PSA -Sapphire Reserve with 100K points bonus, LAST CHANCE is Saturday 3/11 at branch...

[ponyo]

their portal is def hit or miss... my gf and I, made out well, for a flight to turks and caicos

delta charges around around 60k + some fees (not much)
united 35k (if you find the saver flight) + some fees (not much)
UR portal was 29k + no fees

I didn't really look into that many more places for mileage cost vs what I was going to pay through the UR portal... 29k was an insane deal and we hopped on it. In general the UR portal is fairly open in terms of available flights while most rewards flights are slim pickings

with all that said... the transfer partners make a ton more sense if you are trying to fly business class international. my gf plan on saving up our remaining points for an epic Europe trip next year

I've been playing around with the UR portal and found some tempting flight options to various places. With current airlines fares being general cheaper than the last several years, using UR portal with 1.5x points boost is often better option than transferring the points directly to the airlines for economy flight. It's definitely nice to have both options.

I want to go to Turks as well and found some cheap direct flights on the days I want to go. What sites are you using to find lodging? Hotel options seem rather limited and prices seem high. Anyone who's been to Turks recommend a place to stay?

 

[Elganja]

I've been playing around with the UR portal and found some tempting flight options to various places. With current airlines fares being general cheaper than the last several years, using UR portal with 1.5x points boost is often better option than transferring the points directly to the airlines for economy flight. It's definitely nice to have both options.

I want to go to Turks as well and found some cheap direct flights on the days I want to go. What sites are you using to find lodging? Hotel options seem rather limited and prices seem high. Anyone who's been to Turks recommend a place to stay?

I've been to Turks & Caios once before... we stayed at the ClubMed which was a good location, decent food, and fairly priced. It's adult only, so no kids running around which was a plus. Their beach options were very good, however they had limited amount of Cabanas

This time we are forgoing the all inclusive, and staying at the Seven Stars Resort which isn't far from where the ClubMed was (but closer to the town). It's pretty pricey depending on what room you get, however we got a room with a full kitchen so we can do breakfast/lunch ourselves (with local ingredients) and eat out for dinners

Both the above mentioned resorts, are on Grace Bay which is a MUST imho ... it's rated the #1 beach for a reason

If you go, i highly recommend getting reservations for Coco Bistro ... they have some amazing food (a little on the high side for price however)... another tip, if you happen to be there on a Thursday there is a fish fry that is pretty awesome too

 

[Exterous]

I've been playing around with the UR portal and found some tempting flight options to various places. With current airlines fares being general cheaper than the last several years, using UR portal with 1.5x points boost is often better option than transferring the points directly to the airlines for economy flight. It's definitely nice to have both options.

I've not used the UR portal to book flights as I frequently run into two issues with the UR portal when I try. The first is that it doesn't show a number of airlines at all (Southwest, Jetblue, Norwegian, WOW, Thomas Cook off the top of my head). The second issue is that it does a horrible job reporting on the routes available for the airlines it does show. For example I just searched for a 1 way New York to Olso flight and UR shows 2 pages results, the cheapest of which is $2100. Using Momondo meanwhile shows 77 pages of options and the first 11 pages are all under $550 with the cheapest being Norwegian at $250. Many of the remaining 11 pages are basic 1 stop routings by airlines it can show so I don't know whats going on with the UR results.

 

[Elganja]

I've not used the UR portal to book flights as I frequently run into two issues with the UR portal when I try. The first is that it doesn't show a number of airlines at all (Southwest, Jetblue, Norwegian, WOW, Thomas Cook off the top of my head). The second issue is that it does a horrible job reporting on the routes available for the airlines it does show. For example I just searched for a 1 way New York to Olso flight and UR shows a 2 pages results, the cheapest of which is $2100. Using Momondo meanwhile shows 77 pages of options and the first 11 pages are all under $550 with the cheapest being Norwegian at $250. Many of the remaining 11 pages are basic 1 stop routings by airlines it can show so I don't know whats going on with the UR results.

i've had similar issues in the past, but i found when you really confine/filter your search (as much as it will allow you to), you can generally find the flight you are looking for. I wonder if you can call them for a better experience?

