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

[SouthFayetteFan]

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?

I look at targeted offers, and card-matching tools, etc. largely as a marketing tool, and so I would not consider it to be a reflection on your credit or likelihood of approval. If you have a good credit score and decent household income, you can probably be approved for any AMEX card.

 

[becauseimnew]

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.

Now you have me thinking, it is time to make my plans.
March - Me Chase Biz card ETA: after looking at it we will be cutting it very close on the AA miles we need to get to Hawaii, I think it's time for us to churn the Barclay AA Biz cards. And their SUB just happens to be 75K right now with a low MSR.
June - P2 MDD CSP/CSR
Sept - Me Chase Biz
Dec - P2 Chase Biz
March 2022 - Me Schawb

If all this happens that should get us 325K URs.

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.

I did cash in about 80K MRs in December when they were worth 1cent/point. I also transferred all of DH's to Flying Blue, but looks like those are going to waste until we can make it to Europe - won't be this summer like planned.

I don't mind them sitting there until the right time.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Now you have me thinking, it is time to make my plans.
March - Me Chase Biz card
June - P2 MDD CSP/CSR
Sept - Me Chase Biz
Dec - P2 Chase Biz
March 2022 - Me Schawb

If all this happens that should get us 325K URs.

That makes a lot of sense to me. If a great use for those MRs presents itself in the next 13 months, you can call an audible. Otherwise, they'll still be there next year and Schwab has been around a long time so it doesn't seem like that's going anywhere either. The only thing you lose there is the "opportunity cost" of cashing out those MRs now... but the URs you're going to earn are WAY beyond that.

 

[Psychodisney]

That makes a lot of sense to me. If a great use for those MRs presents itself in the next 13 months, you can call an audible. Otherwise, they'll still be there next year and Schwab has been around a long time so it doesn't seem like that's going anywhere either. The only thing you lose there is the "opportunity cost" of cashing out those MRs now... but the URs you're going to earn are WAY beyond that.

I’ve never paid attention to the Schwab talk but the MR cash out rate intrigues me. We don’t use Schwann for any of our investments. There rates for checking/savings seem pretty low. Do you just park a little cash in their checking or savings and then you’re eligible to apply for the Schwartz Platinum? What is the strategy?

 

[wanderlust7]

I’ve never paid attention to the Schwab talk but the MR cash out rate intrigues me. We don’t use Schwann for any of our investments. There rates for checking/savings seem pretty low. Do you just park a little cash in their checking or savings and then you’re eligible to apply for the Schwartz Platinum? What is the strategy?

You need a Schwab brokerage account for the Schwab plat. There's a bonus to open with a support, tiered but the minimum is $100 for $1000 deposit.

You don't need the checking, but it's nice to have for ATM rebates internationally.

 

[Psychodisney]

You need a Schwab brokerage account for the Schwab plat. There's a bonus to open with a support, tiered but the minimum is $100 for $1000 deposit.

You don't need the checking, but it's nice to have for ATM rebates internationally.

I’m assuming support links on dischurners?
Looks like there is a checking account to pair with a brokerage account with no minimum in brokerage? I’ll have to investigate further.

 

[trenty]

Now you have me thinking, it is time to make my plans.
March - Me Chase Biz card ETA: after looking at it we will be cutting it very close on the AA miles we need to get to Hawaii, I think it's time for us to churn the Barclay AA Biz cards. And their SUB just happens to be 75K right now with a low MSR.
June - P2 MDD CSP/CSR
Sept - Me Chase Biz
Dec - P2 Chase Biz
March 2022 - Me Schawb

If all this happens that should get us 325K URs.

I did cash in about 80K MRs in December when they were worth 1cent/point. I also transferred all of DH's to Flying Blue, but looks like those are going to waste until we can make it to Europe - won't be this summer like planned.

I don't mind them sitting there until the right time.

Exactly. I just let them sit and ignore them. Happy I used them the way I did even if I didn't maximize the MRs. I have more URs and could have used them instead, but I get more use out of URs so I tend to conserve them.

