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

[becauseimnew]

This had me hopeful, but I wasn't so lucky. My fee posted 2/1 with payment due next week. I called once already and was offered nothing. I tried today and again had zero offers. Oh well. I'm glad it worked out for your DH. If you don't mind me asking, do you generally let your statements post with a balance? I almost always pay early before they post and have always wondered whether that messes up retention offers since I am usually not successful. I remember calling amex once and the rep said I likely had no offers because I had no recent spend. I did have spend, but paid it early. When I questioned him, he looked at my account closer and saw the charges. It's probably just a crazy theory, but I do wonder what the system is looking at when offers are generated.

Yes. But we don’t use that card very often. Mainly when there are offers on the card.

 

[Haley R]

Awesome! We ate at the Wave in January and it was really good. We will definitely return. Another place is the Geyser Point Bar & Grill at Wilderness Lodge. It is outdoor and you can order from the counter service or at the bar/restaurant. Last time we were there they had additional seating all around the area. The burgers were very good.

We ate there when we stayed at wilderness lodge. I asked Dh about going and he said he wasn’t interested. We’ll have to see. With only having 3 days I think we’ll mostly stick around the fort and cook things in the cabin. It’ll be less stress with the baby. I did look at the wave menu and saw some good allergy options for him

 

[pinkxray]

oh wow, we are going June 2022 also but I haven't done any preliminary research. I've been focusing my research and points on our spring break Costa Rica trip.

We need to pay for 8 flights and 12 nights of lodging for those 6 people. No idea what islands we are going to, this will be DD's 15th birthday celebration so she's task with choosing the islands. I need to get her to make a decision soon.

Most people on this board will have no problem covering their trip cost. I’m kind of a low risk person and only get a few cards a year (plus no player 2). I also have more expensive hotel options picked. If the time comes to book and I don’t have enough points/$ saved there are more affordable options. Right now, I am aiming for what I really want vs budget.
We are in CT so have to fly from JFK to Honolulu. Since it’s a 10hr flight and our kids are still small we are staying and exploring only Oahu for this trip. For me there is plenty I want to do there.

 

[jenmsmith]

Looking for some advice:

I just received a mailer with the 100k Amex Plat offer. I've never had any Amex. I'm 3/24 with Chase right now (will drop down to 2/24 in May) and was just approved 2/9/21 for a SW Performance Biz. I love the URs and SW points are valuable as that's pretty much all we fly. Should I apply for the Amex Plat? If so, when? The deadline in the mailer says it expires 3/31. What are some good uses for MRs?

Thanks!

 

[Judique]

Yikes. Need to take a trip on the RMA to keep mine from getting cancelled.

I have a 25 cent trip that I do occasionally because it's quicker.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Looking for some advice:

I just received a mailer with the 100k Amex Plat offer. I've never had any Amex. I'm 3/24 with Chase right now (will drop down to 2/24 in May) and was just approved 2/9/21 for a SW Performance Biz. I love the URs and SW points are valuable as that's pretty much all we fly. Should I apply for the Amex Plat? If so, when? The deadline in the mailer says it expires 3/31. What are some good uses for MRs?

Thanks!

Is it this offer:

Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 on purchases with your new Card in your first 6 months.† Plus, earn 10x points on eligible purchases at U.S. Gas Stations and U.S. Supermarkets with your new Card in the first 6 months, on up to $15k in combined purchases.

Because if it is, that's a pretty good offer and I'd say, it'd be hard to turn it down. The easiest way to use MRs is to later get a Schwab Platinum Card and cash them out at 1.25cpp. There are also travel uses & transfer partners which get varying rates (some better than 1.25), and gift cards (at 1cpp). I'd google it and read some of the blogs on all the uses to get a sense for how YOU might use them because unlike some of the other currencies, the uses for MRs are very scattered.

 

[becauseimnew]

Most people on this board will have no problem covering their trip cost. I’m kind of a low risk person and only get a few cards a year (plus no player 2). I also have more expensive hotel options picked. If the time comes to book and I don’t have enough points/$ saved there are more affordable options. Right now, I am aiming for what I really want vs budget.
We are in CT so have to fly from JFK to Honolulu. Since it’s a 10hr flight and our kids are still small we are staying and exploring only Oahu for this trip. For me there is plenty I want to do there.

Thankfully we are 2 player and we have just enough spend to hit the $7,500 Chase Biz MSRs. I've realized that the Chase portal has lots of really good options, specially for large groups. My goal is to use all of our AA miles for flights, URs for lodging and cash for excursions.
I still don't know what to do with all our MRs, we only have 180K MRs I wish there was a way to use those for flights. Maybe I need to just transfer them to Hilton during the next transfer bonus.

 

[happ]

Yes. But we don’t use that card very often. Mainly when there are offers on the card.

I guess my crazy theory is just a crazy theory.

 

[platamama]

My neighbor’s son went to UMD College Park (Honors College) and really liked it. He is now in vet school at Va Tech.

That's good to hear. This started out as a trip to see UPenn, Haverford, Swarthmore, Princeton, and Johns Hopkins and I figured if we're in the neighborhood we could check out UMD CP. Maybe it's all just pipe dreams, even though DD is a high stats kid (she got a 35 ACT as a grade skipped freshman) in IB with some ECs and a job, from what I read admissions are not predictable. But mostly it's to feel the vibe of the area since we've never been out there. I felt a little silly going on a couple campus tours in CA during her freshman year, but with how the pandemic has played out, those might be the only normal campus tours she'll have before applying anywhere.

