I love credit cards so much!

[Lain]

I have to pay my $10k tax bill by the 25th. Thanks to @Lain who mentioned card match and I checked my offers. I am approved for the Amex Platinum for 100k. I am really having a hard time pulling the trigger. My plan was to pay with our two Freedoms through Paypal to max out our categories. The balance is what I am having a hard time with. I don't know if I want to pay the high AF when we don't use Uber, have PP for lounges, and already have GE.

I don't know what our travel plans will be in the next few years. We have a young family and traveling outside of Florida for Disney once every few years (hopefully) or to my inlaws in SE FL is usually our plans for the next few years. Accommodations are usually minimal since we stay with my inlays. One day, I want to take the family to Disneyland (ok, I really want to go to DL) and San Diego, but that might be a few years. I am also thinking 5 years down the road to our next anniversary trip maybe to Hawaii since DH has never been (thanks for the new Reddit post!).

We are in a United Hub with most of our flying done through them since they are usually the least expensive of AA, Delta, and United. Sometimes AA can be competitive. I have been reading up on the transfer partners for MR and I would have to go through Air Canada for a United transfer. Would that make our United Miles sitting in Mileage Plus useless?

Would it be worth it to get this card now for the high tax bill (and FEES!), only to save the MR for a long time?
What would the best way to save the MR without the Platinum?
Can I ditch the card and get a prorated refund on the AF?

Thanks for your help...once I finally pay this, I will stop thinking about cc points in the middle of the night.

Just a few quick notes (I'll try to add more later when I'm not on the go):

1. MR points can be very useful for airline transfers and I feel like their airline partners are very strong.
2. I'm in a similar situation where I have a young DD4, so DW and I have put off aspirational travel and I'm stockpiling MR points. I'm fairly confident in MR points retaining their value as I haven't seen any massive devaluation in MR in the last few years (maybe with the exception of Amex cutting the Biz Plat rebate from 50% to 35%).
3. The Cardmatch trick is fickle. I pulled up the 100k offer for DW last week, but wasn't able to reproduce the offer over the weekend. If you see it again, you may need to make a snap decision and apply or you might not get the chance again later.
4. Don't apply for any other Amex Platinum or charge cards until you've gotten the 75k/100k Platinum. Once you're a customer, you're likely not going to get targeted for the best offers anymore.
5. The $550 AF is offset by $200 airline fees credits, which can't really be used to buy tickets, but there are positive DPs of using it to buy Delta, AA, and Southwest gift cards, and flights costing under $100 or $200 depending on airline. Flyertalk has a running DP thread on how to use these credits. Since this is a calendar year benefit, you can use it this year (2018) and again in 2019 anytime before your second AF posts.
6. There's also $200 Uber credits, which is doled out $15/month with an extra $20 in December. If you don't use Uber, do you have UberEATs in your area for food delivery?
7. Do you have a Centurion Lounge at your home airport or any airport to which you travel?
8. You can sign up for the Amex EveryDay credit card, which has no AF, and will keep your MR points alive. But consider that's 2 */24 slots, the Platinum and possibly the EveryDay card next year.
9. Don't ditch a card before your year is up. Amex doesn't give prorated AF refunds and you'll end up on their sh*tlist.

 

[Albort]

Seems odd that they have made the SPG Biz better than SPG Personal, or am I missing something? Disappointed with the effective downgrade from 3x Marriott per $ to 2X.

SPG biz was always better than the personal in the first place. it’s rumored that the 4x benefit was implemented for the loss of sheraton lounge access.

 

[miztressuz]

Congratulations, you two! I love reading about approvals, especially when they're big ones like the CSR+CSP double dip and the CIP!

@miztressuz, good point about moving credit from the CSR to CSP to give it a little more spending power and keep your utilization down, but you may want to move the credit back to the CSR once you're done because there's really no use for the CSP after you've hit MSR if you've also got the CSR. Do you have a non-spouse AU you can add to the CSP? That'll give you a 5k UR bonus and might give the card some use. Don't hit Chase too hard, too fast.

...

Good points. I didn't think about the AU as I didn't notice it as part of the sign up offer. But I only kind of glanced at it to make sure the major parts were correct and then screenshotted the heck out of it for backup or later review, so I'll double check. Options for AU is some type of name trick (does that still work? or not a good idea anymore?) or maybe my mom. But we'll have to look at what she plans to do in the near future. Right now I don't see her being in any danger of 5/24 over the next few years but who knows, retirement might make her go crazy and we'll regret doing an AU if they can tie it to her (if they cared they can connect the dots even without SSN, it's pretty easy. just don't know to what length they go to, to do that. never looked it up before.)

