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VacationForever

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1. I booked my last flight to Kauai nonstop, through the portal on Hawaiian Air. Hawaiian is bookable through the portal.

2. You can transfer the points directly to Southwest, and that makes the value of the 100K more like $1,750, instead of the $1,500 through the portal.

3. The UR Portal is based on cash prices.

If I could even get a single seat on Hawaiian or Alaska with 40K points, it's hard to do, RT would be 80K points, which I have transferred from SPG in the past. My SPG gets the 2X on MF's. That is a $40K spend at 2X Starwood fees. I would love to be able to book two of those seats, but they don't allow for two award seats on flight, initially. I cannot wait for them to open another award seat to book, so I have to pay cash for one seat. Kind of annoying. With timeshares being weekends, I need to fly weekends to Maui. There is huge competition for those seats, especially during whale season.

The realization of the impossibility to get two seats from Denver to Maui with award miles made me rethink my plan. I started looking at First Class seats from the coast, finding the cheapest ones, then booking with the UR portal, way ahead of time, to get the low-cost seats. Then we fly Southwest to the coast, spend a night on the way there and on the way back, all with points. It's been working great. But honestly, I miss the Alaska companion code, which worked for First Class seats to/from Denver wonderfully. Now it's just economy, and I am so spoiled.

I agree with you that it is getting harder to get reasonable First Class award seats to Hawaii. I put in LAS - HNL and the portal did not provide me with any Hawaiian Airlines option.
 

YYJMSP

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I was confused about this too. But I have been paying my Vistana mortgage with SPG, and only get 2X, which all comes from the Amex SPG card. I think the 3X points only come when you have a hotel stay (and 5X, I don't understand at all). I haven't stayed at an SPG hotel since I got my card earlier this year. I usually stay at Hiltons. :D Though might be soon, since I'm getting all these points now. :D

When I look on my SPG account, I only see bonus points generated from the Amex card, so I doubt MF is more than 2X.

I think MFs are 2x.

If you're staying at a SPG hotel and you're paying for the room with your SPG AMEX card issued in the US (we Canadians get less points!), and you're SPG elite, you'll get 2x (AMEX card) + as much as 4x (2/$ standard plus 1/$ bonus for Gold/Platinum + 1/$ bonus for Platinum75+), so that adds up to as much as 6x.

That doesn't include all kinds of bonus points on top of that (SPG Gold/Platinum amenity of up to 500SPG points, Make-A-Green-Choice of up to 500SPG points per night, various promotions, etc). It's not unusual to actually get 15x+ depending on what's applicable.
 

farsighted99

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I think MFs are 2x.

If you're staying at a SPG hotel and you're paying for the room with your SPG AMEX card issued in the US (we Canadians get less points!), and you're SPG elite, you'll get 2x (AMEX card) + as much as 4x (2/$ standard plus 1/$ bonus for Gold/Platinum + 1/$ bonus for Platinum75+), so that adds up to as much as 6x.

That doesn't include all kinds of bonus points on top of that (SPG Gold/Platinum amenity of up to 500SPG points, Make-A-Green-Choice of up to 500SPG points per night, various promotions, etc). It's not unusual to actually get 15x+ depending on what's applicable.

I figured as much. I'm a gold (from my Amex Plat card, which gave it to me, though I also get it from Vistana for buying a timeshare)... maybe I'll start staying in SPG's hotels ... though it hard to give up those free breakfasts from the Hilton! Depends on where I'm going too. I did stay in an Aloft awhile ago in Dallas, but didn't have the SPG card at the time.

15X on some hotel stays sounds a bit crazy though.
 

YYJMSP

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15X on some hotel stays sounds a bit crazy though.



I routinely stay at a particular SPG2 Sheraton for work at about $100/nt. For a 3nt stay, that would currently generate on a $300 charge:



AMEX SPG card (assume a US-registered card) - $300 x2 = 600



SPG Plat75+ - $300 x4 = 1200



SPG Plat amenity - 500



Make A Green Choice - 2x 500 = 1000



Current SPG promotions

- 600 (double base points)

- 3x 5000/15 (5000 after staying 15nts charged to an AMEX) = 1000



That's a total of 4900 SPG points, or just over 16x



That's more than enough points to get a free room at that same hotel, so my return is basically 33%+ in this particular situation.
 

duke

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I understand the difference, but if I need/want to stay at a Marriott/Starwood hotel (which we do for NYC and NorCal)... is using MRs or SPs a better value than reserving using UR points?

I have plenty of both URs and SPs to use for the two of us - so deciding whether to pay remains VSE MFs with CSR or SW AMEX.
QUOTE]

David:

I have been going over the same question.

My decision is UR points because booking airfare from LAX to OGG or LIH non-stop is difficult using mileage. Not easy to get the flights I want. So, by having the UR points I am assured to be able to get the specific flight and ALSO earn mileage on that flight.

I agree with you that if used for hotels then SPG is better and same with Marriott conversion using "flights and nights" which we will do in January to get the Southwest companion pass.
 

BEV

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Other bank card that does similar duty

Anyone else recently sign up for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (with the $300 annual travel credit)?

