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

[Lain]

big news at my house this morning. Although dd is annoyed we have to wait so long.

Right, I saw October and thought "YAAAS!" Then saw 2021! I've got the soundtrack in my playlist until then.

 

[disfanforlife]

Trigger Warning! For those looking to read or only discuss credit cards, keep scrolling. ⚠

Hamilton fans, have you seen this?!

https://d23.com/disney-bringing-hamilton-movie-with-original-broadway-cast-to-theaters/
JUST ANNOUNCED: Disney Bringing Hamilton Movie with Original Broadway Cast to Theaters

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

By Zach Johnson

Look around! Look around at how lucky we are! Today, The Walt Disney Company, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeffrey Seller, and Thomas Kail announced an agreement for the worldwide distribution rights that will bring Hamilton—the 11-time-Tony Award®-, Grammy Award®-, Olivier Award-, and Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical—to movie screens. The film will be released by The Walt Disney Studios in the United States and Canada on October 15, 2021.

“Lin-Manuel Miranda created an unforgettable theater experience and a true cultural phenomenon, and it was for good reason that Hamilton was hailed as an astonishing work of art. All who saw it with the original cast will never forget that singular experience,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “And we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share this same Broadway experience with millions of people around the world.”

The original Broadway cast appearing in the film include Tony Award winners Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; and Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr; Tony Award nominees Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.

The cast also includes Carleigh Bettiol, Ariana DeBose, Hope Easterbrook, Sydney James Harcourt, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Elizabeth Judd, Jon Rua, Austin Smith, Seth Stewart, and Ephraim Sykes. Film producers include Miranda, Seller, and Kail, who also directs.

“I fell in love with musical storytelling growing up with the legendary Howard Ashman-Alan Menken Disney collaborations—The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin,” said Miranda. “I’m so proud of what Tommy Kail has been able to capture in this filmed version of Hamilton—a live theatrical experience that feels just as immediate in your local movie theater. We’re excited to partner with Disney to bring the original Broadway company of Hamilton to the largest audience possible.”

The film of the original Broadway cast performing Hamilton is a leap forward in the art of “live capture,” as it will transport audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way. Combining the best elements of live theater and film, the result is a cinematic stage performance that is a wholly new way to experience Hamilton. “We are thrilled for fans of the show, and new audiences across the world, to experience what it was like on stage—and in the audience—when we shot this at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016,” said Kail. “We wanted to give everyone the same seat, which is what this film can provide.”

I just read about this too. Super excited to see the movie!

 

[Alexle2007]

Just made my second attempt to transfer my cruise on Royal to Chase.
A few days ago the girl told me I had to call Royal and they had to transfer it to Chase.

I just talked to another girl who said she could handle the transfer but the system was down and to call back.
I asked her if since I already paid the deposit I would just need to wait until finish payment and then pay with whatever points I had.
She said no, when they take over my reservation today I’d have to make a payment with whatever points I have today and then use my card for the rest at final payment.

I would definitely push back on this or HUCA. There is no reason since you have already made the deposit. PIF isn't due for some time and you only get one chance to use your URs towards the payment.

 

[Haley R]

Got instant approval for Capital One Venture on Friday with cross support from DH. The $100 statement credit showed up on his account the same day as the approval. The plan is to use these miles for a Disneyland trip if I can get my boys' summer baseball schedules to cooperate.

This was the last card I needed to get my family GE. We used CSR, SW Performance x2, and Capital One Venture x2. I know if you've been in this game awhile you you may already have enough cards with the credit, but I think the Venture with a 50,000 SUB, $100 statement credit for support clicks, and no annual fee for the first year make it a pretty good card.

Applied for DD14 on Saturday, she got conditional approval today. Go to see how long for appointments...no appointments available within a 5 hour drive. Nothing for the airports we will be at in the next two months, Orlando, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Or even this summer in Boston or Maine. I applied in August and got an appointment in November. I guess I just have to hope something opens up. I mean can all those locations really have all interviews scheduled for the entire year?

I think this is our next move. I’ll refer Dh for the capital one venture. They still haven’t charged me the annual fee and it hit one year on 1/17.

 

[bernina]

Just made my second attempt to transfer my cruise on Royal to Chase.
A few days ago the girl told me I had to call Royal and they had to transfer it to Chase.

