I love credit cards so much! v6.0 - 2023 & 2024 (see first page for add'l details)

[palhockeymomof2]

Dd was instant approved for an CIU. Will they expedite a first business card if someone calls? And will they answer on a weekend?

Congrats …can’t hurt to try to have it expedited

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thanks for all you do…is there any way to copy and paste our old support links

No. So many were dead I nixed it all, gotta pull them fresh.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I SMd Chase about matching the 90k on my Ink, that I got in January. The public offer was still there at the time, but I used the support link with the 75k. In January they said to message back when I met the spend for the match. I have done that now, and they said they had to send it to another department and could take 6-8 weeks. Never had that response before.

That is strange. I did the exact same thing and got the message asking me to message back after hitting the spend (although it was worded kind of oddly, I thought). I did that right after the 75,000 hit and they credited me within a few days. Hope it ends well for you too!

I received a similar message when I SM'd for the match after meeting the MSR. It said it would take up to 5 biz days for the other dept to respond, which I think it took 4-5 days. After that dept responded, I received the points match shortly after, maybe even instantly. I think the 6-8 weeks might just be a standard language they use.

Similar situation with a slight difference.

When I replied to the original SM that stated they would be happy to credit the additional 15k bonus points once I met the MSR, the Chase rep that answered stated that I should now see the 15k additional bonus on chase.com or on my next statement along with the original 75k bonus.

However, when I logged in online, I only saw the 75k and no 15k and there was no points pending either. I wait a few days and then replied back on the same SM that stated I would be getting the 15k credit that I didn't see the additional 15k as promised and nothing was pending either.

Chase responded that they have sent the matter to the department that will be investigating the matter and that I should hear back in a few days... Still waiting.

 

[Nala83]

Just got a credit in March. I ordered and the charge (51.95) posted March 6. The credit posted March 12, leaving $1.95 balance.

Depending on timing, you should be able to close within the 30 days and have the AF refunded.

This sounds do-able. I'll order on Monday and hope the charge and credit both post quickly! Thanks.

Amex will fully refund the annual fee if canceled within 30 days. The credit should post well before that deadline, but you can receive statement credits on closed cards if the credit is delayed (the terms and conditions say 10-12 weeks, but it's usually much faster than that)

Thank you!

 

[djmeredith]

No cards applied for in the past 2 years. Mine are very old, mostly with Citi, one unused CapOne Silver

Monthly: $3-4000 that could be paid on a card instead of debit
Paid off monthly
Airport: DTW
Preferred Airline: Delta
Southwest services DTW but not a lot of non-stop routes we would take so it is not preferred.
No preference on hotels other than Disney
We have some Delta direct miles
Goal: Discounted flights to Disney/Orlando and savings on Disney vacations, preferably as DVC members soon
Trips: At least annually
Travel only with spouse usually.

Welcome! With that amt of monthly spend, you should be able to accumulate pts at a good pace depending on how you want to do this hobby. There is no wrong way to do it and those of here have a wide variety of strategies and priorities. Personally, I'm in the group that focuses on Sign Up Bonuses (SUBs) and then maximizing my Chase UR pts when I don't have a SUB. I try to go for a card when it is at its highest SUB (or at least a very good SUB). Chase and AmEx are my preferred pts systems and I haven't branched into the other brands yet (I started in 2020). If Delta is your preferred carrier, you might want to start with AmEx since the MRs transfer directly to Delta.

A few things to think about as you get started are 1. whether you and your wife are both willing to get cards. Taking turns getting SUBs between two "players" (P1 and P2) helps accumulate pts more rapidly and you will earn extra pts for "supporting" each other with application links. 2. are you willing to pay an annual fee. The majority of us here don't mind an annual fee as long as we know we can use enough of the card's benefits to offset the cost (or at least make it worthwhile for the first year when you factor in the SUB). 3. do you have a side hustle business through which you can apply for biz cards (literally anything you do to make money is a sole proprietor biz such as selling things on ebay/Facebook Marketplace/garage sales, rental properties, consulting etc.). The P2 and biz cards are very beneficial to maximizing accumulation if you are going after SUBs.

If you are willing to take on an annual fee, the AmEx personal (or biz) platinum card might be a good one for you to start with. The SUB can vary wildly from around 80k to 150K depending on if your search for the application, or use of a support link, is "lucky" or not. Do a search of this thread to find info about "pulling" higher offers with AmEx. One trick is to use incognito mode, for example. Several of us are part of the private Reddit group where we share "support" links with each other. We try to help each other out when we can if we aren't using a P2's support.

