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

[disneymagicgirl]

What A Life: https://twitter.com/easywdw/status/1119602228514512898

I'm surprised at the comments I just read there. I think that ride is a total waste of time. It feels like it never gets going because it is always slowing down to switch tracks.

 

[Lain]

I was just looking at the benefits of the Brilliant (have the Biz and it is still the purple card!) after I typed this. I know it is just a 150 AF if you take out the $300 Marriott credit but I am not feeling it. Then you throw in these comments and it is a done deal. Next card is 2nd Citi Biz for DH and then almost immediately after will be CIP #2. Thanks.

+100k (+20k) Marriott points are nice and I'm looking forward to the 50k FN cert, but that means I'll have to pay my 2nd year AF in order to get it. I do value a 50k FN > $150 (as you said, the balance of the AF after the $300 Marriott credit), but the other benefits are lackluster considering what Hilton is offering on their super premium Aspire card.

 

[StephPlum]

+100k (+20k) Marriott points are nice and I'm looking forward to the 50k FN cert, but that means I'll have to pay my 2nd year AF in order to get it. I do value a 50k FN > $150 (as you said, the balance of the AF after the $300 Marriott credit), but the other benefits are lackluster considering what Hilton is offering on their super premium Aspire card.

I assume the 20K points are support points. Can I refer myself from my SPG Biz? Or do I need a personal card to do that?

 

[1st*toright]

+100k (+20k) Marriott points are nice and I'm looking forward to the 50k FN cert, but that means I'll have to pay my 2nd year AF in order to get it. I do value a 50k FN > $150 (as you said, the balance of the AF after the $300 Marriott credit), but the other benefits are lackluster considering what Hilton is offering on their super premium Aspire card.

And that's why I'm cranky about being a Marriott hostage at the moment - the Hilton gig seems so much better, but I either need to break up with Bonvoy all together or commit and keep my Marriott status for another couple of years!

 

[1st*toright]

I assume the 20K points are support points. Can I refer myself from my SPG Biz? Or do I need a personal card to do that?

I could have referred from my SPG Biz. I actually chose to refer from DH's Amex Plat because I have a good use for MRs also, and with the bonus on the Brilliant plus some other Bonvoy earnings, I'll have plenty of Bonvoy points for what I need.

 

[Lain]

I assume the 20K points are support points. Can I refer myself from my SPG Biz? Or do I need a personal card to do that?

I could have referred from my SPG Biz. I actually chose to refer from DH's Amex Plat because I have a good use for MRs also, and with the bonus on the Brilliant plus some other Bonvoy earnings, I'll have plenty of Bonvoy points for what I need.

@StephPlum - yes, you can refer to the Bonvoy Brilliant from any other Amex Bonvoy card. Just click looking for a personal card after clicking the support link. However, with Amex co-brands like Marriott Bonvoy, you can only refer within that family (Marriott) of cards. The Bonvoy cards earn 20k Marriott points per support click.

Or, as @1st*toright, you can refer to the Brilliant (and any other Amex branded/co-branded) from Amex MR (and cash back) cards, and earn whatever is the referral bonus for that card you're referring from. So the Amex Gold and BBP would earn you 10k MR for a support click to the Bonvoy Brilliant, the Platinums would earn you 15k MR support, and the BGR/Biz Gold would earn 20k MR support.

Your choice.

One thing to consider is, iirc, Amex values Marriott points the same as MR points for 1099 tax purposes, both at 1 cpp, even though there's a general agreement that MR points are more flexible and valuable. That may affect which route you take.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Does seem like you're double secret Titanium at the moment - awesome! When is your Japan trip? There is a decent chance that even if you don't hit 50 nights this year you may wind up as platinum next year. Historically Marriott would often give you a "soft landing" and only drop you one status tier, even if you didn't have enough nights to get there. No one knows if this will continue to happen, but it's a possibility! Its one of the reasons I worked to hit titanium last year instead of regular platinum - I wasn't sure I'd make platinum this year and wanted to "soft land" to platinum for our Europe trip. Of course, now its looking like I may make platinum again this year (but probably not titanium).

Not until next August! So that would be funny if there's a soft drop to platinum. If not, no big deal.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

OMG....sorry about that!

