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

[WVMomof3]

Lol at 5:47 in the morning

I think my DD still has not adjusted to South Africa time. Either that or she just a 21 yr old who needs no sleep. lol She is forever posting stuff on IG or FB and I am like it is 2 am your time, why are you up?!?!

 

[Albort]

I feel like I read this but did not retain since it didn't pertain to me at the time...

theres a way to save your uber credit into next month. You just book a ride for $15 and then cancel it after a minute.

 

[CoP Luv]

Since UR transfers to United I think you need the CIPpy cup! Go for CIP #2 now (self refer) rinse and repeat in 3 months. Even better if you can get DH to also go for one - or 2 or 3. I have zero experience with MR and overseas travel for that matter, lol. So that is all I have to offer.

I am thinking that I will try for CIP #2 after the Amex Plat 100K. I don't think we can do two $5k MSR at once.

 

[1st*toright]

This is what I need to figure out for next summer. I'm hoarding United miles and ur points for this. I have no specific destination in mind. I just want 2-3 weeks traveling somewhere in Europe and lie flat seats at least on the way there. The way back would be nice too.

Yeah, lie flat on the way over was really what I was going for, but because of the city we chose to go to first (not a major hub) and the fact that I'm traveling the week before Easter, I had to let that part of the dream go... If you have a little more flexibility, it should be very doable.

And because I had hoarded based on business saver awards, I have more URs and United points left over than I thought I would... I'm thinking DH can come to DC with me when I have a conference and we might do a quick fam weekend at Universal.

 

[mmmears]

It's been approximately 4 days and 600 pages ago that I last logged on, so clearly there is a lot of chatter about stuff that I haven't read. Thanks to @SouthFayetteFan and other experts for the News Page on Reddit, because that's AH-Mazing and I can get some of the big topics when I get a chance.

Now, I actually have big-potential-hopefully-will-happen travel plans down the road. And I probably can only make them happen if I can get the most of it done on points/miles.

Hopefully, we will be going to Australia/New Zealand late 2021 or early 2022 AND Paris in May/June 2023. So clearly I will need a lot of points to make this happen - 2 adults, business class or higher for long-haul flights is a must.

I'm not a newbie and have read enough to know about what is needed to help the experts with their answers.

Home Airport: ORD
I did a mock booking for all of the stops (Sydney, Christchurch, Melbourne, and back to ORD) and have seen that I can use United, AA, Quantas, or Emirites for any of the flight options.

For Paris, there is a non-stop flight on Delta or United/Lufthansa, or 1-stop on AA (either domestic or through LHR)

Here are our stats:
ME: CSR (1/17 - closed 3/19), Disney Visa (7/17), IHG (3/18) CIP (7/18) Amex Plat (11/18) - eligible for new CSR bonus 3/21, I have a "business" but no EIN
DH: CSR (3/18), Disney Visa (2/19) - reluctant P2 and wouldn't know about the NZ trip so I don't want to rely too much on him
I like to keep at least 3+ months inbetween apps.

URs: 105k between two CF's, CSR, and CIP, but all on the CSR.
MR: 106k and not really earning much right now
United: 25k-ish and earning mostly on MPX when I remember to use it
AA: probably a few thousand each and not earning currently

QUESTIONS!!!!

1. Does anyone have a bookmarked guide on MR that they really like? I have been reading a little bit on MR over the last few months, but now need to get serious on how best to utilize them for travel. I'm not asking for anyone to do research for me, but more if anyone already has something in their notes they are willing to share.
2. DH got the Amex Plat 100k offer. This might be the next card I have him go for since I think we can make spend with Insurance renewals and annual church contributions coming up. Again, will need to decide how MRs can get us to our destinations. This expires in mid-June.
3. Who has been to Australia/NZ on points? What have you done to make it happen? I have time and have heeded enough of @calypso726 's advice to know where you are going 2+ years in advance so you can get the points/miles by the time 1 year comes around to book at the best rates.
4. What cards should I focus on to get the most United or Quantas miles? Any other strategies for this? United goes to both locations so I might focus on this carrier, but open to any and all other ideas too.

