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

[wanderlust7]

Getting ready to book two nights at the Hyatt Waterfront Hotel in Oakland.

DH and I both have our free night certificate from holding the Hyatt card - they were just issued so don't expire until August of 2023.
DH has lots of Hyatt points in his Hyatt account due to cancelling a booking earlier this summer.
It's a JDV Hyatt, so it will be another brand for both of us (and will actually give each of us 5, so another free night).

I am planning on booking one night in each of our names so we get the brand credit. I will use my free night certificate (by default since I don't have any points without transferring). One night is 15,000 points and one night is 12,000 - so I'll book the 15,000 in my name for sure.

On the night to book in DH's name - is there any reasoning between either using the free night certificate or using points? As far as I can tell, it's a category 4, so I guess that's the highest we can use the free night for. The only reason I was thinking of using points is because the 2nd night is off peak, so fewer points. I don't know if we'd be able to use DH's free night certificate for a category 4 hotel later that would need more points. Or, it could be the other way too (end up using on a lower category hotel for even fewer points).

I'm new to having choices lol, so just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything!

If this stay is way in the future, I think I would book 2 reservations, one with points and one with FNC, then decide when it gets closer which one to keep.

 

[julie-o]

The Chase Disney Visa card has 0% interest for 6 months on Disney purchases, including DVC, and you'll earn 1% or 2% back depending on which card you have. If you don't care about 0% interest for 6 months then there are better options. If you want to keep it simple and are only interest in 1 or 2 cards to manage I would start with Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP), you and your spouse could each get one.

The bonus (SUB) for the CSP is 60,000 points, for spending $4,000 in 3 months and has a $95AF. If you each got your own CSP you could earn a minimum of 143,000 Chase Ultimate rewards which could be transferred to Southwest. You would earn 64,000 (60K SUB + 4K for the spend) then refer (support links) your spouse, which will earn you an additional 15K URs, plus the 64K from his card.

That should be easy to manage, then after a year one of you could downgrade a card to a Chase Freedom which doesn't have an annual fee, you'll need to keep one CSP to be able to transfer points to travel partners.

I would also suggest purchasing all flights with the CSP, because it comes with travel delay benefits. Here is a write up on how it works.

We also have a group on Reddit for support links if you are interested in the CSP or a Disney Visa.

Thank you for the ideas. SW isn't a great choice for us out of PHL. Could we transfer points to other airlines too?

 

[Eastern]

The bonus (SUB) for the CSP is 60,000 points, for spending $4,000 in 3 months and has a $95AF. If you each got your own CSP you could earn a minimum of 143,000 Chase Ultimate rewards which could be transferred to Southwest. You would earn 64,000 (60K SUB + 4K for the spend) then refer (support links) your spouse, which will earn you an additional 15K URs, plus the 64K from his card.

I have never referred a family member for a Chase card because I wasn't sure how the bonus worked. If you follow a referral link, do you still get the points bonus that is in effect at the time in addition to the referral points bonus going to the person who referred you?

I've probably given up thousands and thousands of points because of this.

 

[becauseimnew]

Thank you for the ideas. SW isn't a great choice for us out of PHL. Could we transfer points to other airlines too?

Yes.

• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt
• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• United MilagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

 

[becauseimnew]

I have never referred a family member for a Chase card because I wasn't sure how the bonus worked. If you follow a referral link, do you still get the points bonus that is in effect at the time in addition to the referral points bonus going to the person who referred you?

I've probably given up thousands and thousands of points because of this.

You can refer anyone except for yourself, even if they are an Authorized user on your cards.

 

[AndreaDM]

Sounds like getting one of the Amex Plat (biz or personal) would fit best with your plans, especially if you need it in your hands ASAP to pay the bill - Amex usually has those cards to you within 48 hours. If you've never had the personal version, the Resy 125K MR + 10x restaurants for $6K MSR is still available; that's probably the best SUB:MSR for MRs currently. Or you can look for a higher Biz Plat SUB but the spend is higher.

As to whether or not it's worth it, I did the 150K /$15K NLL Biz Plat offer and paid 2.85% using Plastiq to pay for tuition (they send a check and it can take up to a couple weeks). I've paid $324 in fees, but have gotten $1478 equivalent cash back (I have a Schwab Plat) since paying tuition took care of a huge chunk of my MSR. And that's not including the Dell credits and airline reimbursement that I'll be using up for this year and next before closing the card.

