I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[georgina]

Ok, to share my experience and have some datapoint in the hopes that this helps others.

So I called recon about my CSP app that I got the 7-10 day message on. The rep told me that I could get the app approved if I either closed one of my open cards or moved some of my credit limits. She said I needed to have $5k in order for the CSP to be approved. (Now keep in mind I lower credit limits before I applied). So I went online while on the phone to see which ones to move credit from, as I don't really have any that I wanted to close. All of my cards, except my FUL, had credit limits already at $5k (FUL was at $10K) so I thought I'd take $2500 from two cards and all would be good. Before moving anything my available credit was only 15% of my income which is why I thought I'd be fine when applying. I worked through my cards only to be told by the rep that my Freedom, IHG and Marriott could not have a credit limit lower than $5k. I ended up moving the $5k from the FUL and the CSP was approved.

I wanted to share this as 1) I had never heard of the Freedom, IHG or Marriott having a base credit limit and 2) it seems like the overall available credit Chase is willing to extend has gone down.

I have a Freedom with a $3000 CL. It was downgraded from a CSP and then I lowered the CL before applying for CFU. I also have a Freedom with $5000, Marriott with $8000, and $21,000 on that new CFU.

 

[tink1970]

Ok, to share my experience and have some datapoint in the hopes that this helps others.

So I called recon about my CSP app that I got the 7-10 day message on. The rep told me that I could get the app approved if I either closed one of my open cards or moved some of my credit limits. She said I needed to have $5k in order for the CSP to be approved. (Now keep in mind I lower credit limits before I applied). So I went online while on the phone to see which ones to move credit from, as I don't really have any that I wanted to close. All of my cards, except my FUL, had credit limits already at $5k (FUL was at $10K) so I thought I'd take $2500 from two cards and all would be good. Before moving anything my available credit was only 15% of my income which is why I thought I'd be fine when applying. I worked through my cards only to be told by the rep that my Freedom, IHG and Marriott could not have a credit limit lower than $5k. I ended up moving the $5k from the FUL and the CSP was approved.

I wanted to share this as 1) I had never heard of the Freedom, IHG or Marriott having a base credit limit and 2) it seems like the overall available credit Chase is willing to extend has gone down.

Thanks for that DP. I wonder when that change occurred? I have 2 Freedoms with $3K limits and my Marriott is only $2500. I'm glad I lowered them when it was a possibility.

Congrats on your CSP, too!

 

[Judique]

Ok, to share my experience and have some datapoint in the hopes that this helps others.

So I called recon about my CSP app that I got the 7-10 day message on. The rep told me that I could get the app approved if I either closed one of my open cards or moved some of my credit limits. She said I needed to have $5k in order for the CSP to be approved. (Now keep in mind I lower credit limits before I applied). So I went online while on the phone to see which ones to move credit from, as I don't really have any that I wanted to close. All of my cards, except my FUL, had credit limits already at $5k (FUL was at $10K) so I thought I'd take $2500 from two cards and all would be good. Before moving anything my available credit was only 15% of my income which is why I thought I'd be fine when applying. I worked through my cards only to be told by the rep that my Freedom, IHG and Marriott could not have a credit limit lower than $5k. I ended up moving the $5k from the FUL and the CSP was approved.

I wanted to share this as 1) I had never heard of the Freedom, IHG or Marriott having a base credit limit and 2) it seems like the overall available credit Chase is willing to extend has gone down.

I had to take credit from my Marriott card to get myself approved 6 months ago for the CSP. This in my opinion is another dp not to lower your credit limits too low. You may not get it back when you need it. Absolutely lower it if they give you 25K on one card, if you feel the need to. But if you've got 3-4 cards and you take them all down to small amounts, you may have to close cards you want to keep to get approved for your next card. You need 5K for a CSP and 10K for a CSR, unless that's changed.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Off topic but I'm so mad at myself for buying my season pass to Sesame Place early during their Memorial Day Sale. Now with their 4th of July sale, it's like $33 cheaper! Ugh lol.

 

[chattadisser]

I had to take credit from my Marriott card to get myself approved 6 months ago for the CSP. This in my opinion is another dp not to lower your credit limits too low. You may not get it back when you need it. Absolutely lower it if they give you 25K on one card, if you feel the need to. But if you've got 3-4 cards and you take them all down to small amounts, you may have to close cards you want to keep to get approved for your next card. You need 5K for a CSP and 10K for a CSR, unless that's changed.

