner tonight. Wish me luck!

 

[JEDI]

I used to do a lot of churning and manufacture spending to earn bonus (AE Platinum and Chase Reserve) and cash back. Used to earn over $1K USD per month from the 2% cash back from Citi. Not year, but per month.

Not into points but Chase is temping me with the 100K Reward for the Preferred card. Thinking about it.

how do you manufacture spending to earn the bonuses?
ie: spend $3k in 3 months to get $500 bonus

 

[Scarpozzi]

I pay $450 for the Hilton Honors Aspire Amex. It provides $250 Hilton Resort credit, $250 Airline Incidentals Credit, a free weekend night anywhere in the world, Priority Pass membership, Hilton Diamond status, and roughly 34 points per dollar spent at Hilton Properties for food/lodging.

When covid was in full force, they pushed the resort credits to apply to any restaurant purchases. They bumped the normal 3% cashback at grocery stores up to 12% for 3 months. There have been other perks, including $20/month back on restaurant purchases this year if you enroll in the promo. Additionally, they extended the free weekend night's expiration date to 2022.

I feel like Amex or Hilton, or both are serious about keeping people happy with the card. I used it to go to Hawaii last year and all of my lodging was comped. We're going back to do Maui in September and I'm going to be racking up sweet points at the Waldorf Astoria for 10 nights. Having Diamond status there is huge and worth $50 in food credits per night...so $500 off our bill, not counting the $250 resort credit we'll be able to use.

The reason I went with this card was because I was travelling for business and exclusively staying at the Roosevelt in NOLA and another expensive stay at a Hilton weeks later with flights on the same airline. I just wanted to enjoy the trip, so I ended up getting free food, drinks, room upgrades, and the points that funded my Hawaii venture. It's been a pretty decent deal and I'm on year 3....currently have about 600k points in my account, but will likely have 1M by the end of the year.

 

[RichieZ]

I pay $450 for the Hilton Honors Aspire Amex. It provides $250 Hilton Resort credit, $250 Airline Incidentals Credit, a free weekend night anywhere in the world, Priority Pass membership, Hilton Diamond status, and roughly 34 points per dollar spent at Hilton Properties for food/lodging.

When covid was in full force, they pushed the resort credits to apply to any restaurant purchases. They bumped the normal 3% cashback at grocery stores up to 12% for 3 months. There have been other perks, including $20/month back on restaurant purchases this year if you enroll in the promo. Additionally, they extended the free weekend night's expiration date to 2022.

I feel like Amex or Hilton, or both are serious about keeping people happy with the card. I used it to go to Hawaii last year and all of my lodging was comped. We're going back to do Maui in September and I'm going to be racking up sweet points at the Waldorf Astoria for 10 nights. Having Diamond status there is huge and worth $50 in food credits per night...so $500 off our bill, not counting the $250 resort credit we'll be able to use.

The reason I went with this card was because I was travelling for business and exclusively staying at the Roosevelt in NOLA and another expensive stay at a Hilton weeks later with flights on the same airline. I just wanted to enjoy the trip, so I ended up getting free food, drinks, room upgrades, and the points that funded my Hawaii venture. It's been a pretty decent deal and I'm on year 3....currently have about 600k points in my account, but will likely have 1M by the end of the year.

Where do you end up using your HH points? I have like 400K and have never used them other than trading for other points etc. Like the Wailea is 95K a night sometimes if you book at the last minute and 200K+ if you don't (was looking at a weekend trip last month when we were on Oahu and only seems to have gotten worse). Agree the Aspire is great for getting your moneys worth for the annual fee though.

 

[Svnla]

how do you manufacture spending to earn the bonuses?
ie: spend $3k in 3 months to get $500 bonus

I pay everything under the sun (and I mean everything, I rarely use cash now) with the credit card to earn the bonus. I even pay in advance for bills such as insurance (health, vehicle, etc.), utilities, cell, internet.

Plus my friend has a small business so I pay his supplies/inventory/vendors and he pays me back in cash. Win win for everyone.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Where do you end up using your HH points? I have like 400K and have never used them other than trading for other points etc. Like the Wailea is 95K a night sometimes if you book at the last minute and 200K+ if you don't (was looking at a weekend trip last month when we were on Oahu and only seems to have gotten worse). Agree the Aspire is great for getting your moneys worth for the annual fee though.

View attachment 47263

I stayed in the Waikiki Hilton (2 rooms) and did a week on the Big Island on the Kona side. All the nights in Hawaii were around 50-55k points/night in 2020 (pre-pandemic). I booked them September 2019 and stayed in March 2020.

Right....the Grand Wailea runs $1300/night right now. Points aren't going to go far. You have to figure out how much a resort night is worth to you based on how many points you accrue on average. If you're booking that property and burning through 500-700k points in one night OR paying the $1300 and banking 45,000 (free night at a lot of hotels). You can often book resort properties months out pretty easily for 40-80k points/night.

