I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

According to prior posts the CP is included in EBCI, I think it's something that changed somewhat recently. I will admit though that it does make me nervous, my DD8 is my companion and I didn't purchase EBCI for her but I did for the rest of us. I guess if for some reason it doesn't work she and my DH can switch boarding passes.

I'm in the same boat with young companions. Hubby and I both have CPs for 22-23 thanks to the SW card offer from fall 2021. I really don't want any of my eight year olds being expected to board alone.

That said, I didn't think anyone could switch spots. I was under the impression that the direction you'd get would be for the higher person to board with the lower seat position, essentially wiping out your EBCI benefit.

Hubby is doing a *ton* of international travel for with this year and he's hoping SW will match his AA status level (they've offered it through his company). If that happens, I guess I'm buying EBCI specifically for the CP so that she doesn't end up at the back of the pack

 

[pinkxray]

For those of you that have done Diamond Head hike in Oahu, would you recommend morning hike or 4PM hike?

Morning! Dh didn’t understand why I had us do it at opening but once it was done he got it. It was already hot and humid when we started at 6am. Once the sun comes up it heats up. I would think it would be miserable at 4pm.






Here are some pics. We joined the line of cars to go in at 5:50. Once we got our tickets we started the hike around 6:10.

 

[becauseimnew]

Morning 1 million percent. From a Hawaii trip report that I did in June 2021:

- DH and I hiked Diamond Head. And it’s noteworthy because I got to put my Disney skillz to use, because getting to Diamond Head is basically like rope dropping SDD.
The park opens at 6am. We left HHV at 5:17 and arrived at Diamond Head at about 5:30. We were the 6th car in line, and the line QUICKLY grew behind us. We got to watch the sunrise while we waited for the gate to open, which it did at precisely 5:58 (a local heading in on foot gave us a heads up on the time). We paid $10 to park, parked, and then bought trail tickets ($5 apiece at a kiosk). It took us an hour total to get to the top and get back down. I’m so so so glad we did it this way. Heading up, we could go at whatever pace we wanted, and there was plenty of room to pass or be passed. And, obviously, we weren’t sharing the path with anyone coming down from the summit. Even when we were coming down at 7am, there was a steady stream of people both going up and coming down, such that the “going up” folks were basically walking in a single file line, at the pace of the person in front of them. Also, we had zero crowds at the summit to take pictures, and also at the lookout points along the way.

Morning! Dh didn’t understand why I had us do it at opening but once it was done he got it. It was already hot and humid when we started at 6am. Once the sun comes up it heats up. I would think it would be miserable at 4pm.






Here are some pics. We joined the line of cars to go in at 5:50. Once we got our tickets we started the hike around 6:10.

We will be there the first week in July, so 6am is probably best. Starting this month you have to make reservations 30 days in advance. I’m trying to figure everything out, because I also have to make USS Arizona reservations today.

 

[hsmamato2]

Please refresh my memory....if I want to "erase" a charge on CSP, I simply use that specific amount of points for a statement credit,correct? So a charge of 120.00 = 12,000 points straight up? Is the redemption rate for this the same on CSR as CSP? thanks....

 

[hsmamato2]

Oh....has anyone successfully use the TC on CSR to purchase a theme park (not Disney) ticket? like Hershey Park or Sesame Place etc from the front gates?

 

[570traveler]

For those of you that have done Diamond Head hike in Oahu, would you recommend morning hike or 4PM hike?

Definitely morning! Get there as early as possible as parking fills up quickly. Although with the new reservation system they are implementing that may ease the parking.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

I'm in the same boat with young companions. Hubby and I both have CPs for 22-23 thanks to the SW card offer from fall 2021. I really don't want any of my eight year olds being expected to board alone.

That said, I didn't think anyone could switch spots. I was under the impression that the direction you'd get would be for the higher person to board with the lower seat position, essentially wiping out your EBCI benefit.

Hubby is doing a *ton* of international travel for with this year and he's hoping SW will match his AA status level (they've offered it through his company). If that happens, I guess I'm buying EBCI specifically for the CP so that she doesn't end up at the back of the pack

In our situation I think it would work because we'll have 3 with EBCI (DH, DS10, and myself), and my DD without. My DH and DD8 can just switch boarding passes, then the kids and I can board and pick 4 seats in a row, leaving the middle seat open, which is unlikely to be taken. I'll probably check my DD in right at the 24 hr mark just in case, so that she shouldn't have too low of a boarding position anyway.