I was just surprised that some of the cards couldn't go below $5k. Well at least that was the story I got, sounds like others have their limits lower than that so who knows???

 

[GusGus16]

I've been back for a bit from my whirlwind Utah trip, will do a run down as it may be helpful to others. This will be a long post, so if no interest just pass by. Much of the trip was covered by points.

Flights-Southwest (the schedule changes have been rough, none of the flights were the same ones I originally booked and ultimately we didn't end up on the flights that we had rebooked either)
Flew into Las Vegas - 12,015 RR points and $11.20 for taxes for me and my companion [Cash price $180]
Flew out of Salt Lake City - 12,101 and $11.20 for taxes [$190]

Rental car through Avis, paid cash using my CSP for the insurance. I hope rental prices decrease over the next couple months, otherwise this could be cost prohibitive for many, given my use of points this was the major cash expense of the trip. I gave up my costco membership last February during COVID and did price check through them, but it wasn't any cheaper than going through Avis. There was a hiccup with picking up the car, the rental counter at the Mirage was suppose to be open, but there was a sign on the desk that it was closed. Avis said it was suppose to be open, we ended up having to go to New York New York to pick up the car instead and wasted about an hour, but did get a car. It appeared they had plenty of rental cars, I did prepay for the rental but that didn't matter when it came down to things.

Trip was a driving tour of the Magnificent 5-Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonland National Parks. Hotels on our way-

Las Vegas-Mirage paid with Hyatt points (20,000). Of note you can pay several MGM resorts using Hyatt points but you still get charged the resort fee despite this being a points booking. [I didn't write down the cash price but it would have had to be >250 for me to use the hyatt points]

Springdale Utah/Zion-Cliffrose Springdale Curio Collection Hilton x 3 nights-138,000 & $281 [$1,572.85]
I have been holding on to my hilton points for a good redemption from a SUB from a couple years ago and this was an awesome redemption. I think the main thing to keep in mind with hilton is being able to book early to get the best redemption given the dynamic pricing. This is a great place to stay in Zion, less than 10 minute walk into the park. Rooms recently updated, although noted poor workmanship in some of the finishes. Set up like a motel with door to the outside. Nice balcony and pool. With my gold status room service breakfast up to $30 was included, although we didn't use this until the last morning because we were up early to get to the park prior to room service being available, on the last day found out we could preorder for pick up so something to keep in mind if you are staying there.

Bryce-Best Western Ruby's Inn x 1 night this was a cash stay, not many options and I don't have many BW points. The room was fine, again not many options and you aren't going there for a luxury resort stay.

Moab/Arches/Canyonlands-Hyatt Moab x 3 nights 32,000 hyatt points [$666]
Hyatt is my top hotel brand, I can get a great value for my redemption and this also did not disappoint. less than 45 minutes from Canyonlands entrance and less than 10 minutes from Arches entrance. Nice pool, new hotel, free laundry (2 washers and 2 dryers). Typical Hyatt place breakfast.

I had booked Springhill Suites Salt Lake City Airport for our final night with a free night cert that was going to expire (booked before the most recent extension). Ended up showing up to the hotel and they wanted $25 for an early check in fee, this was an hour prior to check in. Didn't matter that I have status with Marriott. It all worked out as our flights were changed and we ended up flying out that evening instead. Marriott falls to one of my least favorite brands. I plan to cancel my current cards. 35k certs are becoming so hard to use. Would consider churning the chase variety if I could get a good SUB as it may be worth it.

The trip was awesome. We did a ton of hikes, one of the most memorable was the narrows in zion we got about an half an hour from the end of the bottom up hike. That took most of the day. Another highlight was a sunrise hike to delicate arch in arches. We did the scenic drive in Canyonland and did some of the off road portion with an additional hike that was amazing as well. All the parks were busy, we lucked out that Zion had the shuttle ticket system, which thanks to my disney planning I was prepared for and I got all the shuttle ticket reservations that I wanted. Just a few days prior to our trip they stopped the need for shuttle tickets, but honored those who already had tickets with front of the line access to the shuttles. This saved us almost an hour each morning that we didn't have to wait in a que for the shuttle. We waited about 45 minutes in a que for a shuttle when we returned from the Narrows hike, it was so busy.

