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

[ski_mom]

I was able to add the extra 5x on my SW card this morning that was not showing up before. All of DH's cobranded cards have the offers but NONE of mine do. Weird.

Speaking of SW, I tried again this morning to activate the 5x promo for April-June and it worked! This time 5x on all purchases up to $1500.

Thanks for the reminder - I was able to activate it too!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

FYI - Southwest extended their schedule this morning for flights through November 1, 2021.

Also, Here is my usual Historical Southwest Release Dates (for planning purposes) comment. (prettier formatting seen HERE)

Release Date | Travel Through
next release: TBD | TBD**
4/1/21 | November 1, 2021
12/10/20 | August 16, 2021
8/13/20 | April 11th, 2021
5/28/20 | January 4th, 2021
3/12/20 | October 30th, 2020
12/11/19 | August 10th, 2020
10/30/19 | June 6th, 2020
9/26/19 | April 13th, 2020
8/15/19 | March 6th, 2020
5/30/19 | January 5th, 2020
3/15/19 | November 2nd, 2019
1/31/19 | October 1st, 2019
11/15/18 | August 5th, 2019
9/27/18 | June 8th, 2019
** FYI this is subject to change and isn't always available on release day

The chart above shows approx. the last 2 year's worth of releases. Earlier data can be seen here in one of my prior posts. This information could be useful to approximate when your travel time may become available for upcoming releases, however they don't always follow the exact same pattern (as you can see above).
For those that care about "release timing" it can vary, but here are the recent "go live" of previous releases including today:

Release Date | Time (eastern)
4/1/20 | 9:10am
12/10/20 | 7:15am
8/13/20 | 9:15am
5/28/20 | 9:06am
3/12/20 | 9:40am
12/11/19 | 9:10am
10/30/19 | 7:15am
9/26/19 | 7:30am
8/15/19 | 10:41am
5/30/19 | 9:20am

 

[hsmamato2]

Anyone else patiently (on impatiently) waiting to see is CSP New 80,000 SUB will soon be allowed by referral. Waiting to do MDD but am seeing if referrals come available as they did last time...

Nope. too impatient to wait. I kinda wish I had waited a week now but that's ok....thrilled for the opportunity here again! (it's been a long 4 years)

 

[hsmamato2]

I am planning a mid May visit to Acadia...I noticed once the 'season' starts' they're doing reservation times to drive up Cadillac Mountain....I'm glad we're going pre 'season'! And I'm super excited b/c we haven't traveled anywhere since last February ...even tho Acadia isn't exotic,I'm so looking forward to a few days of some different sightseeing!
....Since my short (wasted) trip to the mall yesterday taught me a bit about myself and personal comfort levels ( I got out of there pretty fast,it made me really antsy,too many unmasked people hanging around indoors) A car trip of a few hours is the most exciting thing I can think of right now!

 

[ski_mom]

Ugg - I messed up on my AmEx $30 Paypal credit. I had $18 left to get, so placed an order from Walmart to use it. I had received a $6 shipping credit from paypal for a return that I had made and it used that credit first and only charged my AmEx card $12, so I basically wasted that extra $6 that I had gotten back from the shipping refund. This stuff is so hard to use to it's fullest advantage!!

 

[disfanforlife]

Excited to book SW flights for September! It will be almost 2 years by the time we go back. Planning to book another flight in November as soon as the next booking window opens.

 

[disfanforlife]

Thanks for the reminder - I was able to activate it too!

I added it to my card too, thanks!

 

[elgerber]

I added it to my card too, thanks!

Ugh, I can get it on the Disney card I don't use, but not on the one that I do.

 

[RhodyKP]

Ugh, I can get it on the Disney card I don't use, but not on the one that I do.

I also can't get it on my Disney Premier, which rn is the only Chase card I have. BOOOOOOOOOO

 

[GlamMistress]

Can anyone remind me - does TSA precheck renewal code as travel on Amex?

