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

[wed100105]

Is your home airport a hub for one of those 3? That could make a difference. All three are major carriers in Miami, Atlanta and Houston. However, Miami is a hub for American, Atlanta is a hub for Delta and Houston is a hub for United. If your home airport is a hub or focus city for one of them, that could make a difference on whether or not you will be able to find decent flight availability. Most of us here don't have any particular loyalty to any of the big 3 airlines. But, some of us are American Airlines, Delta and United hostages because of where our home airports are located.

No, I'll be flying out of Bloomington or Peoria, IL. Our closest major airports are Chicago and St. Louis. Indianapolis is about teh same distance. I prefer to drive to St. Louis personally, but I know DH and my uncle will want to fly out of Peoria or Bloomington.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

What is whacky about Hilton’s redemption?

I’m no expert so maybe others can chime in but their redemption values seem to fluctuate - so it’s not set in stone like Marriott or Hyatt and they seem pretty high to me (at least the properties I’d be interested in). Then again it’s easy to accumulate many miles especially in 2 player mode so it’s certainly not a bad path to follow! For example we are looking at Aruba next year. The Hilton there is around 90k pts a night, a nicer (IMO) Hyatt is 25k and Marriott is 50k. It’s not all apples to apples based on earning potential but basically it will take a lot of miles to get a week somewhere nice.

 

[MKTokyo]

I’m no expert so maybe others can chime in but their redemption values seem to fluctuate - so it’s not set in stone like Marriott or Hyatt and they seem pretty high to me (at least the properties I’d be interested in). Then again it’s easy to accumulate many miles especially in 2 player mode so it’s certainly not a bad path to follow! For example we are looking at Aruba next year. The Hilton there is around 90k pts a night, a nicer (IMO) Hyatt is 25k and Marriott is 50k. It’s not all apples to apples based on earning potential but basically it will take a lot of miles to get a week somewhere nice.

They definitely fluctuate, but you can keep checking back & if the rate goes lower, you can cancel & rebook your award immediately.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Can you list what cards you’ve opened in the last 24 months across all issuers and when (month/year). For the Chase cards still open, both personal and biz, can you add up (for yourself) the credit lines across all cards? Are the total CLs on all your Chase cards over or under 50% of the household income you put in your card applications, or are your total CLs on your Chase cards over $70k?

The key to getting auto-approved (whether instantly or eventually) for Chase biz cards is to first, give adequate time in between apps, particularly for Chase cards. We recommend 2-3 months since your last application on your credit report when applying for a new Chase personal card, and 3-4 months since your last app that shows on your credit report when applying for a new Chase biz card. (Note that most biz cards don’t show up on your credit report, which is why we like them for in between Chase apps.) ETA: You should count Chase biz cards when spacing between cards, because Chase can “see” their own cards and knows you’ve opened their biz cards. So even if Chase biz cards don’t show up on your credit report, count them for the purposes of timing your next Chase app.

Second, keep your Chase credit lines low, or at least in check. Keep your overall CLs on Chase personal and biz cards <50% of household income. The lower the better, so it doesn’t look like Chase has already extended you sufficient credit. If the CLs get too high, like >$70k, even if it’s under 50% of HHI, cut it down.

Third, keep your “business” simple. Since CIP#1 is for First Last Word Word, can you just apply as a sole proprietor with your FirstName LastName, using SSN as the Tax ID number? The reason why Chase asked for additional paperwork was because they needed to verify your business exists. If you apply with just FirstName LastName using your SSN as a sole proprietor, you’d only have to show them your Driver’s License and SSN card if they asked for verification because your “business” is “you.”

Hope this helps.

Yes, a tremendous help. Thank you

CSR 10/16 (I have to reduce this limit -- it's too high for my needs)
Hyatt Chase 7/18 (probably a good idea to reduce this limit as well)
Chase CIP 9 or 10/18
AmEx Aspire 12/18
AmEx Hilton Bus. 1 or 2/19

Between the Hyatt and CSR I'm at 13% of HHI. But the limits are still high and I will reduce both of them.

