I love credit cards so much! v5.0 - 2022 (see first page for add'l details)

[reliev]

I haven't done Delta One. But we are going to Paris this year so this was intriguing. Thing is, we're happy with lie-flat seats on Air France business class which are 55K each, so it's still a huge difference. But also don't know what we're missing...

I've done both airfrance has way better food IMO. delta has better in-flight entertainment, I never really see good redemptions with SkyMiles outside of us but I go to their partners when it makes sense. the seat I think is a little better on delta but I'm going to France for the food and wine.

 

[reliev]

I'd appreciate suggestions on a hotel loyalty card/brand to pursue. We have had IHG for 10+ years but I want to expand. It is mostly used for my husband's business stays at IHG although we occasionally stay one night here or there. We've stayed executive level a few times at Hilton and like that perk, but I'm also open to Hyatt.

In the next year I have trips planned to London/U.K., Oklahoma City, Orlando for a convention--last time it was at Rosen Shingle Creek, and then WDW on property for a few days, and Glacier National Park via Seattle. After that we will be officially done with college tuition and plan to travel a lot more.

Just got this email from IHG. These are my three primary categories, but timing is bad as I'm working on a minimum spend for Venture X:

​

From July 1 to Sept. 30, you can earn 5X total points for every dollar spent on up to $1,500 in combined purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and home improvement stores with your IHG® Rewards Credit Card.*​

​ Activate your special offer by Sept. 30, 2022.​

Should I aim for Hilton or Hyatt?
edited to add: I already have CSP and Disney Visa

id go to Hyatt Hilton is a competition more people buy status IMO. The point redemptions are better for transfer from the UR also (in general) they are worth more imo.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I've done both airfrance has way better food IMO. delta has better in-flight entertainment, I never really see good redemptions with SkyMiles outside of us but I go to their partners when it makes sense. the seat I think is a little better on delta but I'm going to France for the food and wine.

So Delta has our dates available but it's just too many points still and we'll be happy with biz class on Air France so just booked the latter

 

[reliev]

So Delta has our dates available but it's just too many points still and we'll be happy with biz class on Air France so just booked the latter

yeah i have so many sky pesos that i don't use its a good deal IMO to burn those but not to transfer in if that makes sense.

 

[calypso726]

I'd appreciate suggestions on a hotel loyalty card/brand to pursue. We have had IHG for 10+ years but I want to expand. It is mostly used for my husband's business stays at IHG although we occasionally stay one night here or there. We've stayed executive level a few times at Hilton and like that perk, but I'm also open to Hyatt.

In the next year I have trips planned to London/U.K., Oklahoma City, Orlando for a convention--last time it was at Rosen Shingle Creek, and then WDW on property for a few days, and Glacier National Park via Seattle. After that we will be officially done with college tuition and plan to travel a lot more.

Just got this email from IHG. These are my three primary categories, but timing is bad as I'm working on a minimum spend for Venture X:

​

From July 1 to Sept. 30, you can earn 5X total points for every dollar spent on up to $1,500 in combined purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and home improvement stores with your IHG® Rewards Credit Card.*​

​ Activate your special offer by Sept. 30, 2022.​

Should I aim for Hilton or Hyatt?
edited to add: I already have CSP and Disney Visa

Personally, I'd vote for Hyatt as hotel card for the long run. My biggest regret in the 10 years I've been at this hobby is not jumping on the Hyatt bandwagon sooner. I get it now. With that said, why go with the "or" option when the "and" option is open.

The "cost" of points it takes for a redemption can be as low as 3,500 points for an off peak cat 1 property and as high as 45,000ish points for a peak cat 8 property. There is a a peak and off peak chart to provide an idea of how many points you will need at a given property. The personal card gives you a free night certificate at a cat 1-4 property each year. The Chase UR ecosphere makes it easier to earn points faster with various cards that can be transferred to Hyatt 1:1. This is quite valuable. I did a search for a stay at WDW area and the Grand Cypress is $1,120 for 4 nights July 1-5. That would be about 89,600 CSP points through the portal. The same 4 night in the same room would cost 60,000 UR points by transferring them to Hyatt and booking with hotel points instead. Additionally, they can be transferred 1:1 for IHG, Marriott, and various airlines. Freedom 5x, CFU at 1.5, Ink Cash 5x at office supply stores, cable, internet and phone, Freedom Flex is 3x for dining and drugstores are cards that earn URs with bonus cats.. With a transfer to your CSP account these points retain a .0125 cent value through the portal giving you flexibility if you need to purchase travel through the UR portal.

Meanwhile, I rarely see a Hilton property for less than 50k and often 120k for standard room. Hilton no longer has an award chart and the pricing is dynamic, so one night could be 40k points and the following night could be 80k. The individual Hilton cards do earn more points for certain purchases like groceries and gas but they are only good for Hilton stays. So that to me, reduces the value of the points earned for spending on the card. You do not get a free night certificate unless you hold the Aspire which is $450 a year. We have 4 Aspires in this household and I get excellent value from them. I put no spend on them unless I am at a Hilton property. You can also purchase Hilton points for about 1/2 a cent per point and I do that as well. But I only use Hilton points for outsized value redemptions. The same dates of 7/1-7/5 at the Hilton Bonnett Creek are $1334.25 and with points are 240,000 points. Id have to spend $80k on non category spending to earn 240k points for this stay on the Hilton Surpass or Hilton no fee card. I'd need to open 2 Hilton cards, both with a fee to get enough points for this stay.

