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

[VGCgroupie]

Funny CC story - DH just went to Best Buy to get a new pair of earbuds. The guy tried to convince him to open a new credit card because he would save $20 on the purchase. DH told him that his wife would kill him if he did that. If it was a good deal for us, she would have already done it lol!

I told him he was right, I would have killed him if he opened a new card for $20!

Smart man

 

[Sheree]

Based on your preferences, I'd consider the 115k United Quest card or a Hilton Honors Business card so you can earn the SUB and 5x for non-category spend.

thanks, will look into them

 

[Sheree]

Based on your preferences, I'd consider the 115k United Quest card or a Hilton Honors Business card so you can earn the SUB and 5x for non-category spend.

thanks, will look into them

 

[MarBee]

With Chase, you can only PC within the same family. Freedom and Sapphires are in the same family and you can freely PC between them. Personal SW cards, you can only PC to another personal SW card. You don't get the SUB for a PC. To get a Hyatt or United card, you'd have to apply.

Thanks for this! I wasn’t sure how it worked but now I know and am uninterested in another SW card currently. Looks like I’ll cancel, and then I’ll apply for a Venture card instead.
Thanks again!

 

[Nala83]

Do hotel charges through the Chase portal incur foreign transaction fees? Prices seem to be listed in USD, but I don't want to be hit with an unexpected fee if I use my CIC (meeting a MSR).

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

for anyone interested in the new SW cards you can generate a support link for your P2 showing the 100,000 RR bonus

I'm hoping the offers will stick around until next month. Nick from FM thinks the CP will get nerfed starting 2026, so I'd like to try to get another year of it

 

[reliev]

Thanks for this! I wasn’t sure how it worked but now I know and am uninterested in another SW card currently. Looks like I’ll cancel, and then I’ll apply for a Venture card instead.
Thanks again!

before you cancel pro tip move as much as the cl as you can to a card you actually use.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I'm hoping the offers will stick around until next month. Nick from FM thinks the CP will get nerfed starting 2026, so I'd like to try to get another year of it

On the SW website it says ending 9/17/25. I am also applying for a new personal card on 9/2 and am going for a new CP this year instead of waiting until 1/26.
We are flying SW a lot less since JB came to ISP but the CP is still worth having for us.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

am going for a new CP this year instead of waiting until 1/26.

This definitely feels like the safer choice to me. Given how SW is moving, if they keep the CP (without making it infinitely harder to get) I would be shocked.

My husband and I were just talking about flight schedules and he was complaining about how much he dislikes SW and maybe we should be doing more price comparing. (The man flies Premium First for his business travel, so totally unfair comparison, but that's another story.) I reminded him that, for about $300 in annual fees (4 cards total to get each adult a CP) and a couple months of credit card spend, our family of 5 is flying for $5.60 a person for two years. The 250k in RRs that the spend/bonuses generated stretches so much farther when I only have to spend it on 3/5 of us.

No other airline is coming close to touching that, not by a long shot. It has always felt way too generous, like we're getting away with something, and I for sure expect significant program changes, or outright elimination, given the direction SW is moving to capture every penny along the way. Heck, all they would have to do is say that bonuses aren't CP eligible RRs, only regular spend, and, BOOM, the whole structure implodes for those of us playing the game.

 

[WaltsMartini]

Hello travel brain trust! I am trying to make Hawaii happen in July or August 2027 and would love some advice from this group before I get my next card in early August. Will need to use points for some lodging and all flights. LOTS of Info:

2 adults 2 kids. Plan to do 4 nights at Grand Hyatt Maui on points and 4 nights Aulani cash. Will rent car likely for cash

Within 2 hours of both PHL and BWI; 2.5 hours from IAD; 3.5 hours to JFK. Willing to fly in/out of different airports for a good deal

If possible, would love to make United work, but also realize the utility of a SW companion pass for this

Also need flights for 3 to MCO in March 2026 and need flights for 4 to FLL in August 2026

Relevant Cards:
CSP: since 2021, bonus post 6/15/21
CFU: since 2022
Biz Unlimited since 2023 (will be closing)
Biz Cash since 2024
Chase United Explorers bonus post 2/19/24
Chase United Mileage Biz bonus post 4/7/25

Have 124k URs and a paltry 506 United miles (lots of trips recently!)