Highly recommend experiencing these parks. Took a lot of planning but was so worth it!

 

[WVMomof3]

I've been back for a bit from my whirlwind Utah trip, will do a run down as it may be helpful to others. This will be a long post, so if no interest just pass by. Much of the trip was covered by points.

Flights-Southwest (the schedule changes have been rough, none of the flights were the same ones I originally booked and ultimately we didn't end up on the flights that we had rebooked either)
Flew into Las Vegas - 12,015 RR points and $11.20 for taxes for me and my companion [Cash price $180]
Flew out of Salt Lake City - 12,101 and $11.20 for taxes [$190]

Rental car through Avis, paid cash using my CSP for the insurance. I hope rental prices decrease over the next couple months, otherwise this could be cost prohibitive for many, given my use of points this was the major cash expense of the trip. I gave up my costco membership last February during COVID and did price check through them, but it wasn't any cheaper than going through Avis. There was a hiccup with picking up the car, the rental counter at the Mirage was suppose to be open, but there was a sign on the desk that it was closed. Avis said it was suppose to be open, we ended up having to go to New York New York to pick up the car instead and wasted about an hour, but did get a car. It appeared they had plenty of rental cars, I did prepay for the rental but that didn't matter when it came down to things.

Trip was a driving tour of the Magnificent 5-Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonland National Parks. Hotels on our way-

Las Vegas-Mirage paid with Hyatt points (20,000). Of note you can pay several MGM resorts using Hyatt points but you still get charged the resort fee despite this being a points booking. [I didn't write down the cash price but it would have had to be >250 for me to use the hyatt points]

Springdale Utah/Zion-Cliffrose Springdale Curio Collection Hilton x 3 nights-138,000 & $281 [$1,572.85]
I have been holding on to my hilton points for a good redemption from a SUB from a couple years ago and this was an awesome redemption. I think the main thing to keep in mind with hilton is being able to book early to get the best redemption given the dynamic pricing. This is a great place to stay in Zion, less than 10 minute walk into the park. Rooms recently updated, although noted poor workmanship in some of the finishes. Set up like a motel with door to the outside. Nice balcony and pool. With my gold status room service breakfast up to $30 was included, although we didn't use this until the last morning because we were up early to get to the park prior to room service being available, on the last day found out we could preorder for pick up so something to keep in mind if you are staying there.

Bryce-Best Western Ruby's Inn x 1 night this was a cash stay, not many options and I don't have many BW points. The room was fine, again not many options and you aren't going there for a luxury resort stay.

Moab/Arches/Canyonlands-Hyatt Moab x 3 nights 32,000 hyatt points [$666]
Hyatt is my top hotel brand, I can get a great value for my redemption and this also did not disappoint. less than 45 minutes from Canyonlands entrance and less than 10 minutes from Arches entrance. Nice pool, new hotel, free laundry (2 washers and 2 dryers). Typical Hyatt place breakfast.

I had booked Springhill Suites Salt Lake City Airport for our final night with a free night cert that was going to expire (booked before the most recent extension). Ended up showing up to the hotel and they wanted $25 for an early check in fee, this was an hour prior to check in. Didn't matter that I have status with Marriott. It all worked out as our flights were changed and we ended up flying out that evening instead. Marriott falls to one of my least favorite brands. I plan to cancel my current cards. 35k certs are becoming so hard to use. Would consider churning the chase variety if I could get a good SUB as it may be worth it.

The trip was awesome. We did a ton of hikes, one of the most memorable was the narrows in zion we got about an half an hour from the end of the bottom up hike. That took most of the day. Another highlight was a sunrise hike to delicate arch in arches. We did the scenic drive in Canyonland and did some of the off road portion with an additional hike that was amazing as well. All the parks were busy, we lucked out that Zion had the shuttle ticket system, which thanks to my disney planning I was prepared for and I got all the shuttle ticket reservations that I wanted. Just a few days prior to our trip they stopped the need for shuttle tickets, but honored those who already had tickets with front of the line access to the shuttles. This saved us almost an hour each morning that we didn't have to wait in a que for the shuttle. We waited about 45 minutes in a que for a shuttle when we returned from the Narrows hike, it was so busy.

Highly recommend experiencing these parks. Took a lot of planning but was so worth it!

