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

[Simba06]

I would get the delta platinum if you are flying that much for the BOGO (i have the reserve for the first-class BOGO) then I would mix it up with unlimited as well or maybe even go fully on the delta platinum for status, the real question is do you care about status with delta? if not id signs up for the unlimited and leave it be. (i know others will disagree with me and that's fine) or if you care about the hotel bonus sign up for that card. I don't put any spends except Disney spend on my Disney card the rebates aren't that great. How far are you from southwest companion pass? I don't fly Southwest but that's something you could "chase" also. The only hotel card I would recommend is the Hyatt card but not if you don't care the sign-up bonus isn't fabulous on any of these cards besides the delta right now. I am in the same camp where I do have a ton of cards but I want keeper cards.

We are basically at 0 for a southwest companion pass. We utilized the two new card bonus spend a few years ago to get one.

 

[elgerber]

I considered the delta platinum for the bogo companion pass. Does that work as easily as the southwest companion pass?

No it doesn't. It's not available for all flights, and the flights you can use it on become fewer the closer you get to the flight dates. You have to pay for the other flight, unlike SW where you can book the other flight on miles. But it is still a good benefit if you can get the use out of it.

 

[Simba06]

No it doesn't. It's not available for all flights, and the flights you can use it on become fewer the closer you get to the flight dates. You have to pay for the other flight, unlike SW where you can book the other flight on miles. But it is still a good benefit if you can get the use out of it.

Ok. Not being able to use miles for the first flight is probably a deal breaker. Thanks foe the insight!

 

[Psychodisney]

We are basically at 0 for a southwest companion pass. We utilized the two new card bonus spend a few years ago to get one.

Would you consider closing your current SW cards? If yes, maybe do Delta now and a SW for your next tuition payment. Doing a SW card at the beginning of 2023 might be good for earning a SW CP for 23-24.

 

[StephPlum]

I thought I read that you can't buy VGC with AMEX and get points, is that wrong? I've already met the SUB on my Delta AMEX Reserve, but I'd like to earn some more miles for a trip we have coming up.

You can buy VGC with Amex and get points/miles. not Recommended when working on MSR For Amex.

 

[StephPlum]

I am not interested in a hotel card since most of our stays are either disney resorts, my parents timeshare, or national park lodging.

I was going to recommend checking out where you will be traveling before getting a Hyatt card. Make sure they are where you will be going. I’m probably going to close mine after AF hits as I have a hard time using the FNC.

 

[sinnika]

Has anyone purchased Broadway show tickets this month using their CF for the 5x rewards? I’m looking for the best site to order from. Www.Directbroadway.com seemed to have the best pricing. Going to see the Music Man August 7 with DS.

 

[platamama]

We heard back from the college and the masters program payment plans do not charge a convenience fee for credit cards.

We chose the deferred payment plan to allow the least amount of time between the charge and reimbursement from his company. Since each class is about 8 weeks long, we will be charged about $5000 every 2 months for the next 20 months or so.

I do not want to mess with business cards, so I will stick to just personal ones. I would like to take advantage of some sign on bonuses, but also dont want to go crazy opening up a bunch of new cards. Our current mix of cards is split between my dh and i.

Southwest (2 cards): husband
Disney visa: me
Chase sapphire: me
Delta amex gold: husband

So ideally we would refer each other for certain cards to get both referral and sign on bonuses. We primarily fly delta and southwest because our main large airport is a delta hub, and our closest regional airport has good southwest options. We currently plan on traveling domestically for the next few years, but would like to do some international trips (likely ABD and DCL) after that (waiting for kids to get a bit older). I feel pretty confident in my domestic flight rewards system, but figuring out long haul international flights is daunting!

Basically, I would love to get a crapton of miles stocked up for our future years of travel both domestic and international. What cards would you recommend with this information?

For international travel, the Amex MR system is pretty darn good, and you can transfer MRs to Delta as needed/desired. I'm still seeing the Amex Plat offering a high 150K MR SUB for $6K spend in 6 months; for comparison, I only got a 75K SUB when I opened my Plat a couple years ago. The AF is eye-watering, but if you can use the various benefits that come with the card it can make sense at least for the first cardmember year. Some are very location dependent (e.g. Uber/UberEats, airport lounge access, Equinox) and some are good regardless of where you are. It's long been recommended to apply for a Plat in Nov/Dec to triple dip the benefits, but there's no guarantee that the 150K SUB will last til then, especially since it's been out in the wild for a few months.

 

[AndreaDM]

To hijack the Paris conversation, anyone have any recommendations for the IHG brand? We will be in Paris 3-4 days in mid-Sept. and I'm not loving any of the options I've seen, but that's the only brand where I have enough points. I may end up going the AIRBNB route. It's a 9-10 day trip Paris to Belgium to Amsterdam.

 

[pinkxray]

I have 4 Chase Biz cards. I am going to close my SW Biz card this month once the annual fee posts. Will also close one of my CIC cards (I have 2 CIC and 1 CIU.)
How long should I wait to apply for another Chase ink? I also have some pretty high credit limits on my personal accounts. Should I lower those too? I am probably getting close to the limit

 

[reliev]

I considered the delta platinum for the bogo companion pass. Does that work as easily as the southwest companion pass?

so this year it's been an anomalies, there has been a harder to get short redemptions I plan out always 3+ months so I've had 0 issues with it i had the platinum before and I upgraded i think for the additional 250 it works out. I used it this last weekend in Seattle and paid ~1000$ for both first MCO - SEA and I burned about 50k miles (i booked this the moment the wish was canceled for the 4th). I've had the original since I had it with no issues ever but this year (as with all other awards) it has been harder.