One hard and fast rule to remember as you get started: never close a card before the one year mark. Wait until after your 1 yr anniv and then close the card. The Annual Fee (AF) is refunded as long as you close it within 30 days. Another rule most (but not all) follow: do not add spouse/P2 as an Authorized User (AU) cards because they don't get a SUB and you don't get the "support" pts.

Feel free to ask any questions, everyone here is friendly and always happy to help.

 

[trenty]

I'm looking for a way to generate rewards toward Delta flights. We spend a few thousand a month with our bank debit cards. It seems like that could add up to help on the one or two flights we take a year if we just used a different card and paid it off each month. We are actually ready to book a flight and the Delta AmEx Gold offer popped up which got me thinking about this. I do not know if that is still a good program for rewards from spending rather than flying.

My only current rewards card that sees any use is Costco.

You have gotten some good tips already. I just want to add my personal experience with getting a co-branded card (specific to one airline or hotel). I was always loyal to SW for many reasons, even before I began this credit card game. So naturally when I started using credit cards for the purpose of travel, the Chase SW card(s) were part of my portfolio and I accumulated a lot of SW points. Well, things have changed for various reasons. While SW is still my preferred airlines, I cannot always use them. So I have learned it is better to have non-cobranded cards where the points can transfer to a variety of travel partners.

Just the other day, I transferred AMEX URs from my Everyday card to Delta and booked two round-trip flights.

This does not work with every airline or hotel with the cards I carry (Chase, Amex). I don't want to expand beyond the cards I have. There are other ways to use my points when I encounter a travel partner (American Airlines for example) that does not allow transfers from Chase or Amex. These are not ideal ways to use the points (a post for another day), but it is doable.

Another note: I personally stay away from cards with high AFs. I do hold the CSP ($95 annual fee) and I occasionally upgrade/downgrade my Everyday and have an AF there some years ($95). Others can argue that the high AF cards pay for themselves. They are not wrong; it's just not the way I like to play this game. I tell you this so you know there are many ways to earn free travel. There is no right or wrong way to play this game as long as you:
1. Keep track of your expenses and don't buy things just to earn points.
2. Pay off your cards in full each month; don't go into debt for "free" travel.
3. Do what you are comfortable with in terms of number of cards to keep track of and possibly churn.
4. Understand the terms of each card before you apply. In other words know each cards "rules" for earning and redeeming points.

 

[Sheree]

as a follow up to my question about ewhat to do with pw venture x, if i don't geet a good retention offer on my amex plat, what would you suggest I do with my MRs?

not sure if I'm eligible for any other sub on amex, but I am in need to a new msr so thinking opening someone amex mr to have to transfer mr to

thanks for advice on cap1 and amex

also waiting on extra 15k from ink!

s

 

[Best Aunt]

I'm looking for a way to generate rewards toward Delta flights. We spend a few thousand a month with our bank debit cards. It seems like that could add up to help on the one or two flights we take a year if we just used a different card and paid it off each month. We are actually ready to book a flight and the Delta AmEx Gold offer popped up which got me thinking about this. I do not know if that is still a good program for rewards from spending rather than flying.

My only current rewards card that sees any use is Costco.

If you are thinking of getting a Delta credit card, you should compare the Blue versus Gold in terms of perks, bonus miles for getting a new card, and annual fee. You can do that on the American Express website if you can't find the info on the Delta website.

One thing to keep in mind with airline-specific cards is whether you might have a year when you are not using that airline. If I'm not going to fly on Delta for a year (maybe other airlines have nonstop flights, or maybe I'm going on trips where I drive rather than fly), then perks which are related to Delta flights aren't helpful. A perk like "one free checked bag" won't help me if I'm not flying Delta for a year, but I would still have to pay the annual fee on a Delta Gold card for that year.

Delta has a button thing that you can put on your web browser. When you are going to buy something online, you can check on there to see if you will get extra Delta miles for making the purchase that way. You don't have to pay with a Delta credit card to get the extra miles. But you have to be careful because I believe if you use a coupon code you found elsewhere, you won't get the extra miles.

 

[elgerber]

Similar situation with a slight difference.

When I replied to the original SM that stated they would be happy to credit the additional 15k bonus points once I met the MSR, the Chase rep that answered stated that I should now see the 15k additional bonus on chase.com or on my next statement along with the original 75k bonus.

However, when I logged in online, I only saw the 75k and no 15k and there was no points pending either. I wait a few days and then replied back on the same SM that stated I would be getting the 15k credit that I didn't see the additional 15k as promised and nothing was pending either.