But I'd only have to spend $40k with a CFU to earn the 60k points on the same non category purchases that I could transfer to Hyatt for the stay. Meanwhile, I could open one Ink Cash with no fee and earn more than enough points for the Hyatt stay since you can transfer those points to your CSP.

Anyhow, I'd say go for both but start with Chase while you are under 5/24 for the long haul. Additionally, I'd suggest looking at the options for the properties you may be thinking of staying at and seeing what the point cost will be for a similar stay and go from there. Hope this helps.

 

[reliev]

Personally, I'd vote for Hyatt as hotel card for the long run. My biggest regret in the 10 years I've been at this hobby is not jumping on the Hyatt bandwagon sooner. I get it now. With that said, why go with the "or" option when the "and" option is open.

The "cost" of points it takes for a redemption can be as low as 3,500 points for an off peak cat 1 property and as high as 45,000ish points for a peak cat 8 property. There is a a peak and off peak chart to provide an idea of how many points you will need at a given property. The personal card gives you a free night certificate at a cat 1-4 property each year. The Chase UR ecosphere makes it easier to earn points faster with various cards that can be transferred to Hyatt 1:1. This is quite valuable. I did a search for a stay at WDW area and the Grand Cypress is $1,120 for 4 nights July 1-5. That would be about 89,600 CSP points through the portal. The same 4 night in the same room would cost 60,000 UR points by transferring them to Hyatt and booking with hotel points instead. Additionally, they can be transferred 1:1 for IHG, Marriott, and various airlines. Freedom 5x, CFU at 1.5, Ink Cash 5x at office supply stores, cable, internet and phone, Freedom Flex is 3x for dining and drugstores. With a transfer to your CSP account these points retain a .0125 cent value through the portal giving you flexibility if you need to purchase travel through the UR portal.

Meanwhile, I rarely see a Hilton property for less than 50k and often 120k for standard room. Hilton no longer has an award chart and the pricing is dynamic, so one night could be 40k points and the following night could be 80k. The individual Hilton cards do earn more points for certain purchases like groceries and gas but they are only good for Hilton stays. So that to me, reduces the value of the points earned for spending on the card. You do not get a free night certificate unless you hold the Aspire which is $450 a year. We have 4 Aspires in this household and I get excellent value from them. I put no spend on them unless I am at a Hilton property. You can also purchase Hilton points for about 1/2 a cent per point and I do that as well. But I only use Hilton points for outsized value redemptions. The same dates of 7/1-7/5 at the Hilton Bonnett Creek are $1334.25 and with points are 240,000 points. Id have to spend $80k on non category spending to earn 240k points for this stay on the Hilton Surpass or Hilton no fee card. I'd need to open 2 Hilton cards, both with a fee to get enough points for this stay.

But I'd only have to spend $40k with a CFU to earn the 60k points on the same non category purchases that I could transfer to Hyatt for the stay. Meanwhile, I could open one Ink Cash with no fee and earn more than enough points for the Hyatt stay since you can transfer those points to your CSP.

Anyhow, I'd say go for both but start with Chase while you are under 5/24 for the long haul. Additionally, I'd suggest looking at the options for the properties you may be thinking of staying at and seeing what the point cost will be for a similar stay and go from there. Hope this helps.

well said!

 

[AndreaDM]

So Delta has our dates available but it's just too many points still and we'll be happy with biz class on Air France so just booked the latter

Do you find the AF website clunky to use? I've been searching and it lets me do one, then when I want to edit my search it just spins and I give up.

 

[Moneypenny]

Do you think it’s a good car for just driving around town? The majority of the time it’ll just be me driving it around where we live. We’re also looking at an older CRV which would save us a ton of money. The new 2023 Corolla cross looks awesome too though lol. So many choices

We have a 2021 Rav 4 Hybrid and I mostly just drive it around town. I love this vehicle and can get about 46 MPG during my Midwest summer. DH does not get the same mileage when he drives, LOL! I also really like our Prius if you're interested in a non-SUV - that gets better mileage and I can fit a surprising amount of stuff in the back. But, DH and I both really like the Rav.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Do you find the AF website clunky to use? I've been searching and it lets me do one, then when I want to edit my search it just spins and I give up.

Clunky, yes, but not as much as you describe. I log in and use the flying blue part to see award travel. Then I modify several times to look at different options and it works fine. But if I leave it alone for a while then what you say happens. Then I have to close the browser completely before ti works again, so it is clunky just not as bad for me as what you're experiencing. Try different browsers.

