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

[Missyson]

Yes the Discover It card should give you 5% cash back on quarterly categories, plus 5% bonus back 1 year later (on your first year), while giving your son a small ($50?) support bonus and you a $50 SUB. If you maxed out a quarterly category by spending $1500, you would earn $75 now and $75 a year from now. Or a total max of $600 for $6k in spend over all 4 quarters. Warehouse clubs are 2nd quarter. Discover points never expire, but I think they can only be cashed out toward gift cards (which are often discounted).

For Amex, I plan to accumulate MRs then get the Charles Schwab Platinum card which (with some prep work) will cash out MRs to Schwab at 1.25x. If you try for one of the Platinums, I have some tips on DISchurners MISC thread, and have also posted them here in the past. As an example 100k MRs earned from one Platinum Card would be $1,250 toward a Schwab account.

I think a good card this year is the Amex Gold card (60k MRs for $4k spend in 3 months):
* $120 Cheesecake Factory (and a few others) credit ($10 per month). Many of us pick up $10 GCs and save up for dinner.
* $100 airline incidentals credit (benefit ends at the end of 2021)
* $120 Uber/Eats credit ($10 per month). Many order Uber Eats for pickup. Benefit begins sometime in "early" 2021
That's up to $340 credit on a $250 AF card during 2021, and only in 2021 (unless they raise the AF?), not to mention 4x on dining and grocery.

For Chase, you might like the Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited which give 3x points on Dining and Drug Stores. The CFF also has quarterly 5x categories, while the CFU has 1.5x on everything. Both earn $200 SUB.

Chase Biz cards (which you aren't excited about): The Chase Ink Preferred has a 100k SUB for $15k spend in 3 months, which is more than you want to spend. The Chase Ink Cash and Chase Ink Unlimited Biz cards have $750 SUB for $7500 spend in 3 months.

If the Amex Gold doesn't fit your needs, let's see what the Hotel experts suggest. That's out of my knowledge area.

Thank you! Lots to think about. I’m sure I will have more questions.

 

[iujen94]

Thank you. I was thinking I couldn’t apply for a CSP until 2022?

Oh shoot - I misread your original post. I thought you were saying it was 2018 that you changed your CSP to a CF. You’re absolutely correct. Glad you caught that!!

 

[IFlossU]

1 year ago at this time I decided to accumulate enough points to book a week at Grand Wailea for Christmas ‘21. Well today I officially have it booked.

7nights booked w/475k HH Points & 1FNC.
Current cash price $13k

Easily accomplished by getting DH an Aspire and myself a Hilton Biz card. FNC is from $15k spend on my Biz.

Like everyone else, I’m cautiously optimistic about this trip. I have until November to cancel, we start to see some improvement in our ability to travel by the end of the year.

 

[Missyson]

what hotel is your preference? If hyatt, id still continue to grab Chase UR cards as u can always transfer those into hyatt. you can also redeem your UR points for hotels at 1.25/1.5 too.
MR points are great if u plan to fly J/F class. transferring them to hilton or marriott might not be a good idea as u lose a ton of value there. I probably suggest a hilton card instead instead of platinum.
u can also go after eraser cards that erase travel charges too. i could go on and on, ill just leave it at that... :]

Thank you so much! I think I will focus on Hyatt right now. I’m planning on staying at The Grand Cypress in February.

I was just feeling FOMO with the high Amex Plat offer. I did book a stay at the Hilton at Disney Springs for December. We are Disney rope drop people and I’m hoping they will be included in the extra 30 min. It might be nice to have Diamond status. I don’t have a high fee card, but I might talk myself into applying to the Hilton Aspire before then? My husband has the Hilton Surpass.

I‘ll do some more research on eraser cards. I’m sure I will come back with more questions.

 

[wanderlust7]

Thank you so much! I think I will focus on Hyatt right now. I’m planning on staying at The Grand Cypress in February.

I was just feeling FOMO with the high Amex Plat offer. I did book a stay at the Hilton at Disney Springs for December. We are Disney rope drop people and I’m hoping they will be included in the extra 30 min. It might be nice to have Diamond status. I don’t have a high fee card, but I might talk myself into applying to the Hilton Aspire before then? My husband has the Hilton Surpass.

I‘ll do some more research on eraser cards. I’m sure I will come back with more questions.

Do you know about all the overlapping Hyatt promos? The elite night requirements for status are halved, so you only need 30 nights to get to Globalist. Stays checking out by 2/28 get double elite nights. If on points, you get 25% back and free parking. The Hyatt card gets you 5 elite nights every year and 2 nights for every $5000 in spend.

The Aspire gets you a free night after approval and again on renewal. Free nights earned this year are extended to end of 2022, so it's possible to use both free nights on the same stay. They can also be used any night of the week, usually there's a restriction that it's only for weekend nights.

