# Bonvoy:  now live, adding points to free night certs



## mdurette (Apr 30, 2022)

This new feature is now live and the reservation process is easy.

I have 2 35K cert.   I looked at 3 night stay in a room that cost 50K per night.
The system attached my 2 certs, added 15K for each upgrade and the 50K for the 3rd night.

3 nights at a cost of 2 certs and 80K bonvoy points.


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## ann824 (Apr 30, 2022)

There is a glitch that I discovered last night. I had a 40k and a 50k certificate that I wanted to use for a 50k and 58k redemption. Instead of adding 10k to the 40k for the 50k and 8k to the 50k for the 58k it used the 50k for the 50k redemption and would not give me the option to use the 40k certificate.  I had to make separate reservations to make it work. You can edit your existing reservations.


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## DanCali (Apr 30, 2022)

Was also just able to use it for an upcoming 3-night stay. Used 25K, 35K and 40K certificates (latter expiring in June).

The one thing that still seems to be a "problem" is that the system preference is to go by expiration dates. For example, I also happen to have a second 35K certificate that expires after the 40K certificate used here, and I may have potentially preferred to use that one (not in this case though, because the 40K expires in June). This problem can be solved by making a "dummy" reservation to temporarily use up the 40K, then book the reservation you want with the two 35K certs, and then cancel the dummy reservation to retrieve the 40K cert back (tip I got from a phone agent). But would be nice if they just let you pick the certificates you want to use - would have solved the @ann824 's issue too.

But I like the new top-off feature. Much easier to use the lowly 25K certificates this way!


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## VacationForever (Apr 30, 2022)

Has anyone tried to replace points that had been attached to a reservation with the new hotel cert + top up points?  I don't find a way to do it.


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## iowaguy09 (Apr 30, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> Has anyone tried to replace points that had been attached to a reservation with the new hotel cert + top up points?  I don't find a way to do it.


I know I have used “Modify” when I look at the “Reservation Details” to add or delete a certificate for a night, so maybe try it that way?


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## VacationForever (Apr 30, 2022)

There is not a way to delete a certficate in the current Marriott.com system. 

I can't rebook the nights because they have gone up from 43K-45K per night to 60K a night. I am on the phone with an agent now and she said the moment she hit modify, the points in the reservation went up to 60K per night.  This is crap.


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## TravelTime (Apr 30, 2022)

mdurette said:


> This new feature is now live and the reservation process is easy.
> 
> I have 2 35K cert.   I looked at 3 night stay in a room that cost 50K per night.
> The system attached my 2 certs, added 15K for each upgrade and the 50K for the 3rd night.
> ...



Thank you so much for letting us know about this new feature. With the way it worked before, I never used the certificates because the hotels I wanted to stay in almost always exceeded the number of points on my certificates.

The system might be funky. For one Ritz Carlton reservation, it seems to have applied only one of my certificates and I have two that add up to 75,000 points. For another Ritz Carlton, it would not apply my certificates at all. 

Okay, just tried again. I changed the dates on one of the Ritz Carltons, and then it applied both certificates. So now I am getting 3 free nights at the Ritz Carlton. I am splitting the stay with 5 nights at one using points (1 night free bc I booked 5 nights) and 2 nights at the other using the 2 certificates plus 19K points. They are close to each other so not a big deal to move.

We could have stayed at one of the Ritz Carlton for the entire week but one is on the beach and the other isn’t so we decided to split the stay. I am so excited because until you told me about this feature, I had booked 2 nights at the Courtyard as two 1 night reservations. Each night was only 19,000 points so I would have lost many of the points on the certificate. I had chosen Courtyard only because in one of the towns we are going, there are only 2 hotels in the entire town. In the other town, the only hotel is the Ritz Carlton.

For a JW Marriott and the W, it applied both certificates for a total of 74,000 points and then it charged me a few extra points but not sure what it was for since the point cost was less than the 2 certificates combined.


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## VacationForever (Apr 30, 2022)

Just got off the phone.  The agent said there was not a way to keep the same point requirement for my existing reservation.  It cost me 133K then, now it is 180K for the three nights.  With 60K per night, it exceeds 15K per add-on as I have 2 35K and 1 40K certificates.  Crap. Foul. Whatever I feel like calling it now. 

My husband's account is similar to mine and we are booking 3 nights under each of our account for next month when our friend comes to visit and we are headed to Utah.  So we can't do it on his account either.


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## MICROZE (Apr 30, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> Just got off the phone.  The agent said there was not a way to keep the same point requirement for my existing reservation.  It cost me 133K then, now it is 180K for the three nights.  With 60K per night, it exceeds 15K per add-on as I have 2 35K and 1 40K certificates.  Crap. Foul. Whatever I feel like calling it now.
> 
> My husband's account is similar to mine and we are booking 3 nights under each of our account for next month when our friend comes to visit and we are headed to Utah.  So we can't do it on his account either.


This is the way it has worked in the past.
If you "Modify" a reservation, you may have to give up more Points [based on the current Points/Night] to pay for the difference.
However, it works both ways. If the Points/Night goes down, your account will be credited with the difference.

Prior to MAR-31, I made a flood of reservations for the next 12 months [even if we have less than 25% probability of traveling] and noticed the following:

For most of the high-end [previously CAT-8] reservations [Ritz, Al Maha, St. Regis Maldives] Points/Night have gone up by +25-50%
For about 1/3 of our reservations [JW, St. Regis] it has gone down slightly [by ~2K, 5K, 10K/Night]
For these I clicked "Modify" and received a credit instantly


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## frank808 (Apr 30, 2022)

I was able to do this with a bunch of certificates last night. Was messing around with the system and noticed, all of a sudden, that system added points to a reservation. I think this happened at 12am EST. Prior to this it would not. I was actually googling the expected date that topping off was going live.

Happy camper as I was able to use up 9 FNA. This freed up my Hilton FNA to use for nicer properties. Win win in my eyes. I just wish there was no limit to the number of bonvoy points that you could add. This would make the FNA extremely usable. 

Sent from my SM-T290 using Tapatalk


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## TravelTime (Apr 30, 2022)

So I get one free 40K certificate with my Bonvoy card. I had a bunch of 35K certificates but not sure how I got those. How are certificates awarded?


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## DanCali (Apr 30, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> So I get one free 40K certificate with my Bonvoy card. I had a bunch of 35K certificates but not sure how I got those. How are certificates awarded?



I have 3 cards. They give 25k, ,35k, and 50k certificates. 

The 40k I believe comes from the 75-night choice awards. I don’t know if any cards offer a 40k certificate. 

Some certificates from 2020 and 2021 were extended due to Covid and expire June 30 this year. 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## VacationForever (Apr 30, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> So I get one free 40K certificate with my Bonvoy card. I had a bunch of 35K certificates but not sure how I got those. How are certificates awarded?


Credit cards for 35K.  75 nights stay gives you option to elect 40K night certficate.

Amex Bonvoy Brilliant gives 50K night.


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## Fallenone (Apr 30, 2022)

Rebooked one that was 60k before dynamic, and now 57k. Used a 50k cert and 7k point, got the 60k points back.


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## Sandy VDH (Apr 30, 2022)

I saw that 2 days ago when I went to book one of my remaining 35K free certs that are expiring.  

I am down to 1 cert left that expires 6/30.   I will get a new one if I keep that card but I think I am going cancel and get a new card with chase instead.  I am lifetime with Marriott and just don't travel as much as I used to.  I also don't own a Marriott TS so nothing coming over from that side.  I would likely prefer to keep my AMEX Hilton Aspire card, and perhaps pick up a Chase United card instead.


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## TravelTime (Apr 30, 2022)

DanCali said:


> I have 3 cards. They give 25k, ,35k, and 50k certificates.
> 
> The 40k I believe comes from the 75-night choice awards. I don’t know if any cards offer a 40k certificate.
> 
> ...



That must be why I had 3 certificates for 35K each expiring June 30 which I did not realize I could use or I would have planned something using them. I am giving them to another Tugger to use.


