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

[becauseimnew]

Which insurance company did you use for the policy? We also have TRICARE and DH and I are getting ready to cruise out of Dover, England to the Norwegian Fjords. We both have pre-existing conditions too. Ideally looking for a policy that will be primary and covers Covid.

I just used insuremytrip dot com, selected pre-existing condition and several options came up. Our final payment isn't until closer to travel date so maybe that helped.

 

[DogCat]

I know you can use Visa Gift Cards to purchase gas but has anyone used them to purchase gas at Costco? Or, alternatively, can you use the VGC to purchase Costco Shop Cards inside (and then use them for gas)?

One of my MSR stragegies is to purchase GCs at Staples for 5X and then use them everywhere possible. Gas is a big expense for my family.

 

[becauseimnew]

I hate all of those stupid portals. UR, MR, Altitude, TY, all of 'em. Any time I have the opportunity to cash out at 1 CPP or better, I take it in a heartbeat.

Chase URs can be cashed out at 1 CPP.

 

[trenty]

I looked at the 10xtravel group that @Narnia_girl mentioned, and one of the modules said that credit wise, it's not ideal to pay your cards off weekly. Essentially, they're saying that you don't get the benefit of showing you are paying your bills on time, because there's no bill to pay. I think this game is only valuable if you never get in the situation where you overspend or overtend yourself, and never get a finance charge. So I know lots of people choose to pay weekly just to have that security.

I am not sure. I have been paying weekly (sometimes more than weekly) and my credit score is in the 830 range. And yes - I only play this game using spend I would normally have. I do not buy things to get points and never overextend. I could pay monthly when the bill posts, but prefer to pay as I go. It has not hurt my credit one bit.

 

[calypso726]

I think you would blow Bryce (et all) out of the water, LOL. I feel you're like the guru of this game. So to see you don't churn shocks me! Teach me your ways, LOL. I've already churned the IHG Premier (and can again ins 2023) to keep restocking my IHG points (which I use on family vacations w/ my kids). I'm getting ready to churn the CSR and try a MDD (never had the CSP). I wish you could churn the Hilton cards, but I'm hoping on some upgrade bonus offers. I'm on hold to churn the AA cards again soon. I know you're great at maxing the CIC, LOL. Again, in awe, LOL.

Thanks for the kind words and vote of confidence lol There are plenty of folks who can run circles around me. I’m pleased with what we’ve been able to do since we started. I’ve churned the CSP, BA and some AA cards. With Amex, I have played upgrade downgrade and taken advantage of a NLL app when they come around.

5x at office supply stores are my jam. A good portion of spend is on Disney or Visa GCs when there’s no fee. Multiple Freedom cards at 5x too. Again, mostly Disney GCs. Between our DVC annual dues, WDW trips every month and ABD trips back on again, I need lots of Disney GCs. The goal is to get 5x on most spend. This beefs up the UR earning each year. The extra points between that and MSRs allow us to do other vacations just with points and miles.

 

[Judique]

I looked at the 10xtravel group that @Narnia_girl mentioned, and one of the modules said that credit wise, it's not ideal to pay your cards off weekly. Essentially, they're saying that you don't get the benefit of showing you are paying your bills on time, because there's no bill to pay. I think this game is only valuable if you never get in the situation where you overspend or overtend yourself, and never get a finance charge. So I know lots of people choose to pay weekly just to have that security.

I think they are a bit off the mark. I pay my bills weekly and sometimes sooner. When the charge posts, you now have a bill whether it is 'due' or not. Score stays max high and credit extended is high. I always have to go in and lower it when I get a new card.
Fico scores use:

• 35% - Payment History
• 30% - Outstanding Debt
• 15% - Length of Credit History
• 10% - New Credit
• 10% - Credit Mix

I really have very little outstanding debt but don't seem to be penalized, probably because in the past I've paid off a few mortgages, home equity loans, car loans.

 

[Judique]

Does anyone remember the link where you can check to see if any of your Chase cards are eligible for the five times bonus from July-September 30? I seem to recall finding it on this site. Thanks for your help

www.chase.com/mybonus

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Chase URs can be cashed out at 1 CPP.

