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

[DisneyMandC]

Nothing in the mail from Amex today. Maybe they'll forget about me... I only had one Hilton referral. Definitely will not be using any referral links in the future!

 

[::danielle::]

Hello everyone!

I haven’t been in this thread for a long time. I am about to make a very expensive purchase and would like to develop a churning strategy to make the most out of it. I currently only have the SW Business card and I’m under 5/24.

Where should I go to learn more about the current offers available for the SW Visa cards? I’d like to get a companion pass.

Thanks in advance!

 

[afan]

No way I’d do that. They report the value as 1cpp, arguing to make it 3.5cpp wouldn’t be smart. Hah

You can also redeem for 1cpp statement credit, so that’s at least a fair valuation.

Ok this is where I get confused with how everyone writes everything. So 1cpp is actually 1 Penny Per Point? Why can't it just be .01 so we can all understand? Because I see 1cpp as way more than the .035 that I found because it looks like it should be .10 not .01.

I've also never seen where I can redeem my miles for a statement credit, I'll have to look but it's certainly not obvious.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

So WM was useless. Fill out a fraud form, give them 30 days. Lesson learned........

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Hello everyone!

I haven’t been in this thread for a long time. I am about to make a very expensive purchase and would like to develop a churning strategy to make the most out of it. I currently only have the SW Business card and I’m under 5/24.

Where should I go to learn more about the current offers available for the SW Visa cards? I’d like to get a companion pass.

Thanks in advance!

Hi..I’d go to the Chase website and look at the 3 SW personal cards.....did you get your SW business card 60k RR points in 2019...if so there is a link floating around here to apply for a personal with a 50k RR bonus

 

[Haley R]

Omg I would have freaked the heck out! (Because Gators, which my head says gators stay away from loud noises but my brain goes 'omg SO big & SO many teeth!!' Yeah, common sense can't beat my gator fear ) Glad you had a great time with it all, sounds like an adventure!

I didn’t even think about gators! We didn’t dip down in the water or anything so I guess it didn’t even cross my mind. I was more worried about getting soaked when we sent our bags on to cbr lol

 

[::danielle::]

Hi..I’d go to the Chase website and look at the 3 SW personal cards.....did you get your SW business card 60k RR points in 2019...if so there is a link floating around here to apply for a personal with a 50k RR bonus

Thank you! I got the SW business card with points last year.

What website do you recommend I visit to get the scoop on the latest churning information?

 

[Haley R]

We love the sea raycers. It's an almost yearly tradition that we do for DH's birthday. We've only done them from the Poly though. It's really fun to drive over the water bridge and around the old Discovery Island.

That's nice that you got a free meal! Definitely a memorable experience haha.

You might have to try over by boardwalk then! You get to drive all the way to hs

 

[Andysol]

Ok this is where I get confused with how everyone writes everything. So 1cpp is actually 1 Penny Per Point? Why can't it just be .01 so we can all understand? Because I see 1cpp as way more than the .035 that I found because it looks like it should be .10 not .01.

I've also never seen where I can redeem my miles for a statement credit, I'll have to look but it's certainly not obvious.

Correct. 1 “cent per point” or cpp.

$0.01 per point would be another way to say it, but you know how we all love acronyms...

 

[Haley R]

Nice! I have been hearing really positive things about that festival!



LOL! That does sound exciting! We rented them at the Poly back when my DD was younger (so it was just 1 A 1 C in mine - DH had his own) and had a blast. I had no idea how much fun those little raycers could be. Highly recommended. It sounds like you enjoyed your stay over by Epcot.

They went faster than I actually thought they would! Staying at yc was the best! We’ve done bc but yc is our preference between the two now

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Thank you! I got the SW business card with points last year.

What website do you recommend I visit to get the scoop on the latest churning information?

If you got the points on the business last year that wouldn’t help getting the CP this year since you have to accumulate 110,000RR points in one calendar year....
The best way to get the CP would be with the personal card offer.

If you go to the first page of this thread there is information there...on listing the credit cards you currently have and when they were opened...airlines you fly...travel goals...etc...so we can give you the best advice. Everyone here is super friendly and helpful

 

[disneybirds]

I’ll be at Disney Saturday and Sunday. I love how points gives us the flexibility to book flights for a weekend getaway. We just booked this yesterday lol Staying at movies for $145 in a preferred room. We want to check out festival of the arts.

Love a last minute getaway! We really enjoyed the art festival last year.

ETA: It was our favorite festival of the year.

 

[mmmears]

They went faster than I actually thought they would! Staying at yc was the best! We’ve done bc but yc is our preference between the two now

It was our fave, too, until the whole dog thing. DH and I are both very allergic. So BC it is, for now. I really want to try BWI but no trips planned at this point.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Scored VIP Passholder tickets to the MK on 2/26..our trip starts on 2/28...shall I extend our trip? LOL. Wish I would have booked with SW instead of Jetblue!

