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

[EllinK]

I think folks will want to know how long ago you got the sign-up bonus (SUB) for the Sapphire, or at least if that was over 3 years ago (or close to the 48 month limit).

Thanks for your response Hoosier John! I've definitely have the Chase cards for 3 years but it is likely 4. Anyway to check?

 

[EllinK]

hello fellow LAXer,
LAX is pretty wide open when it comes to airline loyalty. Not too many routes to New Zealand, i think its only UA and Air NZ. You can either fly direct or the other best way is to stop in Asia somewhere, ie Japan(SQ/Japan/ANA), Taiwan(EVA) or Hawaii before flying to NZ. u will find more availability that way than direct. Qantas can also be an option too.

Thanks, Albort. Love the idea of stopping in Japan but will have to check vacation time since going to the Southern Hemisphere is generally already a long trip. Hawaii is much more doable but we hope () to travel there this summer. Thanks for your thoughts on this!

 

[Hoosier John]

Thanks for your response Hoosier John! I've definitely have the Chase cards for 3 years but it is likely 4. Anyway to check?

It's been a while since I've done it, but if you use credit services like Credit Karma or have gotten any free Annual Credit Reports since then, you should be able to dig into them and find out when the Sapphire was first reported as open. Then add 3 months to that date, assuming that it took you 3 months to reach the SUB.

There are better bonuses out there that I would go for first anyways, like the Chase Ink Preferred (CIP) where you would earn 100k URs for meeting $15k spend in 3 months (which is perfect for your $5k/month spend). It is a business card which means you need some kind of side-hustle if you're not already a business owner. We can work you through possible side-gigs you may be doing without even knowing it. And it has a $95 annual fee (AF), which some folks balk at. But you will earn over $1k SUB, netting you over $900 in value the first year. Then after the first year, decide if the benefits are still valuable without the big SUB, or product change (PC) down to a no AF biz card.

Then after you've exhausted the Chase Ultimate Reward cards (and any other air and/or hotel ideas folks have), and after you have 48 months since the last Sapphire bonus, ask again about a Modified Double Dip (MDD).

Keep in mind that with Chase, to safely acquire cards you need 3 months of spacing between biz cards and at least 2 months between personal cards. Chase will not approve any card if there was an application in the last 30 days. And Chase will only approve 5 cards in the last 24 months (which you are well positioned for!), with the exception of the MDD which is a sneaky way to get 6 Chase cards in 24 month period.

PS. Please join our DISchurners group when you are invited, before making any final decisions. Plus it's prolly a good idea to run final decisions past the group before pulling the trigger, because there always seems to be little known tips and ideas, especially with air travel and hotels.

 

[platamama]

Travel pros: looking at US destinations for our family vacation this summer, and thinking about Colorado (Vail? Steamboat Springs? Telluride? Breckinridge? Others?) or maybe Sun Valley, ID. We’ve got 15- and 17-year-old boys, so looking for someplace with lots of active options (rafting, zip lining, etc....). Would love your thoughts and suggestions.

Oh, all of those are really great choices! Hard to pick! Vail is kinda fancypants with a European vibe, Steamboat has that Western flavor, Breckenridge is a really cute Victorian-esque mountain town. All have great hiking, downhill mountain biking in the summer. You could easily do some river rafting from Vail or Breck. A lot of people go tubing down the Yampa in Steamboat in the summer, and there's Lake Steamboat where you could rent a boat. There are hot springs in Steamboat, or you could drive to Glenwood Springs pretty easily from Vail or Breck. Horseback rides, hot air ballooning, ATV'ing are all options too.

The Park Hyatt Steamboat Springs looks really nice.

I wish there were a Park Hyatt in Steamboat. There is one in Beaver Creek, about 10 minutes from Vail via I-70.

 

[iujen94]

Oh, all of those are really great choices! Hard to pick! Vail is kinda fancypants with a European vibe, Steamboat has that Western flavor, Breckenridge is a really cute Victorian-esque mountain town. All have great hiking, downhill mountain biking in the summer. You could easily do some river rafting from Vail or Breck. A lot of people go tubing down the Yampa in Steamboat in the summer, and there's Lake Steamboat where you could rent a boat. There are hot springs in Steamboat, or you could drive to Glenwood Springs pretty easily from Vail or Breck. Horseback rides, hot air ballooning, ATV'ing are all options too.

