Playing "the points" game

[Steppy08]

2 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

We really like our Chase Sapphire Preferred and use it for as many expenses as possible. I wish we had more expenses we could use the card for, but utilities, pre-paid taxes and mortgage vendors either don’t allow us to use a Cc or charge a large enough fee for using one that it is not useful. One of my patients used to fly regularly to New Zealand in first class lie-down seats using credit card points - but he had a construction-related business where he bought large amounts of building materials on his credit card that were later covered by his customers. Lucky duck 😂 We also use the Delta Amex for a few extra flight-related benefits.
 

We have considered getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve which offers even more benefits but a $550/yr fee. Maybe after retirement we will try that when we travel much more. 

We also have the Chase Sapphire for travel. It’s paid many hotels and flights for cruises and what not with miles. It also has no international fee and gets us into the priority lounges in airports. 

[AlohaLivin]

1 hour ago, Steppy08 said:

We also have the Chase Sapphire for travel. It’s paid many hotels and flights for cruises and what not with miles. It also has no international fee and gets us into the priority lounges in airports. 

You use the Reserve one? I stay on the fence about bumping up to that partly for the lounges (since we get a holly reduced rate on the Delta Lounges with the Delta American Express). Has it been worth the 550/yr for you? We love the travel insurance with the Chase Sapphire cards too. I haven’t used it for the airline miles much as we primarily fly Delta, but no doubt we will at some point.

[AlohaLivin]

3 hours ago, poocher said:

I put my insurance pmts, cable, internet, cell phone bills, oil bills,  

Trying to convince DH to spread out to some utilities. I know he has things set up how he wants some now, but I keep telling him that my word of the year every year is MAXIMIZE 😂 

[Steppy08]

10 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

You use the Reserve one? I stay on the fence about bumping up to that partly for the lounges (since we get a holly reduced rate on the Delta Lounges with the Delta American Express). Has it been worth the 550/yr for you? We love the travel insurance with the Chase Sapphire cards too. I haven’t used it for the airline miles much as we primarily fly Delta, but no doubt we will at some point.

Husband handles this card and most of our travel stuff… I think it’s the reserve? I thought the yearly fee was $350. You get a credit back if you spend at least $300 on travel during the year, so it’s a no brainer. 

[AlohaLivin]

21 minutes ago, Steppy08 said:

Husband handles this card and most of our travel stuff… I think it’s the reserve? I thought the yearly fee was $350. You get a credit back if you spend at least $300 on travel during the year, so it’s a no brainer. 

I believe it’s $550 (350 as you say would be a no brainer) - but definitely as we travel more that will look better and better (definitely as long as you max out the credits, including several of the “smaller” benefits/credits like how both Sapphire cards provide a free DoorDash membership). 👍🏼 

Edited July 21, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[BND]

I'm retired.  DH will be in about 17 months.  We have an BOA MC that accrues Amtrak Points.  We haven't paid for a train ticket in several years.  We even get a full bedroom on the Auto Train using points.  We did that last year and this year.  We put everything we can on it-cruises, groceries, gasoline, amazon purchases, restaurant meals, etc.  When DH was still traveling for work he accrued a lot of Marriott and United Airline points.  He's a million miler on United.  We stayed in the Marriott Marquis in Times Square several times for free.  But, his work travel has stopped.  We either drive or take Amtrak so the BOA MC is great for us.  And, that card gets paid off every month so it's really free travel.

Edited July 21, 2022 by BND

[RJ257]

36 minutes ago, BND said:

I'm retired.  DH will be in about 17 months.  We have an BOA MC that accrues Amtrak Points.  We haven't paid for a train ticket in several years.  We even get a full bedroom on the Auto Train using points.  We did that last year and this year.  We put everything we can on it-cruises, groceries, gasoline, amazon purchases, restaurant meals, etc.  When DH was still traveling for work he accrued a lot of Marriott and United Airline points.  He's a million miler on United.  We stayed in the Marriott Marquis in Times Square several times for free.  But, his work travel has stopped.  We either drive or take Amtrak so the BOA MC is great for us.  And, that card gets paid off every month so it's really free travel.

I too have BA Amtrak card as well as American and Delta cards. I fly to my summer vacation spot in Wyoming and at end of summer I take the train back home to Florida from a west coast destination thru Chicago and Washington DC. Put my daughter thru college including her masters degree and have enjoyed traveling in a bedroom on points for many years.

[MaryZ]

We have a lot of different cards.
We also have sw companion pass, so you pay for one person, the other pays only taxes.