I just talked to another girl who said she could handle the transfer but the system was down and to call back.
I asked her if since I already paid the deposit I would just need to wait until finish payment and then pay with whatever points I had.
She said no, when they take over my reservation today I’d have to make a payment with whatever points I have today and then use my card for the rest at final payment.

I've successfully done this for a NCL cruise and know others have for RCCL. The trick I'm sure is getting the right people on either end. I can't help with getting RCCL to get you the form needed for the transfer but I can let you know the payment process.

Once you transfer over to Chase you will have 1 opportunity only to pay with URs. The standard way that Chase seems to prefer is to pay all charges due up front using URs or if applicable pay only the deposit upfront using URs. You won't meet any resistance for either of those strategies.

However I can tell you that it is possible to pay your deposit on your chase card (if you haven't already paid it) and tell them you will call back prior to paid in full date and apply full payment using URs (or some combo of URs and chase credit card). If they don't give you this option politely ask for a manager. If you don't get anywhere, hang up and try a new rep.

 

[IFlossU]

Nothing for the airports we will be at in the next two months, Orlando, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

DH just had his interview last Monday at Phoenix Sky Harbor. He had an appointment, however, he said when he got there he was asked if he had an appointment, and DH said he more than likely could have been seen without an appointment. He said the entire process took less than 5 minutes, and the guy was not busy. I guess I’m trying to say, if you have time, and it’s not inconvenient to get to the location in the terminal, you may just stop in and ask if they can see you at that time. I get emails all the time about being seen at the airport upon arrival without an appointment. Could be worth a look.

 

[Lain]

UPDATE! I was able to pull up my support link (sorry I used the “R” word earlier ) from my browser history. His app went through! YAY! DH is the proud owner of an Aspire card. Hopefully we can both stay out of Hilton pop up jail. I also hope my support tracks since the link was pulled from browser history. We’ll see!

Congratulations!

I've been splitting my dining spend between my Gold (4x MR) and Aspire (7x Hilton), and throwing miscellaneous non-bonus category spend onto the Aspire (3x Hilton), to keep spending on the Aspire beyond MSR, rebuild some Hilton points, and ward off the pop ups.

Amex MR usually transfers to Hilton Honors at 1:2 (1,000 MR = 2,000 Hilton). A $1 spent on dining with the Gold earns 4 MR (Amex MR's highest category bonus for dining), which transfers to 8 Hilton. So foregoing 4x MR for 7x Hilton is only slightly worse than the usual 1:2 conversion, but not that bad considering you're continuing to spend past MSR on the Aspire that's now mostly good for just paying hotel charges at Hiltons, and hopefully avoiding the pop up.

Occasionally, Amex runs transfer bonuses from MR to Hilton with a 30-50% bump. So, if you're targeted for the better 50% transfer bonus, 1,000 MR = 3,000 Hilton. By that math, you're otherwise better off earning 4x MR than 7x Hilton on dining, since 4x MR = 12x Hilton under the bonus. However, on non-bonus category spend, where you'd earn only 1x MR on the Platinum, Gold, Green, etc., that 1x MR is worth only 2x Hilton without a transfer bonus, and 3x Hilton with a transfer bonus. Thus, putting non-bonus category spend on the Aspire for 3x Hilton is usually better than earning only 1x MR on Amex's MR cards.

 

[IFlossU]

@Lain
Excellent information! And as usual, something that makes so much sense, but hadn’t occurred to me...yet I’m now going to have to put a Gold card on my never ending list of cards I NEED. LOL! But seriously I definitely want to add a Gold card at some point. As always you’ve given me “food for thought” Thank you!

 

[alryan]

DH just had his interview last Monday at Phoenix Sky Harbor. He had an appointment, however, he said when he got there he was asked if he had an appointment, and DH said he more than likely could have been seen without an appointment. He said the entire process took less than 5 minutes, and the guy was not busy. I guess I’m trying to say, if you have time, and it’s not inconvenient to get to the location in the terminal, you may just stop in and ask if they can see you at that time. I get emails all the time about being seen at the airport upon arrival without an appointment. Could be worth a look.

Thank you, good to know that could be an option.

