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

[elgerber]

More than one? Interesting!! I just opened the Money Market today, but I would happily open a checking if I can get another card that needs an MSR (like that new SW biz card that I have to wait 3 weeks for LOL). I don't want to do any for dh though, they made me call today to finish the account.

adding to my own question. If I got a CIP for DH with an AU card for me, could I fund another GSB account in my name with my AU card? Or is that pushing my luck?

 

[alryan]

More than one? Interesting!! I just opened the Money Market today, but I would happily open a checking if I can get another card that needs an MSR (like that new SW biz card that I have to wait 3 weeks for LOL). I don't want to do any for dh though, they made me call today to finish the account.

Yes, from comments on DoC it looks like it. I think I'd be willing to try. I was playing around on the website and there really isn't a place to open another account. Yes, it does stink that you have to talk to them to set up the account, but to complete an entire MSR I'll do it. I hope that new SW Biz has the same offer at the end of the year so I can get the CP for 2020/2021!

 

[alryan]

-

 

[alryan]

*

 

[Etonduf]

Ok, might be willing to try this Serve thing lol.

Dumb question... where do I get a Serve card? Probably need to check the Reddit page when I get done with laundry lol

I’m such a chicken I usually just skim the parts about MOs and Serve. So I’m reading with more interest now. I’m having problems meeting MSR on Amex. So potentially I could go to Staples and get the VGC. Open Serve account. Load Serve (we have 2 Dollar General nearby) with VGC. Come home and deposit into bank account. Is that correct? But Amex won’t like the VGCs, right?

As someone else mentioned, you can buy on in-store for a small fee. It's free if you go to serve.com and set up your account, but there is a little lag--my card took about a week to arrive.

So if you want to get one free, you should plan ahead a little. Or plan to leave the balances on your gift cards until your Serve arrives.

And since there seems to be a lot of interest in Serve at the moment:

DoC article about loading at FD and DG

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

Great Southern Bank taking care of another CIP MSR. Applied 6/16, approved 6/17, received card 6/24, opened checking account 6/25 with $5000 charge, $85,000 URs pending on 6/27. And from reading comments on DoC it looks like you can open another account, like money market and savings and fund another $5000. Easiest MS ever! I know it's not illegal, but sometimes it feels like it should be when it's so easy!

Yes, I've now done one checking for DH and one for myself. On opening the account online you have the option of funding with a credit card, up to $5000. Both coded as a purchase on CIP. You do have to speak with someone on the phone to set up the account after getting approved.

Huh, I thought this was a regional bank but I put my zip code in--and it looks like DE is ok!

So obviously Chase can be used as a source for funding. Does anyone know about Citi? I have 75/5 biz mailers sitting here for dh and for me

 

[magickingdomprincess]

.

 

[Lain]

I got an offer to add AUs on my platinum for 5,000 MRs. Can I take advantage of this but only get my AUs the Gold card? Or do I need to pay the $175 fee for the platinum?

I'll just leave this here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/comments/c2foit/_/erka3xr

 

[DisneyMandC]

Well, I just signed up for the Green Serve card! I guess I’ll pick up a fee free VGC next week at staples and see if I can figure this out! If anyone sees anything on r/churning about loading at CVS, please let me know. There’s a CVS right by my house and there’s hardly ever anyone in there, so that would be super convenient for me.

 

[mom2elal]

how did you like the doubletree?

We liked it a lot! The room was a really good size, and seemed to have been updated recently. And they left us lots of towels. I felt it was a good value compared to the Disney hotels (although not as cute, of course). As diamonds we could have gotten free breakfast for two adults and two children per day, but we didn't end up using it (for time reasons and because we would have had to pay for ods, who is 16).

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Amex doesn't know about VGCs at the grocery store IME. If you're looking at meeting Amex MSRs then I wouldn't go to Staples or OD/OM for VGCs. I know those are the stores that most frequently have fee-free gift cards so that's attractive. But I think a 1.19% fee for $500 of MSR is likely outweighed by whatever the SUB is, so I'm good with paying the fee at grocery stores.

