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

[havaneselover]

Just got another away bigger carry on (let dd have the first one). Went with navy. I’ll probably give this one to ds when I find one in a color I really like (very few options right now).

 

[EACarlson]

Thanks! I just got an account and my Experian score was higher than the 2 scores on CK. It is 39 Pts higher than the FICO on my credit union. I have no idea what FICO score the credit union looks at. Also, my CFF opening date is showing the original date of my CSP approval so all 3 bureaus check out.

The scores shown on CK don't matter for anything, they can be over 100 points different than the FICO scores that are used by actual lending companies. They have the same information but the scoring algorithm is completely different.
It's also possible that whatever dropped your score was corrected and that's why your score is higher. It could be as simple as all of your accounts showed 0 balance, that will drop your score, then one reports a balance and it goes right back up.

 

[MinnieMay]

The scores shown on CK don't matter for anything, they can be over 100 points different than the FICO scores that are used by actual lending companies. They have the same information but the scoring algorithm is completely different.
It's also possible that whatever dropped your score was corrected and that's why your score is higher. It could be as simple as all of your accounts showed 0 balance, that will drop your score, then one reports a balance and it goes right back up.

I thought 0 balances increased my score. I go to great lengths to pay them off at the closing date so they report zero. It would be way easier to just pay the statement balance. Am I doing it wrong?

 

[ep1229]

My favorite personal card is the Hilton Aspire. 150,000 HH for $4,000 spend and Diamond Status. Very easy to use the $250 airline credit via Delta using the $50 e-gift card payment system and very easy to use the $250 resort credit, which pays for the entire annual fee. If you ever stay at Hiltons, even if you don't get the upgrades, you get the best multipliers.

The Aspire is my favorite Hilton card. You get a free night certificate a couple months after opening the card. They don't make you wait until the first anniversary like the other hotel cards. They can be used at any Hilton as long as there are standard awards. Usually weekends only, but now any night through 2022. I love the aspirational properties, so the Hilton FNC are my favorite.

Hilton FNC > Hyatt 15k FNC >>> Bonvoy 35k FNC

I value Hilton points at 0.4 cent per point, so the 150k SUB is worth $600 to me. I'd value the $250 airline and resort credits at $200 each, and the FNC at $300 (you can use different numbers). I used my FNC at the Grand Wailea, so it was actually worth much more than $300. So $600+$200+$200+$300-$450 AF comes out to a $850 SUB. Not even counting the potential to double dip on the airline or resort credit (resort credit is more difficult since it's tied to the anniversary year).

The no AF Hilton SUB would only be worth $400 to me, plus there's a Hilton $100 credit, which I'd value maybe at $80? So a $480 SUB. Not quite as worth a 5/24 slot. But it can be part of a strategy to play the Hilton upgrade/downgrade game.

100% the Hilton Aspire for all those reasons above. I've gotten a lot of awesome redemptions with this card.

 

[Judique]

If you have never held an Amex Platinum card, I would strongly consider the Resy offer of 125,000 MR for $6,000 spend, plus 15x on Shop Small Restaurants (my area in SWFL has quite a few so I imagine most places do) up to $25,000 in the first 6 months. I grabbed the card when it was 10x groceries, but the sign up bonus is even better now. With all the credits, the annual fee was manageable. Alternatively, the Resy Gold card is 60,000 MR on $4,000 spend, plus 20% off of restaurant purchases in the first 12 months up to $250 (wipes out the annual fee entirely).

My favorite personal card is the Hilton Aspire. 150,000 HH for $4,000 spend and Diamond Status. Very easy to use the $250 airline credit via Delta using the $50 e-gift card payment system and very easy to use the $250 resort credit, which pays for the entire annual fee. If you ever stay at Hiltons, even if you don't get the upgrades, you get the best multipliers.

Third would be Delta Gold since it's a value proposition. 70,000 miles for $2,000 spend, plus a $200 statement credit with a Delta purchase in your first 3 months. A $50 gift card would trigger this leaving you +$200 with no annual fee, and you could use the gift card later in conjunction with a Platinum or Aspire Delta purchase to trigger the $200/$250 airline credit on those cards.

