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

[dandi799]

I'm super duper new here and to this whole way of savings. Question #1 was the biggest eye opener for me that my husband and I should not be applying together if we want to maximize our benefits! The only downsides I've been able to see in my month at this is managing two payments/ accounts and double the annual fees. I manage the finances, so now I have to keep track of two bills instead of one, and watch the spending in two places. But with online banking, paperless billing, and a spreadsheet, it's been no biggie. And in return we're doubling our bonuses. I will likely product change (PC) to a no annual fee card for one of them next year... depends on how that affects the 5000 point anniversary bonus! The annual fee pays for itself with one flight with free baggage.

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all of that! It was very helpful! We also primarily use the AMEX blue cash preferred for groceries and gas, but also look for other cards after we have maxed out the 6x grocery limit. I really appreciate your help!

 

[WendiDarling]

Once I get done meeting my MSR on Wells Fargo (this month), I'll probably be mostly using my Citi DC as my main card. Where can I go to learn more about how to best way to use TY points? While I'm waiting for my CSP. Btw, I found out my WF Cash Wise Signature Visa has a 20% bonus on Apple Pay. So instead of 1.5x cash rewards, it's 1.8x on apple pay for the first year. I know nothing about WF Go Far Rewards, so any info on that would be great too!

ps. hope I said all that correct. i'm a TOTAL newbie so I feel like I'm speaking a foreign language

 

[Judique]

I'm super duper new here and to this whole way of savings. Question #1 was the biggest eye opener for me that my husband and I should not be applying together if we want to maximize our benefits! The only downsides I've been able to see in my month at this is managing two payments/ accounts and double the annual fees. I manage the finances, so now I have to keep track of two bills instead of one, and watch the spending in two places. But with online banking, paperless billing, and a spreadsheet, it's been no biggie. And in return we're doubling our bonuses. I will likely product change (PC) to a no annual fee card for one of them next year... depends on how that affects the 5000 point anniversary bonus! The annual fee pays for itself with one flight with free baggage.

I suppose another downside is there is no taking advantage of each other's credit wins or history. If one of you has less than stellar credit, keeping them apart means you can't piggyback off the "good" one.

Definitely take advantage of referring the other spouse once one of you gets a new card. It's essentially free money- something I never would have learned without this board!

We too don't travel much, though now that our kids are a little older and might actually remember and appreciate trips, I hope to change that. My impetus for starting in with credit cards like this is a Disney trip that is gonna cost a ton, and I was looking for ways to save. Having that goal is what is driving my current credit card plan, and it really is a plan I need to manage! If it helps another newbie, here's a loooooooooooooong post to share what *I* am doing for our family, in case it helps you think through what *you* should do!

Goal 1: Reduced or free flight to Orlando for 2022​

Goal 2: Reduced or free flight options to other vaca destinations such as Vegas, San Jose, Cancun where we have family connections, for April 2021 and beyond​

Goal 3: Reduced or free flights or hotel for a European anniversary trip for ??? whenever we can travel again?​

Goal 4: Continue to earn cash back on existing cards (AmEx and bank Visa) to defer Christmas expenses​

Plan for 1 & 2: We have no good airline hubs near us, but generally fly JetBlue and Southwest. With that in mind, I took advantage of a stellar JetBlue sign up bonus (SUB) for 60k points after only $1k of spending and the annual fee in 3 months. (Historically only 40k points.) I've also been using their shopping portal to earn extra points on things I would have bought anyway. (That's huge for us- no extraneous spending because that defeats the purpose of trying to save!) Between SUB and regular points for the $1000 spending, that's minimum 122,000 TrueBlue points.

Plan for 1, 2, & 3: I just this week got a CSP. With the $4k minimum spend requirement (MSR), it's a little higher and not just easy peasy to meet, so we'll slow up to earn that 60k points SUB. We have some big expenses on the horizon, but until it's on the books, I don't want to jump the gun. Like, our planned expense for summer camp went out the window with the 'Rona!

When I feel like we are getting close to hitting that MSR, I'll get a CSP for the hubs using a referral. That's 15k referral points and another 60k SUB. All those points plus points for $4k x 2 spending is a minimum of 143k points.

