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

[SouthFayetteFan]

I just got an email for approval of a CIP biz card! Says I will get it in 5-7 days. Does anyone know what # I call to get it expedited?

Congrats!! Hopefully they'll expedite for you!

 

[chaselovesnemo]

Newbie here. My husband and I are looking to open a credit card specifically to capitalize on rewards and I’m lost on what to do. We currently have AmEx, Citicard, really old Bank of America card, Gap, & Kohl’s cards, but haven’t opened any of them in the last 2 years and don’t really even use them. We use debit for almost everything and don’t carry a CC balance. Credit is 780-790ish. I plan to start using a card for most all of our expenses other than mortgage.

We do love to travel but with 4 kids we only do one or two big trips a year. I’m open to any rewards, not just travel. Whatever would be the best deal.

As I’ve researched I’m leaning to Chase Sapphire or the Amazon Prime card. I like the flexibility of flying different airlines and find it easy to find cheap flights, so I’m not sure we’re interested in an airline card?

We would like to do a trip to Hawaii with the whole family in the next couple years so I’m intrigued by how to rack up enough points to stay at a resort. Can anyone dumb that down for me?

Thanks for any help!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Newbie here. My husband and I are looking to open a credit card specifically to capitalize on rewards and I’m lost on what to do. We currently have AmEx, Citicard, really old Bank of America card, Gap, & Kohl’s cards, but haven’t opened any of them in the last 2 years and don’t really even use them. We use debit for almost everything and don’t carry a CC balance. Credit is 780-790ish. I plan to start using a card for most all of our expenses other than mortgage.

We do love to travel but with 4 kids we only do one or two big trips a year. I’m open to any rewards, not just travel. Whatever would be the best deal.

As I’ve researched I’m leaning to Chase Sapphire or the Amazon Prime card. I like the flexibility of flying different airlines and find it easy to find cheap flights, so I’m not sure we’re interested in an airline card?

We would like to do a trip to Hawaii with the whole family in the next couple years so I’m intrigued by how to rack up enough points to stay at a resort. Can anyone dumb that down for me?

Thanks for any help!

Hey - welcome to the thread! Thanks for jumping in and sharing your situation. The Chase Sapphire cards (there's actually 2 of them) can be a great choice! With Southwest cards at an all-time high offer right now, you might want to consider those (although I understand that wouldn't give you airline flexibility).

We also have a number of people pursuing small business cards (which can have very lucrative bonuses) via some sort of side hustle they have going (consulting, selling on ebay, teaching piano, anything of that sort). Make sure to do a bit of reading on page 1 of the thread and some recent comments as you might pick up on some strategies there too!
I see you using the term "WE" but keep in mind you and your spouse are two distinctly different individuals to the credit card companies and thus can EACH get cards and earn bonuses, which can possibly double your earning potential.

 

[Hoosier John]

Newbie here. My husband and I are looking to open a credit card specifically to capitalize on rewards and I’m lost on what to do. We currently have AmEx, Citicard, really old Bank of America card, Gap, & Kohl’s cards, but haven’t opened any of them in the last 2 years and don’t really even use them. We use debit for almost everything and don’t carry a CC balance. Credit is 780-790ish. I plan to start using a card for most all of our expenses other than mortgage.

We do love to travel but with 4 kids we only do one or two big trips a year. I’m open to any rewards, not just travel. Whatever would be the best deal.

As I’ve researched I’m leaning to Chase Sapphire or the Amazon Prime card. I like the flexibility of flying different airlines and find it easy to find cheap flights, so I’m not sure we’re interested in an airline card?

We would like to do a trip to Hawaii with the whole family in the next couple years so I’m intrigued by how to rack up enough points to stay at a resort. Can anyone dumb that down for me?

Thanks for any help!

I like rewards cards, and use them whenever I'm not meeting a Sign Up Bonus (SUB) for a new card, but the real money is in the SUBs. Consider if you have a decent 2% reward for anything you purchase and spend $2k a month on it. You would earn $120 over a 3 month period.

But if you just signed up for that card when the company was offering you a $500 reward if you spent $6k within 3 months, you would really be in great shape with an extra $650 in you pocket ($500 + $120). Fictitious example, but realist numbers.