How do you find out about this? You get an email or something? Does it go out to all APs? I don't see one in my junk.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

They went faster than I actually thought they would! Staying at yc was the best! We’ve done bc but yc is our preference between the two now

I agree. I prefer the BC decor over the darker colors of YC, but I felt like our room at BC this time was sub par. We had plumbing issues...sewage backed up into the sinks...and the carpet was stained. There was tons of dust on baseboards. It was kinda gross.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

What a day, right? The DoC post linked my post on Reddit here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/alrn12/amex_1099_reporting_thread/efgkeoj/

It’s not as bad as it initially looks, but everyone, at the very least, should adjust the values to fair market value. It’s legal, allowed, justified and can be proven. AMEX should be 0.6cpp and Hilton .5cpp. I haven’t found a way to prove Marriott or delta at Under 1cpp, so you may have to eat that.

Using 80k Hilton valued at $1000

If standard deduction:
Line 21 put 1099 amount of $1000.
Line 21 put adjusted amount of -$600 (.5cpp x 80k is $400 so $600 is the difference in $1k and $400).

If itemized deduction:
Line 21 put 1099 amount of $1000
After line 35 put $600 as your adjustment.

That’s worst case scenario that everyone should do.

What everyone should also consider doing is arguing with AMEX about the valuations. That would make it even easier. Additionally, arguing .5cpp and .6cpp for Hilton and MR gives you a paper trail for trying to argue with the issuer. Be sure to include the print outs and purchase prices that I put in the Reddit thread.

Me? I *am* going to deduct my annual fees. In particular ones like my Hilton businesses which I had only for referrals in the first place. I have a Hilton aspire, why do I need a biz? This is something you can ask your CPA about for your own comfort level. After consulting with mine, I’m doing it. I’m not taking it to $0, but I’m going to get it as close to it as I can. I’m on the hook for around $7k for AMEX Referrals.

So it seems DH's $150 is MRs from me opening the BBP. So you'd say they are worth $90, not $150?

And I just realized there is a 2nd paper. $502.50 for his Hilton biz. That is really worth $251.25?

 

[miztressuz]

What a day, right? The DoC post linked my post on Reddit here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/alrn12/amex_1099_reporting_thread/efgkeoj/

It’s not as bad as it initially looks, but everyone, at the very least, should adjust the values to fair market value. It’s legal, allowed, justified and can be proven. AMEX should be 0.6cpp and Hilton .5cpp. I haven’t found a way to prove Marriott or delta at Under 1cpp, so you may have to eat that.

Using 80k Hilton valued at $1000

If standard deduction:
Line 21 put 1099 amount of $1000.
Line 21 put adjusted amount of -$600 (.5cpp x 80k is $400 so $600 is the difference in $1k and $400).

If itemized deduction:
Line 21 put 1099 amount of $1000
After line 35 put $600 as your adjustment.

That’s worst case scenario that everyone should do.

What everyone should also consider doing is arguing with AMEX about the valuations. That would make it even easier. Additionally, arguing .5cpp and .6cpp for Hilton and MR gives you a paper trail for trying to argue with the issuer. Be sure to include the print outs and purchase prices that I put in the Reddit thread.

Me? I *am* going to deduct my annual fees. In particular ones like my Hilton businesses which I had only for referrals in the first place. I have a Hilton aspire, why do I need a biz? This is something you can ask your CPA about for your own comfort level. After consulting with mine, I’m doing it. I’m not taking it to $0, but I’m going to get it as close to it as I can. I’m on the hook for around $7k for AMEX Referrals.

For Marriott the easiest to prove would probably be .9 cpp they valued the 29ways prizes at. For example, they valued 50 Marriott points at $0.45 in the T&C (https://29ways.marriott.com/en-us/rules). I understand in reality it probably averages a little less now, but I can't fathom how AmEx can justify 1cpp when the rewards program itself doesn't.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Nothing in the mail from Amex today. Maybe they'll forget about me... I only had one Hilton referral. Definitely will not be using any referral links in the future!

It’s definitely a different analysis now. Personally I’m fine paying taxes on my referral bonuses- IF I know it’s coming I can plan. I also have the gift of time to see how it all shakes out each year because I never file my taxes in the first couple months of the year anyway (brokerage tax stmts that always get corrected once or twice). But for someone who get kicked into another tax bracket (or another health insurance subsidy bracket) for these bonuses it completely sucks

 

[gottalovepluto]

For Marriott the easiest to prove would probably be .9 cpp they valued the 29ways prizes at. For example, they valued 50 Marriott points at $0.45 in the T&C (https://29ways.marriott.com/en-us/rules). I understand in reality it probably averages a little less now, but I can't fathom how AmEx can justify 1cpp when the rewards program itself doesn't.

*shhhhhh* I don’t want a 1099 for my 29ways points!

 

[Albort]

*shhhhhh* I don’t want a 1099 for my 29ways points!

marriott wont as they claim their own points arent worth anything...
amex however is different.