I love credit cards so much!

[kmc8826]

I have never had a paid internship. Not in college or law school. I’m tired of working for free lol. My SO is in software engineering and everything he has had has been paid. I made the wrong career choice.

I actually really love my job, but the biggest bonus I have ever gotten is $500. Don't go into government work if you want to actually make money...

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I had an interview recently for a post grad fellowship that is telling me I would need to get a salary from an outside source.

My job is all soft money. We have to bring in our own salaries through grants and contracts.

 

[peel]

DH just got an email targeting him for the 80K IHG offer. I don't want him to get the card, I want the card.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Another Plastiq question, if they show charged on my profile and it looks like the credit card was charged today due to my current available credit decreasing does that mean plastiq allowed the payment or am i not out of the woods yet? is there still a chance of it getting denied?

Fingers crossed.... my only email says "payment processed"

I got the same overnight. Could still be pulled back so fingers crossed for both of us!

from what I read everywhere it's till it runs out and it ran out the first day by 4 pm

I guess that’s about the time I was trying to use it. Kept glitching on the site. I didn’t notice the limited quantity part.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I need last min advice. Was going to get DH the SPG biz today but am rethinking it. I want him to get the CIP so we get the 100k points (80+20).
I was just doing the SPG biz because I got it and figured the additional points would be nice. I am about $2500 into my $7k spend. I am finding times where I can’t use Amex to be frustrating so not sure if we add on another $7k spend or not. Maybe I should get him the CIP now and smaller SPG biz sign up after that. What do y’all think?

 

[Lain]

All this talk of Anaheim and Disneyland I decided to book a Disneyland trip for after the bar exam lol. This would be 18k RR points from the east coast to lax. Then I booked the Fairfield Marriott for 140k points for five nights, but the Sheraton would be 8k SPG points a night so I’m going to look at reviews tonight and maybe I’ll change. The walk looks further than the Marriott, but if I could stay club level and get free quesadillas that may win me over. Anyone have any opinions?

Have you considered paying cash (maybe towards a MSR?) and cashing out UR to pay off your stay? When I was searching, the Sheraton was coming up for 10k SPG, but its prepaid cash rate fluctuated between $123 and $145. That worked out to 40k SPG vs about 57k UR, but earning ~3k SPG back through SPG Gold and Biz. Rooms at comparable chain hotels were going for something like 49-60k+ UR after taxes and fees using CSR. But if you’re staying 5 nights, your calculus might change because you get your fifth night free on SPG points.

 

[1st*toright]

I need last min advice. Was going to get DH the SPG biz today but am rethinking it. I want him to get the CIP so we get the 100k points (80+20).
I was just doing the SPG biz because I got it and figured the additional points would be nice. I am about $2500 into my $7k spend. I am finding times where I can’t use Amex to be frustrating so not sure if we add on another $7k spend or not. Maybe I should get him the CIP now and smaller SPG biz sign up after that. What do y’all think?

That is a legit issue with Amex. I know there are experts on here that have ways of making it work, but I do feel like I'm working much harder to get my MSR on the SPG Biz than I did on the CIP. I wouldn't feel obliged to do ANOTHER SPG Biz - you could just move on to the CIP. I'm a little biased because I like the simplicity and flexibility of UR, so I'm kinda a chase girl.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I need last min advice. Was going to get DH the SPG biz today but am rethinking it. I want him to get the CIP so we get the 100k points (80+20).
I was just doing the SPG biz because I got it and figured the additional points would be nice. I am about $2500 into my $7k spend. I am finding times where I can’t use Amex to be frustrating so not sure if we add on another $7k spend or not. Maybe I should get him the CIP now and smaller SPG biz sign up after that. What do y’all think?

Honestly if it looks like you can’t meet the additional Amex spend then don’t get it at this time, imho it would be a waste to get it now and then miss the bonus when you could do it later this year and get the bonus even if it’ll be smaller.

 

[wendow]

I need last min advice. Was going to get DH the SPG biz today but am rethinking it. I want him to get the CIP so we get the 100k points (80+20).
I was just doing the SPG biz because I got it and figured the additional points would be nice. I am about $2500 into my $7k spend. I am finding times where I can’t use Amex to be frustrating so not sure if we add on another $7k spend or not. Maybe I should get him the CIP now and smaller SPG biz sign up after that. What do y’all think?

I really, really struggled with going for the spg biz. Like it just kept me up at night stressed over the spend. I had JUST finished the spend on the Amex BGR (got mid-Dec) and dh's spg personal (got early Jan). So, I had 8k to meet in just under 4 mos all on Amex. I really didn't want to take on that amount again on Amex but in the end, the appeal of the spg biz card won out I prefer UR but I am seeing more and more how valuable spg points are also.