I have been putting a bit of spend on both AmEx cards each month to keep them active for AmEx (to avoid the dreaded pop-up).

My first CIP app was confusing because I use my maiden name at work, so initially set up the business with my maiden name. I don't have any legal documentation with my maiden name on it, so I had to change the business name to my married name. A few times I've used my married name on the phone the customers by accident.

 

[gottalovepluto]

OMAAT with some insight on what Marriott’s influencer will get on their Hong Kong trip. Surprises include no airfare & they’re being put up at Marriott Ocean Park (Cat 5). Personally I’d have sprung for the Cat 8 W, as a much flashier hotel/brand it seems much more influencer friendly. But maybe they had no money left after the VIP Gwen Stefani tickets?

 

[calypso726]

No, I'll be flying out of Bloomington or Peoria, IL. Our closest major airports are Chicago and St. Louis. Indianapolis is about teh same distance. I prefer to drive to St. Louis personally, but I know DH and my uncle will want to fly out of Peoria or Bloomington.

I picked random dates in July to compare and depending on where you intend to fly out of will determine what your best options are overall. Also, if you intend to pay with points or get an award flight.

For PIA-YVR on United, award flights range as low as 12,500 - 32,500 each way per person. Potentially you might be looking at 25K RT per person on UA for this flight vs 45K - 50K plus via the UR portal when paying with points.

For BMI-YVR on AA, award flights can be had for as low as 25K - 40K round trip in economy per person.

For STL-YVR on UA you have the better option of paying with UR points. WIth a CSR card you can get that first flight for just over 21K UR points. More if you are using a CSP or CIP. If these were my choices to make, I'd go with STL-YVR and focus on UR points. I have better options at a lower price point and the flexibility to use UR to pay for a flight is an award ticket isn't to my liking or transfer UR to United and book an award flight if it is.

 

[mamathompson]

Do your kids like homeschooling? It’s not a very common thing around here for kids to be home schooled unless they are in competitive sports and travel a lot

I know you weren't asking me this question, but I wanted to chime in that my kids love being homeschooled. We have a pretty big homeschool group we do activities with. It's becoming more mainstream. Once you start looking for groups and activities you realize they are everywhere. It's definitely not for all parents or all kids. Just another option that many enjoy. I love teaching them, but it's a lot of work.

Also, we are currently in the thick of house hunting and have been using Redfin. I'm very pleased. Listings update every five minutes, no outdated ones, easy home tour scheduling with no pressure.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

If you ever look into homeschooling, you’ll want to look at the laws for your state that govern homeschooling. They vary by state in regards to how much freedom they give the parents, how much the state will oversee, required hours and courses, methods of testing (if they require it), etc. Some states are homeschool friendly and some aren’t. FL is very homeschool friendly and has great opportunities for homeschool kids (dual college credit, for example).

I think I am pulling DS9 on 4/1/19. He says he wants to homeschool next year, and since April is state testing and May is basically nothing b/c testing is over (don't get me started ) it seems like a good time to pull him and start finding our rhythm as well as focus on area he needs support. I may PM you with questions soon if you don't mind.

 

[wendow]

Do your kids like homeschooling? It’s not a very common thing around here for kids to be home schooled unless they are in competitive sports and travel a lot

Yes, my kids love it! Getting your school work done in half the time with no home work is pretty appealing. And we aren’t lacking for friends. About 8-10% of the families in our area are homeschoolers so it’s been super easy to meet people, join groups, take field trips, etc. So, if you ever do decide to go that direction, feel free to pm me and I can give you more info.

 

[wendow]

I think I am pulling DS9 on 4/1/19. He says he wants to homeschool next year, and since April is state testing and May is basically nothing b/c testing is over (don't get me started ) it seems like a good time to pull him and start finding our rhythm as well as focus on area he needs support. I may PM you with questions soon if you don't mind.

