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

[wanderlust7]

Just got e-mails that our Global Entry appointments were canceled due to CBP agents being needed at the border. I was on the fence about making the trip to SFO anyways, so we'll just do Enrollment on Arrival. But PSA for anyone with an upcoming appointment to double check them. Especially if in California or possibly it's all southern border states.

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

Amex Biz plat airline credit DP (tagging @PolyRob)

I made a low flight cost one way Boston to RIC for Aug total was $86.70. I also made multiple bookings with JB points and the taxes were around $11.00. All the charges credited via AMEX so it was like $110 back! I’ll be booking flights to Aruba soon so I’ll spend the rest of the credit on those taxes. I then may upgrade that flight to even more space seats when the new credit hits in 2020!

 

[Judique]

Spent the weekend in St. Pete after Clearwater. Very interesting area, especially more so this weekend as it was Pride Festival time. Had no idea. Was very confused at first as I noticed all the flags and even the cars in the Lyft app were flags. My idea of fun is not to be in the middle of 250,000 extra people. But I did make DH go to the parade. It was interesting. We really enjoyed the Dali museum and the Chihuly Collection museum. Also made it to the Holocaust Museum. These were all “free” with a reciprocal membership from home. I think I enjoyed this area much more than Key West.

@Judique My restaurants from the Clearwater trip- Columbia enjoyed. We have been to the one in St. Augustine and DH has been to the original several times. The made at the table Sangria was yummy and so was the food. Maggie Mae’s was busy place. It is only open till 2:30. I didn’t like what I ordered, but I think DH did. Shorty’s is actually a little store with a restaurant in back. Was not expecting much walking in, but I really liked my food here. All 3 places have seating on the water and are in the plaza next to the Marriott. We also made a trip to Dunedin. It is a neat little town and we enjoyed walking around there also and ate dinner there.

We got B45 boarding this time checking in right at 1 hr before. After the hard time we had with B20 boarding we decided to buy the A boarding with our Priority card. Waiting for our flight now.

Glad you enjoyed Columbia! I have only had their food at a festival where they had set up a booth in Celebration but liked what I had. And, I love sangria. I also go to Dunedin all the time. I usually go on the causeway out to Honeymoon Island State Park and take one of the trails for a walk. Lots of interesting birds. Plus you can sun on the beach also, but I would imagine it's packed this time of year. When I'm there it's usually cool.
Was Shorty's a breakfast/lunch spot or is it all day dining? Nice to hear there are options.

 

[trenty]

DH has had the CSP for almost a year....can he remove an AU before the year is up? Should I wait a full year? AU was only added to get the additional bonus.
Also - can AU still be removed through SM?

quoting myself to see if anyone can answer....

 

[miztressuz]

Just got e-mails that our Global Entry appointments were canceled due to CBP agents being needed at the border. I was on the fence about making the trip to SFO anyways, so we'll just do Enrollment on Arrival. But PSA for anyone with an upcoming appointment to double check them. Especially if in California or possibly it's all southern border states.

Did your DH ever get conditionally approved? I'm still waiting for hubby's. They're using every last day of 11 weeks for some reason. Trying to decide when we get concerned.

 

[gottalovepluto]

What card(s) should we open next?
DW cards:
??/?? Old CITI Costco
??/12 Target red card
??/18 Chase Disney premier visa (closed)
??/18 Visa Old Navy
06/19 HH AMEX Ascend

DH cards:
??/17 Amex Hilton Honors (closed?)
05/19 Amex blue (spend Met)
05/19 chase freedom unlimited (spend Met)

2) Secondly we'll want to know a little bit about you. Specifically - what you spend, and what you want to earn!

• What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly (i.e. groceries, gas, insurance, cable, cell phone, other expenses)? $4k
• Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month? Yes
• What airport(s) do you typically fly out of? Anchorage in summer delta, aa & one other fly here’s. But se only fly daytime because of kids disabilities. Alaska has the least limited schedule.
• Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? AK air
• Does SOUTHWEST service your airport? No. But it services SEA-Spokane where relative is.
• Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? Hilton for Homewood Suites or Embassy Suites. Open to Residence inn or another hotel with a closing door (SPD kids)
• Do you currently have any travel points in any program? (if so, which programs and how much) Hilton 24,686
• DH AKAir 7,717
• DW AKAir 10,560
• What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? Local Embassy suites stay 3/2020. 7 night trip to Seattle & Spokane summer 2020 7-8 night trip to Disneyland summer 2021 or later
• Who does your travel party consist of? (Spouse, Kids (& ages), other relatives/friends) DH DW DS5 DD3.5 Often a relative comes.
• We have an Airbnb we could get an EIN for
• We have an ein for paying our nanny.

You’re not kidding that’s this thread moves fast.

Howdy fellow DLR poster!!!

