I love credit cards so much! v3.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Killer Fish]

Don't forget to call for a retention offer.

Good point!!!! I will definitely do that....if they don't have one do I just HUCA?

 

[georgina]

Question 1- So.... grocery credits... this offer for 5x grocery and use the TC ($300) for grocery is only thru end of June,correct? And this goes for the cashout at 1.5x also, that amount I could cashout is ONLY for what I spent on grocery from May-June. (but I have until Sept. to redeem those amounts at that 1.5?) DO I have this right?
If the above is true, and I wanted to PC a FR- CSR today, would I need to wait till I got a new card in mail to start purchasing? (like a week at least) so I'd have about 2.5 weeks to max that $1500(If I chose to)
Question 2- If I decide NOT to cashout at 1.5x, this makes the spend equal to using my FR card thru end of June,right? Still trying to figure out how much benefit there might be to either the PC, or the cashout or both combined.
I have it so firmly set in my brain that I only use these rewards for travel,I'm having a tough time envisioning anything else...

I know it's hard to get it all figured out. All the details are on the chase site if you login and click on the rewards section. The earn 5X on groceries is only through June, but it looks like the 1.5X UR redemption on groceries, restaurants, and home improvement stores is for purchases through Sept. I did not check the travel credit specifically, I think maybe through Sept also? No, travel credit is through December on gas and groceries.

Your points are worth 50% more when you redeem in new categories

With the Pay Yourself BackSM tool, your Ultimate Rewards® points are worth 50% more when you redeem them for statement credits against purchases in our current categories: grocery stores, dining including restaurants, takeout, and eligible delivery services and home improvement stores such as Home Depot® and Lowes®. Just choose an eligible purchase you made in the past 90 days, apply points for all or part of the purchase, and you’ll get a statement credit. Take advantage of this promotion through September 30, 2020.

I will use the CSR for groceries through June for the 5X, and use the statement credit for those, but after June we will not use it on groceries any more as we have better rewards elsewhere. We will continue to use the card for travel and dining for the 3X, as we always have, and redeem for 1.5X credits on dining.

When you PC the number stays the same, so if it shows online as a CSR then it would be safe to use it on groceries I think. But yes, the Freedom is giving 5X on groceries through June 30 also.

 

[Judique]

So, I got a spoof email from some entity pretending to be Amex. Said my account was locked, click here to verify, etc. Wasn't caught in the spam filters for some reason.

I had checked my rewards when someone posted getting the 20% off on Home Depot gift cards. Nothing.

So, logged into my account and checked again - looked like nothing - until I dropped a ecard in my cart - when I clicked both $100 and egift - the discount popped up and I got a couple more $100 egift cards for 8000 MR's each! Nice! Also, it stated promo starts June 1, so I may have been too early looking last time.

Works nicely for me with all the home improvements going on here.

 

[becauseimnew]

If you are able to meet the MSR on the Hyatt cards organically then I'd go with the CSP. The reason is that I don't see much value in the Hyatt FNC since it's only good at category 1 - 4 properties (versus the Hilton FNC which is good at any property with very few exclusions). The most value I've been able to get on a Hyatt FNC is around $200.00 and there were a few years when I didn't even use it. If you use a $0.02 / point value for the CSP then you'd be getting points worth approx. $1,200.00 with a 60,000 UR SUB. Hope this makes sense.

That's what I was thinking... my biggest concern is that I would be less than 60 days from my previous Chase approval. I would need to apply for the CSP around 6/10, my Hyatt was approved 4/15.

@SouthFayetteFan thoughts on the speed?

 

[wanderlust7]

Good point!!!! I will definitely do that....if they don't have one do I just HUCA?

I don't think HUCA will work if you call back right away. They will tell you whatever offers you have on your account. If your AF hasn't posted yet, you can call now and call again some time after (within 30 days after it posts). Sometimes the offers change. Amex seems to be more generous these days, so you might not have to. You can check the Flyertalk thread to see what offers people are getting.

