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

[gottalovepluto]

2nd santa visit today so here's the pics. We had to wait for a python to finish its visit today

Screenshot of last week since the orig was too big.

Reminds me of an Ewok in the first pic!

Also… Note To Self: Don’t ever be a pet Santa. It’s not all dogs and cats in that Biz

 

[WVMo3DD]

Happy holidays everyone. What is the best strategy for two people to split the cost of a flight using (partially) Chase rewards? My dad is going to help me buy airfare to visit my friend in England for spring break. He is using points and I am paying out the remainder. Is there any benefit to using the travel portal?

Also, how much cheaper should the flight be to consider flying out of Chicago (4 hour drive) instead of STL?

 

[WVMo3DD]

Question about VISA/Mastercard gift cards. What do you use these to buy? I have "only use a credit card" burned into my brain from my mom even though I know she used buying gift cards as a strategy. I've had problems with these gift cards getting hacked before so I prefer to use them in one large sum. However, my rent portal/utilities payments either don't allow debit cards or charge a fee. How high of a fee are you willing to pay to use these cards? I don't want to buy groceries with it since that is a quarterly bonus next year.

 

[afan]

Question about VISA/Mastercard gift cards. What do you use these to buy? I have "only use a credit card" burned into my brain from my mom even though I know she used buying gift cards as a strategy. I've had problems with these gift cards getting hacked before so I prefer to use them in one large sum. However, my rent portal/utilities payments either don't allow debit cards or charge a fee. How high of a fee are you willing to pay to use these cards? I don't want to buy groceries with it since that is a quarterly bonus next year.

I use them for stuff like car insurance, dr copays, the vet and other stuff that I'd only get 1 point for.

Feea is all dependent on what the cost is vs what you get. Generally if you are working on meeting spend for a new card bonus it's probably not worth the fee vs the points you'd get.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Happy holidays everyone. What is the best strategy for two people to split the cost of a flight using (partially) Chase rewards? My dad is going to help me buy airfare to visit my friend in England for spring break. He is using points and I am paying out the remainder. Is there any benefit to using the travel portal?

Also, how much cheaper should the flight be to consider flying out of Chicago (4 hour drive) instead of STL?

Happy holidays to you too!!!

What card does he have? The portal redeems at 1-1.5 cents per point depending on the card type with Chase so there may or may not be a portal benefit.

As for ORD v STL that’s personal. It’s a combination of gas expenses, time expenses & safety for me when debating between my close airport and cheaper hubs further away. Is it going to cost a crazy amount in gas? Is it taking away from mine/someone else’s ability to work and earn money? Is it a safe time of day or is someone going to end up on the road at 1am?

 

[KPK02090]

My new card is January first. So if I start using it now it will count ? I wasn’t sure when it would start counting

Is Jan 1 your statement close date or payment due date?

 

[havaneselover]

Question about VISA/Mastercard gift cards. What do you use these to buy? I have "only use a credit card" burned into my brain from my mom even though I know she used buying gift cards as a strategy. I've had problems with these gift cards getting hacked before so I prefer to use them in one large sum. However, my rent portal/utilities payments either don't allow debit cards or charge a fee. How high of a fee are you willing to pay to use these cards? I don't want to buy groceries with it since that is a quarterly bonus next year.

I use them to buy money orders which I then use to pay my mortgage or deposit them back in my bank account. It's time consuming but I accumulate lots of URs doing this. The only fee to convert for me is $0.92/$1000 to pay for two money orders. Well worth it for 5,000 URs.

 

[havaneselover]

I've got three Platinum cards--one personal and two business. Haven't used any of my airline credits. Two are for SW and one for AA.

Can I get Amex to switch the AA to SW?

And with the recent favorable SW changes (credits don't expire), should I still buy tickets < $100 with my Platinums and then cancel them to sit on the credits? I did this last year but I just want to make sure nothing has changed/there isn't anything I'm missing.

 

[Alexle2007]

I've got three Platinum cards--one personal and two business. Haven't used any of my airline credits. Two are for SW and one for AA.

Can I get Amex to switch the AA to SW?

And with the recent favorable SW changes (credits don't expire), should I still buy tickets < $100 with my Platinums and then cancel them to sit on the credits? I did this last year but I just want to make sure nothing has changed/there isn't anything I'm missing.

Yes, AmEx will switch for you.

I just buy $100-$105 to start and then just change the Flight to build it up to cancel. So the credit is several hundred $ instead of lots of smaller credits. You can buy WGA and adjust to WGA+ so you can transfer to someone else also.

 

[chattadisser]

I need to remember when I do FAFSA, I get a letter from the IRS saying the data retrieval tool was used. DD and I both had letters in Informed Delivery and I was super anxious waiting for the mail.

Today I used my third Chase offer for $20 off at Kohl's (bought another $100 Amex gift card). Also hit up Staples for the 4th time this week. And I'm really enjoying my new CRV. The only weird thing I've noticed is it doesn't have the button to program my garage door.

Really enjoying having dd home. We're making frosted sugar cookies tonight

What? It doesn't have a button for the garage door? That's one of my favorite features! We have an app for our garage door but it's so nice to just hit the button in my Highlander and in I go.

My Kohl's didn't have visa or mc or amex. I looked for Visa this last time around to give as a gift.

Mine doesn't either. It was slim pickings at my two local Kohls.

Question about VISA/Mastercard gift cards. What do you use these to buy? I have "only use a credit card" burned into my brain from my mom even though I know she used buying gift cards as a strategy. I've had problems with these gift cards getting hacked before so I prefer to use them in one large sum. However, my rent portal/utilities payments either don't allow debit cards or charge a fee. How high of a fee are you willing to pay to use these cards? I don't want to buy groceries with it since that is a quarterly bonus next year.

