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

[wanderlust7]

It's time to get a new card and I am looking for suggestions. My immediate thought is support DH for a CIU. However his Hilton Biz AF is going to hit in August and I kept it last year just because I didn't want to cancel his only Amex. I don't want to keep it another year so would like to have another Amex lined up (he does now have an AU card for my Plat, had to add him to make the spend)
Here’s our cards :

Me:
CIC (with EIN) - 1/21
Hyatt - 11/20
Jetblue Plus - 7/20
Amex Gold (upgraded to Plat 1/21) - 12/19
CIP - 11/19
Jetblue Biz - 7/19
Amazon Biz - 7/19

DH:
AU on Plat added 2/21 possibly dated to 12/19 card opening?
CSP - 9/20
SW plus - 1/20
SW Priority - 1/20
CIP- 10/19
Hilton Biz - 7/19

If you want a no AF card to hold long term, maybe the Blue Business Plus. Earns 2x MR. 10k points for $3000 spend, available via support. Would be good if your plat has a higher support bonus. There are also 50k/$10k spend, 30k/$5k spend targeted offers, but those aren't available via support.

There are also elevated biz plat and biz gold offers, but those are high AF and high spend.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Wondering what to do next. I feel I have too many cards. My dh has citi, sapphire, amex surpass(aspire downgrade) and discover. I have soooo many. What should i get rid of? And what card should i get next? We charge 2k+ a month. Always pay in full. Airport Chicago ohare. I'd like to be able to pool our cc currencies. Tried to do the abbreviations and prob failed. Thanks!
Store cards:
Lowes, kohls, bestbuy...they are very old and keeping my cc history long and I do use them
No af cards:
Discover 2016
Amex everday 2019
Quick silver 2015
Amex basic hilton 2017
Usaa 2019 not sure in no af
Af cards:
AA advantage thru citi 2018 $95 have 25k miles
Hilton Aspire 2019 $450 have 750k hh
Chase SP just opened 4/21 $95 will have 80+ cur
Spirit Air 2018 $95 have 11k miles
Dh has 95k cur and 70k thank you(ty?) pts.
I want to rent a pool house in Orlando summer 22 and go jamaica or mexico this fall on hh. I'm just sort of hoarding currencies at this point, not sure how to spend the cur and ty points

Here is how I might think about using those points:
1. Consider transferring Chase UR 1:1 to Southwest to pay for your Mexico flights with points (MDW probably has more routes than ORD)
See this guide on how you might maximize those Southwest points with what is called the free change window:
https://www.dansdeals.com/airfare-d...mwide-free-change-policy-month-ive-ever-seen/
2. Do a Hilton search for places you might like to stay in Mexico. Remember, you get your 5th night free if you book consecutively on points. Also look for resorts you can use your annual $250 resort credit https://www3.hilton.com/en/resorts/index.html

As far as cards to keep vs close or product change (PC), I would look at what cards you are recouping your AF. If it is a loser, I would PC to a no annual fee card or close it if it’s an Amex card.

As far as next card, the Amex Plat is a great points earning card and 1:2 transfer rate to Hilton, plus often run 40% transfer bonuses. I’ve had success with the cardmatch tool. Here’s how you might pull up a 125k offer:

https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/reviews/american-express-platinum-card/100k-offer/
I will personally be saving a spot in my 5/24 status for late, late in the year for a Southwest biz and personal card to earn companion pass for 2022.

 

[wanderlust7]

Wondering what to do next. I feel I have too many cards. My dh has citi, sapphire, amex surpass(aspire downgrade) and discover. I have soooo many. What should i get rid of? And what card should i get next? We charge 2k+ a month. Always pay in full. Airport Chicago ohare. I'd like to be able to pool our cc currencies. Tried to do the abbreviations and prob failed. Thanks!
Store cards:
Lowes, kohls, bestbuy...they are very old and keeping my cc history long and I do use them
No af cards:
Discover 2016
Amex everday 2019
Quick silver 2015
Amex basic hilton 2017
Usaa 2019 not sure in no af
Af cards:
AA advantage thru citi 2018 $95 have 25k miles
Hilton Aspire 2019 $450 have 750k hh
Chase SP just opened 4/21 $95 will have 80+ cur
Spirit Air 2018 $95 have 11k miles
Dh has 95k cur and 70k thank you(ty?) pts.
I want to rent a pool house in Orlando summer 22 and go jamaica or mexico this fall on hh. I'm just sort of hoarding currencies at this point, not sure how to spend the cur and ty points

Welcome!

