I love credit cards so much! v4.0 - 2021 (see first page for add'l details)

[SouthFayetteFan]

I totally didn't know that. Now I can wait and call when we get ready to use them.

I totally would not wait though! @CyndiLouWho said this as well - I'd want control of that account ASAP to verify that all is good!

Does anyone have a sense of how many biz cards Chase is allowing a person to hold now that they started issuing them again to SP?

I will answer this with an ode to my boy @PolyRob and our love of mean girls gifs:

Generally, proper pacing and your desire to purge old cards will keep you at a reasonable number. Maybe 5-8 cards open at a time (or for many far less). But in reality, there is no hard limit like there is with issuers such as Amex.

The r-word is verboten here, so I fixed that in the quote. You can cross-support with no problem. He should make sure he gets his points first before he closes his account. I'm not sure when they will post, I imagine it will be at statement close.

This is a good mention on the new thread. Whenever possible, please avoid using the "R" word and instead substitute "support" or "support link". I've even seen some use "supportal". There are some strange people out there on the DIS and we've generated reports to mods in the past when simply suggesting using a support link between spouses or friends. Ok, Ok, We get it unfriendly DISers, it's banned on the DIS, and so we decided to "ban" the word on our thread to avoid unwanted attention, lol!

You don't get in trouble if you use the word, but we do gently nudge people to avoid it!

I would consider contacting SW just to make sure someone didn't hack your accounts. Rewards accounts are hacked all the time, has even happened to a few on this thread.

I "Liked" this post and the DIS prompted me with a message asking if I REALLY wanted to like it... I guess I'm handing out too many reactions and they wanted to make sure I wasn't a bot, haha!

 

[platamama]

Just curious, does any CC give extra rewards on tax payments? I always just use EFT from my bank account, but will have a large payment due in April so may open a new card for MSR.

No CC gives extra rewards on tax payments, but I'm meeting a $15K MSR on a Biz Plat which earns 1.5MR if the charge is $5000+ (it's 1MR otherwise). My payment essentially gets me to my 100K MR SUB. Since I have a Schwab Plat that I can cash out 1MR at 1.25x, the 1.87% fee I paid is offset by the 1.875% I earned on the payment (1.5 x 1.25 = 1.875), so I look at it as being pretty much the same as if I wrote a check. It was a low stress way for me to meet my MSR so it was worth it to me because it would be effort for me to otherwise spend $15K in 90 days. I chatted to move my statement close date out further, which should make my payment due later in 2021, potentially making it possible for my tax refund to pay for the Biz Plat bill. Knowing me though, I won't get things filed right away so I'll probably have to float it for a month or two. The tax payment is an easy strategy to meeting MSR as long as you feel ok with the fee associated with the payment!

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I believe it is about 1/2 your income or max $70kish.

Looks like I really need to go lower some limits then, I'm over 1/2 my income, LOL. But maybe the fact I'm a banking customer with them since birth and on my mom's accounts, so I look like I have a lot more money helps, LOL. Nonetheless, I'll cut back my freedom.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Pretty sure we can't afford first class, even with points/miles. I have a bunch of AA miles and URs. Any idea on comparison between AA, UA, and BA for Biz class or premium econ? We've never flown first/Biz but would obviously prefer an upgrade for longer flight. We fly out of ORD so should have nonstop choices available. We did PE on UA to China which was tolerable but swore me off UA after that as flight attendants were extremely rude.
ETA: Checking current routes, AA Biz non stop to LHR has fully lie flat seats, which seems a good deal. Likely my first choice.
Also any hotel and sightseeing recs welcome. We'd probably be there 5-7 days for Spring Break. DS really wants to see a football (soccer) game at Tottenham.

I have flown AA, UA, and BA all in Business, but only BA in PE quite a while ago. I recall that it was fine, but not great. My favorite PE product by far is Virgin Atlantic, but I hesitate to recommend them due to their viability issues.They are pretty much on fumes right now. For business seats, it really depends on the plane. I've had some horrible Business flights on UA, but I think they've mostly gotten rid of the old formations. We flew Polaris LHR to SFO a couple weeks ago and it was nice--comparable to British Air. I flew American once from LHR to LAX, but those miles are harder to get and they don't have a direct out of SFO so not really on my radar. My advice is to start playing around with dates from your city and get a feel for availability and price. I put a huge premium on non-stop flights so I'm pretty tied to BA, VS, and United out of SFO. United's awards charts have been so crazy lately and Avios are so easy to earn (both Amex and Chase), that I'm almost exclusively BA these days.