 

[platamama]

I’ve never paid attention to the Schwab talk but the MR cash out rate intrigues me. We don’t use Schwann for any of our investments. There rates for checking/savings seem pretty low. Do you just park a little cash in their checking or savings and then you’re eligible to apply for the Schwartz Platinum? What is the strategy?

I opened a Schwab account six years ago for a debit card to use for free ATM withdrawals internationally. I think I had $20 in there for years. Then in 2019 we transferred a good chunk of our assets to them, and a few months later got a targeted 100K Schwab Amex Plat email which I took advantage of for both me and DH. If you reach a certain asset level with them, you receive a statement credit on your Schwab Plat each year ($100 for $250K, $200 for $1M) so that can help with the $550 AF if you have the assets. And there are bonuses if you use someone's support link (bonus only for the new customer, not the person who has the link) to open an account. Recently, they offered another bonus to me for transferring more assets over, so I went ahead and did that, I just need to keep the money in there for a year. I'm pleased with their services so far, although I find the website a bit nonintuitive.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I’ve never paid attention to the Schwab talk but the MR cash out rate intrigues me. We don’t use Schwann for any of our investments. There rates for checking/savings seem pretty low. Do you just park a little cash in their checking or savings and then you’re eligible to apply for the Schwartz Platinum? What is the strategy?

Well, I've never invested in Schwann's either. Not a big fan of the TV dinners. The FAO Schwartz Platinum offers a SUB of 6 free toys after spending $500 in 3 months. But I prefer URs over toys.

I'm sorry - your autocorrects (I assume) had me ROLLING!

Basically what @wanderlust7 said - get a checking account and a brokerage account - find the links that get you $100 for opening it. Then get the Schwab Plat and you're free to cash out to your brokerage. Leave the money sit in there (even as cash) for awhile, just to not abuse it, and then transfer it our or use it to pay bills or something.

 

[pinkxray]

I admit it. I barely read over the terms when I get a new card.

I have been paying attention now that Chase is charging cash advance rates when paying someone else with PayPal. (Starts in April maybe?)

Just curious are there other cards that don’t have this? I am looking to either rent or transfer DVC points next year. Was planning on using PayPal and the rent/trade board on the boards. Not planning on paying Chase a cash advance fee! I suppose I could use cash through PayPal but there isn’t much fun in that.

 

[Psychodisney]

Well, I've never invested in Schwann's either. Not a big fan of the TV dinners. The FAO Schwartz Platinum offers a SUB of 6 free toys after spending $500 in 3 months. But I prefer URs over toys.

I'm sorry - your autocorrects (I assume) had me ROLLING!

Basically what @wanderlust7 said - get a checking account and a brokerage account - find the links that get you $100 for opening it. Then get the Schwab Plat and you're free to cash out to your brokerage. Leave the money sit in there (even as cash) for awhile, just to not abuse it, and then transfer it our or use it to pay bills or something.

That’s what I get for being on my iPad poolside without my reading glasses....only sunglasses. LOL! Not a fan of Schwann’s either.
My DH would probably question my sanity getting Platinum #3 .
So, once I open a Schwann checking account, I can apply for a Schwab platinum. Then I can transfer my regular platinum MR points to my Schwab MRs and turn them into $$?

 

[Psychodisney]

I admit it. I barely read over the terms when I get a new card.

I have been paying attention now that Chase is charging cash advance rates when paying someone else with PayPal. (Starts in April maybe?)

Just curious are there other cards that don’t have this? I am looking to either rent or transfer DVC points next year. Was planning on using PayPal and the rent/trade board on the boards. Not planning on paying Chase a cash advance fee! I suppose I could use cash through PayPal but there isn’t much fun in that.

I think Amex is still going to be paypal friendly. I’ve done Zelle/Chase quick pay and good old fashioned personal checks for some of my DVC transactions.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

First off - we stayed at the Swan on Marriott points a few weeks ago and it was very nice. It was NOT my previous Yacht Club BUT it was acceptable to us, and I think we will be back due to my enormous stash of Marriott points (we have over a million currently). A 5 night stay at the Swan (w/ the 5th night free benefit) will cost you between 160k and 240k points.

