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

[CyndiLouWho]

If you have a large library near you that does passports I would suggest that as an option. We did our initial passports at our county library which is fairly large and they were quite knowledgable on the process and various documents. More so than our local USPS office.

I’m glad you mentioned this because I was thinking to try one of the local libraries. My sister took her kids to the library in her town (next burb over from me) and said they were super helpful. Our USPS is nice but they have faced a lot of cuts over the past 5 years and even getting an appointment is hard.

 

[chattadisser]

Anyone know when staples will have fee free visa next? I missed the last one bc clearly my 'secret staples' is no longer a secret and they were all out when I checked.... I need some of those soon!

Fee free Mastercards should be the week of 10/5 and the Visas should be the next week 10/12, if I have my calculations correct and they stay with the same cadence. Yes, I've tracked these out to get as many UR's over to my CSR by 10/26.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

Fee free Mastercards should be the week of 10/5 and the Visas should be the next week 10/12, if I have my calculations correct and they stay with the same cadence. Yes, I've tracked these out to get as many UR's over to my CSR by 10/26.

Does anyone have a resource or guide they can link, or can explain these fee-free MC/Visas to me like I'm 5? I know you guys are using CIC's to get 5x on these, and then using the MC/Visa to pay for stuff like utilities or prop tax or whatever you need (that doesn't get a good return). I just don't understand the process of purchasing these, how you know they're fee free, etc. At Staples I never see a sale sign that they are fee free, and they are always listed at like $105.95 price, for example. I'd like to get into purchasing these, as I'm trying to obtain more URs organically, since approvals seems to be tightening. I just can never wrap my head around this...

 

[VGCgroupie]

Does anyone have a resource or guide they can link, or can explain these fee-free MC/Visas to me like I'm 5? I know you guys are using CIC's to get 5x on these, and then using the MC/Visa to pay for stuff like utilities or prop tax or whatever you need (that doesn't get a good return). I just don't understand the process of purchasing these, how you know they're fee free, etc. At Staples I never see a sale sign that they are fee free, and they are always listed at like $105.95 price, for example. I'd like to get into purchasing these, as I'm trying to obtain more URs organically, since approvals seems to be tightening. I just can never wrap my head around this...

I usually check here to see when there is a deal.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/staples-no-purchase-fee-on-200-visa-gift-cards-10-31-11-6-limit-5/
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/offi...-giftcards-get-15-instant-discount-2-13-2-19/

 

[GZanta77]

ADVICE PLEASE!

1) Credit Cards Opened Last 24 Months

08/24 - CHASE Southwest Priority Visa (closed 08/25, due to changes in SWA and annual fee)

(2) Getting to know you ...

• What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly (i.e. groceries, gas, insurance, cable, cell phone, other expenses)?
  • We put absolutely everything we can on our credit cards.
  • Groceries are usually put on our Discover Card because it's the only one our primary grocery takes.
  • We use our Costco card for other groceries at Costco and for gas purchases.
  • I think we pay our insurance via our checking account.
  • Cell phone is pre-pay and paid for via AT&T gift cards bought at a discount.
• Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest?
  • We pay off 100% every month.
• What airport(s) do you typically fly out of?
  • MSN, MKE & ORD
• Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program?
  • Probably Delta. My DH has a lot of Delta miles but we are flying AA next trip.
• Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport?
  • I just opened and closed a Southwest card. My DH had me open one so he could qualify for a free companion for the entire year. I closed it because of annual fees and changes in the SWA program. I never used it past the required spend.
• Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference?
  • Hilton or Bonvoy.
• Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? (if so, which programs and how much)
  • Hilton, Bonvoy, AA, SWA, Delta. No miles/points worth speaking about.
• What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? (i.e. Disney World Trip, Cruise, European Trip, Cash Back to pay-off a mortgage or student loans, etc. - you can have multiple goals too!)
  • I don't like to leave money on the table. I am open for cash back or travel points.
• When do you plan to take these trips? (Keep in mind that it can be difficult to earn points/miles to cover imminent travel...it's best to plan far in advance, especially with regards to international travel)
  • We travel to WDW once or twice a year. We also cruise at least once per year. We will be visiting our DD in Portland a couple times a year.
• Who does your travel party consist of? (Spouse, Kids (& ages), other relatives/friends)
  • DH only.