Do you have a Safeway reward/loyalty account? There is a (IDK if it's targeted?) $10 coupon for a $100+ prepaid gift card available for that program that you can activate on your account, it expires on 6/29. I bought a $500 vgc at Safeway yesterday for $495.95.

I'm actually not familiar with Dollar General, I don't have one nearby. I would read Flyertalk or r/churning to see the ins and outs of doing that, or if other MSers on our thread use DG, maybe they can chime in.

We have Jewel-Osco, and I have the $10 off 100 Visa GC offer saved to my account. I usually just use my Amex to buy VGC for use at Costco.

I just wanted to chime in that it is VERY YMMV with DG from my experience. We have 3 DG in our small town...one will only allow Serve load with cash, one rings it up in a way that I get charged a fee, and one will let me use a card to load and no fee no problem. These are all within about an 8 mile radius of each other. So that is probably the only ‘scary/intimidating’ thing about using Serve...you just need to be prepared to try it and politely abandon the mission if it isn’t working out!!

Is Walmart a better bet? I don’t want to go to customer service, I’d rather use a regular register if possible. Customer service at the Walmart closest to us always has a huge line and one person working.

 

[wanderlust7]

Hoping for some advice on my next card please! I met the MSR on my last CIP and can’t apply for another Chase card until around Aug 6th (CIP #3 if possible). I’d prefer a biz card but definitely open to a personal if it’s a lucrative bonus. The last time I applied for an Amex I got the popup (maybe 5 months ago or so?). Not really looking for anything with a huge AF and haven’t really gotten into MR’s yet so not sure I want to go there yet. Currently I’m 2/24. Here are my cards:

01/2018 Chase SW Premier
05/2018 Amex Hilton Biz
06/2018 Chase Marriott Biz
07/2018 Barclay Aviator Biz
07/2018 Citi AA Biz
09/2018 US Bank Biz Edge
11/2018 Chase CIP
02/2019 Chase CIC
03/2019 Citi AA Biz #2
05/2019 Chase CIP #2
05/2019 Barclay Arrival Plus
06/2019 Citi AA Biz #3 – will use Plastiq mortgage payments to knock out MSR

Cards I’ve considered:

• Capital One – 50k miles, $3k MSR, $95 AF waived 1st year, SUB approx. value $500. But, CapOne is weird about approvals and pulls all 3 credit bureaus, correct? Makes this less attractive.
• Citi Premier – 60k TY pts, $4k MSR, $95 AF not waived, SUB approx. value $750 airfare - not sure if the one Citi app in 60 days is applicable/true (saw a comment about it on DOC).
• Wells Fargo Propel World – 40k pts + $100 travel reimb, $3k MSR, $175 AF waived 1st year, SUB approx. value $400+$100, have to apply on phone.
• BoA Premium Rewards – 50k bonus pts + $100 travel incidental credit/calendar year, also $85 TSA Precheck or $100 GE credit, $3k MSR, $95 AF not waived, SUB approx. approx. value $500 stmt credit. I do have a relationship with BoA and have another cc with them that I rarely use.
• Citi AA personal – 60k AA, $3k MSR, AF waived. Not sure if same one Citi app in 60 days is true? This would be nice to add to my AA stash, not sure if it's worth 5/24 spot.
• Amex Hilton – assuming I could get past pop-up, there’s 3 options, but would probably go for Ascend (125k HH pts, $2k MSR, $95 AF not waived). This would be nice to add to my 140k HH balance, but again not sure worth 5/24 slot.

I don’t have a specific travel goal in mind, was planning for Hawaii next summer but not sure if DH will be on board with it (or if my DD6 can handle the long plane ride). Planning on going back to Disney/Universal next summer and a separate trip to a beach somewhere.

Sorry this is so long, but any suggestions would be appreciated! I didn’t list any business cards because I didn’t really see any that weren’t Chase or Amex that were too interesting, although I could definitely be wrong on that. Also any feedback on the cards above would be helpful, I haven't heard much chatter about any of the above cards so it makes me wonder if there's a reason they're not very popular.