Chase responded that they have sent the matter to the department that will be investigating the matter and that I should hear back in a few days... Still waiting.

How long ago was that?

 

[Tasscrapper]

My dd is 24, has one credit card that she keeps paid off and is thinking about doing the disney Visa mainly to have the benefits for our trip. She isn't sure if she will want to keep it more than a year or not. She is concerned about the affect on her credit score if she cancels after a year. I'm also curious if it will help her credit score having another card. She really does not have any bills in her name besides her current card.

 

[Tasscrapper]

My dd is 24, has one credit card that she keeps paid off and is thinking about doing the disney Visa mainly to have the benefits for our trip. She isn't sure if she will want to keep it more than a year or not. She is concerned about the affect on her credit score if she cancels after a year. I'm also curious if it will help her credit score having another card. She really does not have any bills in her name besides her current card.

So after looking at the benefits she's decided that it's not worth it.

 

[elgerber]

Congrats …can’t hurt to try to have it expedited

Called as her this morning. Very happy to expedite it for her . Now to find some furniture to buy with it.

 

[havaneselover]

On the phone with United about my Japan tickets. Apparently the schedule change wasn't major so there was no refund option even though they kept giving me the refund option online. I could rebook and complete travel by 7/29/24. There's no way I'm in the mood to book a trip to complete before then (I'm still drowning in grief at the moment) and my daughter has an internship this summer and already told them she would start in early May. Anyway United agreed to an exception with a $299/passenger fee (reduced from $499) which I had to pay (they didn't net it out of the refund). Then they will refund the money to Chase and somehow I'll get my 540k URs and $300 back. I know this is going to be a headache. I really need a vacation (last real one was May 2022) but I need some time to heal and plan things the way I like.

 

[StephPlum]

New CIC approved today! I recently cleaned up my business cards and have 2 CICs, 1 CIU and 1 IHG biz card. I did have a green star pre-approved for CIP in my account. Not sure if that helped or not. Last chase app was in Nov.

Went through P2 referral and got the normal 75K URs for 6K spend. The new public offer is bad. 9K spend (split over 6 months) for 75K.

 

[jenmsmith]

Dd was instant approved for an CIU. Will they expedite a first business card if someone calls? And will they answer on a weeken

New CIC approved today! I recently cleaned up my business cards and have 2 CICs, 1 CIU and 1 IHG biz card. I did have a green star pre-approved for CIP in my account. Not sure if that helped or not. Last chase app was in Nov.

Went through P2 referral and got the normal 75K URs for 6K spend. The new public offer is bad. 9K spend (split over 6 months) for 75K.
View attachment 846566

So glad to hear DPs of Chase biz approvals. I was denied last week and so need to do some cleaning up of current biz cards.

FWIW, I read the public offer as a total of $6,000 spend for 75k URs. It’s just that it’s split and more accessible for those who don’t have high spend.

 

[calypso726]

No cards applied for in the past 2 years. Mine are very old, mostly with Citi, one unused CapOne Silver

Monthly: $3-4000 that could be paid on a card instead of debit
Paid off monthly
Airport: DTW
Preferred Airline: Delta
Southwest services DTW but not a lot of non-stop routes we would take so it is not preferred.
No preference on hotels other than Disney
We have some Delta direct miles
Goal: Discounted flights to Disney/Orlando and savings on Disney vacations, preferably as DVC members soon
Trips: At least annually
Travel only with spouse usually.

You have gotten some good advice and I'm going to throw some more food for thought your way. Keep in mind as you enter this hobby, your goals can change. When I started this hobby back in 2012 I was only planning to do this for one trip to Scotland. That was it. This hobby literally changed my life and my perspective and here I am doing things and going places that I never thought were possible.

Lets take a look at a random one way flight from DTW-MCO this summer on DL with miles and with money to compare. Same flight, same day. I'm going to go with the assumption that you would choose Main cabin over basic so you have some flexibility in case you need to make a change, seat selection available etc. If not, adjust my math accordingly.