Loved the narrows hike! It was our favorite of our trip a few years ago. I really wanted to do Angels landing but made the mistake of showing everyone YouTube videos and they all vetoed it. Party poopers. lol

 

[GusGus16]

Loved the narrows hike! It was our favorite of our trip a few years ago. I really wanted to do Angels landing but made the mistake of showing everyone YouTube videos and they all vetoed it. Party poopers. lol

I did the hike up to Scout's lookout and my partner went ahead and did Angel's landing. I couldn't stomach the elevation and drop offs. The hike to Scout's lookout was awesome as well, you can continue on to the west rim trail which from what I read isn't as scary as angel's landing and get similar views. I was going to do some of the west rim trail while I waited but wasn't feeling 100% so I rested and enjoyed the views and company of others who were waiting for their companions to finish angel's landing. The narrows is awesome but treacherous with the river hiking, we rented boots and sticks from zion guru and would not have made it as far as we did without them.

 

[GZanta77]

I've been back for a bit from my whirlwind Utah trip, will do a run down as it may be helpful to others. This will be a long post, so if no interest just pass by. Much of the trip was covered by points.

Flights-Southwest (the schedule changes have been rough, none of the flights were the same ones I originally booked and ultimately we didn't end up on the flights that we had rebooked either)
Flew into Las Vegas - 12,015 RR points and $11.20 for taxes for me and my companion [Cash price $180]
Flew out of Salt Lake City - 12,101 and $11.20 for taxes [$190]

Rental car through Avis, paid cash using my CSP for the insurance. I hope rental prices decrease over the next couple months, otherwise this could be cost prohibitive for many, given my use of points this was the major cash expense of the trip. I gave up my costco membership last February during COVID and did price check through them, but it wasn't any cheaper than going through Avis. There was a hiccup with picking up the car, the rental counter at the Mirage was suppose to be open, but there was a sign on the desk that it was closed. Avis said it was suppose to be open, we ended up having to go to New York New York to pick up the car instead and wasted about an hour, but did get a car. It appeared they had plenty of rental cars, I did prepay for the rental but that didn't matter when it came down to things.

Trip was a driving tour of the Magnificent 5-Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonland National Parks. Hotels on our way-

Las Vegas-Mirage paid with Hyatt points (20,000). Of note you can pay several MGM resorts using Hyatt points but you still get charged the resort fee despite this being a points booking. [I didn't write down the cash price but it would have had to be >250 for me to use the hyatt points]

Springdale Utah/Zion-Cliffrose Springdale Curio Collection Hilton x 3 nights-138,000 & $281 [$1,572.85]
I have been holding on to my hilton points for a good redemption from a SUB from a couple years ago and this was an awesome redemption. I think the main thing to keep in mind with hilton is being able to book early to get the best redemption given the dynamic pricing. This is a great place to stay in Zion, less than 10 minute walk into the park. Rooms recently updated, although noted poor workmanship in some of the finishes. Set up like a motel with door to the outside. Nice balcony and pool. With my gold status room service breakfast up to $30 was included, although we didn't use this until the last morning because we were up early to get to the park prior to room service being available, on the last day found out we could preorder for pick up so something to keep in mind if you are staying there.

Bryce-Best Western Ruby's Inn x 1 night this was a cash stay, not many options and I don't have many BW points. The room was fine, again not many options and you aren't going there for a luxury resort stay.

Moab/Arches/Canyonlands-Hyatt Moab x 3 nights 32,000 hyatt points [$666]
Hyatt is my top hotel brand, I can get a great value for my redemption and this also did not disappoint. less than 45 minutes from Canyonlands entrance and less than 10 minutes from Arches entrance. Nice pool, new hotel, free laundry (2 washers and 2 dryers). Typical Hyatt place breakfast.

I had booked Springhill Suites Salt Lake City Airport for our final night with a free night cert that was going to expire (booked before the most recent extension). Ended up showing up to the hotel and they wanted $25 for an early check in fee, this was an hour prior to check in. Didn't matter that I have status with Marriott. It all worked out as our flights were changed and we ended up flying out that evening instead. Marriott falls to one of my least favorite brands. I plan to cancel my current cards. 35k certs are becoming so hard to use. Would consider churning the chase variety if I could get a good SUB as it may be worth it.

