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

[SouthFayetteFan]

Honestly, for the first time in a long time, I don't know what to do with Amex.

I hit the MSR on my BGR with a charge on 1/31, which was pending and didn't post until 2/4. $200 of the MSR was a PayPal donation to my kiddo's PTO, so I put in extra spend to make up for it, in case that didn't count, before the MSR period ended yesterday. I'm still waiting for the SUB to post, but have a nagging feeling of dread that I might get a no-pop-up-denial. I've opened 8 Amex cards in the past 14 months, so maybe the BGR was tempting fate, but I've been putting thousands in spend across my cards every month, and my overall spend with Amex has actually increased in recent months because of traveling, some unexpected expenses, and the holidays. Most of my Amex SUBs have posted 2-3 days after hitting MSR, but I know there can be some delay for a week or two (like with @striker1064), and there seems to be a lot of reports of lag with the airline fee credits posting, so I don't know... I hate being in limbo, and I don't want to "call the bank" either.

Since DW's last pop up on the SPG Personal, I threw a $2.6k charge on her Hilton Biz last week on top of an earlier $500 purchase from Staples .com to take advantage of the Amex Offer and no-fee MCGC deal, and have used her SPG Biz to pump gas a few times and small charges here and there. I'll probably try applying once more next week before the SPG Personal goes away on 2/13. If I don't get the pop up, I'd still be nervous about a no-pop-up-denial. If I get the pop up, I don't know if another 35k FN cert a year from now (and possibly every year after) is enough to tempt me. I was also hoping for the 75k Marriott points to help replenish our stash after having made a big Hawaii redemption for later this year. Between my wife and I, we have 2x SPG Biz, 1x SPG Personal, 1x SPG Lux, 1x Marriott Biz, and 1x MPP. I'll keep our 2x SPG Biz another year because the AF increase won't hit us this year and I'll pocket the 2x 35k FNs (for Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood). I'm planning to keep my SPG Personal and SPG Lux too. My Marriott Biz FN has already posted, and I'm going to cancel it when the AF hits (to free up room for more Chase biz cards). I'm seriously considering upgrading my MPP to a Ritz-Carlton after my first year is up. That's 5x 35k FN certs, and 1x 50k FN cert this year. I don't think we need another 35k FN, especially if Marriott is going to move all the good redemptions where we'd actually visit and stay up to Cat. 6. In which case, it makes keeping my SPG Lux and upgrading the MPP to a Ritz-Carlton all the more compelling, since the 50k FNs look to be more useful for us.

I'm much more focused on more Chase biz cards in the coming months. My wife is 1/24, and I'll be under 5/24 again next month. Going to get the United Biz, because my wife could always use more miles and my account needs replenishing, then eyeing another CIP for each of us, and a CIU for me.

I on the other hand...know what to do with AMEX...

 

[trenty]

More questions. I have been out of the game for a bit and want to make sure I don't screw up. We are going to be purchasing almost $5k in flooring and I want to get a new card that would give us 0% interest for at least a year, preferably longer. And if it gave a sign up bonus, that would be even better.

I was thinking about getting DH the Chase Ink Unlimited, but then I am not sure if he would qualify for the bonus because he got a the Chase Ink Cash less than a year ago. Here is his history over the past 24 months:

Chase Freedom Unlimited AU - 05/2017
Chase Sapphire Preferred - 09/01/2017, downgraded to Chase Freedom 9/18
Chase Ink Cash - 03/2018
Chase IHG - 03/2018
Bank of America BankAmericard - 01/2019

I know you can only get one sapphire bonus every 24 months, but what about Ink? And if he can't get another Ink bonus, any suggestions on another card, preferably a business card, that would give 0%?

It is not a business card but the Discover IT gives 14 months (I think) at 0%. It has 5x cash back categories and doubles the cash back the first year.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

It is not a business card but the Discover IT gives 14 months (I think) at 0%. It has 5x cash back categories and doubles the cash back the first year.