Also hold Bonvoy, IHG, Barclays AA, and Diz and Amazon cards. Used Bonvoy SUB to book 4 free nights for WDW in March 2026; will use annual free night to book pre cruise room for August 2026

Ave spend : $5800 on cards a month

Do NOT have a P2 (or he is VERY unwilling - it would have to be the SUB of the decade to get him to sign up and even then he might not transfer any rewards to me. Love, am I right?)

At 5/24 thru 7/31/25

I have not yet dabbled in Amex - was thinking of Amex Gold and transferring points to delta and flying out of our small regional airport (MDT) to MCO for March trip, but point values have looked pretty bad.

Am planning on getting SW personal and SW Business in late 2025/early 2026 for companion pass and points - that would get us points we need for FLL trip in August plus companion pass for 2027. Then would look for Hyatt card in spring 2026 to have SUB wrapped up and ready to book a year out in advance.

Holes in those plans? Would you do something differently?

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Am planning on getting SW personal and SW Business in late 2025/early 2026 for companion pass and points - that would get us points we need for FLL trip in August plus companion pass for 2027.

I think the biggest hole is whether this is still a thing for '26-'27. If you look just upthread, people are speculating that the CP is on the chopping block. If they announced that, you could just switch your plans to CP end of '25 to use in '26 and you'll still get the CP on the '26 flights.

Your vicinity to BWI makes SW an excellent choice. They have tons of directs daily to MCO and FLL. If they weren't in the middle of a total company upheaval, I'd call this a no-brainer. But who knows what they're going to look like in 2 years...

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Any recent DP's of when the FNC's are available after meeting MSR for the Boundless SUB? Is it a few days after statement close?

 

[focusondisney]

Need advice on the new SW offers please. I currently have the Priority card but intended to downgrade to Premier with my next renewal. We have no plans to travel on SW the rest of the year, so I’m ok without the card for a few months. With the new offers, I’m wondering if I should just cancel my current card now, then apply for the Priority in September, probably on the 12th. I’ve had that card for maybe 6-7 years, so it’s been that long since I got a SW card bonus. I intend to try for CP next year. Even with the bonus & the annual boost, I’m not sure I’ll make the 135K points needed. We’re retired, no major expenses & just don’t spend that much anymore. My questions

— is this long enough without a SW card to qualify for the new offers? It would be about 5- 6 weeks between cancelling & applying.

— I’m an authorized user on my husband’s Plus card. Does that affect me getting then new offers? We intend to cancel this card as well, just waiting a bit since we cancelled his Premier card a few months ago. Should I cancel that right away to make sure it doesn’t interfere with me getting the offer.

Thanks for your help!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Chase Ink Instacart credits:

Have used up my first 3 months of free I+ and $20 monthly credit on one Ink Cash. Tried to add a second Ink Cash to get my next 90 days and the system verified it, confirmed my new expiration date, and then when I finalized, I got an error that I'd already used that offer on that card type. Anyone seen similar? I thought you were generally able to keep extending the expiration date as long as you had new eligible cards but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Current plan is for Hubby to make an account and do the next 90 days on his, but that's a hassle. Wondering if I'm doing something wrong...

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Need advice on the new SW offers please. I currently have the Priority card but intended to downgrade to Premier with my next renewal. We have no plans to travel on SW the rest of the year, so I’m ok without the card for a few months. With the new offers, I’m wondering if I should just cancel my current card now, then apply for the Priority in September, probably on the 12th. I’ve had that card for maybe 6-7 years, so it’s been that long since I got a SW card bonus. I intend to try for CP next year. Even with the bonus & the annual boost, I’m not sure I’ll make the 135K points needed. We’re retired, no major expenses & just don’t spend that much anymore. My questions

— is this long enough without a SW card to qualify for the new offers? It would be about 5- 6 weeks between cancelling & applying.