Like @afan said, I use them for doctors co-pays, utilities. I also use them regularly at my hairdresser. Anything I can think of that isn't a bonus category on a card that I can use them on. Sometimes it can be a much to keep up with the balances on them so it's a judgment call on how into the VGC's you want to get.

 

[havaneselover]

What? It doesn't have a button for the garage door? That's one of my favorite features! We have an app for our garage door but it's so nice to just hit the button in my Highlander and in I go.


Mine doesn't either. It was slim pickings at my two local Kohls.

Like @afan said, I use them for doctors co-pays, utilities. I also use them regularly at my hairdresser. Anything I can think of that isn't a bonus category on a card that I can use them on. Sometimes it can be a much to keep up with the balances on them so it's a judgment call on how into the VGC's you want to get.

Yes, I can't make this up. My 2012 Odyssey had it and my 2023 Touring CRV doesn't???

 

[StephPlum]

Question about VISA/Mastercard gift cards. What do you use these to buy? I have "only use a credit card" burned into my brain from my mom even though I know she used buying gift cards as a strategy. I've had problems with these gift cards getting hacked before so I prefer to use them in one large sum. However, my rent portal/utilities payments either don't allow debit cards or charge a fee. How high of a fee are you willing to pay to use these cards? I don't want to buy groceries with it since that is a quarterly bonus next year.

I use on my property taxes. A debit card has a lower fee here and I get 5x URs using the CIC. Doing the math, I still come out ahead with the fee. Also use at Costco,hair salon, doctor office, utilities, ... Anywhere I only get 1x. The key is having a credit card that gets you higher points at an office store.

 

[hsmamato2]

Here’s my account. It expired in 2024 but just added DH CSR.View attachment 725850

this is awesome

 

[hsmamato2]

Here’s my account. It expired in 2024 but just added DH CSR.View attachment 725850

this is awesome

I too have been asleep on this benefit. I understand how the Instacart + and the quarterly credit stack, but I don’t see how I can combine all my credits to make a larger purchase. It appears I have to select 1 card as the payment method and I’ll get say $10 for using my Freedom card. Am I missing something? Is there a way to use multiple card credits for 1 large purchase? Or is the most I will save $15 with my preferred card?

ETA: I did some playing around with Instacart and answered my question. With the CSP I can get $15 off 1x/quarter. $10 with my Freedom cards. Seems like the CSR at $15/month is a worthwhile value.

so you have to make multiple orders, using the different cards to get them all to work,right?

 

[hsmamato2]

Another instacart question- I added a few cc's, and now my acct says no charge till 2/27/24- I tried to add one more, and it said I couldn't add one more today Did I break the app?

 

[tink1970]

Have an offer on my Amex Bonvoy Biz card - spend $2000, get 7500 bonus. So with the spend it would be 11,500 points. Not feeling like it's worth it, I am feeling burnout from all the other offers on my cards!

I have that one too. Fortunately I'm doing an expensive cash hotel stay in Dublin before the offer expires. I'll earn about 57K bonvoy points with using that card, titanium status and then the extra 7500 bonus. Excluding any sort of planned cash stay I cannot see how this is a good deal, though!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I haven't gotten the credit on my Freedom that is associated with the same account as my CSP. Now makes me wonder if I enrolled it, lol. I am working with four cards here and two accounts peeps!

ETA: I don't think I enrolled this card. So, I'll try it again this quarter. I also have to keep a spreadsheet tab on this to keep track, but hey, free money is free money!

I have gotten the credit on 4 cards this quarter, all on 1 Instacart account. It is a little hard to keep track of though. My spreadsheet lists each month but then I colored each quarter differently so I could see more quickly if I had used the credit in a specific quarter.

Welp. Someone else in your fam might be getting a different letter. Eventually.

Only time I ran afoul of them was over their screwup on my health insurance coverage

Yikes. I did have an IRS letter once that I hadn't filed my taxes when I knew I did (I do my own, not even a question of DH forgetting to submit, I know I had submitted them). I was terrified and called. The woman was very nice and turns out an IRS employee had attached someone else's SS# to my account, so there were 2. The woman I talked to said they aren't supposed to do that until they confirm they are the same person and last known address for the second SS# was not mine. I guessed correctly where the last known address was because I had been hounded for months by collectors looking for a woman with my name (very common one) living in Indiana. Seems it was the same person who got linked to my IRS file as well.

Another instacart question- I added a few cc's, and now my acct says no charge till 2/27/24- I tried to add one more, and it said I couldn't add one more today Did I break the app?

Lol. Maybe you did. I haven't gotten that message but maybe they have a limit on how many cards are added in a day.

 

[hsmamato2]

I have gotten the credit on 4 cards this quarter, all on 1 Instacart account. It is a little hard to keep track of though. My spreadsheet lists each month but then I colored each quarter differently so I could see more quickly if I had used the credit in a specific quarter.

Lol. Maybe you did. I haven't gotten that message but maybe they have a limit on how many cards are added in a day.

haha..... so I will need to keep track of which credits to use and when,right? How do I start? like if I registered those card today, does that mean in 3 months each of them will have the $10 credit? or is it based more on calendar quarters?

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Okay when trying to add my CSR to my instacart account it says it's not a Chase card eligible. Any ideas?

 

[hsmamato2]

Okay when trying to add my CSR to my instacart account it says it's not a Chase card eligible. Any ideas?

did you click thru the link on portal?