One reason to potentially avoid a personal card when you're using a 0% interest offer is utilization on your credit report. If you put $5k on a biz card and let it sit there for 12 months it won't affect anything. If you do this on a personal card it will affect your utilization, your score, and potentially your ability to get additional cards. (It's not a bad strategy...just pointing out a pitfall there that some are looking to avoid)

 

[palhockeymomof2]

A Strategy Re-emerges...
With the return of CF support clicks the "2 Player" Freedom Double Dip (and potential quad-dip) strategy has returned!

This is a strategy that some folks (especially slow churners who liked small MSRs) embraced awhile back to pad the URs - It never really went away for CFU cards but it was truthfully more popular with CF cards for some reason so when those links went away it wasn't discussed much anymore.

I'll detail in bullet points:

• P1 - sign up for CF (using DISchurner link if nothing better available)
• P1 - Meet $500 MSR preferably on 5x category for that quarter
• P1 - earn 17,500 URs
• P1 - refer P2 to CF - earn 5,000 URs (unfortunately this strategy isn't quite as lucrative since the RAF bonus is only 5k vs 10k before)
• P2 - Meet $500 MSR preferably on 5x category for that quarter
• P2 - earn 17,500 URs
• COMBINED 40,000 URs from 2 cards (and now you have 2 CFs to use on future quarterly deals)
• (this next part is the potential quad-dip)
• P1 - PC CF card to CFU (yup - the card you just got a few months prior)
• P1 - refer P2 to CFU - earn 10,000 URs
• P2 - Meet $500 MSR
• P2 - Earn 15,750 URs
• P1 - PC CFU card back to CF (yup that same card you PCed before, lol)
• P2 - refer P1 to CFU - earn 10,000 URs
• P1 - Meet $500 MSR
• P1 - Earn 15,750 URs
• TOTAL COMBINED 91,500 URs from 4 cards (just $2,000 MSR so a min. 45%+ return)

There are numerous variances on this strategy and if you happen to have a CF or CFU to start with (perhaps downgraded from a CSP or CSR) that can help too. I plan to do some form of this with me and my wife. It does end up using 5/24 slots BUT there aren't a TON of Chase personal cards I want (it seems CIP, CIC, CIU are the big hitters now) so I'm willing to devote at least 1 slot each to some form of this strategy and possibly do the whole quad-dip if it works out right!

I like your strategy....wish Chase would list the 5x catagories for the year so I’d know when would be the best time for us to have the CF vs CFU.....DH does have a CSP....since the annual fee was waived the first year can it be PC before the 1 year anniversary ?

 

[trenty]

One reason to potentially avoid a personal card when you're using a 0% interest offer is utilization on your credit report. If you put $5k on a biz card and let it sit there for 12 months it won't affect anything. If you do this on a personal card it will affect your utilization, your score, and potentially your ability to get additional cards. (It's not a bad strategy...just pointing out a pitfall there that some are looking to avoid)

Good to know. I had up to 5,000 on mine for several months when we had an unexpected expense. I did not effect my credit score at all, but I did pay if off rather quickly and have a pretty high CL on that card.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I like your strategy....wish Chase would list the 5x catagories for the year so I’d know when would be the best time for us to have the CF vs CFU.....DH does have a CSP....since the annual fee was waived the first year can it be PC before the 1 year anniversary ?

That is one frustration when trying to do this. You definitely want to get the CFs during good categories if you can. I honestly don't know about PCing the CSP in the first year...you used to have to do a trick and go CSP=>CS=>CF Not sure if that works still or not in the first year.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

That is one frustration when trying to do this. You definitely want to get the CFs during good categories if you can. I honestly don't know about PCing the CSP in the first year...you used to have to do a trick and go CSP=>CS=>CF Not sure if that works still or not in the first year.

Thanks..not really a big deal either way...I’d just use a support link the first time if it didn’t work .....going to have to practice being DH on the phone since you call to PC .......although he has been enjoying the fact that we are able to see our son twice as often thanks to this game...so maybe he’d make calls now

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Ironic timing on the AMEX talk. I just received my $595 annual fee for the Platinum Business ... ugh. Of course, my year started in early February right after the fee was imposed. Anyway, just wondering if any of you have had any successful retention calls lately. I read one guy on FT got 30,000 MRs. That would be nice and would certainly help. He had a lot of spend on it, but since I paid my taxes with it last year, I do as well.