Plan for all 4: I am also thinking about tacking on a Chase Freedom card at some point, to take advantage of their quarterly 5x bonuses. We use our AmEx Blue Cash Preferred for gas (3x), grocery(6x upd to $6k) and streaming subscriptions (6x). We hit the $6k annual spend for groceries by June, so I'd like to have a different card to rack up higher points for that money we're already going to spend. The Freedom fits the bill with no annual fee. (These other 5 cards are going to cost $500 in annual fees, and that's my limit on what I want to spend for fees... I need to make sure I get back a decent amount over $500/annually to make the math work!) With the CF combined with the CSP, I can maximize earning points and then move them between cards to ensure I get the most bang for the points being cashed in. Those can be cash, hotels, or flights- I like that flexibility over JetBlue, which I'd only use for flights.

I don't relish the idea of juggling the CF to follow quarterly bonuses, so once we have accrued a stash of points, my husband and I will need to decide if earning travel points is the priority or if we want the cash back. That sounds like something you'll want to think about too- different cards are targeted for different goals, so look at where your money goes and think about how you most want to spend it before picking a card that best matches YOUR goals.

Good for you! This whole deal is like having a part time accounting job.

But, it makes you aware of your spending habits and after a while becomes pretty routine. The benefits can be awesome!

 

[elgerber]

OMG, Delta is making me crazy!!! I very much enjoyed my flight with them a couple of weeks ago, they did a great job with the COVID situation, and I am flying them again on Tuesday for my last visit to TN. HOWEVER, I have to modify my July 1st flight to December, and I can do so for no change of cost, because they changed my original flight by over 8 hours. Because of this, it can't be done online. I have been sending DM's on Twitter since last Thursday, trying via message from their app, made 3 Tweets in the last 2 days, and called multiple times, each time to be told they cannot take my call, try again later. Not a single response to any of those! I am so beyond annoyed!

 

[ten6mom]

PC #1 complete and the call took almost no time to go through! (I did listen to the automated menu drone on and on for much longer than I needed to before I started hitting "0").

Thanks all for your help. I did CIP > CIC.

 

[disfanforlife]

PC #1 complete and the call took almost no time to go through! (I did listen to the automated menu drone on and on for much longer than I needed to before I started hitting "0").

Thanks all for your help. I did CIP > CIC.

Glad to hear it! I need to have my DH this tomorrow. He hates making calls about credit cards.

 

[Albort]

Goal 1: Reduced or free flight to Orlando for 2022

Goal 2: Reduced or free flight options to other vaca destinations such as Vegas, San Jose, Cancun where we have family connections, for April 2021 and beyond​

Goal 3: Reduced or free flights or hotel for a European anniversary trip for ??? whenever we can travel again?​

Goal 4: Continue to earn cash back on existing cards (AmEx and bank Visa) to defer Christmas expenses​

​

a SW CP would save u a grip with Goal 1 and Goal 2.

Another set of questions, but first a refresher on where I am:

-2/19 Chase Biz Ink Unlimited
-This week was denied for CSP. Waiting for letter with more info, but we're assuming it's because my CS is 663.
-This week opened a BoA checking and savings account with a $300 statement credit with $4000 direct deposit. Working on building a relationship with BoA so I can go for their cash rewards card later.

Questions:
1. I'm understanding that biz cards don't affect your credit the same way personal cards do. Would being recently been denied a Chase personal make me less likely to be approved for another Chase biz?
2. Would applying for a biz look badly on my credit when I apply for a personal later?
3. Would having a Chase biz card already make me any more likely to be approved for another biz?

The one I'm looking at is the Ink Business Cash.

with your lowered Credit Score, id probably recommend getting a Freedom card instead. If they still deny you for that, id probably try a Discover IT card instead. Wait till u bring ur credit to over 700 before u can reapply for Chase cards again.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