We have a lot of high end cards, where the fees might not be for everyone but lounge access, clear, global entry etc are part of our travel lives. 

I've never used points to book a cruise but I suppose you can do that.  We use them for business class air mostly and high end hotel stays.
We also gamble so most of our cruises are free or greatly reduced.  Gambling is it's own game, to get all sorts of free travel. 

 

We are retired for a quite a few years now. 

I do think the OP's financial advisor was giving them great information on how to continue your traveling without having to spend down your liquid cash or by pulling money out before you actually have to. 
However the way to do it is to open new cards all the time for the bonuses. 

The most important part of the travel game is you pay all your credit card bills in full every month.
If you pay interest, you're losing the game.
 

[Ozark_Kid]

6 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

We really like our Chase Sapphire Preferred and use it for as many expenses as possible. I wish we had more expenses we could use the card for, but utilities, pre-paid taxes and mortgage vendors either don’t allow us to use a Cc or charge a large enough fee for using one that it is not useful. One of my patients used to fly regularly to New Zealand in first class lie-down seats using credit card points - but he had a construction-related business where he bought large amounts of building materials on his credit card that were later covered by his customers. Lucky duck 😂 We also use the Delta Amex for a few extra flight-related benefits.
 

We have considered getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve which offers even more benefits but a $550/yr fee. Maybe after retirement we will try that when we travel much more. If you were able to accumulate that many points that quickly, you’re clearly able to put more on the card than we have been able to manage. But for now our reward points are more than covering our pre-cruise hotel stays with extra banked for later.

 

* If anyone has any great ideas about how the rewards cards can be used to maximize rewards ( other than for food/groceries, gas, and travel that we now use it for), please let me know!

I noticed that card while on TPG website.  Sounds good.  Wish I could see the portal so I knew what I could buy with the points.  I take it you can book Southwest through it.

[volk904]

I think the SW card is pretty good and while it has a fee it gives you annual points worth about what the fee cost.  
 

Here is a creative option to getting more points. When you apply for a card don’t get one for your spouse. You will get the 50,000 points for joining. Wait a bit and then let your spouse apply for their own card and get another 50,000 points.  
 

Right now Delta is giving 70,000 for a new gold card.  No fee for the first year.  I don’t think Delta is the best long term card but 70,000 might be a great card short term.  
 

Finally get a American Express Blue Card.  Not for the points but they offer. Deals on Royal and Celebrity. Right now I have a spend $1000 and get a $250 credit.   

 

[dianajo67]

10 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I noticed that card while on TPG website.  Sounds good.  Wish I could see the portal so I knew what I could buy with the points.  I take it you can book Southwest through it.

We also use the Chase Sapphire Reserve for travel and have the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited for the rotating categories to get 5% each quarter.  Nice thing is that we can pool all those points under the Chase Reserve Card in order to get 150% value during redemption for travel.  Preferred is 125%.  In fact, points from chase cards in my husbands name can be transferred to my reserve account as well.  I don’t think you can do that with any cards other than the Reserve (possible Preferred as well, but not sure).  We play the same game with a few other cards (AMEX platinum gave us 10% rewards for first 6 months on groceries/gas last year!). Points from the AMEX card work well for those who fly Delta.  My hubby does this as a hobby and routinely gathers our cards each month and puts stickies on them so I know which card to use for what.  According to hubby’s spreadsheets, we about $50,000 in points value right now from doing this and basically paying for everything with cards.  Looking forward to hubby’s retirement in a couple years so we can use them more regularly.  We closely coordinate what cards we each have as well for max benefit.  The points game works, but it is also work to work it!

 

One thing we do not use our points for is booking cruises.  It hasn’t shown itself to be the best value for the points.  Where it really shines is in hotel booking…so if you like to have land-based trips in conjunction with cruises, it’s wonderful.

[nelblu]

3 minutes ago, dianajo67 said:

One thing we do not use our points for is booking cruises.  It hasn’t shown itself to be the best value for the points.  Where it really shines is in hotel booking…so if you like to have land-based trips in conjunction with cruises, it’s wonderful.

Confused, please explain.  If a point is worth either 1.25 or 1.50 how is the benefit different if used for air, cruises or hotels.

[dianajo67]

1 minute ago, nelblu said:

Confused, please explain.  If a point is worth either 1.25 or 1.50 how is the benefit different if used for air, cruises or hotels.