 

[Lain]

I have 3 Chase cards with about $80k limits. One card carries $30k in limits, does nothing for me, but has no fee so I keep it open. I suppose I should close it to make it easier to open new Chase cards going forward? Also, another Chase card (the CF) has $35k limits, which is much more than it needs. Can I, and should I, ask to have it lowered?
PS: I have more than enough limits on all my cards that my usual monthly spend is between 2% and 4% of limits so there are no worries about upsetting my balances to limits ratio.

Which cards are these? If they have no annual fees or can be product changed to a no fee card, I'd keep them open as they help contribute to your average age of accounts ("AAoA"), which is a major factor in the makeup of your credit score. Additionally, AAoA factors into Chase's "bust out" risk analysis. Customers with thin credit history are viewed as higher risk, especially when they appear to start seeking additional lines of credit (resulting in hard inquiries) and opening a lot of new credit card accounts with Chase and other issuers (that show up on your credit reports). Chase shuts down these overly risky customers. Put a small charge on your cards once or twice a year to keep them "active" so the bank doesn't close these accounts for inactivity. This is fairly easy to do since Chase credit cards now have "Chase Offers" that offer savings at many restaurants and retailers you probably already spend money at, and some of these offers are useful for discounts on Disney Gift Cards.

I would definitely reduce those credit limits if you don’t need them...For example I have reduced my CSR to $10k, CF to $5k...SW and Disney to $1
You can ask Chase to lower either by secure messaging them or calling

Like @palhockeymomof2 mentioned, you can send a secure message to Chase for the card with a credit limit you want to lower. Note that this will have some effect on your credit score because if you lower your available credit, the percentage of credit utilization will tend to go up, which is also a factor of your credit score.

However, as you open new credit cards, your available credit will go back up and percentage of utilization will tend to go back down. Maintaining lower overall credit limits with Chase will help with approval for new cards. The conventional wisdom with Chase is to keep your overall credit limits, among all Chase cards, personal and business, under 50% of your total household income, or less than $70k-75k. The total amount of credit that Chase has extended to you is considered a risk factor. If it's too high (beyond the guidelines just mentioned), Chase's algorithms will deem it too risky to extend you more credit (e.g., allow you to open up new card accounts). Then you'd need to either reduce your credit lines or move credit over from one of your existing cards to open a new card during reconsideration. Of course, you could avoid denial and recon if you had just managed your credit lines. Chase doesn't care too much about how much credit you have extended with other banks.

 

[GZanta77]

Right, I saw October and thought "YAAAS!" Then saw 2021! I've got the soundtrack in my playlist until then.

..... I completely blanked on the 2021 part. Just told my daughter that it was coming out in October - now I have to go share the bad news.

 

[Lain]

@Lain
Excellent information! And as usual, something that makes so much sense, but hadn’t occurred to me...yet I’m now going to have to put a Gold card on my never ending list of cards I NEED. LOL! But seriously I definitely want to add a Gold card at some point. As always you’ve given me “food for thought” Thank you!

Does "food for thought" earn 4x MR on the Gold?

 

[thevalley]

We had 2 AFs posted this month and I think both are keepers:
SW Priority & BonBlah Biz. $149 + $99

My Delta Gold Biz will post next month, I'm going to have to keep that one too because they wouldn't give me the personal one and we have a trip this summer where we will need to check in 2 bags. plus it has the Staples & Lowe's 10% offer.

And DH's Bonblah Brillant will post in March $450, will downgrade 11/2020.

I don’t know if you like the card but I called and got a decent retention offer on my brilliant and I had saved like 290 dollars from the Amex offers.

 

[IFlossU]

Does "food for thought" earn 4x MR on the Gold?

 

[Lain]

So:
2 personal cards, CL totals $37k (I always just say $100k household....its lower than it is though I just figured that was "enough")
5 Biz cards, CL totals $42k (business income about $30k THIS year as its growing)

Do I add these together? Would lowering a personal card affect the business cards? I shouldn't cancel any business cards though right?

yes you would add the Chase business and personal credit limits together so $79k.... over 50% of your reported household income

definitely lower CLs across business and personal so you have more than enough room for the min $5k needed for an approval on the SW card

@castormom4 - as a general rule, you shouldn't close a card until you've held it for at least a year.

As for whether lowering personal CL will affect the business cards? That's a tougher question.