We are planning on driving back to Toronto tomorrow morning. We were unsure when we planned our trip back if we would be able to make dd's high school graduation (originally scheduled on August 14th at the Broward Center). This morning I received an e-mail stating that the venue isn't able to guarantee they will remain open on August 14th so the school has moved the graduation to July 23rd (with the next 3 days as rain delay dates) on the football field. If we head back to Toronto tomorrow then I doubt we will be able to attend graduation on July 23rd as we will have to self-isolate in Toronto for 2 weeks upon arrival, plus another 2 weeks in Florida if we come back for the graduation and then another 2 weeks when we go back to Toronto. That's 6 weeks inside a house during the summer and I just don't think I can do it after most of the last 3 months inside . Plus dd has a job (that may or not start) as a summer camp counselor with the City of Toronto and there's no way she would be able to work if she had to self-isolate for 6 weeks. So in all likelihood we will miss her high school graduation. Which stinks as she had a perfect 5.0 GPA (all math and science AP courses), was very involved with school clubs and ran varsity track. I'm just a bit bummed and thought some of y'all might understand. Add to this the fact that her first semester of uni is going to be online and I feel just awful for these kids. On the plus side they are going to be a resilient group that are very accustomed to dealing with changes.

 

[wanderlust7]

Once I get done meeting my MSR on Wells Fargo (this month), I'll probably be mostly using my Citi DC as my main card. Where can I go to learn more about how to best way to use TY points? While I'm waiting for my CSP. Btw, I found out my WF Cash Wise Signature Visa has a 20% bonus on Apple Pay. So instead of 1.5x cash rewards, it's 1.8x on apple pay for the first year. I know nothing about WF Go Far Rewards, so any info on that would be great too!

ps. hope I said all that correct. i'm a TOTAL newbie so I feel like I'm speaking a foreign language

https://onemileatatime.com/citi-double-cash-thankyou-points/
You'll need a Citi Premier or Prestige to transfer into TY points and for more redemption options. The Citi Premier comes with 1.25x redemption through the Citi travel portal, but that is set to end on April 10, 2021. Unlike Chase, they have Disney options. It's just hard to rack up a lot of TY points.

 

[Lain]

Hey guys - I know I've been absent for a little while. I just wanted to check-in as we approach 1,000 pages on the year!

As many of you know, processing PPP loans took a lot out of me. 16-18 hour work days, 7 days a week, for over a month seriously took its toll. After it was over, unfortunately I let some bad habits persist... staying up until 3am, late night snacks, too much time spent in my basement. But back around Memorial Day, I felt like I needed to make some changes and I'm doing pretty well with things - so here's a bunch of updates in no particular order:

(Ok - I realize you might not read all of this, and that's ok...now that I'm done typing it, it's super long but it feels good to put it all out there).

• I've always avoided the news, it's one of my tenets of my FIRE journey - I only pay attention to things in my circle of control. Well I've taken that to the extreme. I've pulled entirely away from all news and it's so refreshing. Aside from the endless series of disappointments my kids are facing (no return to school, no piano recital, no dance recital, no soccer season, no golf camp, etc. etc. etc.) my life is seriously awesome right now. The world is not falling apart if I just stay in "my world"!
• I began riding a bike each morning. I live 5 minutes from the park, there's a 4 mile bike lane loop round-trip, I go ride it twice... it takes less than an hour and boy does that feel energizing. I wake up between 8:00 and 8:15 and I can be still be in front of my computer and working by 9:30 so it doesn't even affect my work schedule.
• BECAUSE I want to ride my bike, I go to bed at night. Once midnight comes, it's time to sleep! Seriously - I just needed a reason to go to bed, and the bike serves a great purpose. I'm consistently getting 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep AND I'm skipping the super unhealthy midnight snack that was plaguing me when I stayed up until 2am or 3am (this was my 2nd snack after the 10pm snack I have with my wife...yes...SUPER unhealthy).
• I'm eating dinner with the family each evening - I had gotten into the habit of allowing work to just span past 5:30pm or 6pm and then finally sit down for dinner maybe 15-20 minutes after the girls started. Well they'd almost be done and I'd miss out on the dinnertime conversation.
• We continued our family movie nights but mixed in some playing outside after dinner some days. During this whole stay-at-home mess we've watched ALL the Star Wars films in chronological order, all of Harry Potter, and now al of the Pixar films in release date order.
• I've resumed golfing - and I'm trying to fit a round a week in for work purposes. So how about this for a Monday... bike, then golf, then eat dinner with my family. Now that's a hard day's work, LOL! I'm also playing with my dad and my daughter on occasion and mixed in a round with my Dad, Uncle and cousin so plenty of golf in my life right now! And I had the round of my life on Monday this week shooting an 87.
• I'm not sure if I shared this here yet, but back around Memorial Day I spoke with my dad and we put Captiva back on the calendar! He was seriously in a "let's skip this year" mode but I told him that with all of the things we missed out on, I hate to miss out on one more thing. We're renting a 12 passenger van and making the drive, and we leave next Friday! It's going to be an amazing week! And then 2 weeks after we get back we're off to Myrtle Beach with my wife's family so I have 2 weeks of vacation in a 4 week span with 4th of July week in between (which is usually slow at work).
• This week we got to go out to eat one night as restaurants reopened here in PA (this made me way happier than I would've imagined) and we made a Walmart trip to buy some beach items we needed and it was great to just leave the house as a family (which we had not done much of during all of this).
• Last weekend we attended a family picnic at my in-laws and it was awesome to hang out with family in that setting! Seeing the kids play together, enjoying company and chatting, no masks...it literally felt normal! So many things in my life have started to feel normal again!
• I've moved my office to the porch. No more basement troll - seriously, spending 18 hours a day in the basement in April, eating meals at my computer, it was the most unhealthy thing you could imagine!! Being outside makes a world of difference! The last couple of days it topped 90 and that gets a tad warm during the day (we do have a full roof over the porch though) but honestly, the fresh air, sunshine and seeing all the animals roam the backyard does wonders for my well-being. I'm using the webex video capability more with my clients and they all seem to enjoy seeing that I'm working outside. Work is going pretty well. The bank never really gave us a break after the PPP chaos, but I don't really care. I just do what I want to do, when I want to do it, and I assume I'll do it well enough that they won't fire me, lol. After what they put us through, I'm just going to do my best and regain the work-life balance I need!

