I love credit cards so much!

[speedyfishy]

I got my AA aviator Biz today. My first Mastercard. I can send my SO $250 on Plastiq for our “rent” and it will be fee free?

 

[LynnTH]

When we came back from AUA to MSP we were able to connect through BWI and make it back in one day. When we flew down we went through FLL and spent the night at one of the Hyatts for 8,000 points. I found when I did a rental car as soon as I had my flights the rental was cheap. I have also gotten better prices with my rental cars with UR. You will go through immigration on the AUA side so a shorter layover worked fine. We did get to the airport early with immigration in mind. There is a nice PP lounge in AUA, nothing special but it was nice to relax.

The other warm place I have traveled to is Costa Rica. We loved the hanging bridges in the clouds. There would be fun things to do there with active young adults. I felt like there were more things to do in Costa Rica than in Aruba, but i'm hoping to return to both places. My niece and her family went zip lining, we did some snorkeling there, there were some evening sails and rodeos are a big thing there. I would say there was not any time when I didn't feel safe when we were there.

Thanks for the info. Will have to look into Costa Rica also. Do you know if SW flys direct there or where is the best place to fly from to get there?

 

[Lain]

Whoa that's a lot lol. Thanks for all of the info! I'm definitely interested in the first option if you are willing to tag me!

Does the UA have an annual fee? I'm pretty sure we will end up flying with United for our Japan trip so it would be nice to get those bonus miles.

Hi @Haley R, I'm still catching up on this thread. I spent Sunday picking strawberries with my DD, so I missed this post.

If you're thinking of flying United, plan to book award flights, and have room under 5/24, then YES, definitely add the United MileagePlus Explorer ("MPE") to your list of cards to get. I see you’re looking at international carriers as well, and you can use UA miles to book award travel with partner airlines in the Star Alliance or directly with United and part of your itinerary may be operated by ANA. Doing a quick search on United for DSM<>NRT shows several results for a UA-operated Boeing 787 Dreamliner to and from Japan, which could be nice to fly on.

For random dates in late April to early May 2019, I’m seeing 70k UA miles on R/T economy for DSM<>NRT, but I’m also seeing R/T business class available for 350k UA miles if you want to step up your churning game and go big. (I don’t see any first class availability, but those award seats tend to go fastest.)

The MPE card gets you priority boarding, free carry on for basic economy (don’t need to pay for the ticket with the card for those two), first checked bag free (must pay with card), 2 United Club lounge passes, up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck, a 25% mileage bonus on United’s MPX gift card app, and probably most importantly, increased award space availability. You get access to additional award seats that United blocks off for their cardholders and elite members. The annual fee is $95, but waived for the first year! Chase has no fee United cards you can product change to after your first year (to avoid the fee) that’ll still give you increased award availability.

But wait until you can get a good signup bonus on that card. The current public offer on the MPE is only 40,000 UA miles + $100 statement credit after you spend $2,000/3 months. For much of last year, the public offer was 50,000 UA miles, with a targeted offer of 70,000 UA miles. There's some buzz that the MPE is out with a new, targeted 60,000 UA miles offer with its rebranding as the "Explorer" card and changes to its benefits: http://runningwithmiles.boardingarea.com/new-united-explorer-card-65000-mile-bonus/ This link mentions an extra 5k UA miles bonus when you add an Authorized User – but don’t add DH! As you know, Chase’s automated system counts AU accounts against that person’s 5/24 count. You don't want to add a card to DH's 5/24 count for just 5k UA miles when DH can sign up for his own card for potentially 60k UA miles. DH should apply for the MPE separately so he can get his own bonus. (Not sure if referrals are active for this card product.) If you have a non-churning relative who you’d like to put as an AU to get those points, then do it, but don’t add your other Player spouse.

60k UA miles is pretty good if you’re targeted. It could potentially go back up to 70k UA for targeted offers. If you’re not seeing anything more than the public offer, don’t bite just yet. There are tricks to get yourself targeted.

