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

[Alexle2007]

Hi, I am joining in to get advice on a new credit card. I looked into your thread a year ago and again now. I have researched off and on the benefits and process of opening new cards for the bonus and perks and want to take advantage for a 2022 trip.

New Cards
7/19 Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa

We try to only have a few cards and keep the balance either paid off or low. The only cards we have are Navy Visa, Chase Disney Visa, and Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa. We have never had any AmEx or other Chase cards. We had a Discover card well over 20 years ago.

What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly? $2,100.00

Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest? Try to pay off in full every month. Sometimes we carry over a balance from a trip or large purchase.

What airport(s) do you typically fly out of? We usually drive. If we fly we usually fly out of BWI.

Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? We do not have a preference. We currently have Southwest Rewards accounts because that is who we have flown on the most recently. If another program is better for a future trip we would not be against using it.

Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport? Yes.

Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? We prefer Marriott but can use other hotels. We are a family of 5 and Marriott seemed to be the best fit for 5 people. Now that our kids are reaching adulthood this may not be as important.

Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? Southwest Rewards points and Marriott points. Not sure what the amounts are currently.

What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? Cash back to lower cost of Alaskan Cruisetour. Free or discounted airfare for cruise.

When do you plan to take these trips? June 2022

Who does your travel party consist of? Me, DH, Adult Daughter, Adult Son, Son-15, my mother.

We have booked an Alaskan Cruisetour with Princess Cruise lines. I have not looked into airlines yet so I do not know what cards would be the best for airfare. I am looking into which would be the best card to provide the most cashback or other rewards to lower the cost of our trip. I am not familiar with points cards to know how they work or if they would be beneficial for this trip. In researching cards and what we would spend it seems that either the Discover it, or Chase Freedom would be the best choice. Since I had a Discover card previously I am not sure if I would be eligible for the double cashback in the first year. We do have an account at BOA and could have Gold Preferred status if that would be the best card. I was looking at their Alaskan Airlines card as a possibility for the airfare.

We live in a rural area and are 45-60 minutes from malls and big box stores. We do not belong to Sam's, Costco, or BJ's but my mom has memberships if we want to try to get the additional cashback with a card that has quarterly options. We do not have many restaurants near us so we do not eat out often. We also do not have much in the way of food delivery options apart from Papa John's or Domino's so some of the rewards from cards may not be usable.

I am sorry my post is so long. Please let me know if anything is not clear or if more information is needed. Thank you for helping me with this decision.

Welcome! I wonder if we are neighbors. I live in rural MD also basically On the MD/PA line.

Where does your Alaska cruise depart from?

 

[Albort]

Hi, I am joining in to get advice on a new credit card. I looked into your thread a year ago and again now. I have researched off and on the benefits and process of opening new cards for the bonus and perks and want to take advantage for a 2022 trip.

New Cards
7/19 Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa

We try to only have a few cards and keep the balance either paid off or low. The only cards we have are Navy Visa, Chase Disney Visa, and Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa. We have never had any AmEx or other Chase cards. We had a Discover card well over 20 years ago.

What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly? $2,100.00

Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest? Try to pay off in full every month. Sometimes we carry over a balance from a trip or large purchase.

What airport(s) do you typically fly out of? We usually drive. If we fly we usually fly out of BWI.

Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? We do not have a preference. We currently have Southwest Rewards accounts because that is who we have flown on the most recently. If another program is better for a future trip we would not be against using it.

Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport? Yes.

Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? We prefer Marriott but can use other hotels. We are a family of 5 and Marriott seemed to be the best fit for 5 people. Now that our kids are reaching adulthood this may not be as important.

Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? Southwest Rewards points and Marriott points. Not sure what the amounts are currently.

What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? Cash back to lower cost of Alaskan Cruisetour. Free or discounted airfare for cruise.

When do you plan to take these trips? June 2022

Who does your travel party consist of? Me, DH, Adult Daughter, Adult Son, Son-15, my mother.

We have booked an Alaskan Cruisetour with Princess Cruise lines. I have not looked into airlines yet so I do not know what cards would be the best for airfare. I am looking into which would be the best card to provide the most cashback or other rewards to lower the cost of our trip. I am not familiar with points cards to know how they work or if they would be beneficial for this trip. In researching cards and what we would spend it seems that either the Discover it, or Chase Freedom would be the best choice. Since I had a Discover card previously I am not sure if I would be eligible for the double cashback in the first year. We do have an account at BOA and could have Gold Preferred status if that would be the best card. I was looking at their Alaskan Airlines card as a possibility for the airfare.

