I spoke to a CSR rep about my past timeshare maintenance fee payments to see what the codes were. She said the Marriott timeshare maintenance fee payments were under a code that would count as "hotel" and should get 4x points but my other timeshare maintenance fee payments (Bluegreen) came under "timeshare" and would only get 1x points.
Well that's more than a little interesting. 4 CSR points is worth about the same as 6 Bonvoy points to me (and less than 14 Hilton points) but if DVC MFs count as Disney Hotel spend then it becomes more interesting to keep my CSR.
That is interesting. Marriott is a lot of my fees, but Sheraton Broadway and Westin are far more of the fees we pay. Will those get coded the same as Marriott?
I've been crossing my fingers that MVC fees would code as "hotel" under the new card terms since I noticed that they were simply categorized as "Marriott" under merchant type on my past statements. I was hesitant to call and ask for fear of tipping Chase off and losing this benefit. It would be great if MVC fees earn 4x, as I really do like all the travel protections/insurance of the Sapphire Reserve card and typically use it for all my travel purchases, plus my many thousands of $ of MVC maintenance fees.
Are the travel protections of the CSR really unique to the CSR? I thought they were basically the standard travel protections that come with every Visa Infinite card.
frequentmiler.com
? Flying Blue or Iberia Avios
Thanks for that reference. Unfortunately it doesn't include the B of A card we've been discussing. For anyone who's interested, I'll paste in a comprehensive comparison between the travel and protection difference between the CSR and PRE cards, courtesy of AI:Guide to Ultra-Premium Credit Card Travel Protections
This page compares the credit card travel insurance benefits provided automatically by various ultra-premium travel credit cards such as...
Merrill told me that there was a team which could pre-set the Preferred Rewards Tier, and so I was planning to reach out to them in a day or two and see if I could get that done so that I can start spending. So you might want to reach out to them and see if they can do that for you.
Good call! Yes, Iberia on the way out (booked via British Airways) and Flying Blue on the way home (booked via Flying Blue, with the nice perk of a free 4-night stopover in Amsterdam for no additional points).
Stupid question.
Yes, you have to call Flying Blue to make a booking with a free stopover. As an example: if you find a flight you'd like to book with points that has a connection (usually in CDG or AMS), you can call and ask for a stopover (up to a year!) in the connection city. For instance, if the flight is Zurich-Paris-Washington, you can call and ask them to book you the flight as Zurich-Paris and Paris-Washington on separate days on a single booking. The taxes will increase, but the points amount should stay the same.
*May add that many/most rewards programs allow you to book seats online in seconds, including for their partners
That’s all good advice, but I’d be cautious about doing a test transfer. Some airlines will delay a second transfer by up to 48 hours if it follows immediately after the first. A safer approach is to call the airline and ask them to hold the reservation—they’ll usually hold it for 24 hours, giving you time to transfer your points.
For example, i see an Air France flight bookable with miles that i want, i can call them and ask them to place it on hold for 24 hours before i transfer the points? Do i see it in my account on hold? How do i finish the transaction? A second call once the miles are in my account? My only experience was transferring chase to avios and once and i think chase is pretty instantaneous but i love the idea of limiting the risk. What airlines have done this for you and is it free?
Me but I searched for Air France phone number and rules as I wasn’t 100% sure. I mainly use United, Copa, Avianca, AirCanada and Virgin Airlines.
Thank you all! You really help us.
No problem. Try the Pointsyeah site. You can search by state or look up deals like USA to Europe for the lowest mileage rates. Just booked Delta One through Virgin Atlantic for ~27k miles thanks to a transfer bonus.Thank you all! You really help us.
I still feel stupid, but I guess you can't fix that.
The Kids love London, I like AMS. Probably not what the internet thinks…. I like the Canals, the vibe in the Old Town and the cool weather in Summer. Maybe the later is the real triggering point when AC is not likely at Airbnb…. Watching F-1 in the roaring ‘20’s theater was a treasure. I loved it.
Anyway, I'm so locked in on VA I can't deviate. LAX seems to have such limited values (please don’t hate). VA at times has deals, usually poor ones I’m sure but it’s easy for me.
We upgraded at the airport for one and me at the last minute. It wasn’t cheap (and it wasn’t super expensive vs. losing a day) but seemed to be somewhat of value from Premium to Upper Class. Money does seem to talk… if ever so slightly…….
My concern is wasting money on things that: a. don’t matter, b. more importantly there are cheaper alternatives to that are the same or better…. I think B is the reason I’m addicted to RESALE TIMESHARES. I don’t mind paying, but to waste money…. We work too hard for that.
www.point.me
Maybe get the Ritz Carlton card (thru Marriott Boundless)...
