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

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

I'm very hesitant about the Barclay's card. I looked at my spreadsheet and DH actually never had the business card. However, he's also eligible for the citi AA business card. That might be something. He's currently 3/24, with one card dropping off end of October, so a personal card is on the table too. Decisions decisions.

If you want the Barclay at all, I'd do that first. They seem to be REALLY picky about any recent cards. I finally got approved when I was not opening new cards so I could finally do the CIP.

 

[cdurham1]

I am pretty new to all this and would appreciate some feedback/advice. Is there an optimal number of credit cards to have open? I feel like my total credit available on my cards is too high - about 115k. I only spend about $2k/month on my cards and I pay every card off every month. So, I could close some cards and still be way under 10% utilization.

I am thinking about closing my Chase Disney card. I have mixed feelings. I am a Disney nut, so it just feels wrong. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to have many benefits.

Thoughts?

 

[punkin]

If you want the Barclay at all, I'd do that first. They seem to be REALLY picky about any recent cards. I finally got approved when I was not opening new cards so I could finally do the CIP.

If love to do a CIP, but the huge spend scares me.

 

[elgerber]

Unfortunately not. I have now SM’d a dozen times. So annoying. I want them there instantly!

Me neither, and I wasn't able to do it via SM either.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

If love to do a CIP, but the huge spend scares me.

I did it back when it wasn't the insane spend, LOL

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I am pretty new to all this and would appreciate some feedback/advice. Is there an optimal number of credit cards to have open? I feel like my total credit available on my cards is too high - about 115k. I only spend about $2k/month on my cards and I pay every card off every month. So, I could close some cards and still be way under 10% utilization.

I am thinking about closing my Chase Disney card. I have mixed feelings. I am a Disney nut, so it just feels wrong. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to have many benefits.

Thoughts?

Assuming it’s the no fee Disney card I’d keep it open .if it’s the card with the annual fee ask them to product change it to the no fee card.
You can also ask Chase to reduce the credit limit on it if you feel it’s too high…you can do this on other cards as well

 

[wanderlust7]

Thanks for these replies. My initial thought is that I would not do the $15k spend for the FNC, but only because my thought is that a single FNC is not worth the extra spend--if I'm going to spend $15k, I might take advantage of an "upgrade" offer of 150,000 points for adding another biz plat. Although that really might be tempting the pop-up gods--apply for a new card and two days later close the very same (old) card.

But maybe 180-200k Hilton points plus a FNC is not a bad return on $15k in spending.

Also, I have already had the Hilton biz card, otherwise that would be an excellent suggestion.

The nice thing about doing the Hilton spend is that it's more spread out. 10k total is over 6 months and the 15k for FNC is over a year. You might decide to do both the Surpass and the biz plat. The pop-up is a mystery, but I think it's more about spend than canceling cards.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

CRAP! I'm sorry you had your bag stolen! Thanks for the feedback. Definitely something to consider for sure.

It was a terrible experience. Dd and I were headed to a riding competition and all of her equestrian clothing was in that suitcase along with my brand new iPad (a very dumb last minute decision to put it in the checked bag). Since I booked the tickets on dh's AmEx platinum card, they covered up to the card limit for stolen luggage. Delta on the other hand was the absolute worst to deal with. It took several months to get my money back from them. Lesson learned. While I did end up purchasing a new Tumi bag (I just love Tumi suitcases), I always make my way immediately to the luggage carousel and watch the bags coming out like a hawk. It helps now that my checked luggage is a few years old that it looks more beat-up and perhaps not as attractive to thieves. Another lesson for me -- never to fly Delta unless it's unavoidable (so far I haven't flown Delta since). Their CS was beyond terrible. I was able to watch my suitcase traveling on the highway (from my iPhone) towards TN while the Delta agent was telling me that my suitcase was probably still on the plane and they would deliver to our hotel within 48 hours. She could not grasp the concept of how I was able to track my luggage and kept insisting that I was wrong and would see my bag again. Want to talk to someone in the Delta claims department? Try again -- they communicate by e-mail only, very infrequently and not effectively. A less determined person probably would have given up, but they harder they became to deal with, the more determined I became.