 

[jenmsmith]

Is it this offer:

Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 on purchases with your new Card in your first 6 months.† Plus, earn 10x points on eligible purchases at U.S. Gas Stations and U.S. Supermarkets with your new Card in the first 6 months, on up to $15k in combined purchases.

Because if it is, that's a pretty good offer and I'd say, it'd be hard to turn it down. The easiest way to use MRs is to later get a Schwab Platinum Card and cash them out at 1.25cpp. There are also travel uses & transfer partners which get varying rates (some better than 1.25), and gift cards (at 1cpp). I'd google it and read some of the blogs on all the uses to get a sense for how YOU might use them because unlike some of the other currencies, the uses for MRs are very scattered.

That is the offer. And I'm a sucker for something that appears better-than-usual offer. Thanks! Does is matter how close I apply after applying for a Chase biz? Or is the timing more important on the other end when I would want to apply for another Chase card?

 

[IFlossU]

I still don't know what to do with all our MRs, we only have 180K MRs I wish there was a way to use those for flights.

It may not be the “best” redemption but you can book flights with MR’s through AMEX travel. It’s 1cpp. If you have no other good options for your MR points it’s maybe worth looking at.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

That is the offer. And I'm a sucker for something that appears better-than-usual offer. Thanks! Does is matter how close I apply after applying for a Chase biz? Or is the timing more important on the other end when I would want to apply for another Chase card?

You might want to check out this DoC article too and make sure you aren't targeted for an even higher 125k offer before applying:

[YMMV] American Express Platinum 125,000 Points + 10x Grocery/Gas For 6 Months - Doctor Of Credit

Your recent Chase application would have little bearing on this. Amex also has been known to not show up on credit reports right away, so you could possibly come back for a Chase card within the first month or two after getting this. Once this shows up on a credit report you just want to consider it overall when thinking about your pacing since Chase will be able to see it then.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thankfully we are 2 player and we have just enough spend to hit the $7,500 Chase Biz MSRs. I've realized that the Chase portal has lots of really good options, specially for large groups. My goal is to use all of our AA miles for flights, URs for lodging and cash for excursions.
I still don't know what to do with all our MRs, we only have 180K MRs I wish there was a way to use those for flights. Maybe I need to just transfer them to Hilton during the next transfer bonus.

No interest in Schwab? If you take your current balance plus the Schwab SUB you'd end up with $3k in cash (offset partially by the annual fee).

 

[hsmamato2]

I’ve SM to move credit from one card to another. I’ve read if you ask for a CL increase they do a credit check so that probably has to be done over the phone

yikes ok thanks- I'll just move some

 

[becauseimnew]

No interest in Schwab? If you take your current balance plus the Schwab SUB you'd end up with $3k in cash (offset partially by the annual fee).

No, all those MRs are on my account and I'm at 4/24 until 4/22

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

No, all those MRs are on my account and I'm at 4/24 until 4/22

Wow... yeah, agreed, I wouldn't trade a year of UR potential for that cash either. You could just keep building the balance up, get some Amex Biz MR earning cards, then once some cards fall off, grab that Schwab and then MAKE.IT.RAIN.

 

[trenty]

No, all those MRs are on my account and I'm at 4/24 until 4/22

I feel the same about my MRs, but I collect them and eventually use them for something. In the past I transferred to airline partners to fly my son home or to school. We usually use SW, but there were times he preferred other flights/airlines and my MRs came to the rescue.

Just the other day I used points at rite aid to buy Dinsey GCs that I will use to purchase park tickets. Wasn't the best rate of return, but since I don't really see any future use of MRs, I didn't mind. I have no interest in getting new cards to take advantage of Schwab, so I settle for less.

 

[staceychev]

Can someone explain "targeted" and "pop-up" to me in terms of Amex? I went to the DOC article that @SouthFayetteFan mentioned, and it referred to "targeted" offers. Like, someone said that their P2 got that offer. And I've seen "pop-ups" mentioned a lot on this board. The only way I know to apply for a card is to go to the website and see what is posted.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Can someone explain "targeted" and "pop-up" to me in terms of Amex? I went to the DOC article that @SouthFayetteFan mentioned, and it referred to "targeted" offers. Like, someone said that their P2 got that offer. And I've seen "pop-ups" mentioned a lot on this board. The only way I know to apply for a card is to go to the website and see what is posted.

In that article it shares two ways that you can check for targeted offers. You also might have mailers show up.

The Amex Popup messages are dreaded by many because it's American Express' way of identifying you as a churner and blocking you from future SUBs on their cards. Here's a post that does a decent job explaining it. (It has some comments about Canada in there, which seems odd, but it basically nails what the popup is all about here in the US).

https://princeoftravel.com/blog/amex-us-avoiding-the-dreaded-pop-up/
Basically, if you're getting into bed with Amex, you need to be committed to long term regular spending AND you need to strongly consider keeping your cards open and paying the annual fees each year. If you make an missteps you might get banned from future bonuses and it can be hard to get that popup removed.

 

[staceychev]

In that article it shares two ways that you can check for targeted offers. You also might have mailers show up.

OK - so I went to Amex in my normal browser (I have an Everyday Blue card but am not signed into Amex's website) and it gave me a suggestion to apply for a Gold. I went in an incognito browser window and put in P2's info and it also suggested a Gold. Can I assume that this means I wouldn't be approved for a platinum?