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

[miztressuz]

I know this difference in language has been debated on r/churning, and my take is if you have the SPG Lux, you're ineligible for the Marriott Biz signup bonus, but I think you can still get the product (assuming 5/24 doesn't apply). I believe @calypso726 is considering opening the Marriott Biz for the 35k FN cert anyway, especially since the AF is staying at $99.

That's what I thought, so in that case, just going for the free night, it actually might be feasible.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

yeah, i dont particularly like how ppl charge for this kind of info... as much as i like the youtuber Kara and Nate, their package is like $100 for info that can be found online.

Guy that ask for help, i guess everyone has told him he is doing it wrong so he really wants to get help... he blew 1.6million UR on 2 J class tickets on the UR portal. He just wants to be set straight i guess..
i told him that i dont have a rate, and not expect him to pay me, he offered to gift me something anyways... i guess ill see how it goes.

If you have info that he needs and he’s willing to pay, charge him. It’s not a bad thing. I mean, I know how to cook, I’ve taught people to cook. Would I charge friends, probably not, unless they wanted to do a weekly thing or something more structured. But an acquaintance or stranger, I’d charge them. My old job used to pay me hundreds in OT for teaching cooking classes.

 

[Lain]

My mom has an Amex traditional gold card. I googled and it looks like it has a lower annual fee than the gold card but no dining credit, airline credit, 4x grocery store, etc. Is this correct? Am I missing something?

Amex used to have a "Gold" card in its lineup, which has been discontinued and was different from the "Premier Rewards Gold" card, which itself has been rebranded into the new "Gold(/Rose Gold)" card.

See: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/american-express-discontinued-gold-card-not-prg/

Your mom's traditional Gold card is considered a different product than the PRG/new Gold card. If she wanted, she should be able to apply for the new Gold card and receive the welcome bonus (which isn't as good as it was before 1/9/19, but still 50k MR after $2k MSR in incognito mode).

 

[tink1970]

My mom has an Amex traditional gold card. I googled and it looks like it has a lower annual fee than the gold card but no dining credit, airline credit, 4x grocery store, etc. Is this correct? Am I missing something?

@Lain beat me to it!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I went in thinking I would hate it. I don’t like anything mixed together. I seriously need one of those plates with the sections for toddlers. I think you should at least try it

I’m the opposite about food, I like most everything and love trying new stuff. Total foodie. Just not a huge fan of citrus/chocolate, but I’m open to it.
If it’s still there in March, I might give it a try.

 

[havaneselover]

@Lain beat me to it!

I think this is different. It looks like she’s got some crummy grandfathered card. And my dad has platinum so I’m not sure why she’s paying an annual fee for this card. In good news I did enroll my dad in the saks credit, request a lounge card, and select their airline. Not even bringing up Uber!

ETA: it looks like she pays $35/year for her card???

 

[platamama]

I SM'd Chase to find out about anniversary resets due to product changing (both DH and I upgraded our old personal Marriotts to the new Premier Plus in the past few months for the 50K upgrade bonus).

NEW anniversary date is when you make the upgrade change. Maybe some people here knew that, but I've never upgraded a card with Chase before and was reading comments on the FM post about pc'ing to the RC.

I was counting on DH getting his free night this month, and me getting my free night in May -- but now those won't be available until Oct (me) and Dec (him). I did read one conflicting DP in the comments on FM's RC post where the person said they still got their FN certificate on their original anniversary date, so there might be some YMMV with this.

At least we got 50K pts each which is a free night at most places, so that helps me from feeling too "robbed."

 

[CyndiLouWho]

D'oh!! Totally forgot she got in on that. I should learn to check your dossiers before getting people excited

Totally understandable. @Lain has the spreadsheet

 

[Lain]

Reposting from r/churning because it gave me a good laugh this morning: Your Platinum Credit Card Is Garbage Now.

When I learned about Bonvoy's new categories, I thought really Titanium over Platinum? When I think Titanium, I think dull and gray, and am reminded of the fragile, flaky Powerbook G4 I had in college. When I think Platinum, I think shiny and luxe like my wife's rings.

Personally, I'm waiting for an Unobtanium card or status.

 

[spacerangerqueen]

Dads are great and certainly capable of caring for their kids. I meant it more like an irrational mom fear thing lol! I always had dreams of losing my kids so that was a constant fear of mine.

It is actually still going on! I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that someone came into our backyard and abducted our dd18 while she was doing yard work. I came out after dark, saw the shovel on the ground, checked and her keys/purse were still there. Hopped in my car, located her by her phone and was on the phone with the police as I’m driving erratically trying to chase down the creep who has her

Ah. So maybe this fits in with the anxiety conversation! Mrs. SouthFayetteFan has flying, Calypso has the ocean, and you have losing your kids!