I wish there were a Park Hyatt in Steamboat. There is one in Beaver Creek,

Oh, all of those are really great choices! Hard to pick! Vail is kinda fancypants with a European vibe, Steamboat has that Western flavor, Breckenridge is a really cute Victorian-esque mountain town. All have great hiking, downhill mountain biking in the summer. You could easily do some river rafting from Vail or Breck. A lot of people go tubing down the Yampa in Steamboat in the summer, and there's Lake Steamboat where you could rent a boat. There are hot springs in Steamboat, or you could drive to Glenwood Springs pretty easily from Vail or Breck. Horseback rides, hot air ballooning, ATV'ing are all options too.

I wish there were a Park Hyatt in Steamboat. There is one in Beaver Creek, about 10 minutes from Vail via I-70.

Thanks! This is so helpful! One of the trickiest parts of planning has been figuring out the differences among all of these towns.

I think I'm leaning towards Breckenridge. Would you (and others?) recommend going the VRBO/AirBnb route, or looking at hotels/resorts in the area? Is there a particular area of town you'd recommend we'd stay? Our boys are old enough to explore on their own, so the thought of being someplace walkable to "town" is appealing, but so is being in some big secluded VRBO with awesome views . . .

 

[EllinK]

if you use credit services like Credit Karma or have gotten any free Annual Credit Reports since then, you should be able to dig into them and find out when the Sapphire was first reported as open. Then add 3 months to that date, assuming that it took you 3 months to reach the SUB.

There are better bonuses out there that I would go for first anyways, like the Chase Ink Preferred (CIP) where you would earn 100k URs for meeting $15k spend in 3 months (which is perfect for your $5k/month spend). It is a business card which means you need some kind of side-hustle if you're not already a business owner. We can work you through possible side-gigs you may be doing without even knowing it.

PS. Please join our DISchurners group when you are invited, before making any final decisions. Plus it's prolly a good idea to run final decisions past the group before pulling the trigger, because there always seems to be little known tips and ideas, especially with air travel and hotels.

I do use a credit service so will find out about how long I've had the Chase cards.

I'm not a business owner so I'm interested in finding out about the side gigs in order to get the Ink card.

Dischurners!? Tell me more...
Thanks, John!

 

[EllinK]

Whoops! Removed double post

 

[Hoosier John]

I do use a credit service so will find out about how long I've had the Chase cards.

I'm not a business owner so I'm interested in finding out about the side gigs in order to get the Ink card.

Dischurners!? Tell me more...
Thanks, John!

In your case the Sapphire is the main one, because Sapphires can only earn SUB once every 48 months, whereas other Chase cards are two (?) years. And you are in great shape for any of those.

DISchurners is our private group where we have more advanced strategies than we post publicly, and provides the ability for you to pay-it-forward to any of us. You will be invited once @SouthFayetteFan catches up here (or I think there are a few other moderators of DISchurners, too).

 

[Psychodisney]

Travel pros: looking at US destinations for our family vacation this summer, and thinking about Colorado (Vail? Steamboat Springs? Telluride? Breckinridge? Others?) or maybe Sun Valley, ID. We’ve got 15- and 17-year-old boys, so looking for someplace with lots of active options (rafting, zip lining, etc....). Would love your thoughts and suggestions.

Take a look at Summit County. That‘s where you find Breckinridge, Keystone, and Copper Mtn. Short drive to Vail. Miles of paved bicycle paths, nice hiking, chair lift rides. Breckinridge has some other mountainside fun. Rafting on the Arkansas river is a reasonable drive. You can drive to many other areas as day trips: Aspen, Rocky Mtn NP.

 

[Hoosier John]

I do use a credit service so will find out about how long I've had the Chase cards.

I'm not a business owner so I'm interested in finding out about the side gigs in order to get the Ink card.

