I love credit cards so much!

[Angrose]

Thank you

Another great perk from SPG is that you can transfer your points to airline frequent flyer programs at a 1:1 rate for most airlines. I think United is 2:1 and they don't offer transfers to Southwest, which is a bummer. Also, when you transfer 20,000 points you get a bonus 5,000 added to the transfer. I may need to use this option later this year to top up some BA Avios, which would be super handy.

 

[Angrose]

For the expert churners out there, how many cards would you apply for in a year?
I am 3/24 on Chase and Authorized user 2/24, so Chase is out for me for awhile.
Just got rejected for Southwest, so applied for and was approved for Jetblue. Was thinking of applying for the SPG before this week before the offer expires but did not know if that is pushing it..
Any thoughts?

I just jumped on the churning bandwagon last August when the CSR came out. I have seen the light and now in addition to the CSR I also have CSP, SW, AMEX Hilton, AMEX SPG and some other cash cards that I got before I knew about the Chase 5/24. I'm topped out with Chase so I just applied and was approved for the Barclaycard Arrival Plus. This is turning into a fun hobby! We were able to pay for a Disneyland trip with all our UR points this past December, our Hilton Universal Hollywood was covered and we recently booked two nights at the JW Marriott in Venice for our June Italy trip by transferring SPG points to Marriott. We have already saved thousands of $$!

I think as long as you are approved and can make the spend, then go for it. It does help to have a plan in mind though because you don't want to get cards that you later find out you don't really need. Also, AMEX limits the bonus to once per lifetime so that's something to consider as well. Have fun!!

 

[calypso726]

For the expert churners out there, how many cards would you apply for in a year?
I am 3/24 on Chase and Authorized user 2/24, so Chase is out for me for awhile.
Just got rejected for Southwest, so applied for and was approved for Jetblue. Was thinking of applying for the SPG before this week before the offer expires but did not know if that is pushing it..
Any thoughts?

From what I read online most of the churners do an app-o-rama every 3 months with 3-5 card apps. I am not that heavy of a churner and things have become increasingly difficult when it comes to churning. I will do about 5 or so apps a year. My last 3 cards where two Delta cards, one biz and one personal for 70k Sky pesos each, both in November. Then in January I picked up the Amex Platinum business card. Now that I finished the spend I have to pull up a credit report to determine where I am on Citi AA cards thanks to the new rules. I will cool my jets in Amex for a while and go after Citi, BOA or Us Bank in May. I'd go for it if I were you and then wait a few months before going after the next round.

 

[LynnTH]

Hoping someone can help. Trying to decide on next trip (after cruise in December). Have never been to Europe and DD15 really wants to go to Paris (among other places). Thinking it would be fun to start figuring out a way to go and stay cheap on points. Thing is that I know absolutely nothing about Europe. We would be coming from Minneapolis and it would be during the summer (maybe next year as she is going to China for 2 weeks after her Senior year for a school mission trip). We normally fly Southwest but they don't go to Europe. What airlines do I look at and are there charts for this or are the points all different? Any particular hotel chain that is popular over there? Not sure if I can make this happen or not but figured I can at least start researching. (Already have CSR and CSP) I am at 5/24 and will be 4/24 in June (with one of those as an AU that I just had them cancel me off of that card so hoping that would bring me to 3/24). Originally I was going to wait and not open any cards until the end of the year and then try and get 2 SW cards and the companion pass ( I know that won't help with Europe but would be great to have). Would love to hear any suggestions. Thanks.

 

[Pooh2]

Wow!! Thanks for all the input!!

My travel goals for the next year or two are to get to Orlando as much as possible to see our soon-to-be born granddaughter. So I had in mind the SPG for the Swan Dolphin to get a little Disney on the side.

I think I will try the SPG app tonight. Our supermarket does not take Amex so I was a bit worried about making the spend with our usual purchases.
I need to find out more about the spg/marriott transfers.

Can I use my yearly Chase Marriott night at an SPG property?