A first business card often recommended here is the Chase Ink Preferred. $5k spend, $95 AF, 80k Ultimate Rewards points bonus. URs are worth 1 cent each for cash so this is $705 in cash at minimum. You can redeem through the travel portal at 1.25x rate for $1k (minus AF = $905) or transfer the points to a Chase Sapphire Reserve for 1.5x rate resulting in $1.2k for travel booked via Chase portal minus the AF. Note: You can book hotels, cars, flights & tours on the Chase portal but you can’t book Disney hotels or tickets on the Chase portal That aside this card is especially lucrative because after you get it you can refer your P2 to the offer. On approval you’d get 20k URs and P2 would get 80k after hitting the spend. UR has transfer partners at 1:1 ratios but they aren’t AS or DL or Hilton. Hyatt tends to be the most commonly used transfer partner as they are the hotel program that has devalued the least over the years.

You may want to consider AS cards (Alaska Air is referred to as “AS” in these parts after their airline designator in flight numbers). They come with a $99 companion fare where for $99 + taxes and fees your companion can fly with you. Lucrative if you’re looking at expensive flights. Also free bags for you and up to 6 guests on your reservation. I don’t know if you’d find use of the miles as I’ve only used miles once to book an international partner airline. DoC has a rundown of the current offer on the card. They have a business card that wouldn’t count toward 5/24.

You can get lots of Hilton points with Hilton’s various Amex cards, and once you have one Hilton Card you can refer yourself to others to bag the bonus + referral bonus. However- Hilton’s program is NOTORIOUS for nasty devaluations. Once you have a stash book what you want, do not wait. They have a business card that wouldn’t count toward 5/24 and Hilton allows transferring of points for free.

 

[mmmears]

Any words of caution or things I should be concerned about when meeting part (maybe up to half) of DD's CIP MSR with Venmo moving money between family members? As in Chase getting upset or something? The card won't be sock drawered after the MSR is met.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Just got e-mails that our Global Entry appointments were canceled due to CBP agents being needed at the border. I was on the fence about making the trip to SFO anyways, so we'll just do Enrollment on Arrival. But PSA for anyone with an upcoming appointment to double check them. Especially if in California or possibly it's all southern border states.

Enrollment on arrival was so easy. It took like 40 mins in line though at LAX when I did it so give yourself lots of time when you come back in the country if you plan to do that. I liked how I didn’t need to bring any other paperwork or make a special trip for it. Just follow the signs when you arrive and/or ask the agents around before you process through customs.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Did your DH ever get conditionally approved? I'm still waiting for hubby's. They're using every last day of 11 weeks for some reason. Trying to decide when we get concerned.

Did you check the traveler portal online? I never received updates on my approval process but when I went online the approvals were there.

 

[gottalovepluto]

quoting myself to see if anyone can answer....

I don’t see why not. I’d try the SM route, worst they can do is say no.

 

[wanderlust7]

Did your DH ever get conditionally approved? I'm still waiting for hubby's. They're using every last day of 11 weeks for some reason. Trying to decide when we get concerned.

He did, finally. It took exactly 12 weeks.

 

[MarBee]

Do your and DH's cards have the same credit card number, expiration date, and CVC number?

Everything is exactly the same on each card with the exception of our names...

 

[kidsfirsttrip]

Any words of caution or things I should be concerned about when meeting part (maybe up to half) of DD's CIP MSR with Venmo moving money between family members? As in Chase getting upset or something? The card won't be sock drawered after the MSR is met.

You should be fine with Chase I’d be more worried about a Venmo shutdown. For example don’t send $500 to DD and then sent it right back to you. Also make sure your accounts are “seasoned” - activity to different people small and large amounts and I think you’ll be fine. AMEX doesn’t like Venmo for MSRs

 

[mmmears]

You should be fine with Chase I’d be more worried about a Venmo shutdown. For example don’t send $500 to DD and then sent it right back to you. Also make sure your accounts are “seasoned” - activity to different people small and large amounts and I think you’ll be fine. AMEX doesn’t like Venmo for MSRs

Hers is "seasoned" since she's used it when traveling with friends to even out the cost. DH's is brand new since he really doesn't want to use Venmo but agreed to use it to help her meet her MSR. The money would go from her to DH, one way. She actually does owe us a bit of money, so it's sort of legit. I just don't want it to shut down - was thinking of trying a small amount ($100 or less) today to see how it works. We wouldn't even try this with AMEX.

 

[happ]

Ugh! Barclay posted the wrong bonus for my Aviator biz, only 60k. I even called last week to make certain that the 75k offer was attached to my account because their "welcome email" mentioned the 60k offer. They assured me I had the 75k offer that I reconned for. Now someone has to research the issue.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Howdy fellow DLR poster!!!

