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

[Twilghtsprkle]

I'm planning a direct DVC purchase toward the end of September so I can have my choice of the current incentives or the post 9/29 ones. I just got approved for the CSR Biz card (200K UR points for $30K spend), but my credit limit is only ~$25K. I assume it's easy to charge the first $25K, pay it down, then charge the rest, correct? Or does DVC need it done more cleanly than that? Anything else I should know about using credit cards for direct purchases?

I think DVC lets you break it up into 3 payments. I forget how far apart. But you will be fine.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Starting 10/24/25…SW is offering free WiFi to all RR members

 

[lsutigers03]

Did you use the CIP Chase Travel $50 promo credit already?

Thank you so much for posting this. I had no clue about it. Earlier this week I sent an SM to Chase to close DW's CIP. So far she has received two responses saying the request will be forwarded to the proper department. I was annoyed as normally there is one response saying that the account has been closed. But the delay has worked out as I needed to book us a hotel anyway so you saved me $50.

 

[elgerber]

I literally just got an ink two weeks ago and already need another card. Auto/car insurance will wipe out the rest of the spend here. Property taxes coming up next month.
I know Amex has "lifetime" rules. If I can't find a NLL Delta card, any idea if 7 years is actually considered a lifetime? It's been 7 years since my last Delta Biz card. They would give me the pop up if it won't work right? Of course I have already been in pop up jail on all Amex cards for years.

Holy cow, this is insane!
I just got a NLL email from Delta Amex and was instant approved for Delta Gold biz with 90000 SUB!

 

[afan]

Holy cow, this is insane!
I just got a NLL email from Delta Amex and was instant approved for Delta Gold biz with 90000 SUB!

I got an offer for 80k personal gold, which isn't the card I would want. Plus I have 5 cc so they wouldn't approve me anyway.

Wish I'd known about the plat changes back when my dl biz gold af was due, I would have cancelled it and opened a slot so I could get a dl card with lounge access. Oh well, patience I suppose

 

[DoubleBaconBLT]

I think DVC lets you break it up into 3 payments. I forget how far apart. But you will be fine.

Ah, so ideally I can charge the first ~$25K, then pay it off that statement cycle, then just charge the second chunk the next statement cycle. Hopefully they give me long enough to pull that off without "credit cycling" within a single statement cycle.

 

[georgina]

Love living in a personal property tax state. Just got the bill for the car we bought in January. Almost $2000. I have never paid it by credit card before, off to find out what the fee is.* More MSR spending for me.

*it's 2.3%

 

[VGCgroupie]

I'm planning a direct DVC purchase toward the end of September so I can have my choice of the current incentives or the post 9/29 ones. I just got approved for the CSR Biz card (200K UR points for $30K spend), but my credit limit is only ~$25K. I assume it's easy to charge the first $25K, pay it down, then charge the rest, correct? Or does DVC need it done more cleanly than that? Anything else I should know about using credit cards for direct purchases?

You have 60 days (used to be 90) to make the final payment for DVC. It is not recommended to pay in advance of statement closing in order to charge more. But since you have 60 days to pay you may get a statement prior to needing to make your final payment to DVC.

 

[djmeredith]

I reviewed the Bonvoy points rules since I am trying to quickly amass enough points for a 2026 safari. I'm glad I did because my original plan was flawed. I will point out a few of the lesser known rules in case it might help someone else's planning.

Member can receive 500K transferred pts per year.
Member can purchase up to 150K pts per year (bonus pts during a bonus offer do not count)
Member can purchase an additional 100K pts per year while booking.
Member can purchase additional 100K max through the Points Multiplier (special offer after a stay.)
Member can participate in 2 transfer transactions max per month and up to 6 per year. (A transfer transaction is sending or receiving pts.)
Account must be open at least 30 days to purchase pts.
Account must be open 30 days with a qualifying stay/activity to transfer or 90 days without qualifying stay/activity.

This is not an exhaustive list, so be sure to read the full rules carefully before making plans to transfer/purchase pts.

 

[kmc8826]

I'm planning a direct DVC purchase toward the end of September so I can have my choice of the current incentives or the post 9/29 ones. I just got approved for the CSR Biz card (200K UR points for $30K spend), but my credit limit is only ~$25K. I assume it's easy to charge the first $25K, pay it down, then charge the rest, correct? Or does DVC need it done more cleanly than that? Anything else I should know about using credit cards for direct purchases?

As said above you can have 60 days to pay it all off. You also don’t need to put the whole charge on one card. You can use multiple cards.

 

[DoubleBaconBLT]

You have 60 days (used to be 90) to make the final payment for DVC. It is not recommended to pay in advance of statement closing in order to charge more. But since you have 60 days to pay you may get a statement prior to needing to make your final payment to DVC.

Ah fantastic - that's the key info I needed. I can just charge whatever during that first 30 days (as long as it's at least half of the contract price and less than my credit limit), then charge the rest in the next statement cycle. Perfect. Thank you so much for your help with this!

 

[havaneselover]

Love living in a personal property tax state. Just got the bill for the car we bought in January. Almost $2000. I have never paid it by credit card before, off to find out what the fee is.* More MSR spending for me.