Where are you seeing this? Is it via referral? I keep getting emails from them with 100K MR to upgrade the gold to plat. Would I be better off adding the plat and then cancelling the gold instead of upgrading my gold?

eta: I found it and see that the downside is you can't be referred to it, hmmm what to do...

 

[julie-o]

Yes.

• IHG Rewards Club
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt
• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• United MilagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Thank you for all the help! As I delve in a little deeper, I'm seeing that American Airlines, Spirit, and Frontier are the only airlines that make sense for us right now. I could use points from the CSP for any travel, but it's more points if I use one of the partners? Is that right? If we're not going to use the partners, does that card still make sense for us?

 

[Eastern]

You can refer anyone except for yourself, even if they are an Authorized user on your cards.

So if they click on that referral link, do they get their own points bonus that is in effect at the time, automatically?

 

[becauseimnew]

So if they click on that referral link, do they get their own points bonus that is in effect at the time, automatically?

Yes, so if you send them a referral link to the CSP, you’ll earn 15k if they are approved and they will earn the sign up bonus points after they meet the minimum spend, in the CSP example they’ll earn 60,000.

 

[becauseimnew]

Thank you for all the help! As I delve in a little deeper, I'm seeing that American Airlines, Spirit, and Frontier are the only airlines that make sense for us right now. I could use points from the CSP for any travel, but it's more points if I use one of the partners? Is that right? If we're not going to use the partners, does that card still make sense for us?

Yes, you could use the chase travel portal to book travel or you can cash them out at 1point per dollar. In the CSP example of 143,000 points you could cash it out for $1,430.

If you would rather collect American Airlines miles I would suggest Barclays Aviator Red card. There are 2 bonus options, 60k points with $99 AF or 50k with annual fee waived the first year via support link.

 

[platamama]

Where are you seeing this? Is it via referral? I keep getting emails from them with 100K MR to upgrade the gold to plat. Would I be better off adding the plat and then cancelling the gold instead of upgrading my gold?

If you google Resy Amex 125K you'll find it, it came up as the first result.

Assuming you've never had a Plat before, I'd take the higher SUB on the Plat rather than upgrade your Gold because of Amex's once in a lifetime rule (which actually can vary 4 to 7 years). But you could do both - apply for the higher SUB first, and once that's approved then go ahead and upgrade your Gold (as long as you can meet the spend and are ok with the AF). If you decide to just cancel the Gold, you can downgrade your new Plat to a Gold after your AF posts in 2023, and then just pay the prorated AF. You'll lose the 4x on groceries and restaurants on the Gold once you no longer have it, so you'll have to decide on that. If you're looking at cashing out MRs (without a Schwab Plat) then you'll only get $.006/MR so for a 100K upgrade, it's a wash with the AF, though if you're looking to transfer MRs to travel partners then it might still be worth it. MRs automatically pool together for an individual, no matter what card they're earned on. Just be aware that if you cancel cards with Amex, depending on how Amex views you, you may end up in pop-up jail in the future.

 

[AndreaDM]

If you google Resy Amex 125K you'll find it, it came up as the first result.

Assuming you've never had a Plat before, I'd take the higher SUB on the Plat rather than upgrade your Gold because of Amex's once in a lifetime rule (which actually can vary 4 to 7 years). But you could do both - apply for the higher SUB first, and once that's approved then go ahead and upgrade your Gold (as long as you can meet the spend and are ok with the AF). If you decide to just cancel the Gold, you can downgrade your new Plat to a Gold after your AF posts in 2023, and then just pay the prorated AF. You'll lose the 4x on groceries and restaurants on the Gold once you no longer have it, so you'll have to decide on that. If you're looking at cashing out MRs (without a Schwab Plat) then you'll only get $.006/MR so for a 100K upgrade, it's a wash with the AF, though if you're looking to transfer MRs to travel partners then it might still be worth it. MRs automatically pool together for an individual, no matter what card they're earned on. Just be aware that if you cancel cards with Amex, depending on how Amex views you, you may end up in pop-up jail in the future.

So I was able to go into incognito mode and pull up a 125K offer from a referral link from my husband. Went through and got the pop-up grrrrr! So I'm guessing I'd get the pop-up through Resy as well.

Ok, then, follow up question, if I do upgrade my gold to plat, but keep my daughter's AU gold card, can I still use it for the 4X groceries and restaurants? Or does it just earn the 1X like the plat? I'm not liking the 1X for groceries on the Plat as that's where I spend most of my money these days.