Oh yes, if you want a payout from Delta for the stolen items in your luggage you better be prepared to cough up receipts for every. single.item in the suitcase (down to the tweezers, toothbrush and toothpaste). Sadly dd's stuffed bunny that she had from when she was a baby was in the checked bag . Maybe she learned a lesson as I told her to pack bunny in her backpack or carry-on, but she didn't listen. She now stuffs everything that she can into her backpack and carry-on. The girl can give a master class on how to cram 3 weeks worth of clothing into a carry-on.

I would put the money you were going to spend on the LV suitcase towards a nice trip. We all know what things bring us joy, so if it's the suitcase for you, then by all means enjoy it. If it were me I'd be too afraid of being a target for thieves. One small thing to consider, the limit for stolen bags is quite low on most travel insurance policies (though I always upgrade this portion of travel insurance now), so it is likely that if your bag were unfortunately stolen, the cost of the bag would take up most, if not all, of the insurance limit leaving no room to cover the items in the bag.

 

[twincruisers]

I am pretty new to all this and would appreciate some feedback/advice. Is there an optimal number of credit cards to have open? I feel like my total credit available on my cards is too high - about 115k. I only spend about $2k/month on my cards and I pay every card off every month. So, I could close some cards and still be way under 10% utilization.

I am thinking about closing my Chase Disney card. I have mixed feelings. I am a Disney nut, so it just feels wrong. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to have many benefits.

Thoughts?

There is no optimal number of cards. Too high of a credit doesn’t really translate into any negative credit rating either.

on the other hand, reducing your credit cards will likely reduce the average age of accounts open and increase your utilization which WILL reduce your FICO score. I’d keep your current cards if anything.

 

[ski_mom]

Yes I believe it is a requirement to be vaccinated with carnival unless you apply for a medical exemption. I also hate the last minute aspect too of the testing. And we’re cruising with other family members, so our entire party will hopefully test negative. I told DH we need to be super vigilant the two weeks leading up to the cruise to make sure that test comes back negative!!

If you get tested at Walgreens, isn’t it free? Or only if you have symptoms? Do you have to pay for testing when it’s for vacation purposes?

I think the Walgreens testing is free, but I haven't really researched it too much yet. I figure things will change by the end of October anyway, so I'll wait until closer to figure out exactly what we're going to do.

The one thing that I do worry about though is with all the testing the people that are not vaccinated are going to have to do for jobs, etc, I worry if the tests will be available for non essential things like vacationing. That's the one thing that makes me consider going ahead and buying a couple of the kits just in case.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Thanks for these replies. My initial thought is that I would not do the $15k spend for the FNC, but only because my thought is that a single FNC is not worth the extra spend--if I'm going to spend $15k, I might take advantage of an "upgrade" offer of 150,000 points for adding another biz plat. Although that really might be tempting the pop-up gods--apply for a new card and two days later close the very same (old) card.

But maybe 180-200k Hilton points plus a FNC is not a bad return on $15k in spending.

Also, I have already had the Hilton biz card, otherwise that would be an excellent suggestion.

One thing I always have to remind myself when comparing Amex SUBs is that Hilton pts and MRs have vastly different values. You can transfer 1 MR: 2 Hilton points, and lately maybe even get a 40% bonus.

So if you can get 180k Hilton points, it’s at best the same as 90k MRs (or 65k if there’s a 40% transfer bonus). For 15k spend, it’s just not worth it to me. I’m with you on your initial thought.

 

[Bigmace]

Is anyone else having issues with the new Chase Ultimate rewards site? Its just terrible, trips are no longer shown in a list format but giant pictures that takes like 5 clicks to pull up the actual booking, the "virtual travel agent" is terrible and can't find any of my bookings, there is no longer a cancel button for hotel bookings. And I had to call the support number to speak to someone with broken English to cancel a hotel booking. I know it wasn't perfect before but it did the job. Sorry just venting, really turned off by this change.

 

[hsmamato2]

Yeah, we are family of 3 and DH has through 2022 so little chance I will use it. But given that all it cost me was a few minutes to redo my flights, it’s nice to know it’s there if I need it.

I thought about it for a couple of minutes.... but decided I'd rather use my points for upcoming flights (and our current CP) than betting on a trip in that time period....kind of a 'bird in the hand' feeling I'm getting right now..... (heck any flight at all in my life still seems like an unattainable miracle) otherwise I'd have to cancel our free tix and pay oop to get a CP we may or may not use in Jan/Feb......