So the Double Tree Hotel in North Redington was great. I did book the bay/city view room for 50k Hilton points per night and got upgraded to Ocean view.
The room is a regular Hotel room with 2 Queen beds and a balcony and the beach is a few steps down from the Lobby/restaurant. You can rent “tents” for the day ($32) and jet skis, kayaks not sure how much those were.
View attachment 396269
The pool was really small and the hotel was located in a more residential area. There was not much to do in the area. We would drive 15-20min to Seminole to go to the arcade and go shopping.
My first choice was the Hilton in Clearwater for the same point price but they do charge a resort fee and parking fee. I am thinking maybe the Aspire will be a good cc to get for the next trip

thank you!!

 

[punkin]

Not to United, as United is not a MR transfer partner. MR does transfer to a number of Star Alliance airlines, where you can transfer your points and then book United as a partner award. But you wouldn’t be able to combine the resultant miles from your MR to your existing United stash.

Right. So, here's my plan right now (and I know it's a bad use of points, but) I need about 620k united points. I have 150k united points. When mine and DH's UR points post it should be 180k. I have 315k Marriott points, so that should be enough?

 

[alryan]

-

 

[Lain]

Right. So, here's my plan right now (and I know it's a bad use of points, but) I need about 620k united points. I have 150k united points. When mine and DH's UR points post it should be 180k. I have 315k Marriott points, so that should be enough?

No.

Just penciling this out (so someone please check me on this),

You have ~315,000 Marriott points.

Transfer in increments of 60,000 Marriott points, to get 5,000 bonus United miles with each transfer.

60,000 Marriott points at a transfer rate of 3:1.1 = 22,000 United miles + 5,000 bonus miles. = 27,000 United miles.

Marriott has a 10% transfer bonus to United (which has gone up to 30% during limited time promotions), so + 2,700 United miles.

So you could net 29,700 United miles with each transfer of 60,000 Marriott points.

300,000 Marriott points should let you do that 5x. 29,700 United miles x 5 = 148,500 United miles.

As for the remaining 15,000 Marriott points, you need to transfer at least 3,000 Marriott points per transaction.

15,000 Marriott points at a transfer rate of 3:1.1 = 5,500 United miles + 10% transfer bonus of 550 miles = 6,050 United miles.

You should end up with 148,500 + 6,050 = 154,550 United miles.

Put that with your 150k United miles and 180k UR points, and that's ~484,550 United miles.

Keep in mind a few things: There's a cap to how many Marriott points you can transfer per day (something like 240k). And it can take a week or longer for Marriott points to transfer to their partners. Remember Chase UR's rules limit transfer of points to the primary cardholder's and AU's airline frequent flyer accounts. If your United miles are spread across yours and P2's accounts, there's no easy or economical way to combine them, so you'll need to account for enough miles in each account to book separate tickets. If your Marriott points are spread across yours and P2's accounts, you need to call in to combine points and Marriott limits transfers to only 100k points/calendar year and a $10 fee per transaction unless you're Gold status or higher.

 

[georgina]

Just got a call from the Chase fraud dept on my CIP#2 that I was approved for on Wednesday, expedited and received Friday, activated online like I normally do. Used it today for the first time and they called my landline? which I don't answer but when I heard her start leaving a message I picked up. I always put my cell phone # on the applications. Made me think of the question about what could not be made a business expense - my charges were at a State store and beer distributor (yeah I live in backwards PA!). Hosting a large business party perhaps?

 

[Limes96]

P2 got his 75k United miles SUB today from the United biz card. The one he used to try to get into the Delta Skyclub. Yeah, we’re smooth like that.

I’m a little surprised since we just met the MSR late last week. Statement closed yesterday.

 

[platamama]

After 12 calendar days (8 business days), DH was approved for CitiBiz AA#2 (he still has AA#1 open from 7/2017). I've been checking the online application status daily, and it changed today. Originally I kept getting the "we are reviewing" message, and today I got the "We cannot find your application" message. So I searched with name/DOB/zip instead and saw it was approved. Another mortgage payment to be made and another chunk closer to the 10K Plastiq promo, yay!

I still haven't heard anything about my BoA Biz Cash Rewards. I've gone ahead and opened a BoA checking account yesterday, though it's probably too late for that to help. BoA did a hard pull on my TU a couple days ago.

 

[pillow]

Congrats! Is this your first personal?

Yes first one!

 

[alon86]

Hi - I just discovered this board and I love it! I found my people!

So... we have a WDW trip booked for late Sept. I have a 2 bedroom villa booked at Beach Club, which we got through DVC rental. DH and I are taking (treating) DD10, DD6, my parents, and my sister & her boyfriend. We will do 1 day/night at Universal and 5 days/6 nights at WDW.