The ticket is $244 and if you hold a Delta Gold, Platinum or Reserve card you save 15% on the miles needed and can book that ticket for 18.7k miles and $6. The cpp on that is .013 plus your $6. So now you need to take into account what does it cost you to hold a Delta cobranded card long term. Let's go with 5 years. The DL gold card is $150/year with the first year AF waived. Over 5 years the card costs you $600. Amex has a one card per lifetime rule plus card family restrictions on the consumer card. So you're only getting the one card for you and maybe one for P2 adding to if you cancel P2s card at 1 year. Current bonus on the card is 40k miles for $2k spend in 6 months for the personal card or 55k for $4k spend on the biz card. The cards earns 2x on dining, groceries and Delta purchases on the consumer card. At two flights per year you save 33K DL miles with this card which is valued at $429 and you spent $600 to keep the card, earned 40k-55k miles for a bonus and can only use those miles earned for DL flights and you will not earn any FF miles for flying on an award flight booked with FF miles. The 40K miles are worth $520.

Another option would be have an Amex card that earns MRs since they can transfer to DL. Yes, there is a .0006 pp txfr cost specifically for Delta. The same flight would cost $13.20 to transfer Amex MRs to Delta. You still have to consider the lifetime Amex rule on the available cards. If you are comfortable with business cards, I'd go right out the gate with an Amex Platinum biz or Gold biz for the the higher sign up bonus. On the Plat it's 150k for $15k in 3 months and there are annual credits which if used strategically can offset that first year AF of $695. The gold biz is 130k MRs for $10k spend in 3 months and the AF is $375. What is more compelling to me about this one is the $20 monthly statement credit at office supply stores. You can purchase gift cards like Amazon, Delta or wherever you shop normally at an office supply store for $20 each month to offset the fee which would bring it down to $135. If gas and dining are your two most frequent spend categories each month you'd also get 4x for that. Then, at one year, before canceling the card I would the get the Amex Blue Business Plus which is a no fee card that will keep your MRs alive and transferrable to airlines. The spend is high for the meager SUB but I’d do it and not make the spend to keep the MRs alive. It earns 2x on everything up to $50k spend per year. Some would say get the SUB for that one also rather than product change but the SUB isn't often that good. You could get the SUB for the Everyday preferred card which is a $95 AF and has decent earnings for groceries at 3x and a 50% bonus on MRs earned when you make 30+ purchases per month as another option. 130K MRs on the biz gold are worth $1690 as DL miles in our scenario above. The 150k MRs are worth $1950, an AF of $695 on year one and $95 on years 2-5 comes out to $1075 and you're still ahead on a consumer card with getting the everyday preferred card before you cancel the plat card. The 130K MRs on the biz gold are worth $1690 as DL miles in our scenario above. However, when you PC to a Blue Business Plus card after year one, the years 2-5 and on are $0 so your OOP cost for the card was only $375.

Anyhow, all of this is to give you some ways to look at the big picture, your long term strategy and make the best decisions for your family and travel goals. Hope it helps

 

[StephPlum]

.

FWIW, I read the public offer as a total of $6,000 spend for 75k URs. It’s just that it’s split and more accessible for those who don’t have high spend.

Hopefully that is the way it is. I have property tax coming up so 6K in one spend is easy.

 

[afan]

I know there's a bunch of Target shoppers here and I have a question after my trip there this morning.

I entered my phone number like normal and got some thing I had to accept, I didn't read it and the cashier didn't explain well. I didn't have time to read. Anyway it didn't take my circle stuff off, she said she needed to scan my wallet for that and when I questioned it she said it's been that way for over a year. That's not accurate because I have always entered my number and then seen the total after the circle stuff comes off.

The stuff did come off but I didn't get to see that before I paid because scanning the wallet also pays with my gc, I don't want these things combined because now I'm having to agree to pay before I see the actual price I need to pay.

Has anyone else encountered this? If this is part of their new circle thing fine but tell us that.

 

[VickieMouse]

New CIC approved today! I recently cleaned up my business cards and have 2 CICs, 1 CIU and 1 IHG biz card. I did have a green star pre-approved for CIP in my account. Not sure if that helped or not. Last chase app was in Nov.

Went through P2 referral and got the normal 75K URs for 6K spend. The new public offer is bad. 9K spend (split over 6 months) for 75K.
View attachment 846566

Out of curiosity, what do your recents chase
ink approvals look like? I’m wondering if I should try or hold off as I need a new card. Wasn’t sure if it had been a while since your last app.
Also, when you say you did some cleaning up how recently did you do that and how long did you wait to apply for a new card?
Thanks for your insight!!

 

[Judique]

So glad to hear DPs of Chase biz approvals. I was denied last week and so need to do some cleaning up of current biz cards.

FWIW, I read the public offer as a total of $6,000 spend for 75k URs. It’s just that it’s split and more accessible for those who don’t have high spend.

i read it same as you.