PLAYER 2, my DH.

1) Credit Cards Opened Last 24 Months

07/24 - CHASE Southwest Premier Visa

(2) Getting to know you ...

• What amount of spend would you put on a card monthly (i.e. groceries, gas, insurance, cable, cell phone, other expenses)?
  • Same as Player 1 except he pays for his cell phone bill on one of our credit cards.
• Do you currently payoff your CCs in full every month or do you carry any balances/pay any interest?
  • We pay off 100% every month. (Same, Player 1)
• What airport(s) do you typically fly out of?
  • MSN, MKE & ORD .
  • (Same, Player 1)
• Do you have a preference of Frequent Flyer program?
  • My DH has a lot of Delta miles but we are open to flying with another airline. We were driving to MKE to fly SWA in the last year, but I am more likely to want to fly out of MSN more often. Other Legacy airlines that leave MSN are United and American.
• Does SOUTHWEST Airline service your airport?
  • No, we have to drive to MKE or ORD to fly SWA. DH has a SWA credit card now as part of a scheme to get a bunch of miles for him and a friend and he qualified for a year long companion pass. We just used the last of those miles to fly to Hawaii!
• Do you have a Hotel Rewards program preference?
  • Hilton or Bonvoy.
• Do you currently have travel points or miles in any program? (if so, which programs and how much)
  • DH has a lot of points in Hilton and Bonvoy and he has top status in both. He has a few points in Hyatt. He also has a lot of miles in Delta and residual status from when he was a road warrior. He has a few miles in AA and United.
• What at your specific goals for churning credit cards? (i.e. Disney World Trip, Cruise, European Trip, Cash Back to pay-off a mortgage or student loans, etc. - you can have multiple goals too!)
  • I don't like to leave money on the table. I am open for cash back or travel points.
• When do you plan to take these trips? (Keep in mind that it can be difficult to earn points/miles to cover imminent travel...it's best to plan far in advance, especially with regards to international travel)
  • We travel to WDW once or twice a year. We also cruise at least once per year. We will be visiting our DD in Portland a couple times a year.
• Who does your travel party consist of? (Spouse, Kids (& ages), other relatives/friends)
  • DH only.

Hi Guys! We are remodeling our kitchen and I have a big appliance expenditure in the next week. I'm getting a Wolf stove (!!) but I'm passing on the Sub Zero fridge and Cove dishwasher ... I'm not that spendy . We're looking at about $16k total. I will need to put down about $8,000 next week and will probably have a month before the 2nd installment is due.

Anyway ... I'm not 100% happy with our credit cards for this purchase. We usually use our Fidelity Visa to get 2% back on all purchases but we are thinking of putting the appliances on a card that have extended warranties. My DH has a Southwest Premier Visa which has extended warranties which generates about 2% in miles, but we're not sure how long we'll keep it since it has an annual fee and we will not be flying SWA as often.

I am open right now for anything. I asked for some advice 2 years ago and was recommended a business card, but I don't have a business. Both DH and I are now retired. I guess I could sell some stuff on eBay to "qualify", but the $400 (?) limit before taxes is a PITB so I don't want to sell too much as we'll be in a higher tax bracket due to ROTH conversions. I just want to leverage this large purchase to the best of my ability with maybe an eye on a card that extends warranties or maybe one with a particularly tasty signup bonus. We both have excellent credit.

Thanks for posting all this. It is difficult to point you in a specific direction and I do not see which credit cards you currently hold or if you collect Chase Ultimate Rewards or Amex MRs or any other currency.