I tend to travel to cities and crash in moderate hotels for 20-30k points...but sometimes level up to the nicer ones using points. This is especially true when I know the breakfast offerings for Gold/Diamond is better than a typical breakfast restaurant in the area. Another pro-tip is to book hotels for 2 people, even when you're traveling solo. You get twice the cash allowance in the hotels that offer it for status. I was able to get coffee and breakfast comped for a group of us as we left for the airport. (grab bags) Everyone thought I was paying for it out of pocket when I said, "Put it on the room..." But the charges were comped as hotel credits on the bill when I received it.

Another few trips I did allowed those credits to get me free sushi or poolside meals. The hotel credits always vary from resort to resort, but that definitely adds up. Especially when the other food offerings in the area are costly otherwise. I'm pretty poor, in general.

 

[bbhaag]

So you understand my pain... There's only so much pool, beach, fish, and beer man can take before he goes crazy.

I'm going to have to suffer through another generic steakhouse dinner tonight. Wish me luck!

Ouch, that sounds and looks rough. I wish you luck enduring such an obstacle because you're going to need all the help you can get. I totally understand how great locations, good food, and good company can really takes its toll on ones mental and physical health.

 

[RLGL]

Good old cash back!!!!!

 

[manlymatt83]

Thanks all. Great discussion. Lots to think about. I’ll definitely keep my aspire

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Thanks all. Great discussion. Lots to think about. I’ll definitely keep my aspire

It definitely seems worth it based on the benefits you listed.

Like I mentioned, I'll do the same with my Marriott cards. My status there has been very important - just late check out alone is a godsend when bringing the wife + kids.

It's a bit of a rabbit chasing a carrot kind of game, but it's one I'll make sure I finish with lifetime Platinum status at minimum. Keeping the cards open at minimum gives me:
-Free Night @ hotel
-15 "Nights stayed" by default every year (x2 for having a personal + business card) = 30 nights "stayed" for just having the card - which contributes to my yearly + lifetime status.
-Marriott Points for any purchases
-Global Entry
-$300 credit yearly for any Marriott charges yearly
-No foreign transaction fees
+More.

 

[manlymatt83]

It definitely seems worth it based on the benefits you listed.

Like I mentioned, I'll do the same with my Marriott cards. My status there has been very important - just late check out alone is a godsend when bringing the wife + kids.

It's a bit of a rabbit chasing a carrot kind of game, but it's one I'll make sure I finish with lifetime Platinum status at minimum. Keeping the cards open at minimum gives me:
-Free Night @ hotel
-15 "Nights stayed" by default every year (x2 for having a personal + business card) = 30 nights "stayed" for just having the card.
-Marriott Points for any purchases
-Global Entry
-$300 credit yearly for any Marriott charges yearly
-No foreign transaction fees
+More.

Which Marriott card is this?

 

[rh71]

You get 2 of their credit cards early in the year with bonuses and get 125k points as quickly as possible, and then you have 125k+ points and you earn the companion pass which allows anyone you designate as your companion to fly with you for free for the rest of the calendar year and the entire following year.

You can do this every 24 months.

My wife and I have been alternating years with this since about 2013 or around there and have saved thousands upon thousands of dollars because of this. The only thing that sucks is right now we're both having companion passes expire at the end of 2021. One of them was extended a year due to covid. But right now we have 70k in my account and 200k in her account. Once it hits Jan 1st 2022 I will have a new Southwest card that I will start using to get a bonus. Once I get that, I will get another southwest card and get that bonus, and we'll hopefully have another companion pass until the end of 2023.

You do have to pay taxes still though and it varies depending where you go. If you fly nationally, it's about $11/person round trip. We've flown down to Florida to go to the keys like 5x with points and it costs us $33 for the family of 3 (1 lap baby too now). But I'm going to book a trip to Aruba for November and those taxes are like $75 or something a person. Bahamas was the most I believe it was like $125/person in taxes but I doubt I'll go back there.

Why did you choose Southwest? Do other nicer airlines like JetBlue do anything comparable? I've always just done the safe 2% cashback cards, but free family travel has been more and more enticing since we've realized it costs ~$1k out of pocket and that's why we never fly anywhere for vacation.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Which Marriott card is this?

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is the one that gives the benefits I mentioned. There are others that are ~$100/year that give the free night and other benefits - but not the others such as $300 incidental credit

American Express

www.americanexpress.com

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Why did you choose Southwest? Do other nicer airlines like JetBlue do anything comparable? I've always just done the safe 2% cashback cards, but free family travel has been more and more enticing since we've realized it costs ~$1k out of pocket and that's why we never fly anywhere for vacation.

Southwest IS nice though.