As for the credit lines, agree no point to CSP, that was going to be downgraded and eventually cancelled to free up credit space (unless by some miracle I get an awesome raise before I need it ) This all hinges on if that CIC offer is really going back to normal at the end of May. I was hoping to get the increased bonus but that does put a tight window on it. The only good things I have going for me is until yesterday I haven't opened a Chase card in over 5 years, and after getting a business card (be it the CIC or CIP) I really don't have any further Chase plans for the next year (or more). So I don't know, will have to evaluate next month if it's worth the risk.

Current plan, assuming everything stays the same in the CC world haha, is I keep CSR/CSP for a year after bonus hits. Refer hubby to both, if he gets both, downgrade both of mine so that we only have one set. After a year for him, I should be out of my 24 month window, refer me back and then downgrade both of his into a CF and CFU. After that, we'll decide if CSR is still a keeper and if so we'll just keep that one.

It's a lot of assumptions, and I'm not expecting it to go that way because my luck just doesn't hold out like that, but it's a nice dream to work on Meanwhile I'm not all that interested in other co-brand cards. I'm just waiting to see what happens with SW but I already have one so I don't need to get the new one. The new Starriott card I'm not expecting to have to jump on either. But whatever happens I'm at 4/24 now so it'd have to be really good to fill that last spot. Once I do that I'm not under again until 5/19.

 

[Albort]

I’m also interested by the new 4X points categories on the SPG Biz. I wasn’t planning to keep this card past year one, but am considering it now. I also have CIP but was planning to cancel it to get CIC instead, so keeping SPG Biz would be a way to still get a bonus on internet/cell/etc.

CIC is 5x on internet/cell/etc. Earning UR is worth more than Marriott currently. Even so, u can always transfer into Marriott when needed.

 

[FredtheDuck]

Interrupting the Starriott convo (though as a new SPG personal holder I'm watching intently) with a plea for advice:

Life circumstances (good ones) are going to be taking me to ATL often in the future. I'll have to fly Delta a lot more than I do now, and I'll be staying at a Hyatt fairly often.

Only problem: I have no cards with either of these two. I have a Skymiles account, obviously, but no Delta card. I don't even have a Hyatt loyalty account, though I'll open that up when I book my upcoming stay. I have cards that cover American, United, Alaska/Virgin, and Starwood. I try to stay loyal to the latter two, but that's not going to be an option for this situation.

I'm supposed to get under 5/24 next month and had been holding out to try to double dip CSP/CSR. Do I just stay the course and let all this travel go through the loyalty accounts but not the cards? I feel like that's what I should do and then just do future travel with my CSR/CSP, but I always hate leaving miles on the table.

FWIW, we have CFU and CSP but they're both in DH's name and I'm not yet an AU while I wait to deal with my own CSP/CSR apps. I'm weary of booking either flight or hotel with those cards because they'll be expensed and I feel like it's weird to submit expenses in DHs name. Maybe I'm overthinking that.

 

[amalone1013]

Really glad I'm catching up again and read @Mopedmom1 's post about putting $5k of a car down payment on SPG biz. We may be in the market in the next few weeks...

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I'm weary of booking either flight or hotel with those cards because they'll be expensed and I feel like it's weird to submit expenses in DHs name. Maybe I'm overthinking that.

My dh submits work expenses every week. Sometimes his hotel and car are on my cc. Other times on his. Depends what msr we are trying to hit at any given time. They have no clue whose card it is on. He submits the hotel receipt and the hertz receipt. Those reservations are in his name (always) but on my card (sometimes.) Doesn't matter at all.

 

[CoP Luv]

Just a few quick notes (I'll try to add more later when I'm not on the go):

1. MR points can be very useful for airline transfers and I feel like their airline partners are very strong.
2. I'm in a similar situation where I have a young DD4, so DW and I have put off aspirational travel and I'm stockpiling MR points. I'm fairly confident in MR points retaining their value as I haven't seen any massive devaluation in MR in the last few years (maybe with the exception of Amex cutting the Biz Plat rebate from 50% to 35%).
3. The Cardmatch trick is fickle. I pulled up the 100k offer for DW last week, but wasn't able to reproduce the offer over the weekend. If you see it again, you may need to make a snap decision and apply or you might not get the chance again later.
4. Don't apply for any other Amex Platinum or charge cards until you've gotten the 75k/100k Platinum. Once you're a customer, you're likely not going to get targeted for the best offers anymore.
5. The $550 AF is offset by $200 airline fees credits, which can't really be used to buy tickets, but there are positive DPs of using it to buy Delta, AA, and Southwest gift cards, and flights costing under $100 or $200 depending on airline. Flyertalk has a running DP thread on how to use these credits. Since this is a calendar year benefit, you can use it this year (2018) and again in 2019 anytime before your second AF posts.
6. There's also $200 Uber credits, which is doled out $15/month with an extra $20 in December. If you don't use Uber, do you have UberEATs in your area for food delivery?
7. Do you have a Centurion Lounge at your home airport or any airport to which you travel?
8. You can sign up for the Amex EveryDay credit card, which has no AF, and will keep your MR points alive. But consider that's 2 */24 slots, the Platinum and possibly the EveryDay card next year.
9. Don't ditch a card before your year is up. Amex doesn't give prorated AF refunds and you'll end up on their sh*tlist.

