I love credit cards so much!

[wendow]

Yes!! Everything is charged onto my southwest card. I even use Plastiq to pay my car loan.

Right now, subject to change at any time, all bills paid through plastiq are coding 3x on CIP card Nice little UR point maker!

 

[wendow]

Genius! I didn't even think of transferring! Preferred is looking better and better. Thank you!

You can transfer all UR from a premium card (CSR, CSP, CIP) to SW at a 1:1 rate.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thank you for all the info! I am considering CIP at this point, I think I can make it work.

CIP sounds like a solid plan for right now! Travel protections and the most URs, after year 1 you can play keep, dowgrade or cancel with us. If I had to pick one I’d do the one with the highest sign up bonus in your shoes

CIC is a nice one to pick up later with a bit lower spend. That is a keeper when you eventually get it due to 5% back and no af (but no travel protections).

One card also sounds like a solid plan! FWIW it sounds like you have a very healthy fear of messing things up due to past credit card debt and I think that fear will help prevent you from making the same mistakes again (with age comes wisdom?)

ETA: just saw your plastiq note- OMG CIP is the Card for you right now!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I have a Discover Card I’ve had since 2009 (and don’t intend to cancel). I also have a Disney Chase I’ve had since 2011 and a Southwest Chase that I got a few months ago. My sign on points should post to that card this cycle.

Would it be a bad idea to cancel both of those Chase cards this year? The Disney Card has no annual fee, but it also isn’t being used. I plan to get a Capital One Venture Card this summer and possibly a Chase Saphire Preferred this fall. My husband and I are slowly churning points for a Universal trip in fall of 2019.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I have a Discover Card I’ve had since 2009 (and don’t intend to cancel). I also have a Disney Chase I’ve had since 2011 and a Southwest Chase that I got a few months ago. My sign on points should post to that card this cycle.

Would it be a bad idea to cancel both of those Chase cards this year? The Disney Card has no annual fee, but it also isn’t being used. I plan to get a Capital One Venture Card this summer and possibly a Chase Saphire Preferred this fall. My husband and I are slowly churning points for a Universal trip in fall of 2019.

I wouldn’t cancel that Disney card unless you are doing it to reapply and earn the bonus. You want to keep your oldest no annual fee cards open to help with the age of accounts on your credit report.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Thank you for all the info! I am considering CIP at this point, I think I can make it work.

Here’s the same kind of writeup on CIP

Chase Ink Preferred (CIP)

• Best Online Offer = 80,000 Ultimate Rewards (URs) for $5k spend in 90 days (there is an in branch offer for 100k - it requires some additional work to apply in branch to with a BRM).
• Annual fee = $95 (not waived)
• Points are worth = 1.25 cents each through the travel portal OR transfer 1:1 to numerous partners
• Assuming you'd use the 1.25 travel option here's what you get:
• 80,000 bonus URs + 5,000 base URs (from min spend) = 85,000 URs worth $1,062.50 LESS $95 annual fee = $967.50
• Also of note - you could hold these points, get a CSR alter and then you can redeem these points at 1.50 via the CSR

 

[gottalovepluto]

I have a Discover Card I’ve had since 2009 (and don’t intend to cancel). I also have a Disney Chase I’ve had since 2011 and a Southwest Chase that I got a few months ago. My sign on points should post to that card this cycle.

Would it be a bad idea to cancel both of those Chase cards this year? The Disney Card has no annual fee, but it also isn’t being used. I plan to get a Capital One Venture Card this summer and possibly a Chase Saphire Preferred this fall. My husband and I are slowly churning points for a Universal trip in fall of 2019.

Also have a backup plan for what cards you want in case you aren’t approved for the Venture. Cap1 denied a lot of people and no one has figured out why yet.

 

[GZanta77]

Whats the deal with the Cap1 cards? Never appealed to me, but is there some good reason to have a Venture in the mix?

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Also have a backup plan for what cards you want in case you aren’t approved for the Venture. Cap1 denied a lot of people and no one has figured out why yet.

That’s strange to me! We’ve been rebuilding my husband’s credit (bad divorce in 2004) and the C1 Venture is the first card he’s had in just his name. A few years ago, he couldn’t finance a candy bar!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I wouldn’t cancel that Disney card unless you are doing it to reapply and earn the bonus. You want to keep your oldest no annual fee cards open to help with the age of accounts on your credit report.

I figured that might be the case, but I wasn’t sure. Thank you!

 

[kmc8826]

Whats the deal with the Cap1 cards? Never appealed to me, but is there some good reason to have a Venture in the mix?

I got a Capital One Venture 2 years ago before I started really churning. 2% back on everything was nice and the bonus plus other spend paid for a couple Disney tickets as well as a deposit on a VRB0. Once I had it I did not have any complaints but as of late have not used it much. I didn't want to pay the annual fee so downgraded it to a Quicksilver which is no fee. I decided to keep it just so I am not so invested in Chase and Amex. I do know that Capital One does a hard pull on all 3 bureaus so that is something to be aware of.