With your Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP), you can cashout UR at 1.25 cent per point with Pay Yourself Back (PYB). Current categories are groceries, dining, and home improvement. UR can be combined within the same household. You can PYB and then in your budgeting, count that as going towards your pool house rental.

If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR), you can PYB at 1.5 cpp. If your DH last got his Sapphire bonus at least 48 months ago, he can apply for another Sapphire again. If not, he can PC it to the CSR if you wanted to go that route. AF is $550, comes with an easy to use $300 travel credit (currently can also be used for grocery and gas), as well as a variety of other benefits. If you ended up with 200k UR and wanted to PYB it all, you'd end up with $2500 with the CSP, but $3000 with the CSR.

If you want to do business cards, you can rack up a lot of UR that way. Many side gigs can count. Chase Ink Cash (CIC) and Ink Unlimited (CIU) are at 75k UR for $7500 spend.

Your Aspire, if you can use the free night and resort credit, is worth keeping. But if not and you want to downgrade, you can downgrade to the no fee since you already have it. With Amex, you don't want to downgrade or upgrade to a card you've never had because that locks you out of getting the bonus.

 

[softballpooh]

So I have a registered LLC and I just received a mailer for an Amex offer for a Blue Business Cash card no AF. The mailer is in the business name if that matters. The offer is $250 statement credit after $5K qualifying spend in the first 6mths then additional $250 credit after $10K spend in the first year. 2% cash back on all purchases. I have the Amex Plat (2/21), CSP/CSR (9/20), and WOH (12/20). I do not have any business cards.

I guess my question is, do I need this card? Should I want this card? I've been focused on earning points/rewards, so can I take the cash equivalent of these credits in rewards, or is it literally a cash refund? I'm not dying to have another card to keep track of at the moment, but I also don't want to miss out if this is an opportunity I should consider. I am not as familiar with the Amex products.

 

[havaneselover]

So I have a registered LLC and I just received a mailer for an Amex offer for a Blue Business Cash card no AF. The mailer is in the business name if that matters. The offer is $250 statement credit after $5K qualifying spend in the first 6mths then additional $250 credit after $10K spend in the first year. 2% cash back on all purchases. I have the Amex Plat (2/21), CSP/CSR (9/20), and WOH (12/20). I do not have any business cards.

I guess my question is, do I need this card? Should I want this card? I've been focused on earning points/rewards, so can I take the cash equivalent of these credits in rewards, or is it literally a cash refund? I'm not dying to have another card to keep track of at the moment, but I also don't want to miss out if this is an opportunity I should consider. I am not as familiar with the Amex products.

I have this card and like it but I have a lot of spend due to paying estimated taxes. Otherwise I probably would not have gotten it. Did get a retention offer on it and some offers that I haven’t got on other cards.

 

[EACarlson]

So I have a registered LLC and I just received a mailer for an Amex offer for a Blue Business Cash card no AF. The mailer is in the business name if that matters. The offer is $250 statement credit after $5K qualifying spend in the first 6mths then additional $250 credit after $10K spend in the first year. 2% cash back on all purchases. I have the Amex Plat (2/21), CSP/CSR (9/20), and WOH (12/20). I do not have any business cards.

I guess my question is, do I need this card? Should I want this card? I've been focused on earning points/rewards, so can I take the cash equivalent of these credits in rewards, or is it literally a cash refund? I'm not dying to have another card to keep track of at the moment, but I also don't want to miss out if this is an opportunity I should consider. I am not as familiar with the Amex products.

I would go with the Blue Business Plus over the Cash. You would earn MR that combine with your Plat. I would rather have 2MR/$ than 2% CB.

 

[alryan]

When we were at Grand Wailea in March, there were very specific rules about the $40 credit. We did get $40 per room, so $80 for 2 rooms:
- Credit could only be used at breakfast, by 11am
- Could not order lunch items at 10:45- could only be used on breakfast items
- Credits are split between rooms, meaning $40 per room. So you had to "organize" your purchases per room, which requires some early morning math!

Try the pick your own pineapple. Select a pineapple and they'll cut it for you and serve it with your breakfast ($10). The coffee was STRONG- so we would order one black iced coffee and split it into 2-3 iced coffee when adding cream and sugar.

We too bought a bunch of room breakfast supplies, which all went to waste when we got the breakfast credits, which we weren't counting on. But breakfast was great- one of our favorite routines of the trip. I believe you can call down and order ahead and pick it up, if you prefer that.