So the trick is to find a great SUB on a card that has categories and other benefits that you can continue to use. To add to my example above, don't be afraid of cards with Annual Fees (AFs), because those cards often come with better SUBs and better benefits. Some of the cards we like have high AFs and when the AF hits the following year, we downgrade (or cancel) that card to a No Fee card, if we aren't getting continual benefit to outweigh the AF.

Finally, folks here will likely want to know if you have a business, or have a side hustle (babysit, tutor, lawn care, rental house, etc.) that could qualify as a business, mainly because Chase biz cards don't count against you personally. Chase has a rule that they won't allow you to get a new card if you have gotten 5 cards in the last 24 months, however their biz cards don't add to this count.

ETA: We will also need to get a feel for how much spend you could put on a card over 3 months and what kind of Amex you have.

This year (2021) I personally like the Amex Gold card:

• AMEX Gold Earn 60k MRs after $4k spend in 6 mos. (4x dine & grocery; 3x air; $120 dine credit; AF $250)
• The Gold will keep the $100 airline incidental credit thru Dec, and will add $10 monthly Uber/Eats credit soon.

If you have a suitable business, the Chase Ink Cash or Chase Ink Unlimited look good to me:

• Chase Ink Cash Biz Earn $750 after $7500 spend in 3 mos. (5x Office, Net, TV, Phone; 2x Gas, Dine No AF)
• Chase Ink Unlimited Biz Earn $750 after $7500 spend in 3 mos. (1.5x on everything; No AF)

The Discover card doesn't get mentioned much here, but it's a nice card to have especially during the first year:

• Discover It Earn $50 after first purchase in 3 months (5x rolling quarters, Doubled first year, No AF)

 

[Hoosier John]

I’m such a novice at all this. How do I check my personal credit report? I don’t have any other Capital One cards - the Spark was my first. I’ll hold onto it and ask if they’ll waive the annual fee. Just last week the United Explorer was offering 60,000 miles. I’ll definitely wait until the offer is better.
Another question, I’m low on SW RR points. I moved some UR points to SW but i’m not sure this was the best move. I only have a SW biz card which I will cancel in May when it renews after my anniversary points post. I haven’t purchased SWA tickets in a long time since I always had a surplus of points in the past from the biz credit card.

The "official" way is to pull one or more of your 3 credit bureau reports. A slightly easier way might be to go with one of the credit scoring companies. Note, the 3 credit bureaus already have your name and social security number and you would be adding that to a credit scoring company's database.

• Annual Credit Report Check all 3 at once, or one every 4 months (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) Free
• Credit Karma My favorite way to track scores (2 different bureaus) & good for determining 5/24 status Free

 

[papaof3]

Any recommendations for a hotel in Miami for arrival night and one additional night? We decided on the Florida Keys to replace our Caribbean Spring Break?

I cancelled my 50th bday trip to Cancun this week when they announced u have to Covid test negative to return. Not risking that in Mexico. Booked Florida keys. Heading to key west Hyatt and Hilton casa marina. But after free southwest flights we are staying first night on Key Largo Hilton. Bakers Cay Resort is only 42000 HH points for the night and is nice. We stayed there years ago before it changed to Hilton and liked it. Only an hour from Mia airport.

 

[papaof3]

All three were physical gift cards shipped to our home

Might be the first purchase 50. I had to wait a long time for Amex BB credits. I was worried. Bought Panera gift card. Worked. Just stay away from anything digital

 

[Judique]

This morning Hyatt/Chase has taken away the $50 annual fee credit.
Current balance$0.00


The last transaction was just added in the last 24 hours sometime but states Oct 1, 2020.

Why would I get a credit before my fee was paid? Sloppy sloppy. If it had been credited in October, on the date my fee posted - Oct 1, 2020 - I would not have paid $75 to begin with.

 

[Alexle2007]

I cancelled my 50th bday trip to Cancun this week when they announced u have to Covid test negative to return. Not risking that in Mexico. Booked Florida keys. Heading to key west Hyatt and Hilton casa marina. But after free southwest flights we are staying first night on Key Largo Hilton. Bakers Cay Resort is only 42000 HH points for the night and is nice. We stayed there years ago before it changed to Hilton and liked it. Only an hour from Mia airport.