Dischurners!? Tell me more...
Thanks, John!

I have a rental house which has qualified me well, until COVID. Then Chase really tightened up, and it seems rentals are still iffy. But here are some other examples I have noted from others here:

EBay and/ or FB selling. We also have tutors, dog grooming, nanny, horse braiding, baby sitter/child care, notary, garage sales, tutoring, music lessons, Craig’s List, eBay, Poshmark, etsy, Facebook Marketplace, pet sitting, dog walking, Rental property,

NOT: Educational Services, Colleges/Universities/Professional Schools, because Chase is PCing these to Chase Business Capital
Oh, and sadly they frown on Credit Card Churning as a legitimate biz

Biz cards are especially valuable because the don't count against your 5/24 count (which is a personal card tally only). We have really made out well with the Biz cards.

Here again, we will need to guide you on how to answer the Biz application, so you don't go astray.

 

[Alexle2007]

Oh, all of those are really great choices! Hard to pick! Vail is kinda fancypants with a European vibe, Steamboat has that Western flavor, Breckenridge is a really cute Victorian-esque mountain town. All have great hiking, downhill mountain biking in the summer. You could easily do some river rafting from Vail or Breck. A lot of people go tubing down the Yampa in Steamboat in the summer, and there's Lake Steamboat where you could rent a boat. There are hot springs in Steamboat, or you could drive to Glenwood Springs pretty easily from Vail or Breck. Horseback rides, hot air ballooning, ATV'ing are all options too.

I wish there were a Park Hyatt in Steamboat. There is one in Beaver Creek, about 10 minutes from Vail via I-70.

That’s right. That is the one I was looking at.

 

[platamama]

Thanks! This is so helpful! One of the trickiest parts of planning has been figuring out the differences among all of these towns.

I think I'm leaning towards Breckenridge. Would you (and others?) recommend going the VRBO/AirBnb route, or looking at hotels/resorts in the area? Is there a particular area of town you'd recommend we'd stay? Our boys are old enough to explore on their own, so the thought of being someplace walkable to "town" is appealing, but so is being in some big secluded VRBO with awesome views . . .

Parking in town can be difficult, so I chose to stay close-in the last time I was there (at the Residence Inn Breckenridge which was a good option) so that we could walk to places. That was on the south end of town (close to the ski area) and Breckenridge isn't very big so it was easy to walk to the north end of town and back. But with two teenagers I could see the benefits of having more space and bathrooms, which AirBnB/VRBO could get you. I would pay close attention to the cancellation policies and cleaning fees on AirBnB & VRBO and compare to the hotel options. Do you have Marriott, Hilton, or Hyatt points that could help you? Those are the hotel chains in Breck.

 

[wanderlust7]

New here! I've been active on the DCL and ABD boards where I've enjoyed reading about Calypso's travel hacking experiences. Now I want to learn how
I need a points strategy for trip planned from Los Angeles to New Zealand in Dec 2021.

Cards applied for in past 24 months: 0
Cards I currently have: Chase Sapphire Pref, United Explorer, Marriott Bonvoy
Monthly spend: $5K
Payoff cc?: Yes
Airport: LAX
FF program: UA MileagePlus
current points: 500K UA, 100K Chase
Goal: 3 business/1st class tix to New Zealand
When: Dec 2021
Travel Party: me, husband and teenaged son

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!

You may also want to look at Amex MRs to diversity your transfer partners. MRs transfer to ANA for example, but URs do not. There is currently a highest ever offer on the Amex Platinum card. 100k MRs for $5000 spend and 10x on groceries. You may be able to pull up the 125k offer, especially if you're new to Amex.

My impression is 3 seats will be pretty hard. Hopefully someone with experience will chime in. In the meantime, you can also google New Zealand with miles, some bloggers have covered it and you can get an idea what airlines you should be looking at.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Travel pros: looking at US destinations for our family vacation this summer, and thinking about Colorado (Vail? Steamboat Springs? Telluride? Breckinridge? Others?) or maybe Sun Valley, ID. We’ve got 15- and 17-year-old boys, so looking for someplace with lots of active options (rafting, zip lining, etc....). Would love your thoughts and suggestions.