 

[WVMo3DD]

Why close the CSP rather than change to a Freedom? For no-fee cards, the Freedom benefits are pretty good (1.5 URs on everything or 5x URs on quarterly categories).

I should have been more clear about Dad's situation. The CSR and CSP are just two of many accounts he has open. He also has Freedom unlimited and flex and other no-fee cards. He uses CSR perks (airport lounges, TSA pre-check, and the travel credit) for business travel and isn't interested in closing that card. He wants to know if there is any benefit CSP offers that he doesn't already get through CSR. He doesn't like to book travel through UR portal, and I think he puts a lot of travel purchases on hotel rewards cards. Is there any reason to have both besides the SUB?

 

[tink1970]

I should have been more clear about Dad's situation. The CSR and CSP are just two of many accounts he has open. He also has Freedom unlimited and flex and other no-fee cards. He uses CSR perks (airport lounges, TSA pre-check, and the travel credit) for business travel and isn't interested in closing that card. He wants to know if there is any benefit CSP offers that he doesn't already get through CSR. He doesn't like to book travel through UR portal, and I think he puts a lot of travel purchases on hotel rewards cards. Is there any reason to have both besides the SUB?

If he's going to keep the CSR, then there's no sense in keeping the CSP.

He has two options-cancel the CSP or downgrade to (another) freedom unlimited or freedom flex. The downgrade (if he calls in to discuss it the term is actually "product change") is only worth it IF he's maximizing both his current cards' (unlimited/flex) 5x/5% back offerings each (or the majority) of the quarters. For instance, I have both of those and my DH has an old plain freedom. We keep all 3 because we can max out the grocery AND paypal quarters but if one year either of those is eliminated, very likely would cancel one of them.

Hope this is helpful!

 

[Psychodisney]

I should have been more clear about Dad's situation. The CSR and CSP are just two of many accounts he has open. He also has Freedom unlimited and flex and other no-fee cards. He uses CSR perks (airport lounges, TSA pre-check, and the travel credit) for business travel and isn't interested in closing that card. He wants to know if there is any benefit CSP offers that he doesn't already get through CSR. He doesn't like to book travel through UR portal, and I think he puts a lot of travel purchases on hotel rewards cards. Is there any reason to have both besides the SUB?

Totally agree with tink1970 on keeping CSR. Your mom may have done a DD to get the SUB on both cards. Most of us carry one Sapphire product outside of the DD. I'd say cancel the extra card (CSP) rather than keeping another card open.
Is he looking to trim any of the hotel cards?

 

[punkin]

Delta is having a flash sale for first class to Europe. 149k points round trip for first class. I just booked a week to Rome in October on a whim. I might cancel when I come to my senses.

 

[AndreaDM]

Delta is having a flash sale for first class to Europe. 149k points round trip for first class. I just booked a week to Rome in October on a whim. I might cancel when I come to my senses.

Do you know when this ends? I may be transferring some MR...

 

[Haley R]

We have a 2021 Rav 4 Hybrid and I mostly just drive it around town. I love this vehicle and can get about 46 MPG during my Midwest summer. DH does not get the same mileage when he drives, LOL! I also really like our Prius if you're interested in a non-SUV - that gets better mileage and I can fit a surprising amount of stuff in the back. But, DH and I both really like the Rav.

Thanks for your response! What trim is yours? We’ve been looking at the XLE premium

 

[punkin]

Do you know when this ends? I may be transferring some MR...

I think it's through tonight

 

[AndreaDM]

I think it's through tonight

Thank you! What to do what to do.... the only option from CLE is to Frankfurt, but we can then hop a flight or train to pretty much anywhere in Europe.

 

[elgerber]

Does anyone rent from Dollar or Thrifty and use Sunpass? Their website has some unclear wording but makes it sound like cash or the plate pass is the only option?

"
Plenty of toll roads have now converted to All Electronic Tolling; tolling that no longer offers traffic booths for travelers to stop and pay tolls in person. If your travels lead you through a toll road with no options to stop and pay, PlatePass® All Inclusive Tolling is the perfect solution. Be sure to check with the local tolling authority for all available payment options.

“PLEASE NOTE: If you decline the optional PlatePass All-Inclusive service at the start of the rental period, but still use electronic toll roads and/or bridges during the rental period (including “cashless” or “all electronic” toll roads and bridges, as noted above), you will be liable for and we will charge you: (a) all tolls incurred for such use (at the highest, undiscounted applicable toll rate); (b) a $15.00 administrative fee (FL & Boston Area - $9.99 per occurrence) for each toll incurred (subject to a $90.00 cap for such toll-related administrative fees for the rental period); and (c) all other applicable toll charges or fees, if any.”

 

[reliev]

Do you know when this ends? I may be transferring some MR...

its 48 hours. I posted it earlier it ends today

 

[chattadisser]

Chase is doing 5X UR's on some cards for groceries for 3rd quarter. Seems like it is mostly co-branded cards. I've gotten two emails for cards for me and DH. Does anyone have the link to the site where you can enter each card to see if that card is eligible for the promo? I can't seem to find it by googling it.