I love credit cards so much!

[Albort]

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.

was there a time that this was allowed? i googled it and i see a lot articles that say u can but i was wondering if its temp. I was thinking about getting the marriott 100k and then transfer them to SPG. I know i lose 1/3 of it, but i would like to keep SPG points. If this is true, then im gonna have to change my plan.

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.

Chase portal is very weird. I have things that show up like 3 weeks later. Its very YMMV. It says one some(staples) that gift cards wont count. i bought a few gc from staples via portal and sometimes it gives me the bonus points, sometimes it doesnt. Once time, i bought 2 iPads twice. One gave me points, the other didnt. I SM chase about it and they told me i bought it on sale which wont give me points... didnt want to argue, earning 1000 pts is better than earning none haha.

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!!!

Ppl are suggesting CSP... while i do agree its a good card, but u mentioning a UA hub, i think the UA 70k promo would come first before the CSP. u also get a free bag!
Do u qualify for a business card? I know you can buy gc for some of the cruises... u can make a ton of UR points from it.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

was there a time that this was allowed? i googled it and i see a lot articles that say u can but i was wondering if its temp. I was thinking about getting the marriott 100k and then transfer them to SPG. I know i lose 1/3 of it, but i would like to keep SPG points. If this is true, then im gonna have to change my plan.

I can't find anything about using the free night towards SPG. The night is a credit for a free night’s stay at any Marriott hotel within Categories 1-5, which can be roughly up to $250 in value. I don't see how this could be transferred and used at an SPG hotel. It's not the same as getting points.

 

[Albort]

I can't find anything about using the free night towards SPG. The night is a credit for a free night’s stay at any Marriott hotel within Categories 1-5, which can be roughly up to $250 in value. I don't see how this could be transferred and used at an SPG hotel. It's not the same as getting points.

oops, im thinking of the points, not the free night. haha. my mistake.

 

[CoP Luv]

Thanks so much for the replies! You are all so kind to help everyone out with their individual needs!

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.

I don't know if I would use this for Orlando, because then I would have to pay to get to/from MCO and that might negate the cost of 1 night (value hotel) with ME. Anyway, if I didn't use the points before I cancelled, would they be gone? Or could I transfer them out to Marriott or an airline program to save them? Would it be beneficial to get this for the airline miles specifically because after next year we won't be utilizing hotels much for our travel?

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.

I saw your post about booking your cruise with your points and I think that is awesome!! I was looking at the Chase portal to see what options they had for cruises and none of what was listed was something we wanted to purchase. I am glad you mentioned you could book pretty much anything! I was holding off on the Freedom Unlimited because I was thinking that I might downgrade the CSR to that next year when the AF comes up.

Ppl are suggesting CSP... while i do agree its a good card, but u mentioning a UA hub, i think the UA 70k promo would come first before the CSP. u also get a free bag!
Do u qualify for a business card? I know you can buy gc for some of the cruises... u can make a ton of UR points from it.

The UA promo is targeted though and I haven't seen it. I would be hesitant to use that because I don't want to be stuck with United in case we do decide to travel where another airline would be a better fit for timing, layovers, etc.

Do you have a strategy in mind for buying cruise GC or where you saw one before?

 

[Albort]

The UA promo is targeted though and I haven't seen it. I would be hesitant to use that because I don't want to be stuck with United in case we do decide to travel where another airline would be a better fit for timing, layovers, etc.

Do you have a strategy in mind for buying cruise GC or where you saw one before?

theres ways to get targetted haha.
I know gyft.com has some cruise GC. im sure they might be around in office supply stores, maybe grocery stores? if they are, Blue cash card that earns 6% would be a nice tool to use. 6% back.
if you have a business card, get a Ink cash, which gets u 5x UR pts.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Oh man, the township did not agree with me that my proposed pool/guest house was the greatest idea ever . Now I'm sitting here wondering 1) where am I going to live and 2) how I'm going to make the spend for my two SW cards. Plus I really want to take advantage of the United 70k offer sometime before 4/30. I am planning on buying a new car, can you pay the down payment with a cc, not likely right? Oh, my DVC dues are not paid in full!!! That would get me pretty close to the SW spend and I could buy extra Disney GC's for spending in WDW and Aulani. Are BJ's and Sam's club the best deals for using my SW cards? I feel a little better. Hopefully there is not a limit on purchasing or applying the cards.