We live in a rural area and are 45-60 minutes from malls and big box stores. We do not belong to Sam's, Costco, or BJ's but my mom has memberships if we want to try to get the additional cashback with a card that has quarterly options. We do not have many restaurants near us so we do not eat out often. We also do not have much in the way of food delivery options apart from Papa John's or Domino's so some of the rewards from cards may not be usable.

I am sorry my post is so long. Please let me know if anything is not clear or if more information is needed. Thank you for helping me with this decision.

it sounds like your family could benefit from some SW Companion pass. If you and DH hit the 120k, then u can fly DD and DS for free. Hit a 3rd one, then u can basically fly 6 people for the price of 3. this would require 1 biz card and 1 personal SW card + some more, i forgot what the current rate is.

im not sure what your goal is but since it seems like you dont have much cards, id start with chase. CSR/CSP would be a good start if u can meet the spendings.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Surely a trip to London for the weekend just to see a play isn’t unreasonable if it’s all on points

Lol, she went to London in college and has always wanted to go back. I'm sure that'll come up again in a few years.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I’m relatively new here too. When I first started reading along I had 1 card with an annual fee. My $69 Southwest card. I was fully in the no AF camp simply because I didn’t know how to get the value out of a card with an AF. As I started following along here and really taking a dive into miles and points I became much more comfortable getting cards with AF’s. I now understand how to maximize their value, and when to cancel or product change if the value is gone for me. The biggest favor I’ve done for my family is following along with this thread and looking into cards and deals that are mentioned. Then determining if the value is there for us. There’s a great group of people here that know how to save money, and are very willing to share their knowledge so others can save too.

I think the new thread gave me the confidence to jump in and ask for advice lol. I was so hyped after reading just a little bit that I couldn't nap when my 1 year old was down for a nap. I'm looking forward to learning how to work the travel game so I can maximize our travel budget.

 

[calypso726]

I think the new thread gave me the confidence to jump in and ask for advice lol. I was so hyped after reading just a little bit that I couldn't nap when my 1 year old was down for a nap. I'm looking forward to learning how to work the travel game so I can maximize our travel budget.

The travel hacking/churning game changes all the time. It is the one constant you can count on. Things will change. This thread also has one constant since 2016 and that is everyone is nice, helpful and non judgmental on what you want to do and how you want to do it. So ask away. All of us were new once too.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

The travel hacking/churning game changes all the time. It is the one constant you can count on. Things will change. This thread also has one constant since 2016 and that is everyone is nice, helpful and non judgmental on what you want to do and how you want to do it. So ask away. All of us were new once too.

Thank you and I definitely will ask when questions pop up!

I've recently convinced my hubs on a 100pt add on contract to BLT so being able to fly for free or at a minimal cost will sweeten the deal for sure. Now if only that 100pt, Dec UY resale contract will fall in my lap with a reasonable pice!

 

[3 DD love princesses]

@Judique and @becauseimnew Thanks for the info! I have often looked at the Southwest cards but always get turned off by the annual fee lol. Perhaps with my little one now, it might be time to buckle down and crunch some numbers. I feel that I already earn as much as I can on my current cards and wanted to see if there is any way I can up my game. As for the Flex and Unlimited, I already have the original Chase Freedom card. It's pretty much the same thing right?

I used to be in the camp no annual fees. Now more than half my cards I pay an annual fee. The bonus definitely justifies the first year. Companion pass is nice but if you can’t use it then it doesn’t help much. I went for the companion pass for 2020-2021. Got to fly once and then COVID. Only have 1 flight planned for 2021. the sign up bonus helped justify the annual fee. Keeping the card this second year because the bonuses offered make it worth it to me so I can earn the cp for 2022. Everyone is different on how they plan their travel.

 

[IFlossU]

Hi, I am joining in to get advice on a new credit card. I looked into your thread a year ago and again now. I have researched off and on the benefits and process of opening new cards for the bonus and perks and want to take advantage for a 2022 trip.