Now that all said, one casualty in all of this has been less time spent on internet and specifically less time for the various credit card and Disney related groups. This thread is certainly my homebase but I also participate in and contribute in numerous groups. I moderate DISchurners (although huge shout-out to @Albort who has helped with some of that recently as I pulled back). Something had to give, and I honestly was sinking hours a day into this and it needed to change. I still love this group, and I'm sure some balance will return where I'm here more. But for now, I need this.

So in summary, I'm doing REALLY well. I miss you guys, I'm glad to see so many people continuing to contribute here, and the time will come when I contribute more again too. Keep the DISchurners positivity flowing here - we all need it right now!!

Wow, I feel like I should check in too.

I decided to take a step back from the internet when all that's happening in the world made a lot of online discussion a bit too heated just as I was finding myself with a lot less personal time sheltering in place / wfh / homeschooling. I'm still churnin' churnin' churnin', but canceling spring and now summer trips, while planning for late 2020 - into 2021, and hoping the world will be in a better place by then. I appreciate all of you who reached out to me in the thread and privately. I’m so far behind, I’ll never catch up.

 

[jenmsmith]

Question about calling Chase. I’m an AU on DH’s SW personal (this was a rookie mistake, I know.) AF has hit and I’d like to ask about a retention offer as I saw here that a statement credit is possible. Will DH have to call, or can I do it since I’m an AU?

 

[Lain]

Question about calling Chase. I’m an AU on DH’s SW personal (this was a rookie mistake, I know.) AF has hit and I’d like to ask about a retention offer as I saw here that a statement credit is possible. Will DH have to call, or can I do it since I’m an AU?

Have DH call, authorize you to speak on his behalf, and put you on the phone. Nothing unusual about P2 being in charge of the household finances.

ETA: I should add that while an AU can call in about some matters, like authorizing certain charges, clearing fraud flags, disputing charges, etc.; fishing for a retention offer requires you to be willing to (or at least hint you'll) close the card, which only the primary cardholder can do (or authorize you to do), if you don't get the statement credit.

 

[punkin]

I have a bunch of renovation expenses coming up and no MSR, so DH just referred me for a Chase Sapphire Preferred. Instant approval. I still have to call chase and downgrade my United card and Citi to cancel my AA card.

 

[Lain]

cancel my AA card.

AA Biz?

 

[punkin]

AA Biz?

Yes. I belive it is a biz. I hardly used it. I got that one and Barclay's AA one right after the other. Barely used that one after MSR also.

