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

[wanderlust7]

Hi everyone!

So I managed to combine my Chase URs from my biz CIU to my CSP and now I'm looking around for more easy points. Lol.

My DH has agreed to be P2, so I plan to send him a referral link so that he can apply for a CSP as well. He has a Bank of America card for the Amtrak rewards that he opened in 2020. He has another Capital One MC that he opened in 2012 when we went to Europe for the no foreign transaction fee. Other than that and some old AMEX (no fee) cards that are in the sock drawer, he is mostly an AU on my cards (Chase Disney, Chase Amazon & Discover), including the new CSP (7/2021).

Do I need to remove him as an AU on my CSP before he applies for his own? Should I add myself to his CSP as an AU (during application? or afterwards?) to help with the MSR?

Thanks for any help!

Don't add yourself as AU on the new CSP, that would add to your 5/24. Chase won't approve you for any of their cards once you hit 5 cards (from any issuer) on your personal credit report within the last 24 months. AUs count.

Your DH can be an AU on your CSP and apply for his own - but the issue is that it adds to his 5/24 count.

The other AUs you'll have to figure out what date the credit bureaus have as the opening date. I use Credit Karma for Equifax and Transunion, and a free Experian account. I'm not sure how easy it is to get Chase to disregard the AUs, I'll let others chime in about that.

 

[punkin]

If DH got a Chase personal card last month, is it too early to apply for a Barclay's business card with his SSN?

 

[Alexle2007]

If DH got a Chase personal card last month, is it too early to apply for a Barclay's business card with his SSN?

No, he should be good.

 

[ctinct]

I just became eligible for the CSP bonus as of two days ago. I'm going to close my CSR and apply for the CSP. The problem is, I just got a $1000 plus credit on my CSR. I know I can request a paper check, but will they automatically send one if I just close the card?

The other issue is that because I have been using my URs for PYB, and this refund was in the travel category, I am now minus some 3000 points. I *think* I will have enough points on my Freedoms this month to transfer over and zero out the negative balance. My question is, what if I’m a little short? Will they just take the $ amount out of my refund , refuse to close my card until I make up the potential shortfall, or put me on their you-know-what list?

Last question. Has there been any hint of when the 100000 point offer for the CSP will end? I know the speculation has been possibly at the end of September, but if I knew it was maybe hanging around till the end of the year, I’d wait to apply so I could grab my $300 travel credit from my CSR before closing it.

 

[EACarlson]

Monthly spend: $2500-2700. We don’t have a FF miles program or a hotel rewards program. We’ve only done cashback cards in the past.
Our current goal is to get as much off of a big family Disney trip in November 2022 with myself, my husband, our three young kids, my sister and my parents. The total cost of the room & tickets right now is around $12k – which I know we will not get ALL paid for by points. We just want to take as much off the top as possible. My sister also opened a CSP with my referral code and will use the points toward the trip, but I don’t think she is interested in doing anymore past this. We haven’t combined my husband’s CSR and mine yet, but I’ve heard that’s a possibility to make things easier for redeeming down the road. We also have not figured out what cards we want to use as our “main cards” once we are done collecting the points that we can, so if you have an opinion about that, I'd love to hear it. I'll honestly probably close some of the extra cards after we pay for the trip (but we will keep our 6-7 year old cards open).

edited to add - we do not own a business. That's probably helpful information, too! So I can't do the business cards.

My recommendation would be to look at Chase Freedom Unlimiteds for both of you applying from support links from each other's CSPs. The public offer for CFU is 20,000 points for $500 plus the 5x on groceries for a year and whatever the support links are worth. Then use the CSPs for bonus categories and the CFUs for everything else.

I'm now 1/24 and have an MSR for the first time in 3 years. Got a PenFed Power Cash Rewards. Flat 2% CB card that will be my go to for my non category spend for a while.

 

[wanderlust7]

If DH got a Chase personal card last month, is it too early to apply for a Barclay's business card with his SSN?

Barclay's can be inquiry sensitive. But they tend to pull Transunion, which other insurers don't tend to pull. If he's gotten Barclay's cards before, you can check if they did pull TU and how many inquiries there are on there.