I have TONS of recs for sightseeing, but I'm not going to be much help on hotels as we have a timeshare in London and before that we always rented a flat in Mayfair. I've stayed at the Paddington Hilton a few times, and it's great for the Airport as well as the hotel at Victoria station for the same reason.

I love that your son wants to see a game there. That's a next-level-tourist choice IMO We went to a Chelsea game and it was so fun--and different.

Have you been to London before? My recs would depend on that and the ages of you kids. But in general ...
--Tower of London is a must and my #1
--Westminster Abbey with a visit to the Queen's Jubilee galleries; also a visit later in the evening when they have evensong is incredible.
--Harry Potter Studio Tour if you are fans
--British Museum to see at the very least: Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles, Sutton Hoo, and Lindow Man. I recommend the scones in the Pizzeria
--London Museum is great for kids.
--Churchill War Rooms are amazing for any WW2 buffs and even those who are not. I was blown away. It was one of those things we always put off, but that was a mistake.
--Walks in the Royal Parks. Not to be missed. If you have little ones, the Princess of Wales playground is amazing. We like doing the Princess Diana Memorial Walk (you can go by Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, etc.), but there are endless routes. If you like riding, check out the stables there. You can also venture a little further afield and do walks around Hampstead Heath with a visit to the cemetery there that has lots of famous folks.
--RIB boat tour on the Thames; full throttle fun for all ages
--Any foodies? We love going to Borough Market for lunch and treats.
--I have a love/hate with Harrods, but if you haven't been it's worth a visit.
--See a show! We have great luck going to the box office the day of the performance and getting cheap tickets, but you can also try the half-price ticket booth.
--When in doubt London Walks is a tour company that has various walks around London that last about 2 hours and cost £10 for adults. They are fabulous and we've done a ton of them, including day trips to Greenwich, Stonehenge, Oxford, Cambridge, etc. They also do great pub walks and a top-notch Jack the Ripper nighttime tour.

Those are my personal favorites, but London has endless things to do. I always chuckle when people ask me if a few days is too long in London. I've been to London easily months over the years, and I'm still doing new things, LOL.

 

[calypso726]

November - WDW, CBR - Girls Weekend, supposed to be for W&D races but we still went and enjoyed the parks instead! @calypso726 - I actually saw you at Homecomin' during brunch one morning - I recognized that gorgeous hair of yours! Also, happy belated birthday (from a fellow Capricorn)!

Oh Wow! Thank you for the compliments on the hair I don’t mind meeting fellow DISers in real life and always welcome a friendly “hello”. Wishing you a Happy early/belated or actual Birthday to you as well

 

[afan]

Finally remembered to sign up for the Peleton app to use the CSR credit. It's also giving 2 months free now, so combined with the 120 you can get almost an entire year for free. It's 12.99 a month, don't know what the tax will make it.

No CC gives extra rewards on tax payments, but I'm meeting a $15K MSR on a Biz Plat which earns 1.5MR if the charge is $5000+ (it's 1MR otherwise). My payment essentially gets me to my 100K MR SUB. Since I have a Schwab Plat that I can cash out 1MR at 1.25x, the 1.87% fee I paid is offset by the 1.875% I earned on the payment (1.5 x 1.25 = 1.875), so I look at it as being pretty much the same as if I wrote a check. It was a low stress way for me to meet my MSR so it was worth it to me because it would be effort for me to otherwise spend $15K in 90 days. I chatted to move my statement close date out further, which should make my payment due later in 2021, potentially making it possible for my tax refund to pay for the Biz Plat bill. Knowing me though, I won't get things filed right away so I'll probably have to float it for a month or two. The tax payment is an easy strategy to meeting MSR as long as you feel ok with the fee associated with the payment!