 

[elgerber]

I have gotten 7 new cards, for myself and dh, so 14 total, in the last 12 months. I think I have run out of cards to get LOL. We had a kitchen remodel and some other large expenses, and everytime I have something big coming up (tuition in August will be next) I always think, hmmmm, what card could I get to put this on LOL. But like I said, I don't know if there is anything left for us. We are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy over 5/24 so Chase will be out for a long time.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Wow!! Thanks for all the input!!

My travel goals for the next year or two are to get to Orlando as much as possible to see our soon-to-be born granddaughter. So I had in mind the SPG for the Swan Dolphin to get a little Disney on the side.

I think I will try the SPG app tonight. Our supermarket does not take Amex so I was a bit worried about making the spend with our usual purchases.
I need to find out more about the spg/marriott transfers.

Can I use my yearly Chase Marriott night at an SPG property?

You cannot use the Marriott night at an SPG property as of now, but eventually the programs are slated to merge, so you may be able to in the future.

 

[AmyAnne]

Thanks to those who responded to my earlier post about possibly messing up the initial spending on the Chase United card. As it turns out, we had somehow already received the 50,000 bonus points. I don't know what the offer was because we did not spend $3,000 until this weekend, when I unnecessarily prepaid the electric bill . . .

Now that we have spent the $3,000 I am wondering if I should message Chase and ask if they might match the 70,000 points offer. I have not received this offer directly, so I don't know if I should bother asking Chase to match. Any advice?

 

[mhartman09]

i recently used a disboard member to referral me. it gives her 5k SPG points from the referral. As for reddit, /r/churning is very sensitive. They like their info pretty quiet and dont particularly like to spread their information. The more people the more, the quicker things get shut down. If you post a single thread by itself, it get shut downed. Just recommend reading and if u need to post, post in the daily threads accordingly. For referral, there is a thread per card in contest mode where your can be on top or bottom randomly.

Thanks for the response. I've actually been over on reddit for several months now and as long as I post in the daily or weekly threads, the response has been good. I've had a few good convos there about certain things. Problem is, it appears the only way to have your referral posted in the referral threads it to have post karma as well as comment karma. I know I need to earn the karma, which is what I was trying to do by posting about an offer that came through my email. However, it was obviously not a good offer (which I didn't realize) and was immediately down voted over and over. I suppose it's back to the drawing board for me on my posts there....LOL.

 

[MrPTato]

Is the Southwest card under 5/24 rules?

 

[peel]

Is the Southwest card under 5/24 rules?

The personal cards are.

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks to those who responded to my earlier post about possibly messing up the initial spending on the Chase United card. As it turns out, we had somehow already received the 50,000 bonus points. I don't know what the offer was because we did not spend $3,000 until this weekend, when I unnecessarily prepaid the electric bill . . .

Now that we have spent the $3,000 I am wondering if I should message Chase and ask if they might match the 70,000 points offer. I have not received this offer directly, so I don't know if I should bother asking Chase to match. Any advice?

I would try. Chase is pretty good about matching, unlike AMEX.

 

[Kbmas0n]

I'm so frustrated! I was looking at my online account and realized that the purchase I made through the portal didn't count the extra points! I have NO idea how that happened . I secure-messaged them, but haven't heard back yet. I made sure to go through the portal, but now i'm freaking out that it won't count and I can't prove it.

 

[Ngwira]

Two more questions regarding the CSR. You have to first charge at least $300 in travel related expenses to receive the credit correct? When does the $300 travel credit become available? Also if DH has the CSR can he bring a travel companion (me !) into the the lounge as well?

December is when the annual Travel credit resets. I believe the PP that comes with the CSR allows guests.

 

[Ngwira]

I'm so frustrated! I was looking at my online account and realized that the purchase I made through the portal didn't count the extra points! I have NO idea how that happened . I secure-messaged them, but haven't heard back yet. I made sure to go through the portal, but now i'm freaking out that it won't count and I can't prove it.

Is the the Chase portal? It may take a few days. I know the first time I used it it took about 3 days before I got the bonus email.

 

[Kbmas0n]

OH WHEW! I was like - oh HECK no, i'm gettin' those 4points/$!!!! Thanks for such a quick response. I'm probably over-involved in my Chase cards right now, until I can get the bonus!