*it's 2.3%

I keep waiting for my county to put the fee back (they removed it during Covid). And yeah, I've lived in three states with personal property tax (CT, NC, and VA) and I'm over it too At least SALT got increased I guess.

 

[mom2febgirls]

Has anyone done a Greece / Turkey trip?

What airline do people recommend to fly to IST from the east coast?

 

[VGCgroupie]

Cant believe it's been a year since I got my 1st Amex Biz Gold for my DVC purchase. Got charged the AF. Turns out I use this card so much so I am keeping it, it more than pays for itself.

 

[Judique]

Cant believe it's been a year since I got my 1st Amex Biz Gold for my DVC purchase. Got charged the AF. Turns out I use this card so much so I am keeping it, it more than pays for itself.

That's the way I look at all my cards. They must pay their way.

Right now, only one is not performing and it may get kicked to the curb. Looking at you, Hyatt! Again this year the FNC may expire. It's a stretch to find a use for it because the Hyatts I stay at are category 6 and above. There are tons of Hyatts close to me in the category 4 or below range but I have no need or wish to stay at any of them. 'If' they allowed you to plus it up with points such as Marriott and IHG, I'd be okay with it.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

That's the way I look at all my cards. They must pay their way.

Right now, only one is not performing and it may get kicked to the curb. Looking at you, Hyatt! Again this year the FNC may expire. It's a stretch to find a use for it because the Hyatts I stay at are category 6 and above. There are tons of Hyatts close to me in the category 4 or below range but I have no need or wish to stay at any of them. 'If' they allowed you to plus it up with points such as Marriott and IHG, I'd be okay with it.

They really need to up the FNC to cat 1-5 and allow people to add points to stay at cat 6 and above. They keep moving hotels up a category and the FNC has not kept pace.

I've been able to use it, but may soon find my options dwindling. Last year I stayed at the HP at Zurich Airport (cat 4, 15k pts/night or $173), but would've preferred the HR next door (cat 5, 20k pts/night or $191). So the FNC saved me $86. Prior to the Hyatt / SLH divorce I had some amazing redemptions at boutique hotels in Europe that saved me several hundred dollars.

 

[afan]

With amex is it better to close your 5th cc and then wait to apply or try applying and then recon to close the card?

How long to wait after closing to apply?

I'd close a biz cc to get a personal cc.

 

[Minnie368]

Looking for advice on first/biz class from east coast (preferably) to Tokyo. I'm getting caught up on this thread, so if it's been talked about in the past 20 or so pages I apologize. I know there are options like amex MR to Virgin to book ANA, and AA to book Japan Airlines, but which of these is more realistic? We're looking to go in May of 2027, so we have some time to accumulate some more points. Currently we have about 350K in MR and tons of UR, but I don't know how helpful UR are. We also have some Delta and AA. I just know I need to focus now so that I have some time to earn what I need. Any suggestions? We should be able to plan far enough in advance to book when seats are first released and should have a little flexibility. Flying from Pittsburgh but will need to reposition. I'm open to just using SW or sprit or whoever to get us to the best airport as a starting point. I've read a lot of blogs/articles on how to do this, but I know it's not as easy as it sounds and want to make sure I'm increasing my chances by focusing on the right type of points. Thanks in advance!

 

[wanderlust7]

With amex is it better to close your 5th cc and then wait to apply or try applying and then recon to close the card?

How long to wait after closing to apply?

I'd close a biz cc to get a personal cc.

I only feel fairly confident that I won't have to call if it's been more than 2 months. But it's hard to tell when the closed card fell off and probably varies. I prefer closing and waiting since I hate calling, but sometimes it's unavoidable.

 

[wanderlust7]

Looking for advice on first/biz class from east coast (preferably) to Tokyo. I'm getting caught up on this thread, so if it's been talked about in the past 20 or so pages I apologize. I know there are options like amex MR to Virgin to book ANA, and AA to book Japan Airlines, but which of these is more realistic? We're looking to go in May of 2027, so we have some time to accumulate some more points. Currently we have about 350K in MR and tons of UR, but I don't know how helpful UR are. We also have some Delta and AA. I just know I need to focus now so that I have some time to earn what I need. Any suggestions? We should be able to plan far enough in advance to book when seats are first released and should have a little flexibility. Flying from Pittsburgh but will need to reposition. I'm open to just using SW or sprit or whoever to get us to the best airport as a starting point. I've read a lot of blogs/articles on how to do this, but I know it's not as easy as it sounds and want to make sure I'm increasing my chances by focusing on the right type of points. Thanks in advance!

How many seats do you need? No experience stalking ANA since they tend to only release 1 J and 1 F at calendar open. It sounds very competitive from what I've read.

Lots of experience stalking and booking JAL from SFO. Usually fairly easy with Cathay at calendar open (2 J and 1 F is typical). Probably with Finnair (Avios) too since they also open at 360 days. Haven't tried though since they only recently came on my radar. The number of miles, taxes, and redeposit/change fees are different, so would need to weigh the pros and cons. Booking with AA or Alaska is cheaper, but takes a lot of luck because their calendar open is 331/330. I used to like booking with BA since it's a little less miles from SFO and better redeposit fee compared to Cathay. But they open at 355 and it's too competitive now to wait.