I love credit cards so much!

[tink1970]

sorry tink1970, but i think it should be the other way around. CSP first, CSR last. If the goal is to earn points and travel 2 years later, the CSP will just be used for the sign up bonus, downgrade after a year or before the year if you get lucky..

No worries Everyone has slightly different priorities and some (ie not me) have probably thought theirs through better

 

[Calfan]

Hi, all. I just bit the bullet and applied for the Amex Platinum (personal since I have no colorable argument for business income). I had a pre-qualified offer and was immediately approved for the 100k points after $5k in 90 day spend. I'm new to Amex points, so will happily take any advice from those more experienced regarding benefits I should make sure I take advantage of. I've already enrolled for the Hilton and SPG gold status and have selected my airline for the $200 credit for incidental travel fees. Once I get my card and have my full number, I will add it to my Uber account to take advantage of the monthly credit. Tell me what you love about your Amex Platinum and how you use it to full advantage. Thanks!

 

[Eighty8Keys]

So I bit the bullet and paid the rest of my mortgage on Monday with Plastiq with my CSR and it coded as travel. I'll be keeping a close eye on this before I make my June payment though.

 

[Lain]

So I bit the bullet and paid the rest of my mortgage on Monday with Plastiq with my CSR and it coded as travel. I'll be keeping a close eye on this before I make my June payment though.

Whoa... as I was reading your post, I thought you meant that you paid off your mortgage using Plastiq for the 3x return. Considering the crazy high credit limits on the CSR, it's not too far fetched. And why not when the going's good? To which, I would've said congratulations and how many points did you earn??? But you made just a monthly payment, right?

I'll also be watching for DPs here and on the blogs and churning subreddit before submitting payment going forward. I've been on enough rides to know good things don't last forever.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

Whoa... as I was reading your post, I thought you meant that you paid off your mortgage using Plastiq for the 3x return. Considering the crazy high credit limits on the CSR, it's not too far fetched. And why not when the going's good? To which, I would've said congratulations and how many points did you earn??? But you made just a monthly payment, right?

I'll also be watching for DPs here and on the blogs and churning subreddit before submitting payment going forward. I've been on enough rides to know good things don't last forever.

Boy do I wish! It was just the rest of my May mortgage payment. That's what I get when I'm hurriedly posting when I really should be working.

 

[TheyCallMeStacey]

as for @TheyCallMeStacey a good start is to see what your local airport hosts. Is it a hub? Im assuming your hotel loyalty is with Marriott. What is your travel destination? Sometimes, earning for a certain card because of a certain airline is important. IE, if Hawaii is your destination, then perhaps Korean Air(UR will work) or Alaska Air(BOA), the specific cards should be gotten.

We're looking to fly to WDW There are a few different options out of our local airport (SW, Delta, American etc). We're hoping to use our Marriott points at the Swan/Dolphin. When you say "UR cards", i'm having trouble following the abbreviations...total newbie here.

 

[Angrose]

In case anyone is wondering, I don't think MasterCard is coding Plastiq rent/mortgage payments as travel. I paid my rent via Plastiq last week and used my Barclay Arrival + MC. It did not code as travel. I needed to meet the spend on that card anyway, so I'm not too upset. I will try DH's new CSP next month if it looks like it's still going through for people.

 

[Ngwira]

Glad you got it figured out. What a bummer though.

Oooh, we just stayed at the Bellagio for the first time last Thanksgiving for DH's birthday. What a lovely hotel! We also used the Fine Hotels and Resorts benefit. I absolutely love that benefit! The free breakfast alone was such a great perk since their prices are crazy high! They gave us up to a $40 per person breakfast credit so that was $320 in breakfast that we didn't pay for. We did a helicopter tour to the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon which was my B-day present to DH since he's always wanted to see the Grand Canyon. I was trying to cram as much as we could into a long weekend. We were able to see 3 shows and cross off a Foodie wannabe experience too! Love Centurion lounges! So happy for you that you got a really cool trip booked and get to use those awesome Amex Plat perks!



The one time I checked I used Credit Karma. This was when I thought I might have to actually hold off travel hacking to get the CSR before deciding to try the CPC route. I wanted to see how much longer I'd need to wait. It would have been nearly a year *shudders* since I was over 10/24. You are allowed to get a free credit report from each of the agencies once per year. If you are looking for something more accurate.

Thanks Calypso! I am so so excited. It's a 40th birthday gift to myself and my family. Since my husband is afraid of heights, a helicopter ride isn't in the cards, but I did book a bus tour to the South rim and hoover dam through grand canyon tours. They will pick us up at 6:10am from the bellagio, feed us a modest breakfast, take us to the hoover dam, stop for 3 hours at the Grand Canyon, feed us a buffet lunch, stop in Williams, Arizona and eh visitor center and take us back to the bellagio by 9:30pm. I paid a stupid good price since I found it on Groupon! I am very happy to not have to navigate those unfamiliar roads.

The Bellagio FHR perk also comes with a complimentary upgrade if available, so great all around.