The trip was awesome. We did a ton of hikes, one of the most memorable was the narrows in zion we got about an half an hour from the end of the bottom up hike. That took most of the day. Another highlight was a sunrise hike to delicate arch in arches. We did the scenic drive in Canyonland and did some of the off road portion with an additional hike that was amazing as well. All the parks were busy, we lucked out that Zion had the shuttle ticket system, which thanks to my disney planning I was prepared for and I got all the shuttle ticket reservations that I wanted. Just a few days prior to our trip they stopped the need for shuttle tickets, but honored those who already had tickets with front of the line access to the shuttles. This saved us almost an hour each morning that we didn't have to wait in a que for the shuttle. We waited about 45 minutes in a que for a shuttle when we returned from the Narrows hike, it was so busy.

Highly recommend experiencing these parks. Took a lot of planning but was so worth it!

I was at the Cliffrose Springdale in March - can't really beat that location. I redeemed FNC + points as it was $500+/night - so a decent redemption as you noted, but everything in Zion is so overpriced.

Would love to go back to Moab in the not too distant, and great to hear they have a Hyatt there now. Think that may be added to my 2022 plans.

 

[ctinct]

Regarding rental cars: don’t forget to keep checking rates up to departure time. I have a 5 day intermediate car reserved through Costco for the second week in July that started out at around $700. The only reason I could stomach this cost was that my hotels and flights are free thanks to points.


Anyhow, checked on this past Monday and the price went down $30, so I rebooked. On a whim, I checked again last night. Down anther $125. Woohoo! So now I’m only paying about $100 a day. This is in Denver, btw.

 

[Jax1023]

DH is still at 2 week message on the csp. Sigh. I guess I’ll skip the double dip because there is zero chance he will call to recon.

 

[Psychodisney]

Loved the narrows hike! It was our favorite of our trip a few years ago. I really wanted to do Angels landing but made the mistake of showing everyone YouTube videos and they all vetoed it. Party poopers. lol

We're doing the narrows as part of my DS's wedding fun in Sept!

 

[becauseimnew]

I did the hike up to Scout's lookout and my partner went ahead and did Angel's landing. I couldn't stomach the elevation and drop offs. The hike to Scout's lookout was awesome as well, you can continue on to the west rim trail which from what I read isn't as scary as angel's landing and get similar views. I was going to do some of the west rim trail while I waited but wasn't feeling 100% so I rested and enjoyed the views and company of others who were waiting for their companions to finish angel's landing. The narrows is awesome but treacherous with the river hiking, we rented boots and sticks from zion guru and would not have made it as far as we did without them.

We went last summer, thankfully the chain section was closed and I didn’t have to chicken out. But the views from the trail are amazing, one of my favorite hikes.

 

[hsmamato2]

I've been back for a bit from my whirlwind Utah trip, will do a run down as it may be helpful to others. This will be a long post, so if no interest just pass by. Much of the trip was covered by points.

Flights-Southwest (the schedule changes have been rough, none of the flights were the same ones I originally booked and ultimately we didn't end up on the flights that we had rebooked either)
Flew into Las Vegas - 12,015 RR points and $11.20 for taxes for me and my companion [Cash price $180]
Flew out of Salt Lake City - 12,101 and $11.20 for taxes [$190]

Rental car through Avis, paid cash using my CSP for the insurance. I hope rental prices decrease over the next couple months, otherwise this could be cost prohibitive for many, given my use of points this was the major cash expense of the trip. I gave up my costco membership last February during COVID and did price check through them, but it wasn't any cheaper than going through Avis. There was a hiccup with picking up the car, the rental counter at the Mirage was suppose to be open, but there was a sign on the desk that it was closed. Avis said it was suppose to be open, we ended up having to go to New York New York to pick up the car instead and wasted about an hour, but did get a car. It appeared they had plenty of rental cars, I did prepay for the rental but that didn't matter when it came down to things.

Trip was a driving tour of the Magnificent 5-Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonland National Parks. Hotels on our way-

Las Vegas-Mirage paid with Hyatt points (20,000). Of note you can pay several MGM resorts using Hyatt points but you still get charged the resort fee despite this being a points booking. [I didn't write down the cash price but it would have had to be >250 for me to use the hyatt points]

Springdale Utah/Zion-Cliffrose Springdale Curio Collection Hilton x 3 nights-138,000 & $281 [$1,572.85]
I have been holding on to my hilton points for a good redemption from a SUB from a couple years ago and this was an awesome redemption. I think the main thing to keep in mind with hilton is being able to book early to get the best redemption given the dynamic pricing. This is a great place to stay in Zion, less than 10 minute walk into the park. Rooms recently updated, although noted poor workmanship in some of the finishes. Set up like a motel with door to the outside. Nice balcony and pool. With my gold status room service breakfast up to $30 was included, although we didn't use this until the last morning because we were up early to get to the park prior to room service being available, on the last day found out we could preorder for pick up so something to keep in mind if you are staying there.