I have the Cap1 Venture and the Citi Premier. I have regrets about both taking up a 5/24 slot, lol. Here are pros and cons for both:
Cap1:
Cons - SUB is not at the highest. It was 75k before, who knows if it'll ever go up again, but psychologically it would pain me to get it knowing that. Approval is hit or miss and the 3 pulls you already mentioned.
Pros - Comes with TSA/GE credit. Point redemption is super easy, travel category is wide and you can even "erase" the same charge more than once.

Citi Premier:
Con - hard to rack up more TY.
Pro - Disney hotels! If you don't see the Disney hotel you want in the portal, or if the price is jacked up, you can call the Cruise and Tours department. They can get the same rates as direct with Disney and use the 1.25x multiplier.

The Amex Hilton cards - eventually I'd like to play the upgrade/downgrade game. But I feel like you need 3 slots for that, or be past 5/24. If you got the Ascend, after a year, you can downgrade to the no fee. But first applying for the no fee and getting the SUB for it (but of course that takes up another slot). Then wait for an upgrade offer. Or you might get an upgrade offer for the Aspire. So then you'd apply for the Aspire first, get the SUB, then take the upgrade offer.

That said, the Aspire is actually the most valuable of the Hilton cards if you can make use of the credits. It more than pays for itself. Airline incidentals credit $250 x 2 before you downgrade. Resort credit $250 x 2. Free weekend night soon after card opening. If I value the free weekend night at $200 and assuming I make use of all the credits, that's $1200 - $450 AF, I come out ahead $750 without even the SUB.

 

[mom2elal]

We stopped renewing our Signature APs because of how much the AP keeps going up via-à-vis how crowded Disneyland has gotten.

You know it's bad when a DLR person goes to WDW in June and thinks, "Wow, it's not that crowded." (The way I felt at WDW this month)

 

[mmmears]

You know it's bad when a DLR person goes to WDW in June and thinks, "Wow, it's not that crowded." (The way I felt at WDW this month)

Yep. It's why the last few Disney trips we've taken is to WDW. Crazy when you consider how DL is so much closer and easier to get for us, but WDW feels less crowded and I've been able to get a CL room for 1/2 the cost of a non-CL non-view room at the GCH. I'm glad we enjoyed that hotel and DL in the years before the crowds because my idea of a nice vacation doesn't involve big crowds and standing in line.

Well, I just signed up for the Green Serve card! I guess I’ll pick up a fee free VGC next week at staples and see if I can figure this out! If anyone sees anything on r/churning about loading at CVS, please let me know. There’s a CVS right by my house and there’s hardly ever anyone in there, so that would be super convenient for me.

Wow! If you find it works at CVS can you please let me know? We have several near us and I'd be willing to try it if it would work there.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

I have the Cap1 Venture and the Citi Premier. I have regrets about both taking up a 5/24 slot, lol. Here are pros and cons for both:
Cap1:
Cons - SUB is not at the highest. It was 75k before, who knows if it'll ever go up again, but psychologically it would pain me to get it knowing that. Approval is hit or miss and the 3 pulls you already mentioned.
Pros - Comes with TSA/GE credit. Point redemption is super easy, travel category is wide and you can even "erase" the same charge more than once.

Citi Premier:
Con - hard to rack up more TY.
Pro - Disney hotels! If you don't see the Disney hotel you want in the portal, or if the price is jacked up, you can call the Cruise and Tours department. They can get the same rates as direct with Disney and use the 1.25x multiplier.

The Amex Hilton cards - eventually I'd like to play the upgrade/downgrade game. But I feel like you need 3 slots for that, or be past 5/24. If you got the Ascend, after a year, you can downgrade to the no fee. But first applying for the no fee and getting the SUB for it (but of course that takes up another slot). Then wait for an upgrade offer. Or you might get an upgrade offer for the Aspire. So then you'd apply for the Aspire first, get the SUB, then take the upgrade offer.

