Tag Archives: Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass – Part 1: Obtaining the Companion Pass the Hard Way

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass Logo

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass – Part 1: Obtaining the Companion Pass the Hard Way

Every travel blog out there will tell you how awesome the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass is and how easy it is to get.  Here is the Cliff Notes / Spark Notes version:

  • Apply for 2 Chase Southwest Airlines Credit Cards between October 1 and December 31.
  • Don’t spend a penny on the cards during any statements periods that close in 2014.
  • Spend $2,000+ during the statement periods that close in 2015.
  • Collect 52,000 Southwest Airlines miles x 2 = 104,000 miles.
  • Get the remaining 6,000 miles from Hyatt, Marriott, or other points transfers.
  • Travel for “free” with a companion for all of 2015 and all of 2016.

If that sounds like something you want to do, please consider signing up for a Chase Southwest Airlines Credit Card through one of my credit card referral links.

However, this post is not about the easy way to get the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.  This post is about the hard way to achieve the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass.  Let’s say your name is Grant and you find yourself somewhere between no Companion Pass and a Companion Pass for 2015.

Let’s assume you got the Chase Southwest Airlines Premier Credit Card last year and the Chase Southwest Airlines Plus Credit Card earlier this year.  Let’s also assume you cannot get a Chase Southwest Airlines Business Credit Card since you just got a Chase Ink Plus Business Credit.  Lastly, let’s assume you are 41,522 Southwest Airlines miles away from qualifying for the Companion Pass next year.  What do you do?  To view your current Southwest Airlines Companion Pass status, please log into your Southwest Airlines account first and then click this link (you may want to bookmark this link as well).

Grant Thomas Current Companion Pass Status

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Amtrak Coast Starlight Trip – Part 2: Transferring Points and Booking Trains

Sheldon Cooper Train

Amtrak Coast Starlight Trip – Part 2: Transferring Points and Booking Trains

Please read part 1 of my Amtrak Coast Starlight Trip (link) before reading this post.

To make this trip happen, I used 7,500 British Airways Avios to fly Alaska Airlines from Orange County, CA (SNA) to Seattle, WA (SEA) and 25,000 Amtrak Points for a 2 person bedroom on the Coast Starlight Amtrak train from Seattle to Irvine.  This was accomplished by using Chase Ultimate Reward Points and their instant 1:1 transfer partners (the chart is slightly out of date since it is missing Singapore Airlines).  To learn more about the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, click here.

Chase UR Partners

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Surprise Chase Ink Plus Approval after Closing my Chase Ink Bold

Ink Cards

Surprise Chase Ink Plus Approval after Closing my Chase Ink Bold

Based on the responses from my recent poll (voting still open), the Chase Ink Plus seems like this is a pretty popular topic in the voting.

Chase Ink Bold Plus Survey

I would have shared my story sooner, but right when it happened, the sign up bonus for the Chase Ink Plus Business Credit Card raised from 50,000 to 70,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points.  I’m sure you were (are?) bombarded with posts about the Chase Ink Plus and didn’t want my story to get lost in the crowd.  With that said, here are the facts:

  • I got my Chase Ink Bold MasterCard in April 2012
  • I got my Chase Ink Bold Visa in March 2014
  • I applied for my Chase Ink Plus Visa on September 12, 2014

The reason I applied for the Chase Ink Plus Visa Business Credit Card was because I received a targeted letter in the mail for the 70,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points sign up bonus.  It was too good to resist, so I pulled the trigger.

Chase Ink Plus 70k Front

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Poll: Do you Manufacture Spend when you Travel?

Which Credit Card

Poll: Do you Manufacture Spend when you Travel?

Based on the responses from my recent poll (voting still open), it seems like this is a pretty popular topic.  I think I may have misled you with the question; I was more interested in seeing if most people do manufacture spending while they travel, either for work or while on vacation.  Since it is an interesting topic, I will share my view on MS while traveling.

MS Travel

The topic comes up frequently at travel conferences, especially at FTU events and the Chicago Seminars.  Last year when the FTU was held in Tampa, Florida, I remember hearing many people visit the CVS close to the host hotel to load up on Vanilla Reload Cards ($5,000 at a time).  Of course this happens often, but it is talked about less frequently.   Continue reading