Call the retention line, not the number on the back of your card. Good luck!

 

[Albort]

That's what I was thinking... my biggest concern is that I would be less than 60 days from my previous Chase approval. I would need to apply for the CSP around 6/10, my Hyatt was approved 4/15.

@SouthFayetteFan thoughts on the speed?

it depends heavily on how hard u have hit chase and how your AAOA is.

 

[havaneselover]

Disney gift card nightmare. So Alaska (me, dd, ds) was cancelled. I rebooked Dover to Copenhagen for just me and DD (graduation trip). Didn't realize son's fare would get refunded. DD was on the phone because I was on a confernence call. They refunded $1550 to 16 gift cards. But I know I combined gift cards and generally paid $300-$500/gift card payment. So I have no idea where all these gift cards are from and doubt I have all 16. So now I need to get Disney Cruise Line to issue me new gift cards. And Costco has to play middle man. Wish me luck--this is going to be a headache.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

That's what I was thinking... my biggest concern is that I would be less than 60 days from my previous Chase approval. I would need to apply for the CSP around 6/10, my Hyatt was approved 4/15.

@SouthFayetteFan thoughts on the speed?

That is close to your last Chase application. What about an AmEx card for some MRs? I know some folks have had luck applying for another Chase card sooner than 90 days, but I've always left a 90 day minimum so I can't offer any assurances.

 

[afan]

That's what I was thinking... my biggest concern is that I would be less than 60 days from my previous Chase approval. I would need to apply for the CSP around 6/10, my Hyatt was approved 4/15.

@SouthFayetteFan thoughts on the speed?

Couldn't you just use one of the hyatt cards and then app for the csp when it's comfortable date wise? If you can meet spend on the hyatts organically anyway what's the difference between putting it on one or splitting between the two and then using that organic spend for the csp in a month?

 

[jenmsmith]

I don't know but it is a possibility the booking availability is frozen. Were you looking for Oct-Nov, or closer in at that time?

Frozen would suggest that DVC is following their statement that they would not compete for availability with members - in other words not releasing rooms to be booked for cash. DVD holds anywhere from 2 to 4% of the points at DVC resorts and DVC also manages the points collected from 'sales' of cruises, etc.

The availability is always a fluctuating activity, so keep checking. Book it if you see it - you can always do the up to 5 day cancelation. And, sometimes these resort rooms in fall and winter will qualify for certain promos if any are available such as passholder.

Random days in October and November.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Because some of you might need cheering up for various reasons I thought I’d share this. He says don’t worry, be happy!

Definitely....he’s adorable

 

[Calfan]

DD's global entry renewal was approved on May 31 with no interview requirement Two family members down, two to go. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to DHS's methodology on these. I applied for renewals for all for of us in Sept. since my birthday is in Sept. and is the latest in the year among our family (so that was when all four of us were eligible for renewal and I could submit the applications on the same day). I applied around Sept. 20 DH received notification on Sept. 25 that his renewal had been approved with no interview required. Then nothing until May 31. I was actually surprised to hear anything then given the known backlog at DHS and now the impacts of the pandemic. I had assumed they were going in birth date order for our four applications since DH has the earliest birthday and heard back first. But now they have leapfrogged over DS's application (who is next in birthday order) and approved DD. We'll see if it is another 8 months before the next one of us hears something.....

Just got my GE renewal approval notification, and no interview required. Three down, one to go. I'm a little concerned that DS's hasn't come through since the other three have gone in birth date order and he should have been the second to get approved...

 

[StephPlum]

Any good info on combing my URs across 4 cards and 3 separate logins? Ugh. I am pretty sure I can combine the 3 cards (DH’s cip and our 2 freedom cards), but I’m at a total loss on the 4th card, which is my CIP and is not connected to any of our other chase accounts, and has its own login. I very much do not want to have to go into a branch.

