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

[Nala83]

How did you like the Tokyo station hotel? I'll be there 3 nights for part of my Sept solo trip.

I loved it! It was perhaps my favorite hotel of all time. The staff is incredible. I don't have any special status, or even a Hyatt card, but by booking on points I was given a dome view room (highly recommend) and the buffet breakfast was included (also highly recommend). You won't regret it!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

We went to Glacier Bay last year on NCL. We cruised on the Encore and it has areas that were specifically built for Alaska, so the viewing platforms were very nice. They do have some kid activities, but mine were all teens/young adults and mainly hung out and watched the world go by. The scenery was breathtaking.

I’ve heard good things about Princess and would give them a serious look if we go again. We enjoyed NCL, but I would have liked more educational Alaskan experience offerings. We did have NPS guides on the ship as we sailed through Glacier Bay, but it’s my understanding that Princess offers daily talks for those interested.

We will be departing on our first Alaskan cruise on June 24th with Princess Cruises. We will be going to Glacier Bay and my DS will be 16. I picked this cruise because of Glacier Bay. When I discussed which would be the best cruise line for Alaska with my TA/friend she said Princess would be her recommendation for us. Princess and HAL have the most slots for Glacier Bay of all of the cruise lines so that factored heavily into my decision. We have sailed on Celebrity, Disney, and Carnival so we will see how Princess compares. After we return I can provide details and answer questions on our experience. Please let me know if there is anything specific you would like to know.

Great details! DS will be 15 if we go next year or 16 if 2026, so not a little kid but I doubt he will want to sit through lectures. OTOH, I'd love more educational stuff. For our previous Alaskan cruise, we went at the beginning of the season. This time, I'd like to go mid season to see more wildlife and have a balcony. DCL is the only line we've ever sailed so I appreciate any info.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

I quickly hit the MSR on my IHG biz so DH joined the elevated IHG Biz bandwagon. Not quite instant approval. Got the we're reviewing message and then 6 mins later an email of approval. OK.

I haven't really stayed at Hilton so we've not jumped on the Hilton Biz bandwagon. I had a specific redemption in mind and still have those points but haven't used them yet.... Sticking with what works for me now with Marriott and IHG.

In other CC news, I am starting to hate Citi. First they gave me a low CL on the AA card. When I paid mid-month, it took quite a while before they adjusted available credit to recognize the payment. I tried to use at Staples yesterday (says I have 999 available credit and I had a 600 charge). Would not go through. Two hours later I get a text and call - did you try to buy something at staples? Yes I did but it is too late now to try to redo the purchase! Good thing I have until August to hit the MSR as it will take a while. I am not going to chance taking the card to Canada if it gets flagged for fraud right here. I had planned to use on my upcoming trip.

Citi has a large purchase notification tool. I personally don't consider $600 to be large, but I had heard of issues with Citi so I used it when we had a car repair and had no issues with it going through. I would do a travel notification for Canada and try it. I think it doesn't hurt and you can always switch to another card if it's being finnicky.

 

[lsutigers03]

Thank you. We will likely be flying out of SFO. I checked a couple of major city/airports in Europe that are a possibility for us and it does look like there's a good chance we would use AA. I've never gotten a non airline card (like chase saphire) because I'm afraid I won't be able to redeem the airline points I want to.

Can Chase or Amex be redeemed for any airline?

With Chase if you want to transfer to airline or hotel partners you'll need the Sapphire Reserve ($550 annual fee), Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee), or the Ink Business Preferred ($95 annual fee). The transfer partners are below.

• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Emirates Skywards
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• IHG One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World Of Hyatt

With American Express you should be able to use any Membership Rewards earing card to transfer to travel partners. I only have an Everyday card which has no annual fee and I can transfer. However, if you want to build up enough MR points to travel to Europe you'll need to either do a lot of spend or get a card or two with an annual fee. The platinum ($695 annual fee) and the Gold ($250 annual fee) usually have large signup bonuses. Usually for the first year anyone can make the annual fee work if you factor in the signup bonus. The platinum and gold also have business versions where you can get more MR points. The business versions each have a higher minimum spend requirement for the bonus. The AMEX travel partners are below.

• Aer Lingus
• AeroMexico
• Aeroplan
• Air France KLM
• All Nippon Airways
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Delta Air Lines
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Airways
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue
• Qantas Loyalty
• Singapore Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic Airways
• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Bonvoy

I think that UR points are the easiest to get if you apply for Ink Business cards. The Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited have no annual fee. The Ink Cash gets 5x points at office supply stores. This is great for Office Depot and Staples fee free Visa and MC gift cards deals. The Ink Unlimited is 1.5 points on all purchases. The great thing about these cards is you should be able to get the signup bonus every 3 months or so which will allow you to get a ton of Ultimate Reward points. If you have a player 2 you can get even more. DW and I have accumulated around 400k UR points in the last 6-7 months with Ink cards. Once you build up enough points you can get the Sapphire Preferred to transfer to travel partners.

