I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Limes96]

Re ebags...which Motherlode Jr do you all like so much? Is it the one on wheels or is it the backpack? Or both?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

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[1st*toright]

Re ebags...which Motherlode Jr do you all like so much? Is it the one on wheels or is it the backpack? Or both?

The one I got is the backpack. So many pockets!!!

 

[babyready]

The AF on DH's CIP hits this month. I am wanting him to go for CIP #2 as soon as possible. Should we do it before or after we cancel CIP #1?

 

[1st*toright]

Ebates strikes again - I used the Shoes 30% off + 20% cash back offer. My little one is growing like a weed and none of her shoes fit. Got her some shoes for the summer at a pretty good price. Just hope they fit... I generally prefer to get growing kids feet measured rather than doing it online, but we generally wind up with Keens that are 1 size larger than last year, so that's a fairly safe bet.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

The AF on DH's CIP hits this month. I am wanting him to go for CIP #2 as soon as possible. Should we do it before or after we cancel CIP #1?

- You say this month, do you mean June 1st? (or did it already hit on May 1st)?
- Does he have a CIC or CIU currently?
- Do you have a CIP to refer him from?
- When do you feel he is safe to go for CIP#2 (i.e. what does his application history look like over the past year)?

 

[havaneselover]

Ebates strikes again - I used the Shoes 30% off + 20% cash back offer. My little one is growing like a weed and none of her shoes fit. Got her some shoes for the summer at a pretty good price. Just hope they fit... I generally prefer to get growing kids feet measured rather than doing it online, but we generally wind up with Keens that are 1 size larger than last year, so that's a fairly safe bet.

This happened to me yesterday. Got a pair of white clarks sandals for about $45. I also had a $5 credit I applied.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

The AF on DH's CIP hits this month. I am wanting him to go for CIP #2 as soon as possible. Should we do it before or after we cancel CIP #1?

Do you have a CIP to refer him for #2 ..
..if not I’d generate a support link from #1 and have him apply for #2 through it....then wait for the 20k URs to post before PCing it to a CIC or CIU

All of the above assuming Chase credit limits are under 50% of income and spacing 2-3 months between chase
applications

 

[babyready]

- You say this month, do you mean June 1st? (or did it already hit on May 1st)?
- Does he have a CIC or CIU currently?
- Do you have a CIP to refer him from?
- When do you feel he is safe to go for CIP#2 (i.e. what does his application history look like over the past year)?

Man, May has snuck up on me! Yes, it already hit!

He got a CIC in February. I no longer have a CIP, I downgraded mine to an CIC.

His history is:
CIC 2/19
CSP 12/18 (WAIT! NOT THIS ONE! This is actually mine! I messed up the spreadsheet!)
Arrival+ 9/18
Aviator Biz 8/18
CIP 4/18
SW Plus and Premier 9/17

He is in better shape than I am with Chase, I will not be under 5/24 for a couple more months.

 

[babyready]

Do you have a CIP to refer him for #2 ..
..if not I’d generate a support link from #1 and have him apply for #2 through it....then wait for the 20k URs to post before PCing it to a CIC or CIU

All of the above assuming Chase credit limits are under 50% of income and spacing 2-3 months between chase
applications

Yes, I need to go check the credit limits, they tend to be high...

Ugh. With the personal and business cards (they all count, right?) we are about 50% of income. Which probably means we would have to lower them and then wait, and either pay the fee or cancel and miss out on the referral?

 

[wendow]

@SouthFayetteFan I agree with you completely on planning ahead with points for trips. I hopped on board the train as quickly as I could but really only had 8 mos until our trip. If we were going at a busier time, I really would have been in trouble. Instead, our time period is more quiet so I've got the luxury of still having lots of availability. I also have the added complexity of needing two rooms, going for 9 nights and wanting a split-stay.

Also, it's important to have a plan B and plan C and so on. AA changed their offerings quite a bit and prices increased after I started earning AA miles. No values anymore on the AA portal and the summer promos are not as well reflected as the spring promos were.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Man, May has snuck up on me! Yes, it already hit!

He got a CIC in February. I no longer have a CIP, I downgraded mine to an CIC.

His history is:
CIC 2/19
CSP 12/18 (WAIT! NOT THIS ONE! This is actually mine! I messed up the spreadsheet!)
Arrival+ 9/18
Aviator Biz 8/18
CIP 4/18
SW Plus and Premier 9/17

He is in better shape than I am with Chase, I will not be under 5/24 for a couple more months.

Well, the good news is he's ready to go for that card now from a pacing standpoint. You may need to address some credit limit issues as you indicated. I would NOT cancel that card. You have 2 options IMO:

1) Keep the card open, generate a referral link and use that to apply for CIP2, pay the Annual Fee, once you see the bonus points hit you could downgrade to a CIC or CIU for a pro-rated refund of the AF
2) Keep the card open, generate a referral link and use that to apply for CIP2, downgrade to CIC or CIU immediately for a full AF refund and hope that the referral still tracks (it probably will).

If you cancel the card, he won't get the referral points. Even if you paid the AF and didn't get a pro-rated refund, you'd still come out ahead to pay $95 to get $200 (solely looking at the cash value of those points).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

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[babyready]

Well, the good news is he's ready to go for that card now from a pacing standpoint. You may need to address some credit limit issues as you indicated. I would NOT cancel that card. You have 2 options IMO:

1) Keep the card open, generate a referral link and use that to apply for CIP2, pay the Annual Fee, once you see the bonus points hit you could downgrade to a CIC or CIU for a pro-rated refund of the AF
2) Keep the card open, generate a referral link and use that to apply for CIP2, downgrade to CIC or CIU immediately for a full AF refund and hope that the referral still tracks (it probably will).