I went ahead and prepaid $300 now with card and plan to pay remaining balance when due in 2017 (possibly end of Dec to post on Jan statement).

Based on credit per calendar year the "Travel Credit" should provide me $600 off my MF *CHEERS* :banana:

I have the BOA card Travel rewards= no annual fee...
But any major travel pymt that is made with it goes into a running list, and you have 1 yr to apply a substantial amt of it to the Stmt Credit in the future.

Of my T/S portfolio-- I think only ONE of them is allowing pymt via credit card anyways... so haven't tried it out on the Rewards (TRAVEL) card yet--did do a Cruise pymt to RCL tho... and was happy with my 'return'.
 

TrojanRickus

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I was able to prepay $300 now and planning on paying $300 on january statement. Also my global entry had to be renewed so not a bad deal.
 

DavidnRobin

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Better to spend 12000 SPs or 12000 URs for the same hotel room?
Or pay $170?

Asking in fuzzy math terms - if SP = 2 cents, then what is UR worth?

Are there taxes/fees associated with using URs at hotel (unlike SPs)?
 
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rickandcindy23

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David, UR points transfer to Marriott, Hyatt, IHG hotels. If you transfer points over to any of those hotel chains, there are no taxes on the hotel room with the points. There would be taxes on a hotel paid for by UR points directly through the portal, but those taxes would also be paid by UR points.

Have you been able to check the portal and see what's available?
 

DavidnRobin

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David, UR points transfer to Marriott, Hyatt, IHG hotels. If you transfer points over to any of those hotel chains, there are no taxes on the hotel room with the points. There would be taxes on a hotel paid for by UR points directly through the portal, but those taxes would also be paid by UR points.

Have you been able to check the portal and see what's available?

Interesting... thanks.

I need to look at this more closely. I did not know I could transfer UR to MR points - I see the transfer rate is 1:1

I transferred 12000 SP to 36000 MR (using 3:1 conversion) and then made a 35000 reservation (1 nite) at a Marriott Courtyard.

The cost of this hotel room is $170

Using the UR portal costs 12872 UR (worth $193 based on UR portal)

At a 1:1 transfer rate and cost of 35000 per nite - transferring UR to MR is not a good deal. It looks like the portal wins.

I would prefer not to use cash as I have both SP/MR and UR points.

I consider SP to be worth 2c/SP (my fuzzy math) - so is UR worth ~1.5c/UR?

It looks like I should cancel the SP/MR reservation and make a UR reservation. But use UR portal or transfer to MAR?
{answered my own question - use portal - unless I missed something}

Update - cancelled MR reservation (35K MR) and used UR portal to reserve same room for 12872 UR.

Transferring UR to MAR would cost 35K UR points - that is costly!
35K UR transferred to MR, or ~13K UR thru UR portal for same room - that is quite a difference!

btw - finally received my 'metal' CSR card
 
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rickandcindy23

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I booked a hotel in Oakland, near the airport, Hampton Inn and Suites. This is for our trip back to the mainland from Maui, 4/1-4/2. This is what it says:

Total trip cost: $177.43
Points redeemed: 11,828
Total points value: $177.43
Total paid: $0

Bonus! I was able to enter my Hilton Awards # into the reservation, so I will get the points. I like that part.
 

DavidnRobin

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I edited post above...
The transfer from UR to MR is not a good deal (35K MR for Courtyard - Santa Rosa). The UR portal is much less (12872 UR valued at $193.08 - incl tax) for same room that has cash price of $172 (incl tax).

Thanks for the help. UR Portal wins.
Now to transfer those 36K MR back to 12K SP...
 

rickandcindy23

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I love the UR portal, but for some reservations, transferring is still a good deal. I transferred 8,000 UR points to Hyatt in August and booked the Hyatt Santa Clara for one night. It would have cost me $351 + tax per night. Using the hotel points was better than using UR points. It's worth checking every option. You can save yourself a lot of money by taking a little time. It's my hobby, and I love it.
 

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Sort of tangental - when we checked in to Courtyard-Marriott (Santa Rosa, CA) last weekend, the Front Desk mentioned that our reservation appears as if it came via Expedia. The reservation did not have my Marriott number (Gold) associated with it, even though I had added it during the UR portal reservation. Next time, need to confirm with hotel that they have Marriott number (or for any Hotel system used). We did not get any Marriott Gold benefit (which I think was just a bottle of free water...)

Overall, the UR portal was by far the best deal as using hotel points (either Marriott or Starwood) is not a good value. Although, important to investigate all methods. We are planning a return in December - and same deal - best to use UR thru the portal (by far). Although, we will not be staying at the Courtyard not time. Another great aspect of UR postal is that it opens up dozens of hotels to stay at and not limited to just the franchise hotel.

Note: For those than stay at Courtyard-Marriott in Santa Rosa (CA) - request an odd number room - the even number rooms face the train tracks behind the hotel - and now with the SMART train about to begin - it is going to be busy with train horns as they is a train crossing nest to the hotel.
 

elleny76

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I went to chase portal and sow a nice 40k from JFK to Rome. I went away to consult my Dh and forgot about it then I came back next day and its double of points! Does this makes sense? I am so sad..I should have book right away. Is this normal ? how is your experience with this portal?
 

