I love credit cards so much!

[Lain]

Anyone know if tickets purchased via Ticketmaster.com code as travel for the CSR? I just purchased tickets to see Hamilton in NYC at $214 a piece times 4. Would love to get 3UR for it... We are doing a NYC trip next spring break instead of Disneyworld. Already booked the Intercontinental Times Square for 70,000 ihg points. Cash prices are $611 a night for our dates.

Pretty sure Ticketmaster codes as MOVIES/ THEATERS/ MUSIC/ DANCE STUDIOS. Sorry, no 3x; but yay, Hamilton!

 

[Calfan]

Swych sell Walmart gift cards? I might have to look into that, their website is less than helpful I am grabbing the app... Gyft is horrible. So if Swych earns 5x on the CIC I might just use that instead.

Edit: DOH! No Walmart!

We have had the total opposite experience with Gyft and Swych. Walmart GCs are available on Gyft and I made my first-ever Walmart purchase a couple of weeks ago using a $10 GC purchased with my CIP on Gyft. I've done a handful of Gyft purchases to date, and I've received each GC instantly. Swych, on the other hand, I can't get to work for me at all. It keeps telling me I need some kind of authorization code to purchase the GC in the amount I want. I've pretty much given up on Swych...

Thank you for reminding me that we have car insurance due in June so I just went into Geico and changed the CC to help finish up DH's AmEx SPG Biz spend.

You are welcome! I am amused by the dynamic that I and so many others experience: kind of getting excited about having a bill to pay that either helps with MSR or fits into a great category for spend, lol.

Anyone know if tickets purchased via Ticketmaster.com code as travel for the CSR? I just purchased tickets to see Hamilton in NYC at $214 a piece times 4. Would love to get 3UR for it... We are doing a NYC trip next spring break instead of Disneyworld. Already booked the Intercontinental Times Square for 70,000 ihg points. Cash prices are $611 a night for our dates.

I believe this is a solid "no." Sorry! But Hamilton is amazing!! I saw it in NY in Feb.

 

[liloca]

No.

The CSR travel credit used to be a calendar year benefit, but CSRs issued on or after 5/21/17 have a travel credit based on cardmember year.

I thought it was too good to be true- lol
Thanks Lain!

 

[Lain]

I thought it was too good to be true- lol
Thanks Lain!

It was! That's why Chase changed it.

People who got their CSR prior to December 2016 were able to triple dip the $300 travel credit in the first year of holding their card because of the timing of when the credit reset.

 

[liloca]

It was! That's why Chase changed it.

People who got their CSR prior to December 2016 were able to triple dip the $300 travel credit in the first year of holding their card because of the timing of when the credit reset.

Wowww they were great money makers “back in the day”
Sad I missed it!

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

DH has a random 14k MRs that we don't need for anything. I have no upcoming plans to start collecting MRs. Is the below redemption a decent idea? Would then take the WM GC to sams for Disney cards.

ETA: I see you can transfer to Hilton or SPG as well. Clearly I know nothing about MRs. Any thoughts on best plan?

I think I see you figured this out but Home Depot is the best value (or restaurants). Walmart and Target the pretty crumby MR redemption options. I redeem mine for Home Depot, Barnes and Noble and Olive Garden now that I don’t have a Schwab Plat.

My only thought was parents. As my parents get older, I could see wanting to be sure they got to the right gate. Not sure if they allow a pass for 70+ age folks.

Don't they have a legitimate protocol for this though? (Vs. booking a fake last minute SW flight and then cancelling to refund the points.)

 

[miztressuz]

I feel like a part of the "in" crowd now. My Priority Pass card arrived today! Gots my name on it and everything, very la de dah
Never been part of a select group before. It's a shame that I may never use it Current plan is to downgrade/cancel the CSR next year after hubby gets it and then we'll have his for the next year. Between now and then we don't have anything planned as our energy is focused on our trip in the fall 2019, so it would be his card at that point. But I figured I paid the fee I'd like to feel the prestige... even if it's only at home!

Or maybe I'll burn some SW points and head down to PHL for an afternoon then cancel the ticket for refund when we're done, hehe

 

[Calfan]

I know we’re the credit card thread here but since some of you are like me and also churn bank bonuses: Chase has a nationwide offer for $500(!) for their business performance checking. This is fairly rare as this offer has been by targeted mailer only recently so if interested grab your code now. It’s VERY easy imho, they waive the fee the first couple months and you downgrade the account via SM after you get the bonus. Any business banker should be able to open this account for you in branch. I have opened a couple accounts now at different banks for my “biz” you just need to be able to talk through it a bit. More like make chit-chat about it while they fill out the paperwork so it’s not as intrusive as a credit card app imho. You can have a personal checking and a business checking account. As always cross you t’s and dot your i’s! https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chas...0-in-branch-bonus-no-direct-deposit-required/

Arghh!!! I'd be all over this offer, but I can't get it to pull up for me. Anyone have any tricks? Do you think I could go to my local branch without the code and still get the offer?