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[Limes96]

Interesting to hear the Tuscaloosa talk, DS (22) is moving there in August for his masters program. I haven’t been there before, though I have spent a little time in Birmingham which I always enjoyed. When my kids were little I would take them to the zoo (smallish but fun) and also the civil rights sites downtown. I’m hoping when I visit I’ll be able to stay with DS in his apartment though and not have to spend my precious hotel points. I hadn’t even thought of flying into Jackson. I suppose Montgomery is as bad as flying into Birmingham?

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I think that UR points are the easiest to get if you apply for Ink Business cards. The Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited have no annual fee. The Ink Cash gets 5x points at office supply stores. This is great for Office Depot and Staples fee free Visa and MC gift cards deals. The Ink Unlimited is 1.5 points on all purchases. The great thing about these cards is you should be able to get the signup bonus every 3 months or so which will allow you to get a ton of Ultimate Reward points. If you have a player 2 you can get even more. DW and I have accumulated around 400k UR points in the last 6-7 months with Ink cards. Once you build up enough points you can get the Sapphire Preferred to transfer to travel partners.

Speaking of how great INKs are at amassing URs, do folks generally keep them open for years? DH and I each have two, I'll be going for my 3rd when I drop to 4/24 in a month. Wondering what's best practice. Certainly keeping some CIC for VGCs makes sense... does it even matter since they don't show up on a credit report?

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Speaking of how great INKs are at amassing URs, do folks generally keep them open for years? DH and I each have two, I'll be going for my 3rd when I drop to 4/24 in a month. Wondering what's best practice. Certainly keeping some CIC for VGCs makes sense... does it even matter since they don't show up on a credit report?

Not sure what most do but I close any card that’s not a keeper card after a year, inks included.

 

[hsmamato2]

Got my 50K MRs on the BBP #2 and promptly used them to book 2 nights near Disneyland for MouseAdventure this September. Not a good "redemption value" but it works for the way we travel (which is domestically, for cheap, and driving instead of flying).

I cannot seem to make the Virgin Atlantic points work for anything we are actually likely to do, so I've begun the process of getting them transferred to IHG. It's not a chain I normally stay at but with 2 more Disneyland trips coming up and needing to be super conservative with money, I'll take what I can get.

Now to determine the next SUB, assuming I can even manage the spend under my new self-imposed spending restrictions.

I hear this.....I'm kind of the same

 

[hsmamato2]

Got my 50K MRs on the BBP #2 and promptly used them to book 2 nights near Disneyland for MouseAdventure this September. Not a good "redemption value" but it works for the way we travel (which is domestically, for cheap, and driving instead of flying).

I cannot seem to make the Virgin Atlantic points work for anything we are actually likely to do, so I've begun the process of getting them transferred to IHG. It's not a chain I normally stay at but with 2 more Disneyland trips coming up and needing to be super conservative with money, I'll take what I can get.

Now to determine the next SUB, assuming I can even manage the spend under my new self-imposed spending restrictions.

I hear this.....I'm kind of the same

I want to offer my huge thanks to everyone who contributes to this thread. Before I stumbled upon this thread with the crazy name (What's there to love about credit cards?), I had no idea that international travel would ever be an option for me. Yet I just fulfilled a life-long dream and spent 3 weeks on a solo trip to Japan.

The best advice I gleaned was "you do you." Frankly, my income isn't particularly high. I'm careful with money, but I don't have a P2, big MSRs aren't possible, and cards with high annual fees don't make sense. However, I learned it's still possible to make travel happen.

For those interested, here's how I used points and miles to travel to Japan.

Flights: JAL economy using 70,000 AS miles + $70

Hotels:
Dormy Inn Ueno in Tokyo (4 nights)- 25,451 total UR through portal
Solaria Nishetetsu Hotel in Kyoto (6 nights)- 65,909 total UR through portal
Tokyo Station Hotel in Tokyo- (2 nights ) 25,000 Hyatt points/night, total 50,000 UR
Tokyo Hilton Bay- 5 nights, 43,000 per night, 5th night free, total 172,000 Hilton points

Total points for 17 nights:
UR- 91,000
Hilton- 172,000

Credit Cards opened

• CSP
• CFU
• CFF
• Hilton Honors
• Hilton Surpass
• Alaska Personal
• Alaska Business
• CIC (helped meet MSR by opening a bank account using credit card funding)

Biggest cash expenditures:
Two night stay at a ryokan- a traditional Japanese inn
Bullet train to/from Kyoto
Local Transportation
Disney tickets
Meals (surprisingly inexpensive)

Cash Sources

• BofA Cash Rewards card
• Bank bonuses

Totally doable! And I somehow have enough URs and miles sitting in my accounts that I'm dreaming of my next trip. Thank you, all!

that's awesome! May I ask why the Alaska cc's? What did you use those for?