 

[Albort]

Oh man, the township did not agree with me that my proposed pool/guest house was the greatest idea ever . Now I'm sitting here wondering 1) where am I going to live and 2) how I'm going to make the spend for my two SW cards. Plus I really want to take advantage of the United 70k offer sometime before 4/30. I am planning on buying a new car, can you pay the down payment with a cc, not likely right? Oh, my DVC dues are not paid in full!!! That would get me pretty close to the SW spend and I could buy extra Disney GC's for spending in WDW and Aulani. Are BJ's and Sam's club the best deals for using my SW cards? I feel a little better. Hopefully there is not a limit on purchasing or applying the cards.

how much spendings do u have left? Do you pay rent? do u have extra money to float around?

 

[Alice Sr.]

how much spendings do u have left? Do you pay rent? do u have extra money to float around?

No, just paid my last rent payment. We (my DD and I) closed on a house last month. Her and her husband are moving in today. I was going to convert the 3 car garage into living space for me (too much HGTV). I still have almost 5k, I just got the cards (in fact I haven't even received the personal one yet). I was planning on buying appliances this weekend.

 

[Albort]

No, just paid my last rent payment. We (my DD and I) closed on a house last month. Her and her husband are moving in today. I was going to convert the 3 car garage into living space for me (too much HGTV). I still have almost 5k, I just got the cards (in fact I haven't even received the personal one yet). I was planning on buying appliances this weekend.

you should be fine if you got to buy appliances! if not, prepay your bills!

 

[Alice Sr.]

you should be fine if you got to buy appliances! if not, prepay your bills!

I can't buy the appliances now, I have no place to put them, and I don't have any bills, other than the DVC dues. No mtg, utilities, or car payment, what kind of alternate universe have I gotten myself into.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I can't buy the appliances now, I have no place to put them, and I don't have any bills, other than the DVC dues. No mtg, utilities, or car payment, what kind of alternate universe have I gotten myself into.

So I'm assuming your DD is paying the utilities? Ask if you can put them on your CC, at least until your spend is complete & she can write you a check for the $. Unless of course she is doing the same with CC's.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

So I was telling somebody at work about my churning habit & he is thinking about getting a CC or two. I normally don't encourage people with this habit because I don't want to be responsible for someone getting into debt if they don't control spending. However, he and his wife are doctors and have four kids. They went to WDW twice last year and like to stay at Doubletree resorts almost exclusively when they travel. He is asking about cards I would recommend.
I'm thinking his best bets might be the Hilton Honors AMEX card for the hotel, the CSP for airlines and other benefits.
Other ideas?

 

[Alice Sr.]

Ideally yes you would pay around $90 for a $100 Disney gift card. How it works is you pay $94.99 on Bj's website and pay with your credit card that has 5% back at warehouse clubs. When your credit card statement closes you will get $4.75 in cash back. Both Discover and Chase let you direct deposit in your bank which I do. Again, Discover is running the 5% back at warehouse clubs only until the end of June. Q3 rewards (July-September) will be announced sometime in May.

If you are still confused use my example for my upcoming cruise/wdw stay.
I bought (15) $100 Disney gift cards for $1,424.85 using my Discover card on Bj's website.
When my statement closed I got $71.24 in cash back.
In total I saved $146.39!!
I plan to do this trick every quarter the 5% is offered until our trip saving around $440 off our total trip.
This is why I LOVE credit cards!!!

So I could do this, right? Buy 15 x $100 Disney GC for the next 3 months and use them to pay down the dues. Could I be suspected of MS? I don't want to draw attention to myself.

 

[Albort]

I can't buy the appliances now, I have no place to put them, and I don't have any bills, other than the DVC dues. No mtg, utilities, or car payment, what kind of alternate universe have I gotten myself into.

buy appliance, move to storage? haha.