 

[GZanta77]

Honestly wondering if the Marriott credit card is worth the annual fee anymore.

Yeah - I think I am leaning towards cancelling the Marriott but keeping one or both of our SPG Biz cards. The thing is - the Marriott is still not a bad card IF you can get good value from the free night. I just don't know if I can get good use of 3 free nights, particularly as they become more difficult to use with category changes and peak pricing.

 

[georgina]

One reason to potentially avoid a personal card when you're using a 0% interest offer is utilization on your credit report. If you put $5k on a biz card and let it sit there for 12 months it won't affect anything. If you do this on a personal card it will affect your utilization, your score, and potentially your ability to get additional cards. (It's not a bad strategy...just pointing out a pitfall there that some are looking to avoid)

It can also affect your car and home insurance rates. I found that out the hard way once when I had a 0% card that I kept a balance on for a year.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Some time ago I had an internship supervisor who was a real piece of work. I always called him Mr. Mean in my head. He mainly communicated by grunting & yelling. I was there for 6 months & never saw him smile once. Koko the gorilla would have been more effective as a mentor.

One day, he came in, ignored our presence as usual, told off the mail courier, accidentally hung up on a major donor, and yelled at two underlings who were slightly more important than we peons - if only because he addressed them by name, whereas I am 98.7% sure he never bothered to learn ours. All in all, it was a great morning for Mr. Mean.

Until he got a phone call. And his phone joyously sang out:

"Tadpole calling! Tadpole calling! There's a tadpole, here on the line!"

(Except, it wasn't "tadpole." It was an expletive that starts with an A & sounds like "tadpole.")

It went on, and on, and on, as Mr. Mean fumbled with his phone. The caller even redialed & we got through two additional refrains before he finally figured out how to put it on silent.

I thought I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen because I did not dare take a breath for fear that I would explode in hysterics.

Apparently his son had done it as a joke & "forgot" to tell him. I felt terrible for the kid, because you know Mr. Mean could not possibly have been a kind & understanding father and he was probably grounded for 12 years. But man, it was funny!

So... the next time your workplace is treated to a laughing Minion... it could be worse.

Mine is set to Minion because 1. DS loves minions and 2. I’m a bit hard of hearing and can’t hear the beeping type over all the monitors beeping at work. If my phone rings they are treated to “When You Wish Upon a Star”

 

[Albort]

Honestly wondering if the Marriott credit card is worth the annual fee anymore.

got 3, was gonna keep all 3 for free nights.
killed 1 Jan 2019
AF on 2nd card up $125AF, will kill card Nov 2019
keeping 1 only.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

We have Nest Thermostats...I have them set so you can't put the temperature above 66 in the winter or below 72 in the summer. I tell DW that she just needs to layer up a little more.

Ha ha. I adjust mine with the app. DH probably doesn’t know there’s an app. Then there was the time we went to WDW in March and turned the heat down and I forgot to check the app before we flew home. Turns out it was 55 degrees IN the house. The power had gone out (and come back on but the furnace always needs to be reset) If I had checked from FL I could have sent someone over.

 

[punkin]

got 3, was gonna keep all 3 for free nights.
killed 1 Jan 2019
AF on 2nd card up $125AF, will kill card Nov 2019
keeping 1 only.

I've only got one. AF $95 I think. Decisions...decisions.

 

[Albort]

I've only got one. AF $95 I think. Decisions...decisions.

i think the premiums cards are the only ones work keeping...
Ritz > Lux card though.

 

[punkin]

i think the premiums cards are the only ones work keeping...
Ritz > Lux card though.

So maybe I should upgrade. DH has too many Marriott points from actual stays to completely dump the card.

 

[AmyAnne]

A question for the Alaska Air experts: what is the best way to get points (besides the Alaska Air credit card)? Transfer MRs? Or any way to use other airlines' points (I have a lot of American and United points)?

 

[afan]

A question for the Alaska Air experts: what is the best way to get points (besides the Alaska Air credit card)? Transfer MRs? Or any way to use other airlines' points (I have a lot of American and United points)?