Once I get my rental sold, once I can get a contractor to actually give me an estimate and not just say they will, my plan is to do this as well so I don't have to worry as much about the sale when I do my taxes next year. Will just have to decide then whether I use a current card or app for the Aspire. Will depend on how much of the house fix up I can put on my hyatt for the 15k fnc.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I have flown AA, UA, and BA all in Business, but only BA in PE quite a while ago. I recall that it was fine, but not great. My favorite PE product by far is Virgin Atlantic, but I hesitate to recommend them due to their viability issues.They are pretty much on fumes right now. For business seats, it really depends on the plane. I've had some horrible Business flights on UA, but I think they've mostly gotten rid of the old formations. We flew Polaris LHR to SFO a couple weeks ago and it was nice--comparable to British Air. I flew American once from LHR to LAX, but those miles are harder to get and they don't have a direct out of SFO so not really on my radar. My advice is to start playing around with dates from your city and get a feel for availability and price. I put a huge premium on non-stop flights so I'm pretty tied to BA, VS, and United out of SFO. United's awards charts have been so crazy lately and Avios are so easy to earn (both Amex and Chase), that I'm almost exclusively BA these days.

I have TONS of recs for sightseeing, but I'm not going to be much help on hotels as we have a timeshare in London and before that we always rented a flat in Mayfair. I've stayed at the Paddington Hilton a few times, and it's great for the Airport as well as the hotel at Victoria station for the same reason.

I love that your son wants to see a game there. That's a next-level-tourist choice IMO We went to a Chelsea game and it was so fun--and different.

Have you been to London before? My recs would depend on that and the ages of you kids. But in general ...
--Tower of London is a must and my #1
--Westminster Abbey with a visit to the Queen's Jubilee galleries; also a visit later in the evening when they have evensong is incredible.
--Harry Potter Studio Tour if you are fans
--British Museum to see at the very least: Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles, Sutton Hoo, and Lindow Man. I recommend the scones in the Pizzeria
--London Museum is great for kids.
--Churchill War Rooms are amazing for any WW2 buffs and even those who are not. I was blown away. It was one of those things we always put off, but that was a mistake.
--Walks in the Royal Parks. Not to be missed. If you have little ones, the Princess of Wales playground is amazing. We like doing the Princess Diana Memorial Walk (you can go by Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, etc.), but there are endless routes. If you like riding, check out the stables there. You can also venture a little further afield and do walks around Hampstead Heath with a visit to the cemetery there that has lots of famous folks.
--RIB boat tour on the Thames; full throttle fun for all ages
--Any foodies? We love going to Borough Market for lunch and treats.
--I have a love/hate with Harrods, but if you haven't been it's worth a visit.
--See a show! We have great luck going to the box office the day of the performance and getting cheap tickets, but you can also try the half-price ticket booth.
--When in doubt London Walks is a tour company that has various walks around London that last about 2 hours and cost £10 for adults. They are fabulous and we've done a ton of them, including day trips to Greenwich, Stonehenge, Oxford, Cambridge, etc. They also do great pub walks and a top-notch Jack the Ripper nighttime tour.

Those are my personal favorites, but London has endless things to do. I always chuckle when people ask me if a few days is too long in London. I've been to London easily months over the years, and I'm still doing new things, LOL.

Thanks for the wealth of info! Never been to England or even Europe before. My son is 11 and a hardcore English soccer fan and Tottenham is his team, we were up at 0630 today watching the game (which they nicely won). We are also totally foodies, so that rec is appreciated. After a bunch of research today, I find AA has nonstops from ORD to LHR daily with lie flat business seats. Right now, and into later this year, they seem cheap at 130k miles RT pp. Between DH and I, we have around 400k AA miles due to a certain train. DH had a 60k CitiAA mailer, which he applied for and got instant approval for today.
In looking at London hotels, I looked at a number today and found the Doubletree Westminster seemed reasonably priced and decent location. Anyone stay there?

 

[becauseimnew]

Can you all recommend a suitcase for a 2 week summer trip. We want to do 4 carry-ons and 4 backpacks.
We have 2 away suit cases, but I feel like soft-cases would probably fit more stuff.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I’ve been mostly a lurker on this thread for 2 yrs now. As a family of 6, we’ve taken some amazing and pretty expensive trips (nothing international but wonderful non the less). After 2020 though, I was kind of bitter and haven’t done much besides charge everything to Chase Freedom and let the points accumulate on my CSR.

