For the Travel Hackers: ABD Charge on Sapphire Reserve

[calypso726]

I didn't know you guys were talking about this card here. I've been over on the budget board giving travel hacking advice LOL

Woohoo! Great info. Applied and now just waiting for it to arrive. Did those of you who already received them get the metal cards? I've read there has been a problem having enough of those cards so they have switched to plastic,but will replace with the metal once more are in stock. I will say that having the weight of the Sapphire card I have now is quite nice. I'm assuming it is somewhat similar??

Is that ridiculous to ask? I feel silly asking it

Yes. They will be sending out the metal cards. They didn't expect EVERYONE to apply for this card so they ran out.

Well, I just got Instantly approved for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card! 100,000 points, come to me! (Wish I'd had them when I booked my flight to China, but, oh, well, I'm SURE I'll get use out of them!!! )

Thanks all!

Sayhello

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! The card was not available in April. The release date was August 21st.

I just called. We already have the Chase Sapphire card, so if we switched to Chase Sapphire Reserve, we are not eligible for the 100,000 points. That's only for new cardholders. Bummer.

Don't switch. Apply for the card so you can get the bonus. Move credit around if necessary and then product change your Sapphire Preferred card to a Freedom (5x category rotating bonuses, capped at $1500 spend quarterly) or Freedom Unlimited (1.5 x points on all spend uncapped).

Realistically, what does 100k points usually get you in airline travel? Other than Southwest, I really have no knowledge of traveling on points because I've never been loyal enough to one airline to accumulate enough to go anywhere!

I'm not loyal to any airlines either. It's all about travel hacking with credit cards and how to get the points I need to fly where I want to go for me. It depends on how you redeem the points. I used 100,000 Chase UR points transferred to United to book my flight to Jackson Hole in first class for our ABD Winter in Wyoming trip this December. The same flight out of pocket is over $2100. A couple of weeks ago I used 115,000 points to book a one way flight to Rome for our ABD Italy trip next year on British Airways. That flight is just over $7,000 out of pocket At their lowest value which is using them as cash to purchase travel then they are worth $1500.

The number of points you need to get anywhere will vary from airline to airline and also depends on your destination. In addition, the number will vary based on your class of travel. Less points are needed for economy, more for business and even more for first.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I didn't know you guys were talking about this card here. I've been over on the budget board giving travel hacking advice LOL

Wondered where you were, LOL!!!

 

[calypso726]

Wondered where you were, LOL!!!

Living vicariously through all of those who have been approved for their shiny new CSR cards. I got my mom approved for one too. As slightly more than casual travel hackers DH and I will have to wait before we can apply for this awesome card. Last year Chase implemented a new rule which is hard denial for applicants that have opened 5 new credit cards of any bank over the last 24 months. Therefore, thanks to the 5/24 rule we cannot get this card right now. I am sitting at 10/24 so worst case scenario is that I have to not apply for ANY cards until next August. By then I will be down to 4/24 and can apply and get approved. In the meantime I suppose I will start some manufactured spending.

 

[chattadisser]

Does the $300 travel credit count for purchases made in 2016 or for purchases made on statements closed in 2016? I am thinking from whT I have read that the statement needs to close in December vs making a purchase in December which is on your January 2017 statement? Any insight?

 

[acndis]

Does the $300 travel credit count for purchases made in 2016 or for purchases made on statements closed in 2016? I am thinking from whT I have read that the statement needs to close in December vs making a purchase in December which is on your January 2017 statement? Any insight?

Yes, that's right. I had some problems with this on my Citi Prestige. The charge did not clear until after the December statement closed and they did not give me credit. I protested and they reversed it. I will never cut it that close again. I made a $500 payment on my summer 2017 ABD last week. I pay in full in February so I'll get the 2017 $300 credit then (if not before on something else).

