I love credit cards so much! v7.0 - 2025 (see first page for add'l details)

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

It can take 30+days for a card to drop from their system after cancellation. You'd have to call to push it through. I wouldn't cancel any cards. If no pop-up, then you can call to cancel one to get it approved.

I think Amex automatically reallocates CL to approve a card, so you probably don't need to do anything there either.

I have to cancel a card since I already have 5 Amex cards. I guess I can go ahead and cancel the HH card tonight and then look at applying sometime in the next week or so.

I *think* that you can have more than 1 HH biz card. I'm very tempted with the new FNC offers, but need to meet the MSR on my CSR. I only keep my HH biz cards open a year and close. With the $60/quarter credit on the Surpass why doesn't your BF like the fee? You come out ahead and get gold status which gets both of you free breakfast. 'Dd' just upgraded her basic HH card (she has already had the Surpass) to get gold status for free breakfast on her Japan trip. I immediately put $60 on the room at the LXR that I have booked in Waikiki in September and will use the card when we stay at the Hampton Inn on our way back from bringing her car home from uni.

Fourth call to AmEx today and decided to take the 35K MR for $4k spend retention offer. Guess the offer isn't going to change. Booked my hotel in Amsterdam using FHR then booked airfare for ds and I from Sydney to Auckland in October (PE on Air NZ -- no points booking in PE or biz class) -- MSR almost met.

I'll see if I can talk him into the Surpass. We used his FNC in Cabo and since he didn't have a surpass, we were only silver. We got an upgraded room luckily. But no free breakfast, LOL. I packed oatmeal and just made that in the room, LOL. He doesn't normally travel for "fun" without me. So we normally have my gold status. The only exception would be work. Some hotels will give them stay credits and perks. But most don't. So he's not sure if he'll get use of the gold F&B solo. He's way more open to another free HH card, LOL.

It's a definite that you can have more than 1 HH Biz card, I had as many as three at one time (2 for a sole proprietorship and 1 for LLC). But, with the removal of the ability to earn a FNC and the temporary suspension of selling Hilton gift cards online (to use up the credits), the value of holding more than one Biz card is limited to the SUB, unless you have more than $100,000 in organic spend per year and need more 5x.

Are the GCs still not working? I used my Biz $60 in Vegas in Jan. I didn't bother doing the $50 on my Surpass figuring I'll get the GC later if I didn't use it. I guess I still have a month to order them. But it's been what I've been having my mom do. She isn't traveling much at all. UGH.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Oh and in other news, I think Ireland attempt #3 is going to be cancelled. Year 1 (18th bday) nor'easter and her mental health caused us not to go. Year 2 (19th bday) I had thrown out my back and couldn't walk at all. I was in the hospital. Year 3 (20th, this year), she just started a new job. She'd rather go somewhere warm for a few days. So we might try San Diego to go to the zoo over spring break at the end of the month.

I've been leery about going as my son is having surgery on 3/11. We were set to leave on 3/15. I'm sure he would have been fine w/ his dad. But I'm also sure I would be worrying the entire time too! I'll probably use his surgery to try and get the $50/cancellation back from Aer Lingus. And then I guess look at when we'll try Ireland again. Maybe we'll go for the longer time like my mom wants and she'll join us too!.

 

[wanderlust7]

I have to cancel a card since I already have 5 Amex cards. I guess I can go ahead and cancel the HH card tonight and then look at applying sometime in the next week or so.

The pop-up should be the first thing that happens. So if you get that, it's kind of a moot point and you wouldn't need to cancel a card. If you don't get pop-up, then you can call to cancel a card.

If you decide to cancel first, wait a week, and are instantly approved, that would be a great DP. But chances are the system will still see you as having 5 cc.

 

[MarBee]

Hyatt doesn't have dynamic pricing like Marriott. The points are fixed based on category and non-peak/regular/peak. The categories are adjusted once a year with advance notice. So the points won't change unless it's a hotel on the list to be adjusted. You can check here.

They show you the lowest points needed per night though, so check that all your nights are that rate.

Thanks so much for your help! I’ll go ahead and book now then

 

[wanderlust7]

I don't think the concept is new, as SW has always done demand-based pricing. I have multiple SW flights booked with points for this year, and they all had a different value per point, e.g. 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7. In addition, by monitoring fares every now and then, I've been able to receive point credits three separate times for a flight I booked just over a month ago.

SW points are currently fixed at 83 points per dollar of the base fare. You can see the price broken out between base fare and taxes/fees when you book. The higher the taxes/fees are, the higher point value you'll get.

So now it sounds like the points to base fare will be dynamic. Doesn't sound like a good change unless it works in our favor (doubtful?).

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

SW points are currently fixed at 83 points per dollar of the base fare. You can see the price broken out between base fare and taxes/fees when you book. The higher the taxes/fees are, the higher point value you'll get.