They don't have a transfer partner that's why people were churning their cards so much. In the past you've been able to use AA or DL to book on Alaska but they ended their partnership with DL. I'm not sure about AA though I did use their miles to book an AS flight a couple years ago. Unless there's a non US airline that's a partner, AA is going to be your only potential option.

The other option was the Marriott Nights and Flight bundle but I don't know if that's still an option or even a good one. I've only seen talk about the old certs not anyone booking new ones.

 

[miztressuz]

Honestly, for the first time in a long time, I don't know what to do with Amex.

I hit the MSR on my BGR with a charge on 1/31, which was pending and didn't post until 2/4. $200 of the MSR was a PayPal donation to my kiddo's PTO, so I put in extra spend to make up for it, in case that didn't count, before the MSR period ended yesterday. I'm still waiting for the SUB to post, but have a nagging feeling of dread that I might get a no-pop-up-denial. I've opened 8 Amex cards in the past 14 months, so maybe the BGR was tempting fate, but I've been putting thousands in spend across my cards every month, and my overall spend with Amex has actually increased in recent months because of traveling, some unexpected expenses, and the holidays. Most of my Amex SUBs have posted 2-3 days after hitting MSR, but I know there can be some delay for a week or two (like with @striker1064), and there seems to be a lot of reports of lag with the airline fee credits posting, so I don't know... I hate being in limbo, and I don't want to "call the bank" either.

Since DW's last pop up on the SPG Personal, I threw a $2.6k charge on her Hilton Biz last week on top of an earlier $500 purchase from Staples .com to take advantage of the Amex Offer and no-fee MCGC deal, and have used her SPG Biz to pump gas a few times and small charges here and there. (We're going to try hit $15k spend on the Hilton Biz regardless for the free weekend night.) I'll probably try applying once more next week before the SPG Personal goes away on 2/13. If I don't get the pop up, I'd still be nervous about a no-pop-up-denial. If I get the pop up, I don't know if another 35k FN cert a year from now (and possibly every year after) is enough to tempt me. I was also hoping for the 75k Marriott points to help replenish our stash after having made a big Hawaii redemption for later this year. Between my wife and I, we have 2x SPG Biz, 1x SPG Personal, 1x SPG Lux, 1x Marriott Biz, and 1x MPP. I'll keep our 2x SPG Biz another year because the AF increase won't hit us this year and I'll pocket the 2x 35k FNs (for Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood). I'm planning to keep my SPG Personal and SPG Lux too. My Marriott Biz FN has already posted, and I'm going to cancel it when the AF hits (to free up room for more Chase biz cards). I'm seriously considering upgrading my MPP to a Ritz-Carlton after my first year is up. That's 5x 35k FN certs, and 1x 50k FN cert this year. I don't think we need another 35k FN, especially if Marriott is going to move all the good redemptions where we'd actually visit and stay up to Cat. 6. In which case, it makes keeping my SPG Lux and upgrading the MPP to a Ritz-Carlton all the more compelling, since the 50k FNs look to be more useful for us.

I'm much more focused on more Chase biz cards in the coming months. My wife is 1/24, and I'll be under 5/24 again next month. Going to get the United Biz, because my wife could always use more miles and my account needs replenishing, then eyeing another CIP for each of us, and a CIU for me.

If I were in your shoes with all those cards already and the cat changes, if I got the pop up I'd probably walk away - without the bonus there's no point since you have so many options at the moment.

We're keeping the old Marriott (25k) and now probably the new Marriott Biz (35k) instead of my SPG Biz so I don't necessarily need another FNC, but at the same time I know we stay at least 3 nights at a hotel every year and usually at least 4. So if we got the 3rd keeper Stariott along with my IHG we'd be covered for all of our known stays. I'm kinda swinging towards taking the RAF points just for that but I'll run it by spend overlord and see if he thinks that's crazy. FOMO is real this time

 

[disneedee]

A question for the Alaska Air experts: what is the best way to get points (besides the Alaska Air credit card)? Transfer MRs? Or any way to use other airlines' points (I have a lot of American and United points)?

you can fly alaska by booking thru british airlines. BA does have a lot more transfer partners. i've only done it once and it did not go very smooth but i know it is out there and can be done.