On the one hand, Chase views personal CLs and biz CLs as separate. You cannot move personal CLs to increase CLs on biz cards, or vice versa. However, Chase does view personal and biz CLs together for the purposes of calculating how much total credit they've already extended to you, and whether to approve you for a new card and more credit.

So in one sense, lowering personal CLs will not affect your existing biz cards. The biz cards continue to have the same CLs as they do now, unless you ask Chase to lower the biz CLs or Chase decides to raise or slash the CLs themselves.

In another sense, lowering personal CLs could increase your odds of approval for more Chase cards, both personal and biz. Or at least lower your risk of denial.

However, Chase seems to be a lot stingier with extending biz credit than personal credit. Personally, I can get approved for $15k-$30k CLs on personal cards, but then I cross my fingers for a $5k CL on my biz apps, especially if I already have other biz cards open with $5k+ CL [and for those with only 4-figure business revenue]. Cutting personal CLs seems to have some mild effect on how much CL I'll be approved for on a new biz card. I think cutting the CLs on your existing biz cards will probably have more of an effect. (In other words, if you're applying for a new Chase biz card, cut your biz CLs to open up more available biz CL for approval. Cut personal CLs if you’re getting close to 50% of HHI to avoid denial.) If you’re not using your other biz cards and don’t have plans to PC them, you can drop their CLs to $1k-$2k. If you do PC them, you'll want to make sure you have enough CL on it or on other biz cards to move to the card you want to PC to get its CL up to $5k.

Hope this helps.

 

[snugglebug]

Just saw that I got hit with the annual fee for my CSR and SW performance biz today. Ouch. Just need to remind myself of the flights that will be booked with all those points and the 1.5 redemption I will get with the CSR.

I got my CSR AF today as well. Ugh, but it is a great card for me.

 

[afan]

I upgraded to CSR in Sept and my af finally hit. Was enjoying not having to pay it.

 

[snugglebug]

Does anyone have knowledge regarding Disney military tickets?

My son wants to go on our next trip and he would purchase a military ticket. However, deployment is looming and we don't have a date for that. He needs a ticket so I can get Fastpasses, but there's always a possibility between FP day and the trip something could happen and he not make it. That could also prevent him from even going in 2020. The ticket expires at the end of the year. I'm not sure what to do here. Would Disney do anything if he purchased the ticket, but then was unable to use it this year due to deployment?

Can I purchase a regular 4 day ticket, assign to him in order to make FPs, then he could get a military ticket closer to the trip? Could I then reassign my 4day ticket to someone else to use next year or beyond? I hate to have him buy a ticket, then possibly not be able to use it at all. But, I also want to get the same FPs for all of us.

 

[Oscar Madison]

@castormom4 - as a general rule, you shouldn't close a card until you've held it for at least a year.

As for whether lowering personal CL will affect the business cards? That's a tougher question.

On the one hand, Chase views personal CLs and biz CLs as separate. You cannot move personal CLs to increase CLs on biz cards, or vice versa. However, Chase does view personal and biz CLs together for the purposes of calculating how much total credit they've already extended to you, and whether to approve you for a new card and more credit.

So in one sense, lowering personal CLs will not affect your existing biz cards. The biz cards continue to have the same CLs as they do now, unless you ask Chase to lower the biz CLs or Chase decides to raise or slash the CLs themselves.

In another sense, lowering personal CLs could increase your odds of approval for more Chase cards, both personal and biz. Or at least lower your risk of denial.

However, Chase seems to be a lot stingier with extending biz credit than personal credit. Personally, I can get approved for $15k-$30k CLs on personal cards, but then I cross my fingers for a $5k CL on my biz apps, especially if I already have other biz cards open with $5k+ CL. Cutting personal CLs seems to have some mild effect on how much CL I'll be approved for on a new biz card. I think cutting the CLs on your existing biz cards will probably have more of an effect. (In other words, if you're applying for a new Chase biz card, cut your biz CLs to open up more available biz CL for approval. Cut personal CLs if you’re getting close to 50% of HHI to avoid denial.) If you’re not using your other biz cards and don’t have plans to PC them, you can drop their CLs to $1k-$2k. If you do PC them, you'll want to make sure you have enough CL on it or on other biz cards to move to the card you want to PC to get its CL up to $5k.

Hope this helps.

What can I PC a CIP to?

 

[Lain]

What can I PC a CIP to?

CIC or CIU.