I have seen Jetblue on there though, not sure about the others you have listed

 

[Exterous]

i've had similar issues in the past, but i found when you really confine/filter your search (as much as it will allow you to), you can generally find the flight you are looking for. I wonder if you can call them for a better experience?

I have seen Jetblue on there though, not sure about the others you have listed

I just looked again and it looks like you are right - Jetblue will show up for domestic flights but I haven't yet gotten them to show up for flights where they get you to the international gateway city and a codeshare partner gets you to the final destination. Either I missed the 3x daily flights from DTW to BOS when just looking or they weren't showing up the first time I searched

 

[purbeast0]

I've been playing around with the UR portal and found some tempting flight options to various places. With current airlines fares being general cheaper than the last several years, using UR portal with 1.5x points boost is often better option than transferring the points directly to the airlines for economy flight. It's definitely nice to have both options.

I want to go to Turks as well and found some cheap direct flights on the days I want to go. What sites are you using to find lodging? Hotel options seem rather limited and prices seem high. Anyone who's been to Turks recommend a place to stay?

I stayed at The Alexandra and found it on VRBO. Paid $1400 for a week. The location was perfect and on Grace Bay as well. Anywhere on Grace Bay is nice. I walked like 3/4 mile every day pretty much to Coral Gardens to go snorkeling. But the walk along the beach is beautiful.

I strongly recommend renting a car. There are some very nice secluded beaches you can go to on the other side of the island near Chalk Sound, as well as some of the fun restaurants right on the beach such as Bugaloos and Da Conch Shack. Taylor Bay is one of the most incredible beaches I've ever seen and there were like 4 people on it when we went. It's in a neighborhood of huge villas too. The water is really shallow very far out. I'm talking like knee-waist high. It's just really nice and beautiful.

Also snorkeling right off the shore at Turtle Cove at Smith's Reef is a must do. I went there one morning and was the only person there and it took me a bit to find the reef in the water, even with the "map" if you can call it that, but holy shit, the sea life there was incredible.

T&C is incredible and I want to go back badly and was trying to organize a group trip and stay in a villa right on Sapodilla bay but I can't get enough people to go. That and Aruba are my favorite places I've been, other than Maui.

 

[Elganja]

I stayed at The Alexandra and found it on VRBO. Paid $1400 for a week. The location was perfect and on Grace Bay as well. Anywhere on Grace Bay is nice. I walked like 3/4 mile every day pretty much to Coral Gardens to go snorkeling. But the walk along the beach is beautiful.

I strongly recommend renting a car. There are some very nice secluded beaches you can go to on the other side of the island near Chalk Sound, as well as some of the fun restaurants right on the beach such as Bugaloos and Da Conch Shack. Taylor Bay is one of the most incredible beaches I've ever seen and there were like 4 people on it when we went. It's in a neighborhood of huge villas too. The water is really shallow very far out. I'm talking like knee-waist high. It's just really nice and beautiful.

Also snorkeling right off the shore at Turtle Cove at Smith's Reef is a must do. I went there one morning and was the only person there and it took me a bit to find the reef in the water, even with the "map" if you can call it that, but holy shit, the sea life there was incredible.

T&C is incredible and I want to go back badly and was trying to organize a group trip and stay in a villa right on Sapodilla bay but I can't get enough people to go. That and Aruba are my favorite places I've been, other than Maui.

next time you go, check out North Caicos (you need a boat to get to it)... when you take the boat out there, they should go by Parrot Cay (this is where all the celebrities have houses)... but north caicos has some stunning beaches that are very remote and some great snorkeling as well

i'll definitely have to add some of the places you mentioned to our next trip ... the chalk sound sounds pretty cool as well as smiths reef

and i second renting a car... we always do that as well when we go to any island, so we can explore

 

[purbeast0]

next time you go, check out North Caicos (you need a boat to get to it)... when you take the boat out there, they should go by Parrot Cay (this is where all the celebrities have houses)... but north caicos has some stunning beaches that are very remote and some great snorkeling as well

i'll definitely have to add some of the places you mentioned to our next trip ... the chalk sound sounds pretty cool as well as smiths reef

and i second renting a car... we always do that as well when we go to any island, so we can explore

We took a snorkel trip that took us to West Caicos to this big ass cliff underwater. It was pretty cool. It was one of the stops. But you are swimming in probably 40-50 feet deep water and you can see huge fish down on the bottom, but then you see this huge underwater cliff that drops off straight down into darkness. It's just this huge wall underwater that spans as far as you can see, just this huge underwater canyon type of thing. For some reason even though I was 50 or so feet above it, even just swimming out over it that high was wierd lol.