All great suggestions except right now Amex has been giving me the pop up.

 

[WVMomof3]

If you have never held an Amex Platinum card, I would strongly consider the Resy offer of 125,000 MR for $6,000 spend, plus 15x on Shop Small Restaurants (my area in SWFL has quite a few so I imagine most places do) up to $25,000 in the first 6 months. I grabbed the card when it was 10x groceries, but the sign up bonus is even better now. With all the credits, the annual fee was manageable. Alternatively, the Resy Gold card is 60,000 MR on $4,000 spend, plus 20% off of restaurant purchases in the first 12 months up to $250 (wipes out the annual fee entirely).

My favorite personal card is the Hilton Aspire. 150,000 HH for $4,000 spend and Diamond Status. Very easy to use the $250 airline credit via Delta using the $50 e-gift card payment system and very easy to use the $250 resort credit, which pays for the entire annual fee. If you ever stay at Hiltons, even if you don't get the upgrades, you get the best multipliers.

Third would be Delta Gold since it's a value proposition. 70,000 miles for $2,000 spend, plus a $200 statement credit with a Delta purchase in your first 3 months. A $50 gift card would trigger this leaving you +$200 with no annual fee, and you could use the gift card later in conjunction with a Platinum or Aspire Delta purchase to trigger the $200/$250 airline credit on those cards.

Who in the world spends $25,000 on restaurants in 6 months!? I think it would take me 25 years to spend that much. lol Am I reading that wrong?

 

[Judique]

Who in the world spends $25,000 on restaurants in 6 months!? I think it would take me 25 years to spend that much. lol Am I reading that wrong?

You (and I) are just not dining in the right places! We could easily spend $4K a month if we bring along a large group of our closest friends and family, and only dine in places that sell wagyu by the ounce, plus other delicacies.

Oh, wait?? They were talking about supporting small business, right? So, now the field is even narrower.

Sometimes I think Amex is confused as to their audience.

 

[WVMomof3]

DP - Both DS22 and DD20 signed up (per mine and DH's Referral links) for the CSP. Both were instantly approved!!

DS22 also has Chase Freedom and Chase Disney - Freedom is over a year old and Disney from March. (had a few other card that have since been cancelled). He just graduated from college and has a full time job.
DD20 has the Chase Disney from March Also and only Chase Card, but I'm sure it helped having this. Other card she has is Discover, which she got at 18. Currently working 2 jobs but will not be working during the school year. Put down yearly salary based on current income if she continued to work full time (didn't figure she would get approved otherwise and still was not sure if it would go through)

DD's Tuition is due in August/September so going to use both of these cards for that. That will give both kids an easy $1000.

Man, I really should have had DD up her income when she applied. I wonder if she should go for it again before it the high bonus ends. She did get the SW card so not sure she could swing the spend. Her school does not take Credit cards but her apt rent does, but that wouldn't add up to $4000 in 3 months.

 

[MinnieMay]

DP - Both DS22 and DD20 signed up (per mine and DH's Referral links) for the CSP. Both were instantly approved!!

DS22 also has Chase Freedom and Chase Disney - Freedom is over a year old and Disney from March. (had a few other card that have since been cancelled). He just graduated from college and has a full time job.
DD20 has the Chase Disney from March Also and only Chase Card, but I'm sure it helped having this. Other card she has is Discover, which she got at 18. Currently working 2 jobs but will not be working during the school year. Put down yearly salary based on current income if she continued to work full time (didn't figure she would get approved otherwise and still was not sure if it would go through)

DD's Tuition is due in August/September so going to use both of these cards for that. That will give both kids an easy $1000.

I am trying to decide what card my 18yr old should get first. I had been planning for the student Discover card with the extra money for good grades but maybe we should go for a Chase card instead, possibly the Disney card? Did your DS22 start with a Chase card?