 

[pinkxray]

How long does it usually take to get the PNC debit card? I need the card to set up my online acct but I haven’t received it yet. I opened the account on Jan. 17 and it feels like it’s taking forever. I’m already to push $5000 from Chase and set up my work deposit but I can’t get on the PNC website without the debit card.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Wow, got hubby to do an about face on opening a new card. I was picking his brain on what he wanted to do for the next card(s) so I have a goal to work towards. I discussed a few options and floated the CIP out there trying to convince him we could do 5k if we plan it right. Met with resistance, which I wasn't surprised, but got more surprised when I started getting resistance about opening ANY new card at all. I know he's tired of all the CC talk and he goes through phases where I know when to back off and when I can bring it up again, but he also knows how much the points and banking game has gotten us already. Literally we would not be able to do this Alaska trip in Sep without CC points, just not even feasible to pay cash for all that we wanted to do even if we wanted to now. So when he just recently brought up that he didn't think it was a good idea to open up another card because he's afraid we're spending money just to get the points, I was floored!

First, because I haven't done that! I can't speak totally for sure for him, but if he did it wasn't anything big that I'm aware of. I pointed out that the only thing I thought we bought that we didn't need to was the refrigerator. I could have bought a few more parts and had it repaired and it'd probably be fine for a few more years. But he's never liked that fridge and I think he used it as an excuse to pick up a new one (which he does like, thank goodness! spent just a little more than I planned on it but he likes it so that little extra was worth not hearing about it again ). But it wasn't outrageous and we had the money to do it In the house maintenance fund, so we did. Second, because I thought knowing that most of this upcoming trip was paid for with points had really turned him! He was much more receptive to the whole game after I showed him some tangibles - like that First Class return flight I paid all of $120 OOP for. He was impressed with that and it was a load off knowing we didn't have to pay cash for that kind of flight. I mean, he opened 5 new cards in one year (and 3 of them were business cards) to make this happen! I really thought this was over since I've been planning this trip for him anyway. This was one of his bucket list destinations, and while I am excited to visit there too, it was really all put together as a "cold" vacation for him as he enjoys that more than sunny beach trips. Ugh.

However, I'm happy to say that logic won out I just got a text from him asking if I had decided on my next card yet. I said no, but asked why? He came back with "Just wondered. As you said it is money we are spending anyway. As much as I hate new cards, it sort of seems logical."

I'm ignoring the "sort of" part right now and declaring a victory... again... for just this battle... I don't think I've yet won the war.

Yesterday dh said in amazement and shock while reconciling the checkbook/account, "We have 5 Chase cards now?! We really need to trim those back!" I explained that we are using the cards for particular reasons (he knew this omg Australia next year grr) and that I am going for the 6th card next week so we can get the SW CP. All the spending we are putting on those cards used to go on our Discover, a point-less Citi, and the debit card.

Got some good news today. Visiting my parents and they said they were giving me about twice what I expected for my kids for college. So I think they are almost completely funded when I include what I’ve saved I desperately need new windows so I think I can now start replacing windows!

What generous parents I inherited IRAs from my parents' estate and have used the annual distributions for kids' tuition.

Prayers and pixie dust for Mrs. SouthFayetteFan. While I don't have an issue flying, I do have issues and irrational fears about going into the ocean and that totally sounds like me. I'm going to go and try up to my knees. Then, I'm paralyzed with fear and can't do it. Over and over again. The Maldives trip will be interesting. PlanePrincess says he's going snorkeling and I swing back and forth from, ok I will try too and OMG NO! Please don't do that because you are going to die. I try not to think about it too much because the terror and anxiety are exhausting. I truly want to see a whale shark but the idea of getting in the ocean in deep water puts me into a panic. I have no idea what will happen once we get there but I do know there will be a chaos of tears, begging, pleading, and constant changing of what I will or won't do. I am grateful for the patience and support while I swing a pendulum of yes, I will and no I won't, go ahead without me and please don't go. Simply writing this out has made me cry. I hope you guys have an amazing trip! Please tell Mrs. SouthFayetteFan that I applaud her bravery and will power to face that fear once again. I know how hard that is to do and I hope I can be just as brave as she is come March when we are in the Maldives.

I have a serious deep water issue, too. I can almost forget about it when flying, but being on a boat just does me in. Riding the boats at WDW is very, very difficult for me. I so want to see the Great Barrier Reef next year. Those day-long boat trips would do me in. I am looking at flying on a small plane to an island on the reef where we can stay for a few days, exploring the shallow reef right around the island.

and why the heck did this text get so tiny?????

 

[miztressuz]

I know this difference in language has been debated on r/churning, and my take is if you have the SPG Lux, you're ineligible for the Marriott Biz signup bonus, but I think you can still get the product (assuming 5/24 doesn't apply). I believe @calypso726 is considering opening the Marriott Biz for the 35k FN cert anyway, especially since the AF is staying at $99.