New Cards
7/19 Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa

We try to only have a few cards and keep the balance either paid off or low. The only cards we have are Navy Visa, Chase Disney Visa, and Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa. We have never had any AmEx or other Chase cards. We had a Discover card well over 20 years ago.

What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly? $2,100.00

Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest? Try to pay off in full every month. Sometimes we carry over a balance from a trip or large purchase.

What airport(s) do you typically fly out of? We usually drive. If we fly we usually fly out of BWI.

Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? We do not have a preference. We currently have Southwest Rewards accounts because that is who we have flown on the most recently. If another program is better for a future trip we would not be against using it.

Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport? Yes.

Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? We prefer Marriott but can use other hotels. We are a family of 5 and Marriott seemed to be the best fit for 5 people. Now that our kids are reaching adulthood this may not be as important.

Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? Southwest Rewards points and Marriott points. Not sure what the amounts are currently.

What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? Cash back to lower cost of Alaskan Cruisetour. Free or discounted airfare for cruise.

When do you plan to take these trips? June 2022

Who does your travel party consist of? Me, DH, Adult Daughter, Adult Son, Son-15, my mother.

We have booked an Alaskan Cruisetour with Princess Cruise lines. I have not looked into airlines yet so I do not know what cards would be the best for airfare. I am looking into which would be the best card to provide the most cashback or other rewards to lower the cost of our trip. I am not familiar with points cards to know how they work or if they would be beneficial for this trip. In researching cards and what we would spend it seems that either the Discover it, or Chase Freedom would be the best choice. Since I had a Discover card previously I am not sure if I would be eligible for the double cashback in the first year. We do have an account at BOA and could have Gold Preferred status if that would be the best card. I was looking at their Alaskan Airlines card as a possibility for the airfare.

We live in a rural area and are 45-60 minutes from malls and big box stores. We do not belong to Sam's, Costco, or BJ's but my mom has memberships if we want to try to get the additional cashback with a card that has quarterly options. We do not have many restaurants near us so we do not eat out often. We also do not have much in the way of food delivery options apart from Papa John's or Domino's so some of the rewards from cards may not be usable.

I am sorry my post is so long. Please let me know if anything is not clear or if more information is needed. Thank you for helping me with this decision.

Not much to add other than I agree on the advice you’ve gotten on Southwest cards. One of the things I wish I would have done prior to even applying for cards was to really understand the “best” flight options from my home airport. I now use Google flights to see what the options are for flights to the destinations I’m interested in. From there I can get an idea of what kind of points or miles I need to start accumulating. For example, I live in Arizona so for most flights the best options are Southwest and American. Applying for a JetBlue card would be almost useless for me, and even Delta wouldn’t be the best option. For me Southwest Rapid Rewards are really the best value for our travel needs, and location. I would encourage you to see what the best available flights are between you and Alaska and start working from there.

ETA: Southwest flights don’t show up on Google flights. You’ll have to check those separately

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Thank you and I definitely will ask when questions pop up!

I've recently convinced my hubs on a 100pt add on contract to BLT so being able to fly for free or at a minimal cost will sweeten the deal for sure. Now if only that 100pt, Dec UY resale contract will fall in my lap with a reasonable pice!

Good luck. Keep an eye out contracts drop all the time. If you aren’t in a hurry just wait till the right one comes along.

 

[platamama]

Pg. 6, sigh, I missed this thread's rope drop lol

Happy New Thread and Happy New Year's Eve everybody! Hope 2021 brings you all health, a return to some level of normalcy, and new opportunities for travel.

I started my (actually DH's) Hyatt mattress run last night. I didn't see a way to add my name to the reservation so I had him call to let them know I was the one checking in "first." We both have Chase offers for 10% off Hyatt up to $25, so I asked to split the payment on two cards which was no problem. I made a prepayment on my card as I left this morning, and then swiped his card to cover the remainder. Asked specifically for no housekeeping service, so I hope that’s it to the mattress run! I only booked 7 nights for this one. Once he gets his 5 from the cc and 2 from a previous Bonus Journeys stay, and I finish completing a $5k spend on the cc for 2 elite nights, that should put him at 23 nights by early Jan. It should be easy to reach Globalist from there, but I also want to reach 50 nights for the 2 suite upgrade certs so I plan a couple more runs to make that possible. I'll say that FOMO on my own Hyatt card is eating away at me but I can't justify that when I'm still deciding if I want to try for a CP in 2021 and I'm at 4/24.

