topic Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together in Credit Cards

How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Junejer — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 18:36:29 GMT

Currently, I use my SWPC as my daily driver. I'm going to app for the CSP soon and have the CFU as well. I am A-List and have the Companion Pass with SW both secured through 12/31/22. I know this isn't a true trifecta, but there has to be some way for these cards to work together.

My question is how do I maximize the usage of the three of them together? Do the UR points I transfer to my RR account count towards my Companion Pass points? I'd like to spread the love between the three cards as my daily drivers if that makes sense. We use SW for the majority of our travel, so keeping A-List and Companion Pass is pretty important to us. We are moderate travelers since COVID. I had six or seven round trip flights in 2021. I think 2022 will be slightly higher, but not much higher.

I'm not sure if I'm asking all the right questions either.

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 18:45:18 GMT

@Junejer wrote:
Currently, I use my SWPC as my daily driver. I'm going to app for the CSP soon and have the CFU as well. I am A-List and have the Companion Pass with SW both secured through 12/31/22. I know this isn't a true trifecta, but there has to be some way for these cards to work together.

My question is how do I maximize the usage of the three of them together? Do the UR points I transfer to my RR account count towards my Companion Pass points? I'd like to spread the love between the three cards as my daily drivers if that makes sense. We use SW for the majority of our travel, so keeping A-List and Companion Pass is pretty important to us. We are moderate travelers since COVID. I had six or seven round trip flights in 2021. I think 2022 will be slightly higher, but not much higher.

I'm not sure if I'm asking all the right questions either.

Interesting post , only if I could understand it. You see not all of us are experts like you are so I have no idea what the letters you are saying

CSP - I have no idea what that means

CFU - I have no idea what that means

SW - South West???? no idea

UR - Points? no idea

RR - Account. Rail Road? no idea

Most of us who come on here come on for advice. As I said prior most of us will have no idea what you are talking about it may be wise to spell things out so we all can understand what you are saying

Thanks

Mark

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Junejer — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 18:51:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Junejer wrote:
Currently, I use my SWPC as my daily driver. I'm going to app for the CSP soon and have the CFU as well. I am A-List and have the Companion Pass with SW both secured through 12/31/22. I know this isn't a true trifecta, but there has to be some way for these cards to work together.

My question is how do I maximize the usage of the three of them together? Do the UR points I transfer to my RR account count towards my Companion Pass points? I'd like to spread the love between the three cards as my daily drivers if that makes sense. We use SW for the majority of our travel, so keeping A-List and Companion Pass is pretty important to us. We are moderate travelers since COVID. I had six or seven round trip flights in 2021. I think 2022 will be slightly higher, but not much higher.

I'm not sure if I'm asking all the right questions either.
Interesting post , only if I could understand it. You see not all of us are experts like you are so I have no idea what the letters you are saying

CSP - I have no idea what that means
CFU - I have no idea what that means
SW - South West???? no idea
UR - Points? no idea
RR - Account. Rail Road? no idea

Most of us who come on here come on for advice. As I said prior most of us will have no idea what you are talking about it may be wise to spell things out so we all can understand what you are saying
Thanks
Mark

Sorry, Mark.

CSP=Chase Sapphire Preferred

CFU=Chase Freedom Unlimited

SW=Southwest

UR=Ultimate Rewards (through the Chase portal)

RR=Rapid Rewards (through my Southwest Priority Card)

I hope that clarifies it more.

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

coldfusion — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 19:16:34 GMT

I don't know the answer as I'm not a big Southwest flyer but I understand the ask.

In essense you want to know if Southwest points accumulated via transfer/conversion from Chase UR count toward the mininum threshold needed to earn your yearly Companion Pass.

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Junejer — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 19:22:57 GMT

@coldfusion wrote:
I don't know the answer as I'm not a big Southwest flyer but I understand the ask.

In essense you want to know if Southwest points accumulated via transfer/conversion from Chase UR count toward the mininum threshold needed to earn your yearly Companion Pass.

Yes, that’s it in a nutshell @coldfusion

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

FinStar — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 19:38:44 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Interesting post , only if I could understand it. You see not all of us are experts like you are so I have no idea what the letters you are saying

CSP - I have no idea what that means
CFU - I have no idea what that means
SW - South West???? no idea
UR - Points? no idea
RR - Account. Rail Road? no idea

Most of us who come on here come on for advice. As I said prior most of us will have no idea what you are talking about it may be wise to spell things out so we all can understand what you are saying
Thanks
Mark

@Anonymous- there is a link for that below:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458

And, a plethora of other useful information here:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/bd-p/Welcome

I would recommend poking around the MF website and you'll find treasures of information ☑️

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Junejer — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 19:41:40 GMT

Maybe I didn’t search correctly. I used quite a number of different search criteria to try to find i my answer before posting.

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

FinStar — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 19:54:47 GMT

@Junejer wrote:
Maybe I didn’t search correctly. I used quite a number of different search criteria to try to find i my answer before posting.

@Junejer- the post above yours was for another member since they were confused/unclear on the acronyms that you used, so I provided direct links to those resources for his reference and benefit.

As far as your Q? I personally have not transferred URs to SWA for the companion pass or to retain A-List status specifically from any Chase CCs such as CSP/CF/CFU/CFF. I have used the SWRR CC specifically for that purpose alone since I leverage URs for other opportunities. But, I'm sure there is bound to be someone who can chime in with their methods to maximize things similar to your approach.

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Junejer — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 20:08:33 GMT

Gotcha. Thanks @FinStar

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

TampaBAY86 — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 21:04:08 GMT

Hi @Junejer, I was about 95% sure they didn't count, but I figured TPG would know for sure. Confirmation that transferred points do not count towards the Companion Pass.

