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

[MsOnceUponATime]

Does anyone have 2 CIPs, with getting one recently like the last 4 months? Want to jump on the elevated CIP but will have to be DH and he has a CIP that is 8 months old so can’t cancel it yet.

Business? Me. Applied April 3rd - instant approval. Then another August 14th - instant approval.

 

[lsutigers03]

DP about applying for the CIP. I applied DW yesterday and got the 7-10 day message. Then about 4 hours later the application was approved. She had 3 personal cards and 3 business cards (one Ink). Her total credit was around $25k across all cards due to me lowering the limit on all of her cards.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I did check before booking. It was 23K/night and I need 5 nights. That's 115K URs. I used 99K URs+$51 and change.

That makes sense, then. I might start doing more of that next year as I probably won't be chasing status again, so the night credits won't be as important.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Husband has a CIC that was opened November 2023. I have a CIP that I just opened July 2024 (as well as a couple of CIC's).

Is it possible to both support him (and get a bonus for myself) from either of those AND he still be eligible for the 120K? I feel like I am missing something.

Yes you can send him a support link it will be for the 100k bonus…after he is approved…he would send Chase a SM asking to be matched to the 120k bonus

 

[trenty]

That makes sense, then. I might start doing more of that next year as I probably won't be chasing status again, so the night credits won't be as important.

Since I am getting the $50 back, I thought it was the best way to go. I am not really loyal to any hotel brand....but may be soon as I am starting to travel more.

Another reason I booked it through the portal is that it is a winter trip. If flights get messed up/cancelled and I have to cancel hotel, I get the URs back instead of having them stuck with Hyatt.

ETA: And I got a better/more expensive room not available through Hyatt directly with points.

 

[StephPlum]

Since I am getting the $50 back, I thought it was the best way to go. I am not really loyal to any hotel brand....but may be soon as I am starting to travel more.

Another reason I booked it through the portal is that it is a winter trip. If flights get messed up/cancelled and I have to cancel hotel, I get the URs back instead of having them stuck with Hyatt.

ETA: And I got a better/more expensive room not available through Hyatt directly with points.

My idea of best value is what is best for you in your particular situation. I know I use FNCs on lower level hotels that some would shake their head at. I don’t lose money (ie the room cost is more than the AF I paid). But it works for me and where/how I travel. If the numbers made sense to you and your reasons then feel good. that is what matters.

 

[trenty]

My idea of best value is what is best for you in your particular situation. I know I use FNCs on lower level hotels that some would shake their head at. I don’t lose money (ie the room cost is more than the AF I paid). But it works for me and where/how I travel. If the numbers made sense to you and your reasons then feel good. that is what matters.

This is my philosophy also. I once (cringe) used United Miles to get Disney Gift Cards.

In the case of this hotel redemption using URs - It was the best value using points for what I needed.

Now I am low on URs again though! LOL I don't really churn, but it is getting tempting. Hoping that CSP has an elevated offer around the time my AF hits in the spring.

 

[IFlossU]

Does anyone have 2 CIPs, with getting one recently like the last 4 months? Want to jump on the elevated CIP but will have to be DH and he has a CIP that is 8 months old so can’t cancel it yet.

I do, I opened one in May and a second one earlier this month. I have 2 CIC and an IHG biz open

Business? Me. Applied April 3rd - instant approval. Then another August 14th - instant approval.

DH was instantly approved for a CIP on May 8, and approved for a 2nd CIP on Aug 17th. The application last weekend took about 2hrs before it was approved and in his account.

 

[djmeredith]

Did you get the 7-10 message or 2 weeks?
I applied today and didn’t get instant approval either.

No, it just said "Thanks for applying. We need to review your application. We'll let you know our decision in writing as soon as we can. Our email or letter will tell you how to provide more information or documentation if we need it."

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

In my IHG vs CIP dilemma, I decided to go CIP as I'm going to use some points for a hotel for hockey, LOL. Instant approval. I have 2 CIUs and 1 CIC. I got my last CIU back in June. Too bad all the recent expenses I've had I couldn't have put towards this spend!

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

DoC reporting that an increased 90,000 UR/$6k spend offer is coming to CIU on August 25.

Too bad we JUST got a CIP... no way we can hit $14k spend in 3 months. If the offer sticks around til November, there's hope for me.