The others only apply if you travel for business on an on-going basis enough to keep status - which means constantly fighting for first class. By all means, first class IS awesome - especially when I got it flying with the wife + kid to Hawaii - but it's not guaranteed.

Southwest is awesome for anyone who doesn't want to fight that first class game. Someone that doesn't travel enough to have ultra-mega platinum status for flying 100 segments every year. Which if you're not fat, and have to book a whole row (3 seats) then who cares if you don't have first class? It's nice, but not meh... I hate United + American Airlines + Delta coach so much that I would rather just be at Southwest.

 

[purbeast0]

Why did you choose Southwest? Do other nicer airlines like JetBlue do anything comparable? I've always just done the safe 2% cashback cards, but free family travel has been more and more enticing since we've realized it costs ~$1k out of pocket and that's why we never fly anywhere for vacation.

Cause I have a SW hub near me and 2 other airports that also fly SW if need be.

100k+ points + wife flies for free, 2 free bags per person, they fly to most Caribbean destinations I want to go to.

It's a no brainer.

I wouldn't say Jet Blue is "nicer" by any means. They are on the same tier as SW. I've flown United multiple times due to points and them going to St. Thomas, and I would put the SW flight experience better than United, which I'd also put on the same tier as JB/SW.

Aside from 2020, I saved at least $5k/yr on flights with Southwest. If this game ever ends, it's going to be tough to travel as much as we do, especially now with a 4th member of the family.

It's a lot easier to justify a vacation when we're really just booking a hotel/car versus a hotel/car/flights that add an extra $2k+ to each trip.

 

[rh71]

.

Which card is it? https://creditcards.chase.com/travel-credit-cards/southwest

Also for the annual fee, the $149 for example gets applied to first billing statement, but there's no way to absorb it?

 

[purbeast0]

Which card is it? https://creditcards.chase.com/travel-credit-cards/southwest

Also for the annual fee, the $149 for example gets applied to first billing statement, but there's no way to absorb it?

Any 2 of the SW cards that will help you get the points. One business one regular. And no there is no way to absorb the annual fee. The $200 or whatever for 2 years worth of free flights is worth it.

 

[rh71]

Any 2 of the SW cards that will help you get the points. One business one regular. And no there is no way to absorb the annual fee. The $200 or whatever for 2 years worth of free flights is worth it.

A couple things that stood out:
1) While the initial 65k points gifted is nice, the subsequent points you earn - 1 per $1 spent, don't seem all that worthwhile. For example, on the SWA website, it costs 13.4k points or $202 for a 1-way trip to CHI. If I spent $13,400 (amount needed to earn those 13.4k points), that would've netted me $268 with my 2% credit card instead which would have paid for the flight and a few bucks extra. Am I missing something? Are these only worth it if you qualify for bonuses, because 1pt for $1 spent seems unworthy.

2) It takes either 100 flights or 125k points to earn a companion pass. Am I mistaken or is that needing to spend $125k in a calendar year? We don't even spend half that on our CCs. EDIT> I suppose you use the 65k bonus to get it closer to 125k points, but still, that's a lot of money to spend on a CC in a year, especially because mortgages don't qualify.

 

[aigomorla]

I only use cards with cash back now.
Milage cards i didn't use as much.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

A couple things that stood out:
1) While the initial 65k points gifted is nice, the subsequent points you earn - 1 per $1 spent, don't seem all that worthwhile. For example, on the SWA website, it costs 13.4k points or $202 for a 1-way trip to CHI. If I spent $13,400 (amount needed to earn those 13.4k points), that would've netted me $268 with my 2% credit card instead which would have paid for the flight and a few bucks extra. Am I missing something? Are these only worth it if you qualify for bonuses, because 1pt for $1 spent seems unworthy.

2) It takes either 100 flights or 125k points to earn a companion pass. Am I mistaken or is that needing to spend $125k in a calendar year? We don't even spend half that on our CCs. EDIT> I suppose you use the 65k bonus to get it closer to 125k points, but still, that's a lot of money to spend on a CC in a year, especially because mortgages don't qualify.

The difference is: Open a Southwest PERSONAL card - AND open a Southwest BUSINESS card at the same time.

So ideally, this is the best result:
1) November 2021 - Open 1 Southwest Personal card that gives 65k miles
2) November 2021 - Open 1 Southwest BUSINESS card gives 60k miles
3) Between November and December of 2021, spend < the amount of the sign-up bonus (e.g. Spend $4,900 when the sign-on bonus comes with spending $5,000)
4) In January of 2022 - Spend the extra amount on both cards - to put you over the $5,000 (or whatever the sign-on bonus threshold is). You will then get all the bonus miles (65k + 60k). This will result in a companion pass
5) Enjoy companion pass for ALL of 2022 (the year in which you EARNED the pass) AND all of 2023.

I posted above how I did this with Marriott cards - I have 1 Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card (Personal) and 1 Marriott Business card.