 

[reliev]

I figured this is the place to ask I usually use my CSR for Disney cruises I have a few this year I was curious at what point is it better to use the Disney card for the trip? we almost always get a massage but is the 30$ or whatever it is worth it for the point difference? Also looking forward to sipping on a bourbon while getting a haircut

 

[reliev]

Ok. Not being able to use miles for the first flight is probably a deal breaker. Thanks foe the insight!

ok just caught up that being said I would go chase unlimited first and do that then as others suggested close the SW cards get the bigger bonus for next year and push that out. at least with the cu you would get 1.5x and you can transfer that to the southwest. I'm not sure if chase unlimited gives you pay yourself back but you could also get a Chase sapphire reserve/preferred depending on your travel spend and do that sign-up bonus also the thing is for that bit tuition purchase you would only be getting 1 vs 1.5 and for that much $ it makes a big difference in points imo.

 

[newski_mom]

We're in initial thoughts of planning something for Labor Day Weekend. We'll each take one extra day off work to extend the trip by just a little time. Ideas we've tossed out that have possibilities so far:

1. Taking the Amtrak Starlight train from Los Angeles to Seattle - issue with it is the Seattle flights home are $$$ (but we have SW points and I guess they are there to spend lol)
2. Going to Niagara Falls - not 100% sure what the status is about going back and forth between Canada and the US right now (or what it will be then)

Any thoughts on either of these? I've been reading lost of posts on the starlight train and it seems most agree to take it north bound for the best scenery (trying to get the best use of the daylight). Also not sure how difficult it is to drive between the two countries for the Niagara trip. We would probably fly into Buffalo on SW and then rent a car to get around.

 

[reliev]

We're in initial thoughts of planning something for Labor Day Weekend. We'll each take one extra day off work to extend the trip by just a little time. Ideas we've tossed out that have possibilities so far:

1. Taking the Amtrak Starlight train from Los Angeles to Seattle - issue with it is the Seattle flights home are $$$ (but we have SW points and I guess they are there to spend lol)
2. Going to Niagara Falls - not 100% sure what the status is about going back and forth between Canada and the US right now (or what it will be then)

Any thoughts on either of these? I've been reading lost of posts on the starlight train and it seems most agree to take it north bound for the best scenery (trying to get the best use of the daylight). Also not sure how difficult it is to drive between the two countries for the Niagara trip. We would probably fly into Buffalo on SW and then rent a car to get around.

isnt that a real long train ride? how much is that flight?

 

[newski_mom]

isnt that a real long train ride? how much is that flight?

Yes, it's about a day and a half, but the point of it is more the sight seeing than the transportation. You just sleep during the night time (dark hours). We've never done anything like it, so not sure that we'd love it, but there are quite a few blog posts about people who really love it.

On Southwest, the returning flights are around $700 if we fly back on Monday and about $425 on Tuesday. We do have the companion pass and lots of points, but still...!! If we did the Tuesday return, we wouldn't be taking Friday off. It would be possible to fly into LAX late so we could work Friday and take off Tuesday, but that would mean a very short night of sleep before starting the ride. I'm afraid I would probably sleep through the first part of it lol!

 

[Simba06]

ok just caught up that being said I would go chase unlimited first and do that then as others suggested close the SW cards get the bigger bonus for next year and push that out. at least with the cu you would get 1.5x and you can transfer that to the southwest. I'm not sure if chase unlimited gives you pay yourself back but you could also get a Chase sapphire reserve/preferred depending on your travel spend and do that sign-up bonus also the thing is for that bit tuition purchase you would only be getting 1 vs 1.5 and for that much $ it makes a big difference in points imo.

I am leaning towards starting with the chase unlimited. Since the chase sapphire preferred we currently have is in my name, I am assuming I should open the chase freedom in my name as well for ease of tranferring points?

 

[Simba06]

Would you consider closing your current SW cards? If yes, maybe do Delta now and a SW for your next tuition payment. Doing a SW card at the beginning of 2023 might be good for earning a SW CP for 23-24.

Only my husband has southwest and delta cards, so would you recommend i open new ones in my name and keep his active? I am thinking of getting either one of those for a referral/sign up bonus, then using the chase freedom unlimited for 1.5% back on the rest. We also have $600/wk in daycare costs that I should be putting on the freedom! Why didnt i do this sooner….

 

[wweazel]

We're in initial thoughts of planning something for Labor Day Weekend. We'll each take one extra day off work to extend the trip by just a little time. Ideas we've tossed out that have possibilities so far:

1. Taking the Amtrak Starlight train from Los Angeles to Seattle - issue with it is the Seattle flights home are $$$ (but we have SW points and I guess they are there to spend lol)
2. Going to Niagara Falls - not 100% sure what the status is about going back and forth between Canada and the US right now (or what it will be then)

Any thoughts on either of these? I've been reading lost of posts on the starlight train and it seems most agree to take it north bound for the best scenery (trying to get the best use of the daylight). Also not sure how difficult it is to drive between the two countries for the Niagara trip. We would probably fly into Buffalo on SW and then rent a car to get around.

Very easy to drive to/from Canada at Niagara. Canada still has a vaccine registration system, upload your docs and report your travel 72 hours in advance:
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Only my husband has southwest and delta cards, so would you recommend i open new ones in my name and keep his active? I am thinking of getting either one of those for a referral/sign up bonus, then using the chase freedom unlimited for 1.5% back on the rest. We also have $600/wk in daycare costs that I should be putting on the freedom! Why didnt i do this sooner….

you could apply for a SW personal card from your DHs support link…right now the bonus is 75k RR points