Chase Sapphire preferred credit card

[AmyAnne]

every 2 years starting from the day you received your bonus is what data point shows so far... If you reapply, u should get the bonus.

Thanks - it's definitely been two years since we got the first sign-up bonus. But reading a little more, I am now concerned about the 5/24 thing. AT first I thought it meant five credit card applications in 24 months but now I am thinking it means five credit report pulls (for any reason) in 24 months. We recently bought a new house so I am sure there are several credit report pulls from the mortgage company - will those count?

 

[Albort]

Thanks - it's definitely been two years since we got the first sign-up bonus. But reading a little more, I am now concerned about the 5/24 thing. AT first I thought it meant five credit card applications in 24 months but now I am thinking it means five credit report pulls (for any reason) in 24 months. We recently bought a new house so I am sure there are several credit report pulls from the mortgage company - will those count?

theres no "for sure" 5/24 rule honestly. So far what ive read, other accounts(ie your mortgage, tuition account) dont count... but heck, some ppl have reported they get denied even without 5 credit cards, there are some instance ppl proved for 5+ credit cards in a 2 yr period... its all YMMV.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I have been starting to read up a little on some of the blogs that all of you have suggested (thanks for the suggestions). They are helpful but there is LOTS of info out there. This started when I decided that i would like to do a Europe trip in the next couple yrs and the airfare to take the 4 of us was crazy.

I just applied for the CSP and Freedom the other night-approved for both-couldn't believe how high a line they gave me. I am interested in the best way to keep track of the current quarter bonus categories, spend, points, credit pulls... I will a do DH once we hit my spend amounts I think.

How do you all do it?

 

[mandis77]

We just received our CSP card this week. We plan on putting everything on it - including a WDW trip - so we'll easily make the 4K in 3 months. I'm glad I found this thread!

 

[calypso726]

I have been starting to read up a little on some of the blogs that all of you have suggested (thanks for the suggestions). They are helpful but there is LOTS of info out there. This started when I decided that i would like to do a Europe trip in the next couple yrs and the airfare to take the 4 of us was crazy.

I just applied for the CSP and Freedom the other night-approved for both-couldn't believe how high a line they gave me. I am interested in the best way to keep track of the current quarter bonus categories, spend, points, credit pulls... I will a do DH once we hit my spend amounts I think.

How do you all do it?

You can sign up for the reminders from the Freedom card. They will email you and let you know to activate your quarterly bonus. DH used to keep receipts and update a spreadsheet for the card he was making spend on to know how much more he needed to do. This was before we started to MS.

In the beginning I would add tiny post its to my credit cards with the bonus categories and date ranges. DH wouldn't and instead would call me every time he went to buy something to ask which card to use.

We keep a spreadsheet with a tab for each airline or hotel where we have a mileage balance. Then there is a tab for each card and the number of points it has. We update that spreadsheet each month if there is no activity other than earnings from the credit cards. If we use or transfer any points or miles then we update it at the same time. A lot of people like using award wallet to keep track but I prefer our spreadsheet.

We just received our CSP card this week. We plan on putting everything on it - including a WDW trip - so we'll easily make the 4K in 3 months. I'm glad I found this thread!

Congrats and welcome to travel hacking. It's a fun hobby that makes travel just a bit more affordable!

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Thanks for the tips calypso726- I can totally see my DH calling me every time as well!

 

[WoWmommy1314]

I was planning on getting he Barclay card but this card looks better. I just have one question, when you book through the chase portal can you book with any airline? I am planning on using Allegiant.

 

[Albort]

I was planning on getting he Barclay card but this card looks better. I just have one question, when you book through the chase portal can you book with any airline? I am planning on using Allegiant.

i tried it out and Allegiant doesnt appear on the Chase portal, just UA, AA, and Alaska.
i looked up Allegiant flights to find a flight first and copy them into the chase portal. No dice :\

You should however look into UA miles redemption, you could possibly find it better to redeem using miles which might have a better rate than to use the chase portal to buy airline tickets.

 

[calypso726]

i tried it out and Allegiant doesnt appear on the Chase portal, just UA, AA, and Alaska.
i looked up Allegiant flights to find a flight first and copy them into the chase portal. No dice :\

You should however look into UA miles redemption, you could possibly find it better to redeem using miles which might have a better rate than to use the chase portal to buy airline tickets.

This ^ As an example, yesterday we transferred 100,000 UR points to United so we could book two tickets in first class for a flight back from Las Vegas to Miami the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Had I tried to pay with UR points through the portal the same tickets would have cost us 254,000 points.