 

[hsmamato2]

Mine haven't changed at all. One of the other flight options from BDL-SNA is actually a few dollars higher.

mine dropped about 1k points each way so

 

[hsmamato2]

I was the rebel spy you know, this was an everyday thing



I love the library! I read a lot and I'd prefer to save the money I'd spend on books for things like travel etc.

I've never even tried the audiobooks...but they have both! I have too may podcasts to keep up with lol

 

[elgerber]

Wow the Discover bank bonus posts fast! I think I will open another for DH LOL, so we can get another bonus!

 

[Expiry]

I've seen many comments over the past months about being careful of buying gift cards at Staples due to L3 data reporting, but I've only seen the conversation in relation to Amex cards. Is this an issue to consider with the CIC as well? Unfortunately Staples is the only office supply store where I live

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Oh, I hope this happens for us! We were planning to go to Sedona/Grand Canyon the week of Thanksgiving (the Friday before, coming home on Thanksgiving) and the prices seem so crazy right now that I've been thinking that we have to change our plans.

Hope you find flights. At Grand Canyon now, so let me know if you have any questions. BTW, Internet sketchy here, so I’m 20 pages behind on this thread.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Thanks for the info. Will have to look into Costa Rica also. Do you know if SW flys direct there or where is the best place to fly from to get there?

SW does fly there. I think you would connect through Houston to land in LIR. There are a few nice marriotts there.

 

[Albort]

I've seen many comments over the past months about being careful of buying gift cards at Staples due to L3 data reporting, but I've only seen the conversation in relation to Amex cards. Is this an issue to consider with the CIC as well? Unfortunately Staples is the only office supply store where I live

i think its mostly from me haha. i dont recommend meeting MSR with gift cards as they COULD use that excuse to deny u of your sign up bonus. after that though, it should be okay, even if u miss the points, it isnt a huge chunk of points lost. I know Amex is okay with gift card purchases. Ive done one with Bloomingdale which gave L3 data to Amex, i still got my points for it.
CIC doesnt really care much. a good 95% of my CI+(which is the upgraded version of CIC) are in gift cards. If you have an Office Depot, its better to buy from them than Staples.

 

[Calfan]

I've seen many comments over the past months about being careful of buying gift cards at Staples due to L3 data reporting, but I've only seen the conversation in relation to Amex cards. Is this an issue to consider with the CIC as well? Unfortunately Staples is the only office supply store where I live

i think its mostly from me haha. i dont recommend meeting MSR with gift cards as they COULD use that excuse to deny u of your sign up bonus. after that though, it should be okay, even if u miss the points, it isnt a huge chunk of points lost. I know Amex is okay with gift card purchases. Ive done one with Bloomingdale which gave L3 data to Amex, i still got my points for it.
CIC doesnt really care much. a good 95% of my CI+(which is the upgraded version of CIC) are in gift cards. If you have an Office Depot, its better to buy from them than Staples.

Can't speak to Staples, but to confirm what Albort said about Office Max/Depot, I did $1,200 of DH's CIC MSR at Office Max, and I can see the 50k bonus UR on the "earning on next statement" screen in DH's online Chase account.

 

[bernina]

Any experience with Intercontinental NY Times Square? I have an IHG free night that’s still good at any property, this one is 70k/night. Looking to stay a night in late December before the NCL Cruise that goes to Florida and the Bahamas. The Kimpton was my first choice but rooms only accommodate 2 (we need 3).

 

[Albort]

Can't speak to Staples, but to confirm what Albort said about Office Max/Depot, I did $1,200 of DH's CIC MSR at Office Max, and I can see the 50k bonus UR on the "earning on next statement" screen in DH's online Chase account.

well, Office Depot is better because u get $5 back from ebates... :]

 

[CyndiLouWho]

It wasn't! I cancelled the Tropicana (no clue why really other than the FOMO here about Hyatt House lol) and I booked Hyatt House. The more I contemplated the distance (fine for the rest of us but hard with wheelchair) and the fact that we always hit RD, which means breakfast on the run so we probably wouldn't really even take time to eat the breakfast at Hyatt, I decided to go back to Tropicana. Well, not only was it not coming up on UR but I couldn't get 5 nights anywhere closer on UR's. I was lamenting on the DL forum and @Angrose came to my rescue (thanks girl!). She found a piecing of nights at Hojo. I booked them and then called and had them link the reservations so we don't have to check out half way through. It's nice too cause we only need one room. Their family suite has 4 queens so we are totally set, much closer and are fine doing our own thing for breakfast, which we'd probably do anyways.