We have airline specific points for Southwest and American that we use.  Those flights are easy to cancel up until the day of the flight if needed and the points are put back in our account.  If we use the Chase points for air, you either need to purchase the equivalent of refundable tickets which is way more expensive and wastes points or there are other restrictions.  Especially since Covid, I’m hesitant to book air through third parties (Chase uses expedia) because of the hassle getting customer service if needed.  You also can’t transfer points from chase to American.  (AMEX points can be transferred to Delta and used as Delta points!). I do look at fares occasionally, but they are generally higher on the chase portal than booking direct for some reason.  Same issue with cruises through third party.  We normally book refundable deposit these days and I cancel and book different cruises if I find better deals or we just decide to do something different.  Love flexibility to change my mind.

 

As far as hotels go, Chase portal often has sales  on varying hotels (dollar rates) that really make our points go a long way.  Hotel prices are more dynamic than cruise or air fares and there are many hotels in the places we travel.  This enables us to grab super great deals, especially if we book ahead.  For example, we’re going to Italy in September and paying the equivalent of $200 per night in points for a $300 per night hotel room.  Nothing against using for cruises or air, but it’s worth it to us to get airline specific cards (we also have hotel cards for the free annual nights!) for the free bags etc.

[dianajo67]

23 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Confused, please explain.  If a point is worth either 1.25 or 1.50 how is the benefit different if used for air, cruises or hotels.

One more thing.  The 1.25 and 1.5 are for specific cards (Preferred or Reserve) and have to be used through the portal (which can have higher rates than booking direct).  Regular chase points are only worth 1.0 through the portal, but those points can be moved online to go against the “higher redemption value” cards.  

 

We also cancel cards that have annual fees if we aren’t going to use them regularly.  We’ll get them for the sign up bonus points, keep for a year, and then cancel.  Used to think that would hurt our credit rating, but haven’t found that to be the case at all.  We had to get rid of our preferred card to make room for the reserve for example.  Chase monitors how many chase cards you have.

Edited July 21, 2022 by dianajo67

[BecciBoo]

21 hours ago, jules815 said:

Just curious if any other retirees play the points game and if this is how you afford to travel as much as you do. Have you ever booked a RC cruise using points?

We have only used AMEX for all our expenditures (and I mean EVERYTHING) to get the points to fly free. We've been flying free for many years, we only pay tax on the tickets.  The only other card we have is an RCCL Bankamericard in case a merchant doesn't take AMEX. And a Delta Visa to get sign up points. So far the RCCL card  hasn't been much of a help with cruises but we carry it just in case we need it.  AMEX reward program is the bomb.

Edited July 21, 2022 by BecciBoo

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, dianajo67 said:

Chase uses expedia

When Chase uses Expedia do you also get Expedia points?

BTW, we almost cruised together.   In January we cruised Harmony the week before you did.

[dianajo67]

4 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

When Chase uses Expedia do you also get Expedia points?

BTW, we almost cruised together.   In January we cruised Harmony the week before you did.

Don’t know the answer to that.  Sorry!  Hubby got Covid on that cruise.  My parents and I didn’t get it! 

Edited July 21, 2022 by dianajo67

[Bigbob7777]

20 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

We really like our Chase Sapphire Preferred and use it for as many expenses as possible. I wish we had more expenses we could use the card for, but utilities, pre-paid taxes and mortgage vendors either don’t allow us to use a Cc or charge a large enough fee for using one that it is not useful. One of my patients used to fly regularly to New Zealand in first class lie-down seats using credit card points - but he had a construction-related business where he bought large amounts of building materials on his credit card that were later covered by his customers. Lucky duck 😂 We also use the Delta Amex for a few extra flight-related benefits.
 

We have considered getting the Chase Sapphire Reserve which offers even more benefits but a $550/yr fee. Maybe after retirement we will try that when we travel much more. If you were able to accumulate that many points that quickly, you’re clearly able to put more on the card than we have been able to manage. But for now our reward points are more than covering our pre-cruise hotel stays with extra banked for later.

 

* If anyone has any great ideas about how the rewards cards can be used to maximize rewards ( other than for food/groceries, gas, and travel that we now use it for), please let me know!

We have the chase reserve.  We get 3x for travel and restaurants.  You get a travel credit each year of $300, so the card really only costs $250.  You also get to redeem your rewards for travel and get a 50% bonus (5000 points = $75).  If you book/prepay hotels through chase rewards, you get 10x points (when combined with the 50% bonus, equals 15% savings. i.e.  $500 hotel gives you 5000 points.  Use for travel and the points equate to 7500 points).  If you book flights though chase, you get 5x points and use the same scenario above to redeem.

