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

[Lain]

Well... I just did a thing and was approved

View attachment 405856

OMG! AWESOME!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! And here’s to many more MRs to come!

 

[bernina]

I wouldn't pay the fee on the CSR. Just use the $300 TC as quickly as possible and then PC before 30 days from the AF posting.

Thanks! That’s what I meant to type. Pay fee, use credit, PC, get fee refund if done within 30 days.

 

[Lain]

Oh my, I even just added an offer for 10% off my cellphone bill. It seems like its a welcome offer, but I will take that max $10

These offers seem like a LOT of fun

Oh, that’s a nice one. Sometimes the welcome offer you get when you confirm/add card is really lame. Amex Offers can be great, and sometimes you can make your AF back just in savings; but they can also be frustrating if you read there’s a good one out, but you search all your Amex cards (only one for you right now) and realize you’re not targeted. Since Amex changed Amex Offers to only one offer per SSN, it’s harder to justify multiple cards for multiple savings since you can only add an offer to one card, but sometimes you’ll get a good offer on one that’s not on another.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks! That’s what I meant to type. Pay fee, use credit, PC, get fee refund if done within 30 days.

If you do everything quickly enough though you never actually have to pay the AF. As long as it's refunded before your due date. The AF process is a multi-step process:

1) You pass your card anniversary date (sometime during May in this example)
2) Your AF posts on the 1st of the next month (June 1st in this example)
3) Your statement closes at some point during that month (sometime in June)
4) Your AF is actually paid on the due date (sometime in July most likely)

So if you use the Travel Credit, get the stmt credit and PC the card before the July due date, it's possible your AF "refund" offset posts before you even paid the AF in the first place

 

[PolyRob]

OMG! AWESOME!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! And here’s to many more MRs to come!

Thank you!

Oh, that’s a nice one. Sometimes the welcome offer you get when you confirm/add card is really lame. Amex Offers can be great, and sometimes you can make your AF back just in savings; but they can also be frustrating if you read there’s a good one out, but you search all your Amex cards (only one for you right now) and realize you’re not targeted. Since Amex changed Amex Offers to only one offer per SSN, it’s harder to justify multiple cards for multiple savings since you can only add an offer to one card, but sometimes you’ll get a good offer on one that’s not on another.

I was so intimidated by all the options making the initial account and adding the card. I wanted to make sure I did not add/enroll in anything that could get me extra MRs later on (looking at you pay over time). Pretty sure I also declined e-statements. I can easily add that later. I have only used a few Chase offers between 3 cards and I see there are already 69 available to me through Amex including $20 off $100 at the popular eBags and $15 off $100 for Happy cards. I want to add them all LOL

 

[AmyAnne]

Does anyone have any thoughts about the Chase Marriott card compared to the Chase Hyatt card? My sense is that the value of the Marriott sign-up bonus as well as the value of the annual free night certificate is slightly better, but I'm really just guessing. If you were choosing one of these, which would you choose?

 

[AmyAnne]

Well... I just did a thing and was approved

View attachment 405856

Congrats! I wasn't certain that this offer even existed anymore!

 

[Lain]

Thank you!

I was so intimidated by all the options making the initial account and adding the card. I wanted to make sure I did not add/enroll in anything that could get me extra MRs later on (looking at you pay over time). Pretty sure I also declined e-statements. I can easily add that later. I have only used a few Chase offers between 3 cards and I see there are already 69 available to me through Amex including $20 off $100 at the popular eBags and $15 off $100 for Happy cards. I want to add them all LOL

I think if you’re not planning to get another Amex card very soon, you should add offers you plan to use soon-ish onto your new Plat. Amex Offers do have a subscription limit, and popular ones like Best Buy, Staples, Lowe’s, Home Depot, where you can buy gift cards, and practical stuff like gas and cell phone/cable/insurance bills do disappear from Available Offers once the offer is fully subscribed. Besides, if you plan to use these offers, the spend could go towards your MSR. (Relatedly, you should always assume the credited amount from any Amex Offer does not count towards MSR and should spend extra just in case.)

 

[Lain]

Does anyone have any thoughts about the Chase Marriott card compared to the Chase Hyatt card? My sense is that the value of the Marriott sign-up bonus as well as the value of the annual free night certificate is slightly better, but I'm really just guessing. If you were choosing one of these, which would you choose?

What’s your 5/24 status? Do you have the Amex SPG/Marriott/Bonvoy cards? I generally think going for the Amex Bonvoy Biz and Brilliant when they have increased offers is a better move than going for the Chase Bonvoy Boundless card.

Relatedly, I think the Chase Hyatt card is a better use of an under 5/24 slot than the Chase Bonvoy Boundless.

Because of the product and bonus restrictions Marriott/Amex/Chase placed on their cards last August, we’d kind of need to know what Marriott/SPG cards you have, have had, and received bonuses on and when to find out if you even qualify for any of Bonvoy’s cards now.