The walk is pretty easy and that room sounds great. We stayed right next door (or 2 down, can’t recall) and loved the location. Did McD’s for breakfast, bought GCs ahead on Raise to save a couple $. Although I don’t use a wheelchair, I have a bad knee and by the end of the day, I was cashed so a shorter walk was worth it. Also you’ll be able to see the fireworks from there if your room faces the park. Have fun!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Exactly, if I thought about it I'd never stay anywhere. I have resisted bringing our own sheets unless it's a questionable cheap place. (looking at you America's Best Value Inn, Salisbury MD. They made our top 5 worst places we've stayed hit list.) So mostly, we try to avoid the questionable cheap places if we can anyway, that's why we rack up points and have no problem staying at a different hotel from the group But I don't touch anything in a room bare handed (or bare feet after walking on a carpet that left my socks brown ) and just tell myself it's ok, I won't die really, in this instance what I don't know won't hurt me and get over it

You’d also never eat anywhere is you knew what goes on in some restaurants. Or eat anyone else’s home cooking. I work in a hospital dietary dept so I see/hear a lot. But one of the worst was when a coworker brought in a cake she made at home for someone’s birthday. One corner was smashed a bit. She said “Oh just don’t eat that corner, my cat stepped on it” And she’s seriously the worst germophobe I’ve ever met. She will throw out food if somebody breathes over it or in her general direction, but her cats don’t count.

 

[Ngwira]

I got my AA aviator Biz today. My first Mastercard. I can send my SO $250 on Plastiq for our “rent” and it will be fee free?

Back from Atlantis? How did everything work out?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thought I’d be able to hit a lounge at LAX today but after hiking from the very end of T8 to the AS lounge to find it closed at 3:35pm (and I did go in to inquire where she informed me she needed about a dozen people to leave before re-opening to PP, I waited a half hour but nothing much has changed by what I see) I do not have the stamina to make it to Tom Bradley and then back to T8. All in all I’m a BIG fan of the restaurant PP options!

 

[afan]

You’d also never eat anywhere is you knew what goes on in some restaurants. Or eat anyone else’s home cooking. I work in a hospital dietary dept so I see/hear a lot. But one of the worst was when a coworker brought in a cake she made at home for someone’s birthday. One corner was smashed a bit. She said “Oh just don’t eat that corner, my cat stepped on it” And she’s seriously the worst germophobe I’ve ever met. She will throw out food if somebody breathes over it or in her general direction, but her cats don’t count.

That's awful, she should have given it to the cat to eat. Or cut that part off and not mentioned it, haha not really, I would have made a new cake.

I try not to think about restaurants but I won't eat other peoples stuff unless I'm aware of their house etc. Internship years ago, equipment guy's mom would drop cookies and stuff off that no one would eat. They'd found nail clippings and stuff in them, omg. Then my last job a guy in my dept loved to bake and thought he was the best and always fished for compliments. If you didn't give them you wouldn't get what he brought, which I didn't mind because we'd find hair in the frosting.

I'm always washing my hands when I'm cooking and more so when I'm baking for other people and making sure I don't accidentally get something it what I'm making. I get a bit skeeved when I find my own hair in a sandwich I've made, rarely happens but I'm sure most of us have had it happen when cooking for ourselves.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

So I just called to try for a retention offer on my Southwest Plus card and was thrown for a loop when the rep tried to talk me into canceling! She said she sees I have a Disney card and an Amazon card, both with no fees, and a Chase Sapphire Reserve which is better than the Southwest card for travel rewards, so there was no point in keeping the Southwest card! I was so thrown off I just said I need to think about it, thanked her and hung up. What in the world?!