I'm just $256 away from meeting my MSR on the Biz Plat. I decided to eat the 1.87% fee for an IRS tax payment since that's lower than a Plastiq fee. That's almost a wash with the 1.5MR and 1.25x Schwab cashout. Originally my plan was PPK debit but with the Am Ex shutdown stories earlier this month, I decided to play it straight. I also chatted to move my statement close date 14 days later, so I'll have more time to use the triple dip in 2022.

Thanks @SouthFayetteFan for your work here and on Dischurners!

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Hi, I am joining in to get advice on a new credit card. I looked into your thread a year ago and again now. I have researched off and on the benefits and process of opening new cards for the bonus and perks and want to take advantage for a 2022 trip.

New Cards
7/19 Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa

We try to only have a few cards and keep the balance either paid off or low. The only cards we have are Navy Visa, Chase Disney Visa, and Barclay's Wyndham Rewards Visa. We have never had any AmEx or other Chase cards. We had a Discover card well over 20 years ago.

What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly? $2,100.00

Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest? Try to pay off in full every month. Sometimes we carry over a balance from a trip or large purchase.

What airport(s) do you typically fly out of? We usually drive. If we fly we usually fly out of BWI.

Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program? We do not have a preference. We currently have Southwest Rewards accounts because that is who we have flown on the most recently. If another program is better for a future trip we would not be against using it.

Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport? Yes.

Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference? We prefer Marriott but can use other hotels. We are a family of 5 and Marriott seemed to be the best fit for 5 people. Now that our kids are reaching adulthood this may not be as important.

Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? Southwest Rewards points and Marriott points. Not sure what the amounts are currently.

What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? Cash back to lower cost of Alaskan Cruisetour. Free or discounted airfare for cruise.

When do you plan to take these trips? June 2022

Who does your travel party consist of? Me, DH, Adult Daughter, Adult Son, Son-15, my mother.

We have booked an Alaskan Cruisetour with Princess Cruise lines. I have not looked into airlines yet so I do not know what cards would be the best for airfare. I am looking into which would be the best card to provide the most cashback or other rewards to lower the cost of our trip. I am not familiar with points cards to know how they work or if they would be beneficial for this trip. In researching cards and what we would spend it seems that either the Discover it, or Chase Freedom would be the best choice. Since I had a Discover card previously I am not sure if I would be eligible for the double cashback in the first year. We do have an account at BOA and could have Gold Preferred status if that would be the best card. I was looking at their Alaskan Airlines card as a possibility for the airfare.

We live in a rural area and are 45-60 minutes from malls and big box stores. We do not belong to Sam's, Costco, or BJ's but my mom has memberships if we want to try to get the additional cashback with a card that has quarterly options. We do not have many restaurants near us so we do not eat out often. We also do not have much in the way of food delivery options apart from Papa John's or Domino's so some of the rewards from cards may not be usable.

I am sorry my post is so long. Please let me know if anything is not clear or if more information is needed. Thank you for helping me with this decision.

Depends on if you want to go for the companion pass or just lots of points when you should apply. We are a family of 5 and did 2 cp since we were going to fly to hawaii. Well COVID hit and that trip got canceled. Not sure when we will do it. But having the rr points to just pay for all the flights is still worth it to me even if we don’t get the cp for DH. If you want the cp I’d wait to do a swa cc till mid October or later in 2021 so then you can earn it for 2022-2023. But if you want the rr points to book your flights then yes go for it now.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Good luck. Keep an eye out contracts drop all the time. If you aren’t in a hurry just wait till the right one comes along.

Thanks. I've never been a patient person (ask my hubs!) but waiting on a good resale contract is definitely teaching me to be patient. Having banked points from a canceled 2020 trip is keeping me calm too.

 

[Judique]

I think the new thread gave me the confidence to jump in and ask for advice lol. I was so hyped after reading just a little bit that I couldn't nap when my 1 year old was down for a nap. I'm looking forward to learning how to work the travel game so I can maximize our travel budget.

I'm glad you got the confidence! One of the things we do here is use the emojis and the 'like, haha, sad for you' buttons. It's sort of like we acknowledge one another. Sometimes I forget, but when I venture to other boards and post and no one responds it doesn't feel as welcome.

I think it's kind of happened for us as we didn't always have that ability.