 

[WVMomof3]

I am trying to decide what card my 18yr old should get first. I had been planning for the student Discover card with the extra money for good grades but maybe we should go for a Chase card instead, possibly the Disney card? Did your DS22 start with a Chase card?

Mine all started with the Discover at 18. Both the girls got a Freedom Unlimited about 6 months later. So far I can’t interest DS in a 2nd card. He spends no money so he didn’t think he could do a $500 spend. He somehow didn’t even spend money on books his freshman year. There is now a Chase Student card but the bonus isn’t as good as the Freedoms. The support link for the student card is on the Freedom cards if you have one.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

DP to share for P2:
June
PCed CSR from 2016 to CFU
Lowered limit to 5,000
Apped for CSP
Met MSR and received bonus

Today
PCed the CFU (which used to be the CSR) back to CSR
Has to have a 10k limit, so pulled from another cc
Change was immediate in the app
Can now redeem for travel at .015

For me this was a math exercise. Less the $300 travel credit, the card AF is $250 or 16,000ish points. Since I know I am going to use the portal for some travel purchases, it made sense to pull the trigger now rather than wait until the CSP is a year old and upgrade that.

Once the CSP is a year old, I’ll PC it to a no-annual fee card.

I was also able to transfer points between accounts. Can’t recall if I previously had them linked, so not sure if that’s why this is working again.

 

[ep1229]

Mine all started with the Discover at 18. Both the girls got a Freedom Unlimited about 6 months later. So far I can’t interest DS in a 2nd card. He spends no money so he didn’t think he could do a $500 spend. He somehow didn’t even spend money on books his freshman year. There is now a Chase Student card but the bonus isn’t as good as the Freedoms. The support link for the student card is on the Freedom cards if you have one.

What do you guys use for income for your 18 year olds and in college? My kids will have work study but it won't be that much money. Also trying to decide between Chase Freedom Student vs. CFU

 

[mmmears]

I am trying to decide what card my 18yr old should get first. I had been planning for the student Discover card with the extra money for good grades but maybe we should go for a Chase card instead, possibly the Disney card? Did your DS22 start with a Chase card?

For her first non-AU card, mine got a ccard from the credit union where she had her savings account. Moved from that to the CFU, Amex Green, and CSP as her credit history grew and her income increased. Hope this helps.

 

[mmmears]

What do you guys use for income for your 18 year olds and in college? My kids will have work study but it won't be that much money. Also trying to decide between Chase Freedom Student vs. CFU

Mine used her summer income, plus a little bit of spending money that we were sending her and the small amount she earned at college.

 

[PoohNFriends]

@Alexle2007 and @Psychodisney

I see a lot of suggestions to MDD CSP & CSR, would this similar scenario also work for trying a CSP then a United card? We are more likely to meet the CSP MSR and the United offer of $3500 for 35000 + $250 credit statement offer that's of the United site when booking airfare (assuming I get the offer again when I book the tix).
Also, is there insight on when the current CSP offer may end? NM, read some speculation on Reddit.

I did get approved for Dischurners, so figuring out how to navigate Reddit too.

@Psychodisney do you have a preference of American or United out of ORD or do you pick which works best based on price & time?
As I'm learning more on here, I am thinking of canceling my SW and waiting for a good offer to come thru in a few months (or longer).

Have a great weekend!

URs transfer to United so that is an excellent choice. The bonus is awesome at this time. The advantages with the United card is being able to see additional award flights and free baggage. You could always get the United later.

The other option is the more advanced MDD or double dip for the CSP and CSR since you can only get them every 48 hours from when the bonus is received. @SouthFayetteFan can hook you up with dischurners that contains more info.

For income, you can actually add your DH’s for household income. Total Chase credit should be 30% of income or $80k in general.

Unless the CapOne has an AF that you are looking to no longer pay, there is no reason to close.

If you decide to go for CSP and you don’t have a support source, there are links on Dischurners where you could make someone’s day with 20k bonus points.

Good luck and welcome!