The other option is for me to book the 2 rooms we need individually; one off the 3 cards I AM able to combine, and the other off of the one that I’m having trouble with. That opens some options as far as drink packages, etc (only needing it for one room instead of both) but also a pain as far as things like room keys go. And I’m not sure it’s worth the hassle it’ll end up being. PLUS we will more than likely PC dh’s cip to a ciu before we go on the trip and should we have to cancel for whatever reason, I want to have the points go back on to the original card we used to book everything.

I have 4 logins - 2 Biz and 2 personal.
My daisy chain is DH biz cards to my biz card (CIC) then my CIC or any of my Biz cards to my CSR. I have it down to a habit that I log into DH Biz account first to check things and move any points, then log in to my Biz and move points and then finally to my personal (DH doesn't have any UR personal cards.... YET!).

 

[elgerber]

OK so Delta just issued a refund (well might take 30 days) for our flight to Honolulu, it will go to Chase since I used UR's. What happens then, does Chase eventually put the UR's back in my account, do I need to do anything with Chase?
Haven't attempted AA yet.

 

[havaneselover]

So between my six conference calls for work and three calls to Costco, I've pretty much been on the phone all day. The good news is DCL is emailing me replacement gift cards for DS's cruise fare. I wish they could have just applied it to the new cruise, but I can live. Now to cancel Amtrak and Southwest.

 

[pinkxray]

Disney gift card nightmare. So Alaska (me, dd, ds) was cancelled. I rebooked Dover to Copenhagen for just me and DD (graduation trip). Didn't realize son's fare would get refunded. DD was on the phone because I was on a confernence call. They refunded $1550 to 16 gift cards. But I know I combined gift cards and generally paid $300-$500/gift card payment. So I have no idea where all these gift cards are from and doubt I have all 16. So now I need to get Disney Cruise Line to issue me new gift cards. And Costco has to play middle man. Wish me luck--this is going to be a headache.

I only had $1000 over 2 gift cards that I needed refunded but was dreading having to go through Costco(the middle man) to get a refund.
I called and the Costco rep was great. As soon as I mentioned I no longer had the gift cards she knew she had to call Disney and have them reissued. Called and within 5 minutes we were all done. Had my refund issued within a week. I had the option of e-gift card or physical. I chose e-gift card.

 

[wendow]

So, I got a spoof email from some entity pretending to be Amex. Said my account was locked, click here to verify, etc. Wasn't caught in the spam filters for some reason.

I had checked my rewards when someone posted getting the 20% off on Home Depot gift cards. Nothing.

So, logged into my account and checked again - looked like nothing - until I dropped a ecard in my cart - when I clicked both $100 and egift - the discount popped up and I got a couple more $100 egift cards for 8000 MR's each! Nice! Also, it stated promo starts June 1, so I may have been too early looking last time.

Works nicely for me with all the home improvements going on here.

I checked our accounts, both a couple days ago when it was posted here, and just now. No discount. We have never gotten Home Depot discounted. How do you get targeted for this? I’m so jealous!! I Have been cashing out MRs for home depot Gcs soon could really use that promo.

 

[MKTokyo]

Good point!!!! I will definitely do that....if they don't have one do I just HUCA?

I have found that HUCA doesn’t really work with Amex. You either have a retention offer available that day or you don’t. Online chat can actually tell you whether or not you have one, but if you do, you have to call in to find out what it is. I feel like their reps do not have the ability to offer anything that the system hasn’t already decided to offer you & it changes day to day.

 

[havaneselover]

Was able to get my Amtrak saver fares refunded. They told me it could take six weeks to see the refund. Still have my Southwest tickets to Seattle because they have EBCI and I can't transfer EBCI to my Christmas tickets because they've already gone up so much in price

 

[afan]

If anyone is looking for an easy recipe we made this cheesy garlic pasta tonight without the parsley and we added chicken. You could add other stuff or use it as a side or on it's own for a meatless option. We halved it and it was plenty for the two of us, probably some leftovers but I don't know how much mom took