Thanks and thanks and thanks and thanks!!!!!

I'm not an expert in the least, and I haven't used MRs to get to Australia (but I'd like to) but I'm happy to share my experiences using them to go to Europe over the past 2 years.

I really like MRs since they can be transferred to quite a few airlines. Last summer we needed 2 one way tickets, one to Copenhagen, and one to London since we took a cruise that wasn't a round trip. We transferred MRs to Air France for the SFO>CPH part since they had business lie flat seats available (it's best to look a year in advance, but we were just short of that). Then we transferred MRs to BA's Avios program during a special AMEX had that gave us something like a 25-30% bump on the transfer which was fantastic. Our dates were non-negotiable for that trip, and we were just thankful to get lie flat seats both ways.

We found out a couple months ago that our DD was going to be spending a year in Norway, and quickly went to look for seats. Again, the MRs worked best for us (I have AA and URs as well). Because we could be somewhat flexible with the dates we found what we think is a pretty good deal - 55K Flying Blue Points (1:1 with Amex MRs) per person each way, so a total of 220k for business class seats (with about a 6 month notice).

Note that you don't have to book RT most of the time. Note that you can move your MRs to Flying Blue, Avios, etc. if you find a flight with available seats. Since you're not locked into any one airline, play around with each segment since you can sometimes save miles that way.

Hope this helps a little bit. Oh, and yeah that 100K AMEX Plat offer is a good one if you value MRs. It will give you quite a few considering it's just one card.

Just SM them saying where you want the points moved to and they will do it manually for you

@Haley R - yay you made it to Japan? How are you doing? Last post I saw was the flight (nice seats, BTW) on Instagram.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

It's been approximately 4 days and 600 pages ago that I last logged on, so clearly there is a lot of chatter about stuff that I haven't read. Thanks to @SouthFayetteFan and other experts for the News Page on Reddit, because that's AH-Mazing and I can get some of the big topics when I get a chance.

Now, I actually have big-potential-hopefully-will-happen travel plans down the road. And I probably can only make them happen if I can get the most of it done on points/miles.

Hopefully, we will be going to Australia/New Zealand late 2021 or early 2022 AND Paris in May/June 2023. So clearly I will need a lot of points to make this happen - 2 adults, business class or higher for long-haul flights is a must.

I'm not a newbie and have read enough to know about what is needed to help the experts with their answers.

Home Airport: ORD
I did a mock booking for all of the stops (Sydney, Christchurch, Melbourne, and back to ORD) and have seen that I can use United, AA, Quantas, or Emirites for any of the flight options.

For Paris, there is a non-stop flight on Delta or United/Lufthansa, or 1-stop on AA (either domestic or through LHR)

Here are our stats:
ME: CSR (1/17 - closed 3/19), Disney Visa (7/17), IHG (3/18) CIP (7/18) Amex Plat (11/18) - eligible for new CSR bonus 3/21, I have a "business" but no EIN
DH: CSR (3/18), Disney Visa (2/19) - reluctant P2 and wouldn't know about the NZ trip so I don't want to rely too much on him
I like to keep at least 3+ months inbetween apps.

URs: 105k between two CF's, CSR, and CIP, but all on the CSR.
MR: 106k and not really earning much right now
United: 25k-ish and earning mostly on MPX when I remember to use it
AA: probably a few thousand each and not earning currently

QUESTIONS!!!!

1. Does anyone have a bookmarked guide on MR that they really like? I have been reading a little bit on MR over the last few months, but now need to get serious on how best to utilize them for travel. I'm not asking for anyone to do research for me, but more if anyone already has something in their notes they are willing to share.
2. DH got the Amex Plat 100k offer. This might be the next card I have him go for since I think we can make spend with Insurance renewals and annual church contributions coming up. Again, will need to decide how MRs can get us to our destinations. This expires in mid-June.
3. Who has been to Australia/NZ on points? What have you done to make it happen? I have time and have heeded enough of @calypso726 's advice to know where you are going 2+ years in advance so you can get the points/miles by the time 1 year comes around to book at the best rates.
4. What cards should I focus on to get the most United or Quantas miles? Any other strategies for this? United goes to both locations so I might focus on this carrier, but open to any and all other ideas too.