 

[AmyAnne]

I frequently stay...intentionally or not near ATL and I always always recommend any of the Marriott properties branded as "Gateway"--there are 4-the Renaissance, AC, Springhill Suites and Marriott and the Skytrain will drop you off very close to them so no need for a shuttle and it's easy peasy. You didn't say when next week and since these are near the convention center it does appear that there might be a convention-some of them are kind of $$$ on the random date I looked (but less so with points). The convenience with the SkyTrain I just cannot stress enough...walk from the airport out to the Skytrain, up an escalator to the SkyTrain, a couple of stops (it's well signed), down the elevator and then over to the hotel-again, fairly well signed. The Marriott and Renaissance are the closer of the two to the stop IIRC , Springhill Suites and AC a little farther out. It's so easy to get to and from the airport I've literally hopped back on and eaten dinner at the airport on an longer overnight stop (I know, I know, weird but I wanted dinner for breakfast at IHOP). Staying there is just SO MUCH EASIER than a long, expensive Uber ride into Atlanta proper (the traffic!) or waiting outside among smokers in the elements (it's either raining or hot or cold or just miserable) for a shuttle.

TL;DR -Marriott Gateway Hotels, trust me-I've connected (or misconnected or positioned) out of ATL for almost 25 years now!

My brother, who travels for work (he's a sports writer and covers a major league baseball team) concurs so it isn't just my bias btw! So 2/2 agree-kind of like the 4/5 dentist recommend Trident for their patients who chew gum (and we don't agree on lots of things).

Booking a hotel near the Atlanta airport is always tough. I usually start with the cluster of 3 or 4 that are west of the airport near Riverdale Road. There is a Westin, Marriott, Embassy Suites and Hilton Garden Inn. I just pick the one that has the best reviews that are most recent. It has been awhile since DH has stayed there, so hopefully someone has a more recent review.

We fly in and out of ATL a lot and usually stay at the Hilton if we stay overnight there. It's really close to the airport. The area around the airport looks worse than it really is but we stayed at the Residence Inn near there one time and I felt like I was sleeping at the end of the runway. It was so loud there and all you could hear was planes all night. The Hilton is situated so that you can't hear the take offs and landings but it's only a 5 minute drive over to the airport. I think you may be able to park there and shuttle over to the airport if you wanted to.

Just wanted to say thanks for these suggestions, and (in case it might help someone in the future) to report that I ended up going with Hyatt, for a few reasons, and it was okay (not great but also not terrible--it was also pretty inexpensive, so a decent value).

The main reason for choosing the Hyatt was because I actually wanted a shuttle rather than the skytrain--it probably sounds weird, but I was traveling by myself and arriving early evening, if the flight was on time. I had a fear that if the flight was very delayed I could end up arriving in the middle of the night, and decided that in that situation the shuttle would be easier and maybe safer. For someone more familiar with the route from a skytrain stop to a hotel, the skytrain might be the better option. Fortunately the weather in Atlanta was awesome and I only had to wait about 10 minutes for the shuttle. I could have taken the shuttle back to the terminal if I wanted IHOP (and I did think about it, but I was more tired than hungry).

The hotel itself was fine--a little beat up but basically clean, and I wasn't bothered by airport noise (but I was pretty tired!).

For the price (5,000 Hyatt points), I would stay there again if I just wanted a place to sleep for a night.

 

[CoP Luv]

DoC reporting that an increased 90,000 UR/$6k spend offer is coming to CIU on August 25.

Too bad we JUST got a CIP... no way we can hit $14k spend in 3 months. If the offer sticks around til November, there's hope for me.

Oh! This changes things! I was going to app the CIP today since we have some spend coming up and can just make the SUB heading into Christmas shopping. However, would the CIU be better since there is no AF?

P2 would refer P1.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Oh! This changes things! I was going to app the CIP today since we have some spend coming up and can just make the SUB heading into Christmas shopping. However, would the CIU be better since there is no AF?

P2 would refer P1.

Is any of the upcoming spend travel?

CIP 120k bonus plus 1% on $8k spend minus $95 AF means you're at about $1185 (if you value your UR at 0.01).

CIU 90k bonus plus 1.5% on 6k spend puts you at $990 since there's no AF to account for.