The CIP offer is the same as it has always been so if you felt like you could meet the Amex spend and could use the spg points, I'd go for that first.

ETA: Anything you can pay through plastiq? Utilities, kid's activity fees, preschool tuition??

 

[Albort]

Wait. I'm confused (what,again?) I thought if you just had the PP, you couldn't access the Amex lounges? 9I have one at my local airport, but wasn't going to bother trying,as it's an amex lounge and I only have the PP)

2 lounges being built... a centurion lounge and a Plaza Premium lounge. It is the Plaza Premium lounge that PP should have access to. not the centurion lounge.

 

[amalone1013]

Why do they buy that ****? No one really wants it. I have boatloads of useless crap like that. I now refuse it or pitch it. My supervisor doesn’t understand why I don’t want more crap. Recently it was fleece jackets, which would be useful except I have about 10 already (non logo) and DH has more logo clothing from stuff he sells than he should be wearing.

I know! I threw it in my drawer at work (I share a desk/lab bench with other shifts). Occasionally we get logo shirts, which are the most useful - no dress codes except jeans/cotton tshirts, so I'm always up for an extra shirt I don't care about getting ruined. Last year around this time we all got jackets for having no safety incidents in 2016... I was really excited because the ones they got for that in 2012 were nice black North Face jackets, the waterproof/softshell type ones, and they just had a small logo on one arm in light gray thread, and said Safe Year.

This time around, we got light grey Under Armour softshell jackets. That would have been great except they put the logo and company name SPELLED ALL THE WAY DOWN THE FRONT. It's like a 4inx16in area taken up by the logo/name, and it's in that horrible safety neon yellow-green color. I don't know how to describe so I'm putting in a picture. And it's not even the company color! Our color is red, that would have been better.

Spoiler: Color Example

There was one time they gave out polo shirts - half our location can't wear shirts with buttons. Someone said they took one still because it would be good for washing their car


We do get quarterly bonuses of up to 5% of what your salary was (so including OT), depending on how our location performed as a whole on certain goals. Lately it's been 1%...

 

[speedyfishy]

Have you considered paying cash (maybe towards a MSR?) and cashing out UR to pay off your stay? When I was searching, the Sheraton was coming up for 10k SPG, but its prepaid cash rate fluctuated between $123 and $145. That worked out to 40k SPG vs about 57k UR, but earning ~3k SPG back through SPG Gold and Biz. Rooms at comparable chain hotels were going for something like 49-60k+ UR after taxes and fees using CSR. But if you’re staying 5 nights, your calculus might change because you get your fifth night free on SPG points.

Thanks! I didn’t really consider UR because I like hoarding them now. lol I am planning on staying six nights so I would get one free. The nightly rate is cheap though so it kinda feels like a waste.

 

[calypso726]

ok..... 2nd Q question....which is better, 5x UR or 10% CB Disc? so many grocery options.....

Totally depends on how you value your points, your travel goals and current situational needs. So using $100 = 500 UR or $10. At a minimum 500 UR is worth $7.50 when you have the CSR and purchase travel through the UR portal. If that is how you use most of your UR points as opposed to transferring to an airline or you do not have a CSR then definitely the $10 cash back is better.

However, if your point valuation is higher than 1.5 cents per point then the 5x UR may be better. We tend to get more “value” with the UR points transferred to airlines. I use the word value in quotes because it is a perceived value. I have booked a first class round trip award flight to Europe for 125,000 miles that were transferred from UR. The price of that exact same flight was about $18,000. Do I believe that my UR points are worth 14 cents per point? No, I would have never paid $18,000 for that flight under any circumstances. None the less, UR points give me better purchasing power for what I want to do than cash does. Generally speaking, I will likely go for the 5x over the 10% most of the time.

That said, 10% CB is MY actual stop and think about it number. That is the number where I look at our current UR point balances, factor what we have coming up and how many points/miles we will need. Then I factor in what is coming out of pocket at the moment for vacations. Depending on the current situational circumstance I may go for the CB. Anything below 10%, I do not stop and think and just go for the points.

 

[linzjane88]

Man, all this MS is *really* throwing off my bar graph in mint of how much I've spent this month. I realize it's not accurate but I am extremely type A and this is distressing.

Does anyone here use YNAB? It makes it super easy to identify where you are at MSR wise. Although I am having a tough time categorizing my >$500 grocery trips (that are made of 20ish in real groceries, a $500 GC, and 5.95 in GC fees). Right now I am just splitting out true groceries and putting the rest in a "Bank fees" budget category. It's doable but kind of a pain.

 

[peel]

Man, all this MS is *really* throwing off my bar graph in mint of how much I've spent this month. I realize it's not accurate but I am extremely type A and this is distressing.