Bryce-Best Western Ruby's Inn x 1 night this was a cash stay, not many options and I don't have many BW points. The room was fine, again not many options and you aren't going there for a luxury resort stay.

Moab/Arches/Canyonlands-Hyatt Moab x 3 nights 32,000 hyatt points [$666]
Hyatt is my top hotel brand, I can get a great value for my redemption and this also did not disappoint. less than 45 minutes from Canyonlands entrance and less than 10 minutes from Arches entrance. Nice pool, new hotel, free laundry (2 washers and 2 dryers). Typical Hyatt place breakfast.

I had booked Springhill Suites Salt Lake City Airport for our final night with a free night cert that was going to expire (booked before the most recent extension). Ended up showing up to the hotel and they wanted $25 for an early check in fee, this was an hour prior to check in. Didn't matter that I have status with Marriott. It all worked out as our flights were changed and we ended up flying out that evening instead. Marriott falls to one of my least favorite brands. I plan to cancel my current cards. 35k certs are becoming so hard to use. Would consider churning the chase variety if I could get a good SUB as it may be worth it.

The trip was awesome. We did a ton of hikes, one of the most memorable was the narrows in zion we got about an half an hour from the end of the bottom up hike. That took most of the day. Another highlight was a sunrise hike to delicate arch in arches. We did the scenic drive in Canyonland and did some of the off road portion with an additional hike that was amazing as well. All the parks were busy, we lucked out that Zion had the shuttle ticket system, which thanks to my disney planning I was prepared for and I got all the shuttle ticket reservations that I wanted. Just a few days prior to our trip they stopped the need for shuttle tickets, but honored those who already had tickets with front of the line access to the shuttles. This saved us almost an hour each morning that we didn't have to wait in a que for the shuttle. We waited about 45 minutes in a que for a shuttle when we returned from the Narrows hike, it was so busy.

Highly recommend experiencing these parks. Took a lot of planning but was so worth it!

This is an awesome trip report! I'm saving this for reference I want to go back and do all of this again soon.

 

[punkin]

I've been back for a bit from my whirlwind Utah trip, will do a run down as it may be helpful to others. This will be a long post, so if no interest just pass by. Much of the trip was covered by points.

Flights-Southwest (the schedule changes have been rough, none of the flights were the same ones I originally booked and ultimately we didn't end up on the flights that we had rebooked either)
Flew into Las Vegas - 12,015 RR points and $11.20 for taxes for me and my companion [Cash price $180]
Flew out of Salt Lake City - 12,101 and $11.20 for taxes [$190]

Rental car through Avis, paid cash using my CSP for the insurance. I hope rental prices decrease over the next couple months, otherwise this could be cost prohibitive for many, given my use of points this was the major cash expense of the trip. I gave up my costco membership last February during COVID and did price check through them, but it wasn't any cheaper than going through Avis. There was a hiccup with picking up the car, the rental counter at the Mirage was suppose to be open, but there was a sign on the desk that it was closed. Avis said it was suppose to be open, we ended up having to go to New York New York to pick up the car instead and wasted about an hour, but did get a car. It appeared they had plenty of rental cars, I did prepay for the rental but that didn't matter when it came down to things.

Trip was a driving tour of the Magnificent 5-Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonland National Parks. Hotels on our way-

Las Vegas-Mirage paid with Hyatt points (20,000). Of note you can pay several MGM resorts using Hyatt points but you still get charged the resort fee despite this being a points booking. [I didn't write down the cash price but it would have had to be >250 for me to use the hyatt points]

Springdale Utah/Zion-Cliffrose Springdale Curio Collection Hilton x 3 nights-138,000 & $281 [$1,572.85]
I have been holding on to my hilton points for a good redemption from a SUB from a couple years ago and this was an awesome redemption. I think the main thing to keep in mind with hilton is being able to book early to get the best redemption given the dynamic pricing. This is a great place to stay in Zion, less than 10 minute walk into the park. Rooms recently updated, although noted poor workmanship in some of the finishes. Set up like a motel with door to the outside. Nice balcony and pool. With my gold status room service breakfast up to $30 was included, although we didn't use this until the last morning because we were up early to get to the park prior to room service being available, on the last day found out we could preorder for pick up so something to keep in mind if you are staying there.