I just feel like I am waiting for the card...then waiting to make the min spend...and then waiting for that to finally post....and then waiting for the statement! Such a waiting game . I'm all about instant gratification, lol.

 

[CoP Luv]

I need help with figuring out IF I should get another card. I have been reading, READING, READING on different forums, travel blogs, and I can't pull the trigger.

We have a few trips planned, but we don't travel too much (outside of the next 18 months, we usually go to a family condo in Florida which we then only have to pay for flights and rental car). I have the CSR and Freedom, amongst others that I use when/if the bonus points are in our favor. We don't fly Southwest since it only flies out of an airport that is much farther away, and prices are usually similar or more than what I can find at our local airport. We have all of the domestic carriers and a United Hub so that could work if we fly non-stop to Hawaii or London.

DH isn't totally onboard with me getting another card for the fee, but if I can work the math out, then I probably would do it.

Here are our travel plans (nothing booked yet):

1. Fall trip to Orlando, specifically to Universal, but maybe spending 1-2 nights at Disney.
2. Norwegian cruise, Alaskan cruise, or Hawaii in 2018 (only 1 for a big trip and our preferences are in that order (@Jen and Ashwin, I can't wait to hear your review of Norway!)

Thanks for everyone's help!!!

 

[Angrose]

I need help with figuring out IF I should get another card. I have been reading, READING, READING on different forums, travel blogs, and I can't pull the trigger.

We have a few trips planned, but we don't travel too much (outside of the next 18 months, we usually go to a family condo in Florida which we then only have to pay for flights and rental car). I have the CSR and Freedom, amongst others that I use when/if the bonus points are in our favor. We don't fly Southwest since it only flies out of an airport that is much farther away, and prices are usually similar or more than what I can find at our local airport. We have all of the domestic carriers and a United Hub so that could work if we fly non-stop to Hawaii or London.

DH isn't totally onboard with me getting another card for the fee, but if I can work the math out, then I probably would do it.

Here are our travel plans (nothing booked yet):

1. Fall trip to Orlando, specifically to Universal, but maybe spending 1-2 nights at Disney.
2. Norwegian cruise, Alaskan cruise, or Hawaii in 2018 (only 1 for a big trip and our preferences are in that order (@Jen and Ashwin, I can't wait to hear your review of Norway!)

Thanks for everyone's help!!!

If you are not at 5/24 and don't already have it, then I would do the CSP for the 50,000 UR points. The fee is waived for the first year. If you don't think you'll use your points in the first year then you could transfer them over to your CSR, if you're keeping that card. Actually, either way, transfer them to CSR since they are worth more booking from there.

After the CSP, then maybe the AMEX SPG card? I wasn't completely sold on this card but then I realized how flexible it was in terms of transferring points to frequent flyer programs or to Marriott. This could definitely come in handy for Orlando. Also, the annual fee is waived the first year, so grab the bonus points and then cancel the card if you don't think you'll use it. Both you and your DH could get the cards to maximize the points.

 

[calypso726]

Hoping someone can help. Trying to decide on next trip (after cruise in December). Have never been to Europe and DD15 really wants to go to Paris (among other places). Thinking it would be fun to start figuring out a way to go and stay cheap on points. Thing is that I know absolutely nothing about Europe. We would be coming from Minneapolis and it would be during the summer (maybe next year as she is going to China for 2 weeks after her Senior year for a school mission trip). We normally fly Southwest but they don't go to Europe. What airlines do I look at and are there charts for this or are the points all different? Any particular hotel chain that is popular over there? Not sure if I can make this happen or not but figured I can at least start researching. (Already have CSR and CSP) I am at 5/24 and will be 4/24 in June (with one of those as an AU that I just had them cancel me off of that card so hoping that would bring me to 3/24). Originally I was going to wait and not open any cards until the end of the year and then try and get 2 SW cards and the companion pass ( I know that won't help with Europe but would be great to have). Would love to hear any suggestions. Thanks.