Can someone explain the Chase personal banking bonus?

I believe there are different accounts with different bonuses available, but I recently opened a Chase Total Checking account for a $300 bonus. The only requirement to get the bonus was to have one direct deposit transaction to the account within the first 90 days. I diverted a small portion of my direct deposit from my weekly paycheck to the new Chase account to trigger the bonus. Funny thing is that I intended to deposit about $18 a week into the account (we plan to keep it open to be able to do occasional ATM withdrawals since our main banking relationship is with a bank that doesn't have branches here in Idaho), but I got the decimal point wrong when I initially set up the direct deposit so only had $1.80 go into the account the first week, and it triggered the $300 bonus almost immediately! The account I opened does have a monthly fee unless you maintain a minimum balance of $1,500, so I am making sure to keep at least that much parked in the account. Super easy way to get $300!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Arghh!!! I'd be all over this offer, but I can't get it to pull up for me. Anyone have any tricks? Do you think I could go to my local branch without the code and still get the offer?

It looks like the offer is dead.

 

[amalone1013]

@thevalley cant find your post so im quoting this one. yes, it works. but it wont charge as debit, it charges as credit, so it will charge the 2.5%.
i dont think that masterpass would work with it either.

Did you just get it as close to the balance as possible after the fee?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Arghh!!! I'd be all over this offer, but I can't get it to pull up for me. Anyone have any tricks? Do you think I could go to my local branch without the code and still get the offer?...

No, you need a unique code and you can only generate that if you have it sent to your email, codes can't be used more than once so no sharing off someone else after they've used it. The checking offers I've seen have all required going to the website to generate a unique code, or receiving a code in the mail or clicking on an add, never just available in branch. Hopefully it's a technical glitch and the site pops back up it looks like it did this earlier today or last night be the comments on DoC. Otherwise it's been yanked Fingers crossed it pops back up!

 

[gottalovepluto]

...Don't they have a legitimate protocol for this though? (Vs. booking a fake last minute SW flight and then cancelling to refund the points.)

Yes, by some googling it seems to be called as escort pass and airport agents issue them. I know of someone in their late 20s whose mother was given an escort pass to accompany the 20 something woman to her gate at the holidays (she claimed "emotional support" the same reason she needs to fly her dog in the cabin for free ). But the point is, yes, it exists.

 

[DaveL]

It was! That's why Chase changed it.

People who got their CSR prior to December 2016 were able to triple dip the $300 travel credit in the first year of holding their card because of the timing of when the credit reset.

Got mine in Jan, I kept putting it off until I was on break to apply. At least I got the 100k offer. I was only a lurker here at that time and didn't stop by often enough.

 

[Ngwira]

We have had the total opposite experience with Gyft and Swych. Walmart GCs are available on Gyft and I made my first-ever Walmart purchase a couple of weeks ago using a $10 GC purchased with my CIP on Gyft. I've done a handful of Gyft purchases to date, and I've received each GC instantly. Swych, on the other hand, I can't get to work for me at all. It keeps telling me I need some kind of authorization code to purchase the GC in the amount I want. I've pretty much given up on Swych...



You are welcome! I am amused by the dynamic that I and so many others experience: kind of getting excited about having a bill to pay that either helps with MSR or fits into a great category for spend, lol.



I believe this is a solid "no." Sorry! But Hamilton is amazing!! I saw it in NY in Feb.

Aww, thanks! My DD12 will be so excited. She's been dying to go. Since the tickets were so pricey, I'm so glad I saved on the hotel. Also, we live 2 hours away from NYC so no airfare. I'll be finishing off that Amtrak voucher I've been saving to get us to New York Penn Station for the trip.

 

[Albort]

Did you just get it as close to the balance as possible after the fee?

zero it out. if its a $200 card, i get a check for $195.12. etc.

 

[Angeliki19]

1. Most people on here apply for business cards for their "business" and includes things like selling on eBay/Craigslist, braiding horse hair at horse shows or baking cookies. I am a rules follower too. I would put $1000 as your revenue when applying though, since that is a reasonable number though some have applied listing just $10 and still gotten approved.

2. You can apply the same day, but make sure to apply for and get approved for the CIP first since there is a 0/30 rule. This means that you cannot have applied for any other cards in the past 30 days in order to get approved for a Chase business card.