We also saw these huge construction projects that were like million dollar projects that became abandon and never finished. So you see huge house after house and mansion after mansion that is like 75% complete that was abandoned.

This isn't my video but this is what I'm referring to.

 

[Svnla]

I just look at Chase.com - https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/chase-sapphire-reserve?CELL=6TKX



and the offer is still there but if I was you, I would apply at the branch to be safe.

 

[Worthington]

I have 90k points on my Chase IHG Rewards card. I wonder if I can call and transfer the points to my Sapphire. Don't really need 2 cards from the same bank, and the SR card does almost everything my IHG card does except give me platinum elite status at IHG hotels and give me 2 free nights a year.

 

[Exterous]

I have 90k points on my Chase IHG Rewards card. I wonder if I can call and transfer the points to my Sapphire. Don't really need 2 cards from the same bank, and the SR card does almost everything my IHG card does except give me platinum elite status at IHG hotels and give me 2 free nights a year.

You won't be able to. Those 90k points are IHG points, not Chase UR points. You can go from UR -> IHG but not the other way around. The SR does offer quite a few more benefits like the $300 travel credit, Global entry credit, access to the Chase Luxury hotel program, better rental coverage (if the IHG card even offers that), delay\baggage coverage on trips booked with points and medical evacuation coverage, higher caps on delay\baggage reimbursement. The IHG card only offers 1 free night on anniversary and I don't believe there is a spending minimum threshold that would get a second

 

[Worthington]

Exactly... if I had to choose one I'd definitely be keeping the Sapphire. I just meant to say that the IHG was now superfluous since the CS covered almost everything and more. Bummer I can't transfer those points though.

 

[Exterous]

Exactly... if I had to choose one I'd definitely be keeping the Sapphire. I just meant to say that the IHG was now superfluous since the CS covered almost everything and more. Bummer I can't transfer those points though.

Ah - my mistake. I interpreted that as the other way around

 

[ElFenix]

chase really doesn't like the fact that i use a PO box for receiving important stuff like credit card statements. you have to use a street address for credit card apps, which then changes all my chase accounts. then i have to spend 2 weeks responding to fraud alerts because my address whipsaws back and forth.

 

[RossMAN]

My wife wants to apply online (I know, I know), it appears the 100k is still available online?

Edit: Well it was available this morning, seems to have officially changed to 50k. Either she'll change her mind or visit a local Chase branch. Hmmn.

 

[Svnla]

My wife wants to apply online (I know, I know), it appears the 100k is still available online?

Edit: Well it was available this morning, seems to have officially changed to 50k. Either she'll change her mind or visit a local Chase branch. Hmmn.

It was there before lunch this morning but it is gone now. She needs to do it in person from now on, 50K UR points is a lot to lose.

 

[RossMAN]

It was there before lunch this morning but it is gone now. She needs to do it in person from now on, 50K UR points is a lot to lose.

If she applies in person and is approved, her strategy will probably be:

$4,000 minimum spend with auto work, insurance premiums, taxes, etc.
$300 travel credit for 2017
$300 travel credit for 2018
Triple points on some hotel travel for her work, restaurants, etc.

Next year do a product change to CSP (no 50k bonus) but one CSR in the family is sufficient for our needs.

 

[Svnla]

If she applies in person and is approved, her strategy will probably be:

$4,000 minimum spend with auto work, insurance premiums, taxes, etc.
$300 travel credit for 2017
$300 travel credit for 2018
Triple points on some hotel travel for her work, restaurants, etc.

Next year do a product change to CSP (no 50k bonus) but one CSR in the family is sufficient for our needs.

That's a good plan. I think I need to get marry so I can have double dip good CC's such as this one.

Don't forget that she does not have too much time, 60 days or March 12 to apply in branch.