Planned for 2020:
-March 3 days Miami, FL to Key West and back before 7 day Royal Caribbean cruise. URs covered $4k of cruise...all a miami and KW hotels on points...cruise cancelled 14 hrs before boarding. Spent $5k out of pocket on a last minute cancellation in Siesta Key and rented a Suburban to drive home to Ohio. Took 6 months to get refunded URs and $$ and STILL dealing with $1,000 flight credit :/
-July 16 day round trip flying into vegas and doing a big loop from Grand Canyon to Yellowstone and back (cancelled) - instead did 3 nights in Gatlinburg and 7 nights in St Pete (did not enjoy!)
-November - 15 yr anniversary trip to Grand Cayman (cancelled)

2021 planned:
*found out in July we are pregnant with #5...between this and having two teens now, traveling is becoming a tad harder
March 2021 - Siesta Key (cancelled as I’m due with baby 3/16)
July - 1 month road trip from
Ohio to My Rushmore to Yellowstone thru Utah and Colorado and back (combo of camper and free hotel stays)
Nov - ????

I think our bitterness has finally started the wear off (although getting SW CP in Mar 2020 still hurts) and we’re ready to get back into the game. Likely we’ll need to start with lowering CC limits, cancelling a few cards and then when the time comes applying again...

We also have no rental property remodels on the horizon so we may try Amazon FBA as a way to reach some of the Chase Biz MS requirements. DH had just gotten back into 4/24 zone in Apr 2020.

Congrats on #5. We have four and always joke we’ll have a couple every decade. We’re in our early 40s, so it’s time again. With our last set, I took my newborn son with to sign my other son up for driver’s ed. Gross! But I wouldn’t have it any other way! It’s truly magical.

Has anybody received their Bonvoy 5 free nights SUB? My closing date was 1 week ago and it hasn't posted yet.

Received ours almost immediately, within days

We aren't flying anytime soon, but I need to make a purchase through my husband's Rapid Rewards account before the end of this month to keep his 65K points. The problem is that I can't login. I know the RR account number and password (from a spreadsheet), but it doesn't work. Even the security question answers are wrong. Have any of you had to call because you couldn't login?

You should be able to log in with email OR rr#.The suggestions of hacking are good ones to watch out for.

Happy that the Plat credits continue in 2021, I've changed my Spotify ($15) & Netflix ($16) accounts to use Paypal. Yay for 6 months of $1 streaming.

Thanks for this great recommendation.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Thanks for the wealth of info! Never been to England or even Europe before. My son is 11 and a hardcore English soccer fan and Tottenham is his team, we were up at 0630 today watching the game (which they nicely won). We are also totally foodies, so that rec is appreciated. After a bunch of research today, I find AA has nonstops from ORD to LHR daily with lie flat business seats. Right now, and into later this year, they seem cheap at 130k miles RT pp. Between DH and I, we have around 400k AA miles due to a certain train. DH had a 60k CitiAA mailer, which he applied for and got instant approval for today.
In looking at London hotels, I looked at a number today and found the Doubletree Westminster seemed reasonably priced and decent location. Anyone stay there?

130k miles sounds like a great deal for RT business, especially if the taxes are low. Not sure how much American's award tickets vary by season, but others may have experience with them. So fun about the soccer--you guys will have a blast. Don't be surprised when you see very drunk people on the tube going to the games. They don't sell alcohol in the stadiums except in the VIP clubs so fans get liquored up before hand, LOL. Definitely get tickets for the Harry Potter studio. Your son will love it if he watches the movies. It's really cool. I went there right when it opened, and I keep meaning to go back, but the tickets tend to sell out so definitely pick them up ahead of time. You will love London. It's my favorite city in the world (or at least the parts of the world I've visited). DH and I are actually doing some light house-hunting in the UK for a vacation/pre-retirement home. We'll see ...

 

[spacerangerqueen]

I’m sorry you were laid off

Good luck with your new business. CIU or CIC would be worth getting as long as you meet the spend.

Love that you and coworker have started a new company! I hope that you are very successful with it.

Sorry that you were laid off but impressed that you are quickly taking other actions. Good for you!

Not sure about the card acquisition, but know that something will come along, if you keep on trying and working towards your goals.

Pixie dust and good vibes for you.

Thank you! It was rough at first, but I am really excited about the potential of this new business. We had actually been joking about starting something for a bit before the shutdown so this in a way was the push we needed.

Sorry to hear about your layoff, but I admire you for taking charge and starting up your own business. Best of luck to you!