Hello fellow Chicagoan!
How old is your SW Priority card? If it's older than 24 months, I would consider closing that and reapplying when you see a good bonus or strategically towards the end of the year to try and get CP.
Definitely go for the CSP. Great bonus right now obviously. We usually fly SW but when we want to fly out of ORD, it usually makes sense to book through Chase with UR points vs. United or American directly. The big airlines typically have a fixed rate (25k or 35K points for a round trip) but the UR cost will be based on the price of the fare. You can check the United fare with UR points vs. transferring to United to see if it makes sense.
If the Quick Silver is your oldest card and has no AF, I'd say keep it open and use for a little charge every now and then. Same with the Disney card (once you use up your rewards).

 

[wanderlust7]

@Alexle2007 and @Psychodisney

I see a lot of suggestions to MDD CSP & CSR, would this similar scenario also work for trying a CSP then a United card? We are more likely to meet the CSP MSR and the United offer of $3500 for 35000 + $250 credit statement offer that's of the United site when booking airfare (assuming I get the offer again when I book the tix).
Also, is there insight on when the current CSP offer may end?

I did get approved for Dischurners, so figuring out how to navigate Reddit too.

@Psychodisney do you have a preference of American or United out of ORD or do you pick which works best based on price & time?
As I'm learning more on here, I am thinking of canceling my SW and waiting for a good offer to come thru in a few months (or longer).

Have a great weekend!

There are no restrictions on getting both the CSP and United card, so you wouldn't need to MDD. It's better to space them at least 3 months apart. Not a hard rule, but a good rule of thumb to prevent being denied in the future for getting too many Chase cards too fast.

 

[EACarlson]

I thought 0 balances increased my score. I go to great lengths to pay them off at the closing date so they report zero. It would be way easier to just pay the statement balance. Am I doing it wrong?

If all your balances report 0 you can take a pretty hefty score hit. Unless you are going to applying for a very large item like a mortgage, the extra points you get for having all zero except one is rarely worth the aggravation. As long as you're not letting huge percentages of your CL report you're fine.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

very easy to use the $250 resort credit,

I have to say, I disagree with this part. I had the Hilton Aspire for 3 years, generally liked the card but downgraded this year as the AF was too much this time. The airline credit I could never quite use up, we don't fly Delta, AA a bit, mostly SW. The resort credit works at 1 resort in my state and never anywhere we've visited. We managed to use it for a one night stay plus a $200 dinner at the local resort for a staycation. A great splurge but not necessarily good use of $250. This year, I took my niece for her 15th birthday to the same resort. No room service, since COVID, but the kids used the pool and we got takeout from the hotel restaurant. I had 2 adults/4 kids and reserved 2 rooms for 2 nights, asked for upgrade at check in. Told all suites were booked the whole weekend. The suites on the floor we stayed at were never used the whole weekend, the cleaning seal stayed intact the whole time, so basically they refused to upgrade me despite Diamond status. The 3 years I had the card, never one upgrade although we did park in the Diamond reserved parking spot at the Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield IL.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

We are more likely to meet the CSP MSR and the United offer of $3500 for 35000 + $250 credit statement offer that's of the United site when booking airfare

The public offer of 60k miles/3k spend, extra 10k miles with 6k spend and no AF first year might be better depending on how you use miles.

 

[PoohNFriends]

There are no restrictions on getting both the CSP and United card, so you wouldn't need to MDD. It's better to space them at least 3 months apart. Not a hard rule, but a good rule of thumb to prevent being denied in the future for getting too many Chase cards too fast.

I did read about this 3 mo Chase suggestion so trying to balance that with wanting the CSP SUB and the benefits the United card would likely provide for our Oct Mexico trip.

The public offer of 60k miles/3k spend, extra 10k miles with 6k spend and no AF first year might be better depending on how you use miles.

You are right! I have the offer from the mail that says this. But, I was doing comparisons on another website and they have it misprinted as $6000 in 3 mo vs the 6 mo . So I got all confused. Thank you!