 

[Lain]

We're looking to fly to WDW There are a few different options out of our local airport (SW, Delta, American etc). We're hoping to use our Marriott points at the Swan/Dolphin. When you say "UR cards", i'm having trouble following the abbreviations...total newbie here.

UR = Ultimate Rewards, which is Chase's points program.

UR points transfer to the following airlines:

United MileagePlus Miles
Southwest Rapid Rewards
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
British Airway Avios
Air France Flying Blue
Korean Air Skypass
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

and the following hotels programs:

Marriott Rewards
Hyatt Gold Passport
IHG Rewards Club
Ritz Carlton Rewards

You can also redeem UR points for reservations at almost all of the Disney-owned WDW resort hotels through the Chase UR travel portal.

Basically, UR points are very versatile and valuable.

 

[gottalovepluto]

To anyone that has the Barclaycard Red AAdvantage MasterCard: got an email today offering 10,000 bonus miles for spending $750 in May, June and July. Looks like it might be targeted so check your emails. (I don't remember seeing a similar offer from them, much to my surprise I'm actually going to take them up on this as I could use some more AA miles. I got the bonus on that card and put a couple other charges on it and didn't plan to pull it out again until it was time to cancel. Congrats Barclaycard, you just swiped some spending from Chase!)

 

[elgerber]

To anyone that has the Barclaycard Red AAdvantage MasterCard: got an email today offering 10,000 bonus miles for spending $750 in May, June and July. Looks like it might be targeted so check your emails. (I don't remember seeing a similar offer from them, much to my surprise I'm actually going to take them up on this as I could use some more AA miles. I got the bonus on that card and put a couple other charges on it and didn't plan to pull it out again until it was time to cancel. Congrats Barclaycard, you just swiped some spending from Chase!)

Hmmm, I would like that offer. I will keep my eyes open. Of course just 2 days ago I had a $720 vet bill, and a $450 Dr bill LOL.

 

[wendow]

So I bit the bullet and paid the rest of my mortgage on Monday with Plastiq with my CSR and it coded as travel. I'll be keeping a close eye on this before I make my June payment though.

My payment finally posted last night to my CSR and it also still coded as travel! Yay!! I'll be looking for DP's before paying June this way.

 

[Albort]

In case anyone is wondering, I don't think MasterCard is coding Plastiq rent/mortgage payments as travel. I paid my rent via Plastiq last week and used my Barclay Arrival + MC. It did not code as travel. I needed to meet the spend on that card anyway, so I'm not too upset. I will try DH's new CSP next month if it looks like it's still going through for people.

good to know, i was about to try my premier card...

 

[calypso726]

Hello all you amazingly savvy people workin the system! I am new to this points thing, and although I have plenty of points for hotel, I was wondering if someone could help me out with a strategy for getting enough points for airline travel for 4 people. My goal is to do this over the next 2 years. I was thinking about getting the chase sapphire card because it has 50k bonus and 2x most travel points (i travel at times for work - but rarely on the same airline). The SW points seem to go a bit farther it seems, so I was thinking maybe getting the sapphire and then transferring those points to a SW rewards account might be a good way to do it?

Overall, it seems a bit ambiguous to me, and i'm having a hard time nailing down on if this would actually be a good idea... (sorry - i think i need some hand holding).

Welcome to the travel hacking world. Unlike FlyerTalk we will hold your hand here Before you apply for anything, understand that Chase has arguably the best assortment of travel related credit cards. However, they also have an unpublished rule about denying any applicant that has opened 5 or more credit cards in the previous 24 months. This doesn't mean just Chase cards, it means all cards, store, bank etc. Therefore, the rule of thumb to any starting out is to get your Chase cards first before you get any other card while you are still under 5/24. There are a few experienced travel hackers here that are always willing to help. With all of the different goals and strategies everyone has, someone is bound to be able to offer insight.

In no particular order, I'd say CSR (Chase Sapphire Reserve), CSP (Chase Sapphire Preferred), then downgrade one of those to a Freedom after a year. Pick up the SW cards if your goal is to travel on SW. I am not loyal to any airline since my goal is to never pay OOP for airfare. My goal is always international first class travel. Therefore, I would be the least experienced person here when it comes to strategy for SW. The SW cards are the only Chase airline card I have never had. Fortunately, we do have folks that are experienced at getting the SW companion pass and will likely share best strategies for that. I focus on variable points that can be transferred to multiple airlines as miles like Chase UR (Ultimate Rewards points). In order to transfer Chase UR points to an airline you must have a premium UR earning card like the CSR or CSP. The Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited both earn UR points but cannot be transferred to an airline. They must first be transferred to a CSP or CSR account and then from there can be transferred to an airline.