So I was telling somebody at work about my churning habit & he is thinking about getting a CC or two. I normally don't encourage people with this habit because I don't want to be responsible for someone getting into debt if they don't control spending. However, he and his wife are doctors and have four kids. They went to WDW twice last year and like to stay at Doubletree resorts almost exclusively when they travel. He is asking about cards I would recommend.
I'm thinking his best bets might be the Hilton Honors AMEX card for the hotel, the CSP for airlines and other benefits.
Other ideas?

i would ask what their goal is. I mean, they stayed at doubletree, maybe they were looking at another place but it was too expensive. hehe. CSP is a good start, change to Freedom, then CSR. assuming their choice of airline is with the chase family. I always tell them like hey, its best u pay off ur credit card before u start this hobby. i just got a friend of mine hooked... she was asking me so many questions today lol.

So I could do this, right? Buy 15 x $100 Disney GC for the next 3 months and use them to pay down the dues. Could I be suspected of MS? I don't want to draw attention to myself.

well, its better than visa/mc gift cards... u should be fine. (dont quote me though). MS is usually trying to get money back out to pay the card...

 

[CyndiLouWho]

i would ask what their goal is. I mean, they stayed at doubletree, maybe they were looking at another place but it was too expensive. hehe. CSP is a good start, change to Freedom, then CSR. assuming their choice of airline is with the chase family. I always tell them like hey, its best u pay off ur credit card before u start this hobby. i just got a friend of mine hooked... she was asking me so many questions today lol..

When I mentioned that the CSR was $450 he seemed shocked. He also said he should pay me to plan his vacation so ultimately I think he's too lazy to do actual churning. Just thinking of a couple cards, not to high af that he could benefit from. I think they like doubletree BC they can get a suite usually & breakfasts are free which is easier with 4 kids. As for airline, we are in Chicago so SW & UA are both easily available so I thought CSP was a good starter.

 

[Albort]

When I mentioned that the CSR was $450 he seemed shocked. He also said he should pay me to plan his vacation so ultimately I think he's too lazy to do actual churning. Just thinking of a couple cards, not to high af that he could benefit from. I think they like doubletree BC they can get a suite usually & breakfasts are free which is easier with 4 kids. As for airline, we are in Chicago so SW & UA are both easily available so I thought CSP was a good starter.

my friend said the same thing so i told her... $450 - $600 travel credit - $100 TSA precheck - $200 PP - $500 bonus = -$950. u dont want $950!?
i also mention u can buy Disney tickets with the $300 credit. haha

I can't buy the appliances now, I have no place to put them, and I don't have any bills, other than the DVC dues. No mtg, utilities, or car payment, what kind of alternate universe have I gotten myself into.

well, im sure all of us would agree, but id be happy to send u a bill for service rendered here... how about $5 per replied comment? send u a bill? XD

 

[Alice Sr.]

well, im sure all of us would agree, but id be happy to send u a bill for service rendered here... how about $5 per replied comment? send u a bill? XD

You certainly deserve it!

 

[BruinEd03]

When I mentioned that the CSR was $450 he seemed shocked. He also said he should pay me to plan his vacation so ultimately I think he's too lazy to do actual churning. Just thinking of a couple cards, not to high af that he could benefit from. I think they like doubletree BC they can get a suite usually & breakfasts are free which is easier with 4 kids. As for airline, we are in Chicago so SW & UA are both easily available so I thought CSP was a good starter.

CSR isn't all that simple to grasp. He might be better off with a CSP + Freedom or Freedom Unlimited. Downside with Freedom is that it requires him to activate on a quarterly basis. Of course the downside with CSP + Freedom or Freedom Unlimited is that he may not remember spend categories. It really depends on the person and how much effort they will put into it. Not everyone can maximize points. Heck I try to do it and I still don't maximize my points. The key is to find something that works for that person. E.g. if someone can't do the rotating categories or can't remember to activate, the Freedom Unlimited is probably better for the person than the Freedom, even though based on the person's spending habits, a person may get more points with the Freedom than the Freedom Unlimited.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

My parents are currently on a 3 week cruise in Asia/Middle East. Right before the CSR online offer expired, my brother decided to apply for the card on my recommendation. And he in turn convinced my mom to also apply for the card. Right before they left for their cruise, I mentioned the free lounge access. My mom had never activated it, so it was too late for them to use it on their trip. And while she was visiting the weekend before her trip, I helped her book another cruise for 2018. She was about to put it on her Royal Caribbean card until I told her that it had terrible redemption value and that she should be using her CSR. She has no idea how to maximize spending categories and card benefits.