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## TravelTime (Apr 30, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> Credit cards for 35K.  75 nights stay gives you option to elect 40K night certficate.
> 
> Amex Bonvoy Brilliant gives 50K night.



I am looking for a new card. I was thinking of getting a new personal United card for miles. I have been using my American Airlines card mostly right now but there are fewer places to fly from CA using American. Now I am thinking of using my Bonvoy card more. I now can’t decide which new card to get! 

Since you seem to be knowledge about getting the most benefits, which cards would you recommend? What would be the reasons or benefits for having the cards you recommend?

I have family in Florida so I am able to use my AA card to go there. I think United would be better but I need to decide on one card to consolidate spending.


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## ljmiii (Apr 30, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I am looking for a new card...I need to decide on one card to consolidate spending


If you want only one card I would recommend the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Points are valuable, 3x points for dining and travel, and points can be transferred elsewhere. Expensive, but you get various credits that knock it down to little, no, or negative cost. There is a lesser Chase Sapphire at a lower per year cost, with only 2x points, and no (or fewer?) credits.

That said, I'd suggest you keep your Bonvoy card for Marriott MFs and hotel expenses.


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## TravelTime (Apr 30, 2022)

ljmiii said:


> If you want only one card I would recommend the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Points are valuable, 3x points for dining and travel, and points can be transferred elsewhere. Expensive, but you get various credits that knock it down to little, no, or negative cost. There is a lesser Chase Sapphire at a lower per year cost, with only 2x points, and no (or fewer?) credits.
> 
> That said, I'd suggest you keep your Bonvoy card for Marriott MFs and hotel expenses.



Thank you. I will look into this card.


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## Sandy VDH (Apr 30, 2022)

ljmiii said:


> If you want only one card I would recommend the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Points are valuable, 3x points for dining and travel, and points can be transferred elsewhere.



CSR is already my primary spend card.  I love that card.


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## jeff76543 (Apr 30, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> There is not a way to delete a certficate in the current Marriott.com system.
> 
> I can't rebook the nights because they have gone up from 43K-45K per night to 60K a night. I am on the phone with an agent now and she said the moment she hit modify, the points in the reservation went up to 60K per night.  This is crap.


I had a similar problem. I wanted to make a change to a reservation for a room type that is now sold out - so there was a chance that it could not be rebooked and the system wouldn't let me or the Marriott agent make the change to the original reservation. The agent said that there is a special team that handles the "back end" of the system and that they can make those kind of changes without canceling the reservation. He kept me on hold for about 5 minutes and then told me the change had been made. The original point values were retained.


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## tberman (Apr 30, 2022)

mdurette said:


> This new feature is now live and the reservation process is easy.
> 
> I have 2 35K cert.   I looked at 3 night stay in a room that cost 50K per night.
> The system attached my 2 certs, added 15K for each upgrade and the 50K for the 3rd night.
> ...


How do you get certificates?


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## DanCali (Apr 30, 2022)

tberman said:


> How do you get certificates?




The Bonvoy credit cards through chase and Amex give you a free night certificate every year on your anniversary. With the basic cards it's a 35K point certificate and with the Amex Brilliant card it's a 50K point certificate. Some older ones that are no longer offered had a 25K certificate.

You can also get a 40K certificate as a "choice award" if you get to 75 nights in a calendar year.


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## MOXJO7282 (Apr 30, 2022)

I was told this was coming and so pleased that it has because it just saved me $1200 by allowing me to add points to 2 50k certs to use for a Maui trip in July. I was forced to buy cash units because I didn't have the right certs so this is perfect timing for us.


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## VacationForever (Apr 30, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I am looking for a new card. I was thinking of getting a new personal United card for miles. I have been using my American Airlines card mostly right now but there are fewer places to fly from CA using American. Now I am thinking of using my Bonvoy card more. I now can’t decide which new card to get!
> 
> Since you seem to be knowledge about getting the most benefits, which cards would you recommend? What would be the reasons or benefits for having the cards you recommend?
> 
> I have family in Florida so I am able to use my AA card to go there. I think United would be better but I need to decide on one card to consolidate spending.


If not for my friend visiting next month and my sis and bro-in-law visiting in September, I would have had a hard time in using the free nights.  We have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card for the longest time but then they wanted to increase the fees from $450 to $525 (I think), I cancelled it.  Now I use a BOA cash back card - 3.5 cents for travel and dining and 2.6 cents for other spending.  But this cash back card is going to be reduced because we pulled our money out of BOA.  I am back to finding a replacement card and I don't know yet...


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## WBP (Apr 30, 2022)

mdurette said:


> This new feature is now live and the reservation process is easy.
> 
> I have 2 35K cert.   I looked at 3 night stay in a room that cost 50K per night.
> The system attached my 2 certs, added 15K for each upgrade and the 50K for the 3rd night.
> ...



You've been Bon-voyed (by greedy Marriott).

Don't think for a second that Marriott is doing you a favor. In my opinion, Marriott has destroyed SPG, the preeminent hotel, brand loyalty program, and destroyed the far less than preeminent, Marriott Rewards.


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## TheTimeTraveler (Apr 30, 2022)

I agree.  It's Marriott's way of dealing with inflation........



.


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## VacationForever (Apr 30, 2022)

I ranted to my husband about not being able to use our 6 certificates for our upcoming stay(s) because they have now jacked up the point redemption per night to 60K per night.  In the end, we decided to book at another Marriott hotel that accepts our certificates without even needing to add points.


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## frank808 (Apr 30, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I am looking for a new card. I was thinking of getting a new personal United card for miles. I have been using my American Airlines card mostly right now but there are fewer places to fly from CA using American. Now I am thinking of using my Bonvoy card more. I now can’t decide which new card to get!
> 
> Since you seem to be knowledge about getting the most benefits, which cards would you recommend? What would be the reasons or benefits for having the cards you recommend?
> 
> I have family in Florida so I am able to use my AA card to go there. I think United would be better but I need to decide on one card to consolidate spending.


I have the United Club card for lounge access. Flying minimum 5 times a year is worth the $450 AF(next renewal it is $525). Earn 4x miles on United purchases. But only 1x miles for everyday spend (old United club was 1.5x miles for everyday spend). Also with card, primary rental car coverage is included (you can get the United Explorer card at $95 AF and get the same rental car coverage). Had to use this coverage twice. Car got broken into in San Fran and another time rental company claimed I had hail damage.

Ritz Carlton Chase for maintenance fee spend and the priority pass membership for our family. Use this for MF and get reimbursed $300 of the $450 AF. So in essence this card is $130 annually for a 50K FNA certificate. Global entry reimbursed every 4 years is worth $20. 

Hilton Aspire (actually we have 4 of these). For the $450 AF we get $250 for paying our HGVC MF and $250 for our United ancillary purchases. So in essence we get paid $50 per card for having this. Plus get a Hilton FNA weekend certificate good at any property for standard room (use this at Grand Wailea spring break saves me at least $700 a night for a nice long weekend trip on Friday, Saturday and Sunday). For last year and this yearn FNA could be used for any day of the week. There is also free priority pass but the Amex is inferior to Chase version. Forgot you also get top tier Hilton Diamond with Aspire card.

There are other cards but these are the main travel and timeshare ones. If you want more information PM me and I'll answer your questions.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


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## frank808 (Apr 30, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> I ranted to my husband about not being able to use our 6 certificates for our upcoming stay(s) because they have now jacked up the point redemption per night to 60K per night. In the end, we decided to book at another Marriott hotel that accepts our certificates without even needing to add points.


Took me a few hours yesterday to plan our stays using certificates up. Now we are able to use our certificates and stay 16 nights for free. These areas have no TS close by or just 4 night stays or less.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


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## TravelTime (Apr 30, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> If not for my friend visiting next month and my sis and bro-in-law visiting in September, I would have had a hard time in using the free nights.  We have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card for the longest time but then they wanted to increase the fees from $450 to $525 (I think), I cancelled it.  Now I use a BOA cash back card - 3.5 cents for travel and dining and 2.6 cents for other spending.  But this cash back card is going to be reduced because we pulled our money out of BOA.  I am back to finding a replacement card and I don't know yet...