— I’m an authorized user on my husband’s Plus card. Does that affect me getting then new offers? We intend to cancel this card as well, just waiting a bit since we cancelled his Premier card a few months ago. Should I cancel that right away to make sure it doesn’t interfere with me getting the offer.

Thanks for your help!

From what I have read it’s safe to apply for another SW personal card 31 days after cancelling an old one…so 5-6 weeks works…make sure to use your DHs support link so he gets 20k RR points too.
Being an AU on your husbands SW card will not interfere with applying for your own

 

[focusondisney]

From what I have read it’s safe to apply for another SW personal card 31 days after cancelling an old one…so 5-6 weeks works…make sure to use your DHs support link so he gets 20k RR points too.
Being an AU on your husbands SW card will not interfere with applying for your own

Thank you! I really appreciate your help!

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I think the biggest hole is whether this is still a thing for '26-'27. If you look just upthread, people are speculating that the CP is on the chopping block. If they announced that, you could just switch your plans to CP end of '25 to use in '26 and you'll still get the CP on the '26 flights.

@WaltsMartini and @focusondisney
I wanted to share this article from Frequent Miler in case it's helpful: https://frequentmiler.com/southwest-ruins-its-credit-cards-now-might-be-the-time-to-get-one/

Basically, the author expects SW to announce negative changes to how the CP is earned sometime this fall rather than waiting until next year because that will stop the cycle of people getting CCs late in the year but waiting until the beginning of the next year to finish the spend and thereby get the CP for nearly 2 years (rest of 2026, 2027). Maybe it won't happen, but surveys about changes to the CP from a few months ago suggest otherwise. The other expectation is that if changes are announced, they wouldn't begin to apply until next year since people are likely working toward a CP already.

One key thing to note is that the current SUB offers of 100K on personal cards come with 5 months to meet the spend. So waiting to apply until Aug or Sep would mean one would have until sometime in Jan or Feb. So a strategy could be to get the card with a 5 month window that goes into next year, then if SW announces the changes in a few months as "starting in 2026" then one could hurry up and meet the spend this year, then apply for a biz card or do extra spend to secure CP at least through 2026. On the other hand, if the change isn't announced, one could get close but wait to finish meeting the spend early next year to get the 2 years of CP... This is basically what the article promotes and what I'm thinking of doing.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

So a strategy could be to get the card with a 5 month window that goes into next year, then if SW announces the changes in a few months as "starting in 2026" then one could hurry up and meet the spend this year, then apply for a biz card or do extra spend to secure CP at least through 2026. On the other hand, if the change isn't announced, one could get close but wait to finish meeting the spend early next year to get the 2 years of CP... This is basically what the article promotes and what I'm thinking of doing.

I think this is an excellent strategy if you are willing to have the CP for just 2026 if the feared changes do come to pass.

For someone who is only willing to commit to that app, AF, and spend for two years of CP, then the only strategy is to wait and hope.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

I think this is an excellent strategy if you are willing to have the CP for just 2026 if the feared changes do come to pass.

For someone who is only willing to commit to that app, AF, and spend for two years of CP, then the only strategy is to wait and hope.

Agreed. I would like to at least have it for 2026, the 5/24 slot and AF would be worth it for that. Beyond CP era, I'm not sure that the new CC are worth it to me to keep it, sigh... I might just churn it for the points whenever it's elevated every few years and write-off the AF that way. But I have to think about how often we fly SW and actually need luggage. SW is making me so sad lately!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

SW is making me so sad lately!

I feel this!! We have '25-'26 CPs and tons of points, still, so we're committed for now. But I think this is going to be our goodbye to SW.