Oh I know. But some people really love UR qua UR and I'm just saying I don't share that sentiment. I have zero loyalty to any particular ecosystem.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I am not sure. I have been paying weekly (sometimes more than weekly) and my credit score is in the 830 range. And yes - I only play this game using spend I would normally have. I do not buy things to get points and never overextend. I could pay monthly when the bill posts, but prefer to pay as I go. It has not hurt my credit one bit.

I think they are a bit off the mark. I pay my bills weekly and sometimes sooner. When the charge posts, you now have a bill whether it is 'due' or not. Score stays max high and credit extended is high. I always have to go in and lower it when I get a new card.
Fico scores use:

• 35% - Payment History
• 30% - Outstanding Debt
• 15% - Length of Credit History
• 10% - New Credit
• 10% - Credit Mix

I really have very little outstanding debt but don't seem to be penalized, probably because in the past I've paid off a few mortgages, home equity loans, car loans.

Yeah, I don't know if it's true either. On the surface it makes sense to me, in that if you do pay your balance in full before a statement cuts, the statement is 0. But like @Judique says, you did both spend and make a payment. That module did say where this really hurts is new credit users, who are trying to establish a credit history.

I'm in the same boat in that we have zero installment payments, no car loans, no mortgage, etc. So I think we probably take a hit for that as far as credit mix goes and our scores aren't quite as high as some others, more in the high 700s. But we've always been approved and most commonly, instantly, so not sure we could get much more of a benefit from a higher score.

 

[djmeredith]

International travel tip: make sure your bank will not charge you a foreign currency exchange fee plus $5 when using your debit card at an ATM. I had a major panic moment last night right at bed time because I realized that all 3 of my checking accounts charge these fees. I booked a private tour that requires cash and I had planned on doing withdraws over a few days to get that much. I am WAY too cheap to pay all those fees. So, after a couple of hours of research (and a bizarre denial for a Cap One checking), I realized I could upgrade my Chase acct to a Sapphire Checking acct. It charges no fees or exchange fee at all for ATMs worldwide. It is a $25 monthly fee if you do not maintain $75K (which I will not), but that is still saving me money. I'm traveling with my 19 yo nephew who does not have a credit card yet. He was planning on using his debit card for everything including ATM, so I had him upgrade his as well. We both had to ask for the card to be expedited. Should be here by Friday. Fingers crossed.

 

[AmyAnne]

I know you can use Visa Gift Cards to purchase gas but has anyone used them to purchase gas at Costco? Or, alternatively, can you use the VGC to purchase Costco Shop Cards inside (and then use them for gas)?

One of my MSR stragegies is to purchase GCs at Staples for 5X and then use them everywhere possible. Gas is a big expense for my family.

I think that purchasing the Costco card and then using that to pay for gas is a far safer option (I assume that it would be easy to do). Using a gift card at the pump could be tricky, especially if it processes as debit (because gas stations usually put a large hold on a debit card).

 

[Alexle2007]

Why is it so hard to decide between a 12:30 pm flight out of MCO or a 5:00 pm flight after our cruise from Port Carnaval. I am pretty sure 12:35 pm isn’t pushing it too much but then I think yes it is since it’s almost an hour from port to airport.

 

[AmyAnne]

Can someone remind me about the rules for cancelling a Citi card and then reapplying for the card? (I'm specifically thinking about the Premier.) I seem to recall that it's 24 months after cancelling but I very well could be wrong. (And this is why I am generally not a churner--it takes a fair amount of mental energy to keep the rules straight. The only card I can recall successfully churning is the CSR/CSP.)

 

[ElizaDoesDisney]

I'm curious about the personal philosophy of other posters here (You) as it relates to the Travel Points/Miles Hobby.
Here's what I mean: I read a lot about earning points and I follow several 'experts.' There are two groups (beside here) that I learn the most from, but they have opposing philosophies.

First is the 10X Travel Group (Bryce) who has the most thorough, helpful guide I have ever seen on points/miles/credit cards. 10X has a suggested plan for credit cards if you are under 5/24 and another plan if you are over. Their earnings model is heavy on credit card apps for the sign on bonuses.

Then there is JGOOT (Just Get Out of Town) with Joel. He has some helpful videos on earnings and redeeming, but he does not believe you should have a lot of credit cards. Rather, his model is earnings multipliers and redemption multipliers.

(Both earn commissions from credit card sign ups, and have premium services but they both also have free resources and FB groups. I have only used their free stuff)

So where do you fall? Lots of CC sign ups/bonuses? Just a few well-chosen CCs with earning/redemption potential? Some other method or hybrid?