I just looked at Chase Sapphire Reserve and not sure I would use the benefits and it is very expensive.


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## VacationForever (Apr 30, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I just looked at Chase Sapphire Reserve and not sure I would use the benefits and it is very expensive.


You get back $300 for travel charges.  The biggest advantage is the Ultimate rewards, 1 cent becomes 1.5 cents when used for travel like air tickets and hotels.  Airport lounge is free but we normally get lounge access anyway because we only fly first or business class.

The included travel insurance had been very useful for us.  We got reimbursed about $14K for a cruise which we cancelled 5 days before we were going to get on.


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## Born2Travel (May 1, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> That must be why I had 3 certificates for 35K each expiring June 30 which I did not realize I could use or I would have planned something using them. I am giving them to another Tugger to use.



Wait,  how can you give free night certificates to someone else?  I  thought that they are non-transferable.


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## GetawaysRus (May 1, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I just looked at Chase Sapphire Reserve and not sure I would use the benefits and it is very expensive.


Yes, the annual fee is high. But if you have several other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points, are able to take advantage of the bonus categories of each card, and transfer all points earned to the CSR, then it does become more beneficial.


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## mdurette (May 1, 2022)

I couple quick notes for Chase Reserve (which I also hold and love)
1.  Today, the better option for a new card is the Preferred.   Just about the same benefits, but with a $95 annual fee and an 80K sign up bonus.
2.  The reserve is NOT the best card for all your daily spending as it only earns 1pt per $1 on a lot.   The best way to maximize Ultimate Rewards points is using their freedom products and then transfer the points to the reserve.    I too made the mistake for years of only charging on my reserve.  Now that I have corrected that with 2 Freedom cards the points earning are much more.   Freedom unlimted gives you 1.5x (3x on restaurant and pharmacy) and they have SUB now of 5x gas for 6 months.  (my offer was 5x groceries for a year).   The flex has 5x quarterly categories.     So, at best I am earning 5x on most purchase and the worse is 1.5x.


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## ljmiii (May 1, 2022)

mdurette said:


> 2.  The reserve is NOT the best card for all your daily spending as it only earns 1pt per $1 on a lot...


While I agree with what you wrote, @TravelTime expressed a desire to have just have/use one credit card. I have many CCs and use each for different things...someone looking to simplify might be best off with one of the no fee, 2% cash back cards out there (which I use as a default unless I'm pursuing United 1K status that year).


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## TravelTime (May 1, 2022)

Born2Travel said:


> Wait,  how can you give free night certificates to someone else?  I  thought that they are non-transferable.



I do not know. Marriott said no. Then I called the hotel and they made a note on the reservation of the guest’s name. Hopefully, she can check in without any problems. Now that I know I can use the certificates combined for higher end hotels, I suspect I will find a way to use them.


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## TravelTime (May 1, 2022)

The last card I applied for recently is the Amazon credit card. I have no idea if this was a good decision on my part. It earns 5% cash back toward future Amazon purchases. I buy a lot of Amazon so a 5% rebate seemed a lot better than cards that give 2% cash back. Does anyone else use the Amazon card?


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## 1Kflyerguy (May 1, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> The last card I applied for recently is the Amazon credit card. I have no idea if this was a good decision on my part. It earns 5% cash back toward future Amazon purchases. I buy a lot of Amazon so a 5% rebate seemed a lot better than cards that give 2% cash back. Does anyone else use the Amazon card?



I don't have the Amazon card, but have been considering getting it.  I have read good things about it, specifically for the cash back on Amazon and Whole Food purchases.  The 5% back is a solid rebate.

Currently my main spending card is the Chase Freedom Unlimited, and I combine the points with my CSR card like mdurrett mentioned above.  I have a bunch of other cards tied to hotels and United,  Kind of trying to decide how complicated I want to make or keep things...


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## ljmiii (May 1, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> The last card I applied for recently is the Amazon credit card...Does anyone else use the Amazon card?


Yup. And Target's card. 5% back is unbeatable even if you only use it at that store.


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## elaine (May 1, 2022)

I feel I get my $95 value from the 35k cert. now being able to add out to 15k to it will make it even more useful. I use mainly for Marriott spending and when there are bonus deals. Otherwise we dump spending on mileage cards. With free redeposit of miles for Canx tickets, it makes booking prospective trips much more appealing.


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## TravelTime (May 1, 2022)

So if I were choosing between consolidating my spending on the Bonvoy card vs a mileage card, what would be better?

I was leaning toward moving back to Bonvoy but now I am thinking of sticking with mileage cards since I do not stay in hotels too often. But I always fly every year for sure.

The other cards that let you use points across all travel types sound interesting. However, I used to have an AMEX card like this and I ended up just using the cash back feature because it was simpler. I ended up canceling the card because annual fee was too high.


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## mdurette (May 1, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> So if I were choosing between consolidating my spending on the Bonvoy card vs a mileage card, what would be better?
> 
> I was leaning toward moving back to Bonvoy but now I am thinking of sticking with mileage cards since I do not stay in hotels too often. But I always fly every year for sure.
> 
> The other cards that let you use points across all travel types sound interesting. However, I used to have an AMEX card like this and I ended up just using the cash back feature because it was simpler. I ended up canceling the card because annual fee was too high.



I like the Chase saphirre product line because it offers flexibility because you can transfer points at a 1 to 1 ratio to many different airline and hotel partners.   I accumulate there and then transfer to Soutwest, Hyatt, Marriott, etc as needed.


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## Dean (May 1, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I just looked at Chase Sapphire Reserve and not sure I would use the benefits and it is very expensive.


The CSR is my main card and basically the only one I actually use.  My wife has the Bonvoy card and I have an add on card with it.  Given the changes and benefits of the CSR, I used CSR this past year to even pay my Marriott Maintenance fees instead of the Marriott card.  The points received are generous, the $300 travel credit is easy, credit for Global Entry every 4 years and it gives 150% return on points for travel.  They also have specials at times where you can get 150% back on cash to pay back on the card and for Apple purchases done through the site among others.  It has probably the best travel insurance of any card and is also likely the best for car rental in that the insurance is primary instead of secondary.  We've also enjoyed the Priority pass benefit.


TravelTime said:


> I do not know. Marriott said no. Then I called the hotel and they made a note on the reservation of the guest’s name. Hopefully, she can check in without any problems. Now that I know I can use the certificates combined for higher end hotels, I suspect I will find a way to use them.


Technically they are not transferable but I too have had the ability to make arrangement for others to check in.  Since I'm gifting them when I do, I can't feel bad about doing so.  But I do realize they could say no and I'd accept that as well.


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## cubigbird (May 1, 2022)

WBP said:


> You've been Bon-voyed (by greedy Marriott).
> 
> Don't think for a second that Marriott is doing you a favor. In my opinion, Marriott has destroyed SPG, the preeminent hotel, brand loyalty program, and destroyed the far less than preeminent, Marriott Rewards.


 ^^^THIS.  We are only at this point because of Marriott devaluations and no changes to the FNAs to keep up.  Given most 35K FNAs are now largely useless, if this “benefit” didn’t exist most people would probably cancel their credit cards.


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## TravelTime (May 1, 2022)

Dean said:


> The CSR is my main card and basically the only one I actually use.  My wife has the Bonvoy card and I have an add on card with it.  Given the changes and benefits of the CSR, I used CSR this past year to even pay my Marriott Maintenance fees instead of the Marriott card.  The points received are generous, the $300 travel credit is easy, credit for Global Entry every 4 years and it gives 150% return on points for travel.  They also have specials at times where you can get 150% back on cash to pay back on the card and for Apple purchases done through the site among others.  It has probably the best travel insurance of any card and is also likely the best for car rental in that the insurance is primary instead of secondary.  We've also enjoyed the Priority pass benefit.
> Technically they are not transferable but I too have had the ability to make arrangement for others to check in.  Since I'm gifting them when I do, I can't feel bad about doing so.  But I do realize they could say no and I'd accept that as well.