 

[have2getaway]

We currently have reservations through the Chase portal for Universal Portofino over February break. We have enough points to reserve airfare through the portal as well, but are reluctant due to the pandemic and concern over possibility we may need to cancel. Is there an option to purchase airfare tickets with points that would allow you to cancel the tickets and get the points back? So far, I haven’t seen an option for that. Also, for those who have traveled to either Disney or Universal recently, during COVID, what was your experience? Was it worth it? Should we consider a different destination for now until things improve? Our reservations are for club level, but will it be the same experience? I know the food and hotel industry have been hit hard, so that’s why I’m asking. For those who have opted for different destinations due to COVID, where did you go and what was the experience? TIA

 

[Bigmace]

We currently have reservations through the Chase portal for Universal Portofino over February break. We have enough points to reserve airfare through the portal as well, but are reluctant due to the pandemic and concern over possibility we may need to cancel. Is there an option to purchase airfare tickets with points that would allow you to cancel the tickets and get the points back? So far, I haven’t seen an option for that. Also, for those who have traveled to either Disney or Universal recently, during COVID, what was your experience? Was it worth it? Should we consider a different destination for now until things improve? Our reservations are for club level, but will it be the same experience? I know the food and hotel industry have been hit hard, so that’s why I’m asking. For those who have opted for different destinations due to COVID, where did you go and what was the experience? TIA

Do you have a southwest card? Southwest has no cancellation fees and you can cancel up to like 10 minutes before your flights scheduled departure time. You can transfer chase UR points to a SW rapid rewards account if you have a SW credit card (cant transfer them back though). If you don't have one and are not at 5/24 might not be bad time to get one. You will also get the sign up bonus. You still have plenty of time to book airfare for a February trip.

 

[Alexle2007]

I thought about it for a couple of minutes.... but decided I'd rather use my points for upcoming flights (and our current CP) than betting on a trip in that time period....kind of a 'bird in the hand' feeling I'm getting right now..... (heck any flight at all in my life still seems like an unattainable miracle) otherwise I'd have to cancel our free tix and pay oop to get a CP we may or may not use in Jan/Feb......

I have been using our AmEx credits for my bookings and saving our points for the future when credits no longer work. My hassle was I had booked DH and my flight together since he has A list. So I had cancel us both and rebook separately. We both have 23/25 flights towards A list for next year so these flights will get us both A list.

 

[have2getaway]

Do you have a southwest card? Southwest has no cancellation fees and you can cancel up to like 10 minutes before your flights scheduled departure time. You can transfer chase UR points to a SW rapid rewards account if you have a SW credit card (cant transfer them back though). If you don't have one and are not at 5/24 might not be bad time to get one. You will also get the sign up bonus. You still have plenty of time to book airfare for a February trip.

No, we don’t currently have a SW card snd are definitely under 5/24, so I will absolutely look into this. Thanks so much for the information.

 

[Psychodisney]

No, we don’t currently have a SW card snd are definitely under 5/24, so I will absolutely look into this. Thanks so much for the information.

Your Chase UR points will transfer 1:1 to SW if you have a CSP or CSR. If you don't....think about getting a CSP with the nice SUB. That will give you more points than the SW card with the same flexibility to cancel and get your points back.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

No, we don’t currently have a SW card snd are definitely under 5/24, so I will absolutely look into this. Thanks so much for the information.

You don't need a SW card to book flights. While the card will get you lots more points, you just need to sign up for a Rapid Rewards account. Then look on SW site for flights to see if there is one, or two, that you could book. Once you know the amount of RR points needed, you can transfer URs to your new SW RR account and book. As @Bigmace said, the advantage is SW is totally cancelable (probably not a word) even if the price changes, schedule changes or you cancel your trip.

 

[have2getaway]

Your Chase UR points will transfer 1:1 to SW if you have a CSP or CSR. If you don't....think about getting a CSP with the nice SUB. That will give you more points than the SW card with the same flexibility to cancel and get your points back.

Thank you! I have the CSR, and we still have another year before we are at the 48 month mark and can get another CSP or CSR.