For your situation, it might be a little trickier with 2 having EBCI for sure since it's usually seatings of 3 on SW. You could do you and one child board early, leave the middle seat open, and at least have you and the kids together, with possibly your DH by himself. Or maybe just search and find more DP's that the CP really does get the EBCI too

Our flight is Jun 10th, I can report back to verify if the CP EBCI applied also.

ETA- oops, just noticed your username, I'm assuming you'll have 3 with EBCI instead of 2? I guess the same could sort of apply, just have your DH switch boarding passes with one of the kids, then he and the other CP kid would board later. Go ahead and check them in at 24 hours, so at least they could get boarding positions not too far back, then find 2 seats together

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I'm in the same boat with young companions. Hubby and I both have CPs for 22-23 thanks to the SW card offer from fall 2021. I really don't want any of my eight year olds being expected to board alone.

That said, I didn't think anyone could switch spots. I was under the impression that the direction you'd get would be for the higher person to board with the lower seat position, essentially wiping out your EBCI benefit.

Hubby is doing a *ton* of international travel for with this year and he's hoping SW will match his AA status level (they've offered it through his company). If that happens, I guess I'm buying EBCI specifically for the CP so that she doesn't end up at the back of the pack

I know some people frown upon it Southwest has no policy against saving seats. When my son was younger one of us we would get earlybird and board first and save three seats. Yes it can be difficult if you have five or six or seven people in a family But with three I never had anyone comment about saving a row of three. I did ask about DS boarding alone one time when he was eight and they said to just have him board with a parent he doesn’t need to board alone.

 

[Psychodisney]

We will be there the first week in July, so 6am is probably best. Starting this month you have to make reservations 30 days in advance. I’m trying to figure everything out, because I also have to make USS Arizona reservations today.

I'd also recommend doing it early in your trip when your body clock is waking up early! It took me a few days to adjust to the big time change.

 

[havaneselover]

Made my first trip to staples. They seemed to have plenty of visa gift cards in stock so I’m hoping to get three or four more trips in this week.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Happy Mothers Day to all.

 

[mom2connorandcaleb]

I’m going to apply for a CSR today. How long does it take for me to get approval and be able to use it? I’m asking because I might go ahead and book an AirBnB. For that, can I use pay you back right away and get 1.25 value of my points? How is that going to work? I could wait until after 3
months and use the points but I’m afraid some of these places won’t be available then.

 

[MouseOfCards]

Morning! Dh didn’t understand why I had us do it at opening but once it was done he got it. It was already hot and humid when we started at 6am. Once the sun comes up it heats up. I would think it would be miserable at 4pm.






Here are some pics. We joined the line of cars to go in at 5:50. Once we got our tickets we started the hike around 6:10.

Thank you for the wonderful pics!

 

[havaneselover]

Having sticker shock looking at prices to fly to Northern Michigan. American is about $650/ticket out of Reagan (non-stop). SW has flights from Richmond to Grand Rapids then I can rent a car (3 hour drive vs. 1 hour from Traverse City). But car rentals are about $650/week through Costco. I have lots of RR and UR points so it's all feasible. Just got so spoiled buying $300 plane tickets. I'm leaning toward SW so I can take the dogs although after my last SW experience with the puppy I'm nervous.

 

[georgina]

Made my first trip to staples. They seemed to have plenty of visa gift cards in stock so I’m hoping to get three or four more trips in this week.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms!

I hit my local Staples after Mother's Day brunch. They still had some but I know they go fast! Hoping to get more tomorrow as I fly out at 6 AM on Tuesday. Have the bonus offer on my CIC.

I’m going to apply for a CSR today. How long does it take for me to get approval and be able to use it? I’m asking because I might go ahead and book an AirBnB. For that, can I use pay you back right away and get 1.25 value of my points? How is that going to work? I could wait until after 3
months and use the points but I’m afraid some of these places won’t be available then.

With CSR it is 1.5. You can ask to have the card expedited to you. The airbnb PYB is scheduled to expire on June 30, not sure if it will be extended. You charge the airbnb to your card, then go back to erase the charge with points. You have to have the points in your account to be able to use them for PYB, and the points aren't credited to you until the statement closes. (So a $1000 charge could be erased by 66,667 UR's.) Or you can do a partial erasure of whatever points you do have if not the full amount. It is easy with Chase because even after the monthly statement closes, you can use the PYB feature up to the payment date to lower the balance owed.