If you cancel the card, he won't get the referral points. Even if you paid the AF and didn't get a pro-rated refund, you'd still come out ahead to pay $95 to get $200 (solely looking at the cash value of those points).

Thank you! I didn't think about possibly pro-rating the AF.

Is it worth applying without messing with the CL? In the past they have just automatically lowered another card but it took a while. We have about 4,000 in wiggle room before we hit 50% of our income.

I have seen different things about how long it takes for the CL change to go into effect. Is this something we don't really know? Is is immediate or takes a month or so?

 

[amalone1013]

Started this on Friday but got side tracked. Thinking of trying for the Barclays AA Biz for DH for sure, maybe me... Citi AA Bizs in July... perhaps finally time for MRs

AA biz cards are every 95 days or so, right?

ETA: Also my Plus AF will bill on 6/1, I am planning to call and ask for a retention offer... whether I get it or not I plan to upgrade my card to the Priority at least for the next year.

Spoiler: List of Cards

Me: 'officially' 3/24, 8/24 with Chase incl biz cards
04/19 CIP 2
03/19 Citi AA Biz (3/29)
01/19 A+
01/19 CIC
10/18 CIP 1
07/18 Hilton Biz
10/17 SPG Biz
09/17 CFU
09/17 Marriott Personal
05/17 SW Biz
05/17 SW Plus
Older Cards: Discover It, SPG Personal (recently upgraded to Brilliant), No fee Disney, Freedom (downgraded CSR - CSR bonus was 11/16)

DH: 'officially' 3/24, 6/24 with Chase incl biz cards
03/19 Citi AA Biz (3/30)
03/19 CIP 2
11/18 SW Priority
10/18 SW Biz
08/18 SPG Lux/Bonblech Brilliant
08/18 Hilton Biz
05/18 CIP 1
08/17 CSR
Older Cards: Discover It, SPG Personal, No fee Disney, A+ (planning to close), BoA Cash Reward card, Cap1 Venture

 

[WVMomof3]

Wondering if I totally messed up with our companion pass. Last 2 years I had pass. Twice I went on a business trip with DH and bought my ticket, DH had ticket through work and I felt like we wasted opportunity and wouldn’t it be great if he had pass and I could accompany for free! So yay, he now has pass. Went to finally add me to his Clearwater trip and I may possibly go to Houston. But the SW site will not let me add myself. I can see his ticket and it has the add companion, but when I click on it it goes to an Error page. It says I can not access his flight information because he went through a TA. I will have him call SW to see if I can be added, but just wondered if anyone has experience with this. He is out of town through Thursday so I don’t think he will call till he is back. He has to get ticket through his Govt site, so I really am thinking now this will be a no go for companion. wahhhhhh. I don’t go with him often on business, and he rarely flys SW anyway, but thought it would be a good way to add a trip or 2 for me.

 

[striker1064]

Just wanted to update on the NLL no-AF Hilton - My 75k Hilton bonus posted overnight. This works. Also, very likely a RAT-trap, so beware. But given I've already gotten every single MR card and cashed them all out, and I've already had the Surpass, Hilton Biz, and Aspire, I'm fine with the risk. I'll hold it long-term and fish for an Ascend upgrade offer since I'm not eligible.

There's a NLL Ascend link out there too now, and I'm very tempted to try it now that I know it works. But that one has an AF, so there's a real cost other than "useless" spend if it doesn't work.

Update Update: I pulled the trigger on the NLL Ascend. Approved. I think I have a problem.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Yes, I need to go check the credit limits, they tend to be high...

Ugh. With the personal and business cards (they all count, right?) we are about 50% of income. Which probably means we would have to lower them and then wait, and either pay the fee or cancel and miss out on the referral?

Yes business and personal limits both count....i don’t think it can’t hurt to lower them now...I alway do it via SM on my husbands cards since he will not make phone calls...

Since you don’t have a CIP..have him generate a link to apply from....once the points post he can PC to a no fee card and Chase will do a pro-rated refund ....don’t cancel or you will lose the 20k support URs

 

[wendow]

Any chatter on if the SW support links are going to increase to match the public offer?

 

[tink89]

Right, I'm with you there. But I would want to have a debit card with me as backup to get cash out of ATM's. Or she could take cash with her to exchange but the rates are better using the ATM's, and what happens if you run out? If she only had one credit card, even if it's a Visa or MC, and something happens that she can't use it (they put a fraud lock on it that can't be lifted, automated machine that only accepts a PIN card, IDK stuff like that) you're kind of stuck. Having some kind of backup is important, and personally I take at least one debit with me for that reason (and a pocket full of CC's but I have that luxury).

I think the AU is a good route too as it would help her out building her credit to get the better rewards cards. Student rewards cards are kind of limited. Adding her as a AU/employee on the CIP would take care of the FTF's for this trip, but since it doesn't report to a personal credit report it wouldn't help build credit. I think the Alaska Air card doesn't have FTF's and would report to her CR and be a popular credit network. Your AmEx Hilton should fit the bill too but oddly enough, AmEx is not as widely accepted.

yes she will have her debit card with her and we can and will be just doing transfers to her through quick pay or venmo for stuff she needs while in college or on her trip. but i also want her to have a credit card with her on a trip preferably visa one. She will also have fx currency to use that i am getting here before she leaves. not much buch just enough to buy stuff here and there.

And since she is leaving to college I want her to have a credit card and get started on building her credit.

Im sure one or two of my cards already have no fx fees thats why have them. ill just have to checck which ones and try adding her.