As usual, with your great knowledge, I am getting lured into the CSR card. A couple questions about it:
1) Does it give you a $300 credit on any kind of travel charges including MFs. Do you need to do anything to get the credit or does the system know it’s a travel charge?
2) Same question about the Global entry fee. Does the system automatically know it is Global entry and credit it?
3) Do you get a free night anywhere?
4) What is the priority pass benefit?
5) So after all these features, what does the annual fee on the CSR end up being?
6) What do you think of Reserved vs Preferred cards?

Thank you!


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## Dean (May 1, 2022)

I have gotten the $300 credit


TravelTime said:


> As usual, with your great knowledge, I am getting lured into the CSR card. A couple questions about it:
> 1) Does it give you a $300 credit on any kind of travel charges including MFs. Do you need to do anything to get the credit or does the system know it’s a travel charge?
> 2) Same question about the Global entry fee. Does the system automatically know it is Global entry and credit it?
> 3) Do you get a free night anywhere?
> ...


MVC dues, as well as Wyndham and Bluegreen all code as travel so they would qualify for the credit.  With the traveling you do, you should reach the $300 limit in just a month or 2.  For GE I can't say for certain but given the way they handle other issues, I would assume it would credit automatically.  No free nights on the CSR per se but you can use the points for any travel at 1.5X if done directly.   Sometimes they are actually cheaper than I could reserve it in other ways through Chase, sometimes it's the same.  Priority pass is an airport lounge benefit.  It's better for larger international airports but we've used it quite a bit, esp for Aruba and Miami.  In Miam it gives you a spend limit at Corona Beach house, thinking it's $30 though it varies with the restaurant.  We've eaten there 4 or 5 times using this benefit and the food was great (not even accounting for airport food) all of the times and the people were very nice and helpful.  It even covers tip though I did. leave a little extra.  The MVC AE card also includes PP but they removed the restaurant credit from the benefit a few years ago which to me was the best part.  You can go to their website for PP and look through the lounges without being a member.  It's not uncommon that they'll add lounge's but sometimes also delete them so always check at minute to be sure.  For this situation I don't think the lower card offers much to me.  All things considered, the card ends up being on the green side of the ledger for me and I would assume, for you if you use it regularly. 

So the easy part is to consider the up front cost of $550 then to value the perks at $300 plus $20 (Global Entry) plus Priority pass which is variable depending on how you'd use it.  For me that makes it free and all the other stuff is just gravy.  The things most important to me beyond that valuation are the fact it's primary for a rental car and the Travel insurance components.  Amex charges extra in many situation but can be a good option also.  I bought an Apple Watch (highest priced one available) for Xmas, the one I was going to buy anyway, and got 1.5¢ per point on a special.  I just use points to reimburse some charges at also 1.¢ PP this AM to the tune of around $1100.  Additional cards o cost extra ($75 per) but get the Global Entry/TSA Pre check credit and get a separate PP membership as well as all the perks of the primary cardholder though you can't double up on the $300 travel credit.  We do not have a second card at the present time since Kim doesn't travel without me very often.


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## Dean (May 1, 2022)

I may have misspoke slightly above.  There is not an additional reimbursement for Global Entry/TSA Recheck for the additional user(s).


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## BigDawgTUG (May 1, 2022)

Dean said:


> Technically they are not transferable but I too have had the ability to make arrangement for others to check in.  Since I'm gifting them when I do, I can't feel bad about doing so.  But I do realize they could say no and I'd accept that as well.


I have had the same experience.  If you call Marriott.com, they will NOT transfer the FNA or permit you to book it in the guest's name.  Like you, the work-around for me has been to book the FNA using the holder's account, and then some time afterwards have the holder of the FNA call the front desk of the hotel at which the reservation was made and let them know that he or she may not be able to travel that date and add a guest's name to the reservation to make sure the guest can check in with or without the holder of the FNA.  This has worked for me 100% of the time.


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## TravelTime (May 1, 2022)

Dean said:


> I have gotten the $300 credit
> 
> MVC dues, as well as Wyndham and Bluegreen all code as travel so they would qualify for the credit.  With the traveling you do, you should reach the $300 limit in just a month or 2.  For GE I can't say for certain but given the way they handle other issues, I would assume it would credit automatically.  No free nights on the CSR per se but you can use the points for any travel at 1.5X if done directly.   Sometimes they are actually cheaper than I could reserve it in other ways through Chase, sometimes it's the same.  Priority pass is an airport lounge benefit.  It's better for larger international airports but we've used it quite a bit, esp for Aruba and Miami.  In Miam it gives you a spend limit at Corona Beach house, thinking it's $30 though it varies with the restaurant.  We've eaten there 4 or 5 times using this benefit and the food was great (not even accounting for airport food) all of the times and the people were very nice and helpful.  It even covers tip though I did. leave a little extra.  The MVC AE card also includes PP but they removed the restaurant credit from the benefit a few years ago which to me was the best part.  You can go to their website for PP and look through the lounges without being a member.  It's not uncommon that they'll add lounge's but sometimes also delete them so always check at minute to be sure.  For this situation I don't think the lower card offers much to me.  All things considered, the card ends up being on the green side of the ledger for me and I would assume, for you if you use it regularly.
> 
> So the easy part is to consider the up front cost of $550 then to value the perks at $300 plus $20 (Global Entry) plus Priority pass which is variable depending on how you'd use it.  For me that makes it free and all the other stuff is just gravy.  The things most important to me beyond that valuation are the fact it's primary for a rental car and the Travel insurance components.  Amex charges extra in many situation but can be a good option also.  I bought an Apple Watch (highest priced one available) for Xmas, the one I was going to buy anyway, and got 1.5¢ per point on a special.  I just use points to reimburse some charges at also 1.¢ PP this AM to the tune of around $1100.  Additional cards o cost extra ($75 per) but get the Global Entry/TSA Pre check credit and get a separate PP membership as well as all the perks of the primary cardholder though you can't double up on the $300 travel credit.  We do not have a second card at the present time since Kim doesn't travel without me very often.



I see how you value the card based on annual benefits of $300 travel credit, $20 TSA/GE credit and $299 to $429 PP benefit based on your usage. Then everything else is gravy, like you said. The $320 travel credit and $20 TSA/GE credit are benefits to me but not sure PP benefit will have a lot of benefit for me since we live near Sacramento and they are not included and many of our layovers are not long enough. But I guess if we use PP once a year, I could value it at the lowest amount of $99 membership fee + $32x4 people in my family so that comes out to $227 for one use per year, assuming they charge for children as guests. Otherwise, one use per year comes out to $163.

To me, the biggest benefits would be the $300 annual credit and the 1.5 miles on travel. Is it easy to transfer points anywhere? Do you still get free checked bags and priority boarding on the airline if you charge to this card?


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## Born2Travel (May 2, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I do not know. Marriott said no. Then I called the hotel and they made a note on the reservation of the guest’s name. Hopefully, she can check in without any problems. Now that I know I can use the certificates combined for higher end hotels, I suspect I will find a way to use them.



Interesting.  Would love to know if it works out.  Not sure we'll be able to use all of ours before 6/30; I hate to see them go to waste.


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## Born2Travel (May 2, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> The last card I applied for recently is the Amazon credit card. I have no idea if this was a good decision on my part. It earns 5% cash back toward future Amazon purchases. I buy a lot of Amazon so a 5% rebate seemed a lot better than cards that give 2% cash back. Does anyone else use the Amazon card?


I use the Amazon card, but I really only use it for Amazon orders.  I use my CSR for travel and dining and my Chase preferred for most groceries and miscellaneous purchases then transfer to the CSR for the 1.5 pts for travel booked through their portal or transfer to other airlines.  Unfortunately it doesn't transfer to Alaska Airlines or Delta but works well for Southwest and  United.   I have a few other Chase cards (too many lol) and use them for business purchases etc. and then also transfer to CSR for the extra pts.