I really noticed it when I put a lot of requested effort into some info on another board. I eventually got a reply that was a thank you, but I'm used to instant gratification here.


Anyone else notice this, or am I the lone soul who scans other boards?

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I'm glad you got the confidence! One of the things we do here is use the emojis and the 'like, haha, sad for you' buttons. It's sort of like we acknowledge one another. Sometimes I forget, but when I venture to other boards and post and no one responds it doesn't feel as welcome.

I think it's kind of happened for us as we didn't always have that ability.

I really noticed it when I put a lot of requested effort into some info on another board. I eventually got a reply that was a thank you, but I'm used to instant gratification here.


Anyone else notice this, or am I the lone soul who scans other boards?

I agree!! This thread offers more reactions than anywhere else on the DIS. It really adds to the community feel

 

[snugglebug]

Thanks for sharing! Sounds like a good use of time and resources, though I'm guessing most that do this keep balances at or near 0. This is the year I am really going to focus on zeroing out my cards, been a problem my entire adult life and just need to escape, but I do see the benefits of paying monthly bills from the card and paying the card from the budget. We did that to meet the bonus points requirements, but I'll probably wait until cards are all paid off before I do much on that front.

I have some cc debt I'm paying off. Those cards are not used for anything. I use only my new cards for monthly spending and focusing on paying down the other 2 while keeping the new cards at $0 balance before statement close. I tend to make payments every few days on various cards. Applying for a new card and being able to split my monthly spend from my old debt allowed me to see them separately and focus on getting rid of that old stuff. I have paid off 2 cards since starting this and now I'm working on the two with the highest balances. If things go as planned, I should have one paid off at the end of 2021.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I'm glad you got the confidence! One of the things we do here is use the emojis and the 'like, haha, sad for you' buttons. It's sort of like we acknowledge one another. Sometimes I forget, but when I venture to other boards and post and no one responds it doesn't feel as welcome.

I think it's kind of happened for us as we didn't always have that ability.

I really noticed it when I put a lot of requested effort into some info on another board. I eventually got a reply that was a thank you, but I'm used to instant gratification here.


Anyone else notice this, or am I the lone soul who scans other boards?

I’ve noticed it as well.....still read the DVC boards but avoid posting there...it use to be a friendlier place years ago

 

[Judique]

I’ve noticed it as well.....still read the DVC boards but avoid posting there...it use to be a friendlier place years go

I agree with that also.

 

[snugglebug]

Just want to share with those that care.

Total value of 2020 travel: $11840.11
(multiple trips to WDW, flights, hotels for softball, car rentals

Offset by:
Cash- $179.20
UR- 291137
SW- 291137
Hilton- 2x FNC
IHG- 40K + 1x FNC
DVC- 116pts
Airline Credit (ECBI)- $60

I think I did another $60 (ECBI) in airline credit and converted about $40 into SW RR when they allowed funds to be converted to points.

Time to start a new sheet for 2021 with no travel in mind lol Well, I have some softball tournaments to travel to I guess and I'm hoping to squeeze in a trip to Virginia.

ETA: Disney Gift Card Savings (thanks to Swagbucks, cash back sites and a few CC offers)
Total Gift Card value for 2020: $3474.24 with $670.27 remaining
Out of pocket: $1411.97

That should include upgrading park tickets to APs. The tickets would have been under 2019.

 

[DaveL]

Are you one of those guys who never reads directions? That was my BIL trying to set up Xbox on Christmas.

Directions? You mean those picture books I toss to DD?

Sorry about the delay, I was building some IKEA furniture today

Speaking of directions, IKEA eh?

 

[GBRforWDW]

I have some cc debt I'm paying off. Those cards are not used for anything. I use only my new cards for monthly spending and focusing on paying down the other 2 while keeping the new cards at $0 balance before statement close. I tend to make payments every few days on various cards. Applying for a new card and being able to split my monthly spend from my old debt allowed me to see them separately and focus on getting rid of that old stuff. I have paid off 2 cards since starting this and now I'm working on the two with the highest balances. If things go as planned, I should have one paid off at the end of 2021.

Yeah,I started thinking about that after I posted. I have my balances on a citi and discover card. The Disney chase and Delta amex are at low or no balance, so might be worth it to pay bills with those then pay off like you mentioned.