Thanks for the info. What are you plans with your MR points?

I would most likely try use the airline credits to buy GC and the sell them. Southwest is not a carrier we would fly since it's about an hour+ drive to the airports they fly out of instead of the less than half hour drive to our home airport.

I haven't looked into UberEats, but I am pretty sure they service our area. We don't get take-out too often, so this wouldn't be an offer I would utilize too much.

I am giving myself until tomorrow to decide if I want to pay this with a new cc or just do the most "comfortable" thing and pay cash and not worry about it.

 

[kmc8826]

Interrupting the Starriott convo (though as a new SPG personal holder I'm watching intently) with a plea for advice:

Life circumstances (good ones) are going to be taking me to ATL often in the future. I'll have to fly Delta a lot more than I do now, and I'll be staying at a Hyatt fairly often.

Only problem: I have no cards with either of these two. I have a Skymiles account, obviously, but no Delta card. I don't even have a Hyatt loyalty account, though I'll open that up when I book my upcoming stay. I have cards that cover American, United, Alaska/Virgin, and Starwood. I try to stay loyal to the latter two, but that's not going to be an option for this situation.

I'm supposed to get under 5/24 next month and had been holding out to try to double dip CSP/CSR. Do I just stay the course and let all this travel go through the loyalty accounts but not the cards? I feel like that's what I should do and then just do future travel with my CSR/CSP, but I always hate leaving miles on the table.

FWIW, we have CFU and CSP but they're both in DH's name and I'm not yet an AU while I wait to deal with my own CSP/CSR apps. I'm weary of booking either flight or hotel with those cards because they'll be expensed and I feel like it's weird to submit expenses in DHs name. Maybe I'm overthinking that.

Are you going to have to check baggage? If so it could be worthwhile to get one of the Delta business cards just for that benefit alone. It doesn't sound like you are worried about gaining miles through a card bonus, but the luggage benefit with the Delta cards is nice. A Delta business card would not impact your 5/24 status.

Join Hyatt and have an account set up. I like my Hyatt card but unless you are the one personally paying for the stays I don't know that the card is worth it.

I would overall stay the course with the CSR/CSP double dip plan. UR's won't help you with skymiles but they are awesome in transferring directly to Hyatt 1:1.

 

[kmc8826]

Still debating about SPG Amex. My main concern is meeting the spend. Amex makes it so hard! My one thought is that I am debating making a small direct DVC purchase next month when I go to WDW again. If I did that and put the $5000 on the SPG I would meet the spend easily. Anyone have thoughts if a direct from Disney DVC purchase would be okay/allowable under the Amex terms and conditions?

 

[FredtheDuck]

My dh submits work expenses every week. Sometimes his hotel and car are on my cc. Other times on his. Depends what msr we are trying to hit at any given time. They have no clue whose card it is on. He submits the hotel receipt and the hertz receipt. Those reservations are in his name (always) but on my card (sometimes.) Doesn't matter at all.

Thanks! I'm glad to hear it... I figured there was a chance I was overthinking that part.

Are you going to have to check baggage? If so it could be worthwhile to get one of the Delta business cards just for that benefit alone. It doesn't sound like you are worried about gaining miles through a card bonus, but the luggage benefit with the Delta cards is nice. A Delta business card would not impact your 5/24 status.

Join Hyatt and have an account set up. I like my Hyatt card but unless you are the one personally paying for the stays I don't know that the card is worth it.

I would overall stay the course with the CSR/CSP double dip plan. UR's won't help you with skymiles but they are awesome in transferring directly to Hyatt 1:1.

Really helpful context. I'll probably be carrying on more often than not, so yeah, I think you're right that staying the course might make sense. I'm all for earning airline bonuses, so maybe I'll still tack on a Delta card after the CSP/CSR double dip and spends. Also forgot that URs xfer to Hyatt, thanks for the reminder!

 

[Tikitoi]

Considering how many of us are stretched to our limit on spend we’re screwed if a new CSR-type bonus comes out in the next 3 months...

Omg I would love that. Even though I'm completing the spending on my CIC I'd be ready for that..

 

[Texans_loyal]

Congratulations, you two! I love reading about approvals, especially when they're big ones like the CSR+CSP double dip and the CIP!