However, many things do not count toward earning the Companion Pass. The first is any transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards, so if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, for example, and were hoping to transfer the sign-up bonus for the Companion Pass, you’re out of luck. Purchased points also don’t count, nor do flight bonus points and points transferred from hotel and car loyalty programs.

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/earn-southwest-companion-pass-new-year/

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

K-in-Boston — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 23:17:16 GMT

@Junejer wrote:
Currently, I use my SWPC as my daily driver. I'm going to app for the CSP soon and have the CFU as well. I am A-List and have the Companion Pass with SW both secured through 12/31/22. I know this isn't a true trifecta, but there has to be some way for these cards to work together.

My question is how do I maximize the usage of the three of them together? Do the UR points I transfer to my RR account count towards my Companion Pass points? I'd like to spread the love between the three cards as my daily drivers if that makes sense. We use SW for the majority of our travel, so keeping A-List and Companion Pass is pretty important to us. We are moderate travelers since COVID. I had six or seven round trip flights in 2021. I think 2022 will be slightly higher, but not much higher.

I'm not sure if I'm asking all the right questions either.

The cards can certainly work together, but as mentioned already the points transfers won't help with A-List or keeping the companion pass. Since Southwest points have a fixed value of 1.3 cents and your CSP would give you 1.25 cents per point when used toward travel, it's likely a better scenario for you to use them to book revenue SWA flights which will not only count toward keeping your tiers, but also end up with you earning RRs back on those flights. (For a CSR that would be an even better option for SWA since they would be worth 1.5 cents.)

As with Amex MRs and other flexible points programs, you will need to call Chase Travel in order to book the flights using URs as SWA doesn't allow their flights to be listed on OTAs, including Chase Travel, Amex Travel, etc. But you will be able to book any flight that shows as available on the SWA website.

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Hoben02 — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 01:18:39 GMT

I try to maximize usage based on which bonus pays the best. I don't have the companion pass so I don't target spend on the swa card unless it's decent.

my daily driver is the cfu. Knowing that I can transfer cfu to the csp then to swa. my only spend that goes on swa card is any telecommunications since it's 2x now or whenever they have promos like 5x for gas.

when booking flights on swa I'm more likely to use my csp card for the travel benefits like flight delay and lost luggage it's better then the swa card this is when redeeming wanna get away flights and the charge is for the tsa fee

This was a good article about using the chase portal

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/booking-southwest-chase-points/

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Junejer — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 01:31:10 GMT

@TampaBAY86 wrote:
Hi @Junejer, I was about 95% sure they didn't count, but I figured TPG would know for sure. Confirmation that transferred points do not count towards the Companion Pass.

However, many things do not count toward earning the Companion Pass. The first is any transfer from Chase Ultimate Rewards, so if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, for example, and were hoping to transfer the sign-up bonus for the Companion Pass, you’re out of luck. Purchased points also don’t count, nor do flight bonus points and points transferred from hotel and car loyalty programs.
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/earn-southwest-companion-pass-new-year/

Thanks for sharing @TampaBAY86. It was a good read. I appreciate the share.

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Junejer — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 01:43:04 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
@Junejer wrote:
Currently, I use my SWPC as my daily driver. I'm going to app for the CSP soon and have the CFU as well. I am A-List and have the Companion Pass with SW both secured through 12/31/22. I know this isn't a true trifecta, but there has to be some way for these cards to work together.

My question is how do I maximize the usage of the three of them together? Do the UR points I transfer to my RR account count towards my Companion Pass points? I'd like to spread the love between the three cards as my daily drivers if that makes sense. We use SW for the majority of our travel, so keeping A-List and Companion Pass is pretty important to us. We are moderate travelers since COVID. I had six or seven round trip flights in 2021. I think 2022 will be slightly higher, but not much higher.

I'm not sure if I'm asking all the right questions either.
The cards can certainly work together, but as mentioned already the points transfers won't help with A-List or keeping the companion pass. Since Southwest points have a fixed value of 1.3 cents and your CSP would give you 1.25 cents per point when used toward travel, it's likely a better scenario for you to use them to book revenue SWA flights which will not only count toward keeping your tiers, but also end up with you earning RRs back on those flights. (For a CSR that would be an even better option for SWA since they would be worth 1.5 cents.)

As with Amex MRs and other flexible points programs, you will need to call Chase Travel in order to book the flights using URs as SWA doesn't allow their flights to be listed on OTAs, including Chase Travel, Amex Travel, etc. But you will be able to book any flight that shows as available on the SWA website.

Hey @K-in-Boston, would you please expound on the italicized (particularly, the bolded and colored) text? Thanks. I'm assuming, by them, you meant a specific card but wasn't sure.

ETA: I think I understand it now to be that you meant that should use my UR to book revenue flights with SW. If that is the case, it makes sense.

Re: How to Maximize Ultimate Rewards and Rapid Rewards Together

Junejer — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 01:48:19 GMT

@Hoben02 wrote:
I try to maximize usage based on which bonus pays the best. I don't have the companion pass so I don't target spend on the swa card unless it's decent.
my daily driver is the cfu. Knowing that I can transfer cfu to the csp then to swa. my only spend that goes on swa card is any telecommunications since it's 2x now or whenever they have promos like 5x for gas.
when booking flights on swa I'm more likely to use my csp card for the travel benefits like flight delay and lost luggage it's better then the swa card this is when redeeming wanna get away flights and the charge is for the tsa fee

This was a good article about using the chase portal
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/booking-southwest-chase-points/

Thanks for sharing, @Hoben02! That read clarified a number of things for me.