Thanks and thanks and thanks and thanks!!!!!

I’d do the CIP2 for you and if you can get DH to apply for a CIP. I’m not experienced in international flights other than my few to Costa Rica many years ago.

 

[ep1229]

Can I not count or were you already 5/24 when you got your CIP this month, or maybe the Amex Platinum had not posted yet? (CSR, CSPG (confused on what this actually is), Amex Gold, BOA, Amex Plat). I would definitely wait to get CIP #2 till August. I think you should be OK for the AA biz cards if you are sure you will use them, seems like Citi might be easier than the Barclay or maybe get both if you want to hop on the train. Do you know what Airline you will fly to get there?

Thanks for the reply @WVMomof3 I thought business cards didn't count towards 5/24 or maybe the other cards didn't post yet. We are a Delta hub but since I have some Alaska points and also a companion ticket, probably Alaska.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So, y’all remember how I posted about using some of my AA miles and my $250 to get my dh to TX to help his parents. That was 16.3k AA miles + $287 ($250 travel credit). I thought that was a decent deal considering the flight was $187 cash price and the car would have been $275 cash price. Well, dh got home Sunday night and I realized he was charged an additional $198 from a Budget Did some googling and turns out, when you use AA miles to rent a car, it doesn’t cover any of the taxes or fees! So that was a very bad redemption and I’d have been much better off just booking those separately and paying cash for the car

So now my mind is going to my hotel plus car booking for August. I have two cars booked that I don’t plan to pick up. Am I gonna get charged taxes and fees even if I dont pick up the car

He did get a receipt. Just gobs of taxes and fees.
I thought about trying to cancel the cars for aug and while I know AA says cancellation will not result in refunded points, and I’m fine with that, I don’t want them to then charge me the higher amount for my wdw rooms.

Some thoughts here...
1) If you don't pickup the car...do they even have a CC on file to charge you any fees? Now, you did have a little "cost overrun" that you had to pay via card but what if the miles had fully covered it and you never put in any card info?
2) I think calling to cancel the rental cars is the way to go here - if you just tell them to keep the points I'd assume it won't be an issue. I'm VERY interested to hear if they give you any trouble cancelling the cars and not the rooms though...and if they do, I assume you just keep them as is now and see what happens.

Please report back

 

[mmmears]

Public was 70k his link was 75k.

Thank you for this. Somehow I missed that it was different.

theres a way to save your uber credit into next month. You just book a ride for $15 and then cancel it after a minute.

And how did I miss this? Is there a write up on reddit for this one?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thanks for the reply @WVMomof3 I thought business cards didn't count towards 5/24 or maybe the other cards didn't post yet. We are a Delta hub but since I have some Alaska points and also a companion ticket, probably Alaska.

Your card list...
05/19 CHASE CIP Business
04/19 BOA Alaska Airlines Business
03/19 AMEX Delta Gold Business
03/19 AMEX Platinum
02/19 BOA Alaska Airlines Personal
08/18 AMEX Gold
10/17 CHASE SPG
07/17 CHASE Sapphire Reserve

So I think one question is what is the "CHASE SPG" card? There was no Chase SPG card - was this a Chase Marriott or Amex SPG and was it personal or business? (I'm assuming personal). If that's the case then as @WVMomof3 said - you are at 5/24 but perhaps that Amex Plat wasn't showing yet and that's how you got that CIP under the wire...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Sorry I've been pretty quiet lately friends. I had a golf outing Friday and then golfed again today (yeah...tough life as a banker I guess hahaha!)

Add in the board upgrade over the weekend and a bunch of family stuff and it's been hard to keep up. I've definitely read every post and hopefully I'm soon celebrating that Citi AA Biz #2 for my wife!