As far as how to earn a bunch of them... well that's not as easy as it used to be. Back in the day, Chase had a full lineup of Marriott cards and Amex had a full lineup of SPG cards and you could get all of them! So some people (like me) still have a large stash of Marriott points from pre-merger. I earned a bunch from getting the SPG cards at all-time high bonuses and then they transferred to Marriott at 3:1.

Since the merger, the card lineup has been trimmed slightly. And there are numerous eligibility restrictions to navigate. Basically, it's way harder now than it used to be to earn a LOT of Marriott points quickly.

Here's this super simple (sarcasm) chart to figure out if you're eligible:
View attachment 557201

View attachment 557202

EDIT: Better Charts added.

I must be dumb but I don't understand the 90 / 24 code. Specifically, what does "Wait 90+ days after acquiring card" mean? Waiting 24 months since welcome bonus is self-explanatory. But what does the 90 days refer to?

 

[StephPlum]

Excited to get the mail today. I see 3 cards from Chase in my informed delivery email. DH's new CIC and 2 e'ee cards for me and DS. Got tired of trying to make sure whoever left the house had the MSR card. Decided to just get the e'ee cards at sign up.

Next up pay taxes and then figure out how to meet the rest of the spend. I am not liking the new elevated MSR on the CIC/CIU. 3K was so easy. 7.5K is proving to be a challenge.

 

[wanderlust7]

I must be dumb but I don't understand the 90 / 24 code. Specifically, what does "Wait 90+ days after acquiring card" mean? Waiting 24 months since welcome bonus is self-explanatory. But what does the 90 days refer to?

Super confusing! It refers to 90 days of the card you have. I think it's to prevent something like if you got the Chase Bonvoy bonus 24 months ago (and since closed), you can open another one and get the bonus again. But before you get the bonus, you go and get a Amex Bonvoy. With the 90 days rule, you wouldn't be able to do that.

 

[jenmsmith]

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.

Thank you! I tried and I could pull this higher offer.

 

[georgina]

Excited to get the mail today. I see 3 cards from Chase in my informed delivery email. DH's new CIC and 2 e'ee cards for me and DS. Got tired of trying to make sure whoever left the house had the MSR card. Decided to just get the e'ee cards at sign up.

Next up pay taxes and then figure out how to meet the rest of the spend. I am not liking the new elevated MSR on the CIC/CIU. 3K was so easy. 7.5K is proving to be a challenge.

Sadly I am not having much trouble with the spend. When I got the card a month ago, I figured I would pay taxes with it. Well Dh's 13 year old car needs a water pump and a muffler and front brakes in addition to the regular annual inspection, and we decided we needed a new sofa because the living area of our new townhome is so much smaller than our current space. (We're old, we went with a sofa with dual electric recliners!)

 

[Albort]

I must be dumb but I don't understand the 90 / 24 code. Specifically, what does "Wait 90+ days after acquiring card" mean? Waiting 24 months since welcome bonus is self-explanatory. But what does the 90 days refer to?

90 day rule isnt a hard rule, its told to you to slow you down in card applications. we see people who apply too fast and then get shut down because that spooked Chase.
the 24 months rule is a chase rule and its part of the terms. you are only allowed 1 sign up bonus every 24 months. if you apply before, u wont get the sign up bonus.

 

[RhodyKP]

You guys sometimes I'm so scared to ask questions because I'm afraid they're really dumb ones. But I'm gonna ask this anyway. Have any of you ever attended a FTU (Frequent Traveler University) seminar or something like it? Is it worthwhile?

 

[Albort]

You guys sometimes I'm so scared to ask questions because I'm afraid they're really dumb ones. But I'm gonna ask this anyway. Have any of you ever attended a FTU (Frequent Traveler University) seminar or something like it? Is it worthwhile?

no questions are stupid! :] I joined their group because i know their mods, its a good thing to sign up for if your pretty new at this game but for most of us, its pretty basic stuff. Most of the information is online for free like on DoC, OMAAT, TPG, but like, when u need to find that info, u need to really search for it...
FTU's paid subscription is i think all in one, im not in their paid feature though but their program seems pretty in depth.