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

[SouthFayetteFan]

I'm not convinced this is true.

And I'll take your bonus points Country Bear Jamboree

ETA: what kind of bonus points did I win?

Yup - one of my favorite can’t miss shows on each trip. Big Al is my spirit animal LOL! JK! But boy I love that show. (Strange side note - This was the last thing we did on our trip this year and I was so stressed about the whole flight situation that I struggled to enjoy it)

Ummm well you won the best bonus points ever...100,000 I Love Credit Cards thread points!!! That’s redeemable for platinum membership to DISchurners which uhhh comes with unlimited posting and 3 upvotes from me...yup! What a prize!!!

 

[Albort]

Ummm well you won the best bonus points ever...100,000 I Love Credit Cards thread points!!! That’s redeemable for platinum membership to DISchurners which uhhh comes with unlimited posting and 3 upvotes from me...yup! What a prize!!!

is there a way to MS those points?

 

[Alexle2007]

I sure hope President's Day doesn't mean they won't be processing applications! I think my DH has usually been approved on day 2 with business cards..so this feels like a long time! Probably not so smart to apply on Friday. Only good thing is I've had a busy weekend so have only the checked status line a few times a day!

Looks like they are processing. Just called at 2 am to hear that lovely word- “Approved!” More URs coming our way!

 

[wendow]

Yup - one of my favorite can’t miss shows on each trip. Big Al is my spirit animal LOL! JK! But boy I love that show. (Strange side note - This was the last thing we did on our trip this year and I was so stressed about the whole flight situation that I struggled to enjoy it)

Ummm well you won the best bonus points ever...100,000 I Love Credit Cards thread points!!! That’s redeemable for platinum membership to DISchurners which uhhh comes with unlimited posting and 3 upvotes from me...yup! What a prize!!!

Big fan of CBJ also. Always my worst fear they will take it out like at DLR since it doesn't get a lot of love.

I'll take whatever bonus points i can get lol!

ETA: Sorry you didn't get to enjoy your last show there. Our last trip to the World was when Irma was headed in. We'd had to move up our flight to get out before everything shut down. And I'd lost a MK day to taking my dd to urgent care. We didn't get in our last MK day so no CoP, CBJ or Tiki Room or several other favs. My dd and I still talk (cry...) about what all we missed due to all the circumstances. Just a very good reason to be excited to go back!

 

[Alexle2007]

none of ours have ever posted an approved message on a weekend. And tomorrow is a holiday, so I'd think maybe Tuesday, but I am just one DP....well 2 if you count DH.

Funny, I have had the opposite experience and had approvals over the weekend and so has DH since he is approved (He hadn’t been when I checked at 9 pm but he was at 2 am.) so they must be keeping late hours or processing them in India.

 

[Lain]

@amalone1013 - so you said you wanted a cool travel backpack. Forget waiting on an eBags deal; apply for the Citi Costco card and get one for free!

 

[wanderlust7]

In case anyone sails NCL, there is an AmEx offer for $150 back when you spend $500. I was looking at possibly booking the new Encore for DS’s Spring Break next year. We haven’t tried NCL and some of the reviews aren’t too great.

Thanks for mentioning this! Got it on my EveryDay and also DH's BCE. Too bad not on the ones I'm working on MSR, lol. We're past final payment, but from CC posts, looks like buying OBC will work. I did it and got the offer used e-mail right away, fingers crossed that it credits. Once it credits, will buy more on DH's BCE. We may not spend it all, but I think I can cash out at the casino for 3%.

 

[amalone1013]

@amalone1013 - so you said you wanted a cool travel backpack. Forget waiting on an eBags deal; apply for the Citi Costco card and get one for free!

I saw that last week and was thinking, I should post that! At least it's more travel related than a cooler!

 

[amalone1013]

Dh & I both met our Arrival+ spend with new windows. Our new windows are totally awesome, btw, and knowing we got $1600+ back in travel (aka, Disney tix) is pretty sweet! Since I can make the Arrival+ spend easily with my mortgage, I'm debating if I should try for dd18 one. I know I said a 6-mo break for her...but I meant with Chase...Should I try to get her an Arrival+?

MIL brought up this weekend paying extra on their mortgage and getting credit card points... the Arrival+ was my first thought

 

[amalone1013]

I haven't closely followed the whole mortgage/Plastiq thing... It's basically that places that are bank-like names that are out for Chase and AMEX, right? Barclays doesn't care... what about Capital One/Discover/etc?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

We are starting to get more serious about traveling, and while I've always had a cash rewards card am starting to contemplate if I need to branch out more card-wise. It's my husband and myself, 30s/40s. No kids.