I know you didn’t mention it, but Hawaii would fit your criteria. There were $197 non-stop flights (from Chicago) just yesterday, so you might want to do a Google Flights search, if interested.

 

[Judique]

I do use a credit service so will find out about how long I've had the Chase cards.

I'm not a business owner so I'm interested in finding out about the side gigs in order to get the Ink card.

Dischurners!? Tell me more...
Thanks, John!

Just an FYI, Chase lets you view up to 7 years of statements right on your online account. Just open statements click the year 2016 and if there are no statements, go to 2017. This way you can also see when you met spend.

 

[Judique]

You may also want to look at Amex MRs to diversity your transfer partners. MRs transfer to ANA for example, but URs do not. There is currently a highest ever offer on the Amex Platinum card. 100k MRs for $5000 spend and 10x on groceries. You may be able to pull up the 125k offer, especially if you're new to Amex.

My impression is 3 seats will be pretty hard. Hopefully someone with experience will chime in. In the meantime, you can also google New Zealand with miles, some bloggers have covered it and you can get an idea what airlines you should be looking at.

Didn't somebody here go to New Zealand in 2019? Or early 2020?

disregard: Tink1970 went in March but she was cruising, not flying.

 

[iujen94]

Parking in town can be difficult, so I chose to stay close-in the last time I was there (at the Residence Inn Breckenridge which was a good option) so that we could walk to places. That was on the south end of town (close to the ski area) and Breckenridge isn't very big so it was easy to walk to the north end of town and back. But with two teenagers I could see the benefits of having more space and bathrooms, which AirBnB/VRBO could get you. I would pay close attention to the cancellation policies and cleaning fees on AirBnB & VRBO and compare to the hotel options. Do you have Marriott, Hilton, or Hyatt points that could help you? Those are the hotel chains in Breck.

I’ve got lots of URs and about 60k Hyatt points. I think a VRBO probably makes the most sense overall - but yeah, I’m not thrilled about inflexible cancellation policies.

 

[iujen94]

I know you didn’t mention it, but Hawaii would fit your criteria. There were $197 non-stop flights (from Chicago) just yesterday, so you might want to do a Google Flights search, if interested.

Hawaii is where we were supposed to go this year, has Covid not wrecked things. I’m really hoping we will be vaccinated by July/august when we take this trip (otherwise we won’t be flying anywhere, by our personal choice). I just know Hawaii has been sooo strict that I’m worried they’ll still have lots of Covid rules still in place this summer (like masks on the beaches).

 

[magickingdomprincess]

I'm so confused on my DH's Chase Freedom Unlimited card! He PC'd from a CSP last year, and we honestly don't use it much because we usually have an MSR to work on. But, I read that the quarterly bonus category this quarter is warehouse clubs, so I wanted to buy some DGC's at Sam's to cover our DVC dues. I don't see where he can activate the 5% category. Are there different Chase Freedoms and the CFU doesn't have this 5% category? I found a link to activate it, but it says it's not valid. Help please!

 

[havaneselover]

I had computer drama today. DD helped me replace the battery in my xps 13. It was an involved process and there were stripped screws (had to buy an extractor kit from Amazon). Anyway we finally got the battery replaced and then the screen wasn't opening properly. So I took it to one of those fixit places today and they told me the case was broken (no clue how that happened). I went and got another opinion and at first they said it wasn't broken but then they said it was. They recommended I sign up for Asurion Home +, wait 31 days and file a claim then they would replace my laptop. I got home and couldn't even get the laptop to connect to the internet which was going to make working tomorrow rather difficult! Somehow it connected to wifi again.

So I still had this issue that the laptop either needs to be repaired or replaced. Thought about a Surface Laptop 3. Then went back to Dell (because I'm a glutton for punishment). Found another XPS--list price was about $1,100 and it was on sale plus 15% off. Still had my 10% off Amex offer and my $100 Dell Platinum credit. So it's less than $600.

My lesson was to stop trying to replace batteries myself in laptops (and iphones).