So now it sounds like the points to base fare will be dynamic. Doesn't sound like a good change unless it works in our favor (doubtful?).

I had been thinking some devaluation was going to happen soon, before the new seating changes. I'm thinking this it.

 

[Arcades]

Are the GCs still not working? I used my Biz $60 in Vegas in Jan. I didn't bother doing the $50 on my Surpass figuring I'll get the GC later if I didn't use it. I guess I still have a month to order them. But it's been what I've been having my mom do. She isn't traveling much at all. UGH.

GCs working is YMMV, but I was referring to them being Out of Stock on the Hilton gift card website.

 

[Sheree]

DP re GE
on our recent trip discovered DH precheck expires. we weren't aware since he had it thru work. so he had to wait in the long line
on Tuesday applied for GE using u my free amex plat benefit. On Thursday got the email to make appt for interview. they (ewr) had an opening for today! which he couldn't do so he made it for Wednesday.
Extremely fast!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I am culling cards and with three platinums. the aspire, and the CSR I was determined to get rid of my Amex Business Platinum. I chatted and they offered 80,000 with $15,000 spend. Normally the spend wouldn't be an issue but with the IRS now charging more to use business cards, I am thinking of still getting rid of it. I could put property taxes on it, but the annual fees with these cards are just getting ridiculous and I'm dell'ed out. Anyone get a better deal recently?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Oh and in other news, I think Ireland attempt #3 is going to be cancelled. Year 1 (18th bday) nor'easter and her mental health caused us not to go. Year 2 (19th bday) I had thrown out my back and couldn't walk at all. I was in the hospital. Year 3 (20th, this year), she just started a new job. She'd rather go somewhere warm for a few days. So we might try San Diego to go to the zoo over spring break at the end of the month.

I've been leery about going as my son is having surgery on 3/11. We were set to leave on 3/15. I'm sure he would have been fine w/ his dad. But I'm also sure I would be worrying the entire time too! I'll probably use his surgery to try and get the $50/cancellation back from Aer Lingus. And then I guess look at when we'll try Ireland again. Maybe we'll go for the longer time like my mom wants and she'll join us too!.

SO much easier to get back in case of emeregency at home from SD. The SD Zoo is indeed awesome, they also have some extras you can add on to your day and if you want even more animals you can go to the Wild Animal Park Safari Park (stupid name change ) in Escondido.

 

[wanderlust7]

I am culling cards and with three platinums. the aspire, and the CSR I was determined to get rid of my Amex Business Platinum. I chatted and they offered 80,000 with $15,000 spend. Normally the spend wouldn't be an issue but with the IRS now charging more to use business cards, I am thinking of still getting rid of it. I could put property taxes on it, but the annual fees with these cards are just getting ridiculous and I'm dell'ed out. Anyone get a better deal recently?

If you want to pay taxes, you can still do business cards with ACI through Paypal at the 1.85% rate. Make sure you delete all other payment methods though because sometimes Paypal will pull from other payment sources.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

If you want to pay taxes, you can still do business cards with ACI through Paypal at the 1.85% rate. Make sure you delete all other payment methods though because sometimes Paypal will pull from other payment sources.

Okay, good to know. I suspect they will figure that workaround out soon though. It's mostly to get the 1.5x pts for charges over $5000 (i.e. taxes). I looked on reddit for current retention offers and didn't see many for the business platinum. Wondered if anyone here had gotten a good one recently. 80,000 is good but not great. Great was when i got my entire fee comped one year LOL. Probably a bad comparison.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Are you looking to pop into the cc bonus game (getting cc because they have a good bonus with the intention of cancelling/downgrading after 1 full year before paying the AF again if the card doesn't make mathematical sense to keep for another year)? Or are you looking for maybe a new card or two to supplement your current purchasing? If you aren't interested in bonuses, lean into the eco system you have to earn more points. So with Chase that means picking up something like a Freedom or Freedom Flex for 1.5x UR back on everything or 5x rotating quarterly categories respectively and then transferring the points over to your CSR. You'll make a lot more dough with your spend if you start focusing on a bonus here or there though...

And yes, Lessor of Real Estate definitely qualifies as a business! If you don't have a separate entity set up for doing it that makes you a sole proprietorship and you use your SSN in place of the EIN (and it gives you a more legit business than like half of us here who tend to be really optimistic about our ebay potential ...). If you don't have a DBA the name of the business is just your name. The nice part about business cards is Chase and Amex biz cards don't show as new cards on your credit report so you can hit them without affecting your 5/24 status! They will hard hit your credit which will whack it for a few points but it will recover. I recommend starting with the Chase biz card that has the highest bonus right now. Do you have a Partner? If so once one of you get any Ink card you can refer the other and then go back and forth referring each other to the other Inks. Recommended pacing is space out every 3-4 months. Chase is getting stingier on approvals these days but you're basically fresh so you should be good to go.