 

[Arden01]

I got the CSP about a month ago. We had to put a new furnace in unexpectedly and knew we would have to use our HELOC. First I charged it to CSP then paid off with HELOC. Easily earned the signup bonus and now have 4 free flights for our 2017. Turned "lemons into lemonade"... We already had some points by using our Chase Freedom and now I'm using it aggressively to earn more points. Hoping to also earn enough points to maybe pay for a couple nights at a Universal hotel. I live in NJ right outside NYC and take both local train transport into the city and drive sometimes. So, I linked my EZ pass to CSP and all my NJ transit tickets. I've earned a bunch of points so far this month. Looking forward to the 5x points next quarter for groceries. With 11 year old twins, we spend a lot in groceries. I'd like to apply for either a Southwest Rapid Rewards card or Ink plus next, but think I may have put in too many applications in the past two years. I'll wait until late May and try.

 

[calypso726]

I got the CSP about a month ago. We had to put a new furnace in unexpectedly and knew we would have to use our HELOC. First I charged it to CSP then paid off with HELOC. Easily earned the signup bonus and now have 4 free flights for our 2017. Turned "lemons into lemonade"... We already had some points by using our Chase Freedom and now I'm using it aggressively to earn more points. Hoping to also earn enough points to maybe pay for a couple nights at a Universal hotel. I live in NJ right outside NYC and take both local train transport into the city and drive sometimes. So, I linked my EZ pass to CSP and all my NJ transit tickets. I've earned a bunch of points so far this month. Looking forward to the 5x points next quarter for groceries. With 11 year old twins, we spend a lot in groceries. I'd like to apply for either a Southwest Rapid Rewards card or Ink plus next, but think I may have put in too many applications in the past two years. I'll wait until late May and try.

Nice! Way to make some lemonade! Most of our grocery shopping is done at Costco with the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex so we will make sure to do our June Costco shopping before they stop accepting Amex. After June, the Costco purchases will switch to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa. No bonus points for the purchases but UR points are the most valuable currency for travel second to the SPG for us. The rest of the groceries are usually from Whole Foods and we use the Ink to buy Whole Foods gift cards at Staples to get the 5X UR points for office supply purchases unless Raise has a deeply discounted WF gift card then we will go that route. None the less, I still plan to take advantage of the 5x points on the Freedom for groceries next moth. Publix sells Disney gift cards

 

[Arden01]

Nice! Way to make some lemonade! Most of our grocery shopping is done at Costco with the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex so we will make sure to do our June Costco shopping before they stop accepting Amex. After June, the Costco purchases will switch to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa. No bonus points for the purchases but UR points are the most valuable currency for travel second to the SPG for us. The rest of the groceries are usually from Whole Foods and we use the Ink to buy Whole Foods gift cards at Staples to get the 5X UR points for office supply purchases unless Raise has a deeply discounted WF gift card then we will go that route. None the less, I still plan to take advantage of the 5x points on the Freedom for groceries next moth. Publix sells Disney gift cards

Oh, smart strategy! Thanks! I will keep those ideas in mind. I'm trying to figure out which CC to try for next. I'm thinking Southwest RR card if they offer the 50k bonus sometime in the next few months. Now that SW flies direct out of Newark, that's an easy one for us. Then I can use the UR points for maybe Universal hotel and maybe one or two Universal park tickets. I know that hotels and tickets are not as lucrative as using them for airline tickets, but I want to try and knock off as much on our trip as possible. We are are planning a 10-day Disney/Universal trip to celebrate my daughters' 13th birthday in 2017. I'd like to apply for Ink maybe later in the year. Great idea about buying gift cards at Staples We aren't going until August 2017, so I have time. I'd like to also try gift card churning but I'm a bit nervous about doing that.

 

[calypso726]

Oh, smart strategy! Thanks! I will keep those ideas in mind. I'm trying to figure out which CC to try for next. I'm thinking Southwest RR card if they offer the 50k bonus sometime in the next few months. Now that SW flies direct out of Newark, that's an easy one for us. Then I can use the UR points for maybe Universal hotel and maybe one or two Universal park tickets. I know that hotels and tickets are not as lucrative as using them for airline tickets, but I want to try and knock off as much on our trip as possible. We are are planning a 10-day Disney/Universal trip to celebrate my daughters' 13th birthday in 2017. I'd like to apply for Ink maybe later in the year. Great idea about buying gift cards at Staples We aren't going until August 2017, so I have time. I'd like to also try gift card churning but I'm a bit nervous about doing that.

I haven't tried the Ebates/EBay/Target/Disney whatever GC churning. Just reading it makes my head spin and I suppose I'm far too lazy to figure it out. The Raise - Target GC - Disney GC - DVA is about as complex as I'm willing to get. We did it last year and saved over $800 in annual dues with DVC and about $1500 on our Adventures by Disney river cruise this summer and earned $420 in Disney GCs by paying for it through the Disney Vacation savings Account. However, that also means we gave up earning about 105,000 UR points with the Ink card by purchasing Disney gift cards at Office supply stores. I'm not willing to do that next year so I think we'll split the difference. I'm planning on purchasing Target gift cards through Staples online with the Ink card to get my 5% UR points and then use the Target GCs to buy Disney gift cards only with my Target store card as default to trigger the 5% off, load the Disney GCs to my DVA and then get $20 Disney GCs for every $1000 we spend out of there.