 

[sayhello]

Yes, that's right. I had some problems with this on my Citi Prestige. The charge did not clear until after the December statement closed and they did not give me credit. I protested and they reversed it. I will never cut it that close again. I made a $500 payment on my summer 2017 ABD last week. I pay in full in February so I'll get the 2017 $300 credit then (if not before on something else).

Thanks! That's good to know! I'll do the same & make a payment on my summer 2017 trip as soon as I get my card. My PIF date is in Feb, also, so that will get the other $300.

Sayhello

 

[ChattaDIS]

Got a question on the lounge access. Is it just for the cardholder or can you bring a guest with you without a charge? Is there is a charge what is it usually?

 

[calypso726]

Got a question on the lounge access. Is it just for the cardholder or can you bring a guest with you without a charge? Is there is a charge what is it usually?

The Priority Pass card that comes with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card allows all members in your travel party to access the Priority Pass Lounge free of charge.

 

[laceltris3]

I received my CSR yesterday and already used the $300 credit on the deposit for my spring break trip. I have run the numbers and I think that 5% cash back on Disney gift cards at Kroger (by my Amex that gives unlimited 5% on grocery) with 4x fuel points, paired with a DVA, is better than the 3x on travel for my DCL and ABD, but it will still get a lot of use.

Now I am trying to work through whether it is better to pay for my United airfare with my MileagePlus card that gives 2x miles and the free checked bags etc. or the 3x from CSR.

 

[calypso726]

I received my CSR yesterday and already used the $300 credit on the deposit for my spring break trip. I have run the numbers and I think that 5% cash back on Disney gift cards at Kroger (by my Amex that gives unlimited 5% on grocery) with 4x fuel points, paired with a DVA, is better than the 3x on travel for my DCL and ABD, but it will still get a lot of use.

Now I am trying to work through whether it is better to pay for my United airfare with my MileagePlus card that gives 2x miles and the free checked bags etc. or the 3x from CSR.

Definitely better to pay for your United Airfare with the CSR if the goal is UR points. If your tickets are $1000 you would earn 3000 UR points which can be transferred to 3000 United miles. With your United card you'd only get 2000 miles. If the goal is saving money, and priority boarding then the United card of course. Technically, to get the free checked bags you are supposed to pay with the United card. However, if you log in an book your reservation often times you will get the free checked bags even without paying with the United card. So it's a gamble. Sometimes, the gate agents will waive the fee if you show them your United card. YMMV

Another thing to consider is built in travel protection insurance benefits with each card. With the CSR card, baggage delay insurance kicks in after 6 hours. 18 hours with United card. Trip delay also kicks in at 6 hours with the CSR. United card's trip delay kicks in after 12 hours.

We don't have Kroger's here in South Florida. That's a nice savings and hard to beat if you are trying to save money on your vacation expenses. We usually will choose earning miles over saving money since we only redeem our miles for first class flights. Although, we did just book some business class flights for Europe next year to see what it's like and to save a few miles as well. We have found a way to do a little bit of saving money and earning miles at a maximum pay out for 5x which I will share in case it helps anyone else. We use the Freedom card on bonus category purchases at 5x to purchase Disney gift cards. Right now the bonus category is Wholesale Clubs and we are purchasing gift cards at the wholesale clubs for a discount of 5% with BJ's. American airlines has a shopping portal which gives you 1 miles per dollar and BJ's is a participating store. So for $1,000 in gift cards, we paid $949.90, saved just over $50, earned 4,749.50 UR points and 949 AA miles. We will load those gift cards into our DVA for an extra 2% back in Disney gift cards.

 

[Calfan]

Air Canada is not an airline that you can transfer to. You can transfer to United (Star Alliance), but that may not be the *best* option for you. Don't forget, you'll get triple reward points for paying for the Rhine cruise, which will probably be a good amount of miles. You can hold onto it until your annual fee is due, you wouldn't have to cancel right away.

I had my annual fee show up on my United Explorer card when I called and canceled it and Chase removed it from my statement. Just something to consider

While you can't transfer Ultimate Rewards points directly to Air Canada, Air Canada is in the Star Alliance, so you can use your United miles for award travel on Air Canada. We traveled home from Heathrow after our Baltics cruise last summer on Air Canada using United miles.