If any of the CIP spend is on travel, then you earn 3x UR for those dollars making that card even more attractive. Plus, if you don't already have a Chase card that allows for points transfers, this one opens up that window. (I needed this card to top off my SW balance earlier this year since I didn't currently have either Sapphire in my name.)

If the 8k spend is going to be a tough sell, then the CIU is a great option and you don't have to remember to close it next year when the AF hits. But, if you want any of the benefits of the CIP, the elevated bonus let's you have access to them while more than wiping out the AF cost.

(Both of them offer the same P1 to P2 support, so I didn't include in my math. But, for sure, do an internal P1 to P2 referral to snag those points, too!)

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

For Amex, if autopay is scheduled for "statement balance" and I pay the statement balance early manually, will the autopay "duplicate" the payment?

 

[CoP Luv]

Is any of the upcoming spend travel?

CIP 120k bonus plus 1% on $8k spend minus $95 AF means you're at about $1185 (if you value your UR at 0.01).

CIU 90k bonus plus 1.5% on 6k spend puts you at $990 since there's no AF to account for.

If any of the CIP spend is on travel, then you earn 3x UR for those dollars making that card even more attractive. Plus, if you don't already have a Chase card that allows for points transfers, this one opens up that window. (I needed this card to top off my SW balance earlier this year since I didn't currently have either Sapphire in my name.)

If the 8k spend is going to be a tough sell, then the CIU is a great option and you don't have to remember to close it next year when the AF hits. But, if you want any of the benefits of the CIP, the elevated bonus let's you have access to them while more than wiping out the AF cost.

(Both of them offer the same P1 to P2 support, so I didn't include in my math. But, for sure, do an internal P1 to P2 referral to snag those points, too!)

Thanks so much! We don’t really have any travel spend coming up that I know of for this SUB. We have two CSPs so I wouldn’t need another card to transfer points. We have a few bigger trips coming up that we are planning on using points for (if I can get biz tix to Paris for less than 300k each ), so this app would be to keep the UR balance to a comfortable place once we start making plans.

With the CSP getting rid of Instacart credits, I may downgrade one or both of the CSPs if I get a CIP. How many Freedoms can you have??

 

[georgina]

For Amex, if autopay is scheduled for "statement balance" and I pay the statement balance early manually, will the autopay "duplicate" the payment?

That is a very good question. I am not sure. I have had issues with AmEx credits before, and was just chatting with their online rep a few hours ago. My issue is the $150 credit for spending on a new BCP hit, and the current balance is less than the statement balance. The rep did say the balance is updated to reflect payments (but not credits). So theoretically if you pay the whole statement balance it should reflect a new zero balance. I am considering turning off autopay and just paying the current balance.

A few weeks ago I paid off my Target card balance early, then charged something one day before my statement closed. They immediately debited by bank account for that charge, which I was not expecting.

 

[georgina]

DoC reporting that an increased 90,000 UR/$6k spend offer is coming to CIU on August 25.

Too bad we JUST got a CIP... no way we can hit $14k spend in 3 months. If the offer sticks around til November, there's hope for me.

Thanks. Last time this happened I was able to get it matched for previous cards, even if the previous lower bonus had already been received. I got a CIU in July I am still working on the MSR, DH got one in May. Looks like I will be doing some SMing!

 

[wanderlust7]

Oh! This changes things! I was going to app the CIP today since we have some spend coming up and can just make the SUB heading into Christmas shopping. However, would the CIU be better since there is no AF?

P2 would refer P1.

If you have $8000 in spend but got the CIU, where would the extra $2000 spend go? If it's just going on a non-SUB card, then getting the CIP is like getting 30k extra URs for $95. If it can go towards another SUB card, then maybe the CIU is better.

When the 90k CIU offer comes out, it probably won't be available via support. You can't really wait for it to update either because the 40k support is ending 9/3. The 120k CIP offer never did update, but lots of DPs of matches. If going for the CIU, I'd probably wait for a couple of match DPs first just to be cautious. They should come out quickly.

 

[havaneselover]

Has anyone flown Virgin Premium overseas? I'm a few weeks from being able to book plane tickets from Dulles to London and I'm considering transfering URs to Virgin. Two premium tickets will probably be something like 110,000 points plus $2,500. I can also probably book through Chase for 280k URs or so. Just estimating fares based on July 2025 prices. United also has nonstops from Dulles, but their prices seem much higher. I don't know why I can't figure out international flying on points.