ETA: she also said there was no point to having all these cards when I could just use the Reserve for everything! I wanted to say but what about the signup bonuses!!! Have you not been on the I Love Credit Cards so Much thread on Disboards?! lol

That is wild...I've never had that experience on a Chase call before...and I've done A LOT of retention calls with them.

 

[disneybirds]

Here's my take on the CIU -- the only thing really exciting about it is the big $500/50,000 UR signup bonus. Its featured benefit is the same as the CFU -- 1.5x UR on every purchase.

A lot of people already have the CFU because that's a popular no fee card to downgrade a Sapphire fee card to. There's no reason to hold two 1.5x UR cards (the CFU and the CIU) when there's no cap on how much you can earn on either one card. And relatedly, just like how the CFU is a card one typically downgrades to, rather signs up for; the CIU has that same problem.

@SouthFayetteFan is right that the CIU is at best a 3rd choice business card. And when most people are looking at Chase approving them for only 2-3 business cards, without signing up for EINs to apply for more under, they have to be picky. The CIP offers a much more lucrative 80,000 UR (100k UR in branch/120k UR targeted) signup bonus, and the CIC currently has the same 50,000 UR bonus offer. But more importantly, the CIP and CIC offer useful benefits that are complimentary to a well-rounded wallet of other Chase cards, not duplicative. This ignores the SW Biz and Marriott Biz, which offer their own lucrative bonuses and would get you around the new One SW (Personal) Card and One Marriott (Personal) Card rules.

The CIP earns 3x UR on Plastiq; cable/internet/phone, which overlaps the CIC's 5x UR bonus category, but includes phone insurance that is not offered on the CIC; and eBay seller fees and eBay shipping, along with shipping through USPS/UPS/FedEx. The CIC earns 5x UR at office supply stores, which is great for physical gift cards; cable/internet/phone for apps like Gyft, Swych, and services like Netflix and Hulu; and 2x UR on gas. If you're trying to carry a wallet that has a Chase card for almost everything, it'd probably include the CSR (3x UR on dining and travel, and 1.5x redemption), CIP (3x UR on Plastiq for bills you can't pay with a credit card, and your cell phone bill for the insurance), CIC (5x UR on gift cards to places where you dine and shop), CF (probably downgraded from some other card for 5x UR quarterly bonus categories) -- and if all these other cards can't earn you 3x or 5x UR on some kind of payment, then it helps to have a "better than 1x" CFU or CIU for 1.5x UR on everything else.

1.5x UR on everything is simply not exciting when people can do better by being more aware of the category of their purchases and using the right card from a mix of Chase's other cards that'll earn you the best bonus. The CFU and CIU are the cards you throw spend on when its in a category that doesn't earn 3x or 5x UR on any of your other Chase cards. And arguably, you could do better by putting that miscellaneous spend towards a new card's MSR.

All that said, I will probably sign my DW up for a CIU. Here's why:

- We don't have the CFU, so no 1.5x UR on everything card.
- DW only has 1 Chase business card, the CIP, which she doesn't get much use out of, so the plan was to cancel or downgrade it to a no fee card after a year.
- I already have the CIC, and don't foresee needing a second CIC in the household for going past the $25,000 cap on the 5x UR bonus.
- The CIU is a no fee card.
- It's more lucrative to sign up for the CIU with a 50,000 UR signup bonus than get nothing for downgrading CIP>CIU. (I can eventually cancel the CIP and free up a slot of other biz cards.)
- The CIU is a biz card that won't add to DW's 5/24 count.
- The CIU is a biz card, so I can request an "employee card" for myself without adding to my 5/24 count.
- The CIU is simple to understand for my reluctant Player 2: "CSR for travel and dining. CIU for everything else." Asking DW to remember where to use only 2 cards would help her out a lot.

Just read an article on the Points Guy that the CIU comes with primary insurance for business travel, so that definitely helps my decision. With a reluctant player 2 that only wants 2 cards (one for business, one for personnal), this card is looking more appealing. At least with this one we can get 1.5 points versus the 1.0 point with the other cards. Thanks for all the detailed analysis and your thought process! It definitely helps in making my decision.