 

[PolyRob]

I think if you’re not planning to get another Amex card very soon, you should add offers you plan to use soon-ish onto your new Plat. Amex Offers do have a subscription limit, and popular ones like Best Buy, Staples, Lowe’s, Home Depot, where you can buy gift cards, and practical stuff like gas and cell phone/cable/insurance bills do disappear from Available Offers once the offer is fully subscribed. Besides, if you plan to use these offers, the spend could go towards your MSR. (Relatedly, you should always assume the credited amount from any Amex Offer does not count towards MSR and should spend extra just in case.)

Hmmm it seems like there are so many possibilities now that I can refer myself to Amex business card, but this will probably be my only card with a SUB for the next two months. I can go down the Amex business route, but I will probably just add all the enticing offers I see right now. I did not realize there was a limit based on how many people signed up for the offers. Thank you! I also have my spreadsheet setup to track my SUB. I will be sure to subtract the offer savings. I want to go slow and steady to keep Amex happy.

I also have to link my Hilton & Marriott accounts, read over the Uber credit banking, and figure out Saks and all the intro stuff. Seems like I will have plenty to keep me occupied

 

[AmyAnne]

What’s your 5/24 status? Do you have the Amex SPG/Marriott/Bonvoy cards? I generally think going for the Amex Bonvoy Biz and Brilliant when they have increased offers is a better move than going for the Chase Bonvoy Boundless card.

Relatedly, I think the Chase Hyatt card is a better use of an under 5/24 slot than the Chase Bonvoy Boundless.

Because of the product and bonus restrictions Marriott/Amex/Chase placed on their cards last August, we’d kind of need to know what Marriott/SPG cards you have, have had, and received bonuses on and when to find out if you even qualify for any of Bonvoy’s cards now.

Sadly not for me as I am 5+/24 until November. Asking for my nephew who wants a hotel card for football weekends at his alma mater. He only has two cards in his name (Discover and a Cap One something -- Spark I think?) but he's had them for more than two years so he is 0/24. Which is great of course but he's not really in a financial position to do the whole maximizing rewards thing and I do not want to be the one who makes him think (now) that getting a bunch of credit cards is a great thing -- he just wants a free hotel to go watch football. The reason I am thinking Chase Marriott instead of AmEx is the once-per-lifetime AmEx rule; if in a few years he does want to maximize rewards, he could still get whatever AmEx is best at the time.

 

[Mopedmom1]

Thanks! That’s what I meant to type. Pay fee, use credit, PC, get fee refund if done within 30 days.

No, no, no DO NOT pay the fee! As soon as the travel credit resets, make a travel purchase. As soon as that purchase posts on the account and is credited back THEN PC to a no AF card WITHOUT ever paying the AF. It will be removed when you PC as long as you do it within 30 days of the fee being posted to the account. Also see above SouthFayetteFan's post.

 

[Mopedmom1]

Sadly not for me as I am 5+/24 until November. Asking for my nephew who wants a hotel card for football weekends at his alma mater. He only has two cards in his name (Discover and a Cap One something -- Spark I think?) but he's had them for more than two years so he is 0/24. Which is great of course but he's not really in a financial position to do the whole maximizing rewards thing and I do not want to be the one who makes him think (now) that getting a bunch of credit cards is a great thing -- he just wants a free hotel to go watch football. The reason I am thinking Chase Marriott instead of AmEx is the once-per-lifetime AmEx rule; if in a few years he does want to maximize rewards, he could still get whatever AmEx is best at the time.

Will he be traveling to away games or staying in his college town? Have him check to see what hotels are available in those cities. It may be there are no Hyatts or Marriotts that would work for him. At my DDs alma mater there is no Hyatt, one Marriott in the city and four properties more than 30 miles away.

 

[wanderlust7]

We’re also looking at making a quick trip down to Disneyland to experience SWGE before my kiddo’s birthday trip that we’ve already got planned for August, and before no reservations are required after 6/23.

I think someone in the SWGE megathread over at the DLR forum put it best. All reports seem to say the numbers of people let into SWGE with reservations are quite reasonable, and the parks outside of SWGE are seeing very low crowds. The thinking is APs except for the most expensive Signature and Signature Plus APs are blocked out for most of this summer, and all of June is peak pricing for single day tickets. But probably more importantly, most people who are planning to go to Disneyland this summer probably won’t want to go unless they can also visit SWGE. But until 6/24, you need a reservation and all free reservations are long gone, or you can book a stay at a Disney hotel which is an expensive barrier for a lot of people. So those people will just wait a month. I’m thinking after 6/23, all bets are off. The parks will be flooded with people who have been dying to experience SWGE but weren’t able to get a reservation or willing to pay to stay at a Disney hotel for a reservation, and SWGE will be packed once Disney stops capacity controlling the new land with their reservation system.

I think I read on the Disneyland site that the Millennium Falcon attraction won’t be offered on FP or MaxPass initially. It’s going to be crazy.

Edit: June 23/24, not July.