 

[mom2connorandcaleb]

I hit my local Staples after Mother's Day brunch. They still had some but I know they go fast! Hoping to get more tomorrow as I fly out at 6 AM on Tuesday. Have the bonus offer on my CIC.

With CSR it is 1.5. You can ask to have the card expedited to you. The airbnb PYB is scheduled to expire on June 30, not sure if it will be extended. You charge the airbnb to your card, then go back to erase the charge with points. You have to have the points in your account to be able to use them for PYB, and the points aren't credited to you until the statement closes. (So a $1000 charge could be erased by 66,667 UR's.) Or you can do a partial erasure of whatever points you do have if not the full amount. It is easy with Chase because even after the monthly statement closes, you can use the PYB feature up to the payment date to lower the balance owed.

Oops, I mean CSP. Do you have to erase with points by June 30th or can that be later? I don’t know when they give the 80,000 points for $4,000 in 3 months. We put that much on in one month.

 

[georgina]

Oops, I mean CSP. Do you have to erase with points by June 30th or can that be later? I don’t know when they give the 80,000 points for $4,000 in 3 months. We put that much on in one month.

I am not certain if the cutoff is June 30 to actually use the PYB points, it might be, hoping someone else can confirm. The bonus points should be available to you as soon as the statement closes after you hit the spend. DH applied for a card 4/2, spent enough in the first month, statement closed 5/1, and the bonus points were awarded immediately after. (You may want to hit the spending 7 days before statement closes just to be sure.)

 

[djmeredith]

The last couple of times I flew Southwest EBCI did cover the companion also.

I also thought that data points were that EBCI covers the companion but priority boarding (A1-A15, whether achieved through ticket type, status, or purchasing at the counter), does not carry over.

According to prior posts the CP is included in EBCI, I think it's something that changed somewhat recently. I will admit though that it does make me nervous, my DD8 is my companion and I didn't purchase EBCI for her but I did for the rest of us. I guess if for some reason it doesn't work she and my DH can switch boarding passes.

I do not doubt these data points. However, when I called SW a couple of months ago about EBCI for my early April trip, I was told I had to buy it for both myself and my Companion. So maybe the official company line is "you have to buy it," but in reality you do not?? I also often save 1 or 2 seats in the same row. I usually go a little further back just so less people will even attempt to sit with me.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

My DH and DD8 can just switch boarding passes, then the kids and I can board and pick 4 seats in a row, leaving the middle seat open, which is unlikely to be taken.

Right, I didn't think they'd let you switch passes. I thought the name on the ticket had to match the person boarding.

Yes it can be difficult if you have five or six or seven people in a family But with three I never had anyone comment about saving a row of three.

We are a family of 5, two adults and three eight year olds. So, we'd need a 3 and a 2, even if they aren't near each other.

I have the added complication that all three of the kids have a history of air sickness. We'll be using various techniques to hopefully reduce the likelihood of that outcome, but I'd really prefer each of them be next to a parent to hold the barf bag if needed. I'm thinking the flight staff would prefer that, too. If we do get awful boarding positions, I'm going to just explain about the air sickness and see how they want to handle it.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Right, I didn't think they'd let you switch passes. I thought the name on the ticket had to match the person boarding.



We are a family of 5, two adults and three eight year olds. So, we'd need a 3 and a 2, even if they aren't near each other.

I have the added complication that all three of the kids have a history of air sickness. We'll be using various techniques to hopefully reduce the likelihood of that outcome, but I'd really prefer each of them be next to a parent to hold the barf bag if needed. I'm thinking the flight staff would prefer that, too. If we do get awful boarding positions, I'm going to just explain about the air sickness and see how they want to handle it.

Honestly I find SW way more family friendly than AA, UA, etc. Have never had anyone, including flight attendant, say anything about saving seats. I don't pick way up front but I plop my carryon in an aisle seat and park myself. DH & DS board afterwards. DH puts my carryon in overhead and we sit down.
Flight attendants on SW usually advocate for kids/families. We had one flight where a family of 5 with littles boarded last. There were 5 seats left, all separate. The FA made an announcement asking for people to move seats. When there weren't enough volunteers, she said "These kids aren't sitting alone, so we're not going anywhere until the kids can be seated with parents." Im pretty sure they don't want 8 yo seated alone either. I'd say with 2 EBCI (1A/1C) you should be able to secure enough seats.