Sandy VDH

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The portal usually only reflects what is available from airline and hotel sites. They usually have the same prices, but not always. Check on the original airline site. check again with portal. If it is available with the airline still and not on the portal for some reason, it may be worth calling them. also remember southwest is available but only via phone calls and not via the portal.

I love that the when using the portal I get 1.5 X my point value with the CSR card. I also love that I earn points with that purchase. It often can be cheaper, but as other have posted spend a few minutes to investigate your options and be prepared to pull the trigger.
 

VacationForever

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My experience with the portal does not match what many of you reported. Airfare is listed at least 50% too 100% higher in a few random checks. An example is that I looked at Hawaiian Airlines from LAS to HNL. Through Hawaiian Airlines it is about $1809 (first class) but through the portal for the same flights it was $3744. Also, if you look at points it costs 249K UR points vs. 160K Hawaiian Airlines points. I am so not a fan of the UR portal, jack up rates based on my experience.
 

Sandy VDH

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As stated previously, first class is almost always a better deal as straight up airline reward points, especially if you can get them as saver miles and not regular miles, I have never seen an exception to that except perhaps on a fare error or a crazy discount. This is my nearly exclusive use of my frequent flyer miles, long haul biz class (Maldives, French Poly, Seychelles, Australia, Greece, England), usually trans Atlantic or Pacific. I have used first to HI or to the Caribbean as well on occasion. I have shorter flight in 2 weeks on AA, one way was 25K, which is good value for an $800 fare IMHO I have used 150K for biz to Australia, 120K Biz to Seychelles, ( I forget what other were), but frequent flyer miles are the way to go for biz or first.

I personally have never looked up first class fare on the portal, but I have plenty of experience with AA and UA economy on the portal. Every time about 30 or 40 times to date, with 1 exception, the portal was exactly the same price as the airline website. Using the 1.5 multiplier on points also brings down the point use. I do compare options and take the lowest currency.

I have also checked using BA's Avios points for AA flights Domestically. Often they will come up as less points than AA directly for a reward, but again compare against paying using the 1.5X multiplier in the UR Portal. You can book online in BA, but flights must be milesaver to appear in BA rewards booking. In the UR portal you can transfer points 1:1 to BA, so another option Domestically, but not worth the points for first, only economy seems to be the sweet spot. BA is just another option for Domestic flights on AA using UR.
 

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As stated previously, first class is almost always a better deal as straight up airline reward points, especially if you can get them as saver miles and not regular miles, I have never seen an exception to that except perhaps on a fare error or a crazy discount. This is my nearly exclusive use of my frequent flyer miles, long haul biz class (Maldives, French Poly, Seychelles, Australia, Greece, England), usually trans Atlantic or Pacific. I have used first to HI or to the Caribbean as well on occasion. I have shorter flight in 2 weeks on AA, one way was 25K, which is good value for an $800 fare IMHO I have used 150K for biz to Australia, 120K Biz to Seychelles, ( I forget what other were), but frequent flyer miles are the way to go for biz or first.

I personally have never looked up first class fare on the portal, but I have plenty of experience with AA and UA economy on the portal. Every time about 30 or 40 times to date, with 1 exception, the portal was exactly the same price as the airline website. Using the 1.5 multiplier on points also brings down the point use. I do compare options and take the lowest currency.

I have also checked using BA's Avios points for AA flights Domestically. Often they will come up as less points than AA directly for a reward, but again compare against paying using the 1.5X multiplier in the UR Portal. You can book online in BA, but flights must be milesaver to appear in BA rewards booking. In the UR portal you can transfer points 1:1 to BA, so another option Domestically, but not worth the points for first, only economy seems to be the sweet spot. BA is just another option for Domestic flights on AA using UR.

_____________________________________________
Sandy, it was the best price overall , not even on the direct airlines website got that price . I had several airlines at that moment from where to choose 40k R/T and boom it went away in 1 day (sad!) Now all is double/triple points and checking the airlines they are even more expensive. I have $1600 or 109k points. How do I use the money instead of the points? I have seen in the guru pages some good deals. Can I buy there with my chase CC and then credit it as $1600? not sure how this cc works with money and points. Thanks
 

Sandy VDH

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_Can I buy there with my chase CC and then credit it as $1600? not sure how this cc works with money and points. Thanks

In order to use the UR points you MUST book travel on the portal. Only way to do it.
 

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The 100k UR sign up bonus ends Jan 11th. Will change to 50k UR bonus. Anyone waiting to get the card should apply soon. Chase said card was extremely popular and they took a big write off last quarter for all the sign up bonuses. Doubt they will offer the 100k UR bonus points anytime in the near future.
 

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Does anybody know if RCI exchange fees and/or membership fees qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit?
 

Talent312

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Does anybody know if RCI exchange fees and/or membership fees qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit?

My RCI exchange fee was classified as travel.

.
 

am1

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135k points added to my account today. Not bad for a first month. Now waiting for the 2017 $300 statement credit to post.
 
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