• Cards I've been approved for:

8/18 - BofA Travel Rewards Visa
10/18 - Citi Costco Anywhere Visa

• ~2k in expenses in a normal month, more when we travel or around the holidays. Paid off in full every month.
• SFO is our main airport for international flights.
• I have United Mileage Plus and Marriott Rewards but minimal balances in each.
• Main goal is to take at least one international trip a year. We have plenty of vacation time and my job also requires me to take minimum of 2 weeks off in a row every year (FDIC requirement), so I'd take advantage of that to plan our vacations. Having to coordinate this with the rest of my team means I'm not very flexible with flights and need to plan ahead. If we can swing it would be nice to take a 2nd, shorter trip every year, possibly also international.
• Also something to note, I'm very much about total cost. So, while flying business on miles is relatively cheaper than paying out of pocket, it's still likely to be more expensive than I would have paid for an economy ticket out of pocket. This matters to me. Flying out of a major hub means there is relatively decent pricing on certain destinations (London, Paris, HK) where it probably makes more sense for me to pay cash. But we're also interested in other areas that are always more expensive for us to get to from the West Coast (Croatia or Greece for example). I'd estimate our cash back to be around $800-1000 annually between our various cash back cards right now. So I guess I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to try to play the miles game (especially since the most valuable cards eventually have an annual fee).

Appreciate any guidance/advice given. Thanks!

Hi and Welcome....most of us here start with Case cards due to their 5/24 rule...you need to have opened less that 5 personal cards across all issuers in the last 24 months to be approved

But in your situation I’m not sure if collectiing Chase URs or Amex MRs is the right move...do you know what airlines you’d fly...since both sets of points can be transferred to their airline partners...or flights can be booked using their travel portals

 

[calypso726]

We are starting to get more serious about traveling, and while I've always had a cash rewards card am starting to contemplate if I need to branch out more card-wise. It's my husband and myself, 30s/40s. No kids.

• Cards I've been approved for:

8/18 - BofA Travel Rewards Visa
10/18 - Citi Costco Anywhere Visa

• ~2k in expenses in a normal month, more when we travel or around the holidays. Paid off in full every month.
• SFO is our main airport for international flights.
• I have United Mileage Plus and Marriott Rewards but minimal balances in each.
• Main goal is to take at least one international trip a year. We have plenty of vacation time and my job also requires me to take minimum of 2 weeks off in a row every year (FDIC requirement), so I'd take advantage of that to plan our vacations. Having to coordinate this with the rest of my team means I'm not very flexible with flights and need to plan ahead. If we can swing it would be nice to take a 2nd, shorter trip every year, possibly also international.
• Also something to note, I'm very much about total cost. So, while flying business on miles is relatively cheaper than paying out of pocket, it's still likely to be more expensive than I would have paid for an economy ticket out of pocket. This matters to me. Flying out of a major hub means there is relatively decent pricing on certain destinations (London, Paris, HK) where it probably makes more sense for me to pay cash. But we're also interested in other areas that are always more expensive for us to get to from the West Coast (Croatia or Greece for example). I'd estimate our cash back to be around $800-1000 annually between our various cash back cards right now. So I guess I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to try to play the miles game (especially since the most valuable cards eventually have an annual fee).

Appreciate any guidance/advice given. Thanks!

to the thread!

"So, while flying business on miles is relatively cheaper than paying out of pocket, it's still likely to be more expensive than I would have paid for an economy ticket out of pocket."

This would depend on the airline. If we are talking British Airways and connection to or through London then that can often be the case. As for other airlines, I have not found that to be the case. Last year we flew in Singapore Suites and our out of pocket expense in taxes and fees was less than $100 per person. I think it was closer to $75. I've seen some amazing fare sales to Asia but never flights that were less than $100 per person. Next month we are flying on Emirates in first class to the Maldives with a stop over in Dubai. Our taxes and fees for those flights are less than $200 per person.

SFO is a hub for United so you may want to look into focusing on Chase Ultimate Reward points. UR points transfer 1:1 to United so they are great for award flights. However, they also can be used to pay for flights on any airline through the UR portal. The points are worth 1.25 cents through a CSP account and 1.5 cents through a CSR account. AA has SFO as a focus city so the AA cards may be a good option if you don't plan to stay under 5/24 for long.

Keep in mind that while there are cards that should be signed up for and dumped after a year because the bonus points are worth well more than the fee, there are also cards with an AF that should be kept because the value they bring to the table far outweigh the AF.