My advice to anyone starting out in this is to first have a goal. You say you want airfare for 4 people but don't mention to where. SW may be great for your needs but not if you are planning to fly to London, Paris or Rome Once you know where you are going, the next step is to figure out which airport(s) you may be flying out of and in to. Then see which airlines fly those routes. Is your local airport a hub? I am in south Florida and Miami is a hub for American Airlines. Therefore, my focus is also on being able to accumulate variable points that I can transfer to AA or a One World partner like BA. I accumulate AA miles by using their shopping portal, dining rewards network and E surveys. I keep a Barclay AA card in a drawer until they offer me a good reason to use it, like spend $500 in Jan., Feb., Mar. and get 15,000 AA miles. That card also gives me 10% of my AA miles that I have redeemed up to 10,000 miles. Since we blow through well over 100k AA miles a year, I keep the card. So, sometimes, there is a good reason to get a card, not use much and keep it anyhow. But I digress. Once you know which airline you will likely be flying then you want to discover which airline card, or travel card that earns variable points you will need to secure your flights. You also want to discover how many miles it will cost to get your family of 4 to where you are going and back in the class of service you desire.

Some of the more helpful blogger sites to read are The Points Guy, Million Mile Secrets, Frequent Miler, View From the Wing, One Mile at a Time and Mommy Points.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Thanks Calypso! I am so so excited. It's a 40th birthday gift to myself and my family. Since my husband is afraid of heights, a helicopter ride isn't in the cards, but I did book a bus tour to the South rim and hoover dam through grand canyon tours. They will pick us up at 6:10am from the bellagio, feed us a modest breakfast, take us to the hoover dam, stop for 3 hours at the Grand Canyon, feed us a buffet lunch, stop in Williams, Arizona and eh visitor center and take us back to the bellagio by 9:30pm. I paid a stupid good price since I found it on Groupon! I am very happy to not have to navigate those unfamiliar roads.

The Bellagio FHR perk also comes with a complimentary upgrade if available, so great all around.

I am plotting a Grand Canyon trip for 2018, although thinking 3 nights at south rim & 1 in Williams (which my son will love as that's our last name lol)

 

[CyndiLouWho]

To anyone that has the Barclaycard Red AAdvantage MasterCard: got an email today offering 10,000 bonus miles for spending $750 in May, June and July. Looks like it might be targeted so check your emails. (I don't remember seeing a similar offer from them, much to my surprise I'm actually going to take them up on this as I could use some more AA miles. I got the bonus on that card and put a couple other charges on it and didn't plan to pull it out again until it was time to cancel. Congrats Barclaycard, you just swiped some spending from Chase!)

DH has an offer for 3x points on AA card, plus cash rebates of varying percentages on AA Business card. I have 300 bonus points for $500 spend each month from April thru August on SW card. Unfortunately can't take much advantage because I need to finish spend on Marriott card.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Hmmm, I would like that offer. I will keep my eyes open. Of course just 2 days ago I had a $720 vet bill, and a $450 Dr bill LOL.

Sounds a bit like me. My dog is currently on prescription dog food to the tune of $150/month. Sadly my DH sells wholesale pet foods but cannot get the prescription foods. Last summer vet hills helped meet spend on a couple cards.
Hope your pet is doing better

 

[calypso726]

Hi, all. I just bit the bullet and applied for the Amex Platinum (personal since I have no colorable argument for business income). I had a pre-qualified offer and was immediately approved for the 100k points after $5k in 90 day spend. I'm new to Amex points, so will happily take any advice from those more experienced regarding benefits I should make sure I take advantage of. I've already enrolled for the Hilton and SPG gold status and have selected my airline for the $200 credit for incidental travel fees. Once I get my card and have my full number, I will add it to my Uber account to take advantage of the monthly credit. Tell me what you love about your Amex Platinum and how you use it to full advantage. Thanks!

Congratulations!!! There are a slew of colorable arguments for business income Many travel hackers have decided they are going to start a business as EBay resellers, get their business card and then maybe don't quite get around to selling on EBay as much as they thought they would. Not my particular color, but that shade seems to work for some.

Depending on your chosen airline you may be able to get airline gift cards to trigger the incidental airline fee. We never have incidental fees since we are always in first. Our chosen airline is AA so I purchase 2 separate $100 AA gift cards over a couple of days. I love this credit and love letting my gift cards pile up. They come in handy when I decide I need to fly somewhere without proper planning and can't find what I want with miles.

I love, love, love the Fine Hotels and Resorts benefit! Room upgrade, late check in and check out, $100 resort credit and free breakfast. Some properties offer 3rd or 4th night free too.

We have access to the United lounge and AA lounges with other cards. The Amex Plat takes covers Delta lounge access so now we have the big 3 covered.

Centurion lounges! The Miami one even started offering mini spa treatments like they do at Elemis in the Concorde Lounge at LHR.

 

[trstno1]

Can anyone help me out with using Chase UR points to purchase Delta flights via Air France/Flying Blue? I tried this for the first time last night, and everything seemed to go OK, but then Air France cancelled my purchase and asked me to contact their ticket office. As of this moment I have been on hold for 40 minutes trying to get through.

 

[ski_mom]

I love, love, love the Fine Hotels and Resorts benefit! Room upgrade, late check in and check out, $100 resort credit and free breakfast. Some properties offer 3rd or 4th night free too.

In order to use this, do you have to be paying for the nights? ie - not redeeming points for them?