With that level of spend imminent, my first thought is just pick something, anything with a large SUB so as not to leave points on the table. You could potentially do 2 cards - 1 each for you and DH to earn 2 SUBs.

I would look at the revamped Amex Platinum. Don't be scared by the $895 annual fee - you can earn 175,000 Amex MRs which can easily be worth over $2,000, plus the other benefits of the card will more than cover the annual fee if you can take advantage of them. Amex MRs are transferrable to Delta, Hilton, Marriott and many other programs to give you some flexibility.

 

[StephPlum]

Does anyone have a resource or guide they can link, or can explain these fee-free MC/Visas to me like I'm 5? I know you guys are using CIC's to get 5x on these, and then using the MC/Visa to pay for stuff like utilities or prop tax or whatever you need (that doesn't get a good return). I just don't understand the process of purchasing these, how you know they're fee free, etc. At Staples I never see a sale sign that they are fee free, and they are always listed at like $105.95 price, for example. I'd like to get into purchasing these, as I'm trying to obtain more URs organically, since approvals seems to be tightening. I just can never wrap my head around this...

I check DOC to find when the deals are and I also double check the flyer to make sure I get the right one VGC vs MCGC. My Staples usually doesn't have a sign and the one time they did it was for the week prior so it was wrong. I use mine on utilities as the fee is higher if I use a business card (working on MSR) or property tax (lower fee for DebitCard than CreditCard for mine). I'll use at the grocery store if I'm not working on MSR. I don't have a good everyday grocery card, need to get one.

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

I usually check here to see when there is a deal.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/staples-no-purchase-fee-on-200-visa-gift-cards-10-31-11-6-limit-5/
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/offi...-giftcards-get-15-instant-discount-2-13-2-19/

Thank you! And so, whether or not the store has a sale price sign up, they should theoretically ring up without the added fee, right? So a $200 GC as $200 even? And then, do you have to activate these? Can you combine them somehow to one?

 

[Crazed4DisneyinSC]

I check DOC to find when the deals are and I also double check the flyer to make sure I get the right one VGC vs MCGC. My Staples usually doesn't have a sign and the one time they did it was for the week prior so it was wrong. I use mine on utilities as the fee is higher if I use a business card (working on MSR) or property tax (lower fee for DebitCard than CreditCard for mine). I'll use at the grocery store if I'm not working on MSR. I don't have a good everyday grocery card, need to get one.

Thank you! Yeah my Staples never has sale signs up, so one time I was actually going to purchase one as a trial run, and then I got scared that they wouldn't ring up correctly so I just aborted the mission, lol. It would be helpful for me to also use for stuff like utilities and property taxes, insurance, etc.

 

[robinb]

Thanks for posting all this. It is difficult to point you in a specific direction and I do not see which credit cards you currently hold or if you collect Chase Ultimate Rewards or Amex MRs or any other currency.

With that level of spend imminent, my first thought is just pick something, anything with a large SUB so as not to leave points on the table. You could potentially do 2 cards - 1 each for you and DH to earn 2 SUBs.

I would look at the revamped Amex Platinum. Don't be scared by the $895 annual fee - you can earn 175,000 Amex MRs which can easily be worth over $2,000, plus the other benefits of the card will more than cover the annual fee if you can take advantage of them. Amex MRs are transferrable to Delta, Hilton, Marriott and many other programs to give you some flexibility.

Thanks!

We don’t have any Chase Rewards cards. Just Disney and Prime. We also don’t do Amex Rewards. We do have a Hilton Amex, but that’s it. We usually just do strict cash back. Edited, I am open to one of the rewards cards.

The issue with the Amex Platinum is that we need to keep the card until the extended warranty is done. So, 4 years for the Wolf stove. I made that mistake once and found out that once you cancel the card, the warranty is null and void. I know I can make the Amex Platinum work for 1 year, but I have to sit down and see if it’ll work for 4 years. It might, as we do plan on traveling quite a bit the next few years.