Both mine and my wife's aviator biz card statements closed and no match miles there. I'd assume that means my answer was a no there unfortunately.

 

[ep1229]

Sorry, it was the Amex SPG personal

About the Uber credits. I had no idea you could do that trick. Thank you @Albort . I've been using my credits for UberEats since I don't always use Uber.

 

[Lain]

Him: hey, after we use up those Hyatt points in Australia should we switch to Marriott cards?

That’s a really loaded question, and if you ever want to discuss it in more detail let us know.

The best time to have jumped on the Marriott cards would’ve been before last August. If you had started before then, you could’ve gotten up to 6 Marriott/SPG cards with SUBs between Chase and Amex before Marriott consolidated their credit card offerings between Chase/Amex and the credit card issuers imposed restrictions on the remaining cards that effectively makes you choose whether to go for Chase’s cards or Amex’s cards.

We joked that the following was the Infinity Gauntlet of Starriott cards: (1) the Chase Marriott Premier/Premier Plus personal card, (2) the Chase Marriott Biz card, (3) the Chase Ritz-Carlton personal card, (4) the Amex SPG personal card, (5) the Amex SPG Biz card, and released in August just days before new restrictions took effect was the (6) Amex SPG Lux card. Total up the SUBs on all of these, and you were looking at over 500k Marriott points. Before the merger last August, you could have also transferred Marriott points through the SPG program between P2 and P1 and come out with an even bigger consolidated stash!

I don’t think the Ritz-Carlton card had a points SUB; it offered FNs instead, and it still gives a 50k FN cert every year. That was discontinued on 7/26/18. The Chase Marriott Biz and Amex SPG personal cards were discontinued 2/12/19. You can now only apply for the Bonvoy renamed versions of the Marriott Premier Plus (Bonvoy Boundless, Chase’s consumer card), the SPG Biz (Bonvoy Business, Amex’s small business card) and the SPG Lux (Bonvoy Brilliant, Amex’s super premium consumer card). Only 3 cards.

However, under restrictions put in place by Marriott/Chase/Amex effective 8/26/18 – very basically – if you get or have Chase’s Bonvoy card(s), or got a bonus on Chase’s card(s) in the past 2 years, you’re ineligible for the bonus on Amex’s Bonvoy cards. And if you go ahead and open Amex’s Bonvoy card(s) without the bonus anyway, you’ll have or have had the card(s) for the purposes of making yourself ineligible for the bonus on the(se) card(s) forever under Amex’s once per lifetime bonus rules. Similarly, if you get Amex’s Bonvoy card(s) and their bonus, you’re basically ineligible for Chase’s card for the next two years – not to mention, you’ll use up a personal card slot for the SPG Lux/Bonvoy Brilliant that may make it harder or you ineligible for the remaining Chase Bonvoy card in two years (5/24 rule). I think these restrictions also made you ineligible for (certain?) Chase Bonvoy card(s) if you hold (certain?) Amex Bonvoy cards, and vice versa, which means you’d need to close the offending card(s) before applying for the other issuer’s card(s), which makes just keeping all the cards open and collecting up to 6 FN certs every year difficult/impossible. The restrictions are as one blog called it “Byzantine,” and basically you’ll want to choose a lane (Chase or Amex) and consider eligibility issues based on the cards you have, bonuses you got, and what card you want to apply for. Not to mention points transfers are done only through the Marriott program now, by calling in, and are limited to 100k points transferred per year, with a $10 fee if you have only peasant status.

I already had the Marriott Biz, SPG Biz and personal cards, but I also picked up the Marriott Premier Plus and the SPG Lux before the restrictions took effect last August because … FOMO. Doing so took me over 5/24 for a while, but I’m glad I did it because between my wife and I, we amassed over 800k Marriott points. (That stash has gone down a lot in the past year.) I would not be able to do that with just credit card signups under the new Bonvoy program today.