I told her that she needs to sit down and make me a list of all of her credit cards so that I can make up a cheat sheet for her to carry in her wallet that helps her make the best choices while shopping. And I am going to make sure that she is taking advantage of her other benefits too. For example, my parents don't have Global Entry, even though they travel abroad 2-3 times per year and have credit cards that would give them the credit for free. And then my parents put my mom as an AU on the CSR instead of her applying for her own card. I tried to explain to her that the AU fee is more expensive than the CSR AF after the $300 travel credit, but she just didn't seem to grasp why it was so silly. Maybe when I talk to my dad, I can knock some sense into him. But at this point, she would only get 50,000 UR points if she applied for herself, but honestly that is better than nothing.

 

[calypso726]

So I was telling somebody at work about my churning habit & he is thinking about getting a CC or two. I normally don't encourage people with this habit because I don't want to be responsible for someone getting into debt if they don't control spending. However, he and his wife are doctors and have four kids. They went to WDW twice last year and like to stay at Doubletree resorts almost exclusively when they travel. He is asking about cards I would recommend.
I'm thinking his best bets might be the Hilton Honors AMEX card for the hotel, the CSP for airlines and other benefits.
Other ideas?

HAHAHA I am the opposite. I encourage everybody. However, I do give the standard spiel about not carrying balances or spending money they weren't going to spend anyway. Some folks are never going to take the extra step to juggle cards and maximize their potential though. I have a few friends like that. If someone is only going to get one card to maximize travel I'd steer them towards the CSR, CSP or SPG.

So I could do this, right? Buy 15 x $100 Disney GC for the next 3 months and use them to pay down the dues. Could I be suspected of MS? I don't want to draw attention to myself.

I'll offer up my own DP with regards to purchasing Disney GCs. We have 1300 DVC points and pay the dues with Disney GCs. We take at least one ABD trip a year and pay that with Disney GCs. We do a short 3 day DCL cruise once or twice a year also paid with Disney GCs. Our APs are paid with Disney GCs. This totals up to far more than 15 $100 Disney GCs and I haven't had any issues over the last 5 years.

When I mentioned that the CSR was $450 he seemed shocked. He also said he should pay me to plan his vacation so ultimately I think he's too lazy to do actual churning. Just thinking of a couple cards, not to high af that he could benefit from. I think they like doubletree BC they can get a suite usually & breakfasts are free which is easier with 4 kids. As for airline, we are in Chicago so SW & UA are both easily available so I thought CSP was a good starter.

My parents are currently on a 3 week cruise in Asia/Middle East. Right before the CSR online offer expired, my brother decided to apply for the card on my recommendation. And he in turn convinced my mom to also apply for the card. Right before they left for their cruise, I mentioned the free lounge access. My mom had never activated it, so it was too late for them to use it on their trip. And while she was visiting the weekend before her trip, I helped her book another cruise for 2018. She was about to put it on her Royal Caribbean card until I told her that it had terrible redemption value and that she should be using her CSR. She has no idea how to maximize spending categories and card benefits.

I told her that she needs to sit down and make me a list of all of her credit cards so that I can make up a cheat sheet for her to carry in her wallet that helps her make the best choices while shopping. And I am going to make sure that she is taking advantage of her other benefits too. For example, my parents don't have Global Entry, even though they travel abroad 2-3 times per year and have credit cards that would give them the credit for free. And then my parents put my mom as an AU on the CSR instead of her applying for her own card. I tried to explain to her that the AU fee is more expensive than the CSR AF after the $300 travel credit, but she just didn't seem to grasp why it was so silly. Maybe when I talk to my dad, I can knock some sense into him. But at this point, she would only get 50,000 UR points if she applied for herself, but honestly that is better than nothing.

I took my mom's credit cards and sorted them out. Most are in a drawer. I tell what to apply for and then I put post it notes on her cards with the categories. Luckily, she doesn't question me and trusts that I'm doing right by her. Before my dad passed away, he was certain we were doing something illegal and would wind up getting arrested