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

[wanderlust7]

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.




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!

The MDD doesn't get around the velocity issue, but a calculated risk and ideally you'd have quieter periods before and after. In your case, if you get the CSP now and then a United card maybe mid-September (the later the better, but you need to allow some time for approval and to receive the card). Then your next Chase card 5-6 months later, you'd probably be okay. The hard rule is only 2 personal applications in a rolling 30 day period.

The CSP offer might end on 8/27.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/repo...hire-preferred-100000-bonus-available-online/
The United Quest card is at a high, but with a higher AF. You may want to take a look at that to see if it works for you. If the benefit you want is the free bags, I think the flight needs to be charged to the card to get that.

 

[Psychodisney]

@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!

Not sure about your MDD questions. I’ve never attempted.
As far as United or American, I prefer the American terminal (3) because the United terminal (1) is so huge. It takes so much time after arrival to get out of ORD vs MDW and the United adds to that. Parking at ORD is a nightmare vs MDW too. Last week, we used PreFlight parking (Irving and Mannheim). They pick up by the Hilton.
So for us, even though MDW is a further drive, it is a better travel experience overall for us.

 

[wanderlust7]

All the credits posted for our Grand Wailea stay. 3 nights on FNC and we spent $900 on food. We got:

$50 x3 F&B credits (instead of breakfast)
$250 x2 Aspire credits
$100 Amex Offer for spending $500 at a Waldorf

Comes out to $150 OOP. BUT, with the summer double points promo, Diamond members charging on the Aspire ends up earning 44x (!). Got the points on all the spend that were credited too, including the F&B credit. Came out to about 40k HH points, which is worth $160 to me (0.4 cpp).

Even if I took the full Aspire AF, $450 x2 - $900 for 2 nights at the Grand Wailea and $900 worth of food is not too bad!

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

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.

I found the airline credit easy enough to use for SW, following the DPs on flyertalk.

For the resort credit, we used this year at Grand Wailea. Could have also used it at Hilton Los Cabos. Next year we have Waldorf Astoria Pedregal booked. So, the resort credit is probably better for destination trips, rather than a staycation.

Hilton and Amex did quite a few transfer bonuses last year, which made me more likely to choose Hilton for vacations. If that wasn't the case, I can't see us staying at Hilton quite so often.

I agree, the upgrades are hit or miss and some resorts just seem to be stingy for no good reason.

Also used the FNC at Grand Wailea, which would have cost $900 OOP. Fingers crossed I'll be able to use one at WA Pedregal next year, valued at about $1500.

I've had good experiences with the Diamond breakfast as well, so that has been a win in my book.

I have had a difficult time with points posting to my Hilton account, and trouble via emailing getting them to credit.

 

[ski_mom]

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.

Thanks for sharing this! I was thinking of PCing DH's CSR to a CSP and then referring me to the CSP for the bonus so that he was get a referral. I would then either PC one of his or my Freedom cards back to the CSR because we also use the points at the 1.5% rate.

I was trying to think if there was any way I could refer him to the CSP after he referred me, but I don't think that would work unless the elevated bonus stuck around for quite awhile because I'd have to PC his CSP before he would apply again.

 

[happ]

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?

I usually pay my cards twice a month and they either report with a zero balance or close to it. The only times I've experienced a score drop is when I've applied/opened/closed cards, but it has always bounced back quickly. It's a personal preference as to whether you pay your balances before they post. It's my understanding that keeping your utilization low and consistent is what's important. For me the easiest way to do this is to pay early.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I found the airline credit easy enough to use for SW, following the DPs on flyertalk.

For the resort credit, we used this year at Grand Wailea. Could have also used it at Hilton Los Cabos. Next year we have Waldorf Astoria Pedregal booked. So, the resort credit is probably better for destination trips, rather than a staycation.

Hilton and Amex did quite a few transfer bonuses last year, which made me more likely to choose Hilton for vacations. If that wasn't the case, I can't see us staying at Hilton quite so often.

I agree, the upgrades are hit or miss and some resorts just seem to be stingy for no good reason.

Also used the FNC at Grand Wailea, which would have cost $900 OOP. Fingers crossed I'll be able to use one at WA Pedregal next year, valued at about $1500.

I've had good experiences with the Diamond breakfast as well, so that has been a win in my book.

I have had a difficult time with points posting to my Hilton account, and trouble via emailing getting them to credit.

Diamond breakfast definitely a plus. Travel to Hawaii not on my list, but definitely a good redemption. Aspire is a card I might upgrade to in the future, just not a great fit right now. The SW credits I used were for taxes only, so it takes a lot of $5.60 to add up. Lol. I know I could probably get a flight less than $100 to credit, but we're not taking any flights that cheap. I have to make an effort to use the credits and after not getting an upgrade at the local resort, I had a bad taste and downgraded.

 

[Judique]

I usually pay my cards twice a month and they either report with a zero balance or close to it. The only times I've experienced a score drop is when I've applied/opened/closed cards, but it has always bounced back quickly. It's a personal preference as to whether you pay your balances before they post. It's my understanding that keeping your utilization low and consistent is what's important. For me the easiest way to do this is to pay early.

Almost exactly what I do and my score stays the same except when I have a card app.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Parking at ORD is a nightmare vs MDW too. Last week, we used PreFlight parking (Irving and Mannheim)

Might have to try this. We drive to MDW but Lyft or have family drop us off at ORD. Next week flying SW to MCO and I compared Lyft to parking at MdW. Parking will be $150 but Lyft was $80 each way, so parking it is.

 

[Alexle2007]

Any recommendations for a good steakhouse in Chicago for next weekend? We are at the Park Hyatt.