 

[afan]

OMG, Delta is making me crazy!!! I very much enjoyed my flight with them a couple of weeks ago, they did a great job with the COVID situation, and I am flying them again on Tuesday for my last visit to TN. HOWEVER, I have to modify my July 1st flight to December, and I can do so for no change of cost, because they changed my original flight by over 8 hours. Because of this, it can't be done online. I have been sending DM's on Twitter since last Thursday, trying via message from their app, made 3 Tweets in the last 2 days, and called multiple times, each time to be told they cannot take my call, try again later. Not a single response to any of those! I am so beyond annoyed!

It's a delta issue as a whole. I follow the delta reddit and people which much sooner flights are having the same issue. Within the past week or so they called people back to the call center for work so in another week or so it should start getting better. Guessing they weren't able/didn't want all the csr's working from home like other biz did and we just never heard about it.

 

[Sadiemae76]

I recently pc'd my CSP to CS. I had the card for three years, barely used it and didn't want to pay the AF. Anyway, I am now thinking I would like to start a UR collection. Since the biz cards are off the table is it ok to apply for a new CSP? Or should I try something else?

 

[jaysraptor]

Once I get done meeting my MSR on Wells Fargo (this month), I'll probably be mostly using my Citi DC as my main card. Where can I go to learn more about how to best way to use TY points? While I'm waiting for my CSP. Btw, I found out my WF Cash Wise Signature Visa has a 20% bonus on Apple Pay. So instead of 1.5x cash rewards, it's 1.8x on apple pay for the first year. I know nothing about WF Go Far Rewards, so any info on that would be great too!

ps. hope I said all that correct. i'm a TOTAL newbie so I feel like I'm speaking a foreign language

@WendiDarling

Here is some info on Wells Fargo Go Far Rewards.

Before I came across this thread on the Dis, P2 and I each had a Wells Fargo Rewards Visa Signature card. After we got married, I got an AU card on her account and her account became our joint banking account. We would put as much of our organic spend on the card attached to our joint account. We used quite a few points for flights in 2017 to fly to Orlando in the fall for our Disney vacation. I believe we only had about 35k or 40k points left after the trip. At the time, since we were putting so much spend on that card, the points value for flights was worth 1.75CPP, but all other redemption's (Disney Hotels, Universal Hotels, Cruises, Car rental etc.. )were valued a 1CPP. Since we got the WF propel cards adding to the point total, the value for flights is now 1.5CPP and all other redemption's are still valued at 1CPP. Up until June of 2019, all spend would go to the WF Rewards card, so we got that card up to ~150k points. P2 applied for the WF Propel personal card towards the end of 2019 and earned 30k for 3k spend in 3 months, and I followed after with the same card. The value changed from her app to mine. Mine was 20k points for 1k spend in 3 months. We currently have about ~213k points. P2 applied for the Wells Fargo Business Platinum Credit Card last week and was approved. When we get close to meeting the MSR, I will apply for that card as well. If both of us get approved for the WF business cards, that will be another 50k each plus the points on the 5k spend in 3 months for a total of ~323k.

Combining points is really simple. There are 2 ways you can do it. You can create a WF Go Far Rewards Pool account for a specific goal, like vacation and have both P1 and P2 points going towards that Pool account. That type of Go Far Rewards Pool account you can create it as a 12 month, 24 month, or 36 month pool, and then it expires. Or you can gift the points from one player to another into the regular Go Far Rewards account that gets created with your card/account. I just gift my points to our regular joint Rewards account. One nice thing doing it this way is it does not need to be done in a specific amount like 1000 or 2500. It can be all of the points or some of the points in any denomination.

 

[jaysraptor]

PC #1 complete and the call took almost no time to go through! (I did listen to the automated menu drone on and on for much longer than I needed to before I started hitting "0").

Thanks all for your help. I did CIP > CIC.

I will be doing the same this weekend. Not sure if I want to PC to a CIC or CIU. P2 will have to do this also in the next few months.

 

[havaneselover]

Weird DCL refund issue--I was supposed to get back about $1,500 for DS for our cancelled Alaska cruise because I only rebooked for DD and me for next summer (DS has no interest in Europe). And DCL told me I'd get it back in 16 gift cards. But today they sent me two gift cards with about $1,900 on them. I'm confused but am not asking questions.