 

[Alexle2007]

Our partial oceanview at the Hilton Marco Island compared to our lovely 2 bedroom gulffront view at the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach. This is why I love this resort. We have always received a lovely suite upgrade from Mr. Thompson, the GM. And this is why I love Hyatt.

 

[wanderlust7]

So I was able to go into incognito mode and pull up a 125K offer from a referral link from my husband. Went through and got the pop-up grrrrr! So I'm guessing I'd get the pop-up through Resy as well.

Ok, then, follow up question, if I do upgrade my gold to plat, but keep my daughter's AU gold card, can I still use it for the 4X groceries and restaurants? Or does it just earn the 1X like the plat? I'm not liking the 1X for groceries on the Plat as that's where I spend most of my money these days.

There are DPs of people getting the pop-up with a referral but not without. Besides the Resy offer, you can also try the 150k one. The link here hopefully reliably pulls it up.

https://frequentmiler.com/150k-plat...fers-once-again-available-via-some-referrals/

Personally, I would have a hard time taking the upgrade offer and locking myself out of the new card SUB.

AU cards earn whatever the main card earns, so if you upgraded, you'd get 1x.

 

[StephPlum]

I don't remember calling Barclay's to close my last AA Biz cards. Now they won't close via secure message and I and DH have to call. Uggh. Mine not so bad.

 

[Psychodisney]

Thank you for all the help! As I delve in a little deeper, I'm seeing that American Airlines, Spirit, and Frontier are the only airlines that make sense for us right now. I could use points from the CSP for any travel, but it's more points if I use one of the partners? Is that right? If we're not going to use the partners, does that card still make sense for us?

Maybe look at the Capital One Venture X. You could fly whatever airline makes sense, and erase the charges.

 

[AndreaDM]

There are DPs of people getting the pop-up with a referral but not without. Besides the Resy offer, you can also try the 150k one. The link here hopefully reliably pulls it up.

https://frequentmiler.com/150k-plat...fers-once-again-available-via-some-referrals/

Personally, I would have a hard time taking the upgrade offer and locking myself out of the new card SUB.

AU cards earn whatever the main card earns, so if you upgraded, you'd get 1x.

I didn’t mention, but the upgrade offer is a 100K MR bonus after 6K in 6 months. Also 5X restaurants and supermarkets for 6 months.

 

[elgerber]

We are heading to the Tampa area in January, we have plans at the fairgrounds the 2nd half of the week, but looking for a place to stay away from there Sat/Sun/Mon, before we head that way. We are not sit on the beach people, but I need to at least walk on a beach. Not sure of what else there is to do in the area. Like cute shops to browse etc. Was thinking of staying in Clearwater or St Pete for that time. I saw talk of the Hyatt Clearwater above, but I have heard that area is crazy crowded and St. Pete is better?
I have no status (not even an account at the moment) with Hyatt, but I do have UR's. I have points at many other chains also.
Any thoughts on those areas, things to do, places to stay would be very welcome.

 

[wanderlust7]

I didn’t mention, but the upgrade offer is a 100K MR bonus after 6K in 6 months. Also 5X restaurants and supermarkets for 6 months.

That's a really nice offer. I keep checking, but I only have the 25k upgrade offer on my gold.

I would apply for the plat and then take the upgrade offer. That's what I did for DH when he got a nice upgrade offer (not this nice). If I ran into the pop-up, that would be a harder choice. But everyone does this hobby differently, that's just what I would do.

 

[Alexle2007]

We are heading to the Tampa area in January, we have plans at the fairgrounds the 2nd half of the week, but looking for a place to stay away from there Sat/Sun/Mon, before we head that way. We are not sit on the beach people, but I need to at least walk on a beach. Not sure of what else there is to do in the area. Like cute shops to browse etc. Was thinking of staying in Clearwater or St Pete for that time. I saw talk of the Hyatt Clearwater above, but I have heard that area is crazy crowded and St. Pete is better?
I have no status (not even an account at the moment) with Hyatt, but I do have UR's. I have points at many other chains also.
Any thoughts on those areas, things to do, places to stay would be very welcome.

My sister lives in St. Pete but I have never been. We have done jet skis and a dolphin cruise in Clearwater and there are other activities besides just beach lounging. The dolphin cruise was awesome. Jan may be less crowded since I doubt besides sitting on the beach, I don’t think it is warm enough to swim.