 

[LynnTH]

Question on Marriott Status. Right now shows I have 30 Credits (Gold Elite Status). I just paid Annual Fee for my Amex Marriott Card and I have Chase Personal and Biz coming due in February and May. I was originally going to cancel these cards and try again for them (Chase anyway) as I have had them a while.

But am I correct that I will receive 15 Credits for each of these cards so that will bring me back up to Platinum Elite again? And are those credited after the annual dues are paid?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Do we have any idea if the 100k CIP SUB is likely to go away anytime soon? I want to apply for that card mid-February, but don’t want to miss out on the 100k.

Also, I feel like I’ve seen more CIC and CIU approvals since the Chase business card summer drought. Are CIPs getting approved too, or are those considered harder to get?

It may just be that more people are applying for the CIC or CIU since the MSR on those is $7,500 vs the CIP $15,000. ....that was my reason for doing the CIC

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Hello everyone. I have been a long time lurker. Like most people 2020 was a challenging year for us. In fact, 2019 was also a crazy year dealing with personal and family health issues.

I am interested in hotel points and possible cash back/discounts for our Disney AP’s. Right now my husband and I only have Chase cards with the exception of my husband’s older Amex Hilton card. We could put $2000+ a month on cards. We always pay in full.

Past 24 months
Me
8/18 CSP switched to CF 8/20 (not sure how this works for 5/24 since original CSP is 48mo)
5/19 CFU

Husband
2/20 CSP
6/20 Hyatt - applied for this when stayed to see his mom
9/20 CFU

My husband took early retirement from an airline and started a new job in 2020. We do still get to keep flight benefits, as well as multiple positive space vouchers as part of his retirement package, so we don’t really need points for airline travel right now. In the past we mostly stayed at Hilton’s because my husband would accumulate points from work travel. He will no longer be traveling for work. We have always stayed at a Hyatt Place when we visit my mother in law, and have been staying at more Hyatt properties recently.

I need a plan for both of us. I just don’t know what to do next?

Chase - I don’t think we are ready to try a business card. My husband could refer me for a Hyatt card. Other than Hyatt I don’t really see any other Chase cards that interest us. I am hesitant to start Marriott and keep up with another hotel program.

Amex - My husband could refer me for a Hilton card or should I start Amex with the Amex Platinum? The annual fee really scares me. I’m also not sure what I would use MR points for? Maybe transfer to Hilton?

Other cards? I’m not familiar with other bank cards. My son does have a discover card. Someone on the thread mentioned getting 10% the first year using the rotating categories on Disney gift cards. That might work?

I would appreciate any advice. Thanks so much!

For the group’s help, I assume as a retiree your DH is still eligible for interline discounts. In my experience, that could mean as much as 50% off at hotels. Just something to think about, if you are getting significant hotel discounts, points may not serve her as well as a cash back card.

 

[Albort]

Question on Marriott Status. Right now shows I have 30 Credits (Gold Elite Status). I just paid Annual Fee for my Amex Marriott Card and I have Chase Personal and Biz coming due in February and May. I was originally going to cancel these cards and try again for them (Chase anyway) as I have had them a while.

But am I correct that I will receive 15 Credits for each of these cards so that will bring me back up to Platinum Elite again? And are those credited after the annual dues are paid?

you will receive 15 from a personal Marriott card and 15 from a marriott biz card. you will also receive half of the nights u had in 2020.
*math*

 

[Missyson]

Do you know about all the overlapping Hyatt promos? The elite night requirements for status are halved, so you only need 30 nights to get to Globalist. Stays checking out by 2/28 get double elite nights. If on points, you get 25% back and free parking. The Hyatt card gets you 5 elite nights every year and 2 nights for every $5000 in spend.

The Aspire gets you a free night after approval and again on renewal. Free nights earned this year are extended to end of 2022, so it's possible to use both free nights on the same stay. They can also be used any night of the week, usually there's a restriction that it's only for weekend nights.

Yes, I know about the Hyatt promos. We have stayed at a few Hyatt Places during the promotion. I’m booking the Grand Cypress for February to get closer to globalist. I guess if we get globalist we will have to keep staying at properties nicer than Hyatt Place to take advantage of the perks.

I will need to read up more on the Aspire and the free nights. The annual fee has always scared me away.

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[Missyson]

For the group’s help, I assume as a retiree your DH is still eligible for interline discounts. In my experience, that could mean as much as 50% off at hotels. Just something to think about, if you are getting significant hotel discounts, points may not serve her as well as a cash back card.

Oh wow, thank you! We have used interline rates for cruises in the past. I didn’t even think about it for hotels. I will look into that.

 

[ten6mom]

Thanks for all the reassurance on the Chase statement thing. So so weird. First I got one... and then suddenly I was getting four!

Here is something I thought might give you a smile. I've been neglecting my BBP...