Personally, I find I get more value from points and miles than I do cash back. There is absolutely no possible way for me to match the amount of travel we are able to do on points and miles if I were focused on cash back cards. The Maldives/Dubai trip next month alone would cost over $57,000 dollars (which I would never spend real money to do) and I'd need 5.7 million miles to cover that.

You'll get a lot of differing opinions on the thread which is a good thing. This will help you compare your goals and situation to what others are doing and find the path that is right for you. We like to say here that there is no wrong way to earn and burn your miles. There are many options and it is good to look at each path and see what works for you. @SouthFayetteFan and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum on our travel goals and how we view our credit card strategies. None the less, we routinely amaze one another with what we accomplish and hold the utmost respect and esteem for one another. That's the other wonderful thing about this thread, everyone respects each other no one judges anyone's choices.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Looks like they are processing. Just called at 2 am to hear that lovely word- “Approved!” More URs coming our way!

Ya...Congrats

 

[Alexle2007]

Thanks for mentioning this! Got it on my EveryDay and also DH's BCE. Too bad not on the ones I'm working on MSR, lol. We're past final payment, but from CC posts, looks like buying OBC will work. I did it and got the offer used e-mail right away, fingers crossed that it credits. Once it credits, will buy more on DH's BCE. We may not spend it all, but I think I can cash out at the casino for 3%.

Which NCL ship are you sailing on? We’ve only done DCL and RCCL so I am trying to decide if we should branch out.

 

[miztressuz]

Another Chase approval! Applied for the SW Biz yesterday and approved this morning. Our highest CL ever on a SW card - 5k (They don't like us for SW. CSR? Sure have 30k++ SW? 2k, oh wait, minimum's 5k ::grumble grumble::: fine, have 5k)

For anyone tracking, I reduced CL between both Biz and Personal cards to 45% of HHI. They were not so generous this time so I'm still a bit under 50% overall, but I have a bit more Biz credit than before. Just means I won't need to adjust CL's for the next card I don't think I'm also still carrying a small balance on the CIC. I decided to just go for it without paying it off as at least it looks like I'm using my CIC. Was concerned they wouldn't be interested in extending more credit when I don't really use the credit I have

I don't recall, did anyone ask to have the it expedited? I know with cobrands it can be hit or miss. I'm trying to work out if I can hold out until it arrives next week or I should actually call about it. But if no one was able to get it expedited I'll just save the phone call.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Another Chase approval! Applied for the SW Biz yesterday and approved this morning. Our highest CL ever on a SW card - 5k (They don't like us for SW. CSR? Sure have 30k++ SW? 2k, oh wait, minimum's 5k ::grumble grumble::: fine, have 5k)

For anyone tracking, I reduced CL between both Biz and Personal cards to 45% of HHI. They were not so generous this time so I'm still a bit under 50% overall, but I have a bit more Biz credit than before. Just means I won't need to adjust CL's for the next card I don't think I'm also still carrying a small balance on the CIC. I decided to just go for it without paying it off as at least it looks like I'm using my CIC. Was concerned they wouldn't be interested in extending more credit when I don't really use the credit I have

I don't recall, did anyone ask to have the it expedited? I know with cobrands it can be hit or miss. I'm trying to work out if I can hold out until it arrives next week or I should actually call about it. But if no one was able to get it expedited I'll just save the phone call.

Congrats on the approval

 

[alryan]

-

 

[miztressuz]

DH too!!! DH is now a proud member of the Three Chase Business Cards Club!! 8/17/18 SW Biz, 11/7/18 CIP and 2/18/19 CIU!

..... …..

Woohoo! Take that, Monday! We got happy dances going on today.

 

[kmc8826]

I haven't closely followed the whole mortgage/Plastiq thing... It's basically that places that are bank-like names that are out for Chase and AMEX, right? Barclays doesn't care... what about Capital One/Discover/etc?

Yes exactly right. You can pay mortgages with MasterCard or Discover. That is why the Barclaycard and the Arrival Plus works well. I ended up meeting the spend on both mine and DH’s new cards with just mortgage payments. If you want to use Chase you could...but it would need to be a MasterCard like the IHG. Another option is the Citi Biz for the AA miles...it is also a MasterCard.

I just wish they would have another promotion for Plastiq. This month I just closed my eyes and paid the fee. I really like getting something for that mortgage payment even if I have to pay the .5%.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I'm not convinced this is true.

And I'll take your bonus points Country Bear Jamboree

ETA: what kind of bonus points did I win?

I've never sat thru that show. We went in once and left after a few minutes. I think it was when our boys were really little and not sitting still though. Maybe I should give it another try.