 

[lsutigers03]

Speaking of how great INKs are at amassing URs, do folks generally keep them open for years? DH and I each have two, I'll be going for my 3rd when I drop to 4/24 in a month. Wondering what's best practice. Certainly keeping some CIC for VGCs makes sense... does it even matter since they don't show up on a credit report?

Usually when they hit a year I transfer the credit limit and close the card.

 

[StephPlum]

Speaking of how great INKs are at amassing URs, do folks generally keep them open for years? DH and I each have two, I'll be going for my 3rd when I drop to 4/24 in a month. Wondering what's best practice. Certainly keeping some CIC for VGCs makes sense... does it even matter since they don't show up on a credit report?

I close after a year. I’ve kept my oldest CIC. It has all my recurring streaming and phone Charges. I’ve gotten too lazy to move those all the time.

 

[becauseimnew]

Does anyone know if Southwest transfer point transaction code as a SW purchase?
I am going to be 9K points short from earning the CP this year, but I have both SW business cards and if those transactions count as SW purchases then I'll only be 5,500 short.

 

[FreeDiningFanatic]

Does anyone know if Southwest transfer point transaction code as a SW purchase?
I am going to be 9K points short from earning the CP this year, but I have both SW business cards and if those transactions count as SW purchases then I'll only be 5,500 short.

I tried to look back at my transactions, but I think that card is closed. I think it's processed by points.com so I want to say it won't code as SW.
ETA: I stand corrected

 

[wanderlust7]

Does anyone know if Southwest transfer point transaction code as a SW purchase?
I am going to be 9K points short from earning the CP this year, but I have both SW business cards and if those transactions count as SW purchases then I'll only be 5,500 short.

It does code as SW.

 

[elgerber]

we are looking at the Keys next winter, Jan-Feb. Any tips?

 

[StephPlum]

Does anyone know if Southwest transfer point transaction code as a SW purchase?
I am going to be 9K points short from earning the CP this year, but I have both SW business cards and if those transactions count as SW purchases then I'll only be 5,500 short.

Looked back and I got 4x points on my points transfer.

 

[becauseimnew]

Looked back and I got 4x points on my points transfer.

Thank you!!

 

[leeniewdw]

Wanted to send a big thanks to this thread. I've learned a lot after starting really slow (before I found this thread and other resources) with the initial Marriott Bonvoy 100k offer back in 2018 or 2019. I've used RR points and various other small redemptions over the last few years but this is our first 'big' trip.

We leave on Saturday for our 2 week trip to Ireland (we are staying in Boston for 1 night). I'll post a recap when we return, but we used a Chase Aer Lingus cc to get 100k pts that we used to book Biz Class for our trip over (BOS-DUB). I had to xfer some Chase URs to top us off to get our economy tickets for the return.

On our trip we're staying in 2 diff AirBnBs in 2 different towns (3 nights each) and used mostly gift cards we got for 4x fuel points slowly over a few months (this was before we had Chase Ink Biz cards) and 1 apt rental thru a local agency that I think I used some Cap1 points for the deposit (also 3 nights). We're staying in a Hyatt Centric in BOS (xferred from UR) and then for some hotel/inn stays we used mostly C1 points from the Venture X's 100k offer. I compared the pts costs between booking via Cap 1 or Chase Travel and it seemed like C1 was fewer. Those stays are only 1 nights here and there as we move around Ireland. I think it totals 6 nights in hotels booked from points.

We are actually double booked for 1 night because we found that The 1975 is playing in Cork when we're about an hour away, so we grabbed tickets and a hotel in Cork (used UR for that) for that night and will just arrive at our Airbnb the next morning. At least that's the plan for now, lol.

Thanks again! I'll break it down better once we're back.

 

[pinkxray]

I have a big amount of spend(for me at least) coming up. Probably a little over $23,000. I am staying away from Chase for a bit. Have gotten like 3 inks in the last year. I believe I am 3/24.
The next trip I need points for is June 2024. We need flights nonstop from JFK-Seattle.
I can possibly get Alaska Airlines, Delta, but kind of leaning fowards an Amex Plat Biz card? I pretty much never have the means to meet a large spend they have of $15,000.

Does that makes sense to get MRs vs invidual airline cards?

 

[lsutigers03]

I have a big amount of spend(for me at least) coming up. Probably a little over $23,000. I am staying away from Chase for a bit. Have gotten like 3 inks in the last year. I believe I am 3/24.
The next trip I need points for is June 2024. We need flights nonstop from JFK-Seattle.
I can possibly get Alaska Airlines, Delta, but kind of leaning fowards an Amex Plat Biz card? I pretty much never have the means to meet a large spend they have of $15,000.

Does that makes sense to get MRs vs invidual airline cards?

I would do the AMEX business platinum and gold. DW was approved earlier this month for the business gold with a signup bonus of 130k. It took a bit of time and multiple browsers in incognito mode to pull this offer. You can combine that with the new 200k bonus on the business platinum if you can pull that offer. The combined spend will be $25k but I assume you could make up the extra $2k with organic spend.