 

[djmeredith]

I have traveled to Africa twice; the first time was with Singita (staying at their lodges with a 5 night stay in Cape Town and 3 nights in Zambia) and the second was with &Beyond (staying in their lodges + a 5 night stay at Londolozi in Sabi Sands, which I highly, highly recommend). Singita was at the top end of the budget and &Beyond was in the mid-top range (I paid for a private guide and driver as I didn't want to share a safari vehicle). When I go back (eyeing Rwanda and Tanzania with a 1 night stop at Giraffe Manor) I will most likely use Singita as I feel that it is worth the premium, however I have have some issues with Singita as a company and will definitely be looking at One&Only in Rwanda for gorilla trekking.

Thanks for sharing this info!

I need to do some research and see what DS really wants to do for his celebration. I'm not sure what various special experiences like Giraffe Manor are... Open to suggestions/recommendations!

DD's bat mitzvah is first and she's still undecided whether she wants a trip or a big party (both would have a ceremony and afternoon luncheon regardless).

Giraffe Manor is a bed and breakfast style hotel set inside a Rothschild giraffe preserve. The giraffes come up to the windows of the inn to be fed by guests. It's expensive and you have to book WAY in advance - at least 1 year or more. I'm just beginning my research for our trip and it is quickly overwhelming. The advice here has already been so helpful.

I had my biz and personal accounts merged, and can see them both on the app. I don't have experience with the app using separate accounts.

I just did this last weekend as well because I got my first bus card. They told me my personal cards could be added to my business acct but not the other way around. So I created a my business acct and they added my personal cards to it. Now I can see all my cards when I log in with my bus acct login info. The personal acct still works too but only shows my personal cards.

 

[Judique]

Question on Marriott Status. Right now shows I have 30 Credits (Gold Elite Status). I just paid Annual Fee for my Amex Marriott Card and I have Chase Personal and Biz coming due in February and May. I was originally going to cancel these cards and try again for them (Chase anyway) as I have had them a while.

But am I correct that I will receive 15 Credits for each of these cards so that will bring me back up to Platinum Elite again? And are those credited after the annual dues are paid?

You will just get 30 credits for the year same as last year for 1 personal and 1 business credit card, but they are also doing the thing where they awarded more credits for your status level so as gold you should get an additional 13, putting you at 43 plus whatever night credits you have/get from stays.

Marriott 2021 Changes (50% Elite Night Credits, Lower Awards & More) - Doctor Of Credit

editing to add: because of the status credit, those of us who made Platinum in 2020 will automatically have it for 2022 as well, up to Feb 2023. And, will only need 20 nights to get to Titanium in 2021. There are double night credits starting in february so if someone can get 10 nights in stays = titanium.

 

[Alexle2007]

Just rebooked our Spring Break trip to Punta Cana. The hotel had gone down $300 and I have free cancellation so why not. I’ll PYB in order to make the trip “free.” We are going to the same hotel chain but trying a different section this time. We know what to expect with Bahia Principe and get a 15% loyalty discount and free transfers so it works well for us.

And there went our Caribbean Spring Break vacation unless we want to figure out where to get tested in the DR when the goal was relaxation.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Oh wow, thank you! We have used interline rates for cruises in the past. I didn’t even think about it for hotels. I will look into that.

For example, I see Hilton offers discounts for international bookings, promo code AL. I tried for the Maldives - cheapest room is like 739, but $522 with the AL airline discount code, nearly 30% off the cheapest rate.
Not sure of the verification needed, but at a minimum an airline ID.

I know some people prefer to pay $0 for travel, while others are looking to substantially discount travel. If looking for a card, you might consider a hotel card, like the Hilton Aspire, which earns a ton of points and other benefits at their hotels. Then, you use your highly discounted paid stays to earn future free stays through points and certificates.

 

[Judique]

And there went our Caribbean Spring Break vacation unless we want to figure out where to get tested in the DR when the goal was relaxation.

Since I'm not going anywhere, I'm not following the travel protocols. Who is requiring the test? Can you explain further? Daughter is flying to Mexico in a week, and I haven't been able to ask any questions. (I sort of spouted off so it's a subject best left alone right now.)

 

[IFlossU]

And there went our Caribbean Spring Break vacation unless we want to figure out where to get tested in the DR when the goal was relaxation.

I’m assuming you’re referring to the new Covid testing requirement. I just read about it on View From the Wing. He mentioned that he thinks it’s going to be a blow to travel for the exact reason you mentioned. Who’s going to want to take time during vacation to get tested in time to return home? Etc etc

 

[IFlossU]

Since I'm not going anywhere, I'm not following the travel protocols. Who is requiring the test? Can you explain further? Daughter is flying to Mexico in a week, and I haven't been able to ask any questions. (I sort of spouted off so it's a subject best left alone right now.)

https://viewfromthewing.com/u-s-wil...-arriving-passengers-to-have-a-covid-19-test/

 

[IFlossU]

Sorry can’t tell if my link to the blog post is working. View From the Wing has a write up on a new requirement for a negative Covid test for International arrivals into the US starting Jan 26th.