Bryce-Best Western Ruby's Inn x 1 night this was a cash stay, not many options and I don't have many BW points. The room was fine, again not many options and you aren't going there for a luxury resort stay.

Moab/Arches/Canyonlands-Hyatt Moab x 3 nights 32,000 hyatt points [$666]
Hyatt is my top hotel brand, I can get a great value for my redemption and this also did not disappoint. less than 45 minutes from Canyonlands entrance and less than 10 minutes from Arches entrance. Nice pool, new hotel, free laundry (2 washers and 2 dryers). Typical Hyatt place breakfast.

I had booked Springhill Suites Salt Lake City Airport for our final night with a free night cert that was going to expire (booked before the most recent extension). Ended up showing up to the hotel and they wanted $25 for an early check in fee, this was an hour prior to check in. Didn't matter that I have status with Marriott. It all worked out as our flights were changed and we ended up flying out that evening instead. Marriott falls to one of my least favorite brands. I plan to cancel my current cards. 35k certs are becoming so hard to use. Would consider churning the chase variety if I could get a good SUB as it may be worth it.

The trip was awesome. We did a ton of hikes, one of the most memorable was the narrows in zion we got about an half an hour from the end of the bottom up hike. That took most of the day. Another highlight was a sunrise hike to delicate arch in arches. We did the scenic drive in Canyonland and did some of the off road portion with an additional hike that was amazing as well. All the parks were busy, we lucked out that Zion had the shuttle ticket system, which thanks to my disney planning I was prepared for and I got all the shuttle ticket reservations that I wanted. Just a few days prior to our trip they stopped the need for shuttle tickets, but honored those who already had tickets with front of the line access to the shuttles. This saved us almost an hour each morning that we didn't have to wait in a que for the shuttle. We waited about 45 minutes in a que for a shuttle when we returned from the Narrows hike, it was so busy.

Highly recommend experiencing these parks. Took a lot of planning but was so worth it!

This is really helpful to me. I'm considering doing a Zion and Bryce trip out of Las Vegas in October.

 

[disneyforsix]

We would love to do this trip as well! Thanks for the details, sounds like you guys had a wonderful time.

 

[Pooh2]

Where do I find on my Chase Disney Visa the expiration date for my points?
I know it is about 5 years but cannot find the dates!

 

[FloridaNative8]

I've been back for a bit from my whirlwind Utah trip, will do a run down as it may be helpful to others. This will be a long post, so if no interest just pass by. Much of the trip was covered by points.

Flights-Southwest (the schedule changes have been rough, none of the flights were the same ones I originally booked and ultimately we didn't end up on the flights that we had rebooked either)
Flew into Las Vegas - 12,015 RR points and $11.20 for taxes for me and my companion [Cash price $180]
Flew out of Salt Lake City - 12,101 and $11.20 for taxes [$190]

Rental car through Avis, paid cash using my CSP for the insurance. I hope rental prices decrease over the next couple months, otherwise this could be cost prohibitive for many, given my use of points this was the major cash expense of the trip. I gave up my costco membership last February during COVID and did price check through them, but it wasn't any cheaper than going through Avis. There was a hiccup with picking up the car, the rental counter at the Mirage was suppose to be open, but there was a sign on the desk that it was closed. Avis said it was suppose to be open, we ended up having to go to New York New York to pick up the car instead and wasted about an hour, but did get a car. It appeared they had plenty of rental cars, I did prepay for the rental but that didn't matter when it came down to things.