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## TravelTime (May 2, 2022)

Born2Travel said:


> I use the Amazon card, but I really only use it for Amazon orders.  I use my CSR for travel and dining and my Chase preferred for most groceries and miscellaneous purchases then transfer to the CSR for the 1.5 pts for travel booked through their portal or transfer to other airlines.  Unfortunately it doesn't transfer to Alaska Airlines or Delta but works well for Southwest and  United.   I have a few other Chase cards (too many lol) and use them for business purchases etc. and then also transfer to CSR for the extra pts.



Thank you for your input. Aren’t the Chase preferred and CSR more or less the same card except preferred gets fewer points? Why do you use both instead of just using CSR?

Do CSR points transfer to American and United? Those are the main airlines I use.

How hard is it to transfer charges to CSR?


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## Dean (May 2, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I see how you value the card based on annual benefits of $300 travel credit, $20 TSA/GE credit and $299 to $429 PP benefit based on your usage. Then everything else is gravy, like you said. The $320 travel credit and $20 TSA/GE credit are benefits to me but not sure PP benefit will have a lot of benefit for me since we live near Sacramento and they are not included and many of our layovers are not long enough. But I guess if we use PP once a year, I could value it at the lowest amount of $99 membership fee + $32x4 people in my family so that comes out to $227 for one use per year, assuming they charge for children as guests. Otherwise, one use per year comes out to $163.
> 
> To me, the biggest benefits would be the $300 annual credit and the 1.5 miles on travel. Is it easy to transfer points anywhere? Do you still get free checked bags and priority boarding on the airline if you charge to this card?


The points guy has a good comparison of the 2 cards.  I haven't transferred the points but don't see any reason it'd be difficult and it's 1:1.  This is not an airline card, I am not aware of any benefits directly with the airlines.  For me it's easy even though I don't put a large value on the PP since I use it hit or miss, maybe $100/yr at most.  There are other ways to get Priority Pass though most don't 'give you the restaurant access which has been my main usage.  In your situation I think it'd be a good card if it's your primary, I think you'd make out well if you pay attention to how you use the points.  But you'll need to compare to your other options and volume of usage.  It's not a good option to have as a back up card IMO but wouldn't be that costly if you made sure you collected the main perks.  At one time I had 2 premium cards but with the credits and bonus points, it made sense but with a couple of changes in the other card and in our personal situation, didn't make sense to keep them both though it would not have been a big deal.  I have limited cards at this time.  CSR is my main card, American Airlines (Delta's gone), Disney and Bonvoy.  And I'd likely be fine with 3 losing the Disney card and one could even argue against the Convoy Card at this time.  

I also travel with a debit card for travel, either my CU card which is attached to a separate checking I ONLY use for travel and have NO connections to other accounts so it doesn't pull from other accounts if compromised and they reimburse for ATM fees in the US.  And I travel internationally with my Schwab Bank Debit card which reimburses for all ATM fees and can easily be activated and deactivated on their app.


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## TravelTime (May 2, 2022)

Dean said:


> The points guy has a good comparison of the 2 cards.  I haven't transferred the points but don't see any reason it'd be difficult and it's 1:1.  This is not an airline card, I am not aware of any benefits directly with the airlines.  For me it's easy even though I don't put a large value on the PP since I use it hit or miss, maybe $100/yr at most.  There are other ways to get Priority Pass though most don't 'give you the restaurant access which has been my main usage.  In your situation I think it'd be a good card if it's your primary, I think you'd make out well if you pay attention to how you use the points.  But you'll need to compare to your other options and volume of usage.  It's not a good option to have as a back up card IMO but wouldn't be that costly if you made sure you collected the main perks.  At one time I had 2 premium cards but with the credits and bonus points, it made sense but with a couple of changes in the other card and in our personal situation, didn't make sense to keep them both though it would not have been a big deal.  I have limited cards at this time.  CSR is my main card, American Airlines (Delta's gone), Disney and Bonvoy.  And I'd likely be fine with 3 losing the Disney card and one could even argue against the Convoy Card at this time.
> 
> I also travel with a debit card for travel, either my CU card which is attached to a separate checking I ONLY use for travel and have NO connections to other accounts so it doesn't pull from other accounts if compromised and they reimburse for ATM fees in the US.  And I travel internationally with my Schwab Bank Debit card which reimburses for all ATM fees and can easily be activated and deactivated on their app.



Since you do not transfer to travel partners, are using your points to redeem travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal? If so, is it easy to use? have many travel partners like United, AA, Marriott, etc? cost effective pricing?

If PP had a lounge at our home airport, it would definitely be a good thing but I would only be able to use lounges on connecting flights. Does your home airport have a lounge? If so, do you end up using the lounge before flights?


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## VacationForever (May 2, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> Since you do not transfer to travel partners, are using your points to redeem travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal? If so, is it easy to use? have many travel partners like United, AA, Marriott, etc? cost effective pricing?
> 
> If PP had a lounge at our home airport, it would definitely be a good thing but I would only be able to use lounges on connecting flights. Does your home airport have a lounge? If so, do you end up using the lounge before flights?



Chase portal for booking hotel and flight was pretty easy to use.  The issue which had been reported with regards to hotel bookings was that the card holders didn't get nights credited, because they were considered "discount" bookings.  Not an issue for those who don't need nights stayed to get elite status.  The other problem which happened to me was that when I booked a flight and then having to cancel, it was a bit of a nightmare.


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## TravelTime (May 2, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> Chase portal for booking hotel and flight was pretty easy to use.  The issue which had been reported with regards to hotel bookings was that the card holders didn't get nights credited, because they were considred "discount" bookings.  Not an issue for those who don't need nights stayed to get elite status.  The other problem which happened to me was that when I booked a flight and then having to cancel, it was a bit of a nightmare.



I do not understand what it means when they say points are worth 1.5 with CSR and 1.25 with Preferred. Does that mean if you have 10,000 points, you can redeem it for 15,000 points with CSR and 12,500 points with Preferred? Or does it mean you accrue at a rate of 1.5 or 1.25 when you are spending money on travel?

Also is the car and travel insurance the same on both cards?

I like the idea of this card since it earns points that can be used for multiple airlines but not sure if CSR is worth $550 to me vs the Preferred at $95. For you, what have been the main benefits making it worth paying the much higher annual fee? Even after the $300 travel credit and $20 average annual credit for TSA, it still costs $230 per year. I am not sure I give PP much value. So the travel perks would need to be worth more than $230 per year.


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## Dean (May 2, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> Since you do not transfer to travel partners, are using your points to redeem travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal? If so, is it easy to use? have many travel partners like United, AA, Marriott, etc? cost effective pricing?
> 
> If PP had a lounge at our home airport, it would definitely be a good thing but I would only be able to use lounges on connecting flights. Does your home airport have a lounge? If so, do you end up using the lounge before flights?


So far I've used them to book air and rental cars directly, an Apple Watch, and to pay on the card for qualifying purchases.  All of which gave me 1.5¢ per point.  The apple option was a special leading in to Christmas.  I've redeemed maybe $5000 worth of rewards in the past 3-4 as a guess.  Apple watch was $750 plus tax IIRC, roughly $3000 in payment back to the card and just over $1000 for air and a car in LV.


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## Dean (May 2, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I do not understand what it means when they say points are worth 1.5 with CSR and 1.25 with Preferred. Does that mean if you have 10,000 points, you can redeem it for 15,000 points with CSR and 12,500 points with Preferred? Or does it mean you accrue at a rate of 1.5 or 1.25 when you are spending money on travel?
> 
> Also is the car and travel insurance the same on both cards?
> 
> I like the idea of this card since it earns points that can be used for multiple airlines but not sure if CSR is worth $550 to me vs the Preferred at $95. For you, what have been the main benefits making it worth paying the much higher annual fee? Even after the $300 travel credit and $20 average annual credit for TSA, it still costs $230 per year. I am not sure I give PP much value. So the travel perks would need to be worth more than $230 per year.


If you pay for travel using the points (not transferring), you get a value of 1.5¢ PP CSR and 1.25¢ PP CSP.  If you look up the comparison for The Points Guy, he lays it out very well.