Score, someone with a SPG card tried and got a prompt asking if they'd like to get the card without the bonus.
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/ak00je/discussion_thread_january_26_2019/ef0v996/

So seems feasible if you only want the annual FN cert.

 

[Lain]

Ok I have a stupid decision I'm wrestling with. I'm going to go for the SPG personal, going to do it now rather than pushing it off so we can start MSR quicker since we completed the BBP already. (yep, only 3 weeks into the new year and already screwed up the "always be MSRing" resolution for the year. )

I can't decide between 20k Stariott points that I know we'll use, probably within the next few months, or 10-15k MR that we just keep accumulating with no specific goal. *cringe moment warning!* We almost used our MR stash to buy a new washer but at the last minute hubby decided we'd get more value out of it using it for travel in some nebulous future date; so we earned some more MR that we don't know what to do with by buying it with AmEx offers instead. Unfortunately it's a "nebulous future date" so while I don't mind hoarding stuff for a plan, hanging onto points "just cuz" I start to wonder if it's silly. It's not silly, right? I should stick with referring myself from one of our MR cards?

I've wrestled with the same debate, and always decide to go for the 20k Marriott points referral.

I know I'll have a use for Marriott points, and it's good to have them. Transferrable points currencies like UR and MR are more "nebulous" by nature -- do you transfer them to airlines or hotels? if so, which partners? redeem them through portals? cash them out? Then you get caught up in another tough decision whether you're making a good redemption. UR and MR transfer to Marriott 1:1, but would you really transfer UR or MR to Marriott, other than to top off, instead of using them for some other purpose? And if you're really going to end up transferring MR to Marriott at 1:1, wouldn't you rather have 20k Marriott from a SPG referral than 15k from a BBP referral?

 

[afan]

OOOOHHHH. Now THIS sounds like a story that needs to be told.

I'll just say I've flown private with the race team, best way for a free vacation and I have an Indy 500 ring.

Not the first part, but from the second. The hippos!!! I had no idea! Maybe I’m just naive haha. I thought that was the coolest thing. Those hummingbirds were amazing! DH and I thought at first it must be fake.

Loved Jeremy’s pants and the guy that walked up to him to shake his hand

Yes the hippos! Who knew? It's so random that they're in Colombia.

 

[Haley R]

I’m the opposite about food, I like most everything and love trying new stuff. Total foodie. Just not a huge fan of citrus/chocolate, but I’m open to it.
If it’s still there in March, I might give it a try.

You definitely should! Here’s what ours looked like.

 

[miztressuz]

I've wrestled with the same debate, and always decide to go for the 20k Marriott points referral.

I know I'll have a use for Marriott points, and it's good to have them. Transferrable points currencies like UR and MR are more "nebulous" by nature -- do you transfer them to airlines or hotels? if so, which partners? redeem them through portals? cash them out? Then you get caught up in another tough decision whether you're making a good redemption. UR and MR transfer to Marriott 1:1, but would you really transfer UR or MR to Marriott, other than to top off, instead of using them for some other purpose? And if you're really going to end up transferring MR to Marriott at 1:1, wouldn't you rather have 20k Marriott from a SPG referral than 15k from a BBP referral?

OMG it's like you were in my head... get out, get out!!



I actually was just coming to this conclusion as we confirmed the BBP is back to only 10k referral so I'd rather have 20k Marriott (where I know I can get at least 1 night out of it) over that. But yer still scary

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I have so much catching up to do here and we leave this afternoon.

BC popped up for $281/nt so I switched...mostly b/c it is now supposed to rain aaallll day Sunday...our park day. I am assuming I can reassign my mom’s ticket to May and pay the difference and reassign dd19s ticket to one of my boys for our May trip. I need to look into it. Now we need something to do Sunday. We still have DAH mon pm, so not all is lost.

It is kinda a bummer how it is playing out but at least we know we will be back!

 

[miztressuz]

SOB! I got the pop up on the SPG card.

I already have a normal amount of spend on my ED card. But I'm sporadic with the SPG Biz card and it's been open for less than a year, so I think they're looking at that one. I got the bonus and spending dropped off since I only use my AmEx cards for offers and that one has crappy offers. Last charge on it was 12/30 for $20 for an offer, last significant spending on it was 3-4 months ago when I was using the Staples and Lowe's Biz offers.

Crud. Now do I spend the next 2 weeks putting spend on the SPG Biz and try again before it goes away, or dismiss it and move on to SW or something? I wonder if I'd get the pop up on the Hilton card I wanted too or just the SPG because it looks like a bonus grab? Wish we knew how AmEx worked.

 

[Lain]

OMG it's like you were in my head... get out, get out!!



I actually was just coming to this conclusion as we confirmed the BBP is back to only 10k referral so I'd rather have 20k Marriott (where I know I can get at least 1 night out of it) over that. But yer still scary

Next-level intelligence gathering for my dossiers: inception.

But seriously, BBP referrals are down to 10k? Lame.