Thank you! That is good to know.

 

[platamama]

So I have a registered LLC and I just received a mailer for an Amex offer for a Blue Business Cash card no AF. The mailer is in the business name if that matters. The offer is $250 statement credit after $5K qualifying spend in the first 6mths then additional $250 credit after $10K spend in the first year. 2% cash back on all purchases. I have the Amex Plat (2/21), CSP/CSR (9/20), and WOH (12/20). I do not have any business cards.

I guess my question is, do I need this card? Should I want this card? I've been focused on earning points/rewards, so can I take the cash equivalent of these credits in rewards, or is it literally a cash refund? I'm not dying to have another card to keep track of at the moment, but I also don't want to miss out if this is an opportunity I should consider. I am not as familiar with the Amex products.

Yes, it is literally a cash refund in the form of a statement credit that’s automatically applied when the statement closes. And that offer is the standard for that card. DH has it, and I’m going to close it since it’s taking a credit slot with Amex. But first I need to open up a new Amex for him in case he gets the pop up.

 

[alryan]

I've learned something about SW and using TTF. If you break up your TTF into smaller "pieces", e.g. if you use $5.60 to pay for taxes and fees, then that smaller chunk remains a separate TTF even if the confirmation stays the same. AND it counts as one of your three forms of payment. I had assumed that if the confirmation is the same, it would go back into that confirmation's TTF "bank" but it does not. Just something to be wary of, as well as knowing that if you add new money to a fare partially paid with TTF then if you end up canceling ALL the funds take on the oldest expiration date, i.e. the one expiring soonest.

Good to know, it really is a good math exercise when you are trying to use airline credits, stay within 3 forms of payment, and not spend extra money. Last week when Southwest added new flights to Hawaii I switched our trip to just one stop in Phoenix and decided it would be a good time to use my airline credits. I was pretty happy when I was able to use all but about $5 of $1200 of credit and only spent about $5 that didn't get credited back. It took me over an hour, lots of changed flights, and about 50 emails later, it was all done. I sure hope I don't have to cancel those flights! I didn't want to risk the airline credit not working so now everyone has a separate confirmation number. I'm sure I could have done some more changing and got everyone together, but I just didn't have it in me.

 

[IFlossU]

Good to know, it really is a good math exercise when you are trying to use airline credits, stay within 3 forms of payment, and not spend extra money. Last week when Southwest added new flights to Hawaii I switched our trip to just one stop in Phoenix and decided it would be a good time to use my airline credits. I was pretty happy when I was able to use all but about $5 of $1200 of credit and only spent about $5 that didn't get credited back. It took me over an hour, lots of changed flights, and about 50 emails later, it was all done. I sure hope I don't have to cancel those flights! I didn't want to risk the airline credit not working so now everyone has a separate confirmation number. I'm sure I could have done some more changing and got everyone together, but I just didn't have it in me.

Haha! Glad I’m not the only person doing this. I’ll have to divide $650 in airline credits, and a $75 gift card between 4 people. When I think about it it makes my brain hurt but I need to get the travel funds squared away so I have them in place when SW opens their schedule on June 10th. So happy someone can relate!

 

[Alexle2007]

Haha! Glad I’m not the only person doing this. I’ll have to divide $650 in airline credits, and a $75 gift card between 4 people. When I think about it it makes my brain hurt but I need to get the travel funds squared away so I have them in place when SW opens their schedule on June 10th. So happy someone can relate!

It’s a good problem have though with loopholes closing I am hoping those extra points from paying for the flight will help DH maintain CP.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

If anyone is considering PCing their CSR in order to apply for the CSP, you may want to see if your Global Entry is expiring in the next 12 months, and if it has been more than 4 years since you last used this CSR benefit. Chase has a nice "ticker" in the benefits section which tells you the exact date you last used this benefit. I applied for Trusted Traveler Program GE renewal yesterday and it has already been approved today, without the need to re-interview.

Note: Not sure if Global Entry is still allowing renewals up to 18 months in advance, but that was the case in 2020.