Of course you can pm me! Happy to try to help.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Or maybe not. Realtors here were sued for discrimination for steering people away from “undesirable “areas. Seems the undesirable areas were full of minorities.

Thats silly considering you can easily pull up crime maps and a quick drive thru will tell you it isn't where you want to live.

 

[Lain]

OMAAT with some insight on what Marriott’s influencer will get on their Hong Kong trip. Surprises include no airfare & they’re being put up at Marriott Ocean Park (Cat 5). Personally I’d have sprung for the Cat 8 W, as a much flashier hotel/brand it seems much more influencer friendly. But maybe they had no money left after the VIP Gwen Stefani tickets?

 

[amalone1013]

Oh, btw, DoC posted a story this morning that Marriott is giving free trips to social media influencers in hopes of good publicity to promote the new Bonvoy program.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I think we will be close to starting a family and once that happens we’ve talked about me staying home. Dh and I both are on board with me being a stay at home mom. My teaching license actually expires this year in November so I’m not sure what I’ll do. I’d have to look at the process of changing my license to a Florida one

I'm not sure what teaching licenses involve, but I have been a SAHM for 6 years now and keep my RN license current by doing CEUs. I have to do the 30 every 2 years and fill out the renewal stuff biannually. Easy peasy.

 

[amalone1013]

Is this old news? I saw that starting in 2021 we will need a Visa to go to Europe? Not pleased about this one.

Blech. One more reason to go next year, even if this Visa thing isn't that difficult or expensive lol.

For sure needs to be part of any salary negotiations

Agreed, @Haley R - when I was offered my current job I told them I had a two week trip to Europe planned in ~3mths (ended up being about 6 weeks after I started). Basically they called and gave me the offer, salary etc, I said I had this trip I wanted to let them know about that I'd been planning for a year, they said it was fine. I had to take it unpaid which I expected. I figured if they made a big deal about that not working or something that would be a good indicator of how the job looked on vacation time in general and I didn't want to go somewhere that was against me using my vacation time.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Lol, got any sports kids in that group? Make room in your future grocery budget! My Mom was able to keep up with my teen brother until he joined the cross country team & then he basically inhaled everything. Do you know what an In-N-Out 4x4 is? She found out! (4 patties & cheeses on really hungry days it was straight up 2 double-doubles)

Yeah DS plays travel soccer plus rec soccer. Right now is only winter training once a week. I recall my next door neighbor growing up. He is the same age as me and played soccer and maybe cross country IIRC. And when there was nothing good at home, he came over and grazed in our fridge.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Also, we are currently in the thick of house hunting and have been using Redfin. I'm very pleased. Listings update every five minutes, no outdated ones, easy home tour scheduling with no pressure.

We are considering using Redfin as our listing agent. They are only charging 1% here in Nashville, I guess b/c the market is so busy. Do you know how they are on the selling side?

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I’m probably being slightly picky on houses but I want nice schools, near dh’s work, and SOME kind of grass (which seems to not be a thing in lots of areas). Most of the areas we’re looking in you have to spend at least $320k if not more for a decent house. We paid about half that for our house and I would say our house is bigger than a starter home

Iowa vs Florida. Huge difference. Don’t even compare them. I’m sure if you looked at most urban areas it will be way more than where you live now. Look at California, Chicago, New York. I’m sure you’d be shocked.

 

[mamathompson]

We are considering using Redfin as our listing agent. They are only charging 1% here in Nashville, I guess b/c the market is so busy. Do you know how they are on the selling side?

I really don't know. My mom is getting ready to list her house and I think she will use Redfin so I may know more in a few weeks.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I really don't know. My mom is getting ready to list her house and I think she will use Redfin so I may know more in a few weeks.

oh good! Please share your experience when it is over. Good luck!