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## VacationForever (May 2, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I do not understand what it means when they say points are worth 1.5 with CSR and 1.25 with Preferred. Does that mean if you have 10,000 points, you can redeem it for 15,000 points with CSR and 12,500 points with Preferred? Or does it mean you accrue at a rate of 1.5 or 1.25 when you are spending money on travel?
> 
> Also is the car and travel insurance the same on both cards?
> 
> I like the idea of this card since it earns points that can be used for multiple airlines but not sure if CSR is worth $550 to me vs the Preferred at $95. For you, what have been the main benefits making it worth paying the much higher annual fee? Even after the $300 travel credit and $20 average annual credit for TSA, it still costs $230 per year. I am not sure I give PP much value. So the travel perks would need to be worth more than $230 per year.



If you have the CSR and use use their Ultimate rewards portal to book, say, air ticket costs $1,500 if you buy from the airline, you only need 10000 UR to book.  You accrue 3 UR points for every $1 spent on travel and dining.

The value for us was purely in the built-in primary auto insurance (good for rental cars) and travel insurance.  We didn't bother to buy travel insurance when we put all travel stuff on the card.  We did buy additional emergency evacuation, for airlifting and stuff like that, separately. 

We used the occasional lounge but it was not a big deal.  We had never redeemed Global Entry because we got them before we signed up for the card. 

When it was $450 for the card, it was well worth the extra $150 for travel insurance.  But they notified us that they were going to increase to $550 and we stopped flying internationally due to COVID, we cancelled the card.  They delayed the card fee increase until this year and now it is $550.


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## TravelTime (May 2, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> If you have the CSR and use use their Ultimate rewards portal to book, say, air ticket costs $1,500 if you buy from the airline, you only need 10000 UR to book.  You accrue 3 UR points for every $1 spent on travel and dining.
> 
> The value for us was purely in the built-in primary auto insurance (good for rental cars) and travel insurance.  We didn't bother to buy travel insurance when we put all travel stuff on the card.  We did buy additional emergency evacuation, for airlifting and stuff like that, separately.
> 
> ...



I sort of understand it but the Chase program sounds complicated. Are you going to get the CSR again or stick with a lower fee card? 

We do not travel all that much by airplane compared to other Tuggers. This year, we have 3 domestic flights for 4 people. One was to Oahu in April, another to St Thomas in June and a third to Miami in September. I got one ticket to Oahu for free using HA miles and I got all 4 tickets to St Thomas for free using United miles. We have 4 other trips this year but the rest are all driving.

For me to totally understand, I would need to sign up and use it. However I do not want to pay $550 to find out if it works for me. I wonder if I should consider the lower fee Preferred card?

Until now, I was planning to get a personal United card. I have one for business but somehow I do not have a personal one. The downside, of course, is we do not always fly on United. Right now, I have been putting most charges on an AA card but United can be better on the West Coast, although we do not use SFO much anymore since we live near Sacramento now. My husband uses his Apple Card and gets 2% cash back. So we sort of split spending. I can’t get him to use a rewards card. I just got an Amazon card bc it give 5% cash back on Amazon and I use Amazon for so many things. But it would be nice to have a card that we could use on many airlines.


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## VacationForever (May 2, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I sort of understand it but the Chase program sounds complicated. Are you going to get the CSR again or stick with a lower fee card?
> 
> We do not travel all that much by airplane compared to other Tuggers. This year, we have 3 domestic flights for 4 people. One was to Oahu in April, another to St Thomas in June and a third to Miami in September. I got one ticket to Oahu for free using HA miles and I got all 4 tickets to St Thomas for free using United miles. We have 4 other trips this year but the rest are all driving.
> 
> ...



We don't have any of the Chase Ultimate Rewards type cards.  We are currently happy with our BOA cash back card, with 3.6 cents for travel and dining and 2.5 cents for all other spending.  When it comes July, we will need to decide if we will leave 100K with BOA to continue to get the cash back benefits or not.  Most likely we will go with Fidelity Visa for non-travel and non-dining spending because it gives 2 cents per $1 spent on all spendings.  We will use Costco for travel and dining from that point onwards because it gives 3 cents back.  We use Amazon Prime Visa for Amazon and Whole Foods spending as it gives 5 cents.  The most interesting part of it all is that all 3 cards are free.  We still have 3 Bonvoy cards - Amex and Visa Bonvoy and would like to go down to maybe just 2 when I give up my Visa Bonvoy.  We have difficulty using the free nights.


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## TravelTime (May 2, 2022)

VacationForever said:


> We don't have any of the Chase Ultimate Rewards type cards.  We are currently happy with our BOA cash back card, with 3.6 cents for travel and dining and 2.5 cents for all other spending.  When it comes July, we will need to decide if we will leave 100K with BOA to continue to get the cash back benefits or not.  Most likely we will go with Fidelity Visa for non-travel and non-dining spending because it gives 2 cents per $1 spent on all spending.  We will use Costco for travel and dining from that point onwards because it gives 3 cents back.  We use Amazon Prime Visa for Amazon and Whole Foods spending as it gives 5 cents.  The most interesting part of it all is that all 3 cards are free.  We still have 3 Bonvoy cards - Amex and Visa Bonvoy and would like to go down to maybe just 2 when I give up my Visa Bonvoy.  We have difficulty using the free nights.



Yes all these credit card deals and everyone’s needs and spending patterns are different. Right now, I am thinking the Chase Ultimate Rewards cards are a bit complicated for me. I need to explore it a bit more.


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## VacationForever (May 2, 2022)

We gave up all the expensive cards, including the Amex Brilliant card.  After a while, cash is king and we prefer cash back because there is always something with using points to book.


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## Born2Travel (May 3, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> Thank you for your input. Aren’t the Chase preferred and CSR more or less the same card except preferred gets fewer points? Why do you use both instead of just using CSR?
> 
> Do CSR points transfer to American and United? Those are the main airlines I use.
> 
> How hard is it to transfer charges to CSR?



Transfer is very easy.  I use both to separate charges (just easier for me) and I already had both cards; could cancel 2nd some day.  As Dean has mentioned, you should really check out The Points Guy - he lays it out well and it does take a little study.


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## TravelTime (May 3, 2022)

Born2Travel said:


> Transfer is very easy.  I use both to separate charges (just easier for me) and I already had both cards; could cancel 2nd some day.  As Dean has mentioned, you should really check out The Points Guy - he lays it out well and it does take a little study.



I did take a look at what the Points Guy said. Overall, it sounds like the Preferred card is preferred LOL for mid range travelers, which is what I think we are. Which card do you have?

I was leaning toward another United card but I could try the Preferred card and see how it goes for me since I can transfer points 1:1 to United as well as to other partners. I see they do not have AA as a partner unfortunately. I do have a business United card already so I could use that when I travel on United for the free checked bags. But I also see that if I redeem the points for United flights through the Chase portal, the points are worth 1.25 and I can still earn miles on United for the flight. That is a good benefit and might be worth more than the 2-4 free checked bags. For the St Thomas flights, we have 4 free checked bags each way so total of 8 free checked bags if we need it. This is where comparing cards gets confusing.

I just checked our flights to St Thomas in June. I have 2 United passes I can use in Chicago. Coming back, we have a long layover in Houston. The PP lounges could come in handy in Houston. I was checking the PP directory and it says they have one in Houston. But not sure if we should pay the higher fee just to use a PP lounge once this year.


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## Born2Travel (May 4, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I did take a look at what the Points Guy said. Overall, it sounds like the Preferred card is preferred LOL for mid range travelers, which is what I think we are. Which card do you have?
> 
> I was leaning toward another United card but I could try the Preferred card and see how it goes for me since I can transfer points 1:1 to United as well as to other partners. I see they do not have AA as a partner unfortunately. I do have a business United card already so I could use that when I travel on United for the free checked bags. But I also see that if I redeem the points for United flights through the Chase portal, the points are worth 1.25 and I can still earn miles on United for the flight. That is a good benefit and might be worth more than the 2-4 free checked bags. For the St Thomas flights, we have 4 free checked bags each way so total of 8 free checked bags if we need it. This is where comparing cards gets confusing.
> 
> I just checked our flights to St Thomas in June. I have 2 United passes I can use in Chicago. Coming back, we have a long layover in Houston. The PP lounges could come in handy in Houston. I was checking the PP directory and it says they have one in Houston. But not sure if we should pay the higher fee just to use a PP lounge once this year.