 

[wanderlust7]

I just became eligible for the CSP bonus as of two days ago. I'm going to close my CSR and apply for the CSP. The problem is, I just got a $1000 plus credit on my CSR. I know I can request a paper check, but will they automatically send one if I just close the card?

The other issue is that because I have been using my URs for PYB, and this refund was in the travel category, I am now minus some 3000 points. I *think* I will have enough points on my Freedoms this month to transfer over and zero out the negative balance. My question is, what if I’m a little short? Will they just take the $ amount out of my refund , refuse to close my card until I make up the potential shortfall, or put me on their you-know-what list?

Last question. Has there been any hint of when the 100000 point offer for the CSP will end? I know the speculation has been possibly at the end of September, but if I knew it was maybe hanging around till the end of the year, I’d wait to apply so I could grab my $300 travel credit from my CSR before closing it.

If you close your CSR, you'll have to wait 30 days to apply. Better to downgrade it, then you just have to wait 4 days. Plus you can upgrade it back to a CSR if you wanted to down the road.

 

[punkin]

Barclay's can be inquiry sensitive. But they tend to pull Transunion, which other insurers don't tend to pull. If he's gotten Barclay's cards before, you can check if they did pull TU and how many inquiries there are on there.

His last Barclay's card was over 2 years ago. I will try to see if can find what they pulled. Also prior to this chase card, his last card was in 2019 (we refinanced so everything is pretty pristine on his report). I think it's worth trying.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Don't add yourself as AU on the new CSP, that would add to your 5/24. Chase won't approve you for any of their cards once you hit 5 cards (from any issuer) on your personal credit report within the last 24 months. AUs count.

Your DH can be an AU on your CSP and apply for his own - but the issue is that it adds to his 5/24 count.

The other AUs you'll have to figure out what date the credit bureaus have as the opening date. I use Credit Karma for Equifax and Transunion, and a free Experian account. I'm not sure how easy it is to get Chase to disregard the AUs, I'll let others chime in about that.

Thanks for the info and advice! While I don't think we will be applying for 5 cards in 24 months, but why limit myself further?

And since he is already an AU on my CSP, taking him off won't make a difference anymore, I guess? If so, I will leave him on. Once I meet our MSR on any new cards, I will have him continue to use my CSP as primary, I think.


The only cards we opened in the last 2 years has been the BOA Amtrak (DH) and the CSP (me and DH as AU). So, we will stop adding AU to our cards. It is just easier to hit the MSR when multiple AU can use the physical card. All our other cards that he is an AU on are OLD like years and decades old. I think that the last cards I applied for (b4 the CSP) is a Delta AMEX business card in 2015 to get free checked-in luggage when traveling and 2 CIU cards for 2 separate businesses (used biz Tax ID #). Cards before these are at least 9-10+ years old (Discover, Amex, and CO).

I haven't really gotten into the CC application game because we have too many accumulated credit cards. We have a bad habit of keeping the card forever and never closing them until the card issuer closes them for us due to non-activity. This has only only happened a few times for major CC (BOA NCL), but mostly store cards all get closed eventually. Lol. I keep having to use my Target Card and my Kohls card once every year or 2, in order to keep them active. Sometimes I use them a lot and sometimes there will be long dry spells where I don't shop there. In fact I just got a letter from Kohls that I need to use my card by Oct 2021 if I don't want them to close it.

My parents put me as AU on all their CC (in sock drawer), starting when I was 18 therefore my credit history is LONG. AMEX has me as a card member since 1971, when I was a toddler! I am in my 50's now. We did the same and made our DDs AU on our Discover and CO cards when they were 18. They have been able to apply and get their own Discover card now (20 and 22 yo). I pay all credit bills for our household as well as for my parents. Cards are paid off each month. We try to limit the amount of cards we carry and use so that I have less to keep track of each month. We mainly use Citibank Costco (Mom & me), Amex Gold (Dad) and Chase Amazon (DH). I may want to think about closing some of the extra cards we don't use soon - My parents have a bunch of AMEX cards and don't use them all. Mom keeps them in her safe deposit box! They still keep paying the annual fees. We haven't closed them because of the LONG credit history. Parents also have 3 Chase Freedom cards opened at least 20 years ago.


I think I read that the business INK cards don't count against the 5/24? So, I can potentially refer P2 (DH) from my CIU? Would the referral only be for another CIU? Or could he get the CIC instead? Would AUs on biz cards count against their 5/24?