For business accounts/cards, I'm old-school and would suggest you start by looking at banks that have a local footprint so that you can get personal assistance if you ever need it. I was going to suggest looking for bank bonuses (taxable income for the EIN) and SUBs but I have no idea how that would play out fairly with your coworker, like who gets the bonus etc. If you have Chase branches near you, they often offer bonuses on checking and savings accounts, and the CIC card with 5% for office supply, cell phone, internet categories that could be a nice way to go for a business card for a design business.

Thanks! Part of the appeal of the Amex card was that the bonus was a $250 statement credit, so it would just benefit the business as a whole, but that's a good point that I should really focus on that aspect and not points for me.
I had been looking at Suntrust as they had a decent business bonus and have many branches nearby. Chase is also all over the place here, but they have always turned me down from opening a personal account stating my mortgage is too small (and me refinancing it this summer probably doesn't make me more appealing). I may have to pop into a branch and discuss in person.

 

[djmeredith]

I called Marriott about not receiving my SUB reward nights. Turns out they had created a new rewards acct for me when I signed up for the card, even though I put in my existing rewards acct number on the app. The nights had been in the new acct since Dec. 4. They helped me submit an online request to merge the 2 accts. In hindsight, I should've realized that I wasn't receiving my monthly spend points over the last couple of months. I'm just glad that's all it was because I was panicking thinking I had done something wrong and missed out on the SUB.

 

[GlamMistress]

Well I am completely in the thick of a master bath remodel. Don't worry, DH started buying supplies without telling me so of course I didn't have a new card ready with a SUB.

Been working on my annual new year declutter-a-thon as well. I have many donations ready. Need to get up and keep working again... happy new year everyone!

 

[trstno1]

CONGRATS!! Were you previously facing a pop-up on this or was this her first attempt?

1st attempt - I was undecided about whether to apply, and I almost waited too long to triple dip the airline credit. Missed the first Sachs credit, but I just couldn't muster the effort to find a $50 item on Sachs.

 

[wisconsinmom]

I need a new SUB. I'm debating between the IHG card or trying for a CIC. I'm at 2/24 but later this month will be 1/24. We are sitting on about 300,000 UR points and have plenty of SW points and 2 CPs. In a couple of months, I'll be eligible for a Sapphire bonus again but I'm waiting until later this year for that one. I feel like the points from the IHG card would be great for some long weekends utilizing the free 4th night. Any thoughts?

 

[gottalovepluto]

highlighted by DoC today, yesterday r/churning had a report of a $450 CSR renewal AF charged in Jan instead of $550. An interesting comment on that report was downvoted, and might be hidden depending on your settings, but it points out the poster would have been told this on their Nov statement. My AF is due 2/1, I checked my Dec statement and there is a note on page 1 my $450 AF will be charged 2/1.

There is no official word from Chase on how long this will go on.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

New year updates to my spreadsheets and need to be reminded which items trigger AMEX Hilton Aspire airline credit. I am never able to max this out.
Does anything on SW trigger?

 

[platamama]

highlighted by DoC today, yesterday r/churning had a report of a $450 CSR renewal AF charged in Jan instead of $550. An interesting comment on that report was downvoted, and might be hidden depending on your settings, but it points out the poster would have been told this on their Nov statement. My AF is due 2/1, I checked my Dec statement and there is a note on page 1 my $450 AF will be charged 2/1.

There is no official word from Chase on how long this will go on.

Thanks for sharing! I went to check my Dec statement and it says the same as yours: "Your annual membership fee in the amount of $450.00 will be billed on 02/01/2021."

I got a $150 statement credit on 12/1 and have already gotten the $300 travel/groceries/gas credit on my Dec statement too so it's a net $0 AF card for the next year. CSR has been great!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thanks for sharing! I went to check my Dec statement and it says the same as yours: "Your annual membership fee in the amount of $450.00 will be billed on 02/01/2021."

I got a $150 statement credit on 12/1 and have already gotten the $300 travel/groceries/gas credit on my Dec statement too so it's a net $0 AF card for the next year. CSR has been great!

Plus with the $60 DoorDash live again, Chase is paying you!

 

[platamama]

New year updates to my spreadsheets and need to be reminded which items trigger AMEX Hilton Aspire airline credit. I am never able to max this out.
Does anything on SW trigger?

Yes, same as on any of the other Am Ex cards. Buy a <$100 fare.

ETA: I had a $109 fare credit on my Aspire last year but I was biting my nails about it the whole time.