 

[EACarlson]

Might have to try this. We drive to MDW but Lyft or have family drop us off at ORD. Next week flying SW to MCO and I compared Lyft to parking at MdW. Parking will be $150 but Lyft was $80 each way, so parking it is.

For all of my flights out of MDW I've always used Park N Fly on 47th. The one time I flew out of ORD recently I booked a room at the Hampton O'Hare with parking for $167. I had the family for an 8am SW flight out of ORD, not getting them up at 0300 to drive.

 

[Sheree]

I Pc'd my csr to cfu yesterday and lowered credit limit to 10k from 33k!
already my doordash+ subscription ended!

Monday or tuesday I'll have p2 refer me a csp link and hope i get it. may try mdd for csr otherwise I'll pc cfu back to csr later

i've had amex hilton for years, p2 has been au unfortunately.
no sub to upgrade to aspire but anyway to remove p2 as au on my surpass so he can apply for aspire? although I'd rather have it as honors account with 800k points is in my name

 

[Alexle2007]

I Pc'd my csr to cfu yesterday and lowered credit limit to 10k from 33k!
already my doordash+ subscription ended!

Monday or tuesday I'll have p2 refer me a csp link and hope i get it. may try mdd for csr otherwise I'll pc cfu back to csr later

i've had amex hilton for years, p2 has been au unfortunately.
no sub to upgrade to aspire but anyway to remove p2 as au on my surpass so he can apply for aspire? although I'd rather have it as honors account with 800k points is in my name

DH being an AU doesn’t preclude him from applying for the card. If you really want to remove him, just use chat.

 

[calypso726]

Which Hilton card would you recommend? My wife received a 100,000 point offer with $1,000 MSR on their no fee card.

Another vote for the Aspire card! I applied on day one that it was released and made the spend a few minutes afterwards. That was my fastest approval to MSR completion ever LOL

This card is a money maker. There is a $250 resort credit, a $250 airline credit and a FN certificate every year. We get outsized value each year on the FN certificate. I’ve got plans to use one of our FN certs and points for a French Polynesia trip or maybe back to the Maldives again. So many fun options to choose! It’s my favorite sock drawer card!

 

[Psychodisney]

Might have to try this. We drive to MDW but Lyft or have family drop us off at ORD. Next week flying SW to MCO and I compared Lyft to parking at MdW. Parking will be $150 but Lyft was $80 each way, so parking it is.

At MDW we love ParkNFly! They are on Groupon sometimes too. Exit on Central from 55 and take the first left. Super friendly employees. When you pull in, the bus is right there at your car to pick you up and when you return, you go out the back way and they are there or there within a minute or two! So nice compared to the cattle call for the MDW bus.

 

[Psychodisney]

Any recommendations for a good steakhouse in Chicago for next weekend? We are at the Park Hyatt.

Chicago Cut!

 

[bsmcneil]

It's still not a good idea to get one but Chase adjusted the Disney Visa offers via support link:

• Chase Disney Premier Visa - $300 Statement Credit after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months (this is the $49 Annual Fee version).
• Chase Disney Visa - $150 Statement Credit after after spending $500 in the first 3 months (this is the NO Annual Fee version).

I'd assume nobody here is interested, but sharing anyways.

I'm trying to sift through the info - but what makes this a not good idea?

 

[Alexle2007]

Chicago Cut!

Thanks! I am trying to figure out if that’s where we ate in 2019.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

For all of my flights out of MDW I've always used Park N Fly on 47th. The one time I flew out of ORD recently I booked a room at the Hampton O'Hare with parking for $167. I had the family for an 8am SW flight out of ORD, not getting them up at 0300 to drive.

At MDW we love ParkNFly! They are on Groupon sometimes too. Exit on Central from 55 and take the first left. Super friendly employees. When you pull in, the bus is right there at your car to pick you up and when you return, you go out the back way and they are there or there within a minute or two! So nice compared to the cattle call for the MDW bus.

Thanks for recs. I'll admit to never using any park and fly type thing. TBH the ones near ORD always look sketchy to me. Safe to leave my car for 10 days? Last early ORD flight, we used Lyft to Hilton inside the airport, spent the night there (on points of course) and walked over in the morning.
ETA I checked out ParkNFly $12 per day instead of $15, so it will save me $30. The other advantage is the shuttle is nicer but it's farther, right?

 

[WVMomof3]

I am so excited for the point redemption I was able to get this morning! And it is nothing exciting to anyone else. lol I finally remembered to book a hotel for DS move in. Oldest DD went local so move in and out was a breeze. Drive 10 miles to campus. Other DD we have access to a family condo so move in and out also easy. No hotels needed. I wasn't thinking DS would be an issue either. Oops on my part. I really wanted to use a Marriott cert at a Residence Inn that we have stayed at before. Very close to campus. All Marriotts close to campus sold out. This is a Thursday night, but I guess everyone moving in at same time. So I was able to get Hyatt Place at $286 for 8000 points. We have stayed there before and it is a decent location, so I am happy with it. But the one I am really excited for is a football weekend. DD school vs DS school. I really didn't think there was any hope of any points redemptions or even a room that was close. All Marriotts but one sold out. The one that was left, a Courtyard, that was about 4 miles from campus had a room for 2 nights almost $800 and only option was nonrefundable pay now rate. The Hyatt Place sold out but the Hyatt Quirk walkable to campus had a room for over $600, 2 night rate was $1450 all in. But it was available for points! I couldn't believe it. I had looked last year and I think when I got the Residence Inn I could not get the Quirk on points. It is a small hotel so I imagine they don't allow many point redemptions. So 30,000 Hyatt points gets me 2 nights over a football weekend. I am not even sure if we will go to the game, but I think it will be fun to be there regardless. I wish the game was earlier in the season, November football not that fun, lol but I am excited.