 

[Arden01]

I haven't tried the Ebates/EBay/Target/Disney whatever GC churning. Just reading it makes my head spin and I suppose I'm far too lazy to figure it out. The Raise - Target GC - Disney GC - DVA is about as complex as I'm willing to get. We did it last year and saved over $800 in annual dues with DVC and about $1500 on our Adventures by Disney river cruise this summer and earned $420 in Disney GCs by paying for it through the Disney Vacation savings Account. However, that also means we gave up earning about 105,000 UR points with the Ink card by purchasing Disney gift cards at Office supply stores. I'm not willing to do that next year so I think we'll split the difference. I'm planning on purchasing Target gift cards through Staples online with the Ink card to get my 5% UR points and then use the Target GCs to buy Disney gift cards only with my Target store card as default to trigger the 5% off, load the Disney GCs to my DVA and then get $20 Disney GCs for every $1000 we spend out of there.

I like this strategy too. I'm trying to figure out what I'm comfortable with. Do you recommend the DVA?

 

[calypso726]

I like this strategy too. I'm trying to figure out what I'm comfortable with. Do you recommend the DVA?

We have had no issues with using the DVA. That said, I have read here on the DIS where many people have had problems. All gift cards requested have been received in a timely manner and all deposits with Disney GCs have gone smoothly as have all payments made with the DVA. Taking a chance on the possibility of an issue or problem coming up with the DVA and the headaches with phone calls and poor customer service that will probably follow may not be worth a $20 gift card for some if all they intend on spending through the DVA is $1000. For me, I know we will be maxing out the $500 Disney GC bonus so it's worth the risk of a headache and some phone calls.

 

[WeLoveStitch42]

Here's a question for all you experts: if I charge my DVC dues to the CSP, does it count as travel expenses for the double points?

 

[calypso726]

Here's a question for all you experts: if I charge my DVC dues to the CSP, does it count as travel expenses for the double points?

Yes.

 

[RigatoniFeline]

Ok, I think I have a grasp on the concept now. Two questions:

I found a flight on Southwest that would cost 54,000 points. So I'm thinking if I pay off the vacation balance for my il's I will get the $4k covered and have enough with the bonus points. But let's say they announce free dining. I would have to rebook my Disney reservation to get it right? Would this screw up my points? Do they refund the money from your original reservation or do they just roll it over to the next?

The CSP offers travel protection right? Is there a certain amount I have to put on the card to get this? For example, I have already put $1100 down towards my trip. If I pay off the remaining $500 or so with the card, would that get me travel protection? Thanks!

 

[nhgirl]

I have a question: I opened a CSP card last April. I don't fly so I don't need miles. I used my sign on bonus in the form of a statement credit then used that money toward a Disney Cruise out of NYC (driving to port). I want to open another card to earn a sign on bonus. Which card would be best with this in mind? I was thinking of Capital One Ventura. Also should I cancel my CSP to avoid the annual fee since I don't fly?

 

[calypso726]

Ok, I think I have a grasp on the concept now. Two questions:

I found a flight on Southwest that would cost 54,000 points. So I'm thinking if I pay off the vacation balance for my il's I will get the $4k covered and have enough with the bonus points. But let's say they announce free dining. I would have to rebook my Disney reservation to get it right? Would this screw up my points? Do they refund the money from your original reservation or do they just roll it over to the next?

The CSP offers travel protection right? Is there a certain amount I have to put on the card to get this? For example, I have already put $1100 down towards my trip. If I pay off the remaining $500 or so with the card, would that get me travel protection? Thanks!

I'm not sure about the first question as I don't understand if you booked your flights through the portal or transferred UR points to SW to book the flights. As for the seconds question it depends. My understanding is that even if you pay the taxes on an award ticket with your CSP then you are covers so in your case yes. However, to qualify for the primary insurance protection for car rentals the entire rental must be paid with the CSP and you must decline the rental insurance. I hope this helps.

I have a question: I opened a CSP card last April. I don't fly so I don't need miles. I used my sign on bonus in the form of a statement credit then used that money toward a Disney Cruise out of NYC (driving to port). I want to open another card to earn a sign on bonus. Which card would be best with this in mind? I was thinking of Capital One Ventura. Also should I cancel my CSP to avoid the annual fee since I don't fly?

Yes the Capital One Venture would be your next best bet for a sign up bonus as would the Barclay Arrival Plus. Both will get you over $400 statement credit for travel purchases. The Citi Thank You Premier might be another good option. The current offer is 40k points but there is a 50k point link that was working that I found on Flyer Talk.