Thanks for reading and for any advice!

 

[wanderlust7]

Thanks for the info and advice! While I don't think we will be applying for 5 cards in 24 months, but why limit myself further?

And since he is already an AU on my CSP, taking him off won't make a difference anymore, I guess? If so, I will leave him on. Once I meet our MSR on any new cards, I will have him continue to use my CSP as primary, I think.


The only cards we opened in the last 2 years has been the BOA Amtrak (DH) and the CSP (me and DH as AU). So, we will stop adding AU to our cards. It is just easier to hit the MSR when multiple AU can use the physical card. All our other cards that he is an AU on are OLD like years and decades old. I think that the last cards I applied for (b4 the CSP) is a Delta AMEX business card in 2015 to get free checked-in luggage when traveling and 2 CIU cards for 2 separate businesses (used biz Tax ID #). Cards before these are at least 9-10+ years old (Discover, Amex, and CO).

I haven't really gotten into the CC application game because we have too many accumulated credit cards. We have a bad habit of keeping the card forever and never closing them until the card issuer closes them for us due to non-activity. This has only only happened a few times for major CC (BOA NCL), but mostly store cards all get closed eventually. Lol. I keep having to use my Target Card and my Kohls card once every year or 2, in order to keep them active. Sometimes I use them a lot and sometimes there will be long dry spells where I don't shop there. In fact I just got a letter from Kohls that I need to use my card by Oct 2021 if I don't want them to close it.

My parents put me as AU on all their CC (in sock drawer), starting when I was 18 therefore my credit history is LONG. AMEX has me as a card member since 1971, when I was a toddler! I am in my 50's now. We did the same and made our DDs AU on our Discover and CO cards when they were 18. They have been able to apply and get their own Discover card now (20 and 22 yo). I pay all credit bills for our household as well as for my parents. Cards are paid off each month. We try to limit the amount of cards we carry and use so that I have less to keep track of each month. We mainly use Citibank Costco (Mom & me), Amex Gold (Dad) and Chase Amazon (DH). I may want to think about closing some of the extra cards we don't use soon - My parents have a bunch of AMEX cards and don't use them all. Mom keeps them in her safe deposit box! They still keep paying the annual fees. We haven't closed them because of the LONG credit history. Parents also have 3 Chase Freedom cards opened at least 20 years ago.


I think I read that the business INK cards don't count against the 5/24? So, I can potentially refer P2 (DH) from my CIU? Would the referral only be for another CIU? Or could he get the CIC instead? Would AUs on biz cards count against their 5/24?

Thanks for reading and for any advice!

Since your DH doesn't need the 5/24 slot, it's fine to leave him as AU on your CSP.

Most business cards don't report to your personal credit report and won't add to your 5/24 count. That goes for AU cards too, so no issues adding AU cards to business cards. Once you hit 5/24 though, Chase won't approve you for any of their cards, including business cards.

I wouldn't keep any cards with annual fees that I don't get benefits from. If there's a no AF version, you can downgrade and keep the history. Or if you close it, it keeps aging for 10 years before it falls off.

What is your goal for your URs? If the goal is to cash out with Pay Yourself Back, you may want to consider a CSR. That allows you to cash out at 1.5 cent per point instead of 1.25 with the CSP. The annual fee is $550, but $300 is an easy to use travel credit (can also currently be used for grocery and gas). Depending on how much you're cashing out, the AF can be worth it. If you're cashing out 100k UR, that is $1250 with the CSP and $1500 with the CSR, the difference is the AF after the $300 credit. If you cash out more, then you're ahead. Your DH would be able to get both the CSP and CSR with a MDD loophole (see our reddit group for details). Or you can upgrade an old Freedom.

ETA: Forgot to add that any of the Inks can support any of the other Inks, so yes you can use your CIU to support a CIC.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Okay so I just pulled the "preapproval" I got from Amex. It is for the Biz Blue Cash. I thought it was the BBP. The offer is $500 back after a $15k spend (12 mos to do it). That seems like a HUGE spend for a low return. Also is there an advantage of this card (since it would take an Amex spot. And I think I would rather have the BBP)?