I have both cards (Reserve and Preferred) - I think now you are only allowed to have one or the other.  That wasn't the case when I got them and as I mentioned I just separate charges with them.   I like the Reserve.  I have used the PP pretty much every time we travel as we have a location at our home airport but I wouldn't choose it for that reason only.  I have had to make a claim on travel insurance which they paid,  (took a while and they kept requesting documents)  I have been reimbursed for GE renewal, we haven't had any rental car insurance issues.   Most people just go for the Preferred I think.  Less costly, but also less benefits.  I feel we get enough benefits with the Reserve after the $300 travel credit, and the other benefits.  I have really kept up with any new changes.   Only you can decide which fits your needs best.


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## TravelTime (May 4, 2022)

Born2Travel said:


> I have both cards (Reserve and Preferred) - I think now you are only allowed to have one or the other.  That wasn't the case when I got them and as I mentioned I just separate charges with them.   I like the Reserve.  I have used the PP pretty much every time we travel as we have a location at our home airport but I wouldn't choose it for that reason only.  I have had to make a claim on travel insurance which they paid,  (took a while and they kept requesting documents)  I have been reimbursed for GE renewal, we haven't had any rental car insurance issues.   Most people just go for the Preferred I think.  Less costly, but also less benefits.  I feel we get enough benefits with the Reserve after the $300 travel credit, and the other benefits.  I have really kept up with any new changes.   Only you can decide which fits your needs best.



Is the travel and car rental insurance the same on both the Preferred and Reserved? Is the travel and car renta insurance better than on other credit cards?


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## frank808 (May 4, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I did take a look at what the Points Guy said. Overall, it sounds like the Preferred card is preferred LOL for mid range travelers, which is what I think we are. Which card do you have?
> 
> I was leaning toward another United card but I could try the Preferred card and see how it goes for me since I can transfer points 1:1 to United as well as to other partners. I see they do not have AA as a partner unfortunately. I do have a business United card already so I could use that when I travel on United for the free checked bags. But I also see that if I redeem the points for United flights through the Chase portal, the points are worth 1.25 and I can still earn miles on United for the flight. That is a good benefit and might be worth more than the 2-4 free checked bags. For the St Thomas flights, we have 4 free checked bags each way so total of 8 free checked bags if we need it. This is where comparing cards gets confusing.
> 
> I just checked our flights to St Thomas in June. I have 2 United passes I can use in Chicago. Coming back, we have a long layover in Houston. The PP lounges could come in handy in Houston. I was checking the PP directory and it says they have one in Houston. But not sure if we should pay the higher fee just to use a PP lounge once this year.


In Houston, I have eaten many nice meals at Landry's Seafood in terminal C. 

I don't have the CSR or CSP as I have the United Club card and Ritz Carlton card. For me, the United lounge access cost about $25 a flight day for our family. Figure we get $25 worth of food and drinks between the 3 of us.

The United and Club card get the same rental auto policy, delayed flights, lost lugguage, etc. RC card gets us Priority Pass cards for each of us and a 50K award certificate for $130 in annual fees (with the $20 credit for Global Entry). Between United Clubs and Priority Pass restaurants, we have a nice layover experience. 

Next month we are flying with grand parents. Because they are 80+ years old, we have some 3 hour layovers. Will get to use the PP restaurant benefit to get some nice meals for all 6 of us (wife and son got priority pass cards for free with Ritz credit card). 

With credit cards, to each their own. I cannot justify the price for CSR at $250 a year.

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## frank808 (May 4, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> Is the travel and car rental insurance the same on both the Preferred and Reserved? Is the travel and car renta insurance better than on other credit cards?


The rental insurance is primary on CSR and CSP. It is primary on most Chase issued cards. Almost all other issuers charge for primary. I do have another credit union card that offers primary but most cards are secondary. Chase, in my opinion, offers the best primary rental auto insurance for a $95 annual fee card. And their carrier is very easy to file a claim with. Saved me thousands in claims.

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## michael49 (May 4, 2022)

--The rental insurance is primary on CSR and CSP. It is primary on most Chase issued cards. Almost all other issuers charge for primary. I do have another credit union card that offers primary but most cards are secondary. Chase, in my opinion, offers the best primary rental auto insurance for a $95 annual fee card. And their carrier is very easy to file a claim with. Saved me thousands in claims.
I always use my United (Chase) card for car rentals since the insurance coverage is primary.--

Same here. I always use my United (Chase) credit card for car rentals since the insurance coverage is primary.


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## Great3 (May 5, 2022)

frank808 said:


> Ritz Carlton Chase for maintenance fee spend and the priority pass membership for our family. Use this for MF and get reimbursed $300 of the $450 AF. So in essence this card is $130 annually for a 50K FNA certificate. Global entry reimbursed every 4 years is worth $20.



Frank, I know this is getting off topic, but I was reading/researching about the Ritz Carlton Chase card after reading your post.  It seems to me the terms for the $300 travel credit is only good for Airline ancillary fees only, but you are saying it works for MF dues as well?  If so, I will probably ask for product change from my current Chase Boundless card I have for several years.  Airline ancillary fees is harder for me to make $300, but MF dues is a no-brainer.

Just making sure you aren't confusing this $300 travel credit for RC card with the Amex Brilliant card that works for most Bonvoy Resorts, where I am reading that MF dues (MVC and Vistana) seems to count, before I ask for the product change to this Ritz Carlton card.

I also like that it seems this Ritz Carlton card gives Primary Car Rental insurance as well, which I don't currently have and am paying $20-$25 per rental thru AMEX primary insurance program.

Thanks,
Great3


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## TravelTime (May 6, 2022)

I applied for Chase Sapphire Preferred. Chase Sapphire Reserve was appealing except for the high fee and not sure all the benefits were a great fit for me. 

Chase did not give me an instant approval. I found that to be odd. I have high credit rating. I have 4 personal cards (planning to close one of these) and 1 business card. I did recently apply for the Amazon card. From what I remember, it was instant approval and I got my number when I was approved. Is it common for Chase to not to provide an instant approval? Could it be because I just applied for the Amazon card? 

In general, what is the Chase policy for applying for multiple credit cards in the same year? I am asking this because I might want to also get another United card but wonder if I should wait to apply.


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## GetawaysRus (May 6, 2022)

I can answer a few of your questions.

I haven't applied for a Chase card in a while (currently have 5 personal and 2 business cards). However, I cannot recall ever getting an instant approval. (I've never had an Amazon card.)

There is a "reconsideration" line. If you are denied, or if you're in a hurry to get approved, you can Google that number and phone.

My impression is that Chase has some maximum amount of credit (the sum of the credit line on all your cards) that they will extend to you. So when phoning the reconsideration line, I could often get an approval by moving some of my existing credit line from another card or cards that I wasn't using much. Also, if I ever close a Chase card, I phone and ask the rep to move the credit line on that account to one or more of my active accounts in order to retain my maximum Chase credit line.

Can you exceed 5 Chase personal credit cards? I'm not sure about that. If you're hoping to do that, be sure to have a good reason in mind if you have to speak with a rep.

Applying for credit cards has gotten trickier and far more dangerous. I was dinged in the Equifax breach and the Starwood/Marriott breach some years ago, so I know my information is out there. I keep all 3 of my credit reports frozen, so I have to temporarily unfreeze in order to apply. I only unfreeze very briefly (for a few days at most). But these scammers are good. The last time I applied for a new account, someone somehow snuck in a fraudulent app for a Chase Freedom card. Fortunately Chase denied it because I already have 2 Freedoms, and fortunately Chase sent me a denial letter so that I could call them and fix it. So be careful - it's dangerous out there in credit land.