 

[Calfan]

Does the $300 travel credit count for purchases made in 2016 or for purchases made on statements closed in 2016? I am thinking from whT I have read that the statement needs to close in December vs making a purchase in December which is on your January 2017 statement? Any insight?

Yes, that's right. I had some problems with this on my Citi Prestige. The charge did not clear until after the December statement closed and they did not give me credit. I protested and they reversed it. I will never cut it that close again. I made a $500 payment on my summer 2017 ABD last week. I pay in full in February so I'll get the 2017 $300 credit then (if not before on something else).

I suppose there could be a case of cutting it too close, but we received our CSR on Friday right before we left for a weekend in California, and made several "travel" charges on the card this weekend such as taxis, BART (the Bay Area's subway system equivalent), airport parking, hotel, etc. and the CSR travel credits are showing up instantly in our account (viewed online), and the statement has definitely not closed.

 

[acndis]

I suppose there could be a case of cutting it too close, but we received our CSR on Friday right before we left for a weekend in California, and made several "travel" charges on the card this weekend such as taxis, BART (the Bay Area's subway system equivalent), airport parking, hotel, etc. and the CSR travel credits are showing up instantly in our account (viewed online), and the statement has definitely not closed.

As a disclaimer, I think Chase is MUCH better than Citi on just about everything so I agree you can probably push it more with Chase. However, I feel like a credit card company is entitled to enforce whatever rules they have on this and I didn't want to take a chance of missing out on the refund!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We use the Freedom card on bonus category purchases at 5x to purchase Disney gift cards. Right now the bonus category is Wholesale Clubs and we are purchasing gift cards at the wholesale clubs for a discount of 5% with BJ's. American airlines has a shopping portal which gives you 1 miles per dollar and BJ's is a participating store. So for $1,000 in gift cards, we paid $949.90, saved just over $50, earned 4,749.50 UR points and 949 AA miles. We will load those gift cards into our DVA for an extra 2% back in Disney gift cards.

We don't have a BJ's close to our house. Is it possible to purchase the gift cards online? It sounds like that's what you are doing to get the 1% with AA. I'm wondering if it would be worth to apply for a Freedom card and getting a BJ's membership. I have my PIF for the Rhine River cruise in February so I know the Disney gift cards will be used.

How do you calculate the UR points?

 

[calypso726]

We don't have a BJ's close to our house. Is it possible to purchase the gift cards online? It sounds like that's what you are doing to get the 1% with AA. I'm wondering if it would be worth to apply for a Freedom card and getting a BJ's membership. I have my PIF for the Rhine River cruise in February so I know the Disney gift cards will be used.

How do you calculate the UR points?

Yup. I am purchasing online. Don't even need a membership to do it either as I did it before getting a membership. I got an Amex offer that essentially gave me what amounted to a free membership so I finally joined. The Freedom caps you at $1500 each quarter. Warehouses clubs are the bonus this quarter and next quarter. So theoretically, if you applied today, got your card expedited and received it, made the online purchase for $1500 in gift cards and it posted before September 30th, then waited until after October 1st to make the next $1500 in gift cards purchase you will have racked up 15,000 UR points for $3,000 spend.

Do you mean how I value them? Slightly less than SPG points since they are easier to earn and don't have as many transfer partners as SPG. I strive to get 1.9 cents per UR point or better. Fairly easy considering we redeem for first class but realistically I wouldn't pay $15,000 or more to fly up front. Now, if I saw a $2,000 RT international first class flight I liked for $2,000 then I will pay out of pocket and not blow miles on it since I would be earning butt in seat miles for the flight. So, we decide, what would we pay out of pocket for a particular flight realistically and then divide that number by the number of UR points it will cost.