ETA: Looks like 18 month renewal is not an option - online system tells me it will allow a renewal 12 months in advance.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Wanted to share another case of Citi being Citi. Ordered dinner last night, used my Citi card which was promptly denied. I quickly got a text asking me if it was my charge, I responded yes. Then I got an email and I replied yes, it was my charge. Charge still denied so I called, told the guy it was my charge but now he wants all sorts of info I'm not willing to provide. So I said no thanks. Tonight I get another text, and an email, saying I won't be able to use my card until I contact them. So I call the number on my card, guy asks me my security word. The Citi website says: we will not ask you to provide any of the following: account number, security word, user ID or password... I explain this to the man on the phone, citi website says you won't ask me that. He says I need your security word. I ask to talk to a supervisor. He puts me on hold for 15 minutes comes back and says no one is available yet due to 'a high volume of calls' and wants me to keep holding. I said Citi texted and emailed me telling me to call ASAP but there's no one to talk with? No I'm not holding longer, thanks anyway. I hung up. I gave them all the 'fraud' info they wanted 3 times yesterday but now they want me to give them more info, which their own website explicitly says they won't ask for. I guess my account is locked and I'll be closing the card

 

[hsmamato2]

...

 

[afan]

For the amex plat, the paypal thing is done at the end of June correct?

Also, if you haven't used your paypal for May, your uber/grubhub etc credits you have a week.

If you haven't used your saks credit you should do it sooner than later. Same for I think the biz plat dell credits.

 

[wanderlust7]

Wanted to share another case of Citi being Citi. Ordered dinner last night, used my Citi card which was promptly denied. I quickly got a text asking me if it was my charge, I responded yes. Then I got an email and I replied yes, it was my charge. Charge still denied so I called, told the guy it was my charge but now he wants all sorts of info I'm not willing to provide. So I said no thanks. Tonight I get another text, and an email, saying I won't be able to use my card until I contact them. So I call the number on my card, guy asks me my security word. The Citi website says: we will not ask you to provide any of the following: account number, security word, user ID or password... I explain this to the man on the phone, citi website says you won't ask me that. He says I need your security word. I ask to talk to a supervisor. He puts me on hold for 15 minutes comes back and says no one is available yet due to 'a high volume of calls' and wants me to keep holding. I said Citi texted and emailed me telling me to call ASAP but there's no one to talk with? No I'm not holding longer, thanks anyway. I hung up. I gave them all the 'fraud' info they wanted 3 times yesterday but now they want me to give them more info, which their own website explicitly says they won't ask for. I guess my account is locked and I'll be closing the card

I think that only applies if someone is calling you? Since you don't actually know if it really is Citi calling. If you're calling the number on the back of the card, I think it's fine giving any of those except for the account password.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I think that only applies if someone is calling you? Since you don't actually know if it really is Citi calling. If you're calling the number on the back of the card, I think it's fine giving any of those except for the account password.

They contacted me by text and email and told me to call them.

 

[mmmears]

Did you go to Monarch Beach? If so, did you like it? I'm thinking of using my expiring FNC there.

Yes, we did and we really did like it there. It felt like a resort, which is what we were looking for. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[escapeartist]

Here is how I might think about using those points:
1. Consider transferring Chase UR 1:1 to Southwest to pay for your Mexico flights with points (MDW probably has more routes than ORD)
See this guide on how you might maximize those Southwest points with what is called the free change window:
https://www.dansdeals.com/airfare-d...mwide-free-change-policy-month-ive-ever-seen/
2. Do a Hilton search for places you might like to stay in Mexico. Remember, you get your 5th night free if you book consecutively on points. Also look for resorts you can use your annual $250 resort credit https://www3.hilton.com/en/resorts/index.html

As far as cards to keep vs close or product change (PC), I would look at what cards you are recouping your AF. If it is a loser, I would PC to a no annual fee card or close it if it’s an Amex card.

As far as next card, the Amex Plat is a great points earning card and 1:2 transfer rate to Hilton, plus often run 40% transfer bonuses. I’ve had success with the cardmatch tool. Here’s how you might pull up a 125k offer:

https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/reviews/american-express-platinum-card/100k-offer/
I will personally be saving a spot in my 5/24 status for late, late in the year for a Southwest biz and personal card to earn companion pass for 2022.

I like the idea of transferring to sw for flights! I have 10 nights booked in jamaica in sept and need to pull trigger on airfare. I also have about 70k in ty points from citi and they seem hard to spend/ get goid value w. Seriously thinking about dg aspire. Hilton has been so good to us and may wait 1 more year as we burn thru pts. Now that american has minimal nonstops out of ohare, the AA card may have to go. It doesnt give me an advantage w burning my last 25k in miles does it?

 

[Grabnar]

Anyone know the best way to use 5th night free and a FNC at a Hilton resort? Do I need to call the resort to book?