 

[speedyfishy]

I got my $300 Wells Fargo Business checking bonus today. SO doesn’t have his yet even though we opened them at the same time. I really don’t want to have to pretend to be him and complain again.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Sold another sewing machine, but this one isn't as expensive. It will still add $700 towards my CIP, so I am looking at just $850 left for the MSR on that card. And $0 out of pocket so far, which is quite better than I had anticipated. Selling just one more machine will put me over the top for that spend and I can start working on another DH's IHG and CIC.

This makes it much more likely that I will be able to handle a MSR for a CIC if I decide to apply later this month.

 

[kmc8826]

I am going to try applying again tonight for husband to get CIC. Any thoughts of if better to put myself as an employee now or should I just add later? I definitely want my own card but at same time I don’t want to raise any flags since I am putting it down as a sole proprietorship. Seems also weird that they want my SS# for it.

 

[ctinct]

Can I ask what exactly you put in the original message? Seems odd to be denied since they seem to be honoring it for everyone else.

Sure.

“Good evening.
I was just approved for the IHG card on Friday with a reward of 60000 points after spending $1000 in the first three months. However, today I saw an offer for 80000 points after spending $2000. I was wondering if I could have that offer instead.

Thanks.”

I also attached a screenshot of the offer. Maybe I should specifically asked them to MATCH the offer? I don’t know.

This is the second paragraph of the reply.
“Let me look into this for you. Your account is not eligible for the new offer you requested. The original offer you applied for will remain on your account. you will receive 60,000 points after you spend $1000.00on the first three months your account is open.”

He then goes on to tell me that as of today, I have spent $0.00.no kidding! I don’t even have the card yet.

This morning I wrote again saying I didn’t understand why my “friend”was able to get the offer and I was not.

The reply stated in part “I’ll be glad to review Your inquiry to match the richer premium request on your IHG Rewards Club Credit Card account

After thorough review of your account t and considering all the options, I regret to inform you that your account is not eligible for the new offer you requested. The original offer you applied for will remain on your account.”

He or she then goes on with terms, etc.
But I see after looking at the reply that the agent him or herself used the term matching, so the fact that I did not use it probably didn’t matter. Also, it was a different agent than the first one, so both said no. Guess I may be out of luck. I don’t do social media! But I wonder if I should in this case. Twitter and Facebook posts seem to get companies attention nowadays.

 

[Dugette]

Hi, guys. I'm sorry, I haven't kept up here for a while, since we were working on a couple big spends. Now we need a new card and I'm stumped, though. We were going to get DH the Bank of America Travel Rewards card, but he was turned down (w/an 820 credit score, so I guess too many cards opened). He's over 5/24, but I'm at 4/24 (will be 3/24 in June), so thought maybe I'd get the Barclaycard Arrival Plus now and then CSP in June when one drops off. Well, as you all probably know, the Barclay got discontinued. Sooooo....now I'm thinking I go forward w/Chase now. Is the double-dipping still a thing? DH has a CSR and I have a CIP - transfer points to his CSR. Was planning to get the CSP myself and transfer points to his CSR to redeem. If double-dipping CSR and CSP for me is still possible at 4/24, remind me how to do it and what the minimum spends are? Normally, both spends would be too much for us, but we have a Disneyland Paris trip to pay off in like 10 days, so if we can get a card in time, that helps. We also have a cruise we can pay down some if needed. Advice? Thanks in advance.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

@Texans_loyal since my quote isn’t working
I’d go for the CIP first then get the CSR

This would give you the max UR and redemption for any hotel you choose. I started off just doing the sw Card and earning the companion pass. I’m loving the CIP and CSR thanks to many here. I prefer the CIP over CIC Bc of plastiq. If you have a mortage and can get it through it’s worth it. 10k UR each month I’ll take it.

Def look at what you spend each month on your cc. Then also consider using the CIP and plastiq to pay any loans you may be paying with a check.

 

[3 DD love princesses]

Hi, guys. I'm sorry, I haven't kept up here for a while, since we were working on a couple big spends. Now we need a new card and I'm stumped, though. We were going to get DH the Bank of America Travel Rewards card, but he was turned down (w/an 820 credit score, so I guess too many cards opened). He's over 5/24, but I'm at 4/24 (will be 3/24 in June), so thought maybe I'd get the Barclaycard Arrival Plus now and then CSP in June when one drops off. Well, as you all probably know, the Barclay got discontinued. Sooooo....now I'm thinking I go forward w/Chase now. Is the double-dipping still a thing? DH has a CSR and I have a CIP - transfer points to his CSR. Was planning to get the CSP myself and transfer points to his CSR to redeem. If double-dipping CSR and CSP for me is still possible at 4/24, remind me how to do it and what the minimum spends are? Normally, both spends would be too much for us, but we have a Disneyland Paris trip to pay off in like 10 days, so if we can get a card in time, that helps. We also have a cruise we can pay down some if needed. Advice? Thanks in advance.