I'm in Amex pop-up hell (for like a year now, and I spend on all 3 cards I have every month). I was going to do it when I thought it was the BBP. But now I'm thinking this would be a card I'd need to close at some point to get the BBP. 2% cash back is nice. But I already try and rotate the 5% categories, and have the CIU for 1.5x on other spends.

ETA - I know I get 12 mos to do the $15k, but that seems like a lot of wasted spending to meet a small SUB!

 

[punkin]

His last Barclay's card was over 2 years ago. I will try to see if can find what they pulled. Also prior to this chase card, his last card was in 2019 (we refinanced so everything is pretty pristine on his report). I think it's worth trying.

Approved! 5k limit

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Since your DH doesn't need the 5/24 slot, it's fine to leave him as AU on your CSP.

Most business cards don't report to your personal credit report and won't add to your 5/24 count. That goes for AU cards too, so no issues adding AU cards to business cards. Once you hit 5/24 though, Chase won't approve you for any of their cards, including business cards.

I wouldn't keep any cards with annual fees that I don't get benefits from. If there's a no AF version, you can downgrade and keep the history. Or if you close it, it keeps aging for 10 years before it falls off.

What is your goal for your URs? If the goal is to cash out with Pay Yourself Back, you may want to consider a CSR. That allows you to cash out at 1.5 cent per point instead of 1.25 with the CSP. The annual fee is $550, but $300 is an easy to use travel credit (can also currently be used for grocery and gas). Depending on how much you're cashing out, the AF can be worth it. If you're cashing out 100k UR, that is $1250 with the CSP and $1500 with the CSR, the difference is the AF after the $300 credit. If you cash out more, then you're ahead. Your DH would be able to get both the CSP and CSR with a MDD loophole (see our reddit group for details). Or you can upgrade an old Freedom.

ETA: Forgot to add that any of the Inks can support any of the other Inks, so yes you can use your CIU to support a CIC.

I think that DH and I plan to travel once it is safer and places open up more, especially since we are now empty nesters. It was our 25th Anniversary this year but we are postponing a celebratory trip (maybe Europe or Asia) to late 2022 or maybe even 2023.

We are maybe thinking of fixing, de-cluttering, and listing our house in 2022 and younger DD graduates from college May of 2023, so we may need to help her relocate and settle if she gets a job right after graduation. So, everything is up in the air for the next 2 years. Maybe it may become a big 30th Anniversary trip instead at this point.

I will join the reddit group to research about the MDD loophole to see if DH wants to go that route before he applies for anything. We just want to apply for something ASAP because we have a large car insurance bill due the first week of October and some medical bills to pay in October as well, so need to get the card ASAP. Do I need to contact someone here to join or just send a message to the MODS on Reddit?

Thanks.

 

[wanderlust7]

I think that DH and I plan to travel once it is safer and places open up more, especially since we are now empty nesters. It was our 25th Anniversary this year but we are postponing a celebratory trip (maybe Europe or Asia) to late 2022 or maybe even 2023.

We are maybe thinking of fixing, de-cluttering, and listing our house in 2022 and younger DD graduates from college May of 2023, so we may need to help her relocate and settle if she gets a job right after graduation. So, everything is up in the air for the next 2 years. Maybe it may become a big 30th Anniversary trip instead at this point.

I will join the reddit group to research about the MDD loophole to see if DH wants to go that route before he applies for anything. We just want to apply for something ASAP because we have a large car insurance bill due the first week of October and some medical bills to pay in October as well, so need to get the card ASAP. Do I need to contact someone here to join or just send a message to the MODS on Reddit?

Thanks.

Make a reddit account first if you don't have one, then PM @SouthFayetteFan or @Albort with your reddit username.

 

[wanderlust7]

Okay so I just pulled the "preapproval" I got from Amex. It is for the Biz Blue Cash. I thought it was the BBP. The offer is $500 back after a $15k spend (12 mos to do it). That seems like a HUGE spend for a low return. Also is there an advantage of this card (since it would take an Amex spot. And I think I would rather have the BBP)?

I'm in Amex pop-up hell (for like a year now, and I spend on all 3 cards I have every month). I was going to do it when I thought it was the BBP. But now I'm thinking this would be a card I'd need to close at some point to get the BBP. 2% cash back is nice. But I already try and rotate the 5% categories, and have the CIU for 1.5x on other spends.