Is the DVC purchase something you can use cc's towards? Amex has a business platinum card that you can sometimes pull bonuses of up to 250k points for but it has a hefty $20k spend. I wouldn't slam the card for $20k right off the bat (or you risk getting a financial review where Amex will ask for an IRS transcript copy of your taxes to verify your income) but figure out a level you feel safe at and you could put away a nice chunk of that spend during your dvc purchase. Amex has multiple transfer partners so if biz class flights are something you're interested in it might nice to have Amex and Chase points to work with to try to piece something together (never transfer points unless the flights are available).

Random- DoC keeps a nice list of best cc bonuses for personal and business use here. Feel free to pop in here when you're about to apply for something if you have an specific q's or concerns or just want to make sure their isn't anything weird to be aware of (like Cap1 biz cards usually, not always, show up on personal credit reports and would therefore affect your 5/24 status- we are fountains of random info like that lol). Keep in mind Amex bonuses are once in a lifetime, once you've had the card you can't get a bonus on it so you want to make sure Amex bonuses are good offers when you go for one. If you want you can join our private reddit group here where we share "support links" but no pressure if that's not your thing!

This is beyond helpful, thank you!! So many things to think about but as a first step I’ll start researching biz card options from Chase since I was planning on putting the DVC purchase on CC!

This board is incredible - such a wealth of knowledge! Thanks again!!

 

[miztressuz]

I am culling cards and with three platinums. the aspire, and the CSR I was determined to get rid of my Amex Business Platinum. I chatted and they offered 80,000 with $15,000 spend. Normally the spend wouldn't be an issue but with the IRS now charging more to use business cards, I am thinking of still getting rid of it. I could put property taxes on it, but the annual fees with these cards are just getting ridiculous and I'm dell'ed out. Anyone get a better deal recently?

That's a pretty good retention offer. Best I've been seeing is 40k/10k and most often 15k/5k.

 

[VGCgroupie]

This is beyond helpful, thank you!! So many things to think about but as a first step I’ll start researching biz card options from Chase since I was planning on putting the DVC purchase on CC!

This board is incredible - such a wealth of knowledge! Thanks again!!

The only downside with Chase biz cards they tend to give lower limits like 5k and 6k. I still got one for my last purchase and for my newest purchase but harder this time since DVC recently cut it to 60 days for payments vs 90 days. I’d still totally get the chase but be prepared to have to use another card in addition.

 

[Nala83]

Alaska biz seems hard. There are many denial DPs on r/churning. Having a deposit account of at least $5000 is supposed to help. There might be a 7/12 rule for new accounts including business because reports are they pull D&B.

My own DP is I've had this card twice now. Closed first, opened second a few months later. I closed the second a couple months ago. Would like to try for a third, but hesistant with all the denials. I have a very old BoA account, but less than $5000 in it.

There's been discussion that the Barclays/Bank of Hawaii Hawaiian card is a different product than the Barclays Hawaiian card and you can get both. The system will see it as the same though and you'll be denied, but recon will recognize that they're different. Link

There is also the option of transferring Amex to Hawaiian (for now) to Alaska.

I thought you had to wait 24 months after closure before being eligible for the Alaska cards. Did I make that up? I might have

I have a notes on my spreadsheet counting down 24 months from when I closed each of my Alaska cards- personal and biz. Maybe I can stop waiting?

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

That's a pretty good retention offer. Best I've been seeing is 40k/10k and most often 15k/5k.

Okay, thanks for the perspective. I'm still debating. I only have a couple days ...

 

[wanderlust7]

I thought you had to wait 24 months after closure before being eligible for the Alaska cards. Did I make that up? I might have

I have a notes on my spreadsheet counting down 24 months from when I closed each of my Alaska cards- personal and biz. Maybe I can stop waiting?

You didn't make it up. There is 24 months language, but the key word is "may".

Personal:
"This card may not be available to you if you currently have or have had the card in the preceding 24 month period."

Biz (more broad):
"I also understand that I may be declined for additional credit card accounts if my business entity currently has, or has had, another business card with Bank of America in the preceding 24 month period."

I don't know where the limits are. 24 months is definitely not a hard rule. But there are so many denial DPs that I can't say approval odds are good.

 

[afan]

Can you use a hilton fnc to book an slh hotel? I'm going to guess no if they don't use standard in the description for any of the rooms. Really bummed they moved from hyatt, the points cost is insane.

 

[havaneselover]

Can you use a hilton fnc to book an slh hotel? I'm going to guess no if they don't use standard in the description for any of the rooms. Really bummed they moved from hyatt, the points cost is insane.

My understanding is the same as yours--you can if they have a standard room reward available.