A first business card often recommended here is the Chase Ink Preferred. $5k spend, $95 AF, 80k Ultimate Rewards points bonus. URs are worth 1 cent each for cash so this is $705 in cash at minimum. You can redeem through the travel portal at 1.25x rate for $1k (minus AF = $905) or transfer the points to a Chase Sapphire Reserve for 1.5x rate resulting in $1.2k for travel booked via Chase portal minus the AF. Note: You can book hotels, cars, flights & tours on the Chase portal but you can’t book Disney hotels or tickets on the Chase portal That aside this card is especially lucrative because after you get it you can refer your P2 to the offer. On approval you’d get 20k URs and P2 would get 80k after hitting the spend. UR has transfer partners at 1:1 ratios but they aren’t AS or DL or Hilton. Hyatt tends to be the most commonly used transfer partner as they are the hotel program that has devalued the least over the years.

You may want to consider AS cards (Alaska Air is referred to as “AS” in these parts after their airline designator in flight numbers). They come with a $99 companion fare where for $99 + taxes and fees your companion can fly with you. Lucrative if you’re looking at expensive flights. Also free bags for you and up to 6 guests on your reservation. I don’t know if you’d find use of the miles as I’ve only used miles once to book an international partner airline. DoC has a rundown of the current offer on the card. They have a business card that wouldn’t count toward 5/24.

You can get lots of Hilton points with Hilton’s various Amex cards, and once you have one Hilton Card you can refer yourself to others to bag the bonus + referral bonus. However- Hilton’s program is NOTORIOUS for nasty devaluations. Once you have a stash book what you want, do not wait. They have a business card that wouldn’t count toward 5/24 and Hilton allows transferring of points for free.

Thank you so much. This give me a head start to research. We have both had multiple AS cards and I assume we’ll both open one shortly before we travel with the kids for the companion fares. We like to use the miles in state to visit family. Only 10k miles round trip! You earn a value of 1.5% for regular spending and has the AF so it’s not a good every day card for us.

I didn’t realize Hilton allows free transfers. I’ll get dh a card too. They have a free night with points if you book 4 or 5 in a row. I’d like to do that for our long trip to Disney.

I’ll see if there are any other hotel brands that will meet our needs since Hilton points aren’t great.

 

[Lain]

Everything is exactly the same on each card with the exception of our names...

I saw @miztressuz ’s comment in the Disney Gift Card Deals thread, and I agree — I’m not quite sure! You’ll be an interesting test case.

The only parallel I have is I’m an AU on my wife’s CF (from way back in the day), same cc number, expiration date, and cvc, everything except the name. I’ve used my AU to redeem/trigger Chase Offers on my wife’s primary account. As an AU, I don’t see the AU card or any associated Chase Offers on the primary card in my Chase online account; but I can see the primary card and its Chase Offers on my wife’s Chase account. Making the purchase on my AU card has worked to trigger the offer on my wife’s primary card.

So I’m wondering if when you use either your or your husband’s cards to redeem the Chase Offer, whether the purchase will trigger only the offer that you can see on the respective card, or trigger both offers in a double dip.

 

[PolyRob]

We saw Toy Story 4 today, and DW and I came out of it really hating Bonnie.

I understand your feelings even more now.

Just got back from seeing toy story and I loved it!! It was so cute and forky was hilarious. I didn’t hate Bonnie like others did but she wasn’t my favorite. I was annoyed by ducky and bunny; I could’ve gone without them. I did almost cry at the end but held it together lol.

I enjoyed it, but it definitely was not my favorite of the franchise. The original will always reign supreme, then for me it is three. Everyone talked about the last 15 minutes being so emotional and I was just like... ok. Three however got me going multiple times! That is the beauty of Pixar films. Everyone enjoys them/reacts differently. I will say I am not as anti-forky anymore. I had to see how he was integrated.

I don't want to mention anything specific and ruin it for anyone, but I will say that I think this one relied very heavily on comedic relief unlike the previous movies in the series.

 

[PolyRob]

There is Capital One...I think the Quicksilver is cash back. I don’t know that I would go for it though; if trying for Capital One and burning a personal spot I would hold out for the Venture (if the bonus ever increases back up).

I have had a Discover for years and plan to get one for DH in the next couple months. 4th quarter is Amazon 5% back so we will definitely use that. Not much of a sign up bonus but they double your cash back after a year. It is also a 0% card if you needed some time to float money.

Thank you! I agree it may not be worth burning a personal slot. I also don't want to bite off more than I can chew if the large purchase I expect doesn't actually come through. I am so tempted to refer for my first CIP so I can place the deposit on that if it comes through. If not, I will be looking for $5,000 to cover on top of $1,000 left on the Amex Plat. Decisions...

 

[PolyRob]

Amex Biz plat airline credit DP (tagging @PolyRob)

I made a low flight cost one way Boston to RIC for Aug total was $86.70. I also made multiple bookings with JB points and the taxes were around $11.00. All the charges credited via AMEX so it was like $110 back! I’ll be booking flights to Aruba soon so I’ll spend the rest of the credit on those taxes. I then may upgrade that flight to even more space seats when the new credit hits in 2020!

Thank you, this is great to know! I still haven't officially picked JetBlue through the Amex website, but I doubt I will fly SW this year so I should probably just do it to make sure it is activated when I want to redeem towards it.