 

[RhodyKP]

I wanted to try for a CSR/CSP MDD on Monday. My last approval was less than 90 days, though (it'll be 68 days on Monday). Is that too soon? I'll have a lot of expenses this month and I'm going to Disney on 5/1 so I wanted to put all that to MSR.

Incidentally, I just checked my Transunion credit report and the last hard pull listed is July 2020, even though my new Amex Plat is on there. Could that possibly help me with the MDD?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I wanted to try for a CSR/CSP MDD on Monday. My last approval was less than 90 days, though (it'll be 68 days on Monday). Is that too soon? I'll have a lot of expenses this month and I'm going to Disney on 5/1 so I wanted to put all that to MSR.

Incidentally, I just checked my Transunion credit report and the last hard pull listed is July 2020, even though my new Amex Plat is on there. Could that possibly help me with the MDD?

The 90 day recommendation is between Chase card applications ...are you 68 days from a Chase application or the Amex Plat ?
Amex usually doesn’t do a hard pull if you already have one of their cards

 

[RhodyKP]

The 90 day recommendation is between Chase card applications ...are you 68 days from a Chase application or the Amex Plat ?
Amex usually doesn’t do a hard pull if you already have one of their cards

Ahhhhhhhh, okay. I'm 68 days from the Amex. I'm almost 2 years from my last Chase approval. And good to know about Amex and hard pulls. Thanks!!

 

[wanderlust7]

Can anyone remind me - does TSA precheck renewal code as travel on Amex?

Only the Amex Green has a general travel spending category, I guessing it wouldn't count. Or are you thinking of the TSA pre credit that many cards come with?

 

[trenty]

For anyone contemplating this hobby, but not sure you can do it without getting a lot of cards - it is doable on a small scale. Yes, taking advantage of SUBs and churning is very lucrative. I have said it here before that I am in awe of the people who can do that; I don't have it in me. That being said, with my 6 cards that I do not churn I was able to:

-book SW flights for a summer DW trip - 4 round trip tickets - only OOP was the $5.60 each fee. I could cover this with my Discover IT cash back if I wanted; but I won't.
-buy 3 Park Hopper/Water park tix for 8 days using MRs, URs and a few other minor reward things - no OOP. (4th park hopper was bought by the friend who will be traveling with us)
-have DVC so no OOP there except my dues (which I sometimes cover with rewards).
-will get Disney GC using MRs and URs from now until the trip to hopefully have no (or very little) OOP food and expenses while at DW. Also currently taking advantage of 5x rewards on the Chase Disney card that rarely use.

So if I can pull off getting enough Disney GCs with my CC rewards this 8 day vacation will cost me $44.80 (and DVC dues which I pay whether I go on vacation or not). I currently have enough MRs and URs to cover all meals and have some extra spending money.

So if you think you can't get a free or an almost free vacation without serious churning, think again. Careful planning and careful use of CC rewards makes it possible. I put just about all household expenses that don't require converting MOs, etc or cost me more money to use CC on my 6 cards.

Disclaimer: you need to always pay your CC bills in full or this hobby is not worth it. I pay them weekly - sometimes more than weekly.

ETA: the only annual fee card I have is the CSP ($95) and I pay that fee with my Discover IT cash back. So no AFs for me either. And I won’t do business cards.

ETA2: If once you find that you can do this on a small scale, you can try churning or expand your card collection at your comfort level. I do very occasionally add or replace a card. Most recently I swapped my CF for the CFF and got P2 the CFU.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I have the below offer on my plat AmEx. Is it worth getting dd a card? Could I also get the dog a card (or does AmEx require a SSN for each card member?) and between the 2 cards get 40K MRs and 1 x $175.00 AF?

"When you add Additional Card Members, you can earn 20,000 Membership Rewards® points after they spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in their first 6 months of Card Membership. You're just a couple clicks away from adding Card Members. What are you waiting for? The annual fee for up to three Additional Platinum Cards is $175."

 

[Alexle2007]

R

I have the below offer on my plat AmEx. Is it worth getting dd a card? Could I also get the dog a card (or does AmEx require a SSN for each card member?) and between the 2 cards get 40K MRs and 1 x $175.00 AF?