One last tip: you only get 1% for all other purchases.  So, you can use the chase freedom card for all other purchases and get 1 1/2% back.  Then transfer those points to the chase reserve and get 50% bonus on the higher amount when used for travel (2.25% effectively).

[jules815]

3 hours ago, dianajo67 said:

We had to get rid of our preferred card to make room for the reserve for example.  Chase monitors how many chase cards you have.

 

Interesting. We have a Sapphire Preferred and our newest Chase card is a Freedom Unlimited which has no annual fee and gives 1.5 on most purchases, 5 on travel, 3 at pharmacies, etc. This is the card we've been using like a debit since May and putting EVERYTHING on it.  Just learned that Sapphire gives 3 points for streaming services, so about to make that change. 

 

I'm interested in the Sapphire Reserve, we get upgrade offers often, but that annual fee is the only thing holding me back. Question though. Does the reserve card grant access to all airport lounges, and would it include my spouse? If it wouldn't ding our credit, I wouldn't have a problem closing one of the other cards.

 

Really appreciate all the info. Like I said, starting to climb the walls since my knee surgery, and this has given me something fun to do and get excited about planning our next trip. 

[jules815]

14 hours ago, MaryZ said:

I do think the OP's financial advisor was giving them great information on how to continue your traveling without having to spend down your liquid cash or by pulling money out before you actually have to. 

Thank you. We didn't think it was bad advice at all. We were having the "retirement talk," and mentioned travel. His parents were just in Australia and paid for the trip using points. He was telling us how he's doing the same thing, but with a Chase Disney card and is transferring all of his points to that card to take his family on a paid Disney vacation. We're still on the young side for retirees, 65 and 61, and knock on wood, hopefully have the time to tick off the items on our bucket list. Paying with points makes it a game, and I'm all about that. Let the games begin!  😊

[jules815]

4 hours ago, dianajo67 said:

We also use the Chase Sapphire Reserve for travel and have the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited for the rotating categories to get 5% each quarter.  Nice thing is that we can pool all those points under the Chase Reserve Card in order to get 150% value during redemption for travel.  Preferred is 125%.

 

Question. When I'm on the Ultimate Rewards portal, it's only showing the points I have so far on our Freedom card. Sapphire is listed, but currently has no points. I'm about to start using Sapphire for monthly streaming services. Is it necessary to combine points and have them on one card when booking travel thru the portal? Or will it automatically combine the points? Does that make sense??

 

[jules815]

17 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

Sapphire cards provide a free DoorDash membership

 

I didn't know this!!  

[dianajo67]

23 minutes ago, jules815 said:

 

Question. When I'm on the Ultimate Rewards portal, it's only showing the points I have so far on our Freedom card. Sapphire is listed, but currently has no points. I'm about to start using Sapphire for monthly streaming services. Is it necessary to combine points and have them on one card when booking travel thru the portal? Or will it automatically combine the points? Does that make sense??

 

You have to consolidate all your points onto the Sapphire card to get the 1.25 or 1.5 redemption ability.   When you log into ultimate rewards and hit the three lines up in the upper left hand corner and scroll to the bottom of the pop up list, you’ll see the option to “combine points”.  Hit that and move the points from card A to card B.  I KNOW this works if you have the RESERVE card.  We don’t have the PREFERRED card anymore so I don’t know 100% if you can move points to that card.   My gut and very sketchy memory tell me that you have to have the RESERVE card in order to get the benefit of moving the points from other Freedom cards. Hope this helps you! 

Edited July 21, 2022 by dianajo67

[jcc1025]

On 7/20/2022 at 10:11 AM, jsf said:

A friend told me she has a RCCL credit card and builds up points, how does this work and can you apply to cruises or purchase onboard items?

We have used the RCCL card for years. You get points for each dollar spent and double points on all purchases with Royal on while on the ships. I know there are better cards out there but since cruising is our go to trip we use this card. We put alot of payments on the card and pay it off each month. So far we have gotten two free cruises and used it to discount others. Again for all my fellow financial friends out there I know its not the best but is is the one we have chosen to use and like it. 

[exm]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:41 PM, firefly333 said:

OP you are obviously in a higher spending bracket than me. I just use my rcl card to pay down balance or obc to spend in planner. I also had a sw card, but dont like flying from love field or I'd have kept it. I used to fly a lot more pre covid and sw card is good., 

 

My issue with using it to completely pay for a cruise, what if the price drops. Hard to get price drops when you used pts. ..or seemed to me.

 

Please look into other travel cards. The RCL card is terrible.