ETA - I know I get 12 mos to do the $15k, but that seems like a lot of wasted spending to meet a small SUB!

I've been getting the BBP offer on and off. The BBC offer I get consistently. Today I don't see the BBP offer. Maybe you did get the BBP before, they're so easily confused! I'd say if you want the BBP to check back again.

I'm not really sure if the preapproval gets past the pop-up. Guess no way to know until you try. But if you do get it and spread out the spend, that would hopefully keep Amex happy!

 

[punkin]

Next question. I do not have any Citi Thank You earning cards and I'm thinking of applying for the Citi Premier. I am 2/24 so I have plenty of room for a personal card, but what can you tell me about using Thank You points? I'm interested in this card because it looks like it has a nice bonus and I need a card with 1) no foreign transaction fees and 2) a very nice credit limit, so given the stingy business limits lately, I need a personal card.

 

[afan]

Gotta say I appreciated the great quality toilet paper in the DL lounge at mco after a week + of theme park tp.

Wasn't thrilled with the food options, but had some soup. Was serve yourself.

Also went to the b side club and they were serving the food and drink and pretty much just had soup, hummus and some cheese cubes.

Happy to be going home. Though I did sleep so much better this week than I have been. Leads me to believe that Dude is the reason I wake up more than I thought. Why he's awake licking the sheets/blanket in the middle of the night vs sleeping I don't know, but that is part of the problem. Never have been able to break him of that habit, anxiety probably. Silly pup.

 

[disprincessbear]

My recommendation would be to look at Chase Freedom Unlimiteds for both of you applying from support links from each other's CSPs. The public offer for CFU is 20,000 points for $500 plus the 5x on groceries for a year and whatever the support links are worth. Then use the CSPs for bonus categories and the CFUs for everything else.

I'm now 1/24 and have an MSR for the first time in 3 years. Got a PenFed Power Cash Rewards. Flat 2% CB card that will be my go to for my non category spend for a while.

thank you! That sounds like a good plan. I like the idea of hitting another bonus and then just using a 2% CB card from there out to be our go to.

I have another question - if we get all these Chase cards, is it better to downgrade to non annual fee cards after our trip and just throw them in the sock drawer? I don’t see us doing another big trip for another 2-3 years, but we do love going to the beach so I want to keep some things open to use points for smaller travels.

 

[EACarlson]

I have another question - if we get all these Chase cards, is it better to downgrade to non annual fee cards after our trip and just throw them in the sock drawer? I don’t see us doing another big trip for another 2-3 years, but we do love going to the beach so I want to keep some things open to use points for smaller travels.

You could, I would not. I love my CSP for the rental car protections and the ability to transfer to SW at any time. The new $50 hotel credit makes that an even easier decision.

 

[platamama]

I just became eligible for the CSP bonus as of two days ago. I'm going to close my CSR and apply for the CSP. The problem is, I just got a $1000 plus credit on my CSR. I know I can request a paper check, but will they automatically send one if I just close the card?

The other issue is that because I have been using my URs for PYB, and this refund was in the travel category, I am now minus some 3000 points. I *think* I will have enough points on my Freedoms this month to transfer over and zero out the negative balance. My question is, what if I’m a little short? Will they just take the $ amount out of my refund , refuse to close my card until I make up the potential shortfall, or put me on their you-know-what list?

Last question. Has there been any hint of when the 100000 point offer for the CSP will end? I know the speculation has been possibly at the end of September, but if I knew it was maybe hanging around till the end of the year, I’d wait to apply so I could grab my $300 travel credit from my CSR before closing it.

I echo what @wanderlust7 says about downgrading your CSR to one of the Freedoms rather than closing it. Plus you'll get a prorated refund of the AF. Also, if you did that then you'd have a $1000 credit balance on that new product; if it's a Freedom that earns 5x at grocery stores right now, then just buy stuff at the grocery store and you'll earn 5x that should also offset your negative 3000 pts.

I thought I saw somewhere Oct. 17 (?) as the end date for the 100K CSP offer, but I can't find where I saw it so I make no promises. The support links tend to last a little while after the public links are taken down. I'm hoping it works out for me because my 48 months comes up on Oct 19!

When does your $300 CSR travel credit reset?