 

[RossMAN]

That's a good plan. I think I need to get marry so I can have double dip good CC's such as this one.

Don't forget that she does not have too much time, 60 days or March 12 to apply in branch.

Yeah, she's a little hung up on the $450 annual fee so I logged in to my Chase account to show how easy the $300 travel credit is.

 

[Kalvin00]

Well this is weird. The $300 travel credit posted to my account today and my account has only been open a few days.

I spent $350 on a hotel on the card 2 days ago, guess that's what qualified. I thought I wouldn't get it until next year..

 

[zinfamous]

Well this is weird. The $300 travel credit posted to my account today and my account has only been open a few days.

I spent $350 on a hotel on the card 2 days ago, guess that's what qualified. I thought I wouldn't get it until next year..

Awesome. I need to buy a plane ticket ASAP, and was hoping that I could get it as soon as the card arrives and it posts for the first month, because the $450 fee + monthly spend on that first month will see me sucking air.

...and even more incentive to downgrade my AMEX Gold Preferred to a Blue Cash, as I have been meaning to do for more than a year now. Talk about a useless $120 fee, and I do like AMEX.

 

[Aharami]

Awesome. I need to buy a plane ticket ASAP, and was hoping that I could get it as soon as the card arrives and it posts for the first month, because the $450 fee + monthly spend on that first month will see me sucking air.

...and even more incentive to downgrade my AMEX Gold Preferred to a Blue Cash, as I have been meaning to do for more than a year now. Talk about a useless $120 fee, and I do like AMEX.

are AMEX points not as valuable as Chase UR? I've had the AMEX SPG card for a while now. Racked up over 200K points on it. But ever since the Marriott merger, all the hotels are so expensive, that I find myself not using the points. Im going to downgrade the SPG card and use this as my main card from now on. I wonder if AMEX is losing out on a lot of business because of this card

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Anyone know if the $300 travel credit carries over from year to year? I.e., if I don't use the $300 this year will I have $600 next year?

 

[zinfamous]

are AMEX points not as valuable as Chase UR? I've had the AMEX SPG card for a while now. Racked up over 200K points on it. But ever since the Marriott merger, all the hotels are so expensive, that I find myself not using the points. Im going to downgrade the SPG card and use this as my main card from now on. I wonder if AMEX is losing out on a lot of business because of this card

Not sure, as I have barely used mine over the years. It is one of my oldest cards, which is why I keep it. I primarily used the points for Amazon cash, which is not all that efficient, but it is the only thing in their points catalogue that interests me. Prior to Amazon points, they just had these stupid junk product "As Seen on TV!" offers that would arrive periodically with the bill. That was ~2004 or so, and this was never meant to be a travel card IIRC, so they actually switched that gold card to preferred or premier or something and added travel-like points stuff.

I'm not a huge traveler anyway, so I can't comment on that with any tangible detail. $300 annual reimbursement alone on SR card is something that I can easily meet and makes it worthwhile for me. I cringe at the idea of annual fees, but there's just too much free money and incentives to pass up. If I keep it to one card with an annual fee, and it's a maximum of $150 in the end, I think I can live with myself.

 

[ponyo]

I've been to Turks & Caios once before... we stayed at the ClubMed which was a good location, decent food, and fairly priced. It's adult only, so no kids running around which was a plus. Their beach options were very good, however they had limited amount of Cabanas

This time we are forgoing the all inclusive, and staying at the Seven Stars Resort which isn't far from where the ClubMed was (but closer to the town). It's pretty pricey depending on what room you get, however we got a room with a full kitchen so we can do breakfast/lunch ourselves (with local ingredients) and eat out for dinners

Both the above mentioned resorts, are on Grace Bay which is a MUST imho ... it's rated the #1 beach for a reason

If you go, i highly recommend getting reservations for Coco Bistro ... they have some amazing food (a little on the high side for price however)... another tip, if you happen to be there on a Thursday there is a fish fry that is pretty awesome too

I searched Seven Stars Resort. Looks beautiful but oceanfront rooms are over $1k a night. Little too pricey for me. I can save some money by not staying on the beach with oceanfront room but then the wife wouldn't be too happy. It's always a struggle. First world problem I guess.