"When you add Additional Card Members, you can earn 20,000 Membership Rewards® points after they spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in their first 6 months of Card Membership. You're just a couple clicks away from adding Card Members. What are you waiting for? The annual fee for up to three Additional Platinum Cards is $175."

You can probably get her the Gold card for free instead of the Plat for that MR bonus. It will come with the TSA credit but not the lounge access.

 

[wanderlust7]

I have the below offer on my plat AmEx. Is it worth getting dd a card? Could I also get the dog a card (or does AmEx require a SSN for each card member?) and between the 2 cards get 40K MRs and 1 x $175.00 AF?

"When you add Additional Card Members, you can earn 20,000 Membership Rewards® points after they spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in their first 6 months of Card Membership. You're just a couple clicks away from adding Card Members. What are you waiting for? The annual fee for up to three Additional Platinum Cards is $175."

It's 5000 points after spending $2000 per AU up to 20k. The way it's worded is misleading. I think you can do the no fee gold AU though. Worth it for your DD only if she doesn't need the 5/24 slot. I would not get it for the dog.

 

[becauseimnew]

For anyone contemplating this hobby, but not sure you can do it without getting a lot of cards - it is doable on a small scale. Yes, taking advantage of SUBs and churning is very lucrative. I have said it here before that I am in awe of the people who can do that; I don't have it in me. That being said, with my 6 cards that I do not churn I was able to:

-book SW flights for a summer DW trip - 4 round trip tickets - only OOP was the $5.60 each fee. I could cover this with my Discover IT cash back if I wanted; but I won't.
-buy 3 Park Hopper/Water park tix for 8 days using MRs, URs and a few other minor reward things - no OOP. (4th park hopper was bought by the friend who will be traveling with us)
-have DVC so no OOP there except my dues (which I sometimes cover with rewards).
-will get Disney GC using MRs and URs from now until the trip to hopefully have no (or very little) OOP food and expenses while at DW. Also currently taking advantage of 5x rewards on the Chase Disney card that rarely use.

So if I can pull off getting enough Disney GCs with my CC rewards this 8 day vacation will cost me $44.80 (and DVC dues which I pay whether I go on vacation or not). I currently have enough MRs and URs to cover all meals and have some extra spending money.

So if you think you can't get a free or an almost free vacation without serious churning, think again. Careful planning and careful use of CC rewards makes it possible. I put just about all household expenses that don't require converting MOs, etc or cost me more money to use CC on my 6 cards.

Disclaimer: you need to always pay your CC bills in full or this hobby is not worth it. I pay them weekly - sometimes more than weekly.

ETA: the only annual fee card I have is the CSP ($95) and I pay that fee with my Discover IT cash back. So no AFs for me either. And I won’t do business cards.

ETA2: If once you find that you can do this on a small scale, you can try churning or expand your card collection at your comfort level. I do very occasionally add or replace a card. Most recently I swapped my CF for the CFF and got P2 the CFU.

This is very good info! Can you expand on how you use MRs to pay for tix/GCs.

 

[trenty]

This is very good info! Can you expand on how you use MRs to pay for tix/GCs.

It's not the best redemption value but I bought GCs at Ride Aide and paid with my MR points at the store. 10,000 MRs=$70. I had enough MRs to buy a $400 Disney gift card. I used URs, some Discover IT cash and another minor reward for the rest. I combined them on the Disney gift card site and used the gift cards to pay for the tix. You can only use two forms of payment but I had enough on the two gift cards to cover the 3 tix.

The CM was willing to put the fourth ticket I needed for a friend in another transaction - that one was paid for without gift cards. But if I had a third gift card it would have been doable.

DISCLAIMER: there are MUCH better redemption options for MRs. This one worked for me. Others would probably not do this. I equate it to having $500 to spend on anything. Some women would get an expensive handbag. Others (me) would never spend the money on a handbag. For me, spending my MRs this way was great; others would say, "no way." Going to get a $70 GC today.