If I were targeting a major hotel chain’s credit cards and were willing to burn 5/24 slots to get personal cards (or stay over 5/24 for the long haul), I’d probably go with Hilton at this point. You can get 4 Hilton cards from Amex (1 biz, 3 personals) with SUBs ranging from 100k-150k each, not including self- and cross-referral bonuses. There’s also the potential for upgrade bonuses. Holding the Aspire also makes it ridiculously easy to earn Hilton points on paid stays. You’re looking at a minimum of 34x points earned per $1, because the Aspire gives you automatic Diamond status which gets you 20x points per $1 spent, and putting a room charge on the Aspire card earns you another 14x points per $1. Not to mention Hilton is constantly running points promotions that’ll get you even more points. And Hilton makes it easy (and free) to transfer/pool up to 500k points per year. If you’re willing to put a lot of spend on the Hilton cards, several of them come with free weekend night certs that can be incredibly valuable. You’ve seen what amazing redemption value you can get out of Hilton from folks like @MKTokyo (Waldorf Astoria Trianon Palace Versailles), @*WDW*Groupie* (Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi), and @calypso726 (Conrad Rangali Maldives).

Anyway, don’t forget, UR points transfer to Hyatt 1:1, so when you’ve spent all your Hyatt points, you can eye UR SUBs to replenish your stash (but that takes some commitment to staying under 5/24).

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Sorry, it was the Amex SPG personal

About the Uber credits. I had no idea you could do that trick. Thank you @Albort . I've been using my credits for UberEats since I don't always use Uber.

Cool - so you are 5/24 right now BUT you have a card dropping off in July and October. With the multi-CIPpy cup overflowing currently, I would be VERY protective of that 5/24 status and not get any more personal cards. I'd stick with all biz for now as that will give you a lot of runway. Your other 3 personal cards were all within the last 10 months so if you want to keep getting Chase cards, you can only really hit 1 personal card in the next year or so...

 

[punkin]

I think my DD still has not adjusted to South Africa time. Either that or she just a 21 yr old who needs no sleep. lol She is forever posting stuff on IG or FB and I am like it is 2 am your time, why are you up?!?!

My DD did this when she was studying abroad.

 

[punkin]

Yeah, lie flat on the way over was really what I was going for, but because of the city we chose to go to first (not a major hub) and the fact that I'm traveling the week before Easter, I had to let that part of the dream go... If you have a little more flexibility, it should be very doable.

And because I had hoarded based on business saver awards, I have more URs and United points left over than I thought I would... I'm thinking DH can come to DC with me when I have a conference and we might do a quick fam weekend at Universal.

I am extremely flexible on destination and somewhat flexible on time in late August or early September .

 

[ep1229]

Cool - so you are 5/24 right now BUT you have a card dropping off in July and October. With the multi-CIPpy cup overflowing currently, I would be VERY protective of that 5/24 status and not get any more personal cards. I'd stick with all biz for now as that will give you a lot of runway. Your other 3 personal cards were all within the last 10 months so if you want to keep getting Chase cards, you can only really hit 1 personal card in the next year or so...

Thank you, @SouthFayetteFan ! This thread is the best. I've learned so much from everyone.

 

[hulagirl]

theres a way to save your uber credit into next month. You just book a ride for $15 and then cancel it after a minute.

You are full of the best tricks!

 

[Haley R]

I think my DD still has not adjusted to South Africa time. Either that or she just a 21 yr old who needs no sleep. lol She is forever posting stuff on IG or FB and I am like it is 2 am your time, why are you up?!?!

I’m glad we’re staying for three weeks so I have enough time to adjust. It’ll be tough coming home and moving to a new state 4 days later.

 

[BamaBoy]

It happened to me a lot before I had more than one choice to transfer between. Before you call make sure you click on each card to highlight it; i.e. click on the area where it says CIC card#xxxx transfer from, and then click on the transfer to area that has the CSP card#xxxx. If that doesnt work try calling. Also, if you just added one of the cards you may need to wait 24 hours for it to activate.

Thanks!