My favorite thing about this particular forum/thread is that everyone is so supportive of each other, even if they are playing the CC game in very different ways. Some of the other places I hang around get their backs up about "doing things the right way." Personally, I don't think that there is a "right way". There are lots of different ways to approach this and the right way is whatever works best for you and your situation at that point in time.

I ebb and flow based on my available time and mental energy. Right now, I'm in a stage where I'm more into it, so I'm concentrating on getting lots of SUBs. Given my current travel patterns, I value Hyatt points a lot - so want to keep Chase/UR alive. Therefore, I'm staying under 5/24 and pursuing quarterly CIC/CIUs and filling in with AmEx and other provider business cards.

One thing I've been thinking about lately is how I value miles. I'm lazy, so I generally just use Frequent Miler's Reasonable Redemption Values. But, my stash of MR has grown beyond my expected near-term use - so I'm thinking I should value additional MR points at the cash out value instead since that's my likeliest use for them. And it's weird to value Hyatt point at .016 and UR at .015 when I can use a UR to buy a Hyatt but with more flexibility. I probably need to think through the whole valuation process a little more than I've ever bothered to in the past.

 

[havaneselover]

Why is it so hard to decide between a 12:30 pm flight out of MCO or a 5:00 pm flight after our cruise from Port Carnaval. I am pretty sure 12:35 pm isn’t pushing it too much but then I think yes it is since it’s almost an hour from port to airport.

If you have precheck, I would do 12:30.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Southwest has an announcement on their website that starting 7/28 flight credits no longer expire….didn’t read all the details since we don’t have any but this may help some here

 

[chattadisser]

Looking to see if anyone has suggestions. We are enrolling our youngest in preschool, and the top 2 choices we've narrowed down only take ACH payments (not even a check). Does anyone know of any payment services that work like ACH? Not only that we're not going to be able get any cc rewards, but I'm a bit nervous about giving them debit access to our bank account. If there isn't a payment service that does ACH, I'm thinking I will just open a new bank account and leave just the preschool payment amount each month.

I don't know of any and I would probably do what you suggested, have a separate bank account to link the preschool fees to.

 

[trenty]

Yeah, I don't know if it's true either. On the surface it makes sense to me, in that if you do pay your balance in full before a statement cuts, the statement is 0. But like @Judique says, you did both spend and make a payment. That module did say where this really hurts is new credit users, who are trying to establish a credit history.

I'm in the same boat in that we have zero installment payments, no car loans, no mortgage, etc. So I think we probably take a hit for that as far as credit mix goes and our scores aren't quite as high as some others, more in the high 700s. But we've always been approved and most commonly, instantly, so not sure we could get much more of a benefit from a higher score.

So, we have also have no debt, and haven't had any for about 3-4 years now. Even though we pay CC weekly, I ocassionally get the "you paid off your card" notice from credit karma. And when I check my credit report, it shows a low balance on cards, so I don't think the theory that if you pay off your cards before the statement posts, it will hurt your credit.

Since I have no loans or any debt, I think using my CC is what keeps my score so high, even though I don't let the balance sit there until the bill posts.

 

[newski_mom]

I received a mailer from Citibank to switch my Double Cash card to their Custom Cash card. It offers 5% back on your top spend category each cycle up to $500 in spend. I'm thinking of changing because I don't really use my Double Cash at all because if it's a no category spend, I use my CFU card and transfer to our CSR which in my mind takes the 1.5% up to 2.25%, so I just use that to add to my URs.

Any reason I shouldn't switch?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I received a mailer from Citibank to switch my Double Cash card to their Custom Cash card. It offers 5% back on your top spend category each cycle up to $500 in spend.

That's what I did.

Citi Custom Cash at 5% that I use for gas and Bank of America Customized Cash at 3% that I used for non-Amazon online shopping. I don't think you can beat either of those with no AF.

You could also just get a new Custom Cash card for the SUB if you want to open a new account and keep both, or close the Double Cash.

if it's a no category spend, I use my CFU card and transfer to our CSR which in my mind takes the 1.5% up to 2.25%, so I just use that to add to my URs.

There are some 2.5% flat cards with no AF out there if you wanted to simplify your non-category spend.