Yes as far as I know CSR and csp can still be double dipped.

Apply for the one you want the most then once it’s approved. Use another browser and apply for the other.
ETA I would use your DH referral for CSR First get approved then apply for the csp using a dis link. This way you get more points.
It’s $4k for each card so $8k total between the two

 

[wendow]

Hi, guys. I'm sorry, I haven't kept up here for a while, since we were working on a couple big spends. Now we need a new card and I'm stumped, though. We were going to get DH the Bank of America Travel Rewards card, but he was turned down (w/an 820 credit score, so I guess too many cards opened). He's over 5/24, but I'm at 4/24 (will be 3/24 in June), so thought maybe I'd get the Barclaycard Arrival Plus now and then CSP in June when one drops off. Well, as you all probably know, the Barclay got discontinued. Sooooo....now I'm thinking I go forward w/Chase now. Is the double-dipping still a thing? DH has a CSR and I have a CIP - transfer points to his CSR. Was planning to get the CSP myself and transfer points to his CSR to redeem. If double-dipping CSR and CSP for me is still possible at 4/24, remind me how to do it and what the minimum spends are? Normally, both spends would be too much for us, but we have a Disneyland Paris trip to pay off in like 10 days, so if we can get a card in time, that helps. We also have a cruise we can pay down some if needed. Advice? Thanks in advance.

You can still double dip the csp and csr as of a couple days ago. You need to apply for whichever card you want most and be prepared to recon if you don’t receive instant approval. If you do get approved, yay!, open up another browser and apply for the other card. Most here recommend applying during business hours when recon is open (and verification dept).

Good luck! And Disneyland Paris!?! I’m so jealous!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I actually approach this same situation differently, I don't want to have an SPG personal card get automatically PCed into their new card. As I understand it that could then prevent me from earning the signup bonus on that card (which of course my preference is to get a signup bonus). Any thoughts on that or perhaps I'm overlooking something there...

I don’t know if it is the same situation, but when Costco changed from Amex to Citi we were told way ahead and could keep acct and would transfer over OR cancel prior to that. I’d think they’d give the same notice to SPG cardholders but who knows.

Amex SPG is the better card to put Marriott and Starwood hotel stays on.

SPG: DH earns 2 SPG points per $1 spent at Starwood and Marriott Rewards hotels, which exchanges 1:3 to Marriott, so the equivalent of 6 Marriott points.
Marriott: DH earns 5 Marriott points per $1 spent at Starwood and Marriott Rewards hotels, which is less than a SPG card's 6 Marriott points.

Note that you can earn points on a SPG card for stays at both Starwood and Marriott properties, but Marriott stays don't count towards SPG status and Starwood stays don't count towards Marriott status. So for now settle on Marriott or Starwood, earn status in one chain and match status from that program to the other.

You can link Marriott and SPG accounts for automatic status match between the two programs: http://www.marriott.com/marriott-rewards/connect-my-accounts.mi

Marriott Silver Elite translates to SPG Preferred Guest Plus, which is the status you get when you are the primary cardmember of an Amex SPG credit card, so you're not getting anything more there.

Preferred Guest Plus Benefits:

• Earn and redeem at over 1,300 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries across 11 hotel brands.
• 2 Starpoints® per eligible US dollar spent.
• Free Night Awards without blackout dates.
• Amazing experiences and access like no other through exclusive partnerships. SPG® is your ticket to the best in music, sports and the arts through our SPG.com/moments auction site.
• Award Flights without blackout dates on over 350 airlines worldwide.
• Upgrades to enhanced rooms at check-in, such as rooms on higher floors or corner rooms.
• 4 p.m. late checkout, where available.
• Other great Starpoints redemption options: transfer Starpoints to miles with over 30 airlines, combine Starpoints with cash for hotel stays, or redeem Starpoints for merchandise awards and more.

I don't know what kind of spend you guys are putting (or expecting to put) on the SPG Biz, but you can achieve Gold status after spending $30,000 on the card in a calendar year, in addition to stays and nights. The Amex Platinums also come with automatic SPG Gold status.

SPG Biz does offer Sheraton club lounge access.

The Marriott cards do offer a free anniversary night stay, but keep in mind it's capped at Category 1-5 hotels.

Thank you! Looks like 10 stays for gold with SPG (matches to Marriott) and 25 to platinum. He could reach those easily, esp with a boost he would get for opening the SPG cards...2 stays it gave me I think. So looks like SPG it is!