@LynnTH First, I would check your local airport's flights to CDG and ORY. See which airline and what airline alliances fly that route the most. I am in south Florida and Miami International is a hub for American Airlines so I focus on earning AA miles and One World alliance partner miles like British Airways with my UR and MR points. I am part of the AA dining network and use the AA shopping portal and use Citi AA and Barclay AA cards. The downside to using AA miles to fly BA and vice versa is the taxes and fees. Some carriers will incur huge taxes and fees like BA when connecting in LHR. Taxes and fees one way can run around $400 in first. When we flew United from Paris the taxes and fees for one way in first class were about $50. So also keep that in mind. I also recommend planning two years out. One year to get the points you need and have them in place one year before you are planning to travel. I also recommend having a plan B in place in case your first plan doesn't work how you intended. Twice now I've had to resort to plan B.

My favorite card for hotel stays in Europe has been the Club Carlson card. The AF is $75 and each year of the card anniversary date you get 40,000 points. DH and I each have one. We use it to stay at Radisson Blu properties in Europe. We have stayed in Scotland, London, and Ireland all at Radisson Blu properties and all on points. We don't really put spend on the card except for a couple of times a year when we stay at the Country Inn Suites at Port Canaveral the night before a Disney cruise. I would check into whhich areas you plan to visit before choosing a hotel card.

When doing my own trip planning I rely on TripAdvisor. The forums are very useful for specific questions. The ratings for attractions help me put together an itinerary. I also look into the itineraries of popular group tours to discover the highlights and use them as a basis for my own itinerary. We travel with Adventures by Disney pretty often and always enjoy their trips. Last year we were going on the ABD river cruise and decided to stop in Ireland. I copied most of ABds Iteland itinerary and supplemented the rest with TripAdvisor recommendations and it was a fabulous trip! I hope this all helps.

Thanks to those who responded to my earlier post about possibly messing up the initial spending on the Chase United card. As it turns out, we had somehow already received the 50,000 bonus points. I don't know what the offer was because we did not spend $3,000 until this weekend, when I unnecessarily prepaid the electric bill . . .

Now that we have spent the $3,000 I am wondering if I should message Chase and ask if they might match the 70,000 points offer. I have not received this offer directly, so I don't know if I should bother asking Chase to match. Any advice?

Never hurts to ask.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I need help with figuring out IF I should get another card. I have been reading, READING, READING on different forums, travel blogs, and I can't pull the trigger.

We have a few trips planned, but we don't travel too much (outside of the next 18 months, we usually go to a family condo in Florida which we then only have to pay for flights and rental car). I have the CSR and Freedom, amongst others that I use when/if the bonus points are in our favor. We don't fly Southwest since it only flies out of an airport that is much farther away, and prices are usually similar or more than what I can find at our local airport. We have all of the domestic carriers and a United Hub so that could work if we fly non-stop to Hawaii or London.

DH isn't totally onboard with me getting another card for the fee, but if I can work the math out, then I probably would do it.

Here are our travel plans (nothing booked yet):

1. Fall trip to Orlando, specifically to Universal, but maybe spending 1-2 nights at Disney.
2. Norwegian cruise, Alaskan cruise, or Hawaii in 2018 (only 1 for a big trip and our preferences are in that order (@Jen and Ashwin, I can't wait to hear your review of Norway!)

Thanks for everyone's help!!!

I will make sure to give a report once I return from my trip. I have also done an Alaskan cruise with Royal Caribbean and have to say that it was such a great trip. So if Norway doesn't work out, Alaska is a great backup plan.

As for cards, we used our CSR to book airfare for the Norway cruise, but you could focus on some airline cards to help get you to Europe. We also used our CSR to book a cruise leaving out of Venice in 2018. I had $800 in points left and put them all down on the deposit since the customer service rep said you can only apply points at booking and not later. I wouldn't bother with any cruise specific cards, they are terrible rewards-wise. I have the RC card (my very first credit card so I won't cancel it due to age of the account) and it is mostly worthless for trying to get any decent redemptions.

You could look at the Freedom Unlimited for all of your regular expenses to help maximize your UR points. Once transferred to your CSR, you would get 2.25 UR points for all of your everyday purchases. And the bonus is that the card has no annual fee, so no need to convince your DH.

ETA: Or as someone mentioned, you could get CSP for the 50,000 UR points and then after a year downgrade to the Freedom Unlimited.