This sounds exactly like our Spring Break plans. We have 3 nights at the Hyatt Centric Key West and 5 nights at Hilton Bakers Cay. We have never been so would love to hear any recommendations you have. We have DS who turns 14 while we are there. He is excited to drive the jet ski by himself.

ETA: I think we are going to try The Confidante for arrival night and plus one before we head to Key West. That will get me to 4 Hyatt brands with one more to go for a free night.

 

[calypso726]

The Amex Platinum has a $30 PayPal credit every month Jan thru June 2021. Has anyone found a particularly good use for this (I guess I'll hafta learn how to buy stuff online :/ ).
I'm sure just buying $30 (PayPal) GCs is against the rules?

My plan is to purchase a $50 Disney gift card through Sam's online for $18.49 out of pocket each month. I sold a few of my DVC contracts but will still have close to $10k in annual dues, plus a (hopefully) DCL cruise in 2022. So heavily discounted DGCs or earning 5x UR on DGCs is the plan for this year and the foreseeable future. 4 1/2 years to accumulate 3.6 million URs so I can reach my presonal Opus Magnum travel hack!

 

[calypso726]

I cancelled my 50th bday trip to Cancun this week when they announced u have to Covid test negative to return. Not risking that in Mexico. Booked Florida keys. Heading to key west Hyatt and Hilton casa marina. But after free southwest flights we are staying first night on Key Largo Hilton. Bakers Cay Resort is only 42000 HH points for the night and is nice. We stayed there years ago before it changed to Hilton and liked it. Only an hour from Mia airport.

Sorry you had to cancel your Bday trip. Great alternate choices though. I've stayed at both the Casa Marina and Bakers Cay several times. The latter is one of our favorite weekend getaways. Enjoy!

 

[Hoosier John]

My plan is to purchase a $50 Disney gift card through Sam's online for $18.49 out of pocket each month. I sold a few of my DVC contracts but will still have close to $10k in annual dues, plus a (hopefully) DCL cruise in 2022. So heavily discounted DGCs or earning 5x UR on DGCs is the plan for this year and the foreseeable future. 4 1/2 years to accumulate 3.6 million URs so I can reach my presonal Opus Magnum travel hack!

Another great use I can do, and everyone needs Disney GCs

 

[StephPlum]

Went in today to add DS as my CP for our July flights. My account on SW shows CP extended to 12/31/21 and the button to add a companion is active. But when I go to add the companion, it give an error saying CP expired for that date. Has anyone been able to add CP after 6/30/21 for those that were recently extended?

 

[chaselovesnemo]

Hey - welcome to the thread! Thanks for jumping in and sharing your situation. The Chase Sapphire cards (there's actually 2 of them) can be a great choice! With Southwest cards at an all-time high offer right now, you might want to consider those (although I understand that wouldn't give you airline flexibility).

We also have a number of people pursuing small business cards (which can have very lucrative bonuses) via some sort of side hustle they have going (consulting, selling on ebay, teaching piano, anything of that sort). Make sure to do a bit of reading on page 1 of the thread and some recent comments as you might pick up on some strategies there too!
I see you using the term "WE" but keep in mind you and your spouse are two distinctly different individuals to the credit card companies and thus can EACH get cards and earn bonuses, which can possibly double your earning potential.

That is a really good point about being two entities. I hadn’t considered that. Maybe we should be going for two cards..

Thanks for the tip about SW being at an all-time high. I looked into that last night (80k points) and it looks like that’s 3 flights right now from my home airport to Hawaii. SW RR points dont expire right?

 

[Alexle2007]

That is a really good point about being two entities. I hadn’t considered that. Maybe we should be going for two cards..

Thanks for the tip about SW being at an all-time high. I looked into that last night (80k points) and it looks like that’s 3 flights right now from my home airport to Hawaii. SW RR points dont expire right?

No expiration date

 

[Alexle2007]

That is a really good point about being two entities. I hadn’t considered that. Maybe we should be going for two cards..

Thanks for the tip about SW being at an all-time high. I looked into that last night (80k points) and it looks like that’s 3 flights right now from my home airport to Hawaii. SW RR points dont expire right?

I didn’t have that exact issue but we were traveling on 12/31 and it wouldn’t let me add CP so I contacted SW and they made the adjustment. SW may just not have completed all of the pieces to make it happen.