3. Yes, it is for the bonus. But I also love this card. It has no annual fee and gets you 5x points at office supply stores. I met MSR by purchasing Lowes and Home Depot gift cards at Office Depot to use for home projects.

4. I meant to say CFU, which is the Chase Freedom Unlimited. It gives you 1.5% cash back on any purchase. When combined with the CSR 50% bonus, it is really like getting 2.25% on any purchase when you redeem for travel. I use this card for all of my non-category spending.

5. The goal is two-fold. One is to get a big reserve of points through sign up bonuses to use for your travel expenses. The other goal is to get the Chase quadfecta, which is CSR-CF-CFU-CIC. This combination of cards allows you to best maximize your everyday spending to continue earning UR points through their various bonus categories. You can cancel any of these cards and then reapply 25 months after you last earned the sign up bonus to get the bonus again.

WOW. I am so impressed. that's genius about the office supply store and gift cards. And thank you for mentioning the Chase quadfecta.. this makes sense to me now! Ok, so now I know what I am shooting for but the question is the order in which I proceed...

Ooh, tough. Ok, so I'm an eternal fan of the CIP because it won't affect your 5/24 but it isn't always right. You need a rough idea of when you will be spending the $5k and the $2500. Is the $5k a lump sum or will it be spread out? I don't think you're a strong candidate for the double dip csr/csp because unless you plan on spending that $7.5k all in the same 3 months that double dip MSR could be overwhelming. Can't spend cash you don't have, even to meet an MSR. My thinking:
-use the $5k furniture spend to hit the $5k CIP spend, apply for the CIP approx a month prior to your furniture purchases just in case you get denied and have to wait for a letter in the mail to see why before calling Chase recon
-use the $2.5k towards your CSR, that will leave you with only $1.5k in remaining spend. My suspicion is even on a tight budget you will spend $500/month on food, internet, phones, gas, etc. so you can meet the remaining spend on the card organically while remaining on your budget.
-remember for your cash flow/budget planning to take into account the $95 annual fee for the CIP and the $450 annual fee on the CSR. You have to pay those within the first month or two depending on how your statements end up cycling and the fees will not count toward your minimum spend. I know you get lots back in bonuses and travel credit but that is money out the door at the beginning of this process

If you'd rather drop the CIP and go for a CSR/CSP double dip you can do that as long as you're buying the furniture and the vacay rental all in the same few months and the $5k for furniture can be split between your cards, but imho you cannot do all 3 cards. Since you want a CSR (make sure you're positive you prefer a CSR over a CSP, you have plenty of time to decide on that) the choice is now CIP vs CSP for the other card.
-CIP
--yes: not count against 5/24; bigger bonus at 80k
--no: $95 annual fee; $5k spend
-CSP
--yes: once you get a sapphire of any type you won't be eligible for a sapphire bonus for another 24 months from when you get your first sapphire bonus; no annual fee first year; $4k spend
--no: smaller bonus; will count against 5/24

(I love vs lists, sometimes seeing the stuff floating around in my head laid out on a list makes decisions easier for me )

I agree.. nothing like a good pro/con list!! I would love your opinion.. let me give you some more info! So I do plan to spend the $5K rather quickly as my ex is taking all the bedroom furniture and the kitchen set. So as soon as I get my card, I'm buying. Likewise I want to secure my DVC rental ASAP so as soon as I get a card, I am ready to book that as well. These two things will come out of my savings, so I have that cash on hand, but really should not spend more than that at this time. So that leaves my normal "everyday" spending that I would put on a credit card and that's about $1500 a month.

So in 90 days the max I could do is about 10000? I need to be smart and conservative so I agree, I don't know that I can just jump in and over-extend myself. What do you recommend in this situation to start with?

 

[Gwmw1210]

We stayed at the Wyndham Garden Buffalo Williamsville, but we were attending an event in Buffalo and combined it with a visit to the falls. It wasn't far, but if your main goal is the falls I'd stay closer. That said, it was a nice hotel and it had what we were looking for - an onsite day spa with comfortable rooms for a reasonable price. We went with my mom who doesn't vacation much so she wanted a spa day and all the niceties for her birthday trip.