Airfare has been booked using all miles.

I still have to book the dining plan for all of us, and I need to purchase WDW tickets for my sis & BF. My new plan to save on those charges has been to accumulate DGC at a discount (so far I've accumulated a few hundred, at 10-17% off). I found the DGC board which has been super helpful.

Now I'm trying to identify the best CC for cash back rewards, to maximize our trip spending cash (or to buy more DGCs). We are typically AmEx people - we have the Platinum (we love the uber credits and airport lounges) and the AmEx Gold that gives 4x on restaurants and groceries (we spend at least $2k on those 2 categories alone every month). But I'd like to switch to a cash back rewards card for the next few months. We already have the Blue Amex Cash that gives 6% on groceries, so I will start using that again (we actually have 2 of these, so we can go up to $12k of groceries). I also have the Barclays Arrival+ that effectively gives 2.2% cash back on travel purchases. But I don't think I will have "travel" charges to put on that card for a while (are WDW park charges considered travel?).

Right now I'm eyeing the Chase Freedom Unlimited with 3% on the first $20,000. We spend $10k/month on our cards (paying it all off in full).

Thoughts/suggestions/tips? Thanks!

 

[punkin]

No.

Just penciling this out (so someone please check me on this),

You have ~315,000 Marriott points.

Transfer in increments of 60,000 Marriott points, to get 5,000 bonus United miles with each transfer.

60,000 Marriott points at a transfer rate of 3:1.1 = 22,000 United miles + 5,000 bonus miles. = 27,000 United miles.

Marriott has a 10% transfer bonus to United (which has gone up to 30% during limited time promotions), so + 2,700 United miles.

So you could net 29,700 United miles with each transfer of 60,000 Marriott points.

300,000 Marriott points should let you do that 5x. 29,700 United miles x 5 = 148,500 United miles.

As for the remaining 15,000 Marriott points, you need to transfer at least 3,000 Marriott points per transaction.

15,000 Marriott points at a transfer rate of 3:1.1 = 5,500 United miles + 10% transfer bonus of 550 miles = 6,050 United miles.

You should end up with 148,500 + 6,050 = 154,550 United miles.

Put that with your 150k United miles and 180k UR points, and that's ~484,550 United miles.

Keep in mind a few things: There's a cap to how many Marriott points you can transfer per day (something like 240k). And it can take a week or longer for Marriott points to transfer to their partners. Remember Chase UR's rules limit transfer of points to the primary cardholder's and AU's airline frequent flyer accounts. If your United miles are spread across yours and P2's accounts, there's no easy or economical way to combine them, so you'll need to account for enough miles in each account to book separate tickets. If your Marriott points are spread across yours and P2's accounts, you need to call in to combine points and Marriott limits transfers to only 100k points/calendar year and a $10 fee per transaction unless you're Gold status or higher.

Thank you for laying it out like that. All the Marriott points are in DH's account so not an issue. The URs will be across two accounts, but i can add DH as an au to my account and transfer that way? I'm trying to consolidate everything in his account because I only have about 12k United miles and they were not even part of this calculation. If I try for a United card. That might be a problem. Unless we each buy our own ticket. In which case DH will have enough and I will be short. I have to figure this out before September.

 

[pillow]

Applied for CIP #2 on 4/9, and was finally approved 2 days ago.

I do not have a MSR tracker bar showing up when I log into the UR page for this account. This is making me a bit paranoid that I will not get the SUB when I reach the MSR. My wife just reached MSR for CIP #1 and the SUB posted. She never showed the tracker either, but I was never concerned about that since it was her first time getting the card.

I guess since this is my second time going for this SUB it would be nice to have some validation that it's all gonna work out before I go an put 5k on the card.

Are other people seeing this tracking bar for their CIP #2's? Thanks

DH does not have the tracker for his CIP. I always send an SM to get an exact date in writing. I figure if there are issues with the SUB, we can point to that.

But . . . here's what's interesting . . . the tracker for my CIC shows an earlier date than the date I was given when I SM'd. Hmmm . . .

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Received the Citi AA Bus card today. Activated, requested the match to 60,000. 'Pearl' said she sent an e-mail to the appropriate dept. and I will hear back in 3-5 days. Fingers crossed.

I want to purchase $250.00 in AA GCs. Can I do a single card for the full amount or do I have to break it up into 5 x $50.00?