Trip was a driving tour of the Magnificent 5-Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonland National Parks. Hotels on our way-

Las Vegas-Mirage paid with Hyatt points (20,000). Of note you can pay several MGM resorts using Hyatt points but you still get charged the resort fee despite this being a points booking. [I didn't write down the cash price but it would have had to be >250 for me to use the hyatt points]

Springdale Utah/Zion-Cliffrose Springdale Curio Collection Hilton x 3 nights-138,000 & $281 [$1,572.85]
I have been holding on to my hilton points for a good redemption from a SUB from a couple years ago and this was an awesome redemption. I think the main thing to keep in mind with hilton is being able to book early to get the best redemption given the dynamic pricing. This is a great place to stay in Zion, less than 10 minute walk into the park. Rooms recently updated, although noted poor workmanship in some of the finishes. Set up like a motel with door to the outside. Nice balcony and pool. With my gold status room service breakfast up to $30 was included, although we didn't use this until the last morning because we were up early to get to the park prior to room service being available, on the last day found out we could preorder for pick up so something to keep in mind if you are staying there.

Bryce-Best Western Ruby's Inn x 1 night this was a cash stay, not many options and I don't have many BW points. The room was fine, again not many options and you aren't going there for a luxury resort stay.

Moab/Arches/Canyonlands-Hyatt Moab x 3 nights 32,000 hyatt points [$666]
Hyatt is my top hotel brand, I can get a great value for my redemption and this also did not disappoint. less than 45 minutes from Canyonlands entrance and less than 10 minutes from Arches entrance. Nice pool, new hotel, free laundry (2 washers and 2 dryers). Typical Hyatt place breakfast.

I had booked Springhill Suites Salt Lake City Airport for our final night with a free night cert that was going to expire (booked before the most recent extension). Ended up showing up to the hotel and they wanted $25 for an early check in fee, this was an hour prior to check in. Didn't matter that I have status with Marriott. It all worked out as our flights were changed and we ended up flying out that evening instead. Marriott falls to one of my least favorite brands. I plan to cancel my current cards. 35k certs are becoming so hard to use. Would consider churning the chase variety if I could get a good SUB as it may be worth it.

The trip was awesome. We did a ton of hikes, one of the most memorable was the narrows in zion we got about an half an hour from the end of the bottom up hike. That took most of the day. Another highlight was a sunrise hike to delicate arch in arches. We did the scenic drive in Canyonland and did some of the off road portion with an additional hike that was amazing as well. All the parks were busy, we lucked out that Zion had the shuttle ticket system, which thanks to my disney planning I was prepared for and I got all the shuttle ticket reservations that I wanted. Just a few days prior to our trip they stopped the need for shuttle tickets, but honored those who already had tickets with front of the line access to the shuttles. This saved us almost an hour each morning that we didn't have to wait in a que for the shuttle. We waited about 45 minutes in a que for a shuttle when we returned from the Narrows hike, it was so busy.

Highly recommend experiencing these parks. Took a lot of planning but was so worth it!

Thank you for this!! I'm considering this trip for next summer (hopefully travel opens up so the Nat'l Parks won't be so crazy then!).

 

[Joyful2018]

Where do I find on my Chase Disney Visa the expiration date for my points?
I know it is about 5 years but cannot find the dates!

I believe it's on the statement

 

[Judique]

Where do I find on my Chase Disney Visa the expiration date for my points?
I know it is about 5 years but cannot find the dates!

Well, I pulled this up:

Rewards Dollar expiration •

Rewards Dollars in your Account that are not transferred to a Redemption Card or applied as an Airline Statement Credit (as described below) will expire 5 years after the month they were first earned. You’ll have 60 billing cycles after the billing cycle in which Rewards Dollars first appear on your monthly Card billing statement to transfer or apply them – as long as you don’t lose them for any of the reasons described in the “How you could be prohibited from earning or redeeming Rewards Dollars or could lose Rewards Dollars” section of these Terms and Conditions. › Rewards Dollars in your Account will expire on a first-in, first-out basis › Rewards Dollars transferred from your Account to a Redemption Card will never expire.


So, with that said, it's a rolling expiration, so anything you earned on a statement that arrived more than 5 years ago that you didn't move to a Redemption card, is gone.

I was looking at my latest awards and ordering a Redemption card just before I read your post. I had been waiting for my statement to close to receive some rewards. It shows the total online and then when you click redeem it takes you to a page that shows what you earned in that statement and what you've earned to date for your next statement.

You can also download your statements and under 'Disney Dream Rewards Balance' on older statements it tells you what you had, what you've earned, what will expire and when.

On newer statements this information is also complete but is listed to the right, under Rewards.

If you move the points - easy to do online - to a Redemption card - they never expire. They used to, but not anymore.

Chase gives you up to 7 years of statements online.