 

[calypso726]

Just popping back in to report I got the Reserve card! I was able to get around the Chase 5/24 rule by one of the only two methods that work. Funding the Disney Savings Vacation account with it will code as travel too. Looking forward to $600 off on our next ABD! I don't think I have ever been so excited about a credit card!

 

[distravel]

Just popping back in to report I got the Reserve card! I was able to get around the Chase 5/24 rule by one of the only two methods that work. Funding the Disney Savings Vacation account with it will code as travel too. Looking forward to $600 off on our next ABD! I don't think I have ever been so excited about a credit card!

Sorry if this has been answered before but how did you get the card? DH not eligible until next Spring as 7/24. Would love for DH to get this card before they lower the 100,000 points bonus. I was able to get the card after calling and disputing my authorized user cards. I must admit I was also quite excited to get this card!

 

[calypso726]

Sorry if this has been answered before but how did you get the card? DH not eligible until next Spring as 7/24. Would love for DH to get this card before they lower the 100,000 points bonus. I was able to get the card after calling and disputing my authorized user cards. I must admit I was also quite excited to get this card!

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-pre-approval-branch-frequently-asked-questions/

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/ensure-youll-receive-pre-approved-offers/

Above are the links to the FAQs and data points for the Reserve. The second link is how to make sure you are able to get a pre-approved offer from Chase.

There are only two ways around a 5/24 denial that doesn't include the count for AUs on a recon call. There are countless data points of those who are way over 5/24 with no AU cards and got the dreaded 7-10 day message on their application. Then they went into a branch and asked if they had any preapproved offers on their account. Online offer on your account are not the same you have to check in the branch. Those who had one were able to apply and get the card.

The other way around 5/24 is if you are a Chase Private Client. Make an appointment with your banker and have them apply and call recon on your behalf. Most CPCs have been approved. I have seen a couple of data points where one wasn't approved so it isn't a guarantee. Those who went the CPC route were able to join CPC are reporting that they were able to do so without going "all in" on the amount Chase states are the requirements and you can negotiate the fee should you decide to let them manage anything. I have read that letting them manage your funds is not a requirement to become CPC.

My own datapoints for those considering: DH and I were both at or over 10/24 and non were AU cards. I pulled the trigger before I saw datapoints that 5/24 was being enforced. Got the 7-10 day message. Called recon twice and got the hard denial twice for being over 5/24. Checked to see if we had preapproved offers in branch and had none. Read the datapoints on CPC, ran the numbers to compare what we were currently doing with another firm. Decided to explore that route. Made an appointment with CPC banker the day after officially joining CPC. Since I already had a denial on my app and it had been past 30 days the banker did DHS app first to see how it would go. The analyst noted being past 5/24 but said they'd see what they could do for him since he was CPC. DH moved around some existing credit lines and was approved. The CPC banker had my app ready to send once we got the nod and hit submit. The analyst shifted around some of my credit lines and I was approved. Got my card 2 days later. CPC banker called me to inform me that they were out of metal cards and the plastic one was temporary LOL. I told him I was aware. Hope this helps.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Just popping back in to report I got the Reserve card! I was able to get around the Chase 5/24 rule by one of the only two methods that work. Funding the Disney Savings Vacation account with it will code as travel too. Looking forward to $600 off on our next ABD! I don't think I have ever been so excited about a credit card!

That's how we felt! Dh and I both were approved. Dh immediately. I got the dreaded 7-10 day, but it was because I'm self employed and they needed more info. I also offered to move around some chase credit. I think I had 5 chase cards!

 

[calypso726]

That's how we felt! Dh and I both were approved. Dh immediately. I got the dreaded 7-10 day, but it was because I'm self employed and they needed more info. I also offered to move around some chase credit. I think I had 5 chase cards!

I am now up to 9 Chase cards LOL As far as I am concerned this card is the "Holy Grail" of travel credit cards so I am stoked!!! I product changed my Sapphire Preferred to a Freedom Unlimited. So now I have the Chase Quadfecta. We are in Epcot this weekend for Food & Wine and will be happily abusing our Reserve cards!