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## igopogo (May 6, 2022)

With topping off, is it now possible to get the fifth night free with a mixed reservation?  eg with three cents and 35k points for a five night stay at 35k per night?  Or pushing a little harder, three 50k certs and 50k points at 50k per night.  The latter is what I really want to do, but it’s more than 15k per cert.  

 I would try but my certs are in a reservation that I don’t want to cancel unless I know it’s possible.


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## TheTimeTraveler (May 6, 2022)

I had a two night previously reserved reservation in June of 2022 for 85,000 points usage.  I also had two separate 40K free night certificates expiring 6/30/22. 

I called the BONVOY phone number to explain my situation, and the clerk credited my 85,000 points, and added 2,500 points to each of the free certificates (total of 5,000 points) and I am now all set.

Marriott appears to be somewhat flexible to allow their customers to utilize their earned benefits, and my advice would be for anyone who has individualized questions to call the BONVOY number directly to see if they will allow your specific situation.  Here is the BONVOY Phone Number:  801-468-4160

I had to wait on hold for 20 minutes, so do be prepared for a long wait.

Best of luck to all.





.


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## GetawaysRus (May 6, 2022)

igopogo said:


> With topping off, is it now possible to get the fifth night free with a mixed reservation?  eg with three cents and 35k points for a five night stay at 35k per night?  Or pushing a little harder, three 50k certs and 50k points at 50k per night.  The latter is what I really want to do, but it’s more than 15k per cert.
> 
> I would try but my certs are in a reservation that I don’t want to cancel unless I know it’s possible.



To my knowledge, the 5th night free benefit only applies to an all points reservation. I don't think you can mix certicates and points in order to get the 5th night free.

But you can try it and see. If it doesn't work, you lose nothing so long as you don't finalize the reservation.


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## ig88d (May 6, 2022)

GetawaysRus said:


> To my knowledge, the 5th night free benefit only applies to an all points reservation. I don't think you can mix certicates and points in order to get the 5th night free.
> 
> But you can try it and see. If it doesn't work, you lose nothing so long as you don't finalize the reservation.



You can mix free night with 5th night free benefit - but you need to have at least 5 rewards points nights - a reservation with  minimum of 6 nights - 5 points and 1 free award or cash. Tried it, it works.









						Reader Question: Can I mix hotel points and free night certificates to get a fourth or fifth night free? - The Points Guy
					

Some hotel credit cards offer an annual free night. And some loyalty programs offer a fourth or fifth night free on awards. But, do these benefits stack?




					thepointsguy.com


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## frank808 (May 6, 2022)

Great3 said:


> Frank, I know this is getting off topic, but I was reading/researching about the Ritz Carlton Chase card after reading your post. It seems to me the terms for the $300 travel credit is only good for Airline ancillary fees only, but you are saying it works for MF dues as well? If so, I will probably ask for product change from my current Chase Boundless card I have for several years. Airline ancillary fees is harder for me to make $300, but MF dues is a no-brainer.
> 
> Just making sure you aren't confusing this $300 travel credit for RC card with the Amex Brilliant card that works for most Bonvoy Resorts, where I am reading that MF dues (MVC and Vistana) seems to count, before I ask for the product change to this Ritz Carlton card.
> 
> ...


Sorry you are right. I am mixing it up with my Amex Brilliant. For me, tt is pretty easy to use up the ancillary fees on United flights. Keep getting the credits mixed up unless looking at my spreadsheet. Thanks for the correction. 

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## frank808 (May 6, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> I applied for Chase Sapphire Preferred. Chase Sapphire Reserve was appealing except for the high fee and not sure all the benefits were a great fit for me.
> 
> Chase did not give me an instant approval. I found that to be odd. I have high credit rating. I have 4 personal cards (planning to close one of these) and 1 business card. I did recently apply for the Amazon card. From what I remember, it was instant approval and I got my number when I was approved. Is it common for Chase to not to provide an instant approval? Could it be because I just applied for the Amazon card?
> 
> In general, what is the Chase policy for applying for multiple credit cards in the same year? I am asking this because I might want to also get another United card but wonder if I should wait to apply.


You might have run into the dreaded Chase 5/24 rule. The part I hate most with Chase is the 5/24 rule. With Chase you can only get approved for 5 credit cards in a 24 month period. This includes every credit card in 24 month, not just Chase and some business cards. I run afoul of this many times before. If I want a Chase card, I have to stay clean of new credit cards for 24 months. My time in penalty box is up in another 12 months. Then I am going to apply for the Ink business products. Then I am pretty much done applying with Chase (well at least until a new product appears).

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## frank808 (May 6, 2022)

ig88d said:


> You can mix free night with 5th night free benefit - but you need to have at least 5 rewards points nights - a reservation with minimum of 6 nights - 5 points and 1 free award or cash. Tried it, it works.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You still have to use ALL points for 4 nights to get the 5th night free.

You cannot mix 3 certificates with one night of points to get the 5th night free. 

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## Fasttr (May 6, 2022)

ig88d said:


> You can mix free night with 5th night free benefit - but you need to have at least 5 rewards points nights - a reservation with  minimum of 6 nights - 5 points and 1 free award or cash. Tried it, it works.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Its always been that way.  I booked a 6 night stay this past Feb.... 4 nights using points, 5th night free, 6th night using a certificate, all in the same 6 night ressy.


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## igopogo (May 6, 2022)

Fasttr said:


> Its always been that way.  I booked a 6 night stay this past Feb.... 4 nights using points, 5th night free, 6th night using a certificate, all in the same 6 night ressy.


Makes sense (sadly)


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## igopogo (May 6, 2022)

frank808 said:


> You might have run into the dreaded Chase 5/24 rule. The part I hate most with Chase is the 5/24 rule. With Chase you can only get approved for 5 credit cards in a 24 month period. This includes every credit card in 24 month, not just Chase and some business cards. I run afoul of this many times before. If I want a Chase card, I have to stay clean of new credit cards for 24 months. My time in penalty box is up in another 12 months. Then I am going to apply for the Ink business products. Then I am pretty much done applying with Chase (well at least until a new product appears).
> 
> Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


I was thinking that also, but wouldn’t 5/24 be an immediate decline?


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## TravelTime (May 7, 2022)

Just got the approval email for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. I wish they would provide the card number online. They said I should get the card and welcome kit in the mail in 3-5 days. I picked this card based on the TUG member comments. Let’s see how I like it.


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## frank808 (May 7, 2022)

igopogo said:


> I was thinking that also, but wouldn’t 5/24 be an immediate decline?


Unfortunately I was right over 5/24. I applied for the personal chase card first and then a business on same day. I was approved for the personal and had an email to wait for response for business. A week later, I get both cards. Used both for a week (to get the sign up bonus). About 15-22 days later, I get a letter that they are closing down my business card due to exceeding Chases rule on new credit card accounts . If I only applied for business first and then personal, I would not have had the business card cancelled 

Most finicky credit card issuer I have dealt with besides Barclay.

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## frank808 (May 7, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> Just got the approval email for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. I wish they would provide the card number online. They said I should get the card and welcome kit in the mail in 3-5 days. I picked this card based on the TUG member comments. Let’s see how I like it.


Congrats and start swiping or tapping those purchases!

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## mdurette (May 8, 2022)

TravelTime said:


> Just got the approval email for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. I wish they would provide the card number online. They said I should get the card and welcome kit in the mail in 3-5 days. I picked this card based on the TUG member comments. Let’s see how I like it.



Good choice with the preferred - all the points bloggers I follow recommend it.   they even recommend if you have a reserve to downgrade to a freedom product and then apply for the preferred just for the 80K sub right now.    Chase usually sends me an email informing me of use before I get the physical card by adding it to a digital wallet.   I have never done this though.    

FWIW - most UR fans believe the best redemption is transferring to Hyatt, they transfer at a 1 to 1 ratio which makes them more valuable than a transfer to Hyatt.   Why, because Hyatt points scale is lower than Marriotts.

Example:   A regular room at a no frills resort in Marriott may cost 35,000 points per night.   Hyatts scale maybe 10,000 points.     So, for the same type of room, it only takes 10K UR vs 35K.


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