Does anyone here use YNAB? It makes it super easy to identify where you are at MSR wise. Although I am having a tough time categorizing my >$500 grocery trips (that are made of 20ish in real groceries, a $500 GC, and 5.95 in GC fees). Right now I am just splitting out true groceries and putting the rest in a "Bank fees" budget category. It's doable but kind of a pain.

I wouldn't be able to do this without YNAB. I would be way too confused and miss payments! I created accounts for each kind of gift card and transfer from the card I paid with to the GC account. I deduct the fees from my Vacation category, since that's what I'm doing all this for in the end.
ETA: I'm still using YNAB4 until the wheels fall off.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

DH just gave me the go ahead to apply him for the CIC. I think he should be in good shape for it, since he is just 3/24:

Chase Freedom - 12/04/2016
Chase Freedom Unlimited AU - 05/22/2017
Chase Sapphire Preferred - 09/01/2017

I am going to put the same thing that I applied under, which is eBay sales. Any thoughts before I apply? Once he has the card, I was thinking that if the promo is still at $500 in 2 months, then I would apply using his referral. Does that seem reasonable? Thanks!

Also, does anyone have an end date for the offer or any clue how long this might last?

This may have already been answered because I've been out in meetings for a bit today but:

1) There is no referral on CIC (still a GREAT offer!)
2) Chase does not publish end dates for offers. Historically, they VERY Rarely change their offers. I'm assuming this is a long-term thing now (although no guarantees)

 

[1st*toright]

Man, all this MS is *really* throwing off my bar graph in mint of how much I've spent this month. I realize it's not accurate but I am extremely type A and this is distressing.

Does anyone here use YNAB? It makes it super easy to identify where you are at MSR wise. Although I am having a tough time categorizing my >$500 grocery trips (that are made of 20ish in real groceries, a $500 GC, and 5.95 in GC fees). Right now I am just splitting out true groceries and putting the rest in a "Bank fees" budget category. It's doable but kind of a pain.

I wouldn't be able to do this without YNAB. I would be way too confused and miss payments! I created accounts for each kind of gift card and transfer from the card I paid with to the GC account. I deduct the fees from my Vacation category, since that's what I'm doing all this for in the end.
ETA: I'm still using YNAB4 until the wheels fall off.

Me too! There is no way I could handle this without YNAB - I'd be messing up and overspending on random stuff without knowing it! I'm not heavy into gift card purchases, but when I do buy them (if there isn't enough in the category currently), I "borrow" from next month's budget and record the spend in the current month. That way I can just spend the gift card whenever and not have to worry about it. But if I were doing Visa Gift Cards, I would probably do what @peel is doing and set up an account for each card. My restaurant/gas/Disney gift cards can just get recorded in their regular categories when I buy the GC instead of when I actually spend it.

I have a Bank Fees/Bonuses category that I put all my annual fees into. I also put statement credits etc. into the same category (and will drop my bank bonuses in when I earn them!). I try to keep it funded to absorb an annual fee or two, then transfer any excess out to whatever category needs it (best case- travel!)

I'm seriously in love with YNAB - I started only a year ago, so I'm on the "new" YNAB, and think it rocks (never having done YNAB4).

 

[kmc8826]

I need last min advice. Was going to get DH the SPG biz today but am rethinking it. I want him to get the CIP so we get the 100k points (80+20).
I was just doing the SPG biz because I got it and figured the additional points would be nice. I am about $2500 into my $7k spend. I am finding times where I can’t use Amex to be frustrating so not sure if we add on another $7k spend or not. Maybe I should get him the CIP now and smaller SPG biz sign up after that. What do y’all think?

I have finally came to peace with the fact that I am not getting SPG biz. $7000 Amex for me is just too much, and Amex seriously makes it difficult. I decided to get the CIP couple weeks ago and we are already over half way there. (Literally have had it only about a week). Just get the CIP now. Sooner you do that sooner you can try to get him the CIC and it's new 50k offer! Visa really is so much easier; although I am definitely biased toward Chase right now.

 

[peel]

I'm seriously in love with YNAB - I started only a year ago, so I'm on the "new" YNAB, and think it rocks (never having done YNAB4).

No exaggeration, YNAB drastically changed our financial lives for the better. I'm so thankful for that little program! New YNAB has a slightly different methodology than old YNAB, and I'm not willing to make the switch until I absolutely have to. Not to mention I don't have to pay a subscription fee for YNAB4.

 

[kmc8826]

Just got off the phone with Chase and I will have an IHG on its way! I had to move some credit around but they approved it. (So much for the 2 applications in 30 days rule). It makes 7 chase cards with me and makes me back up to 5/24 but I will be back down to 3 in September. My plan then is to lower some personal limits, close out the CIP, and then wait and apply for CIC. Of course plans can change...

Off to secure message them and request the 80k offer.