 

[havaneselover]

Just hit staples for my first trip. Now converting to money orders for my 2/1 mortgage payment.

 

[chaselovesnemo]

I like rewards cards, and use them whenever I'm not meeting a Sign Up Bonus (SUB) for a new card, but the real money is in the SUBs. Consider if you have a decent 2% reward for anything you purchase and spend $2k a month on it. You would earn $120 over a 3 month period.

But if you just signed up for that card when the company was offering you a $500 reward if you spent $6k within 3 months, you would really be in great shape with an extra $650 in you pocket ($500 + $120). Fictitious example, but realist numbers.

So the trick is to find a great SUB on a card that has categories and other benefits that you can continue to use. To add to my example above, don't be afraid of cards with Annual Fees (AFs), because those cards often come with better SUBs and better benefits. Some of the cards we like have high AFs and when the AF hits the following year, we downgrade (or cancel) that card to a No Fee card, if we aren't getting continual benefit to outweigh the AF.

Finally, folks here will likely want to know if you have a business, or have a side hustle (babysit, tutor, lawn care, rental house, etc.) that could qualify as a business, mainly because Chase biz cards don't count against you personally. Chase has a rule that they won't allow you to get a new card if you have gotten 5 cards in the last 24 months, however their biz cards don't add to this count.

ETA: We will also need to get a feel for how much spend you could put on a card over 3 months and what kind of Amex you have.

This year (2021) I personally like the Amex Gold card:

• AMEX Gold Earn 60k MRs after $4k spend in 6 mos. (4x dine & grocery; 3x air; $120 dine credit; AF $250)
• The Gold will keep the $100 airline incidental credit thru Dec, and will add $10 monthly Uber/Eats credit soon.

If you have a suitable business, the Chase Ink Cash or Chase Ink Unlimited look good to me:

• Chase Ink Cash Biz Earn $750 after $7500 spend in 3 mos. (5x Office, Net, TV, Phone; 2x Gas, Dine No AF)
• Chase Ink Unlimited Biz Earn $750 after $7500 spend in 3 mos. (1.5x on everything; No AF)

The Discover card doesn't get mentioned much here, but it's a nice card to have especially during the first year:

• Discover It Earn $50 after first purchase in 3 months (5x rolling quarters, Doubled first year, No AF)

That makes perfect sense. Thanks for being so clear. My husband actually did start a consulting business last year. He is in online marketing so he doesn’t really spend anything on it. I’m not sure he would hit the SUB with his spend. I’m a SAHM who is paid in sticky doorknobs and dirty socks so I’m out for that.

We have an AMEX Blue Cash Everyday. The grocery and gas points are good on that but I can’t use it at Costco where I do a lot of my shopping. I believe I could use a Chase Sapphire there because it’s Visa?

We would easily charge 1000-1500$/mo just in groceries, gas, dining, etc. Some months we’d spend significantly more. We’re planning a WDW trip for April so that will be 5000ish more we would spend that month.

After a little more research last night I’m thinking maybe we sign up for a Chase Sapphire Preferred (mostly for the SUB and possibly downgrade after a year depending on how much we use it). And also sign one of us up for SW RR card for the 80k points (over 9 months). Maybe stagger those cards by a couple months to make sure we hit the spend for each SUB.

Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

I remembered we also have a Disney CC, which I believe is Chase. Does that make a difference to any of this?

This really is the nicest corner of the DIS. Thanks for your help!

 

[Alexle2007]

Just hit staples for my first trip. Now converting to money orders for my 2/1 mortgage payment.

Nice! I need to do this. Why did I suggest lunch in the wrong direction!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

That is a really good point about being two entities. I hadn’t considered that. Maybe we should be going for two cards..

Thanks for the tip about SW being at an all-time high. I looked into that last night (80k points) and it looks like that’s 3 flights right now from my home airport to Hawaii. SW RR points dont expire right?

AND if you go for two cards, you might want to get one... then get the other one a little later. Because once you have the card in hand you can generate a support link for your spouse to use and you BOTH get points then from the 2nd card.

I sent you a quick PM about our DISchurners group too FYI, you might want to join there as we have support links there and you can pay it forward to helpful DISers. There's also some great info over there you'll want to check out!

Southwest Points never expire (a fairly recent change) so having a bunch of them is always a good thing!