No problems with passports, it can just be a long wait in line over the bridge. My mom doesn't have a passport but I had some business to attend to in Canada. So I figured we'd pop over, take care of the errand grab pics of the falls for mom, meanwhile mom could check out the rest of the park and aquarium then we'd all do Maid in the Mist. Well my timing for the errand and pictures was about right but didn't count on how long it'd take us back and forth on the bridge, so instead of meeting her by the docks we had to pick her up at one of the casinos because she'd seen and done everything interesting at the park! She started to wonder if we left her there like a cat on the side of the road

Too funny. Thanks

 

[Judique]

Yes, by some googling it seems to be called as escort pass and airport agents issue them. I know of someone in their late 20s whose mother was given an escort pass to accompany the 20 something woman to her gate at the holidays (she claimed "emotional support" the same reason she needs to fly her dog in the cabin for free ). But the point is, yes, it exists.

I was allowed to go through to help my daughter with the 2 babies. Had to show my ID and then I was issued a gate pass. We didn't go to a lounge although there was one right there across from the gate. She was doing gate check with a double stroller and 2 car seats, plus carrying (rolling) luggage, diaper bag, purse, etc.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

WOW. I am so impressed. that's genius about the office supply store and gift cards. And thank you for mentioning the Chase quadfecta.. this makes sense to me now! Ok, so now I know what I am shooting for but the question is the order in which I proceed...



I agree.. nothing like a good pro/con list!! I would love your opinion.. let me give you some more info! So I do plan to spend the $5K rather quickly as my ex is taking all the bedroom furniture and the kitchen set. So as soon as I get my card, I'm buying. Likewise I want to secure my DVC rental ASAP so as soon as I get a card, I am ready to book that as well. These two things will come out of my savings, so I have that cash on hand, but really should not spend more than that at this time. So that leaves my normal "everyday" spending that I would put on a credit card and that's about $1500 a month.

So in 90 days the max I could do is about 10000? I need to be smart and conservative so I agree, I don't know that I can just jump in and over-extend myself. What do you recommend in this situation to start with?

I would suggest that you get the CIP and then the CSR as soon as you are approved for the CIP.

This requires 10k spend in 3 months, but as you said, $7.5k will be covered with the vacation and furniture. The CIP also gives 3x on travel and you will want to book the DVC asap, so I would put that expense on the CIP first and then wait for the CSR to get the furniture. Once you are approved you can call and have the cards expedited.

This will leave you at 4/24. Then about 3 months later, I would get the CIC or CIU, since it will not increase your X/24. I think the CIC is a better card, but the bonus may no longer be at 50k points. The CIU is supposed to debut this weekend at 50k points and the CIC bonus is rumored to end and go back down to 30k points. But I feel that the long term benefits of the CIC bonus categories outweighs the greater bonus on the CIU. Another option is to get the CIU and then PC it to the CIC after receiving the bonus.

You will still be at 4/24, which means that you can double dip for your last two Chase cards. I would do this 3-4 months later. I would consider double dipping the CF and CFU. Those these cards do not have high bonuses (15k points each), they only require $1000 MSR between them and their combined use for category and non-category spending can add a lot of value to your UR points pool.

Another option is use your last 2 spots for co-branded cards or even for a SW companion pass by applying for a SW personal and SW business card on the same day. For this, you will want to do list last 2018/early 2019 and have the MSR met in early 2019 so that you get the CP for the remainder of 2019 and all of 2020. There are lots of potential options, depending on your travel goals.

ETA: In terms of getting the CP, it may be harder to get a 3rd Chase business card, but there are those here who have recently gotten their 3rd Chase biz without difficulty.

 

[Angrose]

Question for all you Schwab folks out there, is there any downside to opening the brokerage account ala @SouthFayetteFan awesome guide to the Schwab AmEx Platinum card? It says no opening or maintenance fees, but there has to be some type of fee, is it just buying/per trade fees? (Their fee booklet is like 20 pages so I'd like some back up I'm not missing something.) I'm not quite at the point where I'm ready to do a Plat run as outlined, but if there's no downside to having one I figure it can't hurt to open it now and have it ready for the future. Plus been thinking about their banking products on and off for a while now so I could add the checking account to it.

Other than it not being very smart, conceivably I can drop money in there, get the small bonus and as long as I don't buy anything with it there's no fees, so I'm good to go? Then at some point if I can't find a better use for MR points I could get the Schwab Plat and go to town?

As far as I can see so far there is not a downside to opening the Schwab brokerage or checking accounts now. I opened them a few months ago and was not really 100% sure of my plan at that point. It took about 4 weeks for the $100 bonus to post. In addition to MR cashout, I'll use the ATM card to avoid ATM fees when we're overseas this summer. I don't intend on actually doing any trades with the accounts, so I didn't even look at the fee booklet. I haven't seen any fees post to my accounts so far!

Here's the DoC link with instructions on how to open the accounts: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/opening-schwab-brokerage-checking-amex-platinum-credit-card/