@miztressuz, good point about moving credit from the CSR to CSP to give it a little more spending power and keep your utilization down, but you may want to move the credit back to the CSR once you're done because there's really no use for the CSP after you've hit MSR if you've also got the CSR. Do you have a non-spouse AU you can add to the CSP? That'll give you a 5k UR bonus and might give the card some use. Don't hit Chase too hard, too fast.

@Texans_loyal, remember that travel earns 3x UR on the CIP, so if you're headed to Disney and staying on site, charge everything to your room and pay for those charges at the hotel with your CIP and it'll code as 3x UR. The same charges won't earn you 3x UR if you pay directly at restaurants or shops. I know you're into the Disney gift card game too, so you might already have gift cards to cover that. It's just an idea. The Gyft egift card app also earns 3x UR on CIP when you checkout using CIP (but keep in mind that PayPal checkout earns 5x UR on the Freedom this quarter, up to $1,500 in spend), and Gyft sells Walmart GCs that you can earn 3x UR on, then use at Sam's Club to buy Disney GCs at a ~4% discount.

I plan on charging everything to the room and paying with GCs. My step brother's Family didn't go the GC route so they can charge and pay me back. Give me all the points lol. I have a freedom card and almost maxed out the bonus, Is it per card or per account? I can combine the Gyft Gcs with my Swagbucks Gcs, thanks for the idea!

 

[peel]

I'm so torn! I think I should refer DH for the SPG Biz ASAP. But I struggled to reach my own MSR over the past couple of months, and only got there because my kitten was nice enough to knock my TV to the ground and shatter the screen, so I had an unexpected expenditure. And my current plan was to refer DH for the CIP in June when my AF hit and he fell below 5/24. I know getting the SPG Biz doesn't impact that plan, but I'll have 2 large MSRs back to back. I can meet the CIP MSR without issue if Plastiq is still putting through Mr. Cooper mortgage payments, but who knows when that well will dry up. If it happens before or during DH's CIP MSR there is very little hope of achieving both. I hate to leave that SPG Biz on the table though, knowing everything will change soon.

 

[Albort]

Still debating about SPG Amex. My main concern is meeting the spend. Amex makes it so hard! My one thought is that I am debating making a small direct DVC purchase next month when I go to WDW again. If I did that and put the $5000 on the SPG I would meet the spend easily. Anyone have thoughts if a direct from Disney DVC purchase would be okay/allowable under the Amex terms and conditions?

pretty sure that would work. Disney DVC is kinda like a hotel purchase.

 

[shairpdrh]

Did anyone else get and use the $50 Shipt offer through AMEX? I have used it on two log-ins and have it still to use on 2 more. I am loving saving $50 on groceries and not having to go to the store to get them! But other than that, not much lately.

I did! It was my first AMEX offer and it was great saving the $50. Made me wish I had more cards to use. I guess that is another push to get my next AMEX (first business app). It was nice to get a little more value out of my Delta Gold card before I cancel it this summer. I also think I might keep using Shipt now.

 

[Lain]

I'm all for earning airline bonuses, so maybe I'll still tack on a Delta card after the CSP/CSR double dip and spends. Also forgot that URs xfer to Hyatt, thanks for the reminder!

I’ll also add that the Chase Hyatt card is not subject to the 5/24 rule, so if you really wanted that card you could add it after your CSR+CSP double dip. However, the Hyatt card would add to your */24 and push out when you’ll be back under 5/24 again.

 

[Lain]

I plan on charging everything to the room and paying with GCs. My step brother's Family didn't go the GC route so they can charge and pay me back. Give me all the points lol. I have a freedom card and almost maxed out the bonus, Is it per card or per account? I can combine the Gyft Gcs with my Swagbucks Gcs, thanks for the idea!

Freedom 5x categories are capped at $1,500 spend per account; doesn’t matter if you have additional AUs on the Freedom account, they don’t get an extra $1,500 5x spend.

 

[wendow]

Proud new owner of my own SPG personal Now to meet $4.5k more on spg biz and 3k on personal

Did anyone else get and use the $50 Shipt offer through AMEX? I have used it on two log-ins and have it still to use on 2 more. I am loving saving $50 on groceries and not having to go to the store to get them! But other than that, not much lately.

I really wanted that offer but didn’t get it on any of our cards. Hopefully they will do it again sometime!

 

[Texans_loyal]

Freedom 5x categories are capped at $1,500 spend per account; doesn’t matter if you have additional AUs on the Freedom account, they don’t get an extra $1,500 5x spend.

Thank you!

Proud new owner of my own SPG personal Now to meet $4.5k more on spg biz and 3k on personal

Congrats!