That said, the Aspire is actually the most valuable of the Hilton cards if you can make use of the credits. It more than pays for itself. Airline incidentals credit $250 x 2 before you downgrade. Resort credit $250 x 2. Free weekend night soon after card opening. If I value the free weekend night at $200 and assuming I make use of all the credits, that's $1200 - $450 AF, I come out ahead $750 without even the SUB.

Thanks so much for the info! The Citi Premier does sound intriguing, especially if able to book Disney hotels. Good to know the Venture SUB isn't especially high now. I think I'm leaning away from the Venture, especially with the three hard pulls.

I know the Aspire gets a lot of attention here, and I think for a lot of people it does make a lot of sense. I just don't know for sure if it makes sense for me. If we do go to Hawaii I'd like to spend part of it at the Hilton Hawaiian, and I could definitely see the value. I'll have to ponder that some more. Thanks so much for laying out the credits/value for me! I often about the possibility of doubling up on credits.

 

[MrPTato]

Is Walmart a better bet? I don’t want to go to customer service, I’d rather use a regular register if possible. Customer service at the Walmart closest to us always has a huge line and one person working.

I tried Walmart for the first time tonight. I waited 15 mins in the regular checkout so that she could tell me that that max I could load at the register was $100, anything over had to be done at the customer service desk. That line was easily 20 minutes so I just left. Stopped at both Family Dollar and Dollar General and got my $2k loaded. Those two stores are about 2 miles from each other so it was pretty quick.

 

[usakiwi]

Is Walmart a better bet? I don’t want to go to customer service, I’d rather use a regular register if possible. Customer service at the Walmart closest to us always has a huge line and one person working.

I find Walmart is also YMMV with regards to cashier experience, but I have never had them tell me cash only nor have I ever had them ring it up wrong so that they are trying to charge me a fee. Some cashiers know how to load, some don't, some think I HAVE to go to money center and send me there (which is incorrect but I just smile and go with it.) A lot of people on reddit will try to coach the cashier through it by telling them what code and buttons to press if the cashier does not know, but I am definitely not that brave.

Depending on the feeling I get from the cashier, sometimes I will do multiple loads with the same cashier, sometimes I will visit 2 or 3 registers. The biggest problem I find is that a lot of them don't know how to do one amount but with multiple cards. So if I say "I want to load $500 but I need to do it from three cards" some will know how to do this all in one transaction, some will run it through as three different transactions, 1 x $200, 1 x $200, and 1 x $100.

I know in my WMs, I can use the Visa dining anywhere cards as well as general VGC, but I can't figure out how to use MGC and I am too chicken to try the crazy (to me) switch payment trick.

I've only been doing this about two months...I was unlucky enough to get stuck in the recent shut down after only a month of usage of my first card!! But I now know that was not anything I did personally to cause (well except for the fact of loading with gcs ha ha) and was just a result of the shut down timing for all of us who had done so.

 

[miztressuz]

Southwest has extended their MAX8 reschedule through Oct 1 now. My Sep flight is still showing but I see at least one that day has been removed - the one I was looking to switch to Like before, even if you aren't directly affected they are giving a one time change for free for any flight within 14 days of original flight per their accommodation policy.

I did take advantage and changed to an earlier flight that day. Not the one I was looking at which would have given us Timberline for a lounge lunch, instead we'll be in St Louis which at least has a lounge restaurant option but I recall it did not receive the same rave reviews. It's a quick layover so hopefully we get enough time to get something free at least. After paying 2 AFs on this CSR I'm happy to take anything at this point!

 

[wendow]

You figure right. But I have fam at Tahoe and my work is remote so Tahoe is a 2nd home to me when it’s not under 10 feet of snow

Ah, Tahoe is where we honeymooned So romantic and where i fell in love with mountains.

 

[wendow]

Yeah, I don’t have one nearby, unfortunately. The closest one is 30 minutes away in an area I never go. We have Dollar Trees but that’s it.

I have a Dollar Tree on every corner but no Dollar General or Family Dollar anywhere within 30 mins. Meanwhile my mom, who lives LITERALLY in the middle of nowhere has both of those stores within 10 mins. I don't get it!!Why can't you do this loading to Swerve thing anywhere else?!?!