Saw all the talk about the low crowds and wished I had planned a trip! Don't think I can fit it in at this point. DS's birthday is in November. They have 10/31 as a minimum day and 11/1 (Friday) off. So I was looking at possibly going for the Halloween party. We've never been. Though probably ON Halloween is the most crowded day for the party?

So sounds like after 6/23, it won't help to stay at a Disney hotel? The no FP/MaxPass concerns me. For your August trip, are you just anticipating standing in line for a long time?

 

[Alexle2007]

DH’s AmEx Bonvoy Biz 35k free night cert finally posted.

4/7- Annual fee posted
6/2- free night

54 lonGGG days....

 

[ten6mom]

A question and an observation:

On Chase's site, when should I expect to see my new card under "my cards" or whatever it says? Since it's a CIP will I have a separate logon or will it show up side by side with my CF?

And, I finally logged into the "book travel" area of the Chase site and was amazed at all the flights and properties available! I thought I'd be restricted to one or two airlines and one or two hotels, but even the small hotel near Nijo Station we stayed at last fall (which we loved) is on there.

Is it really going to be so easy as to just accumulate enough points??

OK that's two questions... sorry!!!

 

[ten6mom]

One more question.

Even though having/using an additional card isn't really a great idea for my husband (he doesn't pay in full every month ), what if he could get approved for it and then just add me as an AU. Could I then spend on "his" account and he would still get UR for the money I spend? So I could use my shiny new CIP for 3 months (or however long it takes me to hit $5000) and then use HIS for the next 3 months/$5000 and then somewhere in there I could apply for a CIP2 for myself for the next 3 months/$5000.... all this without HIM spending on it? What do you think?

 

[miztressuz]

A question and an observation:

On Chase's site, when should I expect to see my new card under "my cards" or whatever it says? Since it's a CIP will I have a separate logon or will it show up side by side with my CF?

And, I finally logged into the "book travel" area of the Chase site and was amazed at all the flights and properties available! I thought I'd be restricted to one or two airlines and one or two hotels, but even the small hotel near Nijo Station we stayed at last fall (which we loved) is on there.

Is it really going to be so easy as to just accumulate enough points??

OK that's two questions... sorry!!!

Business cards require their own login, so you will have to create a new one for the CIP. If you don't want to keep separate logins, you can have your personal one merged with the business one and then just use that to login. ( Your separate personal login will still work but it will only show your personal cards there) You can call or try SM to do that but you may need to call in anyway to get the business one setup so you could have them merged at the same time, if that's what you want. Chase has been weird where they don't populate a phone or email address from the application so it has no way to send a verification code to complete the sign up process and you have to call to have one sent. If it's still happening then it's a normal "error" that's been going on for over a year now.

So the Chase online travel portal is being managed by Expedia now. This is a good and not-so-good thing, but for the most part you'll get through there the same options as post to the normal OTA portals. Just have to double check the pricing. Sometimes the pricing is higher on the portal than booking elsewhere and sometimes not all the same options are available. Occasionally it may actually make sense to do a cash booking with a better promo elsewhere and cash out the UR to cover it instead ( only occasionally, but I'd rather be thorough). Also even though it's managed by Expedia not all the same inventory exists on Chase as the Expedia site - the giant notable exception is Disney hotels - but for the most part it does give you lots of options, especially some of the more independent hotels. Just be sure to check out the difference between booking with a OTA and booking with a hotel directly, sometimes you get different perks or restrictions. Also if it's a transfer partner, sometimes it more advantageous to transfer the UR and book through their program then through the portal - just something to keep in mind for future. Have fun researching

 

[ten6mom]

@miztressuz thank you... that's good tips. I will definitely call and get the online access set up and merged for the CIP because that's one less logon and password I have to deal with...

I thought the "travel" area looked like Expedia! I will be sure to take your advice and double check prices and options.

I am not sure what you mean by "transfer partner"... but I haven't fully explored that area of the website either so as you say, more research!

 

[ten6mom]

Saw all the talk about the low crowds and wished I had planned a trip! Don't think I can fit it in at this point. DS's birthday is in November. They have 10/31 as a minimum day and 11/1 (Friday) off. So I was looking at possibly going for the Halloween party. We've never been. Though probably ON Halloween is the most crowded day for the party?

So sounds like after 6/23, it won't help to stay at a Disney hotel? The no FP/MaxPass concerns me. For your August trip, are you just anticipating standing in line for a long time?

I'm not the expert on the Halloween parties but generally from what I've been reading, the last few years the one ON Halloween tends to sell out first. That being said, they've moved it to DCA this year and no one is sure how that will affect ticket sales.

I don't know how to link a thread but there is one over on the Disneyland boards here:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/h...eld-in-dca-only.3731676/page-20#post-60670571

Regarding SW:GE, that's correct... after that date it won't matter if you have a DLR Hotel stay or not- it's pretty much a free for all. I personally am staying far, far away for awhile until I've had a chance to read many weeks' worth of reactions and reports.