alanmr Posted June 22, 2012 #26 Share Posted June 22, 2012 It does seem silly because the two things are not related. Amex should be pleased that you are using their credit/charge card to pay for your cruise - isn't that the reason they issued one for you (and me)?If Amex doesn't see it that way, vote with your CC. I did - my Sapphire gives me 2X the points/$ spent on travel. For $10K I get 20K UA (or BA) miles (or hotel points). I value this more than a $300 OBC as 20K UA miles costs over $750 when buying them from UA. YMMV I agree that the two things are not really related. Oceania simply refuses to combine the two different sources of points, although several other cruise lines apparently allow both sources of points. I'd be curious how the agreement between Oceania and AMEX reads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
findacruise Posted June 23, 2012 #27 Share Posted June 23, 2012 It does seem silly because the two things are not related. Amex should be pleased that you are using their credit/charge card to pay for your cruise - isn't that the reason they issued one for you (and me)?If Amex doesn't see it that way, vote with your CC. I did - my Sapphire gives me 2X the points/$ spent on travel. For $10K I get 20K UA (or BA) miles (or hotel points). I value this more than a $300 OBC as 20K UA miles costs over $750 when buying them from UA. YMMV Paul - to get the 2X points do you have to book through their site and pass up TA or just use your Sapphire card? The bonus is down to 40K points but am getting ready to get one, I think. Hard to pass up even 40K points. I have been reaading the "fine print" before I apply. Thanks, Joanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted June 23, 2012 #28 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Canadians take note that Oceania is not on the list of cruiselines eligible for the $300 OBC with an Amex Canada Platinum Card. I'll be cancelling my card anyways soon, since they've raised the fee outrageously, so it's not worth it, even if I were taking an eligible cruise every year (which I'm not anymore.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 23, 2012 #29 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Paul - to get the 2X points do you have to book through their site and pass up TA or just use your Sapphire card? The bonus is down to 40K points but am getting ready to get one, I think. Hard to pass up even 40K points. I have been reaading the "fine print" before I apply. Thanks, Joanna Joanna, If you decide to get the card, make sure it's the Sapphire PREFERRED card. This is the one that gives you 2X points for $1 spent on any travel or dining when charged to this card. See the benefits: https://creditcards.chase.com/sapphire/credit-card-benefits/chase-sapphire-preferred-benefits Whether you should wait for 50K or not - that's your call. When you get the card, get 2 cards - one for each of you. Paul BTW, Marsha got 100K points for this card. There was a targeted offer and for one weekend the staff offered the extra 50K to anyone who asked. Better to be lucky than good :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted June 23, 2012 #30 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Joanna,If you decide to get the card, make sure it's the Sapphire PREFERRED card. This is the one that gives you 2X points for $1 spent on any travel or dining when charged to this card. See the benefits: https://creditcards.chase.com/sapphire/credit-card-benefits/chase-sapphire-preferred-benefits Whether you should wait for 50K or not - that's your call. When you get the card, get 2 cards - one for each of you. Paul BTW, Marsha got 100K points for this card. There was a targeted offer and for one weekend the staff offered the extra 50K to anyone who asked. Better to be lucky than good :D Paul this is the card I changed to a year ago and LOVE it..when I was in Europe for five weeks (April and May) they did not charge to change from Euros to dollars which saved us a lot of money!! Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 23, 2012 #31 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Paul this is the card I changed to a year ago and LOVE it..when I was in Europe for five weeks (April and May) they did not charge to change from Euros to dollars which saved us a lot of money!!Jancruz1 It is a great card. It is my card of choice now for most things, other than specific hotel CCs for stays in those hotels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted June 23, 2012 #32 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Plus it's a beautiful card. I love that blue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
findacruise Posted June 23, 2012 #33 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Thanks everyone. Blue is not my favorite color but it sounds like it may end up being it! Joanna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted June 24, 2012 #34 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Plus it's a beautiful card. I love that blue! Its so funny, I use it all the time and people always ask me what it is..they have never seen a card like that..very different.. Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrHemlock Posted June 24, 2012 #35 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Sounds great, but two questions come to mind which are not addressed on the Chase Preferred website link thoughtfully provided above. Perhaps one of you can describe your experience. First, the picture of the card doesn't show one of the usual credit card affiliate logos, e.g., my Chase UAL Mileage Plus card bears a Visa logo. Given that many travel services are ordered in advance online and that those websites frequently require that you identify the card as Visa, MC, AMEX, etc., how do you submit your order if there is no such affiliation? Second, for those like Jancruz who have used the card in Europe, does it contain a chip? Without the chip, your card will be refused at an ever-increasing number of places over there. Apparently, all cards issued in Europe now contain the chip but American banks are dragging their feet on this new technology for whatever reason. (Are CC chips "socialist" or "elitist?") Of all the cards I own, only my backup Diners Club MC has the chip which has proved to be a wallet-saver many times across the pond. No chip: no card for me I think. Thanks in advance for any replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted June 24, 2012 #36 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Pretty well all cards here in Canada now have chips. Not sure why the US has dragged their feet on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 24, 2012 #37 Share Posted June 24, 2012 DrHemlck, It's a very unusual card - the front of it has little information (that is what you see on the offer page); all the usual info is on the back (logo, your name, card number, etc.). BTW, it's a Visa Signature card - prominently and proudly proclaimed so on the reverse side. I have recently visited many countries in south Asia, Fr. Polynesia, Australia, etc and had no problem with this card. I am quite certain that I will have no problem across the pond either. European cards have had PIN numbers associated with them for many years now and still all establishments accepted US cards without PINs. Where you WILL have a problem without a chip card is in an automated ticket machine (trains, etc) but not in hotels, restaurants, stores, etc. I rarely (if ever) need to use a ticket machine in Europe and gladly take all the advantages of this card over ANY chipped card. Yes, I'd like to see chips (and PINs) in our cards but untill that happens, I am not losing any sleep over this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 24, 2012 #38 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Pretty well all cards here in Canada now have chips. Not sure why the US has dragged their feet on this. Probably the same reason we haven't converted to metric yet :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted June 24, 2012 #39 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Probably the same reason we haven't converted to metric yet :confused: Well, I wasn't going to mention that! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynfaye Posted June 24, 2012 #40 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Second, for those like Jancruz who have used the card in Europe, does it contain a chip? Without the chip, your card will be refused at an ever-increasing number of places over there. Apparently, all cards issued in Europe now contain the chip but American banks are dragging their feet on this new technology for whatever reason. (Are CC chips "socialist" or "elitist?") Of all the cards I own, only my backup Diners Club MC has the chip which has proved to be a wallet-saver many times across the pond. No chip: no card for me I think. We got a JP Morgan Chase card prior to our recent trip to France because it DOES have a chip. It also gives you 2X points for travel & no foreign transaction fee. No bonus points for signing up, but the first year was free. We did use it in restaurants, of course, but I'm not sure that anyone else in our group had a chip card so there would have been no problem if we didn't either. I keep hoping they will enhance the Sapphire Preferred to include the chip. Since the card is really oriented toward travelers and they have the experience of issuing the JP Morgan card, it is the next logical step. With a chip it would truly be the perfect card. Marilyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Understood Posted June 24, 2012 #41 Share Posted June 24, 2012 My Chase British Airways card has the chip, although I had to request it.- ----------------- Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynfaye Posted June 24, 2012 #42 Share Posted June 24, 2012 My Chase British Airways card has the chip, although I had to request it.------------------ Helen Helen: You must have started a trend because I just checked Chase's site and one of the benefits of the BA card is the chip. Since the affiliation is a foreign airline, it makes sense that that is one of the first to switch over. Hopefully, the others will follow. Marilyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPCruiser Posted June 25, 2012 #43 Share Posted June 25, 2012 It is a great card. It is my card of choice now for most things, other than specific hotel CCs for stays in those hotels. Paul, can you tell me if there are any Foreign Transation Fees associated with this Sapphire Preferred card and what the annual fee is for the card? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 25, 2012 #44 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Paul, can you tell me if there are any Foreign Transation Fees associated with this Sapphire Preferred card and what the annual fee is for the card? Thanks! The annual fee is $95 - waived for the first year; there are no foreign transaction fees with this card. Also, there is a 7% dividend on all points earned each year - you get 7% extra points/year. See the link to benefits in post # 29. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHUCKIE50 Posted June 25, 2012 #45 Share Posted June 25, 2012 For those of us who have a Sapphire Preffered card you can earn 4 extra points per dollar if you book a cruise now through June 30 through the Chase UR website. This means you would get total of 6 points per dollar spent so $5000 spent on a cruise could earn 30,000 points. If you value the points at .02 each this means the points are woth $600 if you value them at a higher price then they would be worth even more. It wouldn't be very hard to spend much more on an O cruise and many more points would be earned. With the current O specials ending on June 30th I will be booking a least one more O cruise in the next 5 days through the UR site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted June 25, 2012 #46 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Don't worry, there'll be new specials in July and/or August if you miss the ones ending in June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 25, 2012 #47 Share Posted June 25, 2012 For those of us who have a Sapphire Preffered card you can earn 4 extra points per dollar if you book a cruise now through June 30 through the Chase UR website. This means you would get total of 6 points per dollar spent so $5000 spent on a cruise could earn 30,000 points. If you value the points at .02 each this means the points are woth $600 if you value them at a higher price then they would be worth even more. It wouldn't be very hard to spend much more on an O cruise and many more points would be earned. With the current O specials ending on June 30th I will be booking a least one more O cruise in the next 5 days through the UR site. Not having done this, how does the cruise fare price booked through Chase UR compare to the one from O website? TA now cannot discount the prices but can give you other benefits (OBC, rebate, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grmmybtty Posted June 26, 2012 #48 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I called the Chase UR number and spoke with one of their TA's. All I have to do is find the cruise I want and I will get the published rate (which is the rate on the Oceania website, which includes the booking bonuses Oceania is currently offering). No onboard credit though, just 6x the points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPCruiser Posted June 26, 2012 #49 Share Posted June 26, 2012 The annual fee is $95 - waived for the first year; there are no foreign transaction fees with this card.Also, there is a 7% dividend on all points earned each year - you get 7% extra points/year. See the link to benefits in post # 29. Thanks for the info. We usually fly United with overseas flights and have a United MileageOne Explorer card. The Sapphire Card sure sound like a good option for travel benefits, I wonder if they can be combined with our existing Miles on our United Explorer card? We also have a Capital One Venture Card which does not charge Foreign Transaction Fees but I am not sure if the Dollars spent with it equate to the same amount of Miles as is being offered with the Sapphire card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted June 26